Rachel Callahan

Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win. . .

March 3, 2009 Rachel Callahan Parent of the Year, Toddlers: The Experience

. . .Yes, I actually just quoted Shakespeare. It’s okay, you don’t have to clap.

My child is two years and two months old.

She still sleeps with a paci. She ONLY gets it for sleep – and has since 9 months old. However, I’ve been feeling guilty about her still having it at all for a while, and have been prepping myself and especially my sensitive and high-on-mercy hubby to take it away from her.

I planned to do it on a Monday, to maximize time to get used to it before going to sleep on a Thursday away from home at small group, and the rest of the out-of-routine weekend.

So 4 Mondays ago, I brought it up, but hubby told me it was too sudden. That I needed to take away her second paci first (you know, the one she holds in her hand). I submitted, and she didn’t mind.

3 Mondays ago, it was still too sudden.

2 Mondays ago, hubby suggested I try it at naptime first. Luckily, enough people (2) had told me that wasn’t a good idea, so I was able to tell him “everyone says to try it at bedtime first”. He accepted, but said not this week.

1 Monday ago, hubby said he needed more notice beforehand.

I gave him notice this Sunday night. He acknowledged that he was given notice.

I almost forgot last night but remembered right before I put her to bed, but conveniently after hubby left the room. I told her, “Do you want to be a big girl tonight?”

Lit up eyes. “Big girl!!!”.

“Big girls sleep with no pacis!!”

She didn’t object. I put her in her bed, and she started feeling around. “I want a paci!!”.

“But you’re a big girl and big girls sleep without pacis.”

She laid back down but then lifted her head to watch me leave the room, which she doesn’t usually do.

Went to sleep happy, with no problem.

Or at least she did.

I, on the other hand, had second thoughts.

A couple hours after bedtime, I started missing the paci.

I missed the cuteness, the ability to quickly bring her comfort, the availability to give her a paci on a car trip and her to know immediately that it’s time to go nite-nite in the car, our conversations about paci, the way she removed her paci every night before giving me a kiss, I missed it all.

Why am I taking away her paci again? Because it was all I could do to keep from running into her room, waking her up, and begging her to take me the paci back.

Mom Jeans and the Dreaded “Long Butt”

March 2, 2009July 21, 2020 Rachel Callahan Actually Possibly Informational, Denim Drama, Don't Listen to my Fashion Advice, I embarrass myself just for your amusement., Pop Post, Popular Posts

UPDATED: A Plus Sized Sequel was published on October 12, 2012. Click here to read that post.

A few months ago during one of our more “social” small group gatherings (in which all of the guys tend to gravitate to the kitchen to be closest to the snacks while the girls sit in the living room where they can talk about “girl stuff”), Lydia shared with us a deep fear that has been seated in her heart for a long time.

Being that she is in her early 30’s, the possibility of it coming to pass was getting closer and closer. She was sorely afraid – nay, terrified even – of attaining the dreaded “long butt” that seems to happen to moms in their mid-30’s or early 40’s.

She said that she didn’t mind if she had a little extra curvature, a.k.a. junk in tha trunk, but she just didn’t want her butt to get LONG.

I quickly jumped in, because, you see, I often ponder about deep issues such as this. I told her that Long Butt is not a “condition” that some women contract – butts don’t elongate. It’s actually all about the jeans. And, to be more specific, the pocket placement on the jeans. It is a symptom completely avoidable by ensuring proper knowledge in how to outfit one’s butt.

Immediately, relief washed over her face. Just the possibility that it could be avoided lifted a burden off of her shoulders. But then, doubt. Could it possibly be that simple?

I continued. Because you see, the assumed shape of your butt has EVERYTHING to do with where your pockets are in relation to the beginning and end of said butt.

Let me explain. Mom Jeans typically have long pockets and high waists. And, due to this, the tops of the pockets are usually on the back above the butt, while the bottom of the pockets tend to hit mid-butt.

However, the bottom of one’s butt is the most distinct part – it curves inward – so it clearly defines the end of the rear. SO if your pocket STARTS two inches above board and your curve ends two inches below pocket, you just gained an extra two inches of butt, thereby creating the cursed Long Butt.

To avoid LB, go for pockets that actually start a little below the top of your butt and end an inch or so BELOW the butt. This shortens the butt dramatically – because you can still see the distinctive curve at the end of the butt, so it looks like your butt is only as tall as the beginning of the pocket to the curve, thereby making it about half the size of the aforementioned dreadful Mom jeans.

Now I know that this seems like much too simple of a solution to this issue, so, naturally, I have scientific proof to back up my theories.

