When I was a little girl, I wanted to grow up to be Dolly Parton. Not be LIKE Dolly, but to actually BE Dolly herself. I would sing along to her records while wearing my yellow pillowcase bobby-pinned to my head for big blonde hair. I cannot count how many times that I have sang Islands In The Stream and Hard Candy Christmas or watched 9 To 5 and Steel Magnolias.
As anatomy goes, I did NOT grow up to be Dolly Parton. Far from it. But as a roll model, I think that she is an awesome person. The music and awards are just the icing on the cake compared to her philanthropy and genuine love of helping people. I can't wait to sign Babybird up for her Imagination Library!
A nasty rumor started circulating this week that Dolly had passed away from congestive heart failure, Dolly fired back to let everyone know that she is still kickin’! I haven’t found the exact quote yet, but I heard on the news this morning that she said "I almost had a heart attack to find out that I was dead."
She cracks me up!
Here are a few of my other favorite Dolly quotes:
You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try.
I'm not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde.
I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else.
I wanted to be the first woman to burn her bra, but it would have taken the fire department four days to put it out.
Some of my dreams are so big they would scare you.
I describe my look as a blend of Mother Goose, Cinderella, and the local hooker!
I still close my eyes and go home - I can always draw from that.
Who (or what) did you want to be when you "grew up"?
Aug 26, 2008
Aug 25, 2008
Busy As A Bee!
Today, I am 35 weeks and 2 days pregnant……….and I REALLY feel pregnant. I can’t blame anyone but myself though. I really overdid things this weekend. That is what I get for not using the word “NO” enough.
Saturday afternoon, after a vigorous morning of cleaning house, Birddog and I ventured to the
After the birthday bash, I met up with Kelly because we were invited to the Cross Point Volunteer Appreciation Gala. Awesome is the only word to describe it. I was blown away! Once a year, the staff of CP get together to honor everyone that has volunteered at the church. There were over 520 people that were there! A few weeks ago, I did a video for RadioShackin' and
In the mean time, check out some of the other bloggers that attended the Gala:
The Waxy One did a little behind-the-scene footage.
I finally got to meet BrandiAndBoys. She is super sweet!
I didn't know Full Of Boys was there or I would have hunted her down.
Jenni could not have looked prettier!
Radio Shakin’ did a wonderful job with the media!
Aug 21, 2008
Sawing Logs
One of the things that I did not know about pregnancy is that it really messes up your sinuses. It amazes me that an itty-bitty baby that could give you a daily nose bleed.
Also, I might have mentioned before that I am not the quietest of sleepers. I snored, but I didn’t think that I snored THAT loud. With gaining 30+ pounds and Babybird messing with my sinus cavity, apparently things have gotten worse.
To put it lightly, Birddog says that I snore like a hibernating grizzly bear.
I believe him because my snoring has even woken me up in the past few weeks. On top of that, Birddog is a drummer and has lost some of his hearing, so I have to be snoring at 400 million decibles for him to hear me in the first place!
In my defense, I haven’t been sleeping well. I have to make the multiple prego bathroom trips and then it is so hard getting comfortable in order to fall asleep. So when I do sleep, I REALLY sleep hard. Hence the snoring. Hence the husband’s frustration.
Birddog knows how hard it is for me to get comfortable and fall asleep, but my snoring keeps him awake too. So he wakes me up to tell me that I am snoring, so that he can fall asleep. Hello? I was finally asleep! (I guess that it is kind of like waking a grizzly bear.)
So I did what every loving wife would do to save her marriage ……..I got him these:
Enjoy those earplugs while you can, sweetie! In a couple of weeks, you will hear me snoring and Babybird crying!
Also, I might have mentioned before that I am not the quietest of sleepers. I snored, but I didn’t think that I snored THAT loud. With gaining 30+ pounds and Babybird messing with my sinus cavity, apparently things have gotten worse.
To put it lightly, Birddog says that I snore like a hibernating grizzly bear.
I believe him because my snoring has even woken me up in the past few weeks. On top of that, Birddog is a drummer and has lost some of his hearing, so I have to be snoring at 400 million decibles for him to hear me in the first place!
In my defense, I haven’t been sleeping well. I have to make the multiple prego bathroom trips and then it is so hard getting comfortable in order to fall asleep. So when I do sleep, I REALLY sleep hard. Hence the snoring. Hence the husband’s frustration.
Birddog knows how hard it is for me to get comfortable and fall asleep, but my snoring keeps him awake too. So he wakes me up to tell me that I am snoring, so that he can fall asleep. Hello? I was finally asleep! (I guess that it is kind of like waking a grizzly bear.)
So I did what every loving wife would do to save her marriage ……..I got him these:
Enjoy those earplugs while you can, sweetie! In a couple of weeks, you will hear me snoring and Babybird crying!
