Seriously Shawn

Tired Momma

2013-05-24T19:00:00.001-04:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of ZzzQuil for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I know I'm not alone when I say I'm tired all of the time. I also know I do more than some and less, much less, than others. My sleeping habits are horrible and very irregular, a big contributing factor as to why I'm tired all of the time I'm sure, but until I get things back to normal, or a new normal, I need some help!

I've tried over the counter sleep aids, prescription sleep aides, music, no music, hear plugs no ear plugs, the only thing I haven't tried is a sleep study and that's because I'm terrified of doing something stupid in my sleep while people are watching. What if I pick my nose or hump a pillow? I'm sure those people have stories to tell and I do not want my name added to their list!

So when Procter & Gamble offered me a free bottle {they sent me the liquid berry flavored in a cool purple bottle not the pill which I'm totally ok with but love that it's an option} of ZzzQuil and asked me to share my thoughts with you I figured why not. Vicks NyQuil does wonders for me when I'm sick so this could be the one that works when nothing is wrong other than I can't sleep.

Guess what? It kinda worked! I say kinda because I'm still working out the kinks as to exactly how much to take and at what time to take it. I like to sleep in if possible so getting enough sound sleep that my body naturally wakes itself up at 7 am is not really what I want. I like that it clearly states that it's non habit forming, a plus since one of the prescriptions I've tried is, and that the active ingredient diphenhydramine HCI {what the heck is that?} helps me fall asleep quickly, sleep soundly and doesn't give me that drugged feeling that I get from another leading over the counter sleep aid. I've used it 3 or 4 times and each time I've slept great, I still wanted a nap between 2-4 but that's just my love for naptime!

My girls sadly suffer the same poor sleep habits I do and there are times when they absolutely need to sleep. ZzzQuil is safe for both of them since they're over 12, I love that! You can check out all of the details by visiting their website at www.zzzquil.com, go take a look around!

I challenge all of my readers with sleep issues, you know who you are {Myya}, to try it and let me know how it worked or tweet me about it, I'm seriouslyshawn on Twitter, and use hashtag #ZzzQuilNight.

And because I have no shame...are those the eyes of a woman in need of some serious sleep or what?!!

Talk To Us Tuesday ~ Graduation craziness

2013-05-21T02:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome back or to TTUT, the weekly meme hosted by yours truly and my bloggy bestie IA. This is where you can share whatever's on your mind because there are no rules!

**warning, long post with some ranting**

I'm sure by now, if you've been here at all recently, you know that my oldest is graduating this month. My Honey will be walking down the aisle, wearing a navy cap and gown while pomp and circumstance plays in the back ground and it still doesn't seem possible. I'm excited, scared, overwhelmed, busy and proud. You did it Honey!

Her high school is not only academically charged, rating again this year in the top 250 out of 2000 high schools in the nation by Newsweek Magazine, but a lot of fun. The seniors planned "Water Wars" and I have loved watching it unfold. Teams of 8 or under were formed with names like Slippery When Wet, Hurtin' For A Squirtin', Team H2Hoes to name a few. The object is to soak someone with anything that has a self contained water source eliminating one team at a time until eventually it becomes every man for himself. There are just a few rules, no water on school grounds, church, places of employment or inside houses, anything else is fair game. I'm trying to figure out how to implement this for the adults in the hood!

Honey had the upper hand, although she was armed with only her "hand gun", ready to shoot out the upstairs window. When she saw 3 boys unzipping the windows of her Jeep to steal her super-soakers she ignored the advice of her Daddy and stormed past me {I had gone outside with the dogs to chase them off} running outside to meet her demise from the other 2 that were hiding in the front bushes. Some parents are up in arms over this complaining on the local, I have nothing better to do with my time but complain about the teens and fellow neighbors, FB pages but I see it as a right of passage and a ton of fun. Seriously people as long as they're being respectful and safe leave them alone!

Her school also participates in a program called Blue Letter Envelopes. I am the event chair this year and have enjoyed almost every moment of it. At the senior breakfast next week every graduate will be given a blue envelope {our school color} full of cards and letters from friends, family, teacher both old and new etc. offering congratulations, well wishes and words of advice and wisdom. I have been a part of this since she was a freshman and the response from each student is priceless!

It's a ton of work as thousands of letters are mailed to the school to my attention for me to pick up, sort through, file alphabetically and return to the school to pass out during their breakfast. There are 515 graduating seniors and 10 juniors who will receive envelopes.

A-F are filed, G-Z are stacked in piles and I still have 3 bins to sort and a box to pick up at school still, it's a good "problem" to have.

For some insane reason I decided it would be a good idea to hand write on each envelope. Several hours and 5 sharpies later I was done.

Like any program there are rules; students complete name must be marked clearly on the front, no gifts, cash or items larger than 8x10 to name a few. I have had to open several letters to look for a first name then go through the roster looking for a match. I also have piles of letters too large to fit in the blue envelope. I now have to set up an additional table, attach notes to the front of those students envelopes informing them to come pick up their packages too large to fit in their blue envelope. People know that this is for the kids and that I'm not going to punish the students because they can't follow basic instructions. I had come to terms with it and had faced the fact that I can't fix stupid when I received this package, her blatant disregard for the rules was beyond insulting!

Honey graduates in 9 days; the invitations have been mailed, the cake is ordered, the table ware is underway and the menu is planned. Now all I need to do is finish the decorations, take a deep breath and face the fact that I cannot slow down the future.

TTUT ~ Random crap

2013-05-13T23:57:00.000-04:00

I'm back, not 100%, but I'm back. I completely lost last week and the rest of the month and into June is jam packed. I'm hoping to be back to normal soon, I've been concerned tackling it healthy I'm not so sure I can do it sick!

* My Dad, the sweetest man ever, goes in for brain surgery this morning. He has a pocket of water on his brain that is causing him to fall. Hopefully the shunt they're inserting will keep him on his feet. Y'all My Daddy's having his head drilled today, I'm a little freaked, so please say a prayer for him and my Momma who will as always be at his side!

* Last Thursday I started feeling yucky, Friday I was taking Imodium Ad {TMI ?}, by Saturday, during Honeys prom, I started feeling dizzy like I as going to pass out. I forged through since my girl will only have one senior prom and even made it to Peanuts softball game after I took pictures. By Sunday I was NOT GOOD. After Peanuts game Sunday morning and before we had people over for Cinco De Mayo {I have issues with saying no} I stopped to take my blood pressure. It was no wonder I was dizzy it was 88/50! I went to urgent care after everyone left, waste of time and money, and to my doctor of Monday. I was there again Wednesday and Thursday and on the phone with him Saturday. I drank nasty white chalky crap for a CT scan of the abdomen which showed no appendicitis just colitis. But still no answer on the dizziness, I'm still dizzy today. I lost an entire week, no cooking, grocery shopping, leaving the house other than doctors visits, nothing!

