Bye Bye Diet Coke!

This is officially week 2 of my "carbonation/caffeine free" kick. I was drinking WAY WAY WAY too many sodas a day, and some days ZERO water! I decided to limit myself to two cans of Diet Soda per week. It honestly wasn't that hard! I haven't really even craved one the entire time. I had a couple of crabby days and some pretty bad headaches but all is well now. A doctor told me that carbonated drinks can inhibit weight loss. Have any of you heard of this? I was just wondering if there were any interesting articles out there on this subject. Anyway, I'm up to 96 ounces of crystal clear water a day, and I feel FABULOUS!

New shoes, a broken toe and a nasty washing machine

What a title, huh? Those have been the peak moments of my life lately. Let's start with the shoes. Bryce has had his toddler Crocs all summer, and when the temps started to drop I grabbed his tennis shoes from the closet and guess what? They didn't fit. I mean what was I thinking? Was I thinking? I know I have to buy a new wardrobe for him each season, so I don't know why I expected his shoes from last winter to still fit. Off to Shoe Carnival we go. I love to hate that place. But anyway, we ended up with a size 9 1/2 white pair of K-Swiss! An entire size and a half from his old shoes! Here's a pic of the little guy....very proud of his new kicks!


And then...the toe. My smallest, most unimportant little piggy toe on my left foot is still throbbing with pain.I stubbed the holy crap out of it Saturday evening. Yes, I was sober! I just wasn't paying attention. And you know what the craziest thing is? I have 10 toes...everyone has managed to step on the ONE BAD TOE I have! I'm in flip-flops now, which sucks at work. I have to wear those stupid blue booties. Oh well, it will heal.

Finally, my washing machine. I've had this washing machine for almost 9 years now. I knew it was getting sort of soap scummy so I bought some vinegar about 6 months ago with intentions of cleaning it. I finally conquered it yesterday. I have never in my life seen something so nasty! I'll spare you any pictures (well, actually I didn't take any pictures. That might be weird), but let me just suggest that everyone check their fabric softner dispenser atleast once a year. I about chucked when I discovered what was growing in mine!

In loving memory....Grandpa, We'll miss you!

My grandfather passed away unexpectedly this morning. He was such a strong, wise and inspring person. He was very loved and will be greatly missed. Anyone who ever met him was surely blessed.

Howard Lloyd Gunter
80 year old Howard Lloyd Gunter of Smithville died suddenly Saturday at DeKalb Community Hospital. He was a World War II Navy veteran, a Mason, and a retired employee of Genesco. The funeral will be Monday at 1:00 p.m. at the Bethel United Methodist Church where he was a member. Royce Martin and Wilson Williams will officiate and burial will be in the Bethel Cemetery. Visitation will be Sunday from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and Monday from 9:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at which time the body will be taken to the church for the service at 1:00 p.m. He was preceded in death by his parents, Houston and Dovie Lee Blair Gunter and sisters, Mozell Cory, Odie Basham, Polly Simons, and Jimmie Shuler. Survivors include his wife of 60 years Norma Phillips Gunter of Smithville. Three children, Dan and his wife Kristen Gunter of Lakeland, Florida; Phillip and his wife Karen Gunter of Valdosta, Georgial and Sharon and her husband Harold Rader of Murfreesboro. Grandchildren, Leah Love and her husband Eric Orsbon, Monica and her husband Chris Dickens, Alex Rader, Matt Gunter, and Danielle Chamber. Great grandchild, Bryce Dickens. Sisters, Betty and her husband J.T. Hale of McMinnville, Dorcas and her husband Larry Medley of McMinnville, Ruth Payne of Jacksonville, Florida; and Naomi Sheppard of Jacksonville, Florida. Sisters-in-law, Mary Cantrell of Smithville, Fatama Walker of McMinnville, and Jane Eller of Smithville. A brother-in-law, Bill Phillips of Smithville. DeKalb Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. The family asks that donations be made to the Bethel Cemetery Fund in memory of Mr. Gunter, in lieu of flowers.

Puppy in training

This crazy dog of ours! I had a breaking point earlier this week with Duke. He's just OUT OF CONTROL! I had enough of the whizzing, chewing and disobeying that I could handle. Heck, I get enough of that from Bryce so why should I have to take it from the dog? I signed him up for Puppy Obiedience Classes at PetSmart. We started last night and we will continue for 8 weeks. All I can say is WOW! After only one class he learned the commands "sit", "watch", and "stand". I can finally get his attention now. She gave us some GREAT advice on house training. Things that I was doing wrong, like leaving his food and water out for him ALL DAY is a big no-no until he's trained. We're working on that full-force now!

