Clipsy Chicks at Chick-fil-a

Today was our 29th Save-inar and we were so honored to be invited to Chick-fil-a corporate office! We had a blast sharing with the executive office administrators. Dana  and I have been looking forward to this for quite some time. We are HUGE chick-fil-a fans. They are awesome about accepting coupons! :) This morning it was a monsoon outside and Dana and I got DRENCHED right before we had to go set up. We both hated our hair and just felt gross, cold and wet. But, God had some blessings in store for us in spite of the weather.  Here are a few pictures from our day:

 The "Sky Box" conference room where we set up.

Me and Dana with all the ladies.

And...the man himself, Mr. Truett Cathy. He was SO SWEET! He gave us some autographed copies of his book "It's Better To Build Boys Than Mend Men". His office looks like a treehouse! This man will be 90 years old in March, and he's still working. On our way out he asked us if we would help him with something...we said, "Sure! What can we do?" He said...eat more chicken.  :)

This is Melinda. She was our little cheerleader today and gave us some insight and encouragement at lunch. Thank you Melinda! 

Thank you Carol for making arrangements for us to come! We look forward to more save-inars at Chick-fil-a! 

8 on the 8th

My sweet William Franklin turns 8 years old today. What does Will want for his birthday? A bee bee gun and a Boston Cream Cake. Do you think a cap gun would suffice? Oh dear. We'll see...Happy Birthday Will!

13 Years Ago Today

I married my highschool sweetheart. I was thinking this morning..."What was I doing the day of my wedding 13 years ago?" I was 19 years old. A week away from turning 20. My mom and dad were so supportive of me marrying Paul. They gave me a beautiful wedding. My aunt Corrinne and her girls were in town for the big day and she went to Chic-fil-a and bought biscuits for the whole family. GREAT way to start my day! :) My bedroom was almost empty because I had already packed to move to Georgia. The house was buzzing with family and phone calls. One of the phone calls was Patty Hiner yelling at me because I didn't have a sound tech scheduled for the day. Boy, was my dad upset that she called and spoke to me like that on my WEDDING DAY! I didn't even know I need a sound tech - sooooo, I called a high school friend, John Kail and he came to run sound. My aunt Corrine took me to lunch at Rally's (just like Checkers) for lunch. I didn't eat very healthy the day of my wedding! In my dressing room that evening at the church, I realized I only had ONE of my leggings (you know the hose that are separate and have grippy things at the top to hold them up - I don't know what they're called) I was SOOOO UPSET about that because I spent my own money on this $40 pair of stockings and now, I couldn't even use them! I called my brother to look around the house for my other stocking and all the girls in my bridal room were laughing at me trying to describe what he should be looking for! So, my aunt Corrine, again to the rescue, took off her OWN panty hose and gave them to me!!! Just as I got everything on, zipped and buttoned... I had to go to the bathroom. (Just a side note, if you have to go the bathroom and your wedding party - especially your RING BEARER is in the room, wait to take off your dress until he is excused. Poor kid. :) By the time I walked down the aisle at around 7:45 pm, I was exhausted. What usually happens when I get exhausted, is I get the giggles. And boy, did I ever! It started when I walked up the stairs to meet Paul and I stepped on my dress. I got shorter and shorter as I reached the top step. I looked to see my maid of honor's shoulders shaking from laughing so hard. Once Collyn and I got laughing, it was so hard to stop. Our prayer during the service...I giggled.

Once we were pronounced husband and wife, I was calm. The pressure was over. I married a man who is the "calm" in my life. He loves me for all the crazy, unpredictable, mishaps that I get myself into. I love you Paul Andrew!

What did Paul do on our wedding day? He played golf. :)

This is the only picture I have of those borrowed panty hose. 

A dum dum a day

It's OCTOBER!! Tonight it's about 60 degrees and we just came in from looking at stars with the boys. My nose and ears are just a tad bit cold! Fall is so invigorating! 

