Compulsion

I was on the bus today, crammed in with all other 48 passengers on our commuter sardine can. It was unbearably warm on the bus this morning. After taking a bit of a nap, I opened my eyes and discovered that all of our windows were fogged up. I sat there and stared at the foggy window and had an overwhelming compulsion to write HELP US!!!! on the window. Backwards of course so that the passengers in the cars along side us could read it. I grinned to myself and giggled silently. I wanted to so badly.

Don't tell....I did it just before I got off the bus....hehehehe!!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Spring's coming!

Overheard at Church

Sunday was such a long day for our praise team. Shooter and I were at the 5pm service, the 4th of 5 services that day. We sang our first praise song and then our Worship Pastor says hello to everyone in the crowd and.....

"Welcome to Avalon Church everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful Thanksgiving and we're so glad you came this morning!"

hahaha....

Hope you guys all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. You get two posts today because I actually started writing the other post yesterday morning. But I didn't finish it because I felt like crap all day. My FIL was convinced I had walking pneumonia or some other kind of plague. Whatever..... I did call the doctor and sound all pitiful and stuff and they called me in some wonder meds. I got a z-pack of antibiotics, an inhaler and the gosh-darn best cough medicine around. Today I am actually back at work and feeling pretty good. :-)

Feeling crappy....but feeling hopeful

Saturday was truly an amazing day. It started our fabulously...Shooter and I went to my favorite breakfast place where I got an amazing plate of stawberry french toast, applewood smoked bacon and coffee.


By Saturday afternoon I was starting to feel really crappy. I took a nap and woke up feeling better, so I headed off to see if I could find some wonderful bargains and a new Easter outfit. I got home and had started to feel bad again.


We were due at church at 5pm, Saturday night was our boxes of HOPE distribution. We were expecting 750 families to come to the church and I needed to get feeling better.


We got to the church and I ended up getting assigned to a group that I wasn't all that thrilled about. I ended up being assigned to the greeters group. I was very anxious about having to greet people and talk to them and the more I thought about it, the more anxious I got. I kept silently praying to myself and asking God to help me step out of my comfort zone.


In the end we didn't have nearly 750 families show up. But that's okay...God had something bigger in mind for all the leftover boxes. Shooter and I took five boxes with us and drove to three houses near where we live. The first was not so much of a house as a makeshift shanty. Johnny lived there. Johnny has hardly any teeth and is suffering from cancer. Johnny has a tarp strung between trees with a table and chairs underneath - and he sleeps in a van. Johnny has no job and relies on others to get by. Johnny really touched my heart. We also stopped at another house where a young man, probably in his early to mid-40's, lives taking care of his 85 year old parents - both of whom were in wheelchairs. Our final stop was at a home where the grandmother was home with 6 grandkids all under the age of 10. It was a tiny house and those babies had the biggest most beautiful brown eyes. Everyone we gave a box to was so thankful and you could see the bewilderment in their eyes...they didn't understand who we were or why we were at their house or why we were giving them a box of food.

Honestly, I couldn't have told them why we stopped at their house. We just did. We were just normal folks, thankful for what we have been given, passing that on to someone else.

H.O.P.E.

HOPE. It's kind of a simple word actually. But it's a very powerful word to me. I have the word HOPE tattooed on my wrist in Hebrew. It symbolizes my journey through depression and anxiety. It also symbolizes another journey, one I'm not quite ready to tell the world about. It also reminds me everyday of where my HOPE comes from - through Jesus Christ.

Yesterday, Shooter and I volunteered at our church, Avalon Church, and helped give out Boxes of HOPE for those families who are at risk and low income in Henry County. It was an amazing evening and certainly one that I cannot summarize in one post here.

Today, on Easter Sunday, I am finding myself very reflective and doing a lot of looking inward at myself. I feel like yesterday pushed me to be a better person and start taking steps to share the HOPE I have with others.

Happy Easter everyone....may you discover the true source of HOPE.