Waitin' on Thursday

Watch this!
I love this "teaser" for the new season of Grey's Anatomy! I can't wait until Thursday night!

McDreamy, McVet...who will it be?

Dr. Phil stuff again

Alright, well I'm sure you read my previous post about going out to LA to see the Dr. Phil show. Let me tell you this story....We're back in town, and all of us gals are online trying to check on an air date for the shows we saw. My girl Jenni looks at the "Upcoming Shows" section and sees a call for people who put others persons needs before their own. She signs up our friend Misty (who also keeps Bryce for me) because that girl is ALWAYS doing things for other people and NEVER herself. An example of this...someone gave her one of the "filler-ups" from Bath Junkie..um I don't know about a year ago, and she STILL hasn't gone in there for it! I mean it's BATH JUNKIE! She's just never without her kids. I've offered on several occasions to come over and just stay with her kids for a couple of hours so she could go to the grocery store alone. She won't take anyone's help. So Jenni called Dr. Phil on her ass!

She sent in the letter along with some pics of Misty. She needs a wardrobe makeover in a MAJOR way! The next day, the producer was calling both of them...kind of a phone interview thing. That Sunday, the camera crew rolled up to her house. It moved SO fast! They filmed all of these segments trying to catch Misty in her daily routine, but it was Sunday and not a typical day for her. She called all of the moms that drop their kids off to see if they could come over and do a "fake drop-off" for the show. Unfortunately we were at the "Day out with Thomas" festival thing and we missed our National Television Debut. But anyhow, when the 14 hours of filming was over on Sunday, they informed the gang that they would be flown out to LA to tape the show that Tuesday morning.

Let me just say, if you can get on the Dr. Phil show I think you should! They got the rockstar treatment out there. A stretch Escalade met them at the airport to take them to their hotel (I can't remember the name of it, but it's right across from the Kodak Theater). The rooms were paid for, of course, but they also had $600 to spend on food!!! Unbelieveable! Granted, things are alot more pricey out west than here, but come on! $600 for food?!? LIVE IT UP!

Alright, so they get wisked to Paramount Studios 29 on Thursday morning (Wednesday was a free day for them) to film the show. It's an "Ask Dr. Phil and Robin" show. Kind of a hodge-podge of things going on. They're the LAST ones to come on the show. And remember the 14 hours of taping I told you about? They condensed it down to about 30 seconds! But anyway, are you ready for the COOL STUFF?!? Misty started crying while watching the clip onstage. Dr. Phil whips out one of his embroidered hankies for her to wipe her tears. She of course gets to keep it ;) But then the grand finale......Dr. Phil and Robin present her with some great goodies!

-$1000 gift certificate to Green Hills mall
-$500 spa package (an all day event) to Blue River Canyon Salon and Day Spa
-gift certificate for a hair "revamp" at a salon in downtown Nashville
-spa robe and slippers

Very cool! She hasn't bought anything yet or used her gift certificates. We're trying to plan a girl's day out to do some shopping.

We won the Powerball!!!

Well, not really....we had the Powerball plus one other number. That makes us a whopping $4 richer...actually $1 in the hole if you consider that I spent $5 on a ticket. It's still the fascination of winning that counts, right?

We spent our last "official" day on the lake today. I'm a little burned out on it, so I'm glad that we won't be doing that again for awhile. I enjoy being lazy on my Sunday afternoons. The water was FRIGID today! I guess the cooler nights are making a big difference in the water temps. Well, I'm off to catch up on some housework...oh, by the way, I decided I'll catch my blog up one day at a time instead of all at once. I plan on having a pretty low-key week so my past events will give me something to blog about :)

So much has happened!

I don't know if it's even possible to catch my blog up, but I sure can try!

Getting caught up

It's amazing that it has taken me almost a week to fall back into my regular routine. I got back home Friday evening from LA, so I didn't do much other than family stuff over the weekend. That left lots of laundry, mopping, etc for the week. I really felt like I was missed though!

The Dr. Phil show was awesome! It's so neat to see all of the elements that it takes to film a TV show. There were probably about 10 cameras floating around at all times (which meant no nose picking!). We were fortunate enough to see two back-to-back tapings (the 2nd show was not sold out). The first episode was "Revenge of the Ex's". Very cool! I love hearing the drama behind cheaters. The main guests were the people involved in a lawsuit regarding the website www.dontdatehimgirl.com. Which was interesting because I read an article in People magazine about this while we were on the flight out there! They couldn't give us a date for when that show would air, but I'll keep checking the website.

The second taping was about Dr. Phil's wife Robin. She has a new book coming out September 12th (and a very good book at that). That's also when the show will air, so look for me about 4 rows back from the stage (on the left side of the television).