Aug 18, 2008
Charlie + Ladybird = BFF
When I moved to Nashville, I found myself in a city of strangers. To my relief I turned on the television in my lonely apartment and saw a familiar face. There was Charlie Neese smiling back at me! Charlie was the meteorologist at one of the television stations that we received in Kentucky, so seeing him in Nashville was a shock…….and a comfort.
Now to all of you, Charlie may just be a television personality, but he was my first friend in Nashville…….whether he knew it or not. It was nice to see a familiar face in a sea full of new ones.
Apparently I voiced my opinion on Charlie a lot without realizing it. Whenever he would come on the television screen I would unconsciously say, “I love Charlie Neese!” Birddog rolled his eyes at me for a while. Then, he started mocking me by saying it with me……adding a huge sigh, like I was hopelessly in love with my meteorologist friend. Finally I just stopped saying it out loud, because before I could even think of it, Birddog would say, “I know, I know, you just LOVE Charlie Neese!”
It became a running joke that Birddog would pretend to be jealous of Charlie, someone that I had never met. I thought that it was cute. Like the time that I had a dream that Kenny Chesney was trying to get me to be his girlfriend. I thought it was so funny, because I don’t even like Kenny Chesney, but every time one of his songs came on the radio, Birddog would quickly change the channel and mumble things under his breath.
On my way into church a couple of weeks ago, a nice looking gentleman opened the door for me and welcomed me inside. About the time I got half-way across the lobby, I did a double-take. IT WAS CHARLIE NEESE! Charlie goes to my church! It was so hard for me to contain my laughter and I could not wait to get home to tell Birddog who had greeted me at church.
I had looked for Charlie every week since then with no luck……..until this weekend. On Sunday morning, I was walking toward the front door and I noticed that he was standing on the stairs outside. Here was my chance......I waltzed over, stuck out my hand and introduced myself. As soon as I got my name out of my mouth, his eyes widened, he smiled and said, “YOU’ RE LADYBIRD GARTON! I have been looking for you!!”
I was thrilled! My first Nashville friend was looking for me too! And then I realized that he had been sent as a lookout. Chad, my Dickson pastor, needed to speak with me and had sent Charlie to try to find me on my way into church. (I am sure with the baby-bump that he could see me from a mile away.) But at least I got the thrill, even for a moment, of thinking that Charlie was looking for me too!
I got to chat a few minutes with him and explained my husband’s jealousy over my pseudo-obsession with him. It was nice to finally meet him face-to-face and thank him for being my first friend in Nashville. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and I hope that I didn’t freak him out by telling him my story!
The same thing is now happening with Amy Watson……ever since she moved from WPSD to Nashville, I keep saying that I love her too. Ironically, Birddog isn’t jealous of her and even agrees with me. Hhhmmmm…….maybe I should be worried!
Take a minute to check out Charlie's blog too!
It turns out, BrandiAndBoys has a big tv crush!
Now to all of you, Charlie may just be a television personality, but he was my first friend in Nashville…….whether he knew it or not. It was nice to see a familiar face in a sea full of new ones.
Apparently I voiced my opinion on Charlie a lot without realizing it. Whenever he would come on the television screen I would unconsciously say, “I love Charlie Neese!” Birddog rolled his eyes at me for a while. Then, he started mocking me by saying it with me……adding a huge sigh, like I was hopelessly in love with my meteorologist friend. Finally I just stopped saying it out loud, because before I could even think of it, Birddog would say, “I know, I know, you just LOVE Charlie Neese!”
It became a running joke that Birddog would pretend to be jealous of Charlie, someone that I had never met. I thought that it was cute. Like the time that I had a dream that Kenny Chesney was trying to get me to be his girlfriend. I thought it was so funny, because I don’t even like Kenny Chesney, but every time one of his songs came on the radio, Birddog would quickly change the channel and mumble things under his breath.
On my way into church a couple of weeks ago, a nice looking gentleman opened the door for me and welcomed me inside. About the time I got half-way across the lobby, I did a double-take. IT WAS CHARLIE NEESE! Charlie goes to my church! It was so hard for me to contain my laughter and I could not wait to get home to tell Birddog who had greeted me at church.
I had looked for Charlie every week since then with no luck……..until this weekend. On Sunday morning, I was walking toward the front door and I noticed that he was standing on the stairs outside. Here was my chance......I waltzed over, stuck out my hand and introduced myself. As soon as I got my name out of my mouth, his eyes widened, he smiled and said, “YOU’ RE LADYBIRD GARTON! I have been looking for you!!”
I was thrilled! My first Nashville friend was looking for me too! And then I realized that he had been sent as a lookout. Chad, my Dickson pastor, needed to speak with me and had sent Charlie to try to find me on my way into church. (I am sure with the baby-bump that he could see me from a mile away.) But at least I got the thrill, even for a moment, of thinking that Charlie was looking for me too!
