A bee sting and a makeover

Yesterday we had lunch with our friends at the prayer garden at church. We went to Zaxby's, got chicken, and brought it back for a little picnic. We had the best time getting to catch up while our kids played. There were a million roses (and I'm not kidding...a million) in bloom and hence, that presented an issue. BEES. EVERYWHERE. Buzzing around our faces and our food. Well, I got stung the FIRST time on my foot, but I was able to squish the sucker and get revenge right after he stung me.

I wore a pretty little dress (Paul got me last year for our anniversary) to church and so I was wearing this full-skirted dress in the prayer garden. We were heading over to the car to change a baby when, OH YES, it did...a bee flew up my skirt and got me. Where? I'm not gonna say. But ye---ouch! I was dancing around like a lunatic. Practically beating myself trying to get this thing off (or out from under) me. My poor friend, she must have wanted to laugh, I mean, I would have been ROLLING watching someone else put on this kind of show. But she was so sympathetic.

I don't know if I ever blogged about my Brown Recluse spider bite last summer, but I seem to draw bugs and they bite me ALL THE TIME! Just call me Little Miss Muffet.

Today, I'm healing. Not gonna run the hill tonight.

When I got back to the car, Will was tattling..."mo-om, Wesley made a HUGE mess in the car!" (in that sing-songy voice). When I opened the door this is what I found...now this is the kind of mess that really doesn't bother me. (Other than the fact that it attracts bees). Flower petals, pink rose flower petals at that! Our car smelled divine on the way home. But don't try this at home, cause they stain.

And, as I'm sure you've noticed, my blog has undergone and Extreme Makeover! I felt like the old pink was a little too...."LIGHTS ON, EVERYBODY WAKE UP" - like an annoying camp counselor or something. So, I wanted to tone it down a bit. But I still have pink. I will ALWAYS have pink! If you want to "pimp out your blog", go to leeloublogs.blogspot.com and follow the directions. It's easy! Thanks Toni for the link.

Office Premiere Party!!!!

Last night David and Tara hosted a party for "The Office" premiere! No detail was left out...the World's Best Boss cups, stapler in the jello, schrewdt bucks, green streamers, nutcracker Christmas, Jan's serenity candles and office trivia. Janie, got almost every question right. What? How can you know so much about so much??? It was good to see some old friends and new friends in the same night. The Office brought us all together. That's heartwarming. :) We had a great time. Thanks for hosting such a fun party Jensen's. I know now that your kids can sleep through ANYTHING! We were loud. Here's some of my favorite photos of the night...
Janie and her first of many Schrewdt Bucks. Sheesh! Save some for the rest of us. This girl is a whiz at Office trivia. I would say, she's the BEST! Me and Kirsten's bag that I covet. I got a little attached to it. :)Here's a slideshow of our night. If any of you "LCA-ers" are reading this and notice that I am wearing my HIGH SCHOOL LCA Bulldog Cheerleader t-shirt...yes, it is officially a vintage t-shirt. But I want you to know, I'm not clinging onto my high school days, I just really love this shirt. It's the most comfortable one I own. I'll never get rid of it.

Super Green Smoothie. Does a body good!

My friend Lisa and I are on a kick. Green smoothies. We made some last night at her house and chugged them! They are SUPER healthy. They aren't the best tasting smoothie I've ever had, but I can get it down. I figure, how else would I eat all the things that are in it. Here are the ingredients, get ready, it's weird:

Chard
Kale
Spinach
Collards
Banana
Blueberries
Water

Yep, that's it! Now doesn't that sound like a mouthful of YUM?! We are trying to have one for breakfast and lunch every day. For me, I think today, breakfast was good enough. These pictures make me laugh with our green mustaches. Thanks Lisa for sharing this crazy smoothie with me. I feel healthier already! Warning, if you try this at home, don't try to sip and savor, you have to just CHUG this puppy. Get it down fast. Then, you'll feel great knowing you've put some really healthy foods in your body. Her sister (I think? correct me on that Lisa) lost 40 pounds doing this. She did a smoothie for breakfast and lunch and then just ate a normal dinner. I went online and read the health benefits of all these ingredients...it's AMAZING! Kale is good for removing toxins from your body. Blueberries are so high in antioxidants, etc. Now, I'm going to make one for Paul tomorrow morning. Not quite sure if he'll be as eager to try this as I was. He'd probably rather take a multi-vitamin. My goal, is to be able to come off my heart medication in a year. That is soon, but I'm really going to work on that! So, bring on the CHARD!