L.

Thursday's Pretty Things

Geeez! Is it Thursday again, already!?!?



Here's my regular Thursday posting of really cool and pretty things...and actually this week, my post is dedicated to things that make you pretty!



First up, I spied this delicious looking shower cream on Etsy the other day and while I'm not a vegan, I can certainly appreciate a nice, all natural product. The Gudonya Whipped Clean (tm) - Italian Lemon Cream Foaming Body Wash looks heavenly!!!! From the same shop is the fabulous shave cream - Gudonya Whipped Shave Cream (tm) - Wild Strawberry - and it's vegan too! I am certainly going to have to order me some of this fine stuff!


I'm also a beauty fiend...but on a budget! I love, love, love the brow color kit from Target's Sonia Kashuk. I have noticed my brows getting thinner and lighter colored...this has really made a difference for me! Also, I'm a HUGE fan of Lash Blast from Cover Girl. This stuff lengthens and plumps up my lashes something fierce. I have tried all kinds of foundations and I have been using Revlon's ColorStay for years. They finally came out with a version for oily skin and I'm tremendously grateful!!!!


When it comes to taking care of my mug....well, I'm a budget girl there too. Honestly, some of the "drug store" items are just as good as their overpriced sisters in the "department stores". I have decided over time that I HATE foams and liquid cleansers and runny liquids to take off my makeup. I end up making a bigger mess in the bathroom than any two year old could make! So, my solution is the Olay Daily Facials Express Wet Cleansing Cloth. Oh my....this has made my life so much more worth living! At night, because I always clean my face at night...don't you? No? Well, me neither. My Mom always got onto me about it...but there are times that I just am too doggone tired to drag my sorry butt to the bathroom and wipe it off my face. But for those times I am following the rules passed down to me, I use Olay Age Defying Anti-Wrinkle Replenishing Night Cream and the Olay Regenerist Eye Derma-Pod Anti-Aging Triple Response System every third night or so. On the other nights I use Olay Age Defying Revitalizing Eye Gel. Sometimes I'll even use these for day...ya know...like if I was lazy the night before and I really just want to get another 8 hours of sleep...I'll pretend like it's night and do my nighttime regime. :-)


As far as shaving goes....can I tell you just how much I HATE shaving my legs. ( I just noticed that I seem to hate a lot of things in relation to beauty products...maybe I should delve into that another time....) I currently use the Schick Silk Effects Razor. I kinda like it but trying to choose another razor is like choosing a new hair dresser. They're either too small for me to hold in my hand (typical disposable razors) and therefore I feel like I'm going to cut my legs into ribbons or they don't last long enough (Schick Intuition). I'd love to hear which razor you use and why you use it. I think it's time I part ways with mine....


Finally....lipstick. Yes, ladies....I know your Mom always said to never leave the house without clean underwear on....but the same holds true for lipstick. I don't like having to keep reapplying mine though...because, I'm lazy. I have, however, found the best long wearing lipstick out there. It's L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail Lipcolor. I own 5 different shades of this stuff. It's amazing. I can put it on in the morning before I leave the house...that's at around 7:10 or 7:40am. I don't usually reapply it until I'm getting ready to leave work and that's around 5:15 or 5:40pm. It doesn't get all gunky on your lips or feel too dry.


Now....go forth and prettify!

Wordless Wednesday

He can't help it...he's got balls....big ones too....

I mean, look at that perfectly executed triangle of cannon balls...geesh, you people have your minds in the gutter....

P.S. I can't believe I haven't posted in nearly a week. Maybe I'll get out of my funk soon enough to update the world on the craziness that has been going on.

Thursday's Pretty Things

Shooter and I are going to be doing a remodel of our master bathroom in the coming weeks. So, I get to think about how I want to redecorate. I think I've decided that I want to go with a very neutral spa-like atmosphere. We have a grey countertop, tub and shower. So I have to think about how to work with that. I think I'm going to go with a grey-ish taupe paint, like Perfectly Greige from Sherwin Williams. I'll keep the trim a crisp white. We'll probably do some neutral tile on the floor that ties the taupe and grey together. I like these tiles from Lowe's.

