merry christmas!!

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas. Enjoy!!

first christmas in the new house!

the kids playing in the paper

katelyn playing with emma & ella

ella-boo

me & helen

dad got into the eggnog

mom & linz

mak & linz

my grandmama

cuz Russ, Uncle Keith, Aunt Becky, & cuz Grace

exactly what kind of party is this??

(Ashley, this blog post is dedicated to you...because you probably will feel uncomfortable just looking at the photo below.)

A friend of mine recently told me that she was invited to a Cuddle Party. She wasn't quite sure if that was what it was called, and she really didn't know what it was. So she researched it & sent me a link to the Cuddle Party Alabama website. Ok, take a look at this website & let me know what you think. (Be sure to look at the photo gallery!) What exactly is going on at these parties?? Those people look like a bunch of hippie tree-hugger swingers to me. I'm not sure who the guy is that started this craze - if you want to call it that - but apparently he was a very lonely man. What were his initial thoughts? "I have no significant other, child, sibling, parent, friend, dog, or cat to cuddle...I think I'll have a party & cuddle with complete strangers! That will certainly fill the void in my life."

Don't get me wrong - as humans, we do need non-sexual physical contact with other humans. But two observations about this Cuddle Party idea: 1) I don't believe much comfort will come from cuddling with complete strangers, and 2) Once again, people are trying to fill the voids in their lives with something other than God.

Of course, I'm not saying there is anything necessarily wrong with going to a cuddle party, but I am definitely saying that if you attend one, and I find out, I will definitely make fun of you.

procrastinators unite! ...tomorrow.

If any of you know me, you know that I am a procrastinator. Ever since I came into the age of responsibility (whatever that means), I have procrastinated. I won't say who I most likely get that from, but it is one of my parents & he is probably reading this. :-) Anyway, today I was thinking about my procrastination and how many areas of my life it affects. So I have compiled a list of several examples. If you are not a procrastinator, you might ask the question, "Why would you put something off when you can just go ahead & do it? Wouldn't it be easier to just get it over with?" Well, yes, it would be easier. And it's probably more efficient. But that's just not the nature of a procrastinator. If you're not one, then you just don't understand, and we can't explain it to you. For me, sometimes I just work better under pressure - at the last minute. Anyway, back to my list. Keep in mind that these are just a few of the areas affected by my procrastination. I was going to make the list longer, but I never got around to it. :-)

1. When I was in school, I always waited until the day before a paper was due to write it. I am convinced that it is because of students like me that teachers started checking students' work throughout a research paper or project instead of just looking at the final product. (I.E., you get separate grades for your note cards, bibliography, rough draft, etc.) One time in college, I had to write a 50-page paper, and I wrote at least 40 of the pages the night before it was due. Seriously.


2. Ever since I started doing my own laundry, I wait until I either have no clean underwear or all of my favorite shirts are dirty before I wash clothes. Part of this is due to my tendency to procrastinate & part of it is because I just hate laundry.


3. I don't buy groceries until we are just about completely out of food. Wouldn't it be smart of me to buy stuff before we run out? Yes, but that would actually require planning ahead. Which I don't do very well.


4. Household projects seem to never get done. We have just recently moved into a new house, and there are still several things that need to be done. There is no reason why we shouldn't have all of our pictures on the wall, or all of the miscellaneous boxes unpacked, or the lawnmower out of the breakfast room. (Yes, we really do have a lawnmower in our breakfast room.) But if you walked into our house right now, that is exactly what you would find. Granted, some of that has to do with time constraints, but one might argue that I should be doing those things right now instead of posting on my blog. :-)


5. Last but not least...the most applicable this time of year...Christmas shopping. This is the event that gave me the whole idea for this blog. And this is the one I am most proud of on the list. As of this past Friday, December 15th, I had only purchased for one of the 16 people on my list to shop for Christmas. And that was an online purchase, so the only reason I had already done it is so it would get here in time. So Saturday & Sunday, I shopped my little heart out. And what did I accomplish? Well, I now only have Baron to shop for. That's right - I did all of my shopping except for just a few gifts for Baron. In just 2 days. Some of you might think that is irresponsible. Some will think it is just plain foolish. I call it creative. Thank you very much. Hey - at least I didn't wait until Christmas Eve.

