Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays

 This is going to be a rant so be prepared....but it ends seriously so feel free to skip ahead if you don't wanna hear the rant.

First problem.  Today I had to call customer service for a company who will remain nameless.  I was finally connected after numerous voice prompts that evidently cannot understand my Southern accent (which honestly I didn't think was that strong...) to a nice lady who obviously could not speak any English except what was on her script.  Since the question I had was not something on her script, she kept trying to answer my question with a solution that was no where CLOSE to what I was asking.  After many attempts at breaking the language barrier and wording my question several different ways, I finally asked if I could speak to someone in America.  BINGO!  I wasn't being a smart butt, but very serious because it was obvious she was not state side.  She then transferred me to someone in America who answered my FIRST question within 2 minutes and I was off the phone. 
Second problem. There is a RODENT in our attic.  I don't know what it is, but it sounds like a large dog is trying to bury a bone in our walls.  It could be a large raccoon or a super squirrel that was bitten by a radioactive spider which I am convinced live in the walls of my house.  So super fun times in our attic...I have to find a rodent removal service and then figure out how to close up the space it is getting into. 

But these problems are tiny and small compared to what my friends and neighbors are facing.  Their sweet new baby is currently in surgery to put a shunt in his heart.  He also has Apert's Syndrome which caused the heart defect.  Please be in prayer and send good thoughts to this wonderful family as they have a long road ahead with their precious gift from God. 

Body Image

As I'm reading Jenny Lawson's posts (she is one of my favorite bloggers featured on many sites such as thebloggess.com and thestir.cafemom.com), I came across her post on children and body image.  Here is a passage from her post.  Read the entire post here.

"But here’s something I will tell you ... there is a pattern to body acceptance that comes with age. It’s over-generalized and I just made it up, but that doesn’t make it less true. Here it is:

• What babies think about their bodies: I have a body?

• What toddlers think about their bodies: Why can’t I get this to work?

• What little boys think about their bodies: I can pee standing up. I am obsessed with my penis.

• What little girls think about their bodies: I am beautiful. When do I get my wings?

• What pre-teen boys think about their bodies: What the f*** is happening?

• What pre-teen girls think about their bodies: This is going to happen EVERY MONTH?

• What teen boys think about their bodies: I can pee standing up. I am obsessed with my penis.

• What teen girls think about their bodies: I am hideous and I wish I looked like that girl.

• What men think about their bodies: I can pee standing up. I am obsessed with my penis.

• What women think about their bodies: I am hideous and I wish I looked like I did when I was a teenager.  

• What old men think about their bodies: What the hell happened to my penis?

• What old women think about their bodies: F*** you. I’m awesome."

This is exactly what I needed to read today.  Thanks Jenny!!!

Wordless Wednesday

September 11

I remember what I was wearing.
I remember where I was sitting.
I remember the phone at my office ringing.
I remember the sound of my mother's voice.
I remember leaving the ringing telephone and running to the television in the conference room.
I remember the horror, the tears, the anger, the questions, and the fear.
I went back to my desk praying.
Praying for those who were dying.
Praying for those who were saving lives.
Praying for those who would get out alive.
Praying for God to save us all.

The tears still flow.  I was no where close to NYC, Washington DC or Pennsylvania but my heart still stops when I hear a low flying plane.  As I'm trying to find the words to explain to my 6 year old what happened, I cannot hold back the tears and he doesn't understand.

Thank you for those who died 10 years ago.  Thank you to those who are survivors.  Thank you to those who have kept the rest of us safe at home and abroad. 

I have family who is protecting our country.  I have so many friends who are protecting our country.  I have so many friends who have spouses protecting our country.  To you, thank you. Thank you for interrupting your life to keep others safe. 

God Bless America.

Getting Crafty

My dresser has been a mess of jewelery since I received all of my free Premier Jewelery after hosting my show.  (Yes, shameless plug for the awesome jewelery).  I was tired of the mess and hassle every time I went to find jewelery to wear so while on Pinterest I found this really cool drawer pull jewelery hanger that was in an esty shop.  Just looking at it I thought it would be easy to replicate and cheaper to do myself.  So here you go!

