Back to my Roots (Formerly Welcome to our World)

Happy Happy Friday my friends!!!

2017-03-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy TGIF - can I hear an AMEN?! I don't know about you, but I am SO happy today is finally Friday! WHOOP WHOOP!!!!

What are your weekend plans? Anything special going on? Hubby and I are actually going to get away for a 3 day weekend and I can't wait! It will be nice to get out of town for a short time. We have many home projects that need to be done, but we decided to do it another day. LOL Thanks to my husband's schedule and my super busy work schedule we rarely get any time together, so this will be a nice little getaway together. :)

I can't wait to hear all about your weekend plans - thanks for stopping by to say hello!

XOXO,

Outlets of Little Rock - Blogger Event

2017-03-30T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday my sweets. How are you? How has your week been so far? GREAT, I hope! I've been meaning to post this now since Sunday, but not haven't had a chance to do so. I was invited to join 11 other bloggers last Saturday at the Outlets of Little Rock for an Arkansas Blogger Event. I had always wanted to participate in one of these with other local bloggers but wasn't able to do so before now. Here are some of the deets:

We started off at Starbucks where we were treated with cranberry/orange scones and blueberry scones as well as our coffee of choice and yummy cake pops.

Next, we went to several different stores throughout the outlets. We started off at Tommy Hilfiger where we were given a Tommy Hilfiger bag and some coupons, then we went to Le Creuset where they treated us to some DELICIOUS scallops and bread with olive oil and Chocolate covered strawberries

and where I fell in LOVE with these dishes:

Next, they took us around to Asics where we were given free socks, Corky's where they gave us Bright Pink nail polish and a few other items. Next up was The Beef Jerky Outlet where we tried several different flavors of beef jerky

then the final place was Lindt chocolate store where we were given a demonstration and taste test of some of the BEST Chocolate I've ever put into my mouth!

After all that fun was had, we were taken to the corporate office where we were treated to a "swag filled bag" with awesome gifts. Not only were we treated to the swag filled bag, all bloggers were given a $50 gift card to the outlets. They also gave away 4 different $25 gift cards to various stores throughout the outlet, along with a $100 gift card to Restoration Hardware. Unfortunately, I didn't win any of the extras but it was a great day and a fun day had by all! Here is all of my wonderful loot which also consisted of an AWESOME bag from the Outlets - I can't WAIT to use it!

Thanks so much to Outlets of Little Rock treating us to a wonderful and special VIP day! :)

XOXO,

What's Hap-"pinning" Wednesday

2017-03-29T06:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Hump Day guys and dolls! I finally get to link back up with Jessie and Jenn in the What's Hap-"pinning" Wednesday and I'm SO excited!!! It's been forever!!!

A few of my favorite things happening this week are Spring shoes! I'm SO ready for Spring and these are TOO cute not to share! Funny enough, I didn't realize until I posted these photos that they were all the same color - LOL

Thanks for stopping by to say hello and be sure to check out both Jessie's and Jenn's blogs to see what everyone else is pinning. Have a fab fab day!!!!

XOXO,

Happy Happy TGIF!!!!!

2017-03-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

How are you doing sweet friends?! Hope you have been having a fabulous week! What are your weekend plans? Anything fun and exciting? I'm thrilled that it's finally Friday and the weekend is here.

Tonight we are going to relax and watch movies. Tomorrow I have to start my day off taking my babies to the vet for a check-up. Then I get to go to Lowe's and pick up some paint and start painting my living room. After that, I get to go to an Arkansas Blogger event at the outlet mall and I can't wait! I've always wanted to do this and get to meet other local bloggers, so yes, as you can see, I'm extremely excited! I have a very busy Saturday as you can see. However, Sunday will be just as busy because I will spend the day finishing up painting our living room. I can't wait to get rid of the orange and peach walls that the previous owners left me. *BLAH*

So tell me - what are your weekend plans? I can't wait to hear all about them!

Thanks for stopping by to say hello!

XOXO,

Life Update #2

2017-03-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday Guys and Dolls! Hope your week is going along painlessly! Now onto life update #2!

We moved me into my husband's brother's house that week and got me all settled in. We spent the weekend together just trying to relax and spend some time together before my husband had to return to Texas. After dh went back to Texas, I had a few days to get settled in before I began my new job on Wednesday, March 9th. Moving back home meant I was back within an hour or less from my wonderful sweet mommy, so we spent the day shopping and getting me some new work clothes.

I spent the next couple of days relaxing and then was super excited for my first day at the Bank. I went to work in the Corporate Finance Department working with the Mergers and Acquisitions group and was in love with the company from Day 1. Everyone was super nice and very helpful and it was a wonderful transition. The only issue I had was that I was bored for some time just trying to learn the new job and taking all of the tests that every employee has to take along the way for compliance reasons. I worked in that position for roughly about a month or so when my immediate supervisor came to me and said that the big boss wanted to know if because of my legal background, if I would be willing to start taking the minutes for the Board of Director meetings starting in May. It would also mean that we would travel out of state to different places twice a year for extended board meetings. I agreed to do so and was very excited to start getting more responsibility.