So for all of you procrastinators that might be reading, maybe you should stop playing around on the internet & go do something productive. I know I am. Ok not really.

'tis the season

I wanted to share a few of my holiday favorites with everyone.

Ding! Fries are Done

O Holy Night

White Christmas

A Christmas Story

Christmas Eve in Canton

Merry Christmas!!

you want to do WHAT?

So one of my jobs (among MANY) at the insurance agency where I work is to monitor our agency's website. Through our website, online customers can request an insurance quote. So when someone requests a quote, I receive an e-mail, and then I go onto the website and retrieve their quote request. I got a request today for a business insurance quote, and when I read what the guy wanted, I couldn't help but laugh. Here is how he explained what he needs:

Professional Insurance for Beauty business (to include Advertising injury, Personal injury, premises liability, rental damage, content, procedures, machines and product liability )to cover hair cuts, chemical services, hair & lash extensions, eyes tinting, facial services & machines, massage. Right now don't have a salon but may work as booth renter or independent contractor. Need to cover equipment and machines. Thanks.

Wait a minute...what? "Right now don't have a salon but may work as booth renter or independent contractor." Come again, sir? A booth renter? Is that like, I go to the Alabama National Fair & see his booth and decide to get a quick hair extension before I get on the Alpine Bobs? Does anyone know what this means? And independent contractor...hmmm...maybe I'm just out of the whole salon loop, but does that mean you can like rent him out or something? One more thing...eyes tinting? Please tell me you meant to say "eyebrow tinting". Maybe we should stay away from this prospective client.

love offering

I want a dog.

Ever since we decided to move, I have looked forward to having a backyard so we could get a dog. I even planned to get one as soon as we moved. But Baron & I decided we really would like to have a fence in the backyard before we get a dog. So, before our house was finished, we kept expecting our neighbors to put up fences. We were hoping that all of our neighbors would fork out the money to fence in their backyards so that we wouldn't have to. Well, that hasn't happened. I keep thinking surely they will do it, since our neighbors on both sides have kids. If I had kids, I would definitely want a fence. Anyway, I'm starting to think that they are waiting for us to do the same thing. So now I have doggie fever and we can't get one until we get a fence. And we can't get a fence until we have the money. So, if anyone would like to make a donation to the "Build A Fence For The Goins Family So Laura Can Have A Dog" fund, please feel free to do so. All donations are welcome. :-)

Here are some pictures of some of the doggies I found on the websites for some of our local humane shelters. Aren't they adorable? How can you say no to these little faces? Send your money today. :-)

a ladybug & chicken thanksgiving

Every year for Thanksgiving we go to visit my mom's family in Albany, Georgia. This is our usual agenda for Thanksgiving Day:

1. Baron & I drive over there Thursday morning. We usually get to my aunt & uncle's house just in time for dinner.
   
2. When we get there, everyone feasts on our traditional Thanksgiving vittles: turkey, ham, dressing, Veg-all casserole, sweet potato casserole, cranberry salad, green beans (or green bean casserole), rolls, and of course an assortment of desserts.
   
3. After we eat, we sit around & watch T.V. The girls usually watch some girly movie in the front living room, and the guys watch football in the back den. I actually usually end up watching football because I'm not interested in the movies my mom & Tata (my grandmother) choose to watch in the girly room. (No offense, mom & Tata!)
   
4. Right about halftime of whatever game is on, someone suggests that we go for a walk. Some people have already fallen asleep at this time, so you never know who will attend the walk. This year it was just me, Baron, & my dad. I think everyone else was too busy watching the girly movie.
   
5. Back to watching T.V. (Sometimes we go to the local putt-putt/go-carts place & hang out, but we opted out of that this year.)
   