The hardest part was picking out the paint colors!  Thanks to my cousin Andrea for showing me how to use power tools!!
With my son playing football, I've gotten in the spirit!  I decided to make royal blue flip flops to match his team colors.  This only cost $2 to do since I used a pair of flip flops I already had.

And finally, I was having so much fun painting, I decided to paint my knife block and add a little color to my kitchen.

As you can see, Pinterest has given me all sorts of fun ideas to play around with!!  I wonder what I'll do next?

3 weeks down

So we are now 3 weeks into the school year and I have several things I wanted to vent about.

The car rider line at our school is CLEARLY marked.  There is no question as to how you are to drive to pick up your child.  HOWEVER there are still some people who keep cutting through the parking spaces to jump in front of others in line.  This happened to me today and I was almost hit.  Is an accident REALLY worth one space in line?  This has been a gripe of mine for 2 years now because every year I seem to almost have a wreck with some mother/father/daycare who is trying to get an advantage in line. I really wish something could be done.

My child has come home today with cold symptoms. Why on earth do people send their children to school sick?  Now he will be miserable at his first football game and there is a chance if he is worse he will miss it.

So this is an elementary school with no preschool.  Everyone is at least 5 years old and up. So why every afternoon are there people putting the seat belt on their child to hold up car rider line?  By this age they should be able to strap in by themselves.  Even if they are still in a 5 point seat, teach your child to do this and not be completely helpless.  If they cannot do it, pull up, out of line and do it instead of holding up the line an extra 5 minutes while you do this.

Parents...read the handbook.  There is a dress code!  I cannot tell you how many times I have seen girls in very short shorts and skirts.  When your child has to wear bloomers under their skirt and it is NOT a cheerleader skirt, it just might be too short.

Okay, I feel better now.  What kind of vents do you have about school?

Wordless Wednesday

"not me" Monday

I'm not the one who made my child cry this morning because he wanted to wear stripes and camo at the same time and I said NO...not me!

I didn't completely forget to put money in my child's lunch account and I got a notice we owed the school money...not me!

I'm not the one who stayed up until 1am JUST to see my favorite episode of How I Met Your Mother...not me!

I didn't wait 4 days to finally go to the doctor only to have a severe sinus infection and have to be on meds that make me sick...not me!

I'm not the mom who almost slept through pick up because of above mentioned meds making me sick and want to take a nap so I can feel better...not me! Thank goodness for the daddy working from home....

I don't have three baskets of clean laundry sitting on my couch just because I don't feel up to folding tonight...not me!

And finally I didn't just realize I never swapped a birthday gift from a month ago that my child has forgotten about...not me!!

"not me" Monday

"Oh you've got to be pulling on my leg."  Another "not me" Monday is here.  And here we go....


I didn't hide the last bit of lunch meat and say there wasn't enough for sandwiches just so I could go to the grocery store and get more ham sliced the way I like it instead of the thick stuff...not me!


I didn't make my child pick up every last one of his toys/clothes/crumbs off the floor just to prolong the playing of his annoying NASCAR video game...not me!  (but he played it during his allotted video game time...sheesh)


I'm not the one who was taking the sheets off all the beds in the house and when I finally got to our bed...I ended up lying down and snoozing for 30 minutes.  The only reason I woke up is my child was thirsty and he was looking for me to find out what he could have to drink...not me!


I'm also not the one who started washing the sheets with my new scent booster and loved the smell so much I thought about pulling out ALL of the sheets and wash them...until the thought of folding ALL of the sheets stopped me...not me!


I didn't pick up the phone, dial my mother's phone number, shout "Hello....HELLO" in my southern twang into the phone when I didn't hear a dial tone only to hear "Is someone else on the call?"  Yes, it was my husband's conference call with Microsoft...not me!


I did not drive very slow in front of a very scary looking house in my hometown JUST to get a picture of a metal chicken to post on my Facebook page because I think Beyonce, the giant metal chicken is the coolest thing on earth...not me!