I copied this idea from my dear friend Cyndi. I bought a fake pumpkin, drilled 60 holes in it and filled it with dum dums. The idea is that on the 1st day of October, the boys get to have a "dum dum a day" until Halloween. The dum dum people have gotten really creative with the flavors. My favorite is always the mystery flavor. Does anyone know what that one is???

Paul really wants me to call this a "Dumpkin".  :)

This is sitting on top of my fridge. I just noticed something...if you look really close right underneath the pumpkin (or "dumpkin") you will see a teensy tiny pair of gray glasses. So...THAT'S where they've been! They go to a lego guy. ha!

Second Chance Supper

This week our leftovers were a lot more fun due to a few changes:

I decided to name it something different - mainly because I have an obsession with naming things. But I also thought it would take the hum drum-ness out of leftover night. So, I came up with "Second Chance Supper".  The boys thought it was funny. And, because the table looked completely different, it didn't really feel like we were eating the same things. 

At Michael's craft store this week, all of their last season's paper party dinnerware was on clearance - 50 cents for a pckg of 8 paper plates! And they're CUTE! I also got matching napkins. They had a few different styles so I stocked up. I spent about $8.00 and I have enough to last a long time.

The BEST part, is that when we're done with dinner, we can toss it all in the trash! (Or recycling bin)

Now, who wouldn't want to eat dinner at this pretty and inexpensive table?! :)

Chew The Fat

I made a roast tonight for dinner. I always cut the fat off the meat for my boys. They've never had a hunk of fat attached to their meat, so they don't really know what it tastes or feels like. This is because of my preference, not theirs. They probably don't know the fat exists. However, I missed some of the fat on Wesley's roast tonight. I watched him as he put a fatty (ugh...I'm about to heave even typing it) piece in his mouth and his entire body shivered. His nose flared and he clinched down his teeth and whined. Without hesitating, I grabbed a napkin and let him spit it out! (something we don't normally allow at the table). 

When I was a little girl, my dad taught me to eat every last bite of food on my plate. If I did (and my brother too), then we could be members of the "Clean Plate Club". This is a tradition I have adopted for my boys and have added the luxury of giving them a sticker! Whoohoo! 

On my very first date, with my very first and ONLY boyfriend, I ordered steak. Paul took me to a fancy restaurant in the 'burg called "Crown Sterling". I ordered the same thing he did - Ribeye steak, cooked medium, with the salad bar. (Now that I'm comfy in my skin, I would have ordered a filet, medium well). I was trying to be so polite and proper and felt totally out of my element. When my steak was presented before me, I could see it everywhere,

Fat. Fat. Fat. 

In fact, I don't think there were more than 2 bites of actual steak on my plate! I was too embarrassed to say anything, so.... I ate. every. bite. I can still taste it. YUCK! I wanted to cry. I wanted to hurl. But, I chewed it and swallowed it because I didn't want Paul to think I was high maintenance. (Boy, has that veil been torn over the years! ha ha!:) 

I thought about that date tonight as I watched Wesley. I thought about how many things we are taught out of preference. My boys might have grown up liking fat if I did. They will like certain people if I do. They will form opinions, based on my opinions - wow, that's a scary thought. I am encouraged/convicted tonight, to make sure I am teaching my boys truth - God's truth, not just preference. However, if they start "preferring" to chew the fat of the steak...we might have issues. :)

Boy, do they grow up fast!

Today my baby, my little Wesley, turns 5. I can't believe how fast 5 years has gone. Wesley is the spunk of our family. I love so many things about him. I love that he goes after life with everything he's got. I thank God every day for my boys and what each one brings to our family.

This was his 1st birthday. We were on vacation at the beach. I am laughing at this picture! I wish I had a smile-y picture. The point of it though, is that his first cake was funfetti with rainbow chip icing. 

4 years later, it's still his favorite cake!

Wesley's birthday buddies at his party.