6. Eat turkey sandwiches for supper.

Anyway, this year there were two walks. When the folks got back from the second walk, my mom comes back to the den & says, "Laura, Laura! There are a MILLION ladybugs on the water tower!" [There is a water tower about a block from my aunt & uncle's house. Last year there were a MILLION wasps around it. Apparently it is now an adventure to see what insects migrate to the water tower.] Anyway so my mom tells me that I need to get my camera phone and take pics of the ladybugs. So, here are a few I managed to capture. I wish I'd had a real camera so I could get a good picture of them swarming around the tower. I did manage to get a couple as they comfortably landed all over us. They didn't mind us being there at all. They landed in our hair, on our clothes, on our legs. One flew into my face. So, without further ado, might I present...the Thanksgiving ladybugs.

on my arm

on my mom's legs

on the water tower

on my mom's head...and one on her shoulder

Also, for some reason there were chickens in the neighborhood. I don't know whose chickens they were, but when we got back from the ladybug adventure, of course I snapped a picture. I tried to get a closer one but they were scared of me. I don't know why...I was only running after them with my camera phone in the air like a psyho blogger capturing the moment. Anyway, here are the Thanksgiving chickens in my aunt & uncle's yard.

new phone!

So Baron & I finally got camera phones this weekend! Now I can let my true blogger emerge by using my camera phone whenever I am out and I see something blog-worthy. Of course, I imagine that I will never encounter such an occasion now that I actually have the means to take advantage. Anyway, hooray for new camera phones!!

foggy

I've been dealing with a cold since Saturday, and I decided it was time to destroy it. I'd been taking Nyquil every night since then, but I'm always wary of daytime medicines because they make me drowsy (despite the non-drowsy promise plastered on the box). Anyway, last night at Wal-Mart I decided to try Sudafed PE Cold & Cough. I've taken regular Sudafed before - the tiny little red tablets - and they don't make me sleepy or anything. So this morning I took the daytime Sudafed, and now I am regretting it. I just bent over in my chair to pick up a staple I dropped, and I nearly toppled over as a result of my drunken stupor. What is wrong with me? Why can't I take non-drowsy medicine and NOT get drowsy? Does anyone else have this problem? So I guess the only time I can take anything for my cold is at night before I go to bed. Boooo.

By the way, it just took me like 15 minutes to type this post because my brain is not capable of telling my fingers what to do right now.

halloween...a few days late

Sorry I haven't posted any pics from Halloween yet. I figured I better go ahead & do it before Thanksgiving gets here. We had a "Halloween" party with some friends on Friday night, and of course Baron and I dressed up. (I say "Halloween" because I believe it's not really a Halloween party unless there are costumes...ahem, I expect more participation next year! Thanks, Jamey, for being the only other adult besides us to dress up!) Anyway, Baron also got to dress up for work on Halloween, so I'll include that costume as well. And of course we both had to dress up Tuesday night to pass out candy. Here are the pics. Enjoy!

Howie & Laura (yes, that is model #22's real name)

of course, I had the winning case!

Baron as a redneck, complete with Big Cletus teeth

well obviously, this is me as a duck

blessed

I came home from work today to this view from the deck in our backyard. What a nice welcome home!

well, here it is!

Here are pics of the occupied house! Of course there are still boxes everywhere. It's a little cleaner now than when I took the pics, but not much. Maybe one day we will finish unpacking & decorating...

Cool Slideshows

the time has come!

For some reason, the other day I woke up with the old Acapella song stuck in my head. "The time has come; we must not waste it!" Of course, this song has a deep meaning about spreading the gospel, but for me right now, it means Baron & I are down to crunch time with our moving process. We closed on our house Tuesday, and since then we've been wandering around in this dream we call reality, desperately trying to figure out what our next step is in the process. I am a multi-tasker by nature, so that means my brain has been multi-tasking all week, trying to think of things we still need to get done, what curtains I still need to buy, where I am going to put each piece of furniture in the new house, yadda yadda yadda. Needless to say, it has been a little difficult to concentrate at work the past couple of days. Anyway, our house is finally finished, and it is finally actually ours. Sorry I don't have any pics of the completed house, but I guess you'll just have to keep an eye out for pics of the completed decorated house.

our house...in the middle of our street...

Ok, I'm about to steal Baron's thunder. He hasn't posted the most recent photos of our house, so I've decided to take over his job. We have our walk-through this Wednesday, and we're closing on our house next Tuesday. So we will very soon become Prattvillians. Here are some pics we took last week...and there have still been a few updates since these...anyway, enjoy!



Create Your Own!

attention, kmart shoppers!