The Hill

Not to be confused with "The Hills". Smut. :)

This hill is on my street. Starts at the end of my driveway and goes down from there.

It's steep. Just walking up, my calves burn like the dickens. I try to run/walk about 3-4 times a week and I always finish with running the hill 5 times! Ye-ouch!

The other night I was walking in my neighborhood. It was dusk. Paul had the boys and I needed to just get out for a bit. I borrowed Paul's ipod/iphone because mine's dead. I wasn't sure if he had any good running songs - (sometime I'll post my run/walk playlist, it's the BEST!). The songs that were on his "worship" playlist were amazing.

Now, let me take a break here and say, that I love listening to music with little earphones. You hear every single part of the band, the guitars, the bass, the strings, the cymbals, the drums. And it's amazing how when you have an earphone in each ear, the sound somehow meets in the middle of your head, creating a blend of perfection! Ahhh, I love it.

Anyway, it had been a rainy week and the clouds from Hurricane Ike were still hanging around. But also starting to break up. As I was walking, I was working out some frustrations. For example...not getting enough done in my day, wondering if I am intentionally spending quality time with my boys each day, losing that 10 pounds I've wanted to lose for 10 YEARS!, and just feeling like I haven't been my best, not for my husband or myself, or God. I guess it was a frustration/pity party. I was ending the front part of my walk and saw the hill coming. I knew I SHOULD do it, but I was feeling lumpy and tired and thought, I could just walk up my driveway and call it a night. But I trudged down the hill, knowing I'd have to get BACK UP that d-a-r-n thing. As I was walking down this song came on...From The Inside Out. It's on my playlist so if you haven't heard it, turn it up and listen to it (and better yet, plug in some earphones while you're at it). I found myself picking up the pace a little and as I got to the bottom ready to run up, I was in a full jog. I got up that thing so fast, I couldn't remember doing it. Then, the most marvelous thing happened. I turned at the top, where I have a most glorious view of the skyline and the moon was peeking through all those huge clouds. The sky was BLACK at this point and it all looked sort of creepy like a halloween night, but breathtaking at the same time. I so wish I had a picture to show you, but I doubt my camera would've captured it. It was just me and God, the clouds and moon and some great music. We were on a date. A desperately needed date. I could not help but raise my hands to the sky. If my neighbors don't already think I'm crazy...they will now. But I was so overcome with love for God and that was truly coming from the inside - - out. God reminded me to put Him first and give my frustrations to Him. Taking my frustrations out on that hill does my body good, but it does my soul good to give them over to God. I took a deep breath, started down the hill again, and in that moment, thanked God for meeting me on the hill.

I ran it 6 TIMES that night I'll have you know. :)

Sarah Palin's Glasses a BIG HIT!

Paul told me tonight, that on Drudge Report this morning...there is a 2 month waiting list for her frames. I copied an article and attached it here:

Style conscious voters in the US are racing to get their hands on a pair of Sarah Palin's signature rimless glasses.

Opticians in the States have seen an influx in demand for Palin's specs, which she wore during her convention speech last week.

The $375 frames are by Japanese designer Kazuo Kawasaki, and are made from titanium. They are from a collection entitled the 704 series, and her specific style is the 34 grey.
Retailers are now clamouring to stock the style, as demand has continued to soar.
Palin bought hers from an optician in Chugiak in Alaska, where owner Joy Leedham helped her choose the design. Leedham has since been inundated with orders, and told The Observer this weekend that she has been swamped by emails with the same query, 'Sarah Palin glasses please.'

Doggon' it, I just got new glasses last spring. (My first new pair in 13 years!!!) I spent some money, because I wanted them to last. So I went for these uber trendy Ralph Lauren specs. They are a little flashy. But I like the tortoise shell. I guess I'll have to hang on to my very loud, very "non-Sarah" glasses until the frenzy dies down. It does bug me a little when this type of "phenomenon" sweeps over the nation. She's the Jennifer Aniston of glasses. What makes them cool is that they're unique. Like the Vera Bradley thing...when everyone you see is carrying the "Mod Floral Pink" bag, it's not as special. That's just my opinion. Don't judge my no makeup and messy hair, I just got back from a run and when I heard about this I couldn't take the time to spruce up before posting.

