Lots Happening!

I've got a lot going on right now - most of which I'm just not ready to blog about.  I'll hit the major points:  working, packing, moving prep, more working and even more packing.  My to do list is a mile long.  I'm checking things off slowly but surely.  Some good things are happening, too. Even some things that I'm excited about.  God is watching over me and giving me strength and patience.  I know that He has a plan for me.  Of course, I'll continue praying and keeping the faith!

Someone's Birthday!!

Today is my dear older sister's birthday. Sure, she's only 9 months and 10 days older than me, but who's counting!  For some reason, I don't have a very recent picture of the two of us together.  We still look pretty much the same as this one. 

Brandi, you are an amazing sister.  The love, friendship, and support that you give me is more than I even deserve.  I'm so glad that God gave me you for a sister.  Happy Birthday!  I love you! 

Precious Gift

I came home the other day to a package at the front door.  Who doesn't love a box at the front door?  It's like I can imagine the mailman (or woman) saying "special delivery!"  Though, I think this one came via FedEx.  Anyway, from the time that I saw it driving up, getting into the garage, getting the mail, etc., I wondered what it was.  I wasn't expecting anything and could not think of anything that I had ordered recently.  I decided it must not be for me.  I brought it inside to the kitchen counter and looked at the label.  It was for me!  Then, I check the return address to make sure it wasn't a mail bomb or ...... I can't think of the name of that other stuff people were sending in the mail.....I know it's not arsenic.....oh well.  It was from someone I know, so I immediately tore into it.  What awaited me was something completely unexpected. 

It was this beautiful afghan.  These pictures do not do it justice. 

I mean, just look at all this detail!

A very special friend made this for me.  I can't even imagine all of the time that she spent making it for me - every stitch was done with love!  I will treasure this gift forever and it's maker.  Love you!

Overwhelmed

I'm sure you've gathered from reading lately that things have been kind of tough lately.  I'm good and am handling it all pretty well, but I don't know where I would be without my family and friends.  They have been SO generous and supportive.  If I need to talk to someone, go to dinner, get out of the house, anything - someone is always there for me.  I am truly blessed with so many awesome people in my life.  The love and support they give me is overwhelming.  There are not enough words to express how appreciative I am to them.  I hope that I am making sure that they all know it and that, if they ever need me, I can be just as supportive of them. 

If any of you are reading this, I love you and I am very thankful for you!

Please Seat Yourself

You know how there are some things that you think will never happen to you or that you will never have to do?  I've had a few of those things happen to me recently.  I'm proud to say that I was able to 100% on my own handle one of them and its completely repaired.  Sure, it was a toilet seat - but does that really matter?  And yes, I did try to get someone to fix it for me, but it just didn't work out that way. 

****warning - images of a very clean toilet below****

The toilet seat in the guest bathroom cracked a few weeks ago.  I'm not sure how it happened, but there have been so many people in and out of my house lately that I'm not surprised.  I don't really use this bathroom any more because part of my new work out routine is to go upstairs to the bathroom instead of using the closer guest bath.  Anyway, my brother-in-law was here and was going to fix it for me.  If only I had purchased the right color!  I thought I needed a cream color elongated seat.  The options are round or elongated and white or cream.  Little did I know that my toilet seat is actually a color in between called Biscuit. 

It only took two trips to Home Depot, which I consider to be quiet an accomplishment for a home repair project.  My brother-in-law was long gone when I finally got the right color.  I had no choice but to try to fix it myself.  I've got to say it could not have been easier.  I snapped the covers off the little part on the back then unscrewed the screws.  I then cleaned that part and wondered why it didn't occur to me to put on gloves for this task.  Oh well.  I unboxed the new seat and screwed it into place then cleaned it.  Done!  (then I washed and re-washed my hands and changed clothes). 

Needless to say, I'm pretty proud of myself.  No, I haven't tested it out yet.  I will leave that to my next lucky guest.  

Sa-Tur-Day Night!

While my sister and her husband had a fancy dinner last night with his company, my nephews and I had some fun of our own. I've been looking forward to them visiting since I left their house after Christmas. I was afraid the boys would change their minds at the last minute and stay with Papa & Mema. I warned my mother that if they asked to stay with her, she needed to make a reason why they couldn't. 
We started off at Chick fil A for some nuggets and fries. Jonah wanted to play on the playground there, but changed his mind so that we could move on to our next destination..............iJump! It's a place full of blow-up bounce houses, slides, etc. The boys played and played. Noah was very good about watching for Jonah and they stayed together the whole time. I followed the from place to place just watching and laughing. Sometimes, I would step closer to make sure they knew I was there. They kept thinking I was coming to say it was time to go! I was able to get them to stand still for a second for a quick picture.

Some friends met us there and I saw a couple of other people that I knew from an old job. Who would have thought I would see people I know at iJump? Not me since I didn't wear makeup or wash my hair!