* I made it to Peanuts games this weekend only for her to get injured in the first inning. The coaches scooped her up and put her in my car and a friend drove us to the ER since I still had the spins. Thankfully it's just another sprained ankle, I was thinking it was much worse since my girl was screaming. She never cries, ever, so when I heard her screaming I freaked. I love my little BA!

* Yesterday was the last Monday Honey will wake up as high school student. **SIGH** I'm singing Sunrise Sunset now. Kiss your littles friends it goes by way too fast!

* Honey graduates in 16 days, her party is in 17 days and I haven't even ordered her napkins, or started the decorations! I did however order her cupcakes and cake topper for the cupcake tower.

* I'm "running" in my first 5K in just 11 days with Honey. Not sure how that's going to work since the room is still spinning....

* Mother's Day was fabulous. I felt a little better and enjoyed a nice lunch on the water with my girls after Peanuts game, that she didn't play in, took a little nap and then went out for dinner. My girls and Babe did good with an entire day, including lunch, at the spa. I think I reedit, no?

* My sisters getting married in 4 weeks in Arizona. I'm thrilled to be helping her out with some creative details and planning some fun surprises for everyone while there. Bwahahahaha....

* Did I mention my Daddy's having his skull drilled into today?

* I will definitely need my vacation this summer. Six days in Arizona and then five days in Oklahoma with my girl IA! This time there will be no softball or babies in the belly. We may find ourselves in some serious trouble!

* Thinking of another tattoo. It's true what they say, they're addicting! I'm drawing something myself this time...

* I love my fur babies. Even if one of them {not Rogue} gave me a fat lip while trying to capture these pictures.

Enough random crap for ya? I think so. Have a great week friends!

TTUT ~ Taking a sick day

2013-05-07T01:18:00.003-04:00

Sorry, to sick to post but here's the link.

Have a good week friends.

TTUT ~ April, Ten Things To Smile about

2013-04-30T11:56:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the late post, I was in bed at 9:30 last night and slept so sound I don't remember sleeping. I guess I really needed those 10 hours of sleep!

I'm using my TTUT post to link up with Emmy Mom for her 10 Things to Smile About today...

1. Making the trip to Honeys college town to see her townhouse and to campus and get the lay of the land was fun. But watching Babe mess with her about what car he was buying her to take with her was the best! The Jeep is a gas guzzler, she needs something smaller and little more economical. Clearly she did not like what he was picking out!

2. Peanut wanted a just because party and because I'm a super cool Mom I of course said sure. We had 36 kids here Friday night and they were all in the pool. No drama to report and only one minor injury, I consider that I huge success!

3. Playing hookie for the day and hanging out at the beach with Peanut and her besties made me smile.

4. Being creative makes me smile. This is the open house invite for Honeys graduation. It's less than 3 weeks away!

5. Starting the little details for my sister destination wedding is making me a bit giddy. Lets just hope this "fine china" I bought for her table seating cards makes the trip to Arizona!

6. Watching Peanut being inducted into NJHS made all of us smile. So proud of you Peanut!

7. Texting friends and family is always good for a laugh. I have enough screen shots to do an entire post on this. I think I may add that to my list, you know that list that is supposed to help me find my blogging mo-jo. This one is from my partner in crime IA.

8. Peanut and her bestie started volunteering at the courthouse for Teen Court. It's the coolest program and is earning them a ton of community hours, google it!

9. Prom is this weekend. I cannot wait to see my girl all done up in her dress. Honey, please be smart and stay safe!

10. Grilling out and eating on the lanai is one of our favorite things to do this time of year. Forgetting that I left an entire package of Italian sausage on the girl made me laugh. My memory is shot, the only thing I can do about it laugh. I know the grill is nasty, I had moved them over to the side that we don't use and forgot to come back for them, I was not cooking on that side! Don't judge....

What made you smile this month? Head on over to Emmy Mom and link up there too!

Talk To Us Tuesday ~ College Bound

2013-04-22T23:00:00.000-04:00

Hopefully you're here to link up with IA and I. I'm assuming, since I don't blog any more, that's the only reason you're here. One day I'll find my blogging mo-jo but until then the weekly meme will have to do.

This weekend was kind of surreal. Babe and I took Honey to see her new college town. It is an adorable town and I know she's going to so happy there, I only wish it wasn't 5 hours away. Her townhouse, that she's sharing with three of her besties, is fantastic! A full gym, game room, outdoor kitchen around the pool, 3 stories, 4 bedroom, 4.5 baths, wood floors, granite counter tops, crown molding and stainless appliances. Yeah, they're going to have it so rough!

All of her senior pictures also came in, 378 of them to be exact, it was tough choosing that's for sure. I was able to narrow it down to 93 and then from there I picked 1 or 2 from each outfit. Here are a few of my favorites.

TTUT~ Just little random

2013-04-15T23:02:00.002-04:00

Talk To You Tuesday, your Tuesday go-to, the place where you can talk about anything without being judged and more than likely be ignored by me, the other half to this weekly meme. Good thing IA is better than I am about visiting, commenting and returning emails.

I'm exhausted tonight, I always post Monday evenings but since I didn't go to bed until 4 o'clock this morning I'm not feeling all that creative. I was able to go back to bed after Babe took Peanut to school for 2 hours and squeeze in a 2.5 hour nap but for some reason I'm still dead on my feet. I was asked to try ZzzQuil and write a review on it so here's hoping it works, I threw back my purple shot about 15 minutes ago.

I'm feeling a wee bit random tonight....

I'm going on my very last field trip with Honey tomorrow. I remember her first kindergarten field trip to the zoo like it was yesterday. I was very pregnant and beyond miserable with Peanut but I sucked it up, climbed aboard that stinky yellow bus and went.

The girls and I enjoyed girls night tonight. A little shopping, some sushi and a trip to the pet store for a new fish. Peanut got the coolest fish ever called a tattooed molly. She really had no choice but to get it, I was completely mesmerized by it. It's the little things people, humor me.

My sweetie brought me home an iPhone 5 Thursday just because he loves me. He's a keeper that's for sure.

This past weekend was supposed to have been the weekend I met up with my bloggy besties for the third year in a row. Sadly that did not happen. A few minor things got in the way this year like moving to a new house, a husband getting a new job and relocating across the country and a son getting ran over by an SUV. Like I said just a few little things. I'm glad that we're good enough friends to bend and not break. Planning has resumed, wish us luck on finding another date.