I'll leave you with a quote from Robin's book. This really hit home with me.

"You can't control other people. You can't control what they say, what they think, or what they do. People have the right to say and think whatever they want to. But you have the right not to take it to heart, and not to react."

California Pictures

A little on the down side

"Life comes at you fast"

Have you ever seen that Nationwide commercial? That's totally how I've been feeling lately. Between work, home, family and tons of other commitments I've made, I seem to barely keep my head above water. Just when I seem to get caught up on things, I'm suddenly behind the next day.

I'm really unhappy with my job these days. I love the paychecks, but what good is it to have your "days" off if you're too tired to ever do anything? Not to mention I've been an ill little hornet. So don't ask me for any favors for about a week..okay? Just kidding. My trip to LA is next week and it's well needed!

I've decided to jump out of the fast lane for today and chill out with Bryce. I'm going to work out today (which will hopefully make me feel better), go get Bryce some flashcards (the boy's a SPONGE lately), and maybe blow up the waterslide for him. I'm planning on a fun, yet lazy day!

:me:

I am trying to become less involved in problems that are not mine.
I need reminders constantly that I don't have control over what anyone does.
I can control myself and that is all.
The energy I waste worrying about other people is too much. I need to let it go.
A constant struggle of mine.
Let. It. Go.

Last scrapper standing contest (or LSS for short)

I again signed up for another contest/challenge. I've needed a creative punch lately and when I stumbled upon this contest I decided to jump on it. This is a weekly scrap-related "dare" that must be completed on Wednesday of each week. This layout is week one's entry. The challenge: Journaling. You must create a layout that has all of your journaling on top of your photo. All of it. And it has to be a decent chunk of story...not just a sentence. We want to see you creatively include a sizable story on your photo (or photos). You may add a title, embellishments and whatever you like to the rest of your page, but all the journaling MUST be on your photo. Hmm, thank goodness for digital pictures!

lake fun

we spent our Saturday with my parents on their boat. we had been planning this day for awhile, and i was very upset when i woke up to a gloomy day. we sucked it up and went anyway, and a good thing we did because it turned out to be beautiful!

i have about a gazillion things to do this week. tons of deadlines that i'm slacking on...things have been piling up again. i swear i get this way about once every two or three months. i chalk it up to anxiety. i just feel panicky and stressed...like i never have enough time to do everything i need to do (but there's really nothing serious that i have to do!) well, i'm off to tackle a "to-do" list. have a great one!

18 days and counting!!!!

Until I'm heading out to LA to see the Dr. Phil show!!! This will be my first trip ever to Cali and I'm so excited! It will also be my first talk show experience (I will be in the audience...not a guest...LOL!). I didn't realize how picky they were about dress code, etc. These are a few "guidelines" that we got:

What do I wear?
We ask that everyone dress in business attire. A pants suit and blazer is appropriate, as it does get chilly in the studio (65 degrees!). Please DO NOT wear any white or beige clothing, elaborate patterns or jeans, as they are not preferred for the camera.

Can I take a picture or get Dr. Phil's autograph?
No cameras, recorders, cell phones, pagers, books, food, etc. will be allowed in the studio. If you bring these or any similar items, we will check them and return them to you upon leaving the studio. Unfortunately, we do not have time to sign autographs. Please do not bring Dr. Phil's books with you.

We have VIP passes, so we don't have to park 17 blocks away thank goodness. I have no idea what the topic of the show will be, but I hope we get some freebies while we're there.

Okay, now I'm excited!

I've been on this mission the past month or so to really get my house lookin' good! We've been here for a year now, and at first I was totally clueless to what I wanted to do in the house...but now I'm getting really inspired.

We painted and rearranged the living room last month. I'm so happy with that! I'm in the process of painting the master bath. So far it's been quite tedious due to the faux painting techinque that I chose, but it's halfway finished!

But what's really making me happy is the hall bathroom. I have always been unhappy with the boring way it looks. See pics:

I had someone come out on Wednesday and give me an estimate to do a wall mural on this big wall (where the towel rack is). I was pleased with the price! She's coming out next week to get started. We picked out a bunch of bright, bold colors to really liven it up. This is a picture of what I would like to have painted:

I'm opting out the palm trees in the background. I just don't know how realistic they would look. Anyhow, I've also started another project in the bathroom. I purchased some mosaic tiles from e-bay to make a border around the mirror. So far it's pretty tedious but I'm liking the results. Here's about 1/2 of one side finished:

Patterned Paper Challenge Layout

This book is...WOW! Very inspiring! In the back, there are several challenges to help overcome fears of mixing patterned papers (I'm not usually scared of that though).This layout is of Challenge #1. Go into your stack of scrap patterned papers (of which I have tons) and blindly choose 6 (no peeking). Punch a square from each of the six patterned papers, and then punch three photos with the same punch. Assemble your page. VOILA! I never, ever, ever would've put these papers together on ANY layout, but I think it looks cool in small doses. Thank you Sonia for inspiring me to get up off my rumpus and do this. It was the quickest layout I've evah done!