Lydia and I ran a completely scientific experiment to prove that, indeed, it’s all about the pocket. But, while doing so, also made many other notes for you to help you avoid a Mom Jeans catastrophe altogether.

Because we’re here to serve the Mom community.

So, without further ado, I present to you:

The Study of Mom Jeans and the Dreaded Long Butt

Hypothesis: The condition known as “Long Butt” does indeed originate solely from poor pocketage.

Research Laboratory: Riverchase Galleria.

Test Subjects:

Subject A: Rachel.

Age: 27.
Height: 5’6″.
Size: 6.
Mom Status: 1 kid – 2 year old.

Natural Habitat:

Subject B: Lydia.

Age: 32.
Height: 5’4″.
Size: 8.
Mom Status: 3 kids – 5 year old, 3 year old, 7 month old.

Natural Habitat:
Testing Standards: We only tried on jeans that were our size to ensure proper comparison standards. Also, our appearance was not altered in any way like they do on infomercials – we did not poof out our stomachs, take off all of our makeup, or wear really unattractive shirts to make the bad jeans look bad. All things, but the jeans themselves, are equal.

Testing Oversight: Provided by Ali & Radford, LLP. They can be seen in some pictures ensuring the highest degree of application of the scientific method.

Disclaimer: Forgive any rude terms such as “butt”, “crack”, the combination of said words, or any other term that you find offensive. Please understand that this is a purely scientific experiment, and so accurate language must be employed to ensure full communication of findings.

Findings:

Test Subject B wearing a pair of Mom Jeans. Notice how the butt is elongated due to the pocket starting on the back and ending BEFORE the curvature of the butt ends:
The same butt measures half the visual length when wearing a pair of jeans that the pocket starts halfway down the butt and ends after the curvature:
Test Subject A with elongated buttocks. Also notice the complete and utter flatness created, which only adds to the elongation effect:
Also measures half the visual length but with curves that were noticeably missing in prior picture. Hard to believe, but scientifically proven, that this is the same butt:
Further testing was enacted. Here are more examples, this time with a closer view.

Test Subject A. Notice that it doesn’t matter if a pair of jeans were a popular brand when you were in high school. They can still attrociously lengthen your butt:
Test Subject A’s butt done right:
(Some important keys can be found in the labeling of above jeans. ALWAYS avoid the word “tapered” or the phrase “sits at waist”. However, if words such as “honey”, “booty fit”, “curvy” and “physique” appear on the labels, don’t automatically assume that they will be skanky. It most likely just means that they are NOT Mom Jeans.)

Test Subject B:
Test Subject B saved by the pocket:Just in case you are not yet convinced of the atrocious sins of the Mom Jean, let’s look at what they do to the front of your body:
Our findings were that when THAT MUCH of your body is zipped up into a pair of jeans, there is much opportunity for pulling and lumping and a host of other unattractive side effects, including being so high that they actually make your “upper body” also look lumpy and droopy.
Look how much more flattering the RIGHT pair of jeans can be:

Here are the rest of our findings that might be very helpful to you in ensuring that you never accidentally step off the cliff of Mom Jeans:

1. At all costs, AVOID DIAGONAL REAR POCKETS. These create the “elbow” effect – where it looks like your butt cheeks are really elbows in an outward pointing angle:
Instead, pockets should always go straight down, with NO curve to the outsides:

2. If the waist cuts off your air supply when you bend over because it is pressing on your LUNGS, then they are a Mom Jean. Yes, during these dangerous experiments, Lydia and I had several occasions where we bent over and had to gasp to get a breath. It was quite excruciating and shocking.

3. If the jeans come in sizes small, medium and large, then they are most definitely a Mom Jean.

4. If the jeans come in sizes small, medium and large and they have a completely elastic waist, you’ve gone way beyond Mom Jeans. You are at the point of Grandma Jeans. Turn yourself in immediately to someone who can help you with your problem.

5. If you can’t tell your front from your back, you are off the Grandma Jeans Deep End.

6. For that matter, do not EVER choose jeans without back pockets. Your butt will always appear to be a watermelon shoved in the back of your pants that is trying, but failing miserably to defy gravity.

7. There should be a definitive break where your butt ends and your legs begin. Otherwise, your butt ends up with the infinity effect. . .
And if you’re about to say that you don’t like wearing tight jeans, they don’t have to be tight to give you definition. See here how a nice, loosely fitting pair is giving Subject B a very definitive (and small) butt, without sacrificing comfort (in fact, Subject B loved these jeans so much that I was forced to have a therapy session with her to get her out of them).
8. DO NOT BE FOOLED by the Cool-Jean wannabe that is found in and amongst the Mom Jeans. THEY ARE WORSE than Mom Jeans. These jeans tried by having a more modern leg line and pockets,
But failed miserably when the elastic side darts were revealed,
besides the horrible, uniform color, high waist,
and nearly Grandma-ishly unshapely backside.