Beyonce's long lost sister, LuLu

Speaking of Facebook, I wasn't the one who literally laughed out loud at someone's status that was meant to be serious.  Their complete stupidity and what they wrote made it funny...not me!


I'm not the one who constantly forgets about my husband's status call every day and at that exact time I get the urge to call my mom...not me!


I didn't turn on Despicable Me AGAIN once video game time was over today...not me!


I didn't check my gmail for the first time in 3 weeks to find an email from a blog reader that I have yet to respond to...not me!  (Answer is coming soon Adam...promise!)

Oh shove it where the sun doesn't shine California Milk peeps

So the California Milk Processor Board and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners have produced this new ad campaign "Everythingidoiswrong.com" and today is NOT the day I should have found out about this.  So these California Milk people, who I naturally assume are men, are saying that if your woman is PMS'ing and irrational....because of course when women PMS they are COMPLETELY irrational...give her a glass of milk and everything will be cured. SERIOUSLY?!  So in MY irritated, irrational, and annoyed PMS state, I am showing the following picture to my husband. 

BAAAAAD IDEA.  He died laughing and said they should just insert his face on the picture.  Dude...if you were thinking about getting any for the next couple weeks, you just KILLED that hope.  What is wrong with men?  Why can't they just be a little sympathetic to us women just once a month?  I want them to experience PMS just once.

Done with my rant for now....and this song came on Disney Channel just now and will be stuck in my head for the next 100 days...so get stuck in yours, too!  MUHAHA! (that is my attempt at an evil blog laugh....)

I am NOT ready for some football

I thought I would be ready.  I knew for 6 years this day was coming.  It came yesterday and I was not ready.  Is there any way I can procrastinate the arrival of my little baby playing tackle football?!?!!?!?

Not Me Monday

I'm not the one who made sure I went to Sonic to get a bag of ice while out to pick up dinner because my husband wouldn't stop earlier for me to get a cup....not me!

I'm not the one who didn't want to wait an extra 20 minutes in Publix for the rotisserie chicken to cook so I just went to KFC...not me!

I'm not the one who suggested turning on Despicable Me for the fourth time to avoid the tween Disney shoes today...not me!

I'm not the one who is letting my child have an ice cream sandwich at 8:45 at night...not me!

I'm not the one who flat out told the football team mom that I was going to do the absolute minimum volunteering because I do so much during baseball season and I wanted to enjoy my child do a sport....not me!!!

Just call it what it is.

On my trip to the grocery store this evening, my extreme dislike of "extreme couponing" and "stockpiling" was realized.  As most of you know, I'm an avid coupon clipper.  I love clipping, saving money and getting the most for my money.  If I can get something for free or a few cents, I will do it!  I have been known to buy 6 taco kits at one time when I have NONE on hand, but REALLY...come on...all most of these "extreme coupon" and "stockpiling" people are hoarding.  Yes, I said it.  HOARDING. 

I pulled this image off google images.  My question is are you REALLY going to use that many marinades and salad dressings? They do have expiration dates you know. 
What I saw this evening was a nice, well dressed lady walking through the store with her coupon binder (I have one myself, not judging...yet...) and her two shopping carts (still not judging...).  As I kept passing her in the store, I became aware of WHAT she was putting in those shopping carts.  She cleaned the shelves of the following products:

• Mashed potatoes
• Canned tomatoes
• cake mix
• taco dinner kits (and I would have liked to have purchase a few of these)
• Fiber One yogurt (again, I was going after a few of these)
• EVERY Zatarain's box which had to have been at least 50 boxes
• Spray and Wash
• Hershey chocolates

When I say she cleaned the shelves, she took EVERY ONE IN STOCK ON THE SHELF.  I noticed just these things because I happened to be on the same aisle as she at the time she was RAKING the shelves clean.  No joke.  For the Zatarain's she took her arm and in two swoops cleaned the shelf.  There were many other items in her cart that were in mass quantities.  She was behind me in the checkout line and started to get her things in order.  She had at least 6 different transactions that I saw her splitting up before leaving and one of the shopping carts was still full.
Now I will say she MIGHT have been shopping for a food closet, or she might have 19 kids (but I know what Michelle Duggar looks like and she was NO Michelle) or she might live an hour away from a Publix (but in this area it is VERY doubtful as there are 4 stores in a 10 mile radius of my home).  But with this new trend, I am 95% sure she was stockpiling hoarding.