Just for giggles

I read this on someone else's blog and laughed my butt off! I hope you enjoy it too! P.S. WT (White Trash)


Aldi in the Hood

That's right. There's a distinct difference between Aldi in the 'burbs and the Aldi in the Hood. And I'm here to spell them out for you. I had never yet been to Aldi in the Hood, but last week, I was picking up my dry cleaning in the Hood (at the waaaaay cheaper cleaners there...), and I figured while I was over there, I'd give it a shot and save myself the trip to the one I usually go to. Neither is actually close to my own home, so it's never a convenient trip, to be honest. At least not as convenient as my grocery store a few blocks away.

I walked in and discovered that the layout was basically the same. Same routine on the carts. Prices: same. Cool...but that's where the similarities ended, my WT comrades. Here's how it went down from there...

So, I'm strolling along the first aisle, and this guy stops in front of the sugars and proudly tells his wife/significant other/hoochie mama...whatever:
"Hey, 'dis brown sugah bettah for ya' dan duh white stuff. It healthy. It the heart healthy shit. Let's get some."

It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about. Aha! He was thinking of the naturally brown sugar - you know, like Sugar in the Raw? The unprocessed stuff? Far be it from me to correct the genious.

Strolling, strolling...
An employee approaches an ancient woman just behind me...
"Excuse me, ma'am. We're going to have to keep that bag for you up front while you're shopping. You can have it back when you leave the store." (takes a plastic shopping bag from the elderly woman, while repeating what she has just said) It becomes apparent that the woman has been placing smaller items in the bag in an effort to steal them. This is disturbing on so many levels...
not the least of which is the value (or apparent lack thereof) that we place on the elderly in our society. But this is a "happy" column, so I'll journey onward.

So, I'm on the produce aisle, which, by the way, is probably about five percent the size of the supermarket size of produce aisle. Generally, at Aldi, as I've mentioned before, there's just one of each type of product (one white bread, one grape jelly, one variety of apples). However, in the case of tomatoes, there was a small selection to be had.

Now at the risk of sounding very haughty, high-minded and intellectually biased, I am going to proceed on here. I'm among my WT friends, after all, and I feel this is a safe place for me to sound off...

I'm standing in front of the produce. In order to read the prices here, you have to look above the items, find the name of what you're looking for and read the sign. It's not exactly rocket science. Suddenly, I become very aware of the area surrounding me and the odor therein. Uh-huh. You guessed it. B.O., sisters. Bigtime. I nearly caught my breath, but before I could, a hand was on my back. I looked up to find myself staring at the big breasts of an enormous woman in halter top and spandex leggings. Of course, I was also face to face with the B.O. I tried to back up, but the giant woman put her arm around me and drew me closer.

As an aside here, let me just say two things. I am not a small woman, but this woman made me feel dimunitive! And second, I have an aversion to close-talkers to begin with. That's even with people I know well. So to have a B.O. laced Amazon whom I don't know from Eve hug me to her bosom? Well, let's just say it was all I could do not to vomit. I guess you could compare it to my daughter's reaction to the pizza sauce at the concert (see 7/4 post)!

"Lemme axe you somthin'..."

"Uh-huh, sure" (just please don't put my nose in your armpit...)

(Pointing at the Grape Tomatoes and then up at the signage above) "Which ones is these?"

"Oh, those are the Grape Tomatoes."

(releasing her vice grip...) "Grape? Geez...And how much are they?"

(Pointing at the sign...) "A dollar twenty-nine."

"Oh..." (picking up the Roma Tomatoes and again resting her other hand on my back...) "Well, how 'bout these here? Are they the ones that's 59 cents?"

"Hmmm...no, it says they're a dollar forty-nine."

(pointing at a different sign) "Well, damn...which ones does it say is 59 cents?"

(looking where her finger points, it dawns on me...) "Oh, that's the avocadoes. They're 59 cents apiece."

"Sheee-uht. Ava-what? I just need me some tomatoes."

"Yeah..." OK, now, really. What was I supposed to say? I did feel sorry for her. She stunk, she couldn't read. And she didn't know the joy of the California avocado. Life's tough, you know?