How to eat a candy corn

I bought my first bag of candy corn yesterday. Key word: FIRST! There will be more. My friend Mindi and I agree that it has to be BRACH'S candy corn. They're just the best. Okay, so we were talking and we realized that we both eat them the same way. For such a small piece of candy, we SAVOR each and every section. Starting with the tip. The white tip should snap or pop right off. If it's not doing this you may have an old bag or it's not Brach's.

The orange section is a two bite step for me. I like to bite the orange half way down. Then the last of the orange. Leaving the corn. The corn is the healthy part of course!
Here are a couple of "duds" from the bag. Such a shame. I can't eat them if all three parts are not there. It's like the trinity. You need ALL THREE! My kids are more than happy to oblige on the duds.

These are perfection. And, they're already gone. :)

Here are some of my fall house pictures...



Like just about everyone else, Fall is my favorite time of year. Yesterday I had the windows open all day. Today we're off to Kennesaw Mountain to hike and have a picnic.
Now the other thing I get excited about with Fall is the jeans and sweaters. However this year, my favorite jeans have magically shrunk. They are just plain American Eagle jeans, but I love them and I'm gonna work really hard to get into them by jean weather, well, lets say, by Disney World...October 19th. I'll keep you posted. (Probably should lay off all the candy corn huh?:)
For some reason it looks like one leg is shorter than the other.

And last but not least, one of my favorite fall movies is Runaway Bride. There's a part where "Maggie" is swinging on an old tire swing under a fall tree, she's wearing a sweater and jeans. It's one of those movie moments that makes you want to hop into the screen! I also love this song from the movie.

Meryl Streep does a TOE TOUCH!

Well, I finally saw Mamma Mia! This weekend my friend Paige and I went out for a movie night. I had to search for a theatre that was still playing this movie. I have wanted to see it since the day it opened and just never had time. I could have sung EVERY song in the movie. It's a tad cheezy in the very beginning, but it grows on you. By the time they get to "Dancing Queen", I was hooked. I think the highlight of the movie for me was seeing Meryl Streep do this:

HOLD THE PHONE! This woman is in some SERIOUS shape! I used to pride myself on my toe touches, but she had me beat. And she's is 59 YEARS OLD! I don't know if she does yoga, or pilates or what, but I'd love to know her secret. She is so talented too. If you watch "Devil Wears Prada" and then watch "Mamma Mia", they're such different roles and she nails them.

Now, about Pierce. Yes, I call him by his first name. We're great friends.


I got that little uncomfortable feeling you get when someone is singing and you're hoping they hit the note. I gotta tell ya, he should really stick to acting and looking nice. Although his singing wasn't the best, you can't make him ugly.

Paige and I, just about the only ones in the theatre!


And just so we're clear...I think THIS is the most handsome man on the planet! Plus, he's more my age! :)

Another Southern "Wedding"

Monday, September 15, 2008
Gilcrease Gab
Okay, this girl is hilarious. My friend Jennifer entered a post this morning that I think is worth the read. Disclaimer..."My name is Angela Richardson and I approve this message..." gilcreasegab
On to the wedding story...
Paul was honored to perform another ceremony on Friday night. Our friends David and Tara renewed their vows. The ceremony was at the Ragsdale Inn in downtown Dallas. I had been excited for weeks about this event when I got my invitation. As I've said before I LOVE WEDDINGS! They've been through some hard times and they wanted to again pledge their commitment and love fore each other. Their kids, Sam and Faith were a part of the celebration and were DARLING!

Let me set the scene for you: An older country home with giant oak trees shading the grounds, little white chairs with red bows, great friends, beautiful music, candles - everywhere, dinner and DANCING! Yes, that's right, the second time around these two wanted dancing at their celebration. I was THRILLED for them, but for me as well. We did not have dancing at my wedding (I seriously don't think it was allowed in the TRBC Fellowship Hall) So, I kind of lived my life through them last night and enjoyed every bit of the dancing right along with them. Especially when "Brown-eyed Girl" came on! We were cuttin' a rug, let me tell ya!