In June we finally found a house to purchase and were able to move in the second week and that's when the real work began! You know... all of those "Fun" house projects. I've watched entirely too many HGTV shows, that much I can tell you! Between HGTV and Pinterest, my idea list has grown SUPER LONG - LOL

Fast forward to August when we had our first meeting out of state (technically it was the 2nd meeting as I had already missed the one in February) and we traveled to San Francisco. I had never been to California, much less San Francisco, and was super excited to travel. The board meetings are 2 days long and even though we have nice dinners, the meetings are definitely all work and no play, so we don't actually get to see any of the city that we travel to. However, it's still very nice to be able to travel for work. It was something my husband always got to enjoy doing as part of his time working with the airport and got to see many new places, so I'm really enjoying it. While at the meeting in San Francisco, one of my immediate supervisors got promoted. When we got back I learned that the big boss's assistant was retiring and they wanted me to take her place. I was truly excited for the opportunity as it meant even more responsibility. I moved to their side of the floor and began training with her in September. She officially retired the 3rd week of February, so I've taken it over full time now and I am truly loving it. I knew when I interviewed with my original two bosses, that this was the right place for me to finish my career and the place I plan to retire.

Anyway, I know I am a couple of days behind on blogging, but with a promotion comes more responsibility and longer hours. So when I get home at night I'm even more exhausted and want to do nothing but lay in bed next to my hubby and watch tv and relax.

Thanks for stopping by to say hello and reading. I will post Day 3 tomorrow! :) Please let me know that you were here so I can stop by and say hello on your blogs too.

Have an awesome day and Happy Friday Eve friends!!!

XOXO,

Weekend Update and Life Update #1

2017-03-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Happy Monday Ya'll! I hope you had a fab fab weekend - we sure did! 2 of my 3 grandsons and my son-in-law and daughter came to visit again this weekend and we went to the wedding of my best friend's son and then relaxed at home the rest of the time, which was wonderful! I got a lot of time with my grandbabies and daughter and son-in-law, which is always wonderful in my book! :)

Okay, so on to life Update. #1 from this past year. Since my last post was in March of last year when I began my new job, I'm not going to go back to January and start over. However, I will start here in February where everything changed and we will go from there.

February 12th - The bank I worked for in Kingwood, Texas decided after a year and a half, that they were doing away with my position completely, therefor leaving me without a job However, out of the "kindness" of their hearts and because everyone loved me so much that they were going to give me 6 weeks to find a job (mighty nice of them, right?! - BLAH) Anyway, that gave me the excuse I needed to start searching for a job back home in Arkansas because both hubby and I wanted to move back to Arkansas anyway. Needless to say, it was still a kick in the gut and I felt like I got screwed, but it was absolutely the best thing that could have ever happened. That same weekend of the 12th, hubby and I already were leaving that day for a weekend back home anyway, so we left early that day and headed home for a fun relaxing time with my mommy and our friends. Once we got back to Texas is when the job search started happening in full force. Luckily, I had NO luck in Texas and ALL kinds of luck in Arkansas. Everything that seemed to be happening at that time included 2 promotions that would take us to Oregon and even San Antonio, Texas that fell through for my husband, as did 2 different houses that we were looking to buy at that same time. I told my husband that everything which continued happening just meant we were no longer meant to be in Texas but were meant to be back home in Arkansas and that's exactly how it played out.

February 29th - I had 2 separate interviews with 2 different companies. One was a law firm and one was a bank. That Friday before I spoke to my supervisor and informed her that I had several interviews lined up for that day and needed the entire day off and she readily agreed (after all, they told me to interview as often as I could) but I didn't inform her that it just happened to be in Arkansas - it was none of their business as far as I was concerned. Anywho, I had the two interviews, had lunch with my besties and then headed back to Texas. During both interviews, I was basically told they weren't really looking to hire anytime soon but wanted to meet me because of my wonderful resume. As you can imagine, the wind was knocked out of my sails, but I kept a positive attitude and just kept on moving. I knew if it was meant to be for us to move back to Arkansas that it would happen eventually. Well, 3 days later, I not only received ONE offer but TWO! One from each of the places that I had interviewed the few days before.

I said yes to the first offer because I hadn't heard back from the 2nd interviewer yet. But, deep down I really wanted the job with the bank and not the law firm - it just felt right. Well, 2 hours later, the bank called and offered me the job and paid the same amount the first company was going to do, so I jumped on it and then had to call and decline the first offer. The next exciting part was that they BOTH wanted me the very next week - March 9th! Now mind you, this was the Thursday before. However, I wasn't worried because I was told by the bank I was currently working for that I didn't have to give any type of notice. But let me tell you this - the boss man's mouth completely dropped open when I told him I had to be there the next week and was giving my notice that day because I had to go home and start packing and moving back home to Arkansas that very weekend. HA! It.was.priceless!!!!!

Next, I called my husband and then turned in all of my stuff and hightailed it home to start packing. Talk about a whirlwind! Luckily for us I have a wonderful brother-in-law who owns a home in the Little Rock area and had plenty of room for me to come stay until hubby could get a job in Arkansas so we could buy a house. So the next day, we loaded up the trailer and truck and we headed to Arkansas.

Okay, that's enough for now. I will finish the month of February tomorrow and maybe start on March as well. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by to say hello!