Since we will be moving soon, Baron & I have been searching for a couple of new items for our house. One of those items is a breakfast room table & chairs. We have a dining room table & chairs already, but if we don't get something for the breakfast room, well, it would just be a room. Anyway, so I've been trying to find something that's relatively inexpensive but still attractive. Apparently I am a cheapskate, because I have been looking all over & have not been able to find anything in the $300 - $350 range that isn't old & nasty. Until a couple of weeks ago. One Saturday morning, Baron & I decided to go yard-saling. We didn't expect to find our treasure in the yard sales, but I needed to ease my mind so I could know I at least tried. Anyway, we concluded the yard sale trip with a desk lamp for $4. When we were finished, we went to Willie's World Flea Market. (For you locals, this used to be Fantasy Land Flea Market, next to Winner's Bingo on Atlanta Highway.) I wanted to show Baron some dinette sets I had seen there a couple of months ago. Well, when we found them, they didn't have prices on them so we asked the nice little Asian lady working there. What did she just say? $320?? Seriously? The one we were looking at was a glass top table with an iron base and 4 chairs with padded seats. What a steal! This stuff is brand new, in excellent condition, and it's in our budget. So, fellow shoppers, if you are looking for dining room furniture, breakfast room furniture, coffee tables, bar stools, end tables, etc...I highly recommend Willie's World. Oh yeah...and they do have bar stools to match the table & chairs we picked out. Sweet.

costume dilemma

So, Baron & I really get into Halloween. Right now we are still trying to decide what to wear this year. I can't believe we have waited this long to decide, but I guess we have been a little preoccupied with the whole house thing. Anyway, I'm starting to worry because we are totally lost as to what we will wear. And I feel like there is pressure because we always overdo Halloween. Anyway, here are the pics from the past 3 years...

2003 - Terminator & Terminatrix:




2004 - Scary Vampire People...or whatever:



2005 - Dread Pirate Roberts & Princess Buttercup (can you tell I picked this one?):



Hmmm...maybe this year we could go back to our roots...

thanks for the ride, honda

A couple of weeks ago, Baron's mom & stepdad gave us two free tickets to Six Flags. The catch was that they would expire on September 24th. So, we decided to go this past Saturday since we wouldn't be able to go on the 23rd. We got up early Saturday morning (which is a big deal for me) and left for Atlanta at about 7:00. We got there right on time - around 11:00 Eastern time - and, after finally remembering where we were SUPPOSED to exit the interstate for Six Flags, pulled up to the gate. To my horror, I read the following words on a sign at the entrance: PARK CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT. "WHAT?! They're kidding, right?" were my words. We pulled up, and one of the employees standing outside asked us, "Are you with Honda?" Well, no, we weren't with Honda...we were in a Honda...does that count? So we were turned down at the gate. After driving 3 hours with my anticipation of finally getting to ride Goliath, and the excitement of the PERFECT weather on Saturday, we were rejected. So we drove to the nearest gas station to sit & think about what we were going to do now that we were in Atlanta. At that point, we remembered that our FREE tickets were going to expire in a week, so we turned back around to approach the Six Flags worker, who agreed to give us an extended date for our tickets. (I am appreciative; however, I would have liked a little more sympathy from the guy. I mean, we just drove 3 hours.) Anyway, so we met up with our good friend Jon Owen, who took us on a $5 tour of GACS (where he works), then we went to lunch and then later enjoyed an afternoon at the IKEA store. Thanks, Honda people, for closing Six Flags on the one day we decided to drive up there, when the thoughtful thing to do would be to rent out the park on a WEEKDAY when it's not so busy. Thanks.

g-o-i-n-s

I just got home from Curves. Right before I left, I told the staff member that I wanted to redeem some of my Curves cash for this really cute reversible tote bag they have. So she asked me for my last name. "Goins." Then I got the look. "G-O-I-N-S." Then the ever-popular question. "You mean, like, 'where ya GOINS?'" Yes...just like that. Of course, I can't complain when people say that, because when Baron first moved back to Montgomery, all I ever said to him was "Hey Baron, where ya GOINS?! Huh huh huh..." Little did I know at the time that my cute little joke would come back to bite me in the behonkas. So every time I give my name to the concierge (or whatever you call the person who makes the list) at the restaurant, I just go ahead & spell it out. (Of course I am already used to this because my maiden name is Wishum. I always thought maybe I would get some relief one day when I got married, but NOOOO...I had to marry a Goins. At least I moved up in the alphabet.) Anyway, a couple of years ago I went on a retreat with the VP girls and we made t-shirts. Everyone had cute little sayings to put on their shirts, and I couldn't think of anything. So finally it hit me what I could iron onto my shirt, and I made it. Since most of you probably won't ever see me wear the shirt because I don't intend to wear a homemade t-shirt to church or anywhere else out in public, here is a picture of it. Enjoy!