I got to chat a few minutes with him and explained my husband’s jealousy over my pseudo-obsession with him. It was nice to finally meet him face-to-face and thank him for being my first friend in Nashville. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and I hope that I didn’t freak him out by telling him my story!
The same thing is now happening with Amy Watson……ever since she moved from WPSD to Nashville, I keep saying that I love her too. Ironically, Birddog isn’t jealous of her and even agrees with me. Hhhmmmm…….maybe I should be worried!
Take a minute to check out Charlie's blog too!
It turns out, BrandiAndBoys has a big tv crush!
Aug 14, 2008
My New Boyfriend
I mentioned a while back that Birddog’s 20 year high school reunion is coming up. He and several of his classmates have been getting back in touch through a website. One of the people that he has been talking with is Kim. Kim and her husband Brandon were sweet enough to come over to the house yesterday afternoon and bring us a baby gift…….even though they haven’t seen Birddog in years!
They also brought their son, Owen, who I think has a crush on me. He blatantly flirted right in front of Birddog! I totally have a new boyfriend!
They also brought their son, Owen, who I think has a crush on me. He blatantly flirted right in front of Birddog! I totally have a new boyfriend!
Kim, Brandon and Owen – Thank you so much for the gift and we look forward to getting together soon!
Aug 13, 2008
Pregnancy Update Week 33
My belly is so big that I have to sit down to put on my pants now. I can stand and do really well with the first leg, but that second leg throws me completely off balance and I look like a Weeble Wobble. I gave up and started sitting down this week.
I painted my own toe nails on Saturday......all by myself! This is a HUGE accomplishment and it only took me 30 minutes!
I had some problems breathing last week. I could breathe, it just hurt. Since it lasted for over 24 hours and allergy drugs didn’t seem to work, my doctor wanted me to go to the emergency room. Then I cried, because I didn’t want to go to the emergency room. I was worried that there was something really wrong. The nurse mentioned pleurisy and the doctor mentioned blood clots…….which made me worry even more.
After lots of tests, including an EKG, x-rays and eight (count ‘em EIGHT) vials of blood, the doctor confirmed that I have acid reflux. I went to the emergency room for acid reflux. I felt like a putz. But the important thing is that everything was okay. I would much rather it be reflux than something else…..no matter how embarrassing it is.
Meanwhile, while I am laying on an uncomfortable hospital gurney, while having people poke and prod me, Babybird was having a fun time showing off for the nurses. The nurse that had all sorts of belts strapped to my belly actually said “He REALLY likes to move, doesn’t he?” I told her that his father is a drummer and she couldn’t stop smiling. You could see the pride in Birddog’s face.
Also, while I am laying there……on my rock-solid-rolly-bed……the same nurse asked me if I had felt any contractions, since I am nearing the end of my pregnancy. When I told her that I had not, she said that was wonderful, because I just had one. What??? Did you say that I just had a contraction? Actually I had two during the twenty minutes that she had me strapped to the belly-contraption. It was really cool information to know, but at the same time, it freaks me out a little bit that I was already having contractions at 32 weeks. It is just another reminder that Babybird will be here before we know it.
My Tennessee baby shower was this past weekend and it was wonderful. Unfortunately my camera decided to go dead right at the beginning to of the festivities, but I will try to grab some pictures from my mom. (The camera thing is true……I didn’t really like the huge bloated look that I was sporting that day, but I wouldn’t deny you pictures if my camera didn’t decide to conk out on me.) Birddog’s family did such a wonderful job. There were so many cute decorations and the food was wonderful. Aunt Betty even made me her infamous chicken salad poofs that I love so much. We got so many wonderful gifts and I got to see people that I don’t get to see on an everyday basis. Jessica, the missing Queen Pin, even made it! (If this doesn’t make sense, I will explain in a later post.)
I am starting to feel the weight of this pregnancy. So far, I have only gained around thirty pounds, which is great. The bad thing is it wears me down. I have energy and enthusiasm in the mornings and then by two or three o’clock I am drained……and I hurt…..and my feet are swollen…….and I am cranky. I try to practice perfect posture, so that my back and abs (what is left of them) won’t hurt, but sitting up straight still seems to smoosh Babybird. If I lean back a little, it seems to help, but that makes it hard to get anything accomplished. If Babybird ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy! Life is tough being kicked from the inside out, especially when I don’t feel well to start with. If I stop to think about it, I will cry……so on to something else.
Babybird’s room is starting to come together, slowly but surely. Now that we have had our last shower, we can start to put things away and decorate. Birddog finished painting the trim in the nursery on Saturday and I got things semi-organized again. By Sunday afternoon, the floor was flooded with gift bags. I refuse to unpack a gift until I have written a thank you card for it, so that is what my afternoons have consisted of this week. Thank goodness I am almost finished, because I am excited about decorating. Maybe I will have the energy to do it on Saturday.