Mean people suck! Mean people who are willing to take the lives of innocent people and hurt and maim others really suck. I truly believe there's a special place in hell just for them! My prayers go out to all that were affected by the tragedies in Boston today {yesterday}. May God bless each and every one of them!

ZzzQuil has kicked in, now lets just hope I can get out of bed when that stupid alarm goes off in 7.5 hours. This girls likes and needs her sleep!

TTUT~ Senior pictures

2013-04-08T23:02:00.000-04:00

TTUT, the weekly meme co-hosted by yours truly and IA, who is currently buried neck deep in boxes in that new beautiful house of hers!

I had a busy weekend, traveling an hour and a half for Peanuts tournament and then coming home to pick Honey up to drive completely across the state for her senior photo shoot. It was an amazing day and I cannot wait to see all of the pictures! If you live in Florida, or any where for that matter since she travels, and want an amazing photographer Photography Blu is who you need to call!

Here are few pictures I took over her shoulder....

We started the day off choosing the wardrobe

moved onto hair

and makeup

Then drove to Daytona Beach where we did three wardrobe changes

Honey wanted her Jeep on the water, since I said no to a trip to Lambeau Field

This was my favorite part of the day. Someone actually stopped to take her picture!

From the beach we moved to downtown Orlando for a more edgy urban look.

Like I said, edgy and urban. Christina loves this look and so do her clients. The fact that the construction area is on the background would make me crazy but to her it enhances the look. That's why she's the artist and I'm not.

At this point I had turned the Jeep into a mobile dressing room and was just following them around trying not to get a ticket. The day ended on the roof of a parking garage over looking the city in a tattered leather jacket and aviator glasses in the dark.

6 hours in the car + 6 hours in front of the camera + 2 locations and 9 wardrobe changes = a fantabulous day!

What are you talking about today? Anything goes cuz it's no rules Tuesday!

TTUT ~ Ten Things To Smile About

2013-04-02T00:12:00.000-04:00

I'm really tired of thinking of new ways to say the same crap every Tuesday. Yes, this is a weekly meme. Yes, I co-host it with my in real life friend IA. Yes, I usually fail miserably at visiting those that are kind enough to link up with us. Yes, I also usually fail miserably at replying to comments. And yes, I say week after week that, "I'll do better". BLAH BLAH BLAH...

You know what else I say often? That I'm going to start moving my jiggly parts. Yeah right. Again I say, BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Whatever...

Last week I forgot that it was the end of the month which means that it was time to link up with Emmy Mom for her Ten Things To Smile About. I'm technically only 2 days late, that's still pretty good for me, the habitually late one.

1. Although this was in February I'm still including it because we didn't get home from watching Pink perform the best concert I've ever been to until the 1st.

Babe was awesome enough to get Honey and I both in a suite for the concert. I went with 2 of my besties and Honey went with hers.

She was absolutely A-May-Zing!

2. We cruised for 6 wonderful days to Haiti and Jamaica. The biggest oops of the cruise was when I sat down for dinner and across the table was my girlfriend wearing the same dress. What are the chances?

Someone actually asked us if we planned it. Why yes, yes we did because we're in the 5th grade.

3. Hosting Easter for my parents and our friends. Along with a margarita cake that you needed to show id in order to eat I made this tower of sugar. Peeps, red velvet cake pops and cupcakes {that I purchased}.

4. Booking our trip to New York to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade! Watching the parade was something I did every year with my Dad, now Honey and I watch it together. When we asked her what she wanted for graduation a long weekend in New York, to watch the parade and shopping was her choice. Shopping will undoubtedly include a trip to Dash of course, that girl is Kardashian obsessed!

5. Stumbling upon this on Facebook not only made me smile but it made my day and gave me a glimmer of hope for the future.

Never mind the typos, she's an A student I promise she just gets her typing/texting skills from her Momma.

6. Every year I hide money in our eggs, I learned the hard why after our first hunt when my beautiful baby was covered head to toe in melted chocolate. There is always a golden egg and usually a silver and bronze. Every year Honey has looked for that egg. This year, her last eligible year to participate, she found the golden egg.

I'd say she was a little excited!

7. Do you Wanelo? I love it! It's a great way to shop for your kids or friends since you can follow their account and purchase directly from there. I ordered a necklace for each girl to include in their Easter basket almost 3 weeks ago, it finally arrived today. The reason for the delay, it came from China! You don't know where you're ordering from until you hit send payment.

It's a good thing they like them.

8. My crazy hubby makes my skin crawl often but he also makes me laugh. Prior to the cruise Peanut and her friend bought him jammies, fearful of what they might be exposed to in our tiny cabin. They gave them to him while we were at Park Square, a local outdoor hangout with restaurants and such, fountains for the kids to play in and a pavilion for outdoor movies and concerts. It's a cool place. Anyway, it was cold when they gave them to him so he put them on and wore them all.night.long.

I think he may have had a little liquid courage.

9. BAB's. I love Big Ass Bows! This is one I made for Peanut to play ball in, you can tell by the orange clay stains it gets worn often. She wore it with a hat to school for "put a cap on cancer" day. Each participating kid had to pay to wear their hat and the proceeds went to the schools Relay For Life team. Now that's a win, win!

10. Watching my nephew race live on ESPN's SPEED channel was so exciting. I may or may not have been jumping up and down cheering him on. I think he may have heard me all the way in Canada.

This Aunt is proud of her newly turned pro rider nephew!

If you made it all the way though that then you are better than me that's for sure!

Your turn to link up....

TUUT~ Judgmental much?

2013-03-25T23:46:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Talk To Us Tuesday, you know the place you can come and talk to us about anything because we still have no rules! IA and are continuing this meme even though it's the only day of the week I we post and even though ~~I'm~~ we're horrible because I we never visit or return comments. Tell me why y'all keep coming back week after week?

So I decided to confess a little something about myself....I'm kind of a judgmental bitch.

I know it's horrible and I had gotten so much better but with Instagram taking over I've had a slight set back. But seriously can you blame me?

I have found myself looking at pictures and placing people that I either don't know very well, or at all, into categories. Slob, neat freak, sleazebag, fake, alcoholic etc. It's not all that hard to do and I'm sure I've made it onto a list or two myself, crazy dog lady comes to mind rather quickly.

I'll also confess to this. I stage most pictures before they go live. If there's a mess in the back ground that area gets cleaned. If I look fat at the original angle I take another shot. In my opinion that's not me trying to be something I'm not it's just me a good photographer. Right? Please tell me you do the same?