XOXO,

Happy TGIF and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

2017-03-17T05:05:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday and Happy St. Patty's Day my friends! What do you have on your weekend plans? Anything special? Maybe a green beer this weekend, or maybe watching pro basketball or having a big St. Patrick's Day party? Well, whatever it is, hopefully, the weather will be perfect wherever you are. :)

Hubby and I have a wedding to go to on Saturday afternoon out of town. It is my best friend's son, who is getting married. Our daughter and he grew up together and have remained close all this time, so my daughter and her hubby are coming back to town tonight with not 1 but 2 of our grandsons and we couldn't be more excited. Luckily, they only live about 3 hours away now so that makes it nice for all of us.

Here is me and the lucky groom to be. I can't believe he's so grown up already and getting married! Look how much taller than me he is - LOL

And here is our daughter and Kramer at their Senior Prom. Not only is it weird that he is grown and getting married, but my daughter is 4 months younger than him and already married with a family of her own - that is TOO weird to me! I can't believe out fast these kids have grown up already:

Speaking of grandsons - this little stinker turned one last November! Talk about time passing fast!

Here is grandson number 2, Toby who is now 4 years old:

And while we are on the subject of grandson's - meet our third grandson, EJ. He is now 5! My daughter's husband was previously married, hence the other 2 boys. :)

Well, this post wasn't supposed to turn into a post about my 3 grandsons, but somehow it did anyway - sorry about that! LOL Like I said, I have a lot to fill you in on to catch up with all of you. I truly cannot believe it has literally been a year since my last blog post.

Whatever your plans are for the weekend ahead, I hope you have a fantastic one with your family and/or friends and can't wait to see how you spent it! Thanks so much for stopping by to say hello and please let me know you were here so I can stop by to say hi on your blog as well. :)

And because it IS finally Friday AND St. Patrick's Day, here's one last picture to send you into a fun weekend ahead! :)

XOXO,

Hey, Hey Hey!!!!

2017-03-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hey there my long lost friends! How have you been? I can NOT believe for a second that it has literally been a year since my last post. SO many things have taken place over the past year and I have SO much to tell you! First things first, however, I have changed the name of my blog from Welcome to our World to Back to my Roots. As you know, we moved back home to Arkansas a year ago the first week of March, and this has been on my mind for a while to change the name of my blog and it seemed like the perfect name for a fresh bloggy start. :)

I'm not sure yet if I am going to do a "year" recap or a "month" recap but will start in a new post tomorrow. The main thing I wanted to do was to say HEY and that I'm back in the bloggy world and can't wait to catch up with all of you and update you on the past year for me and my hubby and family.

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know you were here! I've missed you all!!! :)

xoxo
Trac~

Life Recap and Update

2016-03-15T05:30:00.000-05:00

WOW! Hi friends! I can't believe it's been almost 2 full weeks since I've been in the bloggy world. I'm SO far behind and can't wait to catch up with all of you on your blogs and see what you've been up to the past 2 weeks. There's been so much happen since I last "saw" you that I don't even know where to begin. Well, let's start at the beginning, shall we?! :)

As of my last post on March 2nd, things kind of went into a full blown spiral mode immediately. I was given 3 different offers, and which I accepted one, and was told I could start on the 21st of March, however, the next day they called and asked me if I could start on Monday, March 7th instead. But, after thinking it over more, I ended up declining their offer and accepting a different offer with a different firm that I felt was a much better fit and one I could see myself with for the rest of my career, which is what I wanted to find. Anywho, once I accepted their offer, instead of starting on Monday, March 7th, they wanted me to start on Wednesday, March 9th. Like I said, this sent us into a complete tailspin as I had to literally give my notice on Thursday, March 3rd as being my last day, and hubby and I had to go home that night and start packing everything up that I was absolutely going to HAVE to HAVE to start my new job, plus things I needed to have to live with my brother-in-law while trying to figure out what location we are going to want to buy a house in the next month or two as well. And on top of that we are in the process of finding my husband a job here in Arkansas too. ACK!!! Can you say stressful!? OMG it has been STRESSFUL!!! Also, my husband not being here has been tough too. We've been married almost 19 years and never been apart that long so it's really been hard on us in that regard but thankfully, I get to see him again this weekend - yay!!!

Needless to say, things have been completely crazy the last 2 weeks and I'm ready for everything to settle down once and for all. But, I am happy to say that I have officially moved back home to Arkansas and am thrilled with my new job and look forward to actually going to work each day, which is something I've not been able to say for a very long time. It feels SO GOOD to be "HOME" and back with my family and friends. Once my hubby is here full time then all will be as it should be again.

So.... what's new with you and what have you been up to? I can't wait to catch up! Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by and please let me know you were here. I'm off to read your blogs and see what you've been doing the past 2 weeks. :)

Lots of love and hugs,

What's Hap-"pinning" Wednesday

2016-03-02T05:51:00.004-06:00

Hi Friends! Wow! I can't believe it has been an entire week since I was on my blog last! I've missed you guys. I hope that you have all been wonderful over the past week and I'm sorry I've been MIA. There have been a LOT of changes and I can't wait to tell you about them. First off, come play along or just check out all of the ladies who are linking up today with Jessi and Jenn for What's Hap-"pinning" Wednesday.