One of the highlights was when David got everyone's attention and told Tara that he would always be willing to make a fool of himself for her. Then, he started to sing to her..."Let My Love Open The Door" - (Steve Carell style) in front of everyone! To view David singing to Tara on youtube, click here.

My friends Tandy and Dez were the photographers. They have started their own business called sugarsnapphotography. They are so talented and make every picture look like it belongs in a magazine. Any "Georgian's" out there who need a good photographer...these are your gals!

Last night on the way home Paul and I were talking about the whole evening and how much fun we had. Thank you David and Tara for allowing us to be a part of your night. You guys are great and we look forward to our Office Premiere Party!! :)

ps - if you want to view Paul's version of the evening click here.

FALL POLISH PICKS!

Okay, I know you have been anxiously awaiting the Fall Polish Picks from crumbsinmybutter. :) Now, these are typically a little too dark for me, but the more I wear them, the more I like them. In the picture they look the same, but trust me they're not. And, they are much darker than they look in the picture too. I like the dark, I think it's a little "sassy". Here they are, drumroll please....

1.Suzi Loves Sydney (the one on the left) It's a very dark plum with a hint of brown and also a dash of sparkle for fun!

2.Bagota Blackberry (the one on the right) Now, I wear this one every year. But it's an all time favorite of mine. It has a little more burgundy/red in it, but it's still dark. This is the color for those of you who are afraid of looking like your nails are black, but still want to live on the edge a little. :)

I always feel a little more "girlie" when my nails are painted and I think I'm a nicer person when I feel pretty. (Wow, that doesn't sound vain or anything...sheesh!) Seriously though, take some time this week to paint your nails. Give yourself a homemade facial, scrub your callused heels and moisturize them. Do a hair treatment (drug stores carry V05 hot oil hair treatment for about $3, and it makes your hair REALLY shiny). I will be painting my nails tonight and using my ped egg. This thing is fabulous. My friend Jennifer gave this to me a few weeks ago and I'm ADDICTED to it! I love emptying it after I've scraped all the dead skin off my heals and see how much I've gotten! Gross, but fun!

Good devotions!

I came across this website the other day...http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/, and it has great devotions for busy moms. You click on the "Read Today's Devotion". If I had time on my hands, like the kind where you can do anything you want, I would love to spend it really studying the Bible. It seems like every time I try a new book, or study, I get about 1/4 of the way through it and then...life happens. I have about 6 of these books in my night stand. My goal is to finish every one of them. Some are boring, but I feel like I should trudge through anyway, there might be a "golden nugget" in there somewhere. I find myself praying a lot more these days. I definitely pray more than I read. As I'm wiping noses and cleaning up spills - when I really want to scream and say..."What were you thinking? Why did you spill that? I JUST cleaned the floor!" That's when I find myself praying, asking God to give me PATIENCE and sweet words on my tongue.
My boys love Bible stories. We read to them every night and now every morning too. Will's devotions come from a book called "Gotta Have God". They have different books so they are age appropriate. I love these stories. I find MYSELF really getting a lot out of them. Go figure...my 6 yr. old's devotional book is mine as well. The same people make the book in a girl version if you're wondering. Wesley's book is cute. For example: it will say..."Before God created light, everything was dark". "Now, close your eyes and see how dark it was!". Wesley really gets into it.


After much prayer and honestly, agony, we have decided to home school Will for kindergarten. Paul's schedule is so busy this year and we really need to have flexibility and family time. This was our first week and it's going really well. Let me tell you, if you ever go into a Schoolbox store, it's ADDICTIVE! I want to go all the time now. I want the sticky puddy for charts, the reward stickers, calendar cutouts, prize box toys, maps, craft books....seriously, I just about break out into hives out of excitement thinking about it. This is not a life long decision. We are taking it year by year. Here are some of our little school pictures:

This little table is in our kitchen. They called it the school desk.


Alright, so this is the obedience chart. Start out the day on green, if you disobey, you go to yellow, then red and so on. If you are OUTSTANDING, you get to go to blue. As you can see, today, they're both on yellow! YIKES, might not get treasure box!!!


This is the treasure box, may not look like much. It was $1.99 at the School box. But they don't care. They were so excited, it's as if I had stolen it off The Black Pearl!


