poor pup.

Harley got a haircut.

He looks like a long-legged rat.

A pink long-legged rat.

We still love him, though :)

to sell or not to sell...

So, here's the thing. My mom is creative. (So is my dad but that's a whole other blog post.) Over the years, my mom has manifested her creativity in an array of hobbies: toll painting (oh baby), knitting, cross-stiching, sewing (clothes for me and my sister, of course), quilting, scrapbooking (Emily's Life volumes I, II, III, IV), jewelry making (the bridesmaid's jewelry for our wedding!) and most recently- stamping. Most hobbies come and go, but stamping has stuck around. She's heavily invested in Stampin' Up products and she has some serious skillz.

I guess "stamping" is too vague to describe what she does. She makes cards. Lots and lots of lovely cards.

Just to demonstrate how awesome she is, these were the birthday cards David and I got this year:

Clearly, we're not even just talking about stamps. She's the real deal.

After being in Columbus and stealing as many adorable cards as possible, it has been on my brain a lot. Maybe it's because I don't have any marketable skill that I love (read: hobby) and could do at my own pace, from home, yadda yadda (though, I'm all for people paying me to organize their stuff... that may be my calling), but whatever "it" is has caused me to think about turning my mom's hobby into something more.

The question is... should she (we) open an Etsy shop to sell my mom's cards? Yeah, there's no commitment and it's really not a big decision to make, but I need some convincing power from the blog community! This lady uses Stampin' Up stuff to make her cards, but Mom is way better and more creative.

A few more examples:

So here's my shameless plug to VOTE (see the poll in the right-hand column) and help me convince my mom to make it happen!!

cut Footloose

Last weekend we went to Columbus to see my brother perform in Footloose at the Springer.

Our trip was a quick one, but it was even more enjoyable because of the people we got to spend it with.

My mother-in-law, Cathy, came to Columbus! It was so thoughtful of her to include Greg's play on her vacation agenda, and it was great for us to see her too!

Ashley came and brought Jenn, Emmie & Caitlin!

Sisters! We've spent so many weekends together over the past couple of months- it's been great!

My bro and his BFF, Ansley. They are awesome. And gorgeous. Seriously, my brother is a hottie.

And now, because I know you're all dying to see some of the action, some illegally video-taped clips from the show!

Here's the opening scene:
(You can't see much of Greg because of where we were sitting, but he's there)


Part of a song (they sounded awesome):


Annnnd... just because Ansley's awesome:

never thought I'd see the day...

... my dad got a tattoo!

I still can't believe this isn't going to wash off in a week. It's the real deal.

Semper Fi!

for JB

here's a [shaky, kind of hard to watch] video of John wakeboarding

wishing I was here...

... it has not stopped raining for 2 days. Fortunately I'm inside on this rainy day, but it is still a bummer for it to be so gloomy outside all of the time! I can't believe I'm just now posting weekend pictures... I learned to wakeboard Sunday! It was so fun. I'm hooked.

rain, rain, go away.

This was me at lunch today.

Standing in the ran to help direct cars to park for our UC Foundation Board meeting.

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him – that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding [the wonders of His Person] more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power out- flowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers]; and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death.

Philippians 3:10 AMP

things that have made me say HUH?!

on a church sign near my house... "Sunday School - it's an eternity thing."

on a real estate sign in town... "Price Increased -- AGAIN!!!!"

on a pamphlet that came in the mail... "Life's too short to clean your own house."

THE book sale.

David and I raced (read: crawled through Atlanta Friday-afternoon-of-a-holiday-weekend-rush-hour-traffic) to Columbus to get to the annual Atrusa book sale.


We're talking tons and tons of books, folks. My dad's guestimate is around 120,000. Yep.


My involvement with Altrusa combines two of my loves: books and organization! Though my contribution isn't very vital, I thoroughly enjoy spending an entire day sorting and re-sorting.

My shirt says "As soon as I finish this chapter"... love it! This was the story of my childhood.

David helping Dad tally up the books.

Books, books and more books! What joy!!

David and I came home with exactly 50 new books (1 was a birthday present from my bro). I've already read two of mine! I decided I was going to get on the bandwagon and read the Harry Potter books this year. I started back when the first one came out (1997! I was in 7th grade!), but got side tracked and never picked back up. So now's my time. Harry Potter- here I come!


PS- My friend Melissa is going to do some book reviews, and I just might join in. I've been keeping track of the books I've read this year (18 so far), and I plan to do an end-of-the-year review, so I might get started early. We'll see.

labor-less day

Labor Day meant little rest and lots of fun for the Geyer fam. We were in Columbus for a few days (more about the book sale to come) and then home for more fun. We had a great weekend, full of:

...cute puppies playing together...