As you know my job is completely being eliminated come the end of this month. Well..... if you've been reading this blog for very long, then you know me and know how I am a TRUE Arkansas girl through and through and I love going back home. Sooo... I have the pleasure of announcing that WE ARE MOVING BACK TO ARKANSAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOO HOO!!!!!!!!!

After four long years, we are officially moving back home and I am in Heaven! I went on Monday and interviewed with 3 different firms in Little Rock and have been blessed with 3 different offers. I am completely ecstatic and over the moon as you can just imagine! I have a hard decision to make because I want this job to be my last and final job that I can retire with. We have had to move so much over the last 11 years and I've had to change jobs so often that I'm completely over starting over and over and over. All of the promotions that my husband has been promised these last 4 years and hasn't gotten, has been very frustrating for him to say the least. But, I've told him time and time again that I felt it in my heart that God had a purpose and a place for us and that I truly believe it wasn't here in Texas or Portland, OR but that it was back home in Arkansas with our family and friends and he proved that to me with these 3 offers that I have been given and I couldn't be more grateful.

So..... that is what my What's Hap-pinning moment is this week. I am sure there are others, but this is the one that means the absolute most to me this week. I am literally (as they say in Arkansas) in HOG HEAVEN with my exciting news and can't wait to be back with my besties, family and my precious grandson.

Have a great day and thank you for stopping by. I promise to keep you posted as things progress along.

Lots of love and hugs,

What's Hap-"pinning" Wednesday - Funny Stuff Style

2016-02-24T06:04:00.002-06:00

Good morning sweet friends and Happy Hump Day! Sorry I was MIA yesterday, but it has just been one of those weeks and I didn't have a good start to my morning, so I ended up sleeping in later than normal to try and catch up on some zzzzzzzzzz's. Anyway... I hope your day was fabulous! Today, as you know, is one of my all-time favorite link up parties, so come play along with Jenn and Jessi if you'd like.

As I said above, this has been a trying week so far, and I could really use some funnies to make me laugh, so these were a few of my favorites that I found. Some of them I was literally laughing until I cried - just what the dr. ordered. This was that one exactly. Just click on the via link and it will take you to 25 of the funniest auto correct fails ever.

via

Well I hope you enjoy your daily dose of laughter today. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by to say hello.

Lots of love and hugs,

Weekending.........

2016-02-22T05:55:00.001-06:00

Happy Monday sweet friends. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Ours was truly so nice and relaxing and I can't remember the last time we had so much down time on a weekend.

Friday -- I actually got off work early (about 4:15), which was a nice surprise. Ran and got my eyebrows "threaded" on my way home. Have you ever done that before?! Yikes- it hurts but they are supposed to last a lot longer than waxing and I HATE plucking because it hurts too, so...... anywho, got home and ran to Dollar General with my neighbor across the street to get some more cheap goodies, came home and snuggled in bed with Mr. A and played with the babies the rest of the evening.

Saturday -- got up early and started running some errands, cleaning house, minor cooking, etc. At 4:30 we left and took our son and his girlfriend, to the Sam Houston Race Track for a night of fun. He will be 22 years old next weekend and this was the only time we were going to have to celebrate his birthday in between his work and college schedule. None of us won any money, but we all had a great and relaxing time. Came home and stayed up a while longer catching up on our DVR shows.

Sunday -- literally slept in until 10 a.m., which is SO unheard of for us. Hubby had gotten up earlier and fed our furbabies and let them out to play for a bit so I could sleep in. We did absolutely nothing the entire day practically, but lay in bed and catch up some more on our DVR and watched a movie or tow. I managed to get up later in the day and prepare a few things for my lunch this week, but that was truly the extent of it. We went to bed about 9:30 last night and even after all of the rest we got yesterday, it was still SO hard to get out of bed today. I'm so tired still and don't know why, as it's not like I had gotten no rest all weekend long. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This is literally me this morning - laying down with my cup of coffee in hand, just trying to muster up some energy to get my butt moving this morning - LOL

via

So what about you? How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun and exciting?! I can't wait to hear all about it so feel free to leave me comments below and let me know how your weekend was. :)

Thanks for stopping by to say hello and have a wonderful day! :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Friday Faves

2016-02-19T05:54:00.001-06:00

Happy Happy Friday dolls! Even though this was a short week for me, it felt like an extremely long one for sure and I for one am SO happy it's over. With that being said, come play along with the Friday Favorites link up, or go check out the other ladies playing along and find some great new blogs to read! :)

Friday Favorites / Friday Favorites / Oh Hey Friday / 5 on Friday

one - Baby A

I love getting pictures like this daily. I know I probably bore ya'll to death with him, but I just can't help but smile when I see his precious face

two - Tshirts

I am forever a tshirt, jean type of girl. Here are a few of my faves this week. Naturally there are a couple of Hog shirts. :)

And who doesn't love some Ms. Olivia Pope?! I need this shirt! HA!

