crazy little thing called life: 24 hours with my sweetnesses

I get to be in Memphis this week for work. This also means that I get to spend some free time with my precious Goddaughters, Taylor and Brittnee! I saw them in January, but I swear they grow like wildflowers... and every time I see them I get a little sad that they aren't the same wee little ones that they were when they first came into my life! What beautiful and special young women they are becoming!

Their grandma chauffeured me from the airport to surprise the girls with dinner at Cafe Ole in Midtown. Sharing a meal with Peggy, Auntie Toria and the girls was wonderful!

Cafe Ole is Memphis' answer to "authentic," Mexican food. But a pork burrito with BBQ sauce and white cheese dip and chips isn't exactly Mexican food in my book!

The discussion at the table was very informative. Did you know that Little Kim from Dancing With The Stars, "has had a lot of surgery because she wants to be the first black barbie doll?" Or that Miley Cyrus is really a 25 year old woman pretending to be 16? You can learn a lot with these two!

My two little bell hops had their first taxi ride ever to my hotel. The patient driver answered their litany of questions. "Has anyone ever puked in you cab?" "What celebrities have you driven?" "Do you get lonely being on the streets at night?"

Little Sporty Spice in her new jogging suit, courtesy of my buddy Brittany. We love stylish hand me downs!

Today the girls took a dip in the pool. Me? Not so much.

I was very content to drink my sprite and cranberry juice and read my new book. This book is a must read for anyone seeking the, "real deal," of thyroid issues. All of the "random Melinda-isms" aren't really random at all. And now I know to BLAME IT ON THE THYROID! I'm hoping to reverse some of my annoying symptoms. But that's a whole other post for a different day!

Tommy (aka "Uncle Tom) picked us up and took us to lunch. BBQ! Imagine that! It was my first time at Cozy Corner. It was good, but not compared to The BBQ shop. Taylor announced that she's going to be a, "veterinarian," because she doesn't want to eat meat anymore. That was after she ate her spicy sausage dog.

Tommy and the girls.

We made a stop at Walgreen's to check out the nail polish selection. We ran into Taylor's twin, Ms. Halle! Don't you see resemblance?

We rode the trolley up and down Main Street and along the Mississippi River.

Oh, and yes... I did Taylor's hair today. I don't do her hair, "like her mommy," and she reminded me of the time that I attempted corn rows and she ended up with spiky braids that mirrored antennas sticking out of her scalp. You can't go wrong with pig tail buns, right?

Miss Brittnee, the teenager. We had a lot of laughs today!

Blessed!

A little later my friend and old coworker, Amanda met up with us. We've been trying to meet up and keep missing each other on my Memphis trips. She brought her adorable cuties, Arianna (2) and Nichole (1.) The big girls were in heaven each having one to hold and entertain. Funny though, little Taylor had Big Arianna and Big Brittnee had little Nichole. Arianna seems to have Taylor's spunk while Nichole is more, "chill," like Brittnee ~ so they were a good match!

We headed back on the trolley to Peabody Place.