After iJump, we all met up at Yogurt Lab for a delicious treat. It was night a fun night on the town with my two favorite boys. When we were leaving iJump, Noah said "thank you for taking us to eat and play." Jonah said "yeah, thank you for taking us." Such sweet boys! We ended the evening with a game of Uno at my kitchen table. Noah won and I came in second to last, but it was still the perfect evening.

Meat-free Tuesday

Obviously, the title would be better if it was "Meat-free Monday," but I ate meat yesterday (for lunch and dinner, but not a lot at either).  Today and this past Saturday, I intentionally did not have meat.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to stop eating meat.  I can't even tell you how much I love a good steak.  I just want to try not eating meat every day.  I don't know if I will or won't have meat tomorrow - actually, I probably will.  Lunch is being served at the office and I'm sure it will entail some sort of meat.  Anyway, I'll try another meat-free day soon.  I am making sure that I get enough protein, so no need to worry about that. 

I've tried two new things in my meat-free adventure.  I had a California quesadilla.  It had spinach, black beans, goat cheese, and pico de gallo.  I really enjoyed it.  I like spinach in small amounts or mixed in with something.  I can't eat a serving of just plain spinach.  The quesadilla had the perfect amount.  I've also tried a Veggie wrap.  It's a multi grain wrap filled with hummus, artichokes, cucumbers, spring mix, tomatoes, and feta topped with balsamic dressing.  I love hummus almost as much as I love steak, and I love this wrap.  I had half of it for lunch with a salad and the other half for dinner with some fruit.  Put hummus on anything and I will eat it.  My friend, Leanne, introduced me to cucumber slices dipped in or spread with hummus.  This is great for a snack or something light at parties. 

I may try this at least 3 days a week.  I'm hoping it will encourage me to try new things.  Anyone have any cool meat-free food suggestions?

Guess Who's at the Door?

Yea!  I've been waiting for this for a week! 

Those of you who know me, know that I *love* beauty products/tools/etc.  I like trying new things and having lots of options.  For example, I don't wear the same eye shadow and eye liner every day.  There are good things about having a "signature style" but I like to mix things up.  When I'm in Sephora, it's like a kid in a candy store.  I try things, take samples, talk to the salespeople, and just love all the cool products.  I already have my next Sephora order started in my online cart.  What....no.........I don't have a problem...........

This time I got the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette.  I love the first Naked palette, so I'm sure this one will be a hit as well (yes, the colors are different).  I also got Philosophy Microdelivery Triple-Acid Brightening Peel pads.  A salon-type peel has been tempting, so I can try these first to make sure it's something that will work form me.  I can't wait to try the eye shadow tomorrow morning, but will wait till the weekend to try the peel pads just in case I have some sort of reaction.  Remember that episode of Sex and the City? 

I'll be sure to let you know how I like my new goodies!  I know you will be on the edge of your seats!

A New Year

Well, so far 2012 is off to a great start.  I celebrated the new year with great friends and good times.  On Saturday night, I went to dinner with Dana, Gretchen, Robin, and Harmony.  We had a great time at one of my favorite restaurants, Village Tavern.  What's hilarious is that we didn't even wait for a table.  Yes, on New Year's Eve!  After dinner, Dana, Gretchen, and I went by a friend's party.  We watched the ball drop (really 11 pm CST) and hung out for a little while before heading to my house to ring in the actual new year.  On Sunday morning, I took Leanne to church with me.  I enjoyed being in church that morning and hearing the sermon about new beginnings.  We had communion, too. 

After church, I had brunch at Silvertron with Leanne, Dana, and Gretchen.  Later that afternoon, Leanne, Dana, and I went for a long 3 mile walk (thanks, Leanne!).  We hung out then had a New Year's dinner at Leanne's.  Leanne made collard greens and baked potatoes.  Matt grilled steaks.  Dana made some awesome black eyed peas - in the crock pot complete with ham!  It was a delicious dinner.  For dessert, we made mint chocolate chips cookies served warm with vanilla ice cream.  Yum!  The cookies are good, but warm with the ice cream was just phenomenal.  To round out the day, we watched a movie - Friends with Benefits.  Everyone laughed when I said I was slightly embarrassed by how crude it was.  They said "what were you expecting?"  It was a funny movie, but definitely a little crude.  Consider yourself warned. 

Today, I slept in a little bit and probably would have slept later but a repairman came over to fix a shutter outside.  He rescheduled on my twice last week, so I should consider myself lucky that he showed up this morning.  I had lunch with a friend and then have just been doing stuff at home.  Trying to clean out/organize/etc.  I'm almost done, but don't think I'll get it all done tonight.  It's time to watch the Bachelor!  Who else is going to watch this train wreck? 

It's back to work tomorrow.  I'm preparing myself for the craziness that will be January.  I am thankful to have a job and will try to keep a smile on my face while doing tons of work in very little time.  If I'm not blogging regularly, you know what's keeping me away!

Happy New Year!  I hope that your 2012 has started off as nicely as mine!