And I just love the looks and colors combined of this one

three - Coupon Hauls

I paid a total of a $1.88 out of pocket for all of this after coupons

And they actually owed me money on this one when I left, so total out of pocket for all of this was ZERO - $0. That's my kind of bargain shopping! :)

four - Mani/Pedi

I love getting pampered and am in love with this pretty Wine color

five - Valentines from my mom

She knows things at work have been pretty crappy lately and I was so happy to get to spend Valentine's Day with her back home in Arkansas. This is what she had waiting on me on our bed when we got there. Moms are the BEST! :)

Well, there are my favorites this week. What about you?! I can't wait to check yours out. Have an awesome day and an even better weekend friends! Thanks for stopping by to say hello. :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Confessions - Venting.......

2016-02-18T06:09:00.001-06:00

Happy Thursday sweet friends! Hope all is well your way. I'm joining in with the Confessional Thursday hosted by The-Newly. You can play along here.

-- I confess that I am SO over this hurry up and wait BS - do they not realize, nor care that people have lives outside of work and need to get things organized and lined out

-- I confess that I despise working with a bunch of catty old women and am SO happy to get the heck away from them by the end of March at the latest - *fingers crossed it's much sooner*

-- I confess that if I don't have my coffee in the mornings, then I am grumpy and look like grumpy cat until I do

-- I confess that it IRKS me more than anything in this world to be sitting at work with NOTHING to do but yet you get in trouble if you get on the internet or do something else besides work. WTH are you supposed to do when even your supervisor is playing on the internet because things are SO SLOW and there is literally NOTHING TO DO!!! Grrrrrrr.................. I mean, come on already and give me something to do! I want my day to FLY by not drag by! And last time I checked, we were all adults not kids who need supervised over stupid BS

-- I confess that I HATE office politics and wish I didn't HAVE to work - or at least didn't have to work for the corporate world. I mean, some of us get treated like the red-headed step child because we've not worked in the "click" for the past 30 years together, so therefore, no matter what you do or say, you're always wrong - even when you're right.

Do you see a pattern here today? Sorry for the venting, but I am just so unbelievably frustrated and pissed off at the same time, that it's driving me CRAZY to say the least. I just truly do NOT understand people - especially women who want to belittle other women and try and make them feel inferior, it just literally blows my mind. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Anywho.... thanks for stopping by to say hello. Have an awesome day!

Lots of love and hugs,

What's Hap-"pinning" Wednesday

2016-02-17T05:52:00.003-06:00

Happy Hump Day dolls! Hope you've had a wonderful last few days and a great weekend. You know what today is and the rules, so come play along..... :)

Jessi's Design / Going the Distance

Whew, I feel like I've been away from the bloggy world forever, but it's actually only been a few days. And a LOT has happened over the last few days, so let me fill you in. :)

*Friday* - went to work like normal. About 2:30 was pulled into the office and informed that as of March 31st my job would be dissolved and I would need to find another position between now and then. They are letting me interview and/or job hunt however necessary so that I'm able to have secured another position before the end of March. Ironically enough, I had already started looking because after being in the legal field as a paralegal for over 18 years, and only being in banking for a little over a year, I have decided that I HATE banking, so I'm good going back to my old roots even if it means driving back downtown to Houston. However, some changes are possibly coming that would have made us leave this job in the very near future anyway, so again, it's a Win/Win for me.

*Saturday* - got up early and drove to Arkansas for the long weekend. Got to brother-in-law's early afternoon in Little Rock, unloaded trailer and headed to Fort Smith to visit with my in-laws. Mr. A and I stopped off at the Texas Roadhouse and had dinner, just the two of us for Valentine's. Afterwards, we got to my in-laws and mil and I went to Dollar General and I made another very impressive haul and only paid $1.18 out of pocket. I will post a picture of it on Friday as I've not gotten it uploaded yet.

*Sunday* - got up early again and drove back to Little Rock to my bil's house and picked up the trailer, and headed to Hot Springs to visit for the day and night with my mom and her husband. We ended up hitting the horse track while there and though we were planning to only be there for a couple of races, we ended up staying all day there. I hit one race and won $35 and Mr. A hit the last race winning $20, so not to shabby of a day, I'd say. :) Afterwards, we went back to my mom's and hung out for the remainder of the night.

*Monday* - slept in until 8 something and then got up to visit with my mom before heading back to Texas. We left about 11 and started making our way back home. Made a couple of stops along the way, but got home, unloaded, grabbed dinner out, and then laid down to relax for the night.

*Tuesday* - took a vacation day, slept in and then got up and started doing a few things around the house, went to lunch and then hubby ended up having to run into work for a couple of hours. While he was at work, I made a quick run back to Dollar General and stocked up some more and only paid $1.84 total out of pocket for my latest haul, then ran to Wal-Mart to get a few groceries and called it a day. Once hubby got home, we had some dinner, and laid down to catch up on our DVR shows and just relaxed for the rest of the night as we had to go to work the next day.