Standing in line now...

Stinky Amazon: Man, did you see those tomatoes? They's pricey! I thought they was 59 cents.

Super Genious: Yeah, but they do have the brown sugah. That shit's good for your heart, and it only 89 cents here.

Heart healthy bargain shopping. Only at Aldi in the Hood...

Parade of Homes

This past Saturday Chris and I went to the Parade of Homes. I really dig that kind of stuff since I love, love, love to decorate. The "main" stop was the Crowne Pointe Subdivision, which I had never heard of before. I guess I now know why! These homes were selling for $500,000!! But, they had them fully decked out. All decorated and furnished...plus on that day you got to meet the decorators and ask any and everything about their designs. We toured ten houses in that subdivision and then went on to a few more on the map. None of those were furnished, so we headed on back home. Here are some pics of what we saw....they may seem weird, but I was taking pictures of things that I would like to do in my home. ENJOY!!

Our new Puppy!

Meet the newest addition to the Dickens household! Ain't he a cutie? We've had him since Sunday night. Our friends got him for their daughter who is seven, with the understanding that he would be her responsibility. Well, to make a long story short, they just wern't dog people. They called up to offer him to us, and we talked about it for a little (funny thing is...we were talking about getting a dog all that weekend!) and then decided we would have him "sleepover" for a couple of nights to see how Bryce would be with a puppy that small.

Anyhow, we decided to keep him, but he's STILL nameless. The previous owners had named him "Buddy". It's an okay name, I can take it or leave it, but I need to make up my mind pretty soon. What are your suggestions for a name?

Quiz time

You Are 39% Bitchy

You're a pretty sweet person, and you're definitely not prone to bitchy outbursts. Sometimes, though, you can't help thinking mean thoughts about people. But at least you don't act on them!

How Bitchy Are You?

All American Kid

Popular but not plastic. Athletic but not a jock. Smart but not a brain. You were well rounded and well liked in high school.

Who Were You In High School?

You Are 32% Gross

You're a tad gross, but generally you're a clean, hygienic person. No one can be perfectly clean all the time, and it's better to be human than a neat freak.

How Gross Are You?

Good mood.

I had a rather sane today. I was asked to go to work this morning to fill in for someone who was sick. So I had planned to have the day off, but really needed to work for some cash, so I said "what the heck". All of my patients were borderline normal today thus no "TALES FROM THE CRYPT".

But anyway, the challenge for today is to list five things that make you happy. I'm pretty sure I can list more than five!



~Hearing my son's laughter
~Cuddling with hubby
~When all of the household duties are complete
~A slow day at work
~A big paycheck
~Finishing a project
~Hanging with the girls
~Scrapbooking
~Long, hot bubblebaths
~A good glass of wine (sometimes enjoyed while doing the above mentioned)
~Great smelling candles
~New episodes of Grey's Anatomy
~Tropical places
~New shoes
~Yummy coffee
~My celebrity smut magazines
~A good night's sleep
~Feeling appreciated
~A great mail day
~Making other people happy

Want another bad habit?

Try this game: tennis

Another celeb couple bites the dust!

Hmm, for some reason I though they would make it.

Carmen Electra, Dave Navarro Split
MONDAY JULY 17, 2006 05:45PM EST

By Stephen M. Silverman

Navarro and Electra on April 10

Photo by: Fernando Leon / Retna

Actress Carmen Electra and Rock Star: Supernova host Dave Navarro have separated.

Electra and Navarro are "amicably separating," says rep Jill Fritzo. They married on Nov. 22, 2003 in a wedding documented on the 2004 MTV reality show 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen & Dave.

Although rumors of trouble had circulated for months, the couple always insisted they were fine. Navarro, who has played guitar for Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, even turned out to support Electra at the New York City premiere of Scary Movie 4 on April 10.

That month, Electra told PEOPLE, "We're fine! I'm not saying we have the perfect marriage or that we're the perfect couple, but we're pretty damn good." If there were trouble, she added, "I wouldn't have my ring on. I would not walk around and pretend."

This was the second marriage for Electra (real name: Tara Leigh Patrick), 34. She married NBA star Dennis Rodman in Las Vegas in November 1998, but the union ended five months later. It was a third marriage for Navarro, 39.

At Navarro and Electra's wedding, which took place at L.A.'s St. Regis Hotel, the 200 guests – including Hugh Hefner and Sharon Osbourne – were escorted into a Garden of Eden-like setting, complete with projected water walls, flowered metal vines and a white python, PEOPLE reported.

Gazing at her husband to be, Electra joked during her vows, "I thought I would never marry a guy who looks in the mirror more than I do."
Try 4 Issues of PEOPLE Risk Free

HOT HOT HOT!