Come on admit it, you totally have an Instagram friend that you now know is a dirt ball both in her house and in the bed.

I'm just keepin' it real friends.

Here's a little proof that I am in fact a crazy dog lady, a title I wear proudly. This Mamma loves her Rouge!

Teen drivers are expensive!

2013-03-25T11:20:00.000-04:00

Insurance, auto insurance to be exact, is so expensive. Add a female driver under 21 to your policy and see what happens! I'm looking ahead 2 1/2 years to when Peanut gets her license and it makes me want to cry. At that time Honey will be barely 21 and still in college which means we'll still be paying her bills, that is going to be one killer of a bill! I will most definitely be searching for cheap car insurance then!

There are a ton of commercials from auto insurance companies all claiming to have the lowest rates but how do you really know who's telling the truth and who's just blowing smoke? Using a source that compares rates specific to your zip code makes perfect sense. By simply visiting http://www.locatecheapinsur.com and plugging in my zip code I was able to see the top auto insurance companies in Florida that could help lower my rates. Sounds easy enough right?

Listen, raising two girls is expensive, the clothes, the hair, the make up, the waxing and the manicures & pedicures alone are a small fortune. So when given the opportunity to save money I'll jump at the chance! In fact I won't be waiting 2 1/2 years I want to start saving now, I can use to savings for my own clothes, hair, makeup, waxing and manicures & pedicures!

TTUT ~ Spring Break

2013-03-19T00:27:00.001-04:00

Thanks for stopping by, hopefully you're here to link up with my partner IA and I for Talk To Us Tuesday. I have a feeling it's going to be just me again this week, IA is having a tough time right now, moving can be so dang stressful!

Last week was our spring break and if you came by you already know that we were crusin'. Can I just say how incredibly thankful I am that we did not choose Carnival! For those of you who don't know, two more Carnival cruises were "lost at sea" last week. I know someone on each ship and to day they were less than happy would be an understatement. This is the second time I've cruised with Royal Caribbean and although the food was less than expected {honestly, I've never been a big fan of cruise food} and the servers weren't overly friendly we still had a great time.

There were 16 of us, 4 couples with 2 girls each, we had a fabulous time! We started out in Ft. Lauderdale and our first stop was Labadee, Haiti. We opted to hang out at the island all day instead of taking a tour, the little girls had fun using all of the water sports, the guys had fun drinking and posing for pictures with young college girls {pervs} and the adult girls had fun chatting in the sun.

Our second port was Jamaica. We told Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb, aka Peanut and her bestie, they could choose the excursion. Dunns River Falls was their choice. Babe and I really didn't want to go but I am thrilled that we didn't veto it, it was an absolute blast! The bus ride was what was making me not want to go but with 16 of us we had a private bus and two of the best guides ever! I was proud of myself for climbing without breaking any bones and falling on my face. The water was freezing and my jiggly parts moved and grooved to the reggae music being sung by all of the tours guides but I really could have cared less!

Peanut and TD ran around the ship all day only coming in the cabin long enough to shower, change clothes and make a huge mess, we really only saw them for dinner. There were a ton of teens on the cruise and they had a blast running around the ship.

Peanut met a boy. A cute and very respectful boy who was not intimidated by me or her Daddy. He shook Babes hand every time he saw him and always greeted me politely. He didn't scare easily either. When they wanted to stay out past curfew and go get pizza I replied 'only if I can go with' and he said "I'd love that, lets go!". Peanut was mortified, not so much because I was going with but because I was already in my jammies. I think my senses may have been a little numb from the shots, when he started singing "my first kiss went a little like this" I sang along instead of putting two and two together..... Lil playa

He followed Peanut everywhere and she loved every minute of it! Ahhh, first love and a first kiss on a cruise during spring break, now that's what I call making memories! I will admit that I am thrilled he lives in Canada.

What about you? What exciting things did you do over spring break?

TTUT ~ Cruisin'

2013-03-11T23:00:00.000-04:00

It's going to be a short and sweet TTUT the week, sweet for me at least. I think that my girl IA will be missing in action this week since last I spoke to her she was about ready to pull her hair out over her upcoming move. Did you know that moving is one of the top 5 most stressful things you can go through? Send positive thoughts her way would ya.

It's Spring Break here and we are cruising. By the time you read this I will have been sailing for a day and preparing to explore Haiti before hitting the seas in route to Jamaica. I've never been to Haiti so I'm excited, I love visiting new places!

This is our first family vacation without all of our family. Honey made the difficult decision to stay home. Believe it or not it was a tough choice for her. As much as she wanted to be with us she also wanted to enjoy her senior spring break, beachin' it with her friends and hanging with her boyfriend who has the same week off from college. I totally remember being 18 so I completely get her dilemma and would have made the same choice if I were her. Now before you go to the dark side about us leaving her alone, she's not alone. She's a very responsible adult but we still have a close friend staying with her. We trust her completely, it's the others we don't trust. All it takes is for the wrong person finding out we're out of town for everything to implode!

Have you seen Project X? I think I may have to kill someone if I came home to that!

Peanut is bringing a friend so we will still be doing our part fueling the estrogen wagon. Each of the 4 couples going has 2 girls, apparently my hubby is not the only one who struggled making boys.

Speaking of boys, they stink! So to help keep the peace in my cabin and to prevent my makeup from running I made a last minute purchase. There is 1 bathroom in an approximate 500 sq ft area that will hold 4 people for 6 days. I do believe that this is the best purchase I made for the trip!

Have a great week friends and thanks for stopping by and linking up!

TTUT- I had a SHITTY day!

2013-03-05T10:29:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, the perfect day to dish about anything you want with me and gal IA! Sorry for the delay in getting my post up but I've been a wee bit busy. Here's a sampling of the last few days...

*** WARNING, THIS POST IS NOT FOR THOSE WITH A WEAK STOMACH OR THOSE ABOUT TO EAT***

We have {actually it was Honey} discovered that Rogue is lactose intolerant. How did we come to this conclusion you ask? Well here's the story...

Honey picks up the dog food when we're out. She has also picked them up cute little cookies decorated with yogurt icing a few times over the past 3 months. Sunday night she gave her babies their treats.

source

A few weeks ago Rogue was sick, as in diarrhea all over my house sick, he was also sick like that back in January. Like always I assumed he had eaten a pair of panties or a sock and waited for it to "pass". Never had I put the two together...