Though it's only been a long 4 day weekend, it has really felt even longer for some reason and I'm okay with that. It was SO nice getting out of that office and getting away for a few days with friends and family. I'm even more excited that it is Wednesday already and we are on the downhill side of the week and heading into another weekend. I can't wait to catch up on your blogs, I've missed seeing what's been hap-"pinning" in your worlds the last few days. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by to say hello! :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Friday Favorites

2016-02-12T05:58:00.000-06:00

Happy Happy Friday beautiful ladies! Whew, we finally made it to the weekend - whoop whoop!!! I'm really excited because not only do I have Monday off for the holiday, but Mr. A and I took Tuesday as well, which makes next week and even shorter work week! :) Anyway, today is the Friday Favorites link up party, so come play along if you'd like.

Friday Favorites / Friday Favorites / Oh Hey Friday / 5 on Friday

Treats for my office peeps - Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing, a raspberry, red sprinkles and mini chocolate chips (decided not to do the cake balls)

Dinner with family who is in from Indiana. This is Mr. A's cousin's wife and their little girl. We learned recently that her sister lives in the same town as us, so we were able to get together for dinner last night - we had so much fun and it's always great seeing family that you like (please disregard the photo of me, however, as I don't know what was happening with my hair but think it was because of the high ruffle collar on the back of my neck - but just keeping it real) And as you can see, baby girl C, wasn't real impressed - LOL

Speaking of Family - this is a sign I've had for years that was White, but decided it was time for a facelift, so I painted it a pretty Teal Blue - kind of hard to tell from this photo, but the color is so pretty irl

Pictures of my sweet babies all week texted to me - ya'll, I just can't even - pictures like this daily mean the world to me. And he has the most facial expressions that it's crazy - they make my heart full and so happy

My thoughts about a staff meeting when it could have just been said in an email- bahahhaha

There are my Friday favorites. I hope you have a fabulous weekend and thanks for stopping by to say hello. I will see you on the flip side! :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Confession Thursday - Extreme Couponing

2016-02-11T05:56:00.003-06:00

Happy Thursday dolls! We have officially made it over the hump and are on the downhill side now. Only one more day to go until the weekend and I have a solid 4 days off - whoop whoop! Today I'm linking up with Jenn and Jess for Confessions Thursday.

Today I have time for only one confession and it is a DOOZIE!!! :)

-- I confess that my name is Tracy and I am a couponaholic. Ya'll I've been a coupon-er for many years and have even found a lot of great extreme coupon deals, but NEVER to this extreme and I am SO excited and can't wait to show you my EXTREME haul yesterday after work.

Okay, so I know you won't believe me, as I can barely believe it myself, BUT ya'll, I PROMISE I ONLY paid tax of 36 CENTS for ALL of this! I've never used Dollar General's digital coupons before, but let me tell you - I am a believer of that now for sure! I'm going back this weekend to get more! LOL

So tell me - are you a coupon queen? What are your confessions today? Have a great day - I'm off to an employee meeting now - woo hoo!!!! :)

Lots of love and hugs,

What's Hap-"pinning" Wednesday

2016-02-10T05:24:00.000-06:00

Happy Hump Day sweetums! Hope you're having an awesome week so far. Or week has been good, but long and it's only Wednesday - HA! Today is one of my favorite link-ups so come play! :)

Going the Distance / Jessi's Design

This week I am making these yummy cake balls for the office at Valentine's Day. I've made them a few times now (usually at Christmas) and everyone just LOVES them! This will be the first time I've made them for Valentine's Day. I am also thinking about adding red or pink sprinkles to the top - probably Red since the cake is Red. They are so quick and easy to make too.

Cake Balls

You can find the exact directions here on Kelly's Recipe blog. Ya'll when I say they literally MELT in your mouth, I mean, they MELT in your mouth. They are SO SO good! Trust me when I say, you won't be disappointed at all. Let me know if you try them and what you think.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by to say hello. :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday

2016-02-09T05:39:00.000-06:00

Happy Tuesday lovies! Thanks for stopping by and saying hello yesterday. If I've not made it to your blogs or returned your comment yet, I promise to get back to you today. I was so exhausted last night that I didn't even make it on the laptop while watching my tv shows. Anywho, today I'm linking up here with Amber, so come play along if you'd like! :)

-- to be excited that I won $25 in the football pot at work for Superbowl. I never win anything, so I was thrilled - that will buy me lots of coffee! :)

-- to be over always feeling exhausted no matter how much sleep I try to get and how healthy I eat. Ya'll, I literally stay worn smooth out - even when resting all weekend.

-- to be THRILLED that Ben from the Bachelor finally got rid of big mouth Olivia. I got tired of seeing this every week. I mean, close your mouth already - no one wants to see it nor smell your bad breath everyone keeps talking about - sheesh, be a lady

-- to be excited about going to our land in Arkansas this weekend, but less than thrilled at the same time, because it is so far away and will be a long exhausting trip. Luckily, I have Monday and Tuesday off, which will help.

-- to continue to love getting these in my messages every day - a new one or two, or three daily always makes me smile:

So what about you? What's okay with you today? Have a great day and thanks for stopping by to say hello! See you on the flip side! :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Weekending......Superbowl Style

2016-02-08T05:39:00.001-06:00

Happy Monday sweetums! I hope your weekend was awesome and you had a great time relaxing or being productive, or whatever your heart desired to make it a great one. I'm linking up today with these beauties, so check them out! :)

B Loved Boston / Champagne and Suburbs

Our fun weekend consisted of the following highlights:

-- Friday night Mr. A. had to work late so I came home and started the laundry, took care of the babies, and relaxed.