9. Length, length length. Your sock should NEVER show – front, back or side -while standing:
Instead, your jeans should have a nice swoop almost but not quite to the floor:
10. Pay careful attention to colors. If your jeans are completely solid (unless it’s a nice, dark blue denim), this may mean you have Mom Jeans. Especially if they are black:Or heaven forbid, Pink:
Here’s how you can do a black right. Notice the variation in the color, the washed out look, and the pocket detail that all help this jean achieve stylishness:

And here are some notes to help you not go TOO FAR in the other direction when trying to correct your Mom Jean problem:

1. Use caution with low rises. Obviously we are trying to escape the dreaded phrase, “sits at waist”, but this can be taken too far, and create some horrible side effects, including:

The Muffin Top:(Which, by the way, you don’t have to be wearing a midriff to show off your muffin top – they show quite nicely THROUGH shirts as well.)

Or the Whale Tail:
2. Speaking of which, it is imperative that you KNOW YOUR OWN CRACK. And what I mean by that is that Lydia and I have both noticed a very under-reported phenomenon: different people’s buttcracks start at different points. Some people can wear ultra low rise and bend all the way over to pick up a penny and not have a problem. Other people can have a mid-rise, bend over slightly to help their toddler, and still have a very unsightly wardrobe malfunction. Know where yours is, and buy accordingly. And if you are concerned, be sure and test them out in the dressing room.

3. Watch out for widely spaced pockets. This can serve to make your rear view be a bit wider that you would like. These jeans have the pockets in the right place vertical-wise, but way to far apart horizontal-wise:

4. Just because something is in style doesn’t mean you have to wear it. For instance, skinny jeans:
(Ali was bringing her the hanger – I think it was a hint)

Skinny jeans look good on 2% of the population when worn like this. They look good on 80% of the population when worn with a super long shirt and boots, but if you’re going to cover up that much of a pair of jeans, are the really worth it??

5. Yes, I know the 80’s are coming back. But I am choosing to ignore that fact when it comes to denim. And I recommend that you do the same.
6. A good way to ensure hipness of jeans is to make sure that they have wash detail – wrinkles, fades, and even some tastefully done “wear appearance” (which you CAN achieve without having all-out holes in your jeans):
7. You do not have to spend a fortune to get good non-Mom jeans. Although we tried on some expensive jeans, we also tried on some very reasonable jeans from Express. Their jeans run from $49-$69, but they almost always have a buy one, get one half off sale, AND if you get on their mailing list, you will often get $30 off of $60 coupons. Using both can definitely afford you a steal of a deal on some very nice looking jeans:8. As mentioned before, dark jeans are the only exception to the “no monotone color” rule. However, even if you are going to get a dark jean, they still look better if they have a bit of fade in appropriate places:

9. Wide legs are okay, but make sure that the width starts at a reasonable level and doesn’t make you look like you have full-length, denim culottes on. Also make sure that the width doesn’t go straight down from the butt and you lose the aforementioned butt-to-leg differentiation. These jeans are about as wide as you should take it:

I truly hope that after you use the scientific information gathered in this post, you’ll never feel the need to have this apology-face for your jeans:

Now you may be saying to yourself, “Sure, this would be easy to do if I were 27, or 32, but I’m not. How can someone older make sure and not make Mom Jean mistakes?”.

Well, don’t worry. Keep an eye out for the sequel post coming soon: “How To Avoid Mom Jeans for Moms over 50”, with a guest subject, My Mom. Sequel was Published on Monday, March 9th.

Looking for the rest of my denim posts? Here’s a list:

If you wear Gap or Old Navy jeans, click here.
If you’re plus-sized, click here.
If you’re over 50 years old, click here.
If you want more specific tips and tricks to pick out the perfect jeans, click here.
If you want a list of every post I’ve ever written about denim, click here.

Snow DOES happen in Alabama!!!

March 1, 2009 Rachel Callahan The Blissfulness of Life

LAST UPDATE on the snow:

I was dying for some snow cream, so I took the only milk left in the house:
And turned it into this:
She didn’t mind too much:
We took one last walk, with our neighbor Christie and her dog Haley, after the last wave of snow and right before it started to melt (which all happened much too quickly, might I add). There were some beautiful sites:
After that, it quickly melted away, and although that was only three hours ago, there are barely traces of the winter wonderland left. Ah, Alabama weather.