... celebrating August birthdays...

... opening gifts...

*D got a cornhole set! In OSU colors!*

...hanging out with my cute brother... [He's almost 18.]

...lunch with these sweet, enormous kids... [Please, Rhineharts, stop the growing already! I can't take it anymore.]

...then home and babysitting this munchkin!...

...unloading and organizing my new books!... [I love a tidy bookshelf. (one of several in the house... I pine after more shelf space...)]


...cashing in our birthday gift cards!... [Thanks Bourke parents & Johnsons! We got a pair of trick skis (60% off!) and a life jacket for David! It was an exciting day!]

...and Monday, a day at the lake to break in the new skis, life jacket, cornhole set and books!

Thank you, federal holidays!

I am not a runner.

In December of 2008 I was at my parents' house in Columbus, GA and I decided to become a runner. I figured, lots of people did it, why couldn't I? So, I left the house, geared up with my tennis shoes and iPod and decided to just see how far I could go. I made it .4 mile. Yes, four tenths of a mile. Not even half. After those four tenths, I was literally on my back in the front yard grasping for breath.


It was bad.


SO, I kind of gave up on my goal of becoming a runner. Kind of didn't have a choice. Until I started running with a friend. I'm competitive, so having a buddy to run with gave me motivation to try harder.

So when the opportunity arose to run in the Mercedes Marathon -- on a relay team, granted -- with Samford folks, I signed right up! I was to run a 10K. 6.1 miles. I had never run that much before, but I thought I could do it. Leading up to the race, the most I had ever run at one time was 5 miles. I figured that was close enough.

Race day arrives, I'm pumped and ready to run the first leg of the relay. I ran with my friend Laine and her dad (who were both doing the half marathon) and we started right along.

I was feeling pretty good from the start. So much adrenaline. Nice people handing you water. Strangers cheering you on. Oh, and lots of Birmingham hills. That part wasn't fun. Our strategy was to a) not die and b) walk for one minute at every mile marker. B was my saving grace.

This is becoming a novella, so let me cut to the chase. At the 10K mile marker, I was good to go, so I didn't stop. I passed off my relay chip, but kept running. I ran a half marathon. I went from barely being able to run 5 miles to running 13.1. It will always be one of my favorite life achievements because it was completely unexpected. I'm a planner, folks, but this was a fluke! I called David (who told me after-the-fact that he was a little worried about my finishing the 6 miles) after the race and he freaked. My parents freaked. My sister really freaked. I called my friend Melissa. I told everyone. I'm sure it was my facebook status for a week. I was (and I guess still am) pretty proud.


This is a pretty random topic, no? Well, the other day I was having lunch with my sweet friend Deb, and she told me about her summer internship with Go Magazine in Greenville, SC. They let her write an article for the final summer publication -- about half marathons! Here it is: http://www.gomagsc.com/september-2009-why-half.php. You should read it, she's pretty great.


So, wanna go for a run?

love, love me.

A fun little project involving chalkboard spray paint, leftover bottles from wedding centerpieces, a favorite flower, and a fun song that is special to me and my love...

and here's the song (don't judge me/us for liking it... they played it a ton on our cruise and it was so fun. maybe just listen to it and don't watch the strange video... maybe just skip this whole part...):

my organizational weapon of choice:

baskets.

A last week as I was helping Sarah get her house unpacked and organized I started thinking about my own house. I LOVE to organize. I probably love organizing other people's things more than my own, but I do love for everything to have a place. When I went home and started noticing my organization in my own house, there was one common theme. Baskets. We have baskets everywhere to help our stuff stay organized and contained. I guess more contained than organized, but oh well.

Please don't judge the stuff in my cabinets/magazines/otherwise home cleanliness. Just note the baskets. That's what we're talking about, afterall.

Corkboard idea from Young House Love

And apparently we have lots of pairs of baskets. I like things that come in twos.

But this fella's flying solo, and I like him just the same.

Yep, it is Dunkin Donuts. I guess it wasn't a hard quiz.

a quiz

While we were in Birmingham for MS's soccer game, we went out to eat at Jim 'N Nick's for a late night treat. On our way in the parking lot, my sister pointed out this sign:

which was still standing at the entrance to the parking lot, though it is from a prior food establishment. She quizzed me: "What is that sign from?!" I knew the answer right away and she was so glad! She had told her roommates before that that was a sign from this particular eatery and they didn't believe her. So... here it is. A picture of a "drive thru" sign...

from _________?

Fill in the blank!