This One's Devoted To Reece - Sorry Emily!

Happy Sunday to all. I'm not feeling so hot today, so I'll probably stay in today. I have a lot of reading to do anyway for the Lit. class I'm auditing.

Yesterday was Emily's official birthday and she had a party with her friends, so I entertained Reece for most of the day. We went to see the movie, "Are We There Yet?" and Reece liked it. He got mad at me for eating his candy, though. Reece, next time you hand me a box of half-eaten Junior Mints, tell me you're going to want some more in an hour! I did go buy him another box, however, and he forgave me.

Cute Reece Story: After the movie we went to the toy store in the Mall so Reece could buy a truck he had seen there earlier in the week. Well, praise the toy maker it was on sale and he could buy TWO for just a couple more dollars!! Of course we left the store with two trucks and I looked at him as he was swinging his bag and asked him if he was happy. He replied, "Nessa, what boy wouldn't be happy carrying a bag this heavy out of the toy store!" Duh, Aunt Vanessa!

One more Reece story. I'll make it quick. He loves messing with his hair. Every morning this seven-year-old first-grader sprays something called "No More Bedhead" on his hair so that it'll lie flat. He does it, not his mom or dad. Yesterday, he put gel in his hair so that the top would stand up. He showed me the tube of gel and it was Paul Mitchell. The boy has good taste. Anyway, his dad told me that Reece told him (David) that he would like to style hair when he grows up. I can just visualize my right-wing-conservative-homophobic-brother handing Reece a football right about that moment.

That's it for this cloudy Sunday. Love to all and write me and tell me what's going on. You don't have to sign up under the "comment" section on this site. You may simply e-mail me at: www.veadams62@yahoo.com and I'll post your comments for you. Talk to you later!

Love,
Vanessa

I'm the Handsome One!! Plus, he likes it when I cover his face with red foil. Really. He does. 

A Future Picasso At Work 

The Hobbit Is So Cool

We had a fun night last night celebrating Emily's birthday. (By the time you read this, Emily, you'll be eleven years old. Happy Birthday, Darlin'!) She certainly made a haul last night with all the gifts. Those shoes Mimi (my mom, Ann) got her were so cute, I think I'll have to buy some for myself!

My brother, David, told the most hilarious story last night about Dawn's (my sister-in-law and Emily and Reece's Mom) Aunt Linda (does everyone have an Aunt Linda?) and her husband, Mike. It seems that Linda and Mike, although happily married for many years, have not one romantic molecule between the two of them. However, this Valentine's Day, Mike bought Linda a CARD and a HEART-SHAPED BOX OF CANDY! Needless to say, Linda was bowled over by the unexpected gesture. After receiving the valentine, Linda had to go outside for something and when she returned she decided to eat a piece of chocolate candy. She opened the heart-shaped box and it was empty. She looked in the living room and there was Mike chewing. YES, folks, he had eaten all the candy. I guess it truly is the thought that counts, but come on, Mike! Many thanks to David for passing that story on to us last night. He had us all cracking up. He told another one, too, but I'll save it for a dry spell.

I took Emily and Reece to see "The Hobbit" tonight at the Forum. It was Reece's first play and he loved it. So did Emily. They sat perfectly still for over two hours. I think that's a record for Reece. It was a very good performance and I hope you all get to see it this weekend.

I'm posting some pics from last night so you guys can see how gorgeous Emily is, again! There's a good one of both kids that I'm posting.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I'll talk to you soon.
Love,
Ness

Emily and her Aunt Beverly(a great woman) on the right. That's Emily's mom, Dawn, on the left. Sometimes her eyelids are just too heavy to keep up, and she starts bumping into things. It's really embarrassing. 

My mom, "Mimi," and Emily. Herbert is lurking behind Emily and had just stuck his two fingers up behind Emily's head, but took them down too soon for me to get them in the photo. 

Is there any way to efficiently comment on how stinking cute these two are????? No, there is not. 

The Pope Is In The Hospital, Again

I was talking to Emily on the phone this afternoon and she said she really liked my website. Thanks, Emily!! She also said, "You know what I think would be good? If you put more pictures of Reece and me on your website." Isn't that the cutest? Well, you got it, Baby Doll! I'll be posting TONS of your photos to this site for everyone to see how gorgeous you guys are.

I also talked to Auntie Linda today and she told me that her TWO-AND-ONE-HALF-YEAR- OLD grandson is now using the F-word. Oh, yes. I think he's hearing his daddy, Ryker, spew a few choice words and he's picking out the ones that'll embarrass the folks during church service. Ryker and Candee: watch your potty mouths arounds the kiddos!! Do what I do: save it for when you are behind the wheel and it's okay to be a trash-talking monster!

Thanks, also, Auntie for the comment. I will say, however, that if you'd attended my graduation party in December you would have actually met Terrica! Ahem.

Tonight is Phase I of Emily's birthday, which is actually Saturday. It always takes us about three days to celebrate a birthday in this family. We're having the family party at Dixie Cafe in about 30 minutes. We'll eat and Emily will get to open gifts. Look for photos of the party in the days to follow.

Love to all my friends and family and I'll talk to you soon. Comment or e-mail me at: www.veadams62@yahoo.com anytime! I would love to hear from everyone! Bye!

