Marti's Birthday Party

Saturday night I went to Marti's birthday party at her house. It was a pretty good crowd. It was a mix of old and new friends. I took pictures of everyone there, except Chris. He was in the kitchen when I was taking pictures. We ended up having drinks and playing board games. We had lots of fun.

Marti sitting between Heather and me. Heather wasn't drinking because she's going to have a baby!












Regina and Marti











Me and Heather











Marti and Kelsey














Heather's husband, Jeremy. Jeremy is a sleepy drunk.










Marti is a Spanish drunk. She was sitting in the living room with Regina, Heather and me. She kept talking to us in Spanish, even though the three of us don't speak Spanish. We're not really sure why she started speaking in Spanish considering that English is her first language.














Christian and Marti

Suicidal Teddy Bears

All right, so everyone knows I love Supernatural. One of the reasons I love it so much is because it never fails to surprise me. Last week's episode revolved around a wishing well that actually granted wishes. Oh course be careful what you wish for. You just might get it. One little girl wished for a real, talking teddy bear. The result was some of the most disturbing and most hilarious scenes in television I've ever seen...all at the same time.

I love Supernatural!!

Italy - Day Two

Sunday, October 26, was our first full day. The first city we explored was Rome. Our local guide in Rome was Stephano. He was very good. He was funny and made all the information we took in interesting. And considering how much information we took in every day that was very important. For all our tours that week, we were given Whispers to use. Whispers are headsets where the guide talks, and we can hear him in our individual head piece. That way he doesn't have to shout, and we don't have to crowd around him. I really liked the Whispers, but apparently I have small ears because the ear piece was continually trying to work its way off of my ear.

Now normally this particular tour begins with the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica, but the churches are closed on Sundays. Therefore, we began with the Roman Colosseum. It was pretty awesome. Part of the outside wall collapsed in an earthquake Rome had in the 1300s. Apparently there's an underground river beneath the Colosseum. On one side the ground is rock, and on the other side, it's sandy. So the wall built on the sandy side collapsed.

Also all the marble that covered the bricks in the Colosseum were removed to be used in the churches. I think all the marble in Rome is recycled.

Here is a picture of the steps that the people would use in the Colosseum. Look how steep they were!

This is where the emperor would sit. It's the balcony right above the cross.











The original seats in the Colosseum.










Looking at the bottom of the Colosseum, it looks like a maze. This is the area where the Romans kept the animals and the gladiators got ready. Wooden boards covered with sand covered the underground level. The sand was to absorb all the blood. The Romans would ship in exotic animals from Africa. One lion would cost $40,000 (today's dollar). Gladiators were cheaper because it was always easy to get more slaves. On special occasions, up to 9,000 animals could be killed in one day. So imagine how many animals were killed in 400 years. Not to mention all the gladiators who died.

Next we went to the Forum. This was more a political and business marketplace rather than a religious area.




The area where we were walking looked like it was just a regular hill. However we were walking where the second story of the original building would have been. Following the big earthquake, the rooms of the building were filled with ruble and dirt, and grass just grew up on top of the building. So we'd just walk past portions of what used to be a wall in the building.












Now most ancient buildings were torn down by the Church (because they were pagan buildings), but a few weren't. Usually because the buildings were turned into churches. If you look closely at this picture, you can see the rope marks on the columns where they tried to pull the building down. When they were unable to pull it down, they turned it into a church.

On the inside of this arch is an image of the procession of the Jewish people carrying the Menorah.


















SPQR were the letters on the shields of the Roman soldiers. This was an abbreviation for Senatvs PopvlvsQveromanvs. I can't remember what that means. Something likes "Rome rules over all the people."

Here is an olive tree.










The Castle of Angles










So even though the churches were closed, we were able to go see the square outside St. Peter's Basilica. First though, we went into a store that sold mosaics done by the seven masters still alive. Mosaic art is a dying art form. The youngest master is 65 years old. There are four different mosaic techniques. The first technique is antique. The surface has a rough feel to it. The second technique uses pieces of glass. Even though it is created with many small pieces, they are put together so that the surface is smooth like one large piece of glass. The third technique uses minerals in their natural colors and also has a smooth surface. The fourth uses precious gems like jade and gold. In the store they also sold rosary beads made by the nuns using real roses.

I bought this mosaic cross. It was made using the first technique. It's really beautiful. I'm planning on framing it for my desk.




