Hot Spot

Every home has one. This is mine. The corner of my kitchen counter. I took a picture of it this morning at 6:45 and it looked like this:

Throughout the day, things get flung onto the counter. Random things. For whatever reason it seems easier to fling stuff there than to take a second to put it where it belongs. After a day of doing that, it looks like THIS:

I read a GREAT book called Sink Solutions by the Fly Lady. (sounds silly, but trust me it's awesome!) She says to avoid "Hot Spot Clutter" by remembering that EVERYTHING HAS IT'S PLACE. Scissors - go in the utensil drawer. Glass - dishwasher. Cordless phone - on the charger, etc. The plan is to be able to clear the clutter within a minute by putting things where they belong. (Instead of sweeping it all into a junk drawer....who, me?, I've never done that!) The Fly Lady would be proud of me though because my sink is CLEAN!

FREE Frosty's until December!!!

Purchase this Frosty shaped key tag for only $1.00 and you can get a free Frosty Jr. until December at Wendy's with ANY purchase! The Frosty Jr. is the perfect size. Not too big, not too small. I bought 2 keytags and I can redeem 2 Frosty's! Plus the keytag is adorable. I mean, come on! And look how happy my boys are with their FREE treat!

Meeting Sarah Palin

I'm so excited to post this I can hardly type fast enough! Tonight Paul and I went to a P.U.R.E Celebration featuring Sarah Palin. (A special needs convention/awareness) We were invited to go to a dinner reception before hand to meet her!

This pic is a cardboard cut out by the way - the real thing is wearing pink.
I had my gear ready. "Going Rogue", check. Picture of my Sarah Palin carved pumpkin? Check. Something nice to say to her to make a great impression? Check. Paul and I walked up to her and she extended her hand to Paul and asked his name (I think she thought he was cute:) Then she turned to me:

Me: "Welcome to Georgia!"
SP: "Why, thank you!"
Me: "Okay, so please don't think I'm a fruit loop, but I wanted to show you a picture of a pumpkin that I carved with your face on it."
SP: Pausing to look at the picture she stepped back, pulled it away from her face a bit, and then laughed. Genuinely laughed. She said she would gladly sign it for me, but the people in charge of her said no signing was available at that time. "That's hilarious, I've never seen that before!"

We got our picture taken together and I felt so rushed but I wanted to tell her a few things:

Me: "I wanted to tell you that one of the things I admire most about you is that you are strong, confident and gutsy, and yet you flow with femininity and grace. And, I love that you're wearing my favorite color, pink!"
SP: "Thank you, that's very encouraging. Nice to meet you both".

That was it. That's all I got to say. But I'm glad I did. And by the way, she has some SERIOUS legs! Girlfriend is in shape.

Her speech was AMAZING!

Todd Fields and Chris Tomlin were guest singers. And our friend Brad was rocking out on his guitar too! These are our friends Brad and Mindi.

I also ran into some familiar faces from my old stomping grounds. Liberty peeps, you're gonna love these    pic's!
 
Rachel Snider/Gillus from the Sounds of Liberty...remember her? I told her about the time I worked at Personal Touch salon and she came in to get a waxing before the Miss Virginia pageant, but I was too nervous to talk to her from behind the reception desk! She may be singing for an event we have coming up and I'm just telling you, it would be the BIGGEST treat!

Anybody recognize this guy? What if I say..."Turzlefurkey" or "Chrizzlefistmas Goozelfoose". He was the guy who did the Turzlefurkey story at the Living Christmas Tree every year. He works in Atlanta now! Small world. Oh, his name is Richard Dunn and I'll give you his info if you need production/lighting. He's incredible!

This is David Glover, the founder of P.U.R.E. and the one who invited us to come to the celebration evening. He was unbelievably hospitable to Paul and I and did a fabulous job on their first event!

Whew! What a fun night. 

Frugal Father's Day Finds!!!

Me and the boys had a BLAST looking for Paul's father's day gift yesterday. All together I spent just under $15.00 and you won't believe all the stuff that I got!

If you live in the area, you probably received the $10 off a $10 purchase at JCPenney. I received 2 of them, one in Paul's name and mine. They expire on the 20th. If you are on their email list, they will send you additional coupons. I had 2 for 30% off! SCORE!

Charlie and Rolf

I saw "Letters To Juliet" this weekend. So good!
I couldn't believe how much the lead guy - "Charlie" looked like "Rolf" in the Sound of Music! Don't you think?

