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...")