I woke up at 3 am Monday morning wide awake. I laid there until 3:30 not able to sleep so I finally decided to get up and start my day a little early and knock out my morning workout. Ok, whatever I actually stumbled to the kitchen to take a Xannax so I could go back to sleep until 8. Judge away, at this point I really don't care. While shuffling down the dark hallway I stepped in IT. It as in shIT. Apparently Rogue had had an accident. He may or may not have rang the potty bells at the front door I can't be sure since I had bright pink pieces of extremely uncomfortable foam shoved in my ear canals to block off my darling husbands "heavy breathing". Anyway, I cleaned up the mess, thankful it was "firm" and only on the wood, took my Xannax and went back to bed.

At 5:30 I heard Honey yell "ROGUE!" then her approaching foot steps to the side of my bed. She whispered sweetly in my ear, "Mom, Rogue pooped everywhere! I would clean it up by I'm late for my workout" {she for real gets up at the crack-o-ass to workout before school at 7:30}, words every Mother yearns to hear. Now a perfect person would have gotten up to clean up the mess but I'm far from perfect so I rolled over and went back to bed. Again I say, judge away!

When I woke at 7:45 and went for my cup of coffee I found IT. It as in shIT. He had had explosive diarrhea from the back door to the front door. Literally! It has splattered up the kitchen cabinets, the legs of the chairs and my silk drapes. It honestly looked like a crime scene but with shit instead of blood and the creepy theme song from The Bates Motel rang through my ears.

It took me 40 minutes on my hands and knees, like Cinda-freaking-rella, to get it cleaned up. Babe came to "help" and left with some choice words in between his gags. Peanut got up for school and quickly returned to her room gagging. I have such an incredible support system don't I? Babe finally manned up and came to help. He sprayed the dried splatters with the cleaning solution as I approached that area with his shirt over his face like a bank robber. Ahh he's such a gentlemen to assist me like that so I wouldn't have to scrape the shit.

Only after I returned from taking Peanut to school did I discover that the area rug had also fallen victim to Sir Rogue. I spent the next 30 minutes, again on my hands and knees, using the carpet cleaner. Do you know what that smells like when you pour it out? Because I care I'm going to tell you to take a very deep breath and hold it if you're ever faced with a similar situation!

I do believe that I have redefined "I've had a really shitty day"! Care to disagree?

For those of you that made it through this post I have this to say to you. This has been your dose of appetite control for the day. You. Are. Welcome!

A friend sent me this on FB. I'm so glad my friends get me!

It really is a good thing I love this boy!

It's your turn to tell me about your shitty day, I'm all ears.

TTUT ~I do believe I'm officially old...

2013-02-26T09:54:00.001-05:00

Tuesday....Ahh the only day of the week I can drag my lazy ass up the stairs to sit behind the computer these days. Thank goodness IA and I have decided to continue this meme for without it I'd be nonexistent in the blogsphere.

It dawned on me this morning that I am officially old. I have crossed over to the dark side and TBT {I'll touch on that acronym in a minute} it's scary here!

I remember the days when my Mom, who I love dearly, would say or do something that would make me curl up in the fetal position from mere humiliation and rock back and forth Rain Man style. Looking back I can see now that all she was doing was breathing in my presence. Well, guess what? I think I may be breathing a little too heavy for my girls taste.

As I was perusing FaceBook, read stalking my daughters, I saw that Peanut was participating in the ever so popular TBH and TBT memes. I was familiar with TBH thanks to Honey a few years back but the TBT stumped me. After a tisk and huge eye roll Peanut educated me on the Truth Be Told ~~meme~~, ~~game~~, ~~post~~, thingy on FB. I'm hoping that if I ever were to participate in TBH I would be a little more creative than the standard, you're in my 5th period PE class, I don't know you very well but you're pretty, reply. Wait, I think I may be getting my TBH and TBT's confused. Maybe it wasn't TBH or TBT... it could have been just a straight up Truth Is?. Either way I'm tots not perf and clearly need to stick to over 40 FBing!

When I was in middle school, it was so long ago we called it Jr. High, when you had a boyfriend you "went out". I can still remember the irritation and how the hair on the back of my neck stood up when my Mom would ask "where are y'all going?". I am, presumably of course, doing the same to my girls now when I ask them "what are y'all talking about?" when they {just Peanut now since Honey has a full time man} tell me they're "talking" to so-and-so.

I have also learned recently that just because the other kids think I'm cool doesn't mean that my own girls do. When I start quoting Fat Amy and singing Titanium in public the other girls laugh {not at me of course} and join me while mine beg me to stop then resort to looking a lot like I did back in 1983 while rocking back and forth in the fetal position in the nearest corner.

It's apparently also never ok to look good in a pair or Rock Revival jeans, rock out to "your jam" with the windows down while at a stop light, whistle at cute boys then slow down when driving next to them, be called a MILF, comment on a FB thread- especially a TBT or TBH, post pictures of yourself that show even a millimeter of cleavage on Instagram, and "creep on" your daughters and their friends on Twitter. FTR, look at me throwing out an acronym, I feel strongly that if you post anything on a social media site all rights to privacy are off.

In short, I guess I've hit the time in my life where I'm supposed to slip on a moo-moo, put rollers in my hair and just get old, after all I am almost 43.

NOT!

I think I'll tots stick to rockin' my Rock Revivals, singing David Guetta loud and off key, noticing cute boys {as long as they're legal} and living life to it's fullest!

What have you done that has made your kids moan in humiliation Maaahhhhhmmm? Bring it on, I want to know!

Talk To Us Tuesday ~ Guess what....

2013-02-18T22:55:00.000-05:00

It's Friday...Wishful thinking but at least it's Tuesday which means I get to come here and talk to all of my friends. Hopefully IA will be back again this week, I've liked having her back but understand that on top of the new Mommy thing {which she's been milking for a while now} she's now packing up and getting ready to move.

Guess who else has started packing up her house? Yep, that's right the Seriously household will soon have a change of address. It's been a whirlwind to say the least, I'll fill y'all in on that story later.

Guess who not only sent me a drunk text but a drunk video too? That's right, our very own IA had a little too much Captain last week. I feel it only fair to repay her for all of the wonderful pictures, videos and stories she has shared of me.

You.Are.Welcome!

Guess who's had a broken wrist since December? Yep, that crazy kid of mine is a machine and has been playing with a break for months. She will do just about anything to be on the clay!

Guess what I found while packing up a closet? This little gem. I would like to take a minute to thank the good Lord above for not cursing me with looking like that for any longer than I had to. Please tell me how rockin' that perm was!

Circa 1987

Guess who remembered me when sending his girls their traditional chocolate covered strawberries for Valentines day? I love that he had them add how many Valentines Day's we've shared. I love that man of mine!