ROY G. BIV

I posted this picture on facebook, but there's a little more to the story...

We saw this rainbow coming home after a party on memorial day. I asked Paul to stop the car and he pulled into a parking lot so we could sit and admire it for a moment. It got even more bright and colorful as we watched it. I've never seen a rainbow that big before. I thought, "oooooo, this is a great teaching moment". So we talked to the boys about God's promises and how we can trust Him to KEEP them.

Feeling like a good mom and dad, we pulled out of the parking lot and headed back toward home. Wesley however, wasn't ready to leave:

Wes - "Wait, we have to go look for him"
Me - "Who?"
Wes - "The little green man!"

I hope he didn't think the "Little Green Man" was the one who kept his promises. Oh dear.

We went through the colors one by one. I told the boys how Mrs. Barringer (T.C. Miller, 4th grade) taught me about ROY G. BIV and how that stood for the colors in the rainbow.

As we headed away from the rainbow and back toward home, we looked out the back window to admire it one more time and it was GONE!

Lesson:  Stop for those moments. This is something I learned from my dad. He is known for whipping the car off the road at any given moment. We always, ALWAYS learned something about nature in our car adventures with him.

Sounds that I LOVE

*Walking on gravel. Or, a car pulling onto a long gravel driveway.
*A toddler drinking out of a sippy cup.
*Fire crackling.
*My garage door opening when Paul comes home.
*Packaging tape being put on a box.
*Fireworks-the squealing sound right before it bursts in the sky (especially at Disney)
*Trains-my gramma used to have one pass right in front of her house. It reminds me of her.
*Shaking glass in a china cabinet (side effect of the train going by:)
*Wind (I have a screen door on the back of my house and I love having it open on a windy day)
*My boys belly laughing.
*The ocean.
*My dad whistling.
*A horse chewing on grass (okay, so you might think I'm crazy, but I LOVE that sound, I was just feeding horses the other day at a friends house...)
*Football on tv in the background while I take a nap!
*The click of a roller coaster as you go up the hill.

The BEST Doctor EVER

Folks, meet Dr. Watkins. He is my cardiologist. This is the best doctor on the planet. He is one of those doctors who listens to you complete your thoughts and sentences before he makes a suggestion. He lets me talk about my life and my boys. He has a gift. Not only is he book smart, but he is truly gifted to be a cardiologist. He is the reason I drive 2 1/2 hours to go to a doctor's appointment. He laughed a little when I asked to get a picture of him. I told him, "I have a picture of all of the important people in my life and you need to be in those pictures." He obliged. I don't know what I'll do when this man retires. Please, oh, PLEASE don't let it be too soon!

My appt. went well. He changed my beta blocker and gave me a pep talk. I need a pep talk often. I don't know if he gives everyone a pep talk or if he could just tell I needed one. So, I've started new medicine and we'll see how it goes. Thank you to everyone who commented and loved on me. And, if you ever need a cardiologist...he is your man! 

What is DYSAUTONOMIA anyway?

Dysautonomia is a heart condition. Basically it's an exaggerated form of Mitral Valve Prolapse. It affects the autonomic nervous system. I was diagnosed with this almost 5 years ago. I was pregnant with Wesley at the time and I was scared to death. I had a tubal litigation after Wesley was born. It was a bittersweet moment. I was SO THANKFUL my baby made it through that rough 9 months with me, but I was sad that I wouldn't have anymore babies. Now, my "baby" is almost 5 years old. (I'm pregnant with Wesley in this picture.)

I've made great strides in conquering this condition. And, I have had many setbacks. It's treatable. It's live-able. I know what I need to do to keep my body healthy and strong. Along with taking a beta blocker, I drink a TON of water and try to exercise regularly.