Whew! I need to think of a good INDOOR activity for us today. Temps are going to feel like 100 degrees. I just don't think this girl can hang. There's not much on the agenda for us today. I got awakened at 4:30 this am by my lovely pager, so I went in and did a scan and then hit up Starbucks for a pick-me-up. Too bad my body hasn't caught up yet. We're headed to the Y for the 8:15 body pump class (which I love!), and then back home for a little cleaning. Sounds like a sane day!

Will we call him your BROTHER or your COUSIN?

What a dilemma to be in. These were by far the strangest most backwoods people I've ever met. My OB ultrasound patient at the clinic in Smyrna. She comes back with two other girls and a toddler boy. The toddler boy belongs to my patients sister. The other girl was just a tag-along. Follow closely....So I'm scanning and everyone's watching and blabbing as usual, and then the Aunt (mom to toddler) says, "Can you say hi to your brother?". I then asked mom if that was her son, because in her history this was her only pregnancy. The mom told her sister, "COUSIN! IT'S HIS COUSIN!". Okay, what's going on here? Well, apparently these sisters have the same taste in men. My patient's baby-daddy was the same baby-daddy of the little boy (her sister's kid!).

YIKES! That was FREAKY! Not to mention Jerry Springer-ish.

Random Ramble

I've had alot going on lately, and it seems like every day has been a blur since Thursday. I worked Thursday in Smyrna until about 4pm. I then packed up all of my Tastefully Simple supplies and headed to Liberty, TN for a show. Her house was in the BOONIES! Don't you hate it when MapQuest screws up directions? That's one thing about lovely DeKalb County (my hometown), people love to tear down street signs! So my directions had "left turn onto so-and-so road", but I didn't know where in the hell that was! Anyway, I found it with about a minute to spare. The show went very well! She sold about $424 in product and I got two more bookings, so that made me happy! I packed up everything and headed back to the boro. As soon as I entered the city limits, I kid you not, my pager went off. Time to go back to work! I stopped by the house to change and unload my cold items and went to work...not once....not twice....but THREE TIMES!! Yep, three callbacks in one night. OUCH that hurt! So, I took my happy ass to work in Smyrna on Friday at 8am. Why do I do this to myself! LOL! Three hours of sleep (combined, not all at once) is not enough to put up with some of my patients that I have there. I'll post the Jerry Springer-ish experience in a separate blog.

So, to continue my saga....I had to set up for a yard sale after work on Friday. I got all of the clothes hung and items set up on the tables ready to go for a 7am start. NOT! My friend (whose house I was having this at) calls me at 5:45am and asks me, "How much will you take for your printer?". I was like WTF! People were knocking on her door that damn early! Have some respect people! But anyway, I ended up with almost $350 cash after the sale, and alot of stuff to take to Goodwill. We took our earnings and went to dinner at The Chop House. If you've never been there, I highly recommend this place. I had skewered shrimp with asparagus, and Chris got the 12-oz prime rib. It was Yum-Yum!

Another idiotic thing I did was signing up to take call yesterday (Sunday). After my hellish last three days. I thought it would be easy money. The girl that usually works that shift was off, and she usually only comes in a couple of times. They wore me out! I started the day off with a 15-year old with a DVT. So the ER docs thought it would be a good idea to do a venous doppler on ALL of the patients that came in with leg, ankle or knee pain. I probably did about ten exams yesterday and spent more in gas money than I made.

But, I have a fairly sane week now. I'll be in a much better mood in a couple of days ;)

Great summer Salad recipe to share

I made this with dinner last night and it was super yummy! I'm glad I have some leftovers today!

SALAD WITH LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients:
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup lite red wine/olive oil vinaigrette
5.5 oz spring mix salad blend
1 medium yellow tomato
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 cucumber
2 tablespoons rasins

Steps:
Rinse all veggies. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice (about 2 tablespoons) into salad bowl; add dressing and wisk together. Add salad greens and toss to coat.

Slice tomato into bite-size pieces; cut pepper and cucumber into 1/4 inch thick slices and add to salad.

Add raisins and toss to mix. Serve and enjoy!

10 things accomplished

Whew! I was so busy yesterday! But, I can name atleast 10 things I got accomplished with some drama (of course).....can you?

1.) Wal-Mart trip-I went to the newer one on Bradyville pike. I've never felt so lost before in a Wal-Mart. Why do they lay them all out different?