UPDATE at 10:30AM:

At 9AM, Ali got to see her first real snow!!!

As soon as we heard her stirring, we ran in her room excitedly and declared snow. We whipped her out of bed (she was still approximately 83% asleep) and put about 10 layers of clothes on her:She started out underimpressed, to say the least.
She wouldn’t walk on the snow (or, what she said was “kinda like sand”), so she had to walk on the as yet uncovered road:
We saw some kids using “Alabama Sleds”:
Ali tasted her first snow after we promised her it was like ice:
I stood her up in the snow for half a second:
. . .before she fell on her butt and started crying.

So we came inside and ate breakfast, when I happened to look out the window and catch our 10 year old neighbor with his pants down.

Literally.

Makin’ yellow snow.
All done and headed inside!
After breakfast, Ali was more awake, and begged to go back out in the snow. By this time, it was blizzarding!!

Well, Alabama blizzarding anyway.
A kindly walking-by neighbor (NOT making yellow snow, thank goodness) took our picture out in front of our house:
Chris’ head covering:
Freddy and Christie’s poor flower bush:
Her Hello Kittys takin’ a beating:
Admiring the snow. Both she and I.
I’ll update more later! Be sure to check back, because I’m just updating this one post.

8:00AM:
I absolutely love Alabama’s weather.

It’s so perfectly confused.

We go from 70 degrees to 20 degrees on a weekly basis during the winter, and you never get tired of one thing.

In December, we enjoyed a gorgeous day at the park.

In February, we loved romping in the ocean.

And on the first day of March, I couldn’t be more thrilled that we are having our first true snow since 2000!
The flowers, however, are not as thrilled, nor are they prepared for our crazy weather:
Ali is still asleep, so she will get to wake up to a Winter Wonderland: one of the best feelings in the world if you’re a kid in Alabama. I will have many more pictures of her in the snow later.

I will just be updating this post, so if you’re waiting for a new blog to come up in a feed reader, it won’t happen. Be sure to check back here, or I will be twittering when I update at ObjectivityRach.

Toddler Tips – Grasping for Objectivity’s One Year Anniversary!!!

February 28, 2009 Rachel Callahan Giveaways and Contests, Parent of the Year

If you haven’t caught on yet this week, TODAY is my one year bloggy anniversary!! So, in celebration, I have been having my Giveaway Jubilee, and today is the grand finale celebration of a year of SO. MUCH. FUN.

This post is a sequel to Baby Tips, and you have the chance to join in!! There will be a Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post, so you can write your own Baby, Toddler, Kid, or Teen Tips (with photos) and link them in! If you don’t have a blog, email them to me and I will post them on B-Sides and link them in for you.

For each Tip with Photo that you post, you will get one extra entry into every giveaway that you have entered this week. You can do as many or as few as you like! (And, of course, you get an extra entry for commenting on this post, too).

I can’t WAIT to read your tips!

So without further ado,

Toddler Tips

We all know that toddlers are big on food, so let’s start with some food tips:

It is generally not recommended to allow toddlers to eat out of the garbage.

Also, keep in mind that toddler’s ability to store and process food is much smaller than ours. Do not overfeed them, especially dessert.

Toddler should eat healthy foods, and be willing to eat them without dipping them in saturated fat.

It is essential that all food given to toddlers be in proper bite-sized pieces.

Spicy foods are also generally not recommended, unless you like your Pampers hot & spicy.

Leaving your toddler alone with blueberries and a fork may not produce the results you had in mind.

If allowing your toddler to eat spaghetti, be sure to teach them how to properly eat it so that they don’t choke.

Remember that you are your child’s biggest teacher. If you teach your child bad habits, such as sharing food and drink with you and therefore transferring germs, they are more likely to do it with others.

The toddler years are the perfect time to teach your child when it is appropriate, and when it is inappropriate, to use a fork.

Do not leave your toddler in the room alone on Christmas morning. They WILL ingest as much candy as they possibly can.

Toddlers also love animals. So let’s talk about some animal safety tips:

It is best to slowly introduce your toddler to large animals. Sometimes they can be very spooked by large animals, even if there is a cage in between them.

Do not let your toddler near chickens. They are filthy animals.

Do not allow your toddler to stand underneath large birds, keeping in mind that birds, unlike toddlers and carriage horses, do not wear tailbags.

Do not let exotic birds stand on your toddler. They carry exotic diseases.

Do not let your toddler touch exotic birds. . .

Because they always return those exotic hands to their mouths.

And exotic birds DO know how to bite. well.

Do not let your toddler play in doggie doors. These are ridden with germs!!

