WEST PALM BEACH

My parents (Dale and Lynell Ross) are headed to the beach...beautiful West Palm to be exact. I cannot tell you the last time, if ever, this dynamic duo took a vacation. (Probably becuase of my college, rent, sorority dues, etc) Don't get me wrong, they are by no means hermits, they will fly cool places like Prague if dad is there on business but this is the first time that it is not on the tail end of a business trip and the location is somewhere beautiful and beachy without us kids in tow. So have fun mom and dad...get sunburned...drink too much....sleep late...turn off the Blackberry!

Love you guys!

AUGUST 26: LET THE RENOVATIONS BEGIN

Don't expect much out of the first few months of pictures. We have barely scratched the surface and already we know it is going to be a LOOOOOOG process. Sunday we decided we would tackle the grass cloth wallpaper in the living room. Armed with DIF, 409/water mix, and paint scrapers we went to town on the walls.
Battle 1: Grasscloth is victorious.
Battle 2: will be this weekend and include a steamer....watch out grass cloth!

Our living room gameplan:

• Remove Grasscloth (easier said than done)
• Prime and Paint walls deep blue or something in the brown/tan family (leaning towards blue like inspiration rooms below)
• White Paint for bookshelves (including wall behind bookshelves), new mantle & trim, cabinets, moldings, and chair rail
  
• Add cabinet doors to lower cabinets
• Add a large (simple & traditional) white mantle and trim for fireplace sides
• Shannon to paint huge abstract artwork for above mantle
• Move flat screen to wall between windows
• bring in new blue accent chairs, rug, and lamp (shown above in picture)
• Replace dark leather couches (going into Zach's study) with a blonde sectional

The pictures below are inspirations for colors and fireplace mantles:

LASIC = GOODIES!!

Well we just got home from the doctor for our 1 day post-op check up. Things are healing great and he is actually seeing 20/15 in one eye and 20/10 in the other. He said the healing process of the gutter (where the cut around the eye is) was better than normal and in Dr. Smith's exact words "Zach you look better than the average bear". We go back on Thursday but Zach is cleared for driving, TV, and most importantly the internet!

I wanted to note the perks of Lasik:
1. Pre-op breakfast at the Donut Shop
2. The doctor lets you hold a big stuffed frog during the operation to calm nerves and give you something to hold on to.
3. You get to have Pizza fed to you in bed! Yummmm.
4. Homemade cheesecake brownies
5. Pig Out for Dinner

So just for all you chickens out there (me included) Lasik is not such a scary thing after all!

Zach--remember these perks when I go under the lazer!

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW....

As most of you know Zach went in for Lasik this morning at 8:30am and I wanted to update you on Zach's progress. The operation went exactly as planned and the staff was so nice and very thorough. The operation was done by Dr. Doug Smith, the father of our good friend Aaron from Ole Miss. During his post-op checkup Dr. Smith said the words "beautiful", "perfect", and "couldn't look better" which brought tears to my eyes after the months of nervous anticipation. By 10:30am we were en route to the house and Zach was reading street signs from a far. How cool!! He wanted to have a "glasses demolition ceremony" but I asked him to consider donating them to one of those vision mission trips instead. We joked that if we donate my glasses one day we can give a little blind boy in Ethiopia sight. (for those of you that don't know I have quite possibly the worst vision imaginable) They gave him some pain medication and after a bite to eat he went straight upstairs to get in bed (in his uber cool sleeping glasses). They expect that he will sleep the rest of the day and tonight when he wakes up his vision should be 20/20. I could not believe by looking at him that he had just had eye surgery. He will need to be especially careful showering and sleeping. I am so thankful that everything went as planned and although it is a routine procedure I have never prayed so much for a good result. There are so many things Zach needs to see in the future! Thanks for your thoughts and continue to pray for his continued positive recovery. We have another post-op appointment at 8:30am tomorrow where we will know what his vision measures.
3:15pm Update: He woke up and his eyes were very white minus a few blood vessels. Zach thinks he is seeing 20/20 now. He said it is great but his eyes are really dry, like the doctors said they would be.

It looks like the procedure is a great option for those of us who were blessed with coke-bottle glasses and years of contact lenses.

I'm too Excited to sleep!

I am so excited to get down to Texas this weekend and see Mom & Dad and my girls!!! A few of us were able to squeeze the trip in between work, school, and surgery schedules. Meghan, Laura, Lisha, Elle and I have a fun weekend planned! I think the last time the 4 of us were together was New Years (way too long ago) and Megs has not met Elle yet! So I am looking forward to some Houston shopping, TexMex food, seeing my girls, and holding sweet little Elle! Then I will close out the weekend with a trip to hang out in Kingwood with Mom and Dad. Monday before I leave Houston I am going to pick up our new kitchen appliances! Safe travels girls...can't wait to see you!

Mom & Ruth come visit us in Natchez!

I have been meaning to get some pictures posted from when Mom and Ruth came to visit us in Natchez. We had a great weekend full of shopping, eating, and of course a visit to Fat Mama's for those famous Knock-you-Naked margaritas. They also helped me pick out some Hibiscus for the front porch and we found a piece of artwork that Zach and I had been trying to find for a while. Ruth had a great idea to paint fabric with "good morning" and "good night" in many different languages. I painted the words and then she is going to sew them into throw pillows for a guest room bed. We had a a great weekend catching up and we are so glad they made the trip to Mighty Mississippi!

August 10: My Latest Creation

After you surrender your life saving just to purchase apple products (although I have come to find out it is worth every last penny!), the last thing I wanna do is pay for a case. It was Zach's grand idea but as soon as we got home from our Baton Rouge shopping adventure, I made this neat little travel snuggly for my new baby. I think I am going to sew a coordinating zipper pouch for all the cords.

Oh and while visiting the big BR, we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Cheesecake Bistro with Lauren and Madison. Love em!! Lauren and I promised to visit each other more often since we are so close these days!!! We decided our next adventure will be the haunted Antebellum homes in St. Francisville in October (not really haunted- just turned into haunted houses for Halloween).

August 1, 2009...HAPPY BIRTHDAY

"The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example"

On August 1st we celebrate the lives of both Randa Jex and Papa Stan!! Randa was born August 1, 1947. Stan was born August 1, 1925. I know Zach and I often find ourselves thinking of them or wishing we could call them and tell them about our day or ask for advice. They hold a special place in our hearts and we have decided that every year we will have a little birthday celebration in honor of them so last night at 11pm I baked some cupcakes (please excuse the sad decorations...all I had was powdered sugar and a few sprinkles!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Papa Stan and Momma Jex!