I picked up some toys from Wal-mart's 88 cent section and from the dollar store. I had to put a time limit on picking out a prize, because they would literally sit there for 30 minutes...hmmm, do I choose the fake cell phone, or the squishy soccer ball???


Will gets reward tickets for helping me out. A reward is something like...play 30 minutes of x-box, pick something from the jar(our sweet jar), rent a family movie from Blockbuster, etc. He is VERY motivated by these!

I am enjoying the crafty part of this process, but the commitment is hard. It's only been a week and I feel tired. I'm with them all day. But I know it's what is best for our family right now. And, I need God's help more than ever. I do look forward to the day when they are both in school and I have more time on my hands, time to exercise, clean, decorate, go to lunch with friends and really spend time in God's word. But I know He will meet me, even in the small moments and short times. And I know He hears me every time I pray. It's so amazing to me how a really crummy, no, AWFUL day can be turned around while I'm tucking the boys in bed and we read and say a bedtime prayer. They're SO SWEET when they are snuggled up in their jammies under the covers. I wonder if that's how God feels about us sometimes..."Angela is so sweet when she spends time with me." It just makes me wonder.

I foresee a skit coming!

If I was betting woman, I'd say, Tina Fey will be hosting SNL in the very near future and there will be a sketch on Palin. They look so much alike to me. I'm sure they couldn't be more different. But, it would be fun to watch. I love impressions. Unfortunately, President Bush gave them A LOT of great material. But, I still love him.

By the way, does anybody remember the Patty Duke show? "They look alike, they act alike and times they even talk alike"...I had that song in my head while I was looking for pic's of Tina Fey.

NOW THAT IS WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!!!

Man, I'm psyched! Paul and I just watched Palin give her speech at the Republican national convention. She is a bulldog. I was completely captivated by her. She knocked it OUT OF THE PARK! I was worried about her speech because of all the fire she came under, but she clearly proved tonight that she is a FORCE to be RECKONED WITH!!! Her speech couldn't have been more well written. She took some jabs at the Obama/Biden ticket, but kept her dignity. She spoke as if to say..."How dare you question my experience, my family, my motives...how dare you!!!" She's like, bring on the criticism, I can take it, I can stand on my own two feet! She's authentic. She balances toughness and femininity very well. One of the commentators tonight said, "Well, we just heard the most "macho" speech of the night. Ha! I love it.

On a side note, I had to mention to Paul about half way through her speech....If Tina Fey was still on the Saturday Night Live cast, she'd have this woman NAILED! She looks like Tina Fey a little bit with the glasses and all. She's just beautiful! A woman for Vice President, now, THAT IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!

Soccer, Date night, and campfire

Will started playing soccer this week. At 6:30 pm, about half way through practice, I look over and Will is laying flat on his back, tuckered out. Now mind you, he is suppose to be the goalie. So I went over to him and told him he needed to get up and play. He told me he was so tired his "limbs were going to stop working". The kid is EXHAUSTED! With school, waking up at 6:30, getting home at 3:00 and trying to squeeze in soccer. It's been an adjustment. Labor day weekend was a great breather for all of us.

Paul and I went on a date Friday night to The Cheesecake Factory. We had the BEST dinner! And, we didn't get cheesecake, but we got a hot piece of chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream, recommended by our waiter. Funny story about our waiter. When we walked in, he came up to me and said, "I just want you to know I use to be in school for fashion design, and I think your dress is just GORGEOUS!". Well, I was flattered to say the least. Especially since he was in fashion design and all. Then ANOTHER male waiter came and commented on my dress. Then, yes, ANOTHER one. I was beginning to think something was up, but Max, our waiter said that they just really liked it. Now, it isn't pictured here that well, but it is very Jackie Kennedy'ish. I told Paul I MUST look good to be getting so many complements! HA! I will be wearing that dress again for sure!

Tonight we watched the Sizemore kiddos. They are the BEST behaved children. Even better than our own! We grilled out, had a little campfire and roasted marshmallows and I got to paint fingers and toes!!! I even braided little Becca's hair. Ahhh, I love having girls around. It makes me happy. I tried to get Alyssa to wear an apron with me tonight in the kitchen, but she said it was too poofy. Oh well. I wore one anyway, poofy and all!