Do not let your toddler socialize extensively with goats.

Speaking of socializing, the toddler years are vital to social development, so you need to ensure that you foster good interpersonal behaviors and modicums:

Do not push your child into relationships. Let them go at their own pace.

Do not try to put too many toddlers in one chair. This could cause disagreements.

However, if you are going to, do it in a manner that is completely safe.

It is generally not recommended to put two toddlers in one baby bed.

Be sure not to foster a sense of conceit in your toddler.

It is your job to ensure that all caregivers reinforce your toddler’s sense of proper gender roles.

Use caution when exposing your toddler to premature infants. Toddlers do not have a good understanding of being gentle.

Now let’s talk about some safety tips during playtime:

When allowing your toddler to swing by themselves, make sure it is an age appropriate swing with all of the proper safety harnesses.

Just because you think your toddler is old enough to sit in a low swing with no safety harnesses, or just because you would like to get some cute pictures, doesn’t mean that your toddler won’t fall out the second you finish photographing them.

Use caution when letting your toddler paint, keeping in mind that you will have to find a way to clean up the resulting mess while keeping a toddler from continuing to make it worse.

But if you do allow them to paint, at least make sure that they don’t eat any.

It is not recommended that toddlers be allowed to play video games.

Fountains are not the best playplace for toddlers. They are slippery and dangerous.

Now let’s talk about some toddler fashion tips:

Just because shoes are a designer brand name doesn’t mean that they will fit well. At all.

If your child is scarred by a specific clothing incident (such as above), do not repeat your past mistakes as soon as they get over their fears.
Do not put your toddler in costumes at the local children’s museum. They are covered in germs.

Be sure to always put your toddler’s clothing on in the appropriate direction.

Do not let your toddler wear necklaces unless they are made for toddlers to prevent choking or other hazards.

Toddlers are not old enough for earrings. Especially dangly ones.

Do not let your toddler wear battery powered necklaces. Especially after some of the lights have fallen off and there are loose wires. These are a hazard.

It is not recommended to allow your toddler to play with makeup, as this will only make them want to WEAR makeup sooner.

The toddler years are the appropriate time to start teaching your child modesty.

Do not let your toddler wear your movie theater 3-D glasses. This is not good for their still-developing eyes.

Here are some general safety tips to keep in mind:

Do not concern your toddler with the worries of the world.

Choose small blankets for your toddler so that they do not get tangled up in them.

Do not let your toddler play with money. It is covered in germs, and is the world’s number one choking hazard.

Make sure that your toddler always sits a good distance away from the television.

Do not let your toddler sit on the water spigot in hopes of getting a good blog out of it.

Do not allow your child to stand near large mountain drop-offs. Especially on windy days.

And finally, here are some more obvious tips, for the true winner of a parent:

DO NOT

place objects over your toddler’s head.

OR let your toddler play with risque novelties.

OR let your toddler be exposed to too much sun. Teach them proper skincare with your example.

OR let your toddler lay down in the middle of the road, no matter how tired they get.
OR take your toddler in a jacuzzi. Age limits are set for a reason.

OR let your toddler play with small objects that could be a choking hazard.

OR let your toddler gamble.

Especially if they are good at it.

And do NOT, under ANY circumstances, let your toddler play by themselves on the roof.
Here is the Mr. Linky – let me know if you need any help linking in your own baby/toddler/kid/teen tips. And – if you don’t have a blog, be sure to email them to me to get your entries!!

Giveaway Jubilee: GLCarter Jewelry!!

February 27, 2009 Rachel Callahan Giveaways and Contests

Today’s post is a duo: A giveaway as a part of my Giveaway Jubilee, and a Say it Forward Friday post!!

One of the things I really love to do with my giveaways is to introduce you to my friends and their wonderful talents and crafts.

Today’s giveaway is handmade jewelry by my friend Greta! She has many creative outlets: she blogs wonderfully and hilariously at I Love Mr. Pibb, and she has an Etsy shop where she sells her beautiful jewelry.

Greta has generously provided two wonderful pieces for this giveaway.

The first piece, the Charley Bracelet, is made out of beautiful blue pottery beads. It has hues of so many colors in it, so it will match almost anything!The second piece, the Palmer earrings, are awesome and modern and everything that a girl would want in a pair of earrings!! There will be two winners, one for each item. To be entered in this giveaway, go visit Greta’s Etsy shop and then come back here and tell me something that you really LOVE from it. And believe me – there’s plenty to love!!

This giveaway will be open until Monday, March 16th. The winners will be randomly selected and announced by 3pm on Tuesday, March 17th.

