A Friendly Reminder

I'll bet a lot of you out there still haven't backed up your hard drives. Huh, huh?! Am I right?!

I feel like I'm called to remind you every so often, kay? So here it is: back up your hard drive before you lose everything! Maybe I should start up support groups for people who have lost their hard drives - or know someone who has. I could speak about my loss and try to help others cope with theirs (ha, ha, kidding).

So Mike and I purchased this FreeAgent external hard drive by Seagate. Just wanted to pass along the recommendation. It's great - it holds 500GB and fits nicely on my desk. With one or two clicks, I can back up everything in less than a minute. I sincerely hope none of you has to go through the pain of losing all your stuff, especially if you work independently from home like me. Back it up, people! :)

Thirty!

Mike turned 30 on Sunday. I'm sure he would've liked to have a quiet day of golf and then dinner, but uh... NO WAY! So I - with MUCH help from our friends, Sarah, Colin and Chad - successfully fooled him for weeks and surprised him Saturday night with a 30th birthday party. Nearly 20 people came and we had a great time. We were all glad to have Mike finally walk through the door at 6:30 p.m. so we no longer had to work so dang hard at keeping the secret.

Several days before the party, I had bought huge bags of broccoli and carrots from Sam's to make a relish tray. Upon seeing them a few days before the party, Mike said, "Why did you buy such big bags of this stuff? It's all going to go bad, we'll never eat it all." The concern and worry in his eyes about this wasting of food was hysterical. My cover was that it was "a good deal at the grocery store" and "you know, we should really start eating healthier." He agreed and started packing away carrots and broccoli, eating them all day and taking them for his lunch. He'd ask me, "Did you eat your broccoli and carrots for lunch?" I was cracking up inside, but tried to keep a straight face every time he questioned me about this or that. We had a couple of close calls where I thought he knew, but Colin was great at throwing him off over and over again. It was stressful, but so much fun!

Thanks to everyone who came and all who helped me before/during the party! Mike was so appreciative and he had a great time with all of you!

This is when Mike first walked in. Chad and Colin brought Mike home after playing golf all day. All the cars were parked down the street so he wouldn't know.

Thanks so much Sommer and Sarah for coming over early to help me set up!

Abby Kate did not want to leave the party. Here she is on her way upstairs to go to bed, stopping to put on a show for guests below.

Walking This Way:

Seating Upgrade Required

On the left is our 2-day-old daughter. Can you believe the difference 10 1/2 months makes?! As you can tell, Abby Kate has outgrown her infant carrier. We purchased a new one while in Texas visiting Mike's family and she rode the 6 hours back to Mississippi strapped into it. It's flowery, beautiful and most importantly, it's safe. We think she likes it! She still has to ride facing the rear until she is a year old. I can't believe that's less than two months away! (I'll post some pics of her new big-girl car seat later.)