Guess how cold it was this weekend while I sat at the softball fields NOT watching my kid play? I moved to Florida in 1993 and have never been as cold as I was this past weekend. I can honestly say that I have not been that cold in years.

Guess who warmed up with her softball bestie with a drink, or three, after the game and then slept like a baby all night long!

Guess who's got bronchitis again? Poor Honey just can't catch a break, she's coughing more she's breathing. She's confident that she'll have abs of steel by the end of the week, at least she's finding the silver lining...

I couldn't bring myself to take her picture. If she feels as bad as she looks than trust me when I say she's sick!

I hope you're here to link up with us, we have no rules ya know! It's your turn to share.

TTUT ~ Going Random Style

2013-02-12T08:11:00.001-05:00

Talk To Us Tuesday, the once cool place to link up by thanks to its slacker hostesses TTUT is now wanting...Sad I know! Hopefully our regulars will be back today and once IA and I get back into our groove things will pick back up.

How about a little bit of this and a little bit of that today, picture style?

We'll will be cruising in just 27 days. Do you think it's possible to loose a pound a day?

Peanut channeled her inner Fat Amy and did a little horizontal running. I am obsessed with that movie!

Do you have a hobby? Mine is shopping but since I have been put on spending restriction I have started scrap booking again. Babe really doesn't know what he's done since walking the mall was my biggest form of exercise, I'll never get this weight off before the cruise now!

Anyway, while getting back in the swing of things I went through a few of my older books and found this gem. This was Peanuts first love, she still gets all flustered when she sees him, a girl never forgets her first love!

I also found a couple good ones from my trip to Austin. Is it just me or do these girls have a thing for my girls?

I've been on a roll, I'm out of pictures so that's on my list of things to do today. Here are just a few of the page spreads I did over the past few days.

It's been a while sine Rogue has made an appearance... This adorable bed hog has been sick, like projectile diarrhea all over the place sick. Good times. That could mean only one thing...he's been in the laundry. This time the guilty party was none other than Babe. I'm happy to report that after pooping out a sock or two {who's counting} he is feeling much better.

Have you ever missed a place shaving...for three years? Apparently I have. I found this cluster of hair while wearing crop jeans at a public event. After taking a few pictures I took out my tweezers and TCB. Zero shame, I know!

Honey found her prom dress! Here's a little advice for you parents of daughters. Forget what they say about saving for their wedding, start saving now for high school. Homecoming dresses, class rings, senior pictures, yearbooks, cap and gowns, prom dresses etc. I paid almost as much for my wedding dress 21 years ago! Lucky for my girls they have their Daddy wrapped around their little fingers. He said, "it's a beautiful dress, she looks amazing in it and you only go to your senior prom once." Here's hoping this style is still in vogue next year and I can sell this bad boy!

Hopefully you'll be linking up with us today, there's no rules so either link up what you've already posted or share some random with us! Speaking of random, I'm linking up with Stacy today too, head on over and see who else is getting their random on.

WWTK is back

2013-02-07T13:22:00.003-05:00

It seems like forever ago but once upon a time I was a co-host on another linky called We Want To Know Wednesday. Since I left that party it has gone through several changes and is now co-hosted by Scriptor and Kenzie. Scriptor is always faithful joining IA and I for TTUT and Kenzie has been coming by more and more so when I saw that they were teaming up I wanted to support them. Here are their questions this week.

- - QUESTIONS - -

{no. 1} Did you watch the Superbowl? Do you tend to like sports or do you only watch them if it is a big event or something a friend or spouse is in to?

{no. 2} What is one thing you really like but cannot understand how or why other people do not?

{no. 3} Describe/explain one thing that annoys you on daily basis.

{no. 4} What is one food you've been really into lately or something you have really craved at one point?

{no. 5} Name one thing you are saving or want to save money for.

1.} I watched part of it. I try to never miss the National Anthem, honestly it's more to see if the performer is going to blow it, and I also like to watch the halftime show. As much as I love Alicia Keys I have to say that I wasn't impressed by either performance this year.

2.} Olives and olive juice in my margarita. After drinking my fist "dirty margarita" in Austin with my girls I can't have it any other way.

3.} Barking dogs! I have 3 large dogs, they like to bark at people using the trail that runs through my back yard but I always reign them in quickly. I so wish I could say the same for my neighbors. I've actually thought about offering to pay to have their dogs debarked for them!

4.} Mocha Salted Caramel coffee creamer. I find myself drinking more coffee just for the creamer. I may or may not have poured it over vanilla ice cream too, it's just that good!

5.} My girls trip to Tulsa in April. I cannot wait to hang with my girls again!

Thanks for hosting ladies and best of luck with WWTK!

TTUT ~ Mean Girls Suck!

2013-02-05T07:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks for coming by again, IA and I truly appreciate you supporting our little meme even if we have been somewhat anemic with our posts, visits, comments and returning your comments. Blogging friends are the best!

Speaking of IA, my partner in this meme, have you been by her blog yet? Last week she ratted me out blogging about a possible drunk text from me, so not nice I know, and this week she's back at it sharing some very sound yet embarrassing parental advice I sent her after a less than fortunate event with Peanut. The event may or may not have included a bedroom door that Babe said was locked {never trust a man when presented with the opportunity for quicky}, Peanuts run that wasn't quite as long as anticipated and me...naked...on top of the covers...yep, you can officially color me embarrassed and Peanut scarred for life!

When your kids are 18 and 13, you're the anti-morning person and exhausted by 8pm you've gotta take advantage of any window of opportunity!

Enough about my emBARE-ASSing moment....

Mean girl suck!

Can I get an amen please?

It seems that my youngest has been getting crap at school and hasn't wanted to tell me for fear that I would go to the school and "handle it". Well duh, of course that's what I would have done, I'm the Mom my job is to protect my children! After much begging and pleading I will not be addressing the situation with administration however the thought of dressing up as a 13 year old, 21 Jump Street style, and kicking some 13 year old bitch ass has crossed my mind more than I should probably admit.

I have aways taught my girls to rise above-don't engage but enough is enough! Babe and I have talked to her about standing up for herself and of course not getting caught in the process. He has told her the next time they say something to quietly lean into the offender and say "if you say that one more time I will freaking punch you straight in the face and if I find out you've been talking about me behind my back I will wipe the floor with you" and then quietly walk away. I'm thinking that the little biotch wearing the giant bow on the top of her head like a pomeranian straight from the groomer may just crap herself! He may or may not have also showed her how to administer a killer charlie-horse to the thigh while walking quietly through the hallways, he may have a little experience with this.