So, below are some of the items I'm looking at decorating with in the new bathroom.


I fell in love with the mirrored cabinet from West Elm the minute I saw it. I think it would make a great storage addition to the bathroom, plus I get the benefit of a full length mirror. I also love the storage bench from West Elm, great storage plus a sleek look and a great place to sit and put on shoes, socks, etc. The white bath accessories from Martha Stewarts Collection at Macy's are just the kind of understated elegance that I want in the bathroom. They make a statement without screaming trendy at you. I just want to do plain white towels and these from Macy's are just so luxurious looking! I did think that a punch of color, probably blue to play off the grey, would be nice in the bath rugs and other accessories. I thought the sunburst wall art would look great above the tub and add something special and interesting.

So, go forth and prettify!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Charleston Architecture

Fodder for your amusement....

So, last Wednesday evening Shooter and I went to dinner with our small group from church. We went to a new Japanese steakhouse in our area and had a great time!

Although, it started off rocky because we got there and sat down and ordered. We got out soup and salad....and appetizers....but no chef! We had to have waited 30 min...finally my fab friend Judy went to go and speak with the manager. Shortly thereafter the manager turns up at the table and goes into the big long spiel about how one of their chefs had his car stolen earlier in the day. That the police had found his car and came to get him from work. He left to go and get his car and didn't tell the manager. He told one of the servers that he was leaving and the manager found out from the server. She went on to explain that she was so very sorry and they had no way of knowing and that the chef had gone and cashed his check at the bank and left the money in his car. She explained that she had told the chef that they had probably followed him from the bank and then stole his car. She then explained that she had no idea what he was doing leaving his cash in the car but that she didn't think that the money would be there when he went to see his car. Ugh! Cry me a river...or as my friend Dusty said....Boo Freakin' Hoo.


Well, we finally get a chef at the table and he put on the usual show. The food was quite good....not sure if it was really that good or if I was just exceptionally hungry. At the end he does the trick of tossing food for you to catch in your mouth. Usually they do this with shrimp, I think, but he did it with bits of chicken. Well, everyone did pretty well with catching the chicken...and when it came to me I did my best. The first piece bounced off my chin and onto my plate. The second piece took a nosedive into my bra. YUP...HOT chicken right straight into my bazoomba holder...not good!!! I received all the requsite cheers and jeers and promptly shook the chicken out of my shirt...it was hot after all! I managed to get the third piece in my mouth...thank goodness!


So, that was my ultra embarassing episode for the month....please God, don't torture me like that in front of my friends! I can't help it that you blessed me with more than the average female....

Every Sunday my heart grows a little more

Well, this past Sunday was our turn to tie up work with the kids in the preschool area of our church. I swear, every Sunday I grow to love these kids more and more. We have a couple of twin boys who are the most adorable things since puppies. They both have to give you big ole hugs before they leave...just tear my heart out, would ya? Also, I have another little boy who gives me this huge hug when he comes in....and always has to go color with Miss Laura. Well, I love to color, this gives me an excuse to do so and not get looked at weird. Also, there's one little girl who I adore, she has these ringlets that are to die for and the most beautiful eyes. She's got a heart of gold and unfortunately I made her cry one Sunday - it nearly broke my heart. We were talking about how when we die we'll go to heaven and be with Jesus - and she started to tear up and said that she didn't ever want to leave her parents, she loved her parents, she didn't want to go anywhere without her parents, she was living with her parents forever. She might as well have jerked out my heart and stomped on it right there. She came back though!

It just makes my day to see these little 4 year old kids understanding Bible stories and learning. They always say the darndest things...like how Jesus probably ate peanut butter crackers at The Last Supper. Who knows...maybe He did.... :-)

How do I get myself into these things...