St. Peter's square consists of St. Peter's Basilica with columns extending from both sides. The columns are supposed to symbolize Peter's arms hugging the church. On top of the columns are statues of popes and saints.


We then went on an optional tour walking around Rome seeing different sights. I love the buildings in Rome. They are so interesting looking and all look so different.








The Roman streets are very narrow. You'll walk down these narrow Roman streets, and then they'll suddenly open up into these beautiful squares. We ate lunch in this square. I really liked the sandwiches in Italy; I thought the bread was really good.


In this first square we saw this church, which was named after a twelve year old girl. She was a Christian who was executed by Roman soldiers for refusing to sacrifice to pagan gods.








We then moved on to the Pantheon. It is one of the few ancient buildings that is nearly completely intact. A person in the ancient times would see the same things we saw when we viewed it. The reason why it is still intact is because it was used as a church, and therefore not torn apart. The top of the Pantheon is a dome made completely of concrete. The builders built two wooden domes and then continually filled in concrete in between. They then removed the wooden scaffolding. So it's one huge slab of concrete. A true engineering miracle.
This is the water mark showing how tall the flood waters got the last time the Tiber River flooded (about 100 years ago). I don’t remember how many feet it was, but it was definitely taller than me!

Next we visited the Trevi Fountain. The tradition here is to toss in one coin to come back to Rome, two for love and marriage, and three for a divorce!! =) You throw them in with your right hand over your left shoulder. I had some pennies, so I threw in two. So I'll be going back to Rome soon with my husband. LOL In this square was also the longest operating pharmacy in Europe. It was opened in 1552, and it is still opened.






After throwing in our coins, we moved on to the Spanish steps. Now this was interesting to me. At the top of the Spanish steps is a French church (it's French speaking). The steps and the church were actually built and paid for by the French. So why are they called the Spanish steps? Because the Spanish embassy is located in this square. So the square is called the Spanish square, and therefore the steps are called the Spanish steps.

This is a picture of the Spanish Embassy, which is the oldest embassy in the world.










At this point it was around 2:00, and we came back to the hotel. We were on our own for the rest of the day. Rebecca and I decided to rest for a couple of hours before heading out to look for toothpaste and somewhere to eat dinner. Oy! Was that an ordeal! We wandered around for THREE hours (give or take) looking for toothpaste and somewhere to eat (Mostly looking for toothpaste. I couldn't go another day without properly brushing my teeth. Someone (not me) had forgotten to pack toothpaste.) So finally we decided to take a taxi to the Spanish steps because it's a tourist spot where we figured more shops would be open. Because if you remember, it was Sunday, and most shops we walked past were closed. Hallelujah! We weren't walking for long, and I spotted some toothpaste! I was ready to do a little dance, sing a little song; I was so excited. We then quickly picked a place to eat and sat down. I had a cheese pizza, and it was fabulous. We then went back to the hotel, and I emailed Mama and Daddy to let them know I made it to Rome safely!

List 101 #61 - Trip to Italy

I'm back from Italy! For those who didn't know, I went to Italy with Rebecca, a co-worker from JPMS Cox. It was a really amazing trip. We went to the three major cities: Rome, Florence and Venice. We went with a Globus tour group. I would definitely recommend traveling with a group. The tour was a good mix of guided tours and free time.

We saw so much on this trip I'm not going to be able to write about everything in one blog. So I'll just write a blog for each day. The first day was our travel day. We flew out of Little Rock to Memphis, Memphis to Amsterdam, and then Amsterdam to Rome. The flight wasn't too bad, but I couldn't sleep on the plane. I ended up staying awake for 29 hours. I really don't recommend it.

We did get in Rome in time to go to the welcome dinner that night. The dinner was pretty good. I tried the wine, but of course I didn't like it. There was live music: a guitarist and clarinetist. I really enjoyed listening to the clarinetist play.

The waiter passing out roses to all the women.

List 101 #37 - New Glasses

So one day I was looking at my HSA statement from Delta Bank. Since I'm single and pretty healthy, I have quite a bit of money built up in there. And it occurs to me...I can use this money to buy a new pair of glasses. I always knew that, but I just didn't make that final connection. So...I bought new glasses! And I love them! They are so cute. Usually I just like to wear my glasses at home, but I like these so much I just want to wear them everywhere. I'm really in love with my glasses. I'm so glad I have a new pair to wear when I go to Italy!!