Click here to get to a listing of the rules, to find out other ways to get entries into this contest, and a list of all of the contests for my 1st Annual Giveaway Jubilee.

And don’t forget to go check out Greta’s Blog, where she also beautifully showcases her creativity with her great posts. You won’t regret it!!

Thank you so much, Greta, for these beautiful prizes!!

In Which We Had a Jack Bauer-Like Adventure

February 26, 2009January 6, 2014 Rachel Callahan I'm a Glutton for Adventure, Investigative Report

My husband is a structural steel detailer (which means he makes 3D models of structural steel and blueprints and stuff like that), and sometimes he gets to work on pretty cool jobs. He loves checking out his work after construction. He is always especially proud of things that were very difficult or artistic.

The veil meets both of those requirements, so it just might be his detailing crowning glory.

The veil is the top of the 41 floor, 700 foot tall Symphony Center building in midtown Atlanta. He just modeled & detailed the top portion of it, which was very unconventional and was extraordinarily intricate and difficult. The veil, according to him, is “a pair of 6-story 3D space trusses with radiused outer chords that support the extended glass curtainwall”. Whatever that means.

We have many pictures of this building. Many. Including one that he took off the TV last week, when the building was all lit up in the background of a Dave Matthews concert at Piedmont Park.

You might call it an obsession.

But it is a pretty cool building. Here is what it looks like:
To show how much it sticks out in the Atlanta skyline, here’s a view from Piedmont Park:
So anyway, it was being finished up in 2006, when we happened to be coming back through Atlanta during an amazing anniversary trip to St. Simon’s Island. We stayed overnight in Atlanta, and before we left the next morning, Chris wanted to drive over and see his work of art.

So we headed to midtown and found his mistress of steel.

We parked a couple of blocks away and walked over. We saw the overpowering view from the ground:
Now I absolutely love heights, and Chris absolutely loves his veil, so together, we took our adventure a step further.

Chris wanted to see the veil up close, but you can’t just walk up to a construction site and gain access, especially when said construction site is a partially open & occupied, partially under construction skyscraper that is the new headquarters of one of the world’s biggest law firms, among other things.

Since we had been on vacation, we had a nice change of clothes (convenient), and since it was a weekday, the place was a hub of activity (easy to blend in).

His story was that we were representatives of a subcontractor for the general contractor and we were there to check up on our work. That was technically true, although very unecessary.

So we headed into the lobby, acting as professionally as possible.
Because nothing says professional like taking touristy photos in front of the building.

There was already security in the lobby. There were concierges at a desk and card readers to get to the elevators. Strike one.

So we approach the concierge desk. Chris tells the security guard our story, and he doesn’t have much of a poker face.

The concierge said, “Hold On”, and picked up the phone.

Our hearts started beating as if we were Jack Bauer and Chloe O’Brien in the middle of a mission with our cover about to be blown before our eyes. I know, I know, Chloe works in-office and doesn’t usually go on missions, but she’s the only girl that’s survived so far, so I choose to be her.

He talked quietly for a few moments, and then said, “Okay.”

Relief and fear.

They told security to let us through the gates to the elevators and told us to take the real elevator to the 21st floor and then to get on the construction elevator. And next time, please take the construction entrance through the parking garage, with the annoyed disdain that said we should have known that, which proves assumption on their part that we should have even been there at all.

He lets us through the security checkpoint with his nifty card, where there is one of those high class elevator guys that asks in a low voice, “Whaaat Flooor, siiirr?”

We get off the glistening marble elevator at the 21st floor and there is nothing there but concrete… No walls, no windows, just cool air and hardhats. We make our way to the neither glistening nor marble construction elevator, which is operated by an exceptionally talkative and large fellow who likes to tell everyone how the elevator falls 5 or 10 floors every so often. He asks where we are headed and we say the roof. The elevator stops every so often, and people continue to get off, until its just us and the operator.

We get to 41, and he says, “Go through the door and to the left. You will find a stairwell that will take you on the roof.”

It’s nicely finished, empty, and quiet. we walk up to the door, and see this sign:
“Special Matters and Government Investigations.” Now we REALLY feel like Jack and Chloe. We are in total adventure mode – adrenaline pumping, pretending that we are oh-so-much more important and sneaky than we are.

We open the door, look left, look right, and try to find the stairwell. Easy enough. The stairwell has an extra flight up to the roof. The door opens, and out we step into the breeze, over 600 ft off the street.

The door closes behind us, and then we hear it… The all-too-cliche, just a little too loud CLICK.

Oh yeah, it locked behind us.