So that is the news from Casa de Garton……..emotions, bloating, acid reflux and all! More updates to come soon!
I painted my own toe nails on Saturday......all by myself! This is a HUGE accomplishment and it only took me 30 minutes!
I had some problems breathing last week. I could breathe, it just hurt. Since it lasted for over 24 hours and allergy drugs didn’t seem to work, my doctor wanted me to go to the emergency room. Then I cried, because I didn’t want to go to the emergency room. I was worried that there was something really wrong. The nurse mentioned pleurisy and the doctor mentioned blood clots…….which made me worry even more.
After lots of tests, including an EKG, x-rays and eight (count ‘em EIGHT) vials of blood, the doctor confirmed that I have acid reflux. I went to the emergency room for acid reflux. I felt like a putz. But the important thing is that everything was okay. I would much rather it be reflux than something else…..no matter how embarrassing it is.
Meanwhile, while I am laying on an uncomfortable hospital gurney, while having people poke and prod me, Babybird was having a fun time showing off for the nurses. The nurse that had all sorts of belts strapped to my belly actually said “He REALLY likes to move, doesn’t he?” I told her that his father is a drummer and she couldn’t stop smiling. You could see the pride in Birddog’s face.
Also, while I am laying there……on my rock-solid-rolly-bed……the same nurse asked me if I had felt any contractions, since I am nearing the end of my pregnancy. When I told her that I had not, she said that was wonderful, because I just had one. What??? Did you say that I just had a contraction? Actually I had two during the twenty minutes that she had me strapped to the belly-contraption. It was really cool information to know, but at the same time, it freaks me out a little bit that I was already having contractions at 32 weeks. It is just another reminder that Babybird will be here before we know it.
My Tennessee baby shower was this past weekend and it was wonderful. Unfortunately my camera decided to go dead right at the beginning to of the festivities, but I will try to grab some pictures from my mom. (The camera thing is true……I didn’t really like the huge bloated look that I was sporting that day, but I wouldn’t deny you pictures if my camera didn’t decide to conk out on me.) Birddog’s family did such a wonderful job. There were so many cute decorations and the food was wonderful. Aunt Betty even made me her infamous chicken salad poofs that I love so much. We got so many wonderful gifts and I got to see people that I don’t get to see on an everyday basis. Jessica, the missing Queen Pin, even made it! (If this doesn’t make sense, I will explain in a later post.)
I am starting to feel the weight of this pregnancy. So far, I have only gained around thirty pounds, which is great. The bad thing is it wears me down. I have energy and enthusiasm in the mornings and then by two or three o’clock I am drained……and I hurt…..and my feet are swollen…….and I am cranky. I try to practice perfect posture, so that my back and abs (what is left of them) won’t hurt, but sitting up straight still seems to smoosh Babybird. If I lean back a little, it seems to help, but that makes it hard to get anything accomplished. If Babybird ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy! Life is tough being kicked from the inside out, especially when I don’t feel well to start with. If I stop to think about it, I will cry……so on to something else.
Babybird’s room is starting to come together, slowly but surely. Now that we have had our last shower, we can start to put things away and decorate. Birddog finished painting the trim in the nursery on Saturday and I got things semi-organized again. By Sunday afternoon, the floor was flooded with gift bags. I refuse to unpack a gift until I have written a thank you card for it, so that is what my afternoons have consisted of this week. Thank goodness I am almost finished, because I am excited about decorating. Maybe I will have the energy to do it on Saturday.
So that is the news from Casa de Garton……..emotions, bloating, acid reflux and all! More updates to come soon!
Aug 11, 2008
Bigger Than Me
This song has haunted my radio for several weeks. I love, love, love it. I think it is basically because I relate it to my pregnancy so much.....it is something heavenly....and it does feel like chaos, but somehow there's peace. To my surprise, they finished the church service with this song yesterday and the girl that sang did a beautiful job. What a wonderfully written song!
Aug 8, 2008
Crazy In Love
Crosspoint Dickson is one week behind of the Nashville campus when it comes to series presentations. It is going to be so hard to wait an extra week for this series to start! I am also super excited that Pete will be preaching in Dickson at the end of this month!
Crazy Love Promo 2 from Matthew Singleton on Vimeo.
Apparently Pete and crew have gotten alot of slack for using secular music in this promo, but I think that it is AWESOME! What do you think? Do you think that a church should use secular music to get people excited about the Lord?
Crazy Love Promo 2 from Matthew Singleton on Vimeo.
Apparently Pete and crew have gotten alot of slack for using secular music in this promo, but I think that it is AWESOME! What do you think? Do you think that a church should use secular music to get people excited about the Lord?
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