I have tried my best to explain to her that she is a triple threat. She's beautiful, a 4.0 student and a true athlete. Those girl are jealous and intimidated by her and being mean is the only ammunition they have. Sadly, that knowledge doesn't make it any easier when they're calling her mangina. Is it wrong that I just want her to take them down!

Does this look like a man to you!?!!

They've done pissed off Mamma Bear. I think my teenage years are returning and these girls need to watch out and remember that I helped write a few of the "rules". They wanna play? Game on, I'm ready!

I will do my best to do the rounds today, see y'all soon.

TTUT ~ I'm late, I'm late for a very important date....

2013-01-29T09:16:00.001-05:00

I'm late to my own party which should really come to no surprise to anyone who really knows me. I'm always late, no matter how hard I try not to be. I was even late to my own wedding, almost thirty minutes late, people where starting to talk! That's another story in itself, all I'll say for now is that it involved a left behind blusher, a sweet brother who raced back home for it only to find blush, and a love affair between my 80's pink lipstick and the front of my gown...

I digress.

My partner in crime IA is back this week and she's ratting me out. Biotch! I swear someone slipped me something, probably Babe wanting a little lovin', because I only had three and a half drinks over the course of 4 hours. I'm glad she's back, I can handle it so bring it on friends!

I fell asleep last night after doing a little reading in bed with a killer headache. The reading excuse was for you the headache excuse was for Babe. Both are true, I promise.

I'm on a reading kick lately. I really haven't read that much since I jumped on the wet bandwagon and read the 50 Shades trilogy last summer. I did read The Lucky One before it was released in the theaters, I like to compare the two when possible, and after seeing the young, very hot and extremely buff Zac Efron on the big screen I consider myself the lucky one! That's why I read Safe Haven last week, in an afternoon, I hated putting it down to do the few mandatory SAHM duties I had on my to-do list. If you haven't read it it was good, predictable but still good. I'm looking forward to seeing Josh Duhamel bigger than life in a few weeks, that Fergie is a lucky girl! Then I rolled right into The Best Of Me, another book from Nicholas Sparks, that one took a little time for me to get into but once I was past chapter five I was hooked. Since I was on a reading roll I downloaded {I prefer reading on my iPad than a real book-go ahead hate if you will, my girls do} Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. It was referred to me by my girl Becca after it was referred to her by her Momma. I had no clue what it was about I just dove in. Y'all it's about a mass shooting at a high school, the timing is bad with the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook but I've been sucked in and have been slacking on all other responsibilities since opening it.

Do you read?

What do you recommend?

I've done this once before and it was fun so I think it's time to do it again. I will send one of you my paper copy of Safe Haven {Honey read it first and she must have paper in hand} with my name and blog address inside for you to read and then pass on to another blogger. It will be fun to see how far it travels. If you want it let me know in your comment and I will email you if your chosen requesting your address.

Thanks for excusing my tardy friends! Now link up your random since there's no rules with our TTUT party!

Talk To Us Tuesday ~ I wonder if...

2013-01-21T23:25:00.001-05:00

It's just me again this week since IA has no Internet...again! I swear she should demand a serious refund, she goes without Internet more than she has it!

While coming home from taking Peanut to school the other morning I had itch in an area that made me very glad I was sitting in the privacy of my car. So I took care of my PHI, pubic hair itch as we refer to it at the Serious house, at the exact time I drove through a camera enforced stop light. That left me wondering if those cameras are monitored at all times or just on the occasion a car tries to sneak through a yellow light?

I wonder how many crotch and nose pickers are caught on camera? I guess I can now be added to the list.

OOPS!

TTUT ~ Ready ~ Aim ~ Fire

2013-01-14T23:03:00.002-05:00

Welcome to TTUT, I've made it another week, whut-whut! I'm not so sure if my girl IA is participating this week or not, she's had a full week with her in-laws still visiting and a GNO to a casino where she indulged in the Captain, hopefully she'll find the time for a brief post but if not I'll still love her. We've managed to keep it afloat for another week, we certainly appreciate all of you wanting TTUT to stick around and the handful of you that emailed us showing an interest in helping out. As soon as we find a few minutes to actually talk we'll let you know what we're doing.

Last year instead of making New Year resolutions I made a list of 52 things I wanted to accomplish in the 52 weeks of 2012. I need to go back and review my list, I think I may have failed a little which is better than failing completely right? One of the things on the list was to have a weekly family night. This was very important to all of us as Honey will be leaving for college in 5 short months, we all wanted to seize the little time we had left as a family unit. I'm happy to report that we did very well! We missed a few weeks due to illness, a few to work travels and we had to reschedule for a different night a few times but all in all we were hugely successful! I think the key was setting the same day every week, everyone knew Thursdays were family night.

We saw a ton of movies, ate dinner out and laughed loudly at our total inappropriateness, made homemade pizzas, played board games, went bowling, took the dogs for walks, treated ourselves to manicures and pedicures {yes, even Babe}, had dinner in front of the TV while watching one of our favorite movies, hit the mall a time or two, and I believe we spent one night studying for exams. It didn't matter what we did, it was all about spending quality time together, time is the one thing you never have enough of!

Family night has a new night in 2013...Mondays. Monday is my cleaning day so I'm going to welcome a hot shower and a meal that I didn't have to prepare. It's also going to serve as more than a handful of TTUT posts I'm sure, hopefully y'all won't get tired of my family.

Last night we all went to the shooting range for a little target practice before dinner. I fired a gun for the first time Sunday, with one of my besties and our husbands, I'm also taking a ladies concealed weapons class with her and a few more friends Thursday night. If we're going to own guns I'm going to know how to shoot 'em! It wasn't as bad as I anticipated but I don't see it as something I will want to do just for fun. Babe had me shoot a 22 the first few times before he had me use my 38, that 38 has some kick! I also tried the 9mm...do I sound educated yet?

The girls did great. Honey was ready to shoot the minute we walked through the door while Peanut was a little hesitant. Once we got them set up there was no stopping them, they are both great shots! Within a few minutes they were each shooting on their own, with a parent over their shoulder at all times of course, loading and unloading and handling the guns with caution and respect. I was more than impressed!

Safety first. It kills me how Honey can pull off ANY look!

Honey went first...I'd say she got him!

Peanut is very black and white, that child has zero grey area! She listened, watched and applied.

The shots in the red are from her Daddy, she's not that good...yet.

I only got in a few rounds, the girls were gun hogs.

How cool is this shot?

It took skill to capture it twice, especially since I was using my iPhone!

Gun control and safety is huge right now, obviously you know where this family stands. Like I said last week, the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. This family is full of good guys and now full of guns! I don't think I could shoot to kill but I certainly would shoot to stop. I just pray I never have to! What's your opinion?