However, off to the left, we see a 2 Mexican workers eating lunch on the roof, so we assume that they can point us in the right direction when we’re ready to leave. We set off to enjoy our sought after adventure.

It was SO windy.

And SO high.

Where we were, to understand, was on the roof of the actual building, which is where Chris’ work started – the artistic “veil”, or what looks like batwings to me. So in the pictures, we’re looking off the roof and up at Chris’ work.

Notice how much higher we are than the other high rises in Atlanta:
I got WAY closer to the edge than Chris wanted me to to take this picture (that is Stone Mountain in the distance):
And a good upshot of Chris’ work (since we were, after all, “inspecting” it):
So we spent a good 20 minutes on the roof, while the Mexicans ate their lunch, and paid us no attention.

Once we were ready to move off of our high perch, we attempted communication, explaining with wild hand movements that the door locked behind us, and we needed them to let us off.

Finally, one said, “Ah”, nodding his head vigorously.

He took us over to another, less impressive door, presumably the service entrance.

Sure enough, it was a straight-down skinny, metal-runged ladder.

And I was wearing heels.

Much to the amusement of the Mexicans, I took off my shoes and dropped them to the bottom of the stairwell, and started down.

Once we both got down, we realized that we were nowhere familiar – on an entirely different floor.

After a bit of wandering around in the dark and messy unfinished floor, we finally found more construction workers, who told us that we had to take the stairs down a couple of floors to catch the elevator.

So we did.

The large talkative elevator operator was glad to see us again, and we must have stopped a dozen times on the way down to pick up and drop off drywall, wood, tools, people.

He took us all the way down to the aforementioned appropriate construction entrance in the parking garage, so we scurried up and out onto the sidewalk, before we got caught on our fake mission.

About a month later, we found out that we were pregnant (after 2 years of trying).

Adrenaline. It does the body good.

Giveaway Jubilee: Gorgeous Pottery AND Lessons!!!

February 26, 2009 Rachel Callahan Earthborn Pottery, Giveaways and Contests

From the time that I was a little girl and we went to Tannehill to watch her demonstrations, I have always been amazed and in awe of my Aunt Tena Payne’s exquisite pottery abilities.

She has taken a hobby that she picked up in High School and turned it into a world class brand of artisan dinnerware, Earthborn Pottery. Her dishes now serve the cuisine of 5-star restaurants, resorts, lodges, and country clubs across the country including Sensi at The Bellagio in Las Vegas, Ozumo in San Francisco, Hot and Hot Fish Club here in Birmingham, Sushi Samba in New York, Chicago, Miami, and Las Vegas, and many others.

Earthborn Pottery is organic by nature and by design, standing out amidst the ‘round & white’ monopoly of tabletop merchandise. Each piece is created individually by hand, and so is completely unique.

All materials used in the pottery process are taken straight from the earth, rearranged, and subjected to the heat of the kilns to produce beautiful, one-of-a-kind totally functional pieces. The product has been tested for quality and safety. The clay is durable and the abrasive-resistant glazes are industrial dishwasher safe. This pottery can be used in the microwave and oven when pre-heated under hot tap water. The product is beautiful, original, and restaurant sturdy.

And now, thanks to Tena’s generosity, you can enter to win a three-piece set of her dinnerware, valued at $130!To enter this giveaway, go to the Earthborn Studios website and look around at the products. Come back here and tell me which piece is your favorite, and you’ll be entered! Be sure to leave an email address if I don’t already have a way to contact you.

However, there is another giveaway as well, specifically for local (Birmingham area) readers: Tena is also the co-owner of Cahaba Clay Works, which is a completely unique facility in Leeds aimed to allow people to learn how to create pottery, and to develop a sense of passion for pottery in the community.

They have once a week, six-week classes where they teach you how to use a potter’s wheel, firing, glazing, as well as many other intricate details of their craft. These are awesome classes for adults or teenagers alike.

They are giving away one six-week class, which includes all glazes, firing, instruction, and use of tools and equipment. This is a $175 value!! And you are sure to get some magnificent handmade pieces out of your lessons!

This would be a WONDERFUL elective for homeschool students (ages 12 and up). In fact, CCW is working towards setting up parent/child classes to cater to the homeschool community – be sure to ask Tena about these if you are interested.

To enter the CCW Class giveaway, just include in your comment for the pottery giveaway that you are local (or would be willing to travel to attend) and would like to be entered to win the Pottery Class giveaway.

These giveaways will be open until Monday, March 16th. The winners will be randomly selected and announced by 3pm on Tuesday, March 17th.

Click here to get to a listing of the rules, to find out other ways to get entries into this contest, and a list of all of the contests for my 1st Annual Giveaway Jubilee.