2.) Got my cell phone repaired. The outer LCD screen cracked about a week after I had it. I didn't drop it or anything! Just a little drama there. The first guy I dropped it off with told me there would be no charge. When I went to pick it up, the assistant mgr told me it would be a $55 charge because it is a "cosmetic" flaw, and has no effect on the phone's integrity. Anyway, to make a long story less long, I made three trips out there yesterday and I didn't pay them a penny!

3.) Dropped off five layouts at the scrapbook store for "page kits of the week"

4.) Cashed a check at the bank

5.) Prepared all of my party food for my FIRST Tastefully Simple party tonight! I baked Cinnamon Muffin Melts and Lemon Bars, made a Key Lime Cheeseball and Pasta sauce.

6.) Paid off my living room furniture before the "12 mths same as cash" offer came back to bite me in the ass. I then cancelled the account. Thank you Oprah!

7.) Cooked chicken fajitas

8.) Priced items for my yard sale this Saturday. I bought a pack of 477 stickers and only had 72 left...YIKES!!

9.) Mopped my kitchen floor

10.) Went to the gym and stuck to my healthy eating!

Green beans in the Hizz-ouse!

Thank God I'm a country girl! I spent today up at my grandparents house in Smithville picking green beans from their garden. A whole 5 gallon bucket full! I ended up leaving with 12 quarts that had just been canned. YUM! They are my FAVORITE! I also got to get a "mess" of squash as my grandma calls it.

We usually don't have to help out much with the garden, but my grandparents aren't doing so well this summer. My grandma is in remission from endometrial cancer...it's been less than a year since her last chemo treatment, and my grandpa had eye surgery on July 3rd for maculaur degeneration disease. He can get around, but can't see, and she sees well but can't get around. They're both basically in denial about getting old and that's why they put out a garden (or had my cousin plant it). That's just what they've always done I guess. But hey, I'm more than willing to help out if I get to reap the benefits of good fresh veggies!

Just another manic Monday....

We had a fun-filled weekend in the Dickens household! I had my living room painted, and I LOVE it! These pictures make it look a little more "orangey" than it really is. I decided to hire a painter to come in to tackle this job. I usually dig doing this kind of thing, but high ceilings, dark paint and a 2 1/2 year old just don't mix. They came in and started painting at 9am Saturday and were finished by 1pm! It would've taken me four days instead of four hours!

While they were working, I cleaned and purged items for our yardsale this Saturday. So, if you're in the neighborhood please stop by! It will be a big one!

I was feeling REAL generous this weekend...I guess I was happy about my new paint job.....but, I brought home a new XBOX 360 and a game for Chris. Yes, there was a small puddle of vomit beside the cash register when they rang that one up. His mom was going to give him money to buy one for his birthday next month, but I went ahead and got it figuring he could use the money for more games and accessories. He's happy, so I'm happy :)

~~Pet Peeves~~

So everyone has pet peeves. I just thought it would be therapeutic to jot down a few. Here are mine, and feel free to share yours :)

~TOILET PAPER! It must be hung over and not under
~People who drive like maniacs
~Smacking food in your mouth
~People that are still shooting fireworks WAY past my bedtime!!
~Being ignored at a store when I need help

Just catchin' up!

Well, I don't have alot to blog about today, since I worked an uneventful 12 hour shift yesterday (hallelujah!). I think the weather kept the crazy people in the house! We had a blast on the 4th of July! I had families over from my mom's group for a BBQ around lunch time (the heat of the day, how cruel of me!). Sorry guys for the temperature. We had some yummo food! Then everyone went down for a nap and we went to Misty's house for another BBQ and fireworks.....men and fire.....nuff said!

****tWiNKle ToeS****

Chris and I went BALLROOM DANCING last night! We've never done anything like that before. We're not into the artsy fartsy stuff like theaters and museums, and I always thought this fell into that category. Chris's boss and co-worker both attend this dance school and they get "points" for guests that they bring in. The "points" equal out to free dance lessons, so it pays off. We decided we would help them out. We had Alex over to watch Bryce, and I had someone cover my call for awhile too. We arrived at 7pm for our "private" lesson with the instructor. He did a one-on-one lesson with Chris and I to kind of teach us the basics about hand positions, postures, etc. Then we started learning some basic moves. We did one basic move from three dances; the Waltz, the Rumba and Push-Pull. It was so much fun! I was very anxious to learn more, hence our sit-down session with the teacher after the lesson. It was $300 for "3" more lessons!!! ACK! I had fun, but I could think of a lot more ways to have fun with $300! And that was just the tip of the iceberg. After that, to continue you must purchase packages from a tier...that can cost you in the THOUSANDS! But it was fun and free for us this time.