To prove my point, I looked up "Stockpile" in Merriam-Webster.  It says:

a : a reserve supply of something essential accumulated within a country for use during a shortage  

b : a gradually accumulated reserve of something

Um...does our country have a shortage?  Are these people gradually accumulating these groceries?  No and no. 

Then I looked up the definition of "Hoard" in Merriam-Webster.  It says:

a supply or fund stored up and often hidden away.

My point exactly. 

I do not understand the purpose of what these people are doing: people who need to rent a storage unit just for their groceries; people who turn their bonus rooms/extra bedrooms/garages into stockpile hoarding rooms; people who clean off grocery shelves and take every coupon in the coupon boxes.  Please feel free to explain this to me if I am off in my thinking.  If you are a stockpiler, then I hope I didn't offend you too much and maybe opened your eyes to what you are doing. To those just jumping in the coupon community, I hope proved my point.  Take just what you need for 6 weeks.  It does go on sale again.  The same coupons will run again.  Don't be a hoarder. Leave some for the rest of us.

It's been a while....

...but I'm catching up on everything in the next few days.  31 Days To Clean will start back this evening.  Things have finally slowed down a bit and I am going to try and not dilly-dally this week! Until my next post, I leave you with the coolest groom's cake EVER!

Picture Challenge #30

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

I miss her.  

My cousin/best friend/soul sister Rebecca.   

We were 5 months apart in age. 

We lived 100 miles away from each other.

We wrote each other letters weekly, before the age of email and texting.

We spent most holidays together.

We went to the beach together.

We played dress up, made mud pies, and tormented her sister.

We played in the pasture and rode her horse.

We made college plans together when we were high school freshmen.

But God had other plans.

She left us way too soon.

It has been over 19 years since I last saw her face.

Over 19 years since I heard her LOUD laugh.

This picture is the last time I saw her.

Our last Christmas.

Our last sleepover.

Our last hug goodbye.

I know she's waiting on me up there, and I can't wait to see her again.

Until then, I miss her.

Every day.

Picture Challenge #29

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.

My husband and me...just a normal day... HA HA HA HA HA!

A Difficult Two Weeks...

Exhausted. 

That is the only word to describe me at this moment.

The past two weeks have been hard.

School is wrapping up for my little buddy so there are a lot of events.  Field Day, end of year parties, yearbook parties, PTA wrap ups, Teacher Appreciations...so I've been busy at the school.

Baseball end of season tournament kicked off.  Also means end of season parties and emotions high from having a very tough season and it ending with our very first win of the season and then being put out of the tournament right away. 

But the hardest of them all, my Poppy went through aortic valve replacement surgery at 84 years old.  The surgery actually went well.  His heart recovered extremely well.  Recovery however, not so good for a while.  Driving downtown to the hospital every day for almost a week and seeing my grandfather who, when I was little seemed so larger than life and indestructible, completely out of it and struggling to figure out where he was or what he was doing really took a toll on me.  He is doing so much better now and back to his old self and should be headed to a rehabilitation center sometime this week!  I am emotionally and physically tired.

I will be picking back up my 31 Days To Clean challenge either today or tomorrow.  I've fell behind on many things that I plan on catching up on this week.

But I'm exhausted. 

Stay tuned...

31 Days to Clean Day 1...

"It's not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy.  The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted."  - Mary O'Connor

If you didn't see my earlier post, Sarah Mae has written the book 31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way.  I have joined the challenge to blog about each of the days the book highlights.  The book is available for download for only $4.99 here!

Sarah Mae has some challenges in the book that are Mary challenges that will challenge your heart and then there are Martha challenges that will make you just get in there and get it done. I am SO excited to dive into this book since Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World made me realize I'm such a Mary! 