The Return That Will Not Die

So Wednesday I was working on The Return That Will Not Die, and I was so frustrated I was about to cry (seriously). So I started singing a little song (in my head). You know the song, "This is the song that doesn't end?" Well, I changed it to "This is the return that doesn't end." It actually did make me feel better singing it in my head while I worked on the damn thing. So here are the lyrics in case you ever need a pick-me-up.

"This is the return that doesn't end,
Yes, it goes on and on my friends!
I started working on it,
thinking I'd be done.
But now I know I'll work on it forever just because..."
And repeat!!

Maybe I'm not a TV addict...

All right, so last month I posted my TV watching schedule. I then realized that I would have no life because I'd be watching television 24/7. Turns out it's not so bad. Why? B/c already I'm getting bored with some of my shows. I didn't watch Heroes or House last week, and I'm really thinking I won't be tuning in this week either. I really think they're both getting booted off my schedule. I'll probably end up renting Heroes from Netflicks and watching it all at once...assuming I still care. And House...I may watch it when I have nothing better to do. I'm still watching the Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, but it's getting dangerously close to boring me also. This week actually sounds like an interesting one, so it may pick up. As for Without a Trace, I didn't even watch one episode. It's off the schedule. And NBC has been playing two episodes of My Name is Earl per week, which is one too many. I like the show, but I can only handle one a week.

On the plus side, Supernatural is so good I sometimes forget to breathe while watching. Chuck is my new number two. It's a fun, light-hearted spy show with Chuck being your every man. He's just so cute. I wish he were real so that I could date him. We've only gotten one episode of The Office, but it was great. I'm on pins and needles waiting for this Thursday, so we can see everyone's reaction to Jim and Pam's engagement.

Finally I know I'm behind on blogging on Supernatural. I'm working on last week's episode. I've just been busy, but I promise to catch up. If nothing else, if I get too far behind, it'll give me something to do during the hiatus. =)

Susan Komen Walk for the Cure

This Saturday is the Susan Komen Walk for the Cure, and I'm signed up to walk. But to be completely honest...I signed up for the T-shirt. I loved my T-shirt from last year, and I really love the one this year too. How sad is that?
















Okay, this is corny, but I do find it funny!

Dessert Party

I sent out the invitations for my dessert party, and I'm very excited! I think it's going to be a lot of fun. The date is November 16th (which is a Sunday). That's right before all the holiday craziness. I'm planning to just have a few desserts and just visit with friends!

My very cute invitations!!

Brennan's Football Game

Friday night I had dinner with my dad, mom and brother, Landon at Whole Hog Cafe. Afterwards we went to the Bryant football game. The game was at War Memorial where Bryant was playing Catholic High. My youngest brother, Brennan, was playing defense for Bryant. Bryant started off strong, but quickly fell behind. By the end of the night, we had lost. But I had a good time watching Brennan play. I had my camera with me and I took lots of pictures and a few videos.















Landon looking out over the football field















Landon and I sitting in the bleachers














Momma and Daddy














Daddy with his binoculars














Brennan (#26) watching from the sidelines

Here's a video of Brennan playing football.

Playing more football...

....and some more football.

Supernatural 4.1 Lazarus Rising

Okay, so nearly a week later I finally have the blog for this episode up. But this is my first time doing that, so be kind. It took me awhile to figure out how I want to do this. I don't think in the future my Supernatural blogs will be this long. Those who've seen the show can skip to the Commentary. So with no further ado...Lazarus Rising!!

Summary:
The show began with the Supernatural traditional classic rock recap, this year set to "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC. Flashes of Dean trapped in hell play on the screen before we see him wake up in a pine coffin. After Dean claws his way out of his grave, he stands up and looks around to see that the trees surrounding his grave have been toppled over in a circle away from him.

Dean makes his way to a nearby gas station, and pilfers food, water and a nudie magazine. Looking in a mirror, he sees that he has no scars from the hell hounds, but there is a handprint burned into his shoulders. Suddenly the electronic devices around him start to flicker on and an unbearable sound grows louder causing the glass in the all the windows to bust out.

