Elizabeth-
Probably the thing I miss most is times with my grandparents. I’d have weekly dates to Pizza Hut or TCBY with Mamaw and weekend white perch fishing trips with Papaw. They went out of their way to make sure I knew I was loved. Of course, they spoiled me with presents and never refused me, but more than that they taught subtle life lessons in their day-to-day lives. I would give just about anything to hear Papaw’s stories being a little Indian girl (yes, girl…VERY creative man), or help Mamaw in the kitchen making fig preserves. They fostered an independent spirit inside of me without me even knowing it. Phrases like….just try….you can do anything you set your mind to….TRY AGAIN….and don’t quit stay at the forefront of my mind during our journey to see this dream a reality.

Marie-
I miss a lot of things about childhood! I miss the innocence of being a child, of not knowing how the world really is. I miss the undying hope of a child, truly believing that anything is possible. I miss having unprejudiced faith in everyone, that each and every one of us don’t have something dark in us. I miss the carefree days of summer and the hardest decision I had to make was what to play and with whom. I may miss all of that sometimes, but I hold on to being able to see that in my children’s eyes as they grow. Those are definitely some things that I hope they will hold on to for as long as possible.

Elizabeth –
Piercings – only my ears. Though when I was a teenager, we (Marie and another friend) decided to pierce our cartilage ourselves. Didn’t last.

Tattoos – 1. Rain in Arabic on the top of my left foot
2. A caduceus on my right inner ankle
3. Six stars on the top of my right foot
4. A rosary on my left foot
5. A fleur de lis on the back of my neck
6. Belle Tempête on my left wrist

Marie – Piercings/Tattoos
Well, I’ll start with piercings. I have my ears pierced, 4 holes in my left ear, 5 in my right, but I hardly ever wear earrings. I have a Monroe lip piercing, but I rarely have anything in it. Kids tend to pull earrings and lip piercings quite often, so for the sake of tempting my little ones, I hardly wear anything in them for the time being. I have had my belly button and nose pierced, but those have grown up for now. I would eventually like to have my nose redone though.

Now on to tattoos, I have 8 smaller tattoos which I’ll list below…
1. Mermaid on the top of my foot
2. Butterfly on my ankle
3. Sun/moon with Latin proverb on my lower back
4. Tinkerbell on my shoulder
5. Stars behind my ear
6. The word ‘always’ on the back of my neck
7. A kanji symbol on my wrist
8. Belle tempête on my forearm

Elizabeth –
My phone. I am never without it, and can’t remember what it was like to not have the world at my fingertips.

Marie –
I never leave my house without my cell phone. I am seriously addicted to my phone and I have no clue how we all functioned before the cell phone, more specifically, the smart phone was invented. Haha!

Elizabeth –
As a child, I was obsessed with either sea life or dinosaurs, so marine biology and archeology fascinated me. I was the nerd girl with the giant Dinosaur Encyclopedia….who also read dictionaries for fun. I went thru a time where I wanted to be an astronaut, but my 10-inch thick maroon-colored glasses dashed my hopes and dreams for that. But at 13, my AP English teacher introduced me to the art of writing. Primarily, I wrote poetry, prose, and lyrics, and believed with my whole heart that one day, I’d be a writer. When we were younger, Marie and I might have engaged in a bit of what’s now known as fan fiction with a little show called SeaQuest DSV. Of course, we didn’t know it was fan fiction then. We also *attempted* to write a book when we were in our late teens, but I honestly don’t think we got further than the name….Pacifica. What this awesome book was supposed to be about, I have NO clue….probably for the best. As I aged into my twenties, practicality took over and after 5 years in college, I settled for a Bachelor of Arts degree with a minor in English. My dreams of writing of any kind were always at the forefront of my mind, but I had no clue how to make that dream into a reality, especially when I was convinced I could only write poetry. A year after college graduation, I was back in school….this time for nursing. Becoming a nurse was one of the best decisions I ever made, and though I’d all but given up on my writing, I see clearly now that it’s only enhanced my life experience. Fast forward, eight – almost nine – years later, 2 books + 2 total rewrites + half a million words….and here we are!

Marie –
What did I want to be as a kid?