So Day 1 posed the question "Why Clean?"
Good question.  Sarah wants us to look inside ourselves and ask why do we want a clean home.  My answer to this question is to have my home feel inviting to my own family.  I want my family to WANT to stay at home and to freely invite people over.  I want it to be a place of rest and refuge for anyone who came to the door.  I want my home to be a happy place.  My home's "mission statement" will be this: Our home will be an environment of love, rest and refuge without dirt and clutter.

So HOW am I going to do this?  I really hope Sarah Mae can help guide me on this journey!  She says in her intro to the book that cleaning doesn't come easy for her and that her "DNA is allergic to it."  Um...HELLO...that would be me! 

Won't you join me on this journey?  Go purchase her ebook or follow along with me on my blog.

*Editor's note* I just realized I started a day early, so check back Tuesday for Day 2!

Picture Challenge #28

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.

 

Prayers and Donations Needed

As the death toll climbs in the South from what is now called the second deadliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history, donations are desperately needed.  If you can help, please consider clicking the Red Cross logo on the right side of the blog and donate. You can also donate from your cell phone by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross. After your confirm your donation, you will receive a text and will be offered the option to specify your gift to support Disaster Relief.  Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. 

If you can't donate funds at this time, the easiest thing you can do is pray.  Pray for the over 300 lives lost and thousands that have been injured, lost their homes, businesses and everything they own.  Pray for the towns that will take years to recover if they can recover at all.  Pray for the families that have forever been changed.

Picture Challenge #27

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.

 Me and my daddy at an Auburn game. WAR EAGLE!

Picture Challenge # 26

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.

Stephanie means a lot to me.  She is one of my best friends and she now lives in Chicago.  And just FYI...our kids already have an arranged marriage. :)

Picture Challenge #25

Day 25 - A picture of your favorite day.

 The day my little man was born!  This picture was taken at 3 days old.  He was a fighter!  Those little lungs weren't quite finished growing so he had to have help for several days.  You wouldn't know it now!!

Could it be a Dream?

I am waiting to wake up like Dorothy did, surrounded by family saying you just bumped your head and the twister wasn't that bad.

But it wasn't a dream.

This is real.

My Southeast.  Ripped apart by swirling winds.  Reports of over 150 tornadoes.

My little area is safe and intact.

Others, not so lucky.

194 confirmed dead in 5 states.

Photo credit: Jason Clark

 These images are from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  Home of the University of Alabama.  The hardest hit area.  Total devastation.

Photo credit: Jason Clark

Photo credit: Jason Clark

Photo credit: Jason Clark

 Here is video of the monster storm. You can hear the sirens, watch the tornado grow, see transformers blown, debris swirled around the massive twister, and hear the prayers of the photographer.

But through all of this, God is there.  With all of the devastation around it, the cross and linens still stand intact as a reminder of God's ever presence.  He will carry the South through this.

Photo credit: Jason Clark

My heart is broken for those who have lost everything.  Please, if nothing else, consider donating to the Red Cross here.

Pray for not just Tuscaloosa, but the entire Southeast. 

 

Picture Challenge #24

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.

 My beloved Toomer's Corner Oaks are dying.  There is nothing that can be done to change it. 
The actions of one crazy fan of a rival college have killed 130 year old trees.  I am so thankful I was able to take my child to roll the trees this past football season, for he will never be able to do it again.
To read the story, go here.

A NEW CLEANING BOOK!

This is SO exciting.  I loved the book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.  Now there is the book coming out by Sarah Mae called 31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way.  I am going to dive into this book asap, but here is the good news....Sarah Mae is giving this ebook away for FREE!  What?!  I'm SO excited since I JUST received a Kindle for my birthday.  Here is how YOU can get your free copy.

From Sarah's blog:
"From RIGHT  NOW until midnight tonight (EST) you can get 31 Days to Clean – Having a Martha House the Mary Way FREE just by using the hashtag #31daystoclean in a tweet and linking to 31daystoclean.com OR by blogging about the ebook!


Once you do one of these two things, email me (or DM me @sarahmaewrites) with your email address and I’ll send you a download link!"