So, today I volunteer to go down and retrieve my boss' suitcase so he can pack his newly returned suit for his trip to Europe. I figure, how hard can it be to gain access to a trunk. Well, apparently harder than I thought. I find his car and try opening it with the fob on his keychain. After no response, I'm afraid I'm trying to get into the wrong car. I look around, nope, no other car like his around here. I then notice that the key next to the fob on the key chain is a Toyota key...nope, not the one for this car. Hrumph! So, I start trying random keys in the door. I finally find one that works and gain access to the inside of the car. I then spend the next couple of minutes wondering how on Earth Infiniti could hide the trunk release button so well. I finally locate it and pop the trunk....at least I thought I popped the trunk. I actually popped the gas door open. *sigh* Well, hitting the trunk release button does nothing. So I get back out of the car, lock it up, and then try the key AGAIN in the trunk. Nothing. I stand there...staring at the trunk with my hands on my hips and wondering how in the world do I manage to get myself into these things. I try the key one more time and Praise the Lord the trunk opens. It's now taken me about 10 min to retrieve my boss' luggage from the trunk of his car. Is that some kind of new world record?

The Great Trash Debacle of 2008

So, Shooter and I went out to dinner with some of his work friends because one of his buddies is moving back to Colombia. We drove to a great Italian restaurant about an hour from our home and had a great time with all of his co-workers. On our way home we were talking about various things (I saw my counselor/therapist today so I had lots to discuss) and I mentioned something about how it's always nice when he cleans up the kitchen and takes out the garbage like he did today. Then I catch myself...I look at him...and I asked him if he took out the garbage that had been sitting in the kitchen floor. He looks at me and at that point we realized that we were in for a nice surprise when we got home. He had forgotten to take the garbage out of the kitchen before we left...and left it for the dogs to have lots of fun with. Here is a picture of their handiwork.

As you can see from the notes, two blizzard cups had been licked clean and torn apart. Several cans of dog food had been licked clean. We had made spaghetti last week and the cans/boxes used for the sauce had been licked clean. Also, the tray the ground beef came in had been carefully worked over and the liner pad had been chewed open. UGH! Also, Shooter had put the small container of pizza sauce in there....we had pizza last night and it was so good we didn't need our usual extra sauce to dip it in. Well, that was entirely consumed. I scoured the house and fortunately, or not so fortunately, we didn't have any mass vomits all over the house. Leah, on the other hand, has one HUMONGOUS belly...and a red beard to prove she was the consumer of most of the garbage. Hopefully Morey didn't take part in much of it...we certainly can't afford for him to get his system completely out of whack. Here are the culprits.

So, from us to you....hope you have a wonderful Saturday evening....we sure did.

Remembering

Today is a special day. Today's a sad day too. On this day, five years ago, my wonderful Grandfather (Paw) went to be with the Lord. It was not a pleasant departure from this life for him. He suffered from kidney failure that took him slowly and painfully. He was however well into his 80s and had lived a very full life.

I remember him as the strong, tall man who would play with his grandkids. He loved us all so much. He had this gruff voice and crazy eyebrows...but was a softie inside. My brother and I would go to visit with family most every Sunday afternoon. Me, my brother, my two other cousins, my three aunts, my grandmother, and him. Lots of times he would hide out in his den...away from the chaos that came from 4 grandkids under 7 yrs old. Other times he'd take us out to his garden and we'd walk through it and pick fresh cherry tomatoes off the vines. Gosh...nothing like the taste of a fresh tomato warm from the sun.