-- Saturday morning Mr. A. had to be at work at 7 a.m. so naturally I was up with him, sigh... However, I was able to get a jump start on my day. So it started out that I ran to the gas station up the road because they were charging only $1.39 a gallon and I had Kroger points which brought my total down to $1.29 a gallon. Filled up my car, which was on a quarter of a tank for a total of $13.25 - can't beat that! :) Then I ran across the street to Walmart, got a few groceries, headed back home and then to the mall. I have been in dire need of new makeup for a while now, and I wanted to get the exact match for my complexion instead of always feeling like my makeup was too dark. However, I wanted to do some more shopping, but started feeling really bad and drained, so I went back home and laid down in bed about 12:30 or so and that's where I stayed the rest of the day/night.

-- Sunday me and Mr. A slept in until about 9 (still not feeling too good), then got up and started working around the house and running some errands. Later that day we went across the street to our neighbors that we hang out with a lot and enjoyed some Super Bowl festivities:

Mudbugs

Enjoying the feast

The Chef hard at work

Jumbo Jinga

This was my game and as you can see, Ms. C was contemplating her next move

I lost and this was the result- LOL but it was a lot of fun

Of course, then there was the football - which I won $25 for having the right numbers at the right time on the game board :)

So what about you? What fun did you have this weekend? I can't wait to hear all about it! Happy Monday beautiful and thanks for stopping by! Be sure to say hello :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Friday Favorites

2016-02-05T05:52:00.001-06:00

Happy Happy Friday dollface! Whew, we've made it to another weekend - yay!!! I don't know about you, but it's been a long week here and I, for one, am SO ready for the weekend just so I can relax. HA! But, poor Mr. A has to open new stores in the airport and will be stuck working all weekend instead. :( Anyway, you know what today is and the rules, so come on, let's play! :)

Friday Favorites / Friday Favorites / Oh, hey Friday / 5 on Friday

One - When you're in the Starbucks line before work and the male barista tells you how much he loves your hair and thinks it is just beautiful - LOL ya'll I am NOTHING like this below, but I couldn't pass up this funny for his comment, though I do get tons of compliments on my hair, which I am very thankful and appreciative of, because to me, it's a huge compliment

Two - My favorite wine - Beringer White Zinfandel. It is very inexpensive and has a great flavor - not too sweet and just right

Three - My daily pictures of my grandson and his infectious smile. I mean, swoonnn.... am I right ladies? :)

Four - My favorite coffee mug that my mother sent to me and sister many, many years ago that when I drink out of it, I pretend I am sitting at the table drinking coffee with her each morning

Five - Favorite Funny this week - LOL ya'll this is SO me - I HATE mis-spelled words and horrible grammar - it drives me crazy!

Well, there are my faves this week - can't wait to see yours. Thanks for stopping by to say hello and have a great weekend! :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Superbowl Sunday Recipes

2016-02-04T05:44:00.001-06:00

Happy Thursday dolls! We've made it over the hump of the week - woo hoo!! Since Superbowl is this Sunday, I thought I would share with you a couple of recipes that I am making for our work potluck tomorrow. They look so delicious and I can't wait to try them out! :)

The first one up is:

Cherry Cheesecake Dip

via

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) block of cream cheese softened
1/2 (7.5 oz) jar marshmellow fluff
1 (8 oz) tub Coolwhip, thawed
1 (14.5 oz) jar, Cherry Pie Filling
Graham Crackers for serving

Directions:
Mix together cream cheese and marshmellow fluff until smooth

Then add in Cool Whip and combine well

Spread into a 2 qt. dish or plate

Then spread on cherry pie filling

Serve with Graham Crackers

The next one up is:

Hot and Spicy Sausage Dip

Ingredients:

1 lb of Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage (hot or regular - use your favorite bulk sausage brand)
10 oz can Rotel, undrained (Original, diced tomatoes & green chilies)
8 oz cream cheese

via

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook sausage, breaking up into small pieces (like taco meat) until fully cooked. Drain all excess fat. Add Rotel and cream cheese, mix until well blended and heated thoroughly. Place in a serving dish, serve warm with you favorite tortilla chips or Fritos Scoops.

Tips:

For less spicy dip, use regular sausage.
This is perfect for small crock-pots, keeping it warm while serving.

Don't these both look delicious?! And the best part is they are SUPER easy to make, which is something I always enjoy! :) So what about you? What are your Superbowl plans? What team are you rooting on this year? I'd love to hear all about it, so please feel free to share. Thanks for stopping by to say hello and please let me know you were here! :) Have an awesome Thursday beauties!

Lots of love and hugs,

What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday

2016-02-03T05:50:00.001-06:00

Happy Hump Day sweetums! Cheers to making it half way through the week so far! :) You know what time it is, right?! :) Of course, you do..... come link up here or here and play along!