Could you pull the trigger?

2013-01-10T12:10:00.000-05:00

Gun control seems to be a hot topic since the tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary. I've decided to dip my toe in these dangerous waters and voice my opinion...

I do not think anyone has the right to tell me that I cannot protect my daughters and myself with any necessary means, after all it is the second amendment of this country. If that means shooting someone than so be it. If someone breaks into my home, and gets past my dogs, then I'm going to choose to defend myself and my family with a gun. I do not want to and I hope I never have to but I will.

This is a new point of view for me. We've had a gun in the house for years and I have stayed as far away from it as possible. What has made me change my mind after all of these years? I really do not know but I have and I stand firm behind my decision.

The President of the NRA wisely said during a heavily protested press conference shorty after the Sandy Hook shootings that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun and I couldn't agree more! Will I shoot to kill? I'm sure I won't, I don't think I have it in me to take another life, but I will shoot to stop him {or her} in his tracks...I'm aiming right between the legs!

In my opinion if someone enters my house unwanted they are entering with bad intentions. I will not give them the opportunity to prove me wrong. My girls are my world and I will not sit back and let something happen to them when I have the right and ability to prevent it.

I'm taking a concealed weapons class next week and will start shooting often. I need to be comfortable with my ability to use such a powerful and deadly weapon, it's an obligation that every gun owner should be forced to take. I will also teach my girls how to shoot, another new for me! At 18 and 13 I feel they are ready for the responsibility to protect themselves. We will not go down without a fight in this house!

Melinda Herman, the Georgia mom that shot a home intruder 5 times last week, has given me the courage to do this. A man broke into her home in the middle of the afternoon, he searched her and her 9 year old twins out who were hiding in the attic and when he opened the door she shot him. If he was looking to simply rob the home then why did he seek them out? It's my opinion that he was there to do them harm and she stopped him with her husband on the phone encouraging her to stay calm, remember everything he had tougher her and to shoot!

Melinda, you are both a hero and inspiration. I hope if I am ever faced with such horror I can handle myself just like you did!

What are your thoughts on home protection and the possible threat to have it revoked?

TTUT ~ December recap

2013-01-07T22:26:00.000-05:00

2013. The future. driving cars in space, living on the moon, robot maids. Yeah, notsomuch.

Sorry that there was no TTUT last week, to be 100% honest with you with it being New Years day my partner IA and I just completely forgot. It's hard for me to admit this but blogging just isn't on my list of priorities any longer. I wish it was, I loved it when I was all in. I loved reading other blogs and couldn't wait to journal my life on mine and I met some very dear friends along the way but lately it's been more of a job than a fun past time and if you know me at all you know I'm slightly allergic to work. Run on sentence much? I'm not so sure what 2013 is going to bring for me as far as blogging is concerned so if there's anyone out there that would be interested in helping with TTUT please let me know as I may be taking a hiatus. I'm not sure what IA's intentions are since her in-laws are visiting we haven't been able to talk about it....

Since I'm a week late Emmy Mom has already closed her 10 Thing To Smile About but I still want to participate, just without linking up, because December was simply wonderful! In no particular order here's my list of smiles...

1. My Dad celebrated his 75th birthday. I'm too lazy to actually download the pictures off of my camera but I love, love, love this picture of him and my Mom with Honey on Homecoming night. He is such a wonderful, Godly man who had a less than wonderful childhood. Instead of making his children suffer through the same torment he did he broke the chain and gave my sisters, brother and I an incredible life. I love my Daddy!

2. Peanut turned 13, I am now the Mother of TWO teen girls. Her day started with a ride to school in style. She was less than thrilled with my antics but to avoid me beeping the horn the entire drive and through the car line she decided to tell me how much she loved me and ride to school without complaining and with a smile on her face. Smart girl!

3. Christmas was fabulous! I bought all new decorations for both trees and the dining room table, it was long over-due, as a gift to myself but my favorite gift this year came from Honey. She remembered me saying how much I loved this frame when shopping almost a year ago and went back to get it for me. It has found its home and every day, multiple times a day, I look at it and smile. She is one awesome daughter!

4. I rang in another New Year with the love of my life. This was the 26th time he was the first person I kissed at the start of a new year, a tradition I'd like to continue until the end of time!

5. In light of the tragic event at Sandy Hook I joined thousands of others in a walk to honor the victims. Walk 27 was a global event, a 27 minute walk in honor of the victims, I extended my walk to a little over an hour walking past all 4 of my local schools, stopping at each one to pray for the students and staff inside. I sent the word out via FaceBook and it spread like wildfire. There were close to 60 people walking with me that morning and although someone accused me of only wanting to get my name in the paper it was an incredible experience and one that I would do again. A local news crew came out to interview a few of the walkers as well as two local newspapers and I was interview via telephone by HLN. I was proud to be a part of the event and even though our walk will not change anything it felt good to show our love and support.

6. I celebrated Christmas with my two best friends and their children. Our girls are 18, 15, 13, 10, 8 and 4 and are just precious! I love them all like my own and am blessed beyond measure to have them in my life.

7. Honey was able to spend some time with her boyfriend. Why does that make me smile? Because she wasn't sulking around the house missing him, his college is about 7 hours away, but was instead, to quote Phil from Duck Dynasty, happy, happy, happy!

8. To celebrate Peanut becoming a teenager I took her to have her pictures taken like I did with Honey 5 years ago. They turned out beautiful and the studio is actually putting a few on display in the mall!

9. One of Peanuts Christmas gifts was a ticket to Illinois/Wisconsin to visit family for week. Seeing her face was priceless {still on the camera} as was watching her big sissy nervously watch her plane leaving the runway.

10. Our third annual girls weekend is on the calendar! Finally finding dates that work for all of us made me smile and breathe a sigh of relief. Now to find a plane ticket...

Coming soon...Tulsa

I hope your December was equally as wonderful as mine and that your 2013 is off to a fabulous start!

It's a Christmas TTUT!

2012-12-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas and happy TTUT! My partner IA is feeling better and talking today about feeling a little overwhelmed and anxious since becoming a Mommy of two so go give her some love if you can.

I have so much to talk about but as usual can't seem to find the time to sit down and write. I am going to have a great 10 Things To Smile About this month that's for sure!

Until I have more time, and it's not 1minute before Christmas, I'll leave you with a picture.

Every year we read 'Twas The Night Before Christmas and the girls open a gift, it just so happens that it's always the box with matching jammies in it. How does that happen year after year?

Have a very Merry and Christ filled Christmas!