I have discouraging days though. Sometimes, I think..."whew, I'm out of the woods and I'm back to NORMAL". Then, the next day...WHOP. I'm flat on my back again. The past 2 months I've been "WHOPPED". I've been trying to just deal with the every day tasks and push through hoping my symptoms would go away. But, they haven't. Sooooo, I'm headed back to my incredible cardiologist in Birmingham, AL. Whether my dr. changes my medicine, or puts me on a different regimen, I don't know. But I DO know this:

Psalms 91:14-15 "Because she loves me, 'says the Lord', I will rescue her; I will protect her, for she acknowledges my name. She will call upon me, and I will answer her; I will be with her in trouble, I will deliver her and honor her."

He is my healer. My provision. In my mind "healing" might be something completely different than what HE has planned. But I trust HIS healing.

Don't you just love that for the simple fact that we "ACKNOWLEDGE HIS NAME" He promises to rescue us? When we are at our lowest point and we can't do anything else but acknowledge Him, THAT'S enough. That is grace.

Today, I'm headed to go for a run. I'm gonna try to train for a marathon in October. Dysautonomia or not. :)

My New Favorite Accessory

The "OFF" bug repellant clip-on! This thing totally works. I tested it by running toward a swarm of gnats - (again, my neighbors probably think I'm koo-koo), it was like I had a plastic bubble protecting me. I have seen bees come flying toward me and when they get about 5 feet away they change their course. YES! That's right, don't mess with me. Yep, ehhhh. :)

Now the reason this is so vital to my wardrobe now is because in the last few years I've been bitten and stung I don't know HOW MANY times. Here's all the things that have bitten/stung me: (just for fun:)

*Fire ants
*Brown Recluse (2 yrs ago on Paul's birthday, I literally passed out and my foot swelled twice the size, ER visit and off my foot for a week)
*Yellow Jacket
*Corn snake (while I was pregnant and mowing the grass, I ran him over and he bit me)
*White faced hornet (at my pool - that one HURT!)
*Wasp
*Lizard
*SCORPION!!! (3 times in 1 week! this year on Mother's day i woke up to a scorpion stinging me in my BED!)
*Cat
*Dive-bombed by bats in my neighborhood
*Jellyfish
*Mosquitos 
*Random spiders
*Horse fly

I am NO LONGER THE VICTIM! I have my weapon and I'm ready to attack! Today I clipped this on around my waist and mowed the grass - not a SINGLE bite, sting, itch...nothing! There's a coupon for BOGO at coupons.com.

Yard Sale Finds!!!

I haven't been yard sale-ing in forever. Today, it was just me and my Wesley hanging out. We went to the pool in our neighborhood, and on the way back to our house, we scored some GREAT deals!

Nice, heavy duty tongs for the grill...25 cents!

Sterling Silver tongs for fancy stuff...25 cents! Maybe for a fruit tray or ice cubes with mint leaves and berries frozen inside. Ooooh, I'm getting excited about the possibilities.

Regular tongs...25 cents. Now, this is where you really score. These were in the SAME 25 cent bin as the sterling silver tongs. I got these, well, just because. Actually, I thought by getting these too, I would disguise the SS ones...hee hee.

Table cloth/linen, hand embroidered...$1.00. This is precious! It has little easter bunnies and chicks embroidered on it. Can't you just see it under the centerpiece with some little colored eggs on it at Easter dinner?

Table cloth/linen...$1.00. Here again, all in the same bin and I just grabbed this one as well. I thought this would be darling on a table at a tea party. Yeah, because I have tea parties all the time. Oh well.

Table cloth...$1.00. Oh, I wish this picture did this table cloth justice! I squealed inside when I saw this. I mean really??? Pink and green gingham! Linen! Embroidered! Spotless! It doesn't even look like it's been used. I need to have a girl party so I can use it.

Twelve Extraordinary Women by John Macarthur...50 cents! This looks like a really good book and just this week someone was telling me to read it. Score! Oh, and look what was inside...

Family Christmas cards...I guess I'll need to drop these back by their house. Or, maybe they were part of the deal, who knows? :)

Teacup and saucer...$3.00. Isn't this just so dainty? It is bone china from Germany and it's in MINT condition. I got it for my gramma. She has the most beautiful collection of teacups.

So I spent under $8.00 and got some fun treats! $8.00 isn't bad to get the shopping bug out of your system.