Vanessa

This is Vanessa and Auntie Linda in front of the Tower of London at Christmastime. We had such a good time, and I think this is a good picture of us except for my retarded-looking hand. What was up with that? 

Reece and Emily with my precious Abby. I love love love this photo!!!!!! 

First Comment From Someone, and It's My Goofy Uncle Who Obviously Has Too Much Time On His Hands!!

Hi to all! It's been raining all day in Jonesboro and it's cold. I'm getting ready for some warmer weather.

Wow, Nuckle Geno, you are the first commenter! Thanks! I'm glad you like my site and I hope you'll continue to read it. This is my goal, to keep everyone connected.

Got this from Cousin Lisa:
Do I have to call you Dr. Cousin after you get your PHD?Luann will be home the first week of may 4 Memphis in May Elvis Costello is performing and she as is a EC fanatic. I have to find some vinyl for autographs.....
You bet your sweet arse you will have to call me Dr. Cousin. I'm even going to make Emily and Reece call me Dr. Aunt Vanessa. Uh, huh! I'm so glad to hear about Elvis Costello! I love him, too, and will definitely not miss him at Memphis in May. Their website is: www.memphisinmay.org so everyone check it out if you're interested. Lisa, we'll have to meet there while it's going on, and Luann, too. Thanks for writing! Love to you and yours.

David tells me he and Emily have checked out my site. Hey,Emmie, hope you like it! See you tomorrow night!

I'm posting a pic of Blake, who is an ASU student. He did an internship with us at work (ASU Student Health Center) and now he just hangs out at the clinic. Yup, he has no life, obviously. That's the last place I would want to hang out! Anyway, he poses this question today:
Why are women's feet smaller than men's?
So they can get closer to the stove.
How's that for progress in the 21st Century?!

I'm also posting a photo of Terrica. She is a student who works with me as well, and I've sort of adopted her. She's a doll and I want everyone to see how cute she is.

I heating a spinach/mushroom Weight Watchers pizza in the microwave, and when it "Dings" I'm outta here. That's the best WW pizza they make, so I urge you to try it. You'll never know it's WW.

"Ding" gotta go. Love to all and hope to hear from more of you very soon!
Vanessa

Terrica, you are so cute!! 

This is Blake and he'll have a joke for us from time to time. The first one I'm going to tell you guys is about as good as it gets. And it's G-rated. 

One More Thing I Almost Forgot

Happy Belated Birthday to my cousin, Pam. Hope you are doing well. We keep saying we need to get together, so let's make plans for sometime next week. (To go eat, of course.) Love, Ness

Queen Elizabeth will not attend Charles and Camilla's wedding!!!!!

Hi, Everyone!

Not much going on today in my world. I talked to my Aunt, Linda, and she's a bit sad because her baby, Will, and his wife Jamie are moving to Savannah, GA today. Will's still umpiring baseball, and gets to go to Cardinal's Spring Training, and Jamie got a new job with Kellogg, which is why they are moving. So, Auntie L, here's to you and your empty-nest feeling...for Christ's sake snap out of it!! You've got THREE grandchildren here in Jonesboro. Go play with them and get over it. Much love and luck and Will and Jamie. I'll be thinking about you, cousin nephew!!

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my good friend, Angela! It's been fun getting to know you and becoming your friend. You are certainly one of a kind, Ange! If you decide to move to France I'll miss you terribly. And you are beautiful with or without makeup!

This is also Monica and Mike Simmons' birthdays. They are twins I used to play with as a child and I think they were actually my very first friends. We played together every single day when we were kids and had to best times! If anyone knows where they are now, tell them happy birthday for me.

I haven't talked to Emily or Reece today, but I'm going to see quite a bit of them over the coming weekend, so I'm sure I'll have some good stories. Emily's eleventh birthday is Saturday. I'll try to post a picture of her after this posting, if I can remember how I did it last night.

To my friend, Heather, the one who loves correct verb tenses, HI HEATHER!

Friends and family: e-mail me at veadams62@yahoo.com and tell me what's going on so I can post it and then we will all know. As my brother, Don, said today, this is like a web family/friend reunion.

Talk to you guys tomorrow.
Love,
Vanessa

"Look what I'm big enough to hold, even if it's not mine!" 

Look at the second-place trophy Emily's basketball team won! (Look at that cutie on the far-right, too.) 

Launching "Aunt Vanessa"

I seem to have a lot of time on my hands now that I've finished my MA in English and can't start the PhD until next year. So. Here I am. Now what? I'm going to use this site as my creative outlet and my sounding board for what gripes me. I'm also going to tell you stories about my hilarious family and my whacko friends. Oh, and lists!! I'm a diehard listmaker, so I think at least once a week I'll post a list of something, such as: annoying ways people begin sentences; favorite movies; things you can do when you are supposed to be studying. I'll also post any and everything about losing weight. Since I'm on the Weight Watchers diet, I tend to obssess about food sometimes. (Hence the reason I'm on WW.) When I figure out how to do it, I'll post some pics. I'll try to do that every other day at least. You'll get to see my dog, Abby, and also hear stories about her and her cousin Dooley, the Dachsund, whom she hates with a canine passion.

Write me, folks, and let me know how you are and what you have been doing. Hopefully I'll manage to entertain you somewhat and keep you coming back.

Later,
Vanessa

Vanessa at Westminster Abbey Christmas '04