So Sarah Mae...I'm spreading the word!!!!  I cannot WAIT to get my eyes on your wonderful ebook!!

Picture Challenge # 23

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.

Picture Challenge Day 22

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.

BLOGGING!
I'm slacking so bad!

My Quiet Time with God

On a vacation with family and friends, there is not much quiet time to be had.  But there were times God revealed Himself to me and it was hard not to notice.
It all started Monday when my sweet 5 year old boy and I had lunch together.  I asked him to say our blessing at lunch and expected our quick little prayer.  Instead, this is what he said: "Dear God, than you for our food and please be with us and protect us on our vacation.  Amen."
Whoa.  Did my little guy really just ask God to be with us?  It warmed my heart he thought to ask this.  But like most things, it didn't really stick with me too much.
Tuesday morning, everything went right.  We pulled out of town on time with our friends, had a safe journey and made it to Walt Disney World with no incidents and no major traffic.  When I finally hit my pillow, I made a little quiet time to thank Him for delivering us and like my son, asked Him to be with us as we went on our journey and help us have a good time.  Boy did He ever deliver!

We couldn't have planned a better day at the park and our kids had a great time with no fighting or crying!  Everything fell right into place and it was a beautiful day.  They even kept the park open one extra hour (but with three kids who were falling asleep before the parade, we had to get out of there).  The next morning we headed out to Port Canaveral for the cruise.  Weather was perfect and we had a safe and quick trip to the boat.  Once the boat pulled out we started the second part of our vacation and it was so much fun!
Just looking at the ocean flowing beneath us, I was reminded of God's love for us and the beauty he has created for us to enjoy.

As the trip went on, I was reminded on a daily basis that God has a plan for our little family.  Gathered with our friends, I know he has us with these friends for a reason.  Our kids are friends which is always a plus.  It was a quick and whirlwind trip with beautiful sights and beautiful memories.  The last night I finally sat on our veranda filling out our customs paperwork and cruise survey.  As I watched the ocean race by beneath me, I began thanking Him for the beauty He has created for us to enjoy.  It was so quiet, a clear sky, and only ocean as far as I could see.  We had a moment, right then and there, just me and my Savior.  I have SO much to be thankful for and without God's Grace I wouldn't be where I am today.  

So not only did I have a relaxing and fun vacation, I had quiet time with my God. 

Picture Challenge day # 21

Day 21 - A picture of your favorite night .

 Rolling Toomer's Corner after beating 'Bama with my family and friends.  PERFECT night.

BEWARE OF COW NINJAS!

Quick Dinner

If you are interested in a quick and cheap dinner idea, just follow this simple recipe for Cheesy Beef Stroganoff.

The ingredients you need are:

 1 lb. ground beef
3 c. uncooked medium egg noodles
1/2 lb (8 oz.) Velveeta Cheese, cubed
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 tsp. pepper

 Cube the cheese up pretty small to melt easier.
Cook your ground beef and drain the fat, keeping the ground beef in the skillit.  Stir in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.

 Stir in egg noodles, reduce to low medium heat and cover.  Let it simmer for 8 minutes until noodles are tender.

 Add the Velveeta cheese cubes, cream of mushroom soup and pepper.

 Oh, by the way...this is the best recipe book EVER.  This is where I got the recipe.

Stir until your cheese is melted and serve warm.  You now have Cheesy Beef Stroganoff that your family is guaranteed to LOVE! 

I have computer issues...

As soon as I get it fixed I'll be back!

Picture Challenge #20

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.

Since I've already covered Italy in picture challenge #15, I'll go with something different.

The Four Seasons Resort in Bora Bora!  Look at this amazing place!  http://www.fourseasons.com/borabora/

It is BEAUTIFUL and looks so relaxing.

Honey....our 10 year anniversary isn't too far off to start planning..............

Picture Challenge # 19

Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.

Picture Challenge #18

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.

Right now, my weight.

Picture Challenge #17

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
I have been listening to this over and over and over...and it has really made a difference with my daily life.

This song in particular.



Also....this website has changed my house and organization! 

Look back over my organizational challenges to see what wonderful things Toni has helped me do in my house!