As a child, I wanted to be a pediatrician; I loved babies and toddlers, so I thought that being a ‘baby doctor’ as I called it would be the thing for me to be. As I got older, I realized that being a pediatrician was probably not the best choice for me because those cute, cuddly babies don’t normally like going to see the doctor.

As a teenager, I wanted to be a Marine Biologist or a Forensic Scientist. My dream in high school was to major in one of those at LSU and minor in Journalism. Honestly, I still wouldn’t mind fulfilling that dream some day, but I will see what life decides to hand me I guess.

As an adult, I honestly wanted to be a mom. Being a mom is truly the hardest ‘job’ I’ve ever had, but by far the most rewarding and fulfilling. Personally, I don’t even like to call parenting a job, even though it is a lot of hard work with no true breaks; I prefer to call it a joy because my kids truly make my heart smile and I can’t imagine life any other way for me.

Elizabeth –

1 – Telephone Lady Gaga and Beyonce
2 – Spirit in the Sky Norman Greenbaum
3 – Torn Natalie Imbruglia
4 – A Sorta Fairytale Tori Amos
5 – Haunt Bastille
6 – Bury Me 12 Stones
7 – Santeria Sublime
8 – Two Black Cadillacs Carrie Underwood
9 – Layla Eric Clapton
10 – Hung Up Madonna

Marie –
iPod Shuffle-First 10 Songs

1. Life After You-Daughtry
2. Long As I Can See the Light-Creedence Clearwater Revival
3. This Used to be My Playground-Madonna
4. Meet Virginia-Train
5. Cruise-Florida Georgia Line
6. Shake the Sugar Tree-Pam Tillis
7. What I Got-Sublime
8. L.A. Song-Beth Hart
9. Run-George Strait
10. Down So Long-Jewel

Elizabeth –
1 – Ireland
2 – France
3 – Greece
4 – South Africa
5 – Turkey

Marie –
5 Places I want to Visit—
1. Greece
2. Vietnam
3. Ireland
4. Hawaii
5. Egypt

Apparently, I can’t count….I’ll do better with Day 9. Eventually, I knew I’d get the numbers mixed up. So y’all have an excellent day and here’s a pretty sunrise picture before that sun becomes a sweltering, oppressive inferno. Think I’m kidding? Come to the South in the summertime. This time last year, Marie and I had taken a trip to New Orleans…and let me tell you, the BEST part of the Audubon zoo were those GLORIOUS water fans they have spread throughout. Why – if we’ve lived in Louisiana our entire lives – did we go to the zoo in New Orleans in July, you ask? To make a precious two year old happy. Totally worth it. This was also the trip where Marie dropped me off at Cafe du Monde, where I waited in the longest line ever to get beignets and iced coffee, but I forgot the sugar. So what do we do? Use powdered sugar from the beignets, of course.

Elizabeth – I’m pretty content with living out in the country. The only thing I’d change about where we live now is I’d love a pond. If I had to choose another place to live….I honestly wouldn’t mind living inNew Orleans. It’s a beautifully quaint city with more history than just about any place in America. Plus, there’s never a shortage of things to do and see.

Marie – Somewhere I’d like to move…
I don’t guess I have a specific place that I would move, but I can tell you what I’d like it to look like. I’d like a place in the mountains with a beautiful view overlooking a little river, where the weather doesn’t get so hot during the summer and it snows in the winter.

Elizabeth –
I’d choose a Sonny’s Pizza (franchise only in Louisiana) Italian burrito with bell peppers, onion, and hamburger, a Dr. Pepper, and ice cream from Dairy Queen. I’m sure I could find room for turkey and dressing too. 🙂

Marie –
Meal I could eat everyday for the rest of my life—
Chicken and dumplings
Green bean casserole
Corn on the cob
Bottled water to drink
Pecan pie with vanilla ice cream on the side

Elizabeth —-

It always seems impossible until it is done. Nelson Mandela

Being unique is better than being perfect.

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you until it seems that you cannot hold on for a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time when the tide will turn. Harriet Beecher Stowe

“It’s impossible.” said pride. “It’s risky.” said experience. “It’s pointless.” said reason. “Give it a try.” whispered the heart.

I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life. J.K. Rowling

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson

Marie —-

And though she be but little, she is fierce. Shakespeare

Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes.

Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us dragons exist,
but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time
we fall.

You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose
sight of the shore.