confused creature & a new discovery

This past Sunday Baron & I went to Prattville to check out our house. While we were there, we decided to check out several other houses on our street that are still under construction. This made me slightly uncomfortable, as if we were intruders or something, but not uncomfortable enough to diminish my curiousity. So we ventured into the future dwellings of our Turnberry Court peers. (One quick observation: in walking through the 3 different floor plans, we definitely agreed that we like ours the best, even though one other was significantly larger than ours.) When we walked into the last house of the day, we noticed a loud buzzing noise. It sounded to me like a really big insect. I hate insects, so I was kinda scared. But again, my curiosity won that battle. So we walked back to the dining room area, and this is what we found...

He was trying to fly through the window. I think he was confused. We opened the door, but he didn't see us, so he kept trying to fly through the window. Then we opened the window more, but he still did not heed our advice. I really wanted to pick him up & put him outside, but he was so spastic that I was scared he would flutter into my face or something.

As I approached the hummingbird in an attempt to psyche myself up for touching him, I looked out the window and saw a hideous creature. It was the biggest stinging insect I have ever seen. Is that a wasp? No...it's too big. A yellow jacket? It has yellow on its body. No, still too big. I had no idea what it was, but I sure was scared of it. When we were finished looking at this house, we walked out the front door, and there it was again. It had made its way around the house to stage its surprise attack on us. There it was, lurking amongst the mounds of dirt and tall weeds. How would we get around it? It was huge. Needless to say, Baron safely walked past it as I scurried to the safety of the street. (I'm not sure why the street seemed so much safer than the yard, but it did.) So when we got home, I looked it up online and found out it is a cicada killer. It's in the wasp family. Ok, so since we have so many cicadas here in the south, how have I never seen or even heard of one of these things? The one we saw was probably close to 2 inches long. It was so scary. But apparently they are somewhat docile stinging insects, much like the mud dauber. They "supposedly" only sting when provoked, unlike the wasp or yellow jacket (which apparently sting out of pure enjoyment??). Whatever...I'm still staying away from them. Here is a picture, in case you ever come across one & don't know what it is. Beware the cicada killer.

(To read more about cicada killers, click here.)

it really DOES work!!

Ok, so when I saw that Baron added a pic of our wedding day to his post about our anniversary, I decided to post some more pics from our wedding day. So I started flipping through our wedding pictures, and when I got to the pics from the reception, something suddenly occured to me. I have never been one to believe in superstition, curses, or "luck"; however, I couldn't help but notice what a difference our wedding made in the lives of two of our wedding party. Here is how it happened...

When the time came for me to throw the bouquet, the single ladies at the reception (which ended up being my single bridesmaids, my cousin, and Mark's girlfriend, Lindsay, because no one else had the guts to step forward) stood behind me anxiously awaiting their destiny. I tossed the bouquet back. It hit the ceiling. Do-over. I tossed it again, and turned around to see my bridesmaid & good friend, Melissa McGuire, holding the coveted bouquet. Way to go, Myliss!!

So then it was Baron's turn. After excitedly reaching up my dress to the nether regions where the garter resided, he tossed it behind him. He was aiming for his groomsman & long-time friend, John Bedingfield, who had been dating his girlfriend for like 43 years or something. But my brother managed to intercept the pass & take charge of his own destiny. So there they were - Melissa & Mark. And now, here in 2006, each of them are engaged. (But not to each other. That would be weird.) Coincidence? I think not. You're welcome, Melissa & Mark. You're welcome.

And here are a couple of pictures from our wedding, just for old time's sake...

("there's a party goin' on right here...")