I don't remember this event, I was only 4 years old, but it's been well recounted in our family. One day my Mom had taken my brother and I up to my grandparents house...she might have been helping them work on something. Paw was always give us a dollar here or a dollar there...when we'd leave he'd stuff a dollar in our hand and tell us to have Mom stop at the McDonald's and get us some fries or have her stop at the Dairy Queen to get us an ice cream. This particular day he gave us the money before it was time for us to leave and gave us specific instructions to have Mom take us to get a corn dog at the Dairy Queen. My little 4 year old self decided that he must have meant now and I grabbed my 2 year old brother's hand and we headed off down the street to the Dairy Queen. Now, the Dairy Queen was a short walk for an adult, but quite a hike for a small child. We also had to cross a pretty busy street to get there. Only by the grace of God did we make it there in one piece. I bought us two corn dogs, paid for them, got my change, and we headed back to my grandparents' house. I can only imagine what the cashier at Dairy Queen thought about two small children buying food. Ha!

In the meantime my grandparents and my Mom realized we were gone. They had no idea where we had gone, if someone had taken us, as we hadn't told them we were leaving. My Paw jumps in his car and in his excitement floods the engine and can't get it started. About that time my brother and I come strolling up the sidewalk. I have the Dairy Queen bag in one hand and I'm holding my brother's hand with the other. We're toddling up the street when my Mom sees us. She starts yelling at my Paw and telling him that we're coming and she runs to us and hugs us up. Apparently Mom asked me where we went, I showed her the bag and said that Paw had told us to go to Dairy Queen and get corn dogs for us.

He was so scared that something had happened to us - he never thought I'd take his thought literally. It became a running joke after that.

I miss my Paw. He was a wonderful man of God who loved others with all his heart. He was a strict diciplinarian and a former drill seargant in the army - this sometimes made him seem harder and more callous than he really was. He always had time to give us a hug.

THIS is why I don't like to work out....

and you guys thought I didn't like to work out because I'm lazy...heck no! Working out can be hazardous to your health!!!

I smell youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, arroooooooo!!

Okay...this has to be the cutest thing ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a soft spot for beagles anyway...but this just made me smile...

Thursday's Pretty Things

Ahhhh....this week's Pretty Things posting is dedicated to the very talented Sarah Richardson. She has some of the most lovely, delicate and masterful pieces of jewelry I've ever seen. I absolutely love jewelry and have been an accessory fanatic ever since I was a little bitty baby.

My Mother taught me early on that accessorizing was key. I have a picture that I need to scan and put on here...I had on a baby bracelet, baby ring AND a necklace. I was the STUFF don't you know.

Anyway, back to the lovely and talented Sarah Richardson. Her Pods Collection is full of amazing pieces. I particularly love the gorgeous turqoise of the Pod Cluster Earrings and the delicate beauty of the Circle Pod Necklace and Ring. Sarah also does wonderfully intricate lace pieces. I love these silver earrings as well as these beautiful gold earrings. Additionally she also has a Waterlink collection that feature this gorgeous double strand necklace. Also, perhaps Shooter can get me this ring for our anniversay....maybe....I'm just saying...

Well, perhaps one day I'll have the extra means to purchase some of Sarah's lovelies!

Wordless Wednesday - I love the morning....

She's yet to discover diamonds.....

I took this pic on Sunday morning - the pups had gone out already for their first opportunity to rid the backyard of all pests, vermin and annoyances. Leah came back in shivering and so we put her t-shirt on her. We put Morey's on him too....but he hates it with such a fervor that he rubs against every piece of furniture we have trying to rid himself of the heinous fabric attached to his back. So we took pity on him and took it off. Leah, on the other hand, loves shirts, jackets, sweaters. Her shirt says "Biscuits are a girl's best friend." Seeing as how she's the most food motivated dog I've ever seen...it fits her. I just thought this was a cute pic as this is where they stay most of the time keeping an eye out for any squirrels, birds, rabbits, cats, leaves, trash, moving tree limbs or other random item that need to be chased from the yard.

p.s. Yes, I know the sliding glass door is polluted with nose prints. You try keeping yours clean when you have two dogs who seem to think that their second purpose in life (after keeping the yard clean of all pests) is to put as many nose and paw prints on the door as possible.

Really? Who'd'a ever thunk that!

