What is your face saying?

I've recently been doing a lot of people watching and I've noticed that some people have a pleasant disposition pretty much all the time. Others almost look as if cracking a smile would make them throw up. I realize that it would look goofy to walk around cheesing it up all the time, but there are more ways to smile than just by showing your pearly whites.

As I've been doing this non-scientific study, I've also realized that not everyone knows how to show emotion. Why is it so hard to be excited on the outside when you are excited on the inside? Come on people, if you're excited, tell your face to get excited. Otherwise, you just look like a lame-o.

Look out Webster...here comes Bailey

Scenario: One guy, one girl. They're more than just friends, but not really dating. What do you call it? This was the conversation around the lunch table yesterday. After some discussion, someone had a great word for it: FRIENDATIONSHIP. Write it down, commit it to memory, use it in your conversations. Just make sure to give credit to Bailey.

Children's laughter

I've talked before about the two sweet girls I have the privelage of taking care of each Monday night. It's time for me to show them off again. This video is a few weeks old, but since I laugh out loud each time I watch it, I think it deserves a post. These sweet girls are growing up so fast. What a blessing it is to watch!

Prepare for takeoff...

I wouldn't call myself a seasoned business traveler, but over the past year I've lost my "rookie" title. However, none of those flights prepared me for the "fun" I encountered last night.

We arrived at the Raleigh airport around 3:30 and decided to see if we could get on an earlier flight. One was available, but there weren't enough seats for everyone. No worries, our original flight was set for 5:30 so we would still be home by 7:45.

We proceeded to the gate for our 5:30 flight and boarded. Thirty minutes later, we were back at the gate due to severe weather.

Everyone knows that the third time's a charm. So, for the second time of the night, we boarded a plane. As I settled in my seat and prepared for takeoff, the pilot came over the speaker informing us of an engine failure. He said the back-up was still good, we just needed to wait for the maintenance crew to sign off on it. A few minutes after they appeared, the smell of something burning began to overtake the cabin and the power went off. We were instructed to leave the plane immediately. Apparently, the plane had gotten struck by lightening.

Never fear, another flight was set to leave out at 10:15. I boarded, hoping for the best, but still not expecting much. At 12:01, the wheels touched down in Atlanta. Gotta love business travel.

Wedding fun

In addition to getting a chance to spend time with Natalie this weekend, I was also able to attend a friend's wedding. Here are a few pictures from the big day. Isn't my niece beautiful?!

The Best of Friends

Have you ever been with someone who has the ability to rejuvenate you just with their presence? I spent this past weekend with my bestest friend in the entire world and that is exactly what she did for me.

So why is Natalie so special...here's the short list:

• She loves the Lord---She knows that every part of her life should be offered as worship to God and strives daily to honor Him. Over the years she has been there to keep me grounded in The Word and keep me on track spiritually.
• She is easygoing---Whenever I'm with Natalie, life is simple and fun. I love how when I'm with her, we can make anything fun. Regular trips to Target and TJMaxx are anything but normal. She has taught me how to find joy in the simple things in life.
• She is always tuned in---She has a way of knowing when I want to talk and when I just want to sit and is always respectful. On top of that, I love how when something needs to be said that she doesn't shy away from even the toughest situations.
• She has the best laugh---When Natalie laughs, she doesn't hold back. In fact, her whole body laughs. I love that. If you want to see what I'm talking about, just mention the name Eric Shane Taylor and you'll see what I mean.

Just a few more things...she is the best person to share a secret with, is always up for a late night movie, gives the best hugs ever...I'd say more but it's WAY past my bedtime!

To sum it all up, I love Natalie to death and can't imagine life without her. Here's to hoping that one day we'll be living in the same city again! Thanks for a wonderful weekend, my sweet friend...can't wait to do it again soon!

To America...

Why do you love America? That question was posed by someone last night and our group came up with quite a few reasons: Michael Jordan, Punky Brewster, scrunchies, cotton candy, George Washington, The Olympics (not totally ours...but we figure since we're the melting pot we can claim it), Kevin Costner, peach cobbler, The Peachtree, checks and balances, Thanksgiving, Lousiana Purchase, The Flag, Francis Scott Key...the game went on for 3 hours. So, I'm fairly certain that we named everyone and everything that ever had anything to do with America. It was great!

After playing "Why Do You Love America" it was time to pile into a few cars to see the fireworks. Now when I say pile, thats what I mean. I think there were at least 15 people in one of the trucks! We managed to get a really good place to sit...front row for the fireworks and the burning bush! Yes, I said the burning bush. It was a bit scary, but no one was harmed...and I got a picture! The show was definitely the best fireworks display I've seen. One person from the group even commented that it was better than the show he had seen at the Washington Mall last year. Way to go Atlanta!

All I all, I couldn't have asked for a better 4th...here's to wishing that next month they'll let us have the day off to celebrate the 4th of August!