At this point Dean tries to contact Sam, but Sam's cell phone has been disconnected. Dean then calls Bobby, but Bobby hangs up on Dean believing that it's some type of cruel prank. Dean hot wires a nearby car to drive to Bobby's home. Believing that Dean is some type of shapeshifter or revenant, Bobby attacks Dean twice. Not until Dean cuts himself with a silver knife does Bobby believe that he is truly Dean. Even then Bobby throws holy water in Dean's face to ensure that Dean is not a demon. Once Bobby accepts that it truly is Dean, they reunite and hug.

Dean and Bobby discuss how it is possible that Dean could be up and walking around considering Dean has been dead for four months. Dean is convinced that Sam has made some type of deal to get him out of hell. Drawing on his knowledge of his baby brother, Dean calls the cell phone company and gets the GPS tracking on Sam's new cell number turned on. Sam is in Pontiac, IL, which is close to where Dean was buried convincing Dean and Bobby further that Sam had something to do with bringing Dean back.

When Dean and Bobby go to find Sam, a strange girl opens the door. When Sam walks into the room and sees Dean, he tries to attack Dean until Bobby is finally able to convince Sam that he is not an impostor. This is really his brother. The two reconnect and share a real hug. After the girl Kristy leaves, Dean and Bobby confront Sam. Sam denies having anything to do with getting Dean out of hell. In the last four months, Sam tried opening the Devil's gate or tried making a deal, but nothing worked. Choking up, he apologizes to Dean for not getting him out of hell. Dean tell Sam that it's okay and he believes him. Even though Dean and Bobby are both glad that Sam's soul hasn't been bargained away, they now have no idea who brought Dean back to life and what that being may want in return.

Dean wants to know why Sam was in the area near his grave. Sam tells them that after he was unable to get Dean out of hell, he started searching for Lilith in order to get some revenge. Sam was tracking some demons, and the demons suddenly headed in this direction the day before. Bobby suggests going to a psychic he knows, Pamela Barns, in order to try and get some answers. As Bobby goes to call Pamela, Sam gives Dean his necklace back. Sam asks Dean what hell was like, but Dean tells him that he doesn't remember a thing, hiding the fact that he has, in fact, been having flashes of memory.

When Dean and Sam are driving in the Impala to the psychic's home, Dean asks Sam how he managed to escape Lilith the night Dean died. Sam reveals that Lilith tried to kill him, but was unable to hurt him. Sam was immune to Lilith's powers. Dean continues to question Sam, and Sam confesses Ruby is dead and denies having used his own psychic abilities in the last four months.

When the three boys arrive at Pam's home, she tells them that she hasn't heard any news regarding Dean and how he got out of hell. She suggests holding a seance in order to get a peek at whoever was responsible. As she calls to whoever brought Dean out of hell, a being called Castiel warns her to turn back. Dismissing the warning, she continues calling to Castiel to show himself. Suddenly a power rushes through the room and Pamela's eyes literally burn in her head. When she comes to, her eyes are gone and she cannot see.

While Bobby takes Pam to the hospital, Dean and Sam go to a local diner. Now that they have a name (Castiel), Dean wants to summon him. Considering that Pam's eyes burned just from a peek at him, Sam is against this plan. He wants to find the demons that he had been previously tracking and see if they have any information on what's going on. Fortunately (or unfortunately) the other people in the diner are possessed by the demons Sam wants to talk to. The waitress sits down to talk.

The waitress starts taunting Dean, wondering why he's so special that he gets out of hell. Dean tells her that he doesn't know why he's out but he'd love to know why. She threatens to send Dean back to hell, but he calls her bluff. He knows that she doesn't know who brought him back, but whoever did is very powerful. She won't do anything to Dean and change angering Castiel. As Sam and Dean walk out of the diner, Sam argues that they should take out the demons, but Dean doesn't want to go up against that many demons at one time.

Later that night Sam sneaks out of the hotel room while Dean sleeps. Shortly after Sam leaves, the TV and radio switch on just like they did in the gas station earlier. The unbearable sound starts again, bringing Dean to his knees and blowing out all the windows and mirrors in the room. Bobby bursts into the room to drag Dean out.

As Bobby drives, Dean calls Sam. Neither tells the other what is going on and instead pretend everything is fine. Sam is sitting outside of the diner where the demons are, and Dean tells Bobby that the two of them are going to summon Castiel without Sam. Bobby tells Dean that this is a bad idea but agrees to go along with it.