Okay...some days things just strike you as "Duh! Someone actually paid you to come up with that, huh?"

I was riding up to my office in the elevator and we have these screens that display little news tidbits in the elevators. Well, I looked up and the screen had the following helpful tidbit:

Springing Forward Easily

Researchers have shown that one of the ways to decrease the stress on your body when the Spring time change comes is to begin going to bed and waking up earlier in the week prior to the time change.

Well, duh! I'm sure some university charged several hundred thousand dollars for a piece of information I could have doled out for free. What idiots...

Extreme Makeover - Flower Bed Edition

Yesterday was a glorious day here in the South. (I will now say how sorry I am for those of my readers who happen to be in far colder climes.) It was something like 73 degrees here yesterday. So, Shooter and I decided to go out and work in the flower bed from hell. Yes, dear readers....I had a flower bed from hell. It has taken me 2+ years to work up the courage to tackle it. It had horrible shrubs in the front of the bed and a massive tangle of irises - little did I know what a jumbled mess they actually were. Once I got the shrubs out and pulled out most of the debris, dead leaves, pine needles and other assorted trash...this is what greeted me, much to my horror.

(Shooter actually pulled up part of this bulb, held it up and says, "Honey, what the heck is this thing?!?!?" I gasped and said, "Put down the iris bulb honey...I don't want to have to hurt you, but I will.")

We, as in Shooter, went to Lowe's and bought eight 40lb bags of top soil to fill in the bed. It was such a mess. We realized that one of our downspouts was eroding most of the dirt from the bed. So, we have an extender for the spout and a newly filled bed. Hopefully the bulbs are all nice and happy and cozy in their new bed of fresh dirt. I can't wait for them to bloom so that I can get good pics of them this year.

I was honestly very afraid at the thought of splitting up these happy families...but because they were so close to the surface, I'm pretty sure they'll not be as hard as I thought to get up/out/split as I had feared.

I'm so glad that Spring is here...kinda...well I say it's here...so it is. :-)

Black Hole of Comfort

Well, I now have documentation of the black hole that is the corner of my new sectional sofa. We've heard people say that they sat there and were wide awake one moment and then sound asleep the next. We dismissed it initially....then it happened to Shooter. Today, it happened to me and the pups. I was pretty tired from having pulled and pushed and flailed and cursed the irises in my front flower bed. The pups...well, they were at the groomer yesterday and didn't nap. So, we took this afternoon as the perfect opportunity to catch up on a little shut eye. Shooter thought it would be soooooo cute to snap a picture of us. I am actually kinda glad he did....this is a pretty cute picture if I do say so myself.

Tomorrow, I'll reveal Extreme Makeover - Flower Bed Edition. Little did I know just how bad off my irises were in my front flower bed. I'm surprised they were even leafing out. Perhaps now they'll be even prettier....I just dread trying to split them all up though.

Hope ya'll had a great Sunday!

Extreme Makeover - Schnauzer Edition

Well, today was a day of beauty for the schnauzers. Morey had gotten quite shaggy and was pretty perturbed about the state of his appearance.



To add insult to injury, when he visited the vet earlier this week, they had to shave his leg to put in his IV for his fluids. He was quite embarrassed and asked me to knit him a leg warmer. I didn't get around to it...and they had an appointment with the groomer anyway....

Leah was quite despondent as well. I couldn't tempt her with the idea of chasing squirrels or cats this morning. I thought she was a lost cause.

Leah and Morey together were a sad sight.

And now...for the reveal!!!!!

Below, I present, Leah and her new Versace fursuit...it's one of a kind and was definitely a splurge. It looks smashing on her though, so it was worth it.

And here is Morey and new Dolce and Gabana fursuit. DG just fits him so well and we don't use any other clothier. He's so soft and velvety....I love it when he gets groomed. You can't tell, but they blended in the place where his leg had been shaved and it's barely noticeable!

Well, I hope you guys had a great Saturday!