After our private session, we had an hour long group class. This was where everyone who was at the studio got on the dance floor to practice the above mentioned dance steps...in a group setting. Our good gay friend, Jimmy was there too. He's such a hoot! They asked the girls to go to one side of the room, and the guys to go to the other side. Well, Jimmy thought he was one of the girls! It was hilarious! I'm glad we had the private lesson before, or I wouldn't have learned anything because I was laughing so hard. The thing that I didn't like about the group lessons is that you switch partners. I danced with all of the men about two times each. All those sweaty palms...ICK! But all in all it was fun! If anyone wants to have a night and try what we did, just let me know! I'm sure Chris's boss would love to have the credit for you coming to try it out!

Just a couple of scrapbook pages....

I've had these done for about a week or so, but I'm just too lazy to post them. Plus I don't have a scanner, so the digital pic doesn't look all that great to me.

Another 5K for me!!

My sister and I ran the "Run for Fatherhood" 5k at Shelby Bottoms Park this past Saturday morning. I've really been waiting to see what the offical time was, and they finally posted them last night. I was a whopping ONE minute faster on this one than my last, but this course was soooo much harder than the one at MTSU. I'm doing another one in my hometown of Smithville, TN this Saturday morning, so wish me luck! Anybody want to join me?

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 25 - 29
1 57 RACHEL SPEARS 28 24:39
2 91 ANDREA DAVIS 28 27:34
3 93 JENNIFER HARVIEL 29 27:36
4 103 PORTIA HAMMERSTAD 27 28:48
5 109 JANA KELLEY 27 29:23
6 134 KATHY MEAD 29 31:57
7 139 JILL EDMONDSON 27 32:14
8 146 MONICA DICKENS 27 32:50
9 152 LAURA POE 28 34:17
10 153 KEESHA HATCHER 28 34:19
11 155 ANGIE GARNER 29 34:37
12 191 KELLY THOMPSON 26 42:39
13 192 COURTNEY JONES 29 42:39
14 205 ASHLEY SNYDER 25

Meet the newest Tastefully Simple Consultant

It's me. I signed up for it. I love their products so much that I couldn't NOT be good at selling them. I hooked my mom on their products, and I think that she alone will help me meet my quarterly quota. But, if anyone is thinking about having a party, re-ordering or knows of anyone who would like to have a party, please keep me in mind!

If you'd like to check out the web site you can find it here: Tastefully Simple. All the products and descriptions are there, along with pricing. I'd be more than happy to send you a catalog if you'd like one.

My favorite product so far would have to be the Garlic, Garlic. (It's also sodium free or weird stuff in it) Although I haven't tried one yet I didn't like.

Not surprising since I'm crazy for garlic and put it in most everything I make. (So good in mashed potatoes) It also saves me from having to chop garlic all the time if I don't feel like it. Even still, sometimes I use both to add another level of flavor to whatever I'm making.

On Christmas Eve, I made 2 dips in literally about 3 minutes. I made one with the Onion Onion and the other with Spinach & Herb. (Each bottle of spice can make up to 7 cups of dip)

In 2 separate bowls, I mixed together 2 tbsp. of the spice, with 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup mayonnaise. Let them chill for about 1/2 hour or so and they were ready. So easy and delicious.

Here's just a sample recipe of what all can be done with the products. If you don't like seafood, just leave it out and follow the rest of the recipe.

Howlin' Crab Dip: Drain 1 can of crab (you can use imitation as well or other cooked seafood) mixed it with about 2 tbsp. of Howling Horseradish spice, (some Garlic Garlic can also be added, but is optional) 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of sour cream, 8 oz. package of cream cheese and about 3/4 cup of cheddar cheese together. Cover and bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 20 minutes until heated through and bubbly. Serve it with little French bread toast rounds. Yum.

The spices can be used in or on food, to make a sauce or great dip, whatever. They also carry breads, soups, salsas, dips (the raspberry is supposed to be awesome) crackers, pretzels all sorts of stuff. Along with some seasonal items.

Everything is so versatile with the goal in mind to make life tastier and easier for the everyday or gourmet cook who may or may not want to spend time in the kitchen. Cookbooks are available to use as serving and meal suggestions. Free recipes are also posted on the web site.

Another nice thing they carry are the gift packs. These make wonderful treats for family and friends - or yourself. Especially if you're planning to order say the Garlic, Garlic, Bacon Bacon and Onion Onion. If you buy them as a gift pack, you get them at even better prices. My realtor friend buys the gift packs to make up gift baskets with the spices and breads to hand out to new homeowners as thank you gifts.

The products are great for new Mom's and Dad's. You can give them a gift pack to make throwing a meal together a breeze while adjusting to their new schedule. And what a great way to throw