Some of my favorites this week consist of:

-- The great finds at CVS this past Sunday - only $19 total out of pocket after coupons. (Started out over $50 before coupons, so I was extremely excited)

This adorable Valentine banner

via

-- This recipe (Lemon Poppyseed Muffins - Paleo Style) Ya'll it is seriously SO GOOD and is one of the closest recipes to the real thing that I have found. I've had them for breakfast each morning with my coffee and homemade sausage - yummy!

via

-- This recipe (Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman's Vegetable Soup recipe). It is both Paleo and Whole 30 approved. Have you ever tried it before? It is seriously SO GOOD!

via

There you have it - a few of my favorite things this week so far. Thanks for stopping by and have an awesome day lovies! :)

Lots of love and hugs,

25 DIY Valentine Banner Ideas

2016-02-02T05:49:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday beautiful ladies! I hope your Monday went by without a hitch. Today I was looking through some of my saved things on Facebook and while looking for a specific recipe, I actually came across these adorable DIY Valentine Banners and thought I would share with all of you since we are in the month of LOVE. :) The original post that I saved it from can be found here on How Does She's blog. I left her post just as she had it to make it easier for you. I forgot I actually had these ideas saved and hope I remember so I can make some of them next year. Of course, you can convert these into any banner that you want it to be, it doesn't have to be just for Valentine's Day. Enjoy and let me know if you've made these or any other banner before.:)

1. Burlap Valentine’s Garland

2. Valentine’s Day Love Banner – free printable!

3. Simple Valentine Banner just takes a little fabric and pinking shears!

4. This fabric banner would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day party or even photo backdrop.

5. What a fun way to recycle those Christmas cards you don’t want to throw away! Make a banner with them!

6. If you know how to crochet, this mini heart bunting banner is adorable!

7. Use up your felt scraps with this adorable heart banner!

8. These conversation hearts are just adorable strung out as a banner! Get your free printables here!

9. The Easy DIY XOXO bunting doesn’t require any special skills! Love that there’s a free template included!

10. Or if you like this XOXO better, there’s a free printable here as well. Love how it looks on the wreath!

11.Use all the heart cards from your decks and create this heart card banner. So unique!

12. This dollar story lace heart banner is the perfect way to do cute on a budget!

13. This post is all about the picture in the frame, but just check out this simple yet adorable heart banner in the background! Love it!

14. I love the flags and the lettering and those mini clothespins are oh so cute! What a funValentine’s Day Banner this is!

15. This black and white striped banner is amazing! Also includes free download of the banner and letters!

16. Ah this is cuuuute! Love is all you need banner is to die for!

17. This red and grey heart banner is super easy and fun! The post comes with free grey and red heart downloads! Ya!

18. Here’s a unique way to use up the burlap. Add hearts found from old books. Cute! Details how to do it yourself here!

19. Do you love wash tape as much as I do? This Washi Tape Banner and little arrow clips are amazing I tell ya!

20 – 22. Here’s 3 easy mini banners you can make with that extra fabric that needs to be used up! Just use Valentine’s colors and you’ve got yourself some adorable Valentine’s banners!

23. This Fun Hearts Banner is super unique and comes with a free printable so you can download your own fun hearts!

24. What an adorable LOVE YOU banner for the mantle!

25. This sweet little banner with hearts and white poofs is just the perfect finishing touch!

Such cute and fun ideas, right!? I loved them! I hope you enjoyed them and they gave you some ideas for your own fun banners! :) Have a great day and thanks for stopping by to say hello!

Weekending.....

2016-02-01T05:43:00.001-06:00

Happy Monday beautiful ladies! How was your weekend? Awesome, I hope! :) Ours was nice and relaxing, so that was very welcomed. We are constantly on the go, so I welcome nice and relaxing any chance I can get it. :)

Here are our weekend highlights:

-- Friday night made a quick run to Kroger to get some little items on our grocery list. I had been sick all day at work so it was a very quick trip, then I was home and in bed for the night.

-- Saturday morning I slept in until 9 - could have slept all day, but hubby woke me up. He had been up since 7 taking care of our pups and starting on our taxes. I HATE Tax Season. Afterwards we ran a few errands, grabbed some lunch at our favorite spot, Rudy's BBQ, and then came home and relaxed the rest of the night.

-- Sunday morning we got up at 7 because Mr. A had to be at work, so I ran and did some couponing. It's been FOREVER since I had couponned so I wasn't sure if I would even remember how to do so. But, I ended up getting some really great deals and I was SUPER excited. Here are a few of my finds yesterday:

CVS Deal - $19 out of pocket cost to me. Started out around $50 before coupons. Basically, I got the 2 sets of diaper wipes, 2 newspapers and 2 lotions totally FREE, because the Rewards I received back from the other items paid for those in the 2nd transaction. :)

Walgreens - $1.80 out of pocket - started out around $12 before coupons

Best Buy - all free. I had a $15 rewards gift certificate that I had to use. Their cases were running $1.99 to $2.49 each and I had to have a filler so I threw in the candy for fun. I can't wait to use all of these for each season - don't they look FUN :)

After I returned from my shopping spree, I worked more on my Valentine's Day mantle and my Valentine's Day table. My mantle is complete, but still want to tweak my table. What do you think? Any suggestions for the final touches on my table?!

Cheers to another Monday and another week. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by! :)

via

Linking up with B Loved Boston and Champagne and Suburbs for Weekending.

Lots of love and hugs,