Sam walks into the diner and finds the cook dead with his eyes burned out just like Pam's. The waitress attacks him, and the two fight until Sam realizes that her eyes are gone also. He asks what she saw, and she says it's the end. Sam then uses his psychic abilities to send the demon to hell. He checks the body, but the girl the demon was possessing is dead. At that point, Kristy comes in from the kitchen, and Sam addresses her as Ruby! He asks her what's going on, but she has no idea. Ruby reveals that whatever brought Dean back couldn't be a demon; it's too big for that. It's cosmic. Ruby asks Sam whether or not he's going to tell Dean what he's been doing. Sam says he'll tell Dean but he has to wait until the right moment. Dean's not going to understand and will be angry that Sam is using his abilities even if it is to get rid of demons. Ruby offers to back off, but Sam says no. Even though Sam still doesn't trust Ruby, he knows that he's saving lives. So whether or not what he's doing is right, Sam wants to continue.

Dean and Bobby set up in a deserted barn. They cover the barn with talismans from every religion and assemble an arsenal of weapons. Bobby then summons Castiel.. Just when Dean and Bobby start to get bored and think that nothing is going to happen, Castiel appears. The barn shakes and lights explode, and Castiel waltzes slowly into the barn. Dean and Bobby shoot at him, but he just keeps walking. Dean tries to stab him with the demon killing knife, but nothing happens. When Bobby tries to knock Castiel out, Castiel touches Bobby and puts him to sleep.

Dean demands to know who Castiel is. Castiel tells Dean that he is an angel of the Lord. He was sent by God to bring Dean back. Dean expresses disbelief, and Castiel tells him that good things do happen. Even though Dean doesn't believe that he deserves to be saved, God commanded for Dean to be saved. He has work for Dean.

Commentary:
Wow. Every year Supernatural just keeps getting better and better. This episode just blew me away. It set us up for an amazing year, and I am ready to go on that ride!! I love that this show is not afraid to take risks, and every time I love the way those risks play out. I can't wait to see how this "angel of the Lord" changes things for our boys.

I love the new title card. It's angel wings, reflecting where the show is going this year. When I first watched it, I thought they were bird wings flapping (not realizing they were angel wings), which is totally appropriate for Supernatural considering Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds freaked me out when I watched it. So the title card has scary connotations for me. Awesome! And just as a reminder we went from a lightening bolt for the season one title card, fire for season two and a cloud of black smoke for season three. Is it no wonder that I love this show so much? I get excited about the changing title card for Pete's sake!!

Okay, why does the sight of Dean crawling out of the ground freak me out so much? Maybe I have some underlying fear of being buried alive. The ariel shot of the fallen trees surrounding his grave was amazing. At that point you know something big has happened but you don't know what.

Busty Asian Beauties!! Awesome!!

Okay, Dean keeps Dad's cell phone charged a year after John is dead and gone, but Sam has gotten rid of his own cell phone only four months after Dean's death? Here's a question. Does Sam still have Dean's cell? Should Dean have tried his own cell phone number?

Bobby is the man! I love the relationship between him and Dean. Dean needs him as a father figure. That hug was so sweet! And the holy water in the face? Classic! Dean's expression was priceless. So typical of Bobby to cover all his bases and take no chances. After all, this is the guy who gave Sam a beer laced with holy water and made Ellen take a shot of holy water. He must just carry a flask of that stuff around.

I don't get all the Star War references, but I love that they're all over this show.

After three seasons, we finally get a real hug between our two boys. You can just see how much they mean to each other. And when Sammy gave Dean his necklace back? I nearly cried. I think this was my favorite scene in the show. And the running "Are you two gay?" joke? Perfect!

Bobby's reaction to Sam going after Lilith alone cracks me up: Who do you think you are? Your old man? I just love this because it just reinforces once again that Sam is exactly like his father. I think this gets to me because it shows how true to life this show can be when it comes to the portrayals of family relationships. Sam and his dad butted heads all the time. They couldn't be in a room together without getting into a fight. But the reason why they fought so much is because Sam is a carbon copy of his dad. And you see that in families all the time. Kids fight with the parent that take after because they're exactly the same!

IPod jack in the Impala. Nice! You were supposed to take care of her. Not douche her up!

The major freak out moment for me in this episode was Pam's burning eyes. I sat there and wondered "Ummmmmm….am I going to be sick?" When she opened her eyes, and they were gone…ewwwww!! I thought of putting a picture in, but I decided to spare everybody.