Thank you, Tena, for your extremely generous giveaways!

Giveaway Jubilee: Custom Blog Design!!

February 25, 2009 Rachel Callahan Giveaways and Contests

My blog was designed by the unbelievably talented and creative Judi at Doodlebug Designs. Judi was unbelievably awesome to work with – she put up with all of my anal-retentive nit-pickiness and did a WONDERFUL job of incorporating everything that I wanted in my blog design. She completely installed it and had it up and running without me having to lift a single html-ing finger.

Since my original installation, she has designed B-Sides for me and my Dose of Humor buttons, all with the same level of excellence and ease to work with.

And guess what?? To help me celebrate my 1st Annual Giveaway Jubilee, Judi is actually giving away a completely FREE CUSTOM BLOG DESIGN!!!

The design package that she is giving away is worth over $100 and includes:

Header
Background
Signature
Post Divider
Color Matching of Text and Links
Optional Sidebar Elements
Optional Navigation Menu
Linking Button

***This package is valid for Blogger, aka Blogspot, Blogs only.

Here’s what you can do to enter:

Click here to go see Judi’s most recent designs. Come back here and comment, saying which one is your favorite (you can just cite the title of the blog).
If you would like an extra entry into this giveaway, become a Blogger Follower of Judi’s blog. Just go to her blog and look for the “followers” on the right side, and click on “Become a Follower”, then come back here and leave another comment, letting me know that you are now following Judi’s blog. She uses her blog to announce giveaways and special discounts, so you won’t regret following it!
Click here to get to a listing of the rules, to find out other ways to get entries into this contest and the other contests in my Jubilee.
If you don’t win, you can use this discount code: GFO31609 to get $10 off of Judi’s design services – she has many option levels available, including some very affordable ones!

Thank you, Judi, for your generous and awesome giveaway!!

This giveaway will be open until Monday, March 16th. The winners will be randomly selected and announced by 3pm on Tuesday, March 17th.

Click here to get to a listing of the rules, to find out other ways to get entries into this contest, and a list of all of the contests for my 1st Annual Giveaway Jubilee.

Wordless Wednesday: Wearing Masks

February 25, 2009 Rachel Callahan Wordless Wednesday - as IF I could be wordless.

I just realized everyone thinks these are two pictures of the same child – nope. They are best friends – no relation. Top is AJ, bottom is Ali. AJ is into “wearing masks” right now, so she brought one for her and one for Ali to the library the other day.

While you’re here, be sure to check out my giveaways – I will have a new giveaway every day this week in celebration of my one year anniversary!!

So far, there are giveaways for:
1. Mabel’s Labels – $18.50 Value
2. Ted Dekker’s Circle Trilogy (novels) – $50 Value
3. Doodlebug Designs Custom Blog Design – over $100 Value
4. Handmade, Designer Pottery – $130 Value
5. Six Week Pottery Lessons – $175 Value
6. Gorgeous and Stylish Handmade Bracelet – $20 Value
7. Gorgeous and Unique Handmade Earrings – $16 Value

Giveaway Jubilee: Three Ted Dekker Books!

February 24, 2009 Rachel Callahan Giveaways and Contests

One of the things I was aiming at with my Giveaway Jubilee was to introduce you to some of my favorite things. So immediately I thought of seeing if I could do a giveaway for my three books from one of my favorite authors, Ted Dekker.

I was so excited when his publishing company, Thomas Nelson, was eager to participate!

I just discovered Ted Dekker a couple of years ago, and I have been blown away by his books.

He has a VERY widely varying writing style. His books range from sweet to extremely intense, all while each one ties together into an unbelievable spiritual analogy. And they ALWAYS leave you wanting to read more about the subject that he wrote on.

The series that I am giving away is his extraordinarily popular Circle trilogy, which includes Black, Red and White. They follow a dual storyline in parallel universes as Thomas Hunter attempts to save both of them from complete destruction. The spiritual storylines run deep in this trilogy. Much like the Narnia series, you can see the analogies over and over throughout the books.

After you get completely sucked into these books, you will be THRILLED to know that the trilogy is about to turn into a four-book series when Green is released on September first!

For this giveaway, all three books (a $50 Value!!) will go to one lucky winner! To enter this contest, all you need to do is comment on this post.

This giveaway will be open until Monday, March 16th. The winners will be randomly selected and announced by 3pm on Tuesday, March 17th.

Click here to get to a listing of the rules, to find out other ways to get entries into this contest, and a list of all of the contests for my 1st Annual Giveaway Jubilee.

Thank you, Katie and Thomas Nelson, for such a fabulous prize!!