Dean's such a bad ass. When he called the demon's bluff in the diner, I was very impressed. Even though I must say, I was very shocked when he slapped her. Not sure why, but I was

Now I know there has been a lot of speculation about Sam going dark side because he's using his psychic powers. I have never liked that theory. In my opinion, Sam's psychic abilities are neutral. Neither good nor bad. I don't think these abilities came from the YED. I think he was born with these abilities and that's why he was chosen by the YED. So it is up to Sam to decide how he wants to use these powers. Right now I think he is using them for good (banishing demons back to hell), but I can see how they could be used as a temptation to the dark side. My opinion is that Sam's psychic abilities are not going away. So Sam and Dean need to accept that and decide how to use Sam's abilities for good and keep Sam on the right path. The problem is Dean is so hard headed when it comes to Sam's "the Shining." He's going to have a really hard time accepting the idea that they could be used for good. And one last thought. Castiel thought that Dean would be one of the few humans capable of seeing his true form. Maybe Sam is capable of looking at Castiel in his true form. Wouldn't that be interesting?

For those who would like to watch the season four premier of Supernatural, the show is available online at the CW. Next week (or in two days), the episode is entitled "Are You There God? It's Me, Dean Winchester?" I love it for the title alone. Judy Blume and Supernatural. Never thought those two would have anything in common.

Finally we have cause for celebration!! The season premiere viewers totaled 4 million, the highest ratings for the show since season one (when it was back on the WB). This is an improvement over season three when the ratings averaged 2.92 million viewers. This is very, very good news. Let's hope the show can keep this up.

Favorite Quotes:
I know. I should look like a Thriller video reject.

Are you kidding me? What don't I know about that kid?

Hey, Bobby. What's the deal with the liquor store? Your parents out of town or something?

I know. I look fantastic, huh?

Dude, I'm so in. Yeah, she's going to eat you alive. Hey, I just got out of jail. Bring it! You're invited too, Grumpy. You are not invited!

What makes you so special? I like to think it's my perky nipples.

This is a bad idea. I couldn't agree more, but what other choice do we have? We could choose life!

Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you.

TV Junkie

Okay, so I watch a lot of TV. Too much TV. So I've put together a schedule of the tv shows that I'll be watching for the 2008-2009 tv season. What's sad is that this schedule does not have the shows that'll start mid-season scheduled in (i.e. Lost, Medium, etc). I guess I'll have to update my schedule when I know when those shows will air. I have a real nice Excel spreadsheet with my shows all lined up nice and neat, but I can't get it to convert over here easily. So I'll just list the times and start dates of the shows I'll be watching.

MONDAY:
ABC
Dancing with the Stars (9/22) 7:00-9:00
Samantha Who? (10/6) 9:30-10:00
CBS
How I Met Your Mother (9/22) 7:30-8:00
FOX
Terminator (9/8) 7:00-8:00
NBS
Chuck (9/29)* 7:00-8:00
Heroes (9/22) 8:00-9:00
*Special web premeire only 9/22

TUESDAY:
ABC
Dancing: Results (9/30) 8:00-9:00
Eli Stone (10/14) 9:00-10:00
CBS
Without a Trace (9/23) 9:00-10:00
FOX
House (9/16) 7:00-8:00

WEDNESDAY:
ABC
Pushing Daisies (10/1) 7:00-8:00

THURSDAY:
ABC
Grey's Anatomy (9/25) 8:00-9:00
CW
SUPERNATURAL (9/18)** 8:00-9:00
NBS
My Name is Earl (9/25) 7:00-7:30
The Office (9/25) 8:00-8:30
**Supernatural is the best show ever!!

Trees

Yes, it's a blog about trees. Near my parents' house is the horsey tree. It's been there all my life. We have pictures of us as kids "riding" the horsey tree. I love the horsey tree. It really is an amazing tree. It curves, and it's so big, and yet it never falls. It's survived thunderstorms and ice storms. It's so awesome.

The Horsey Tree
















You can see how it curves to make a seat to sit on and pretend that you're riding a horse.




Me standing in front of the horsey tree.










This is the big ole tree that fell down after all the rain that we got. It fell across my parents' driveway and made a nuisance of itself.














This is the tree that fell down one night after....nothing. Just fell down one night. It fell near the pool and took out part of Daddy's landscaping. Poor Daddy.



























The landscaping that got taken out by the falling tree.




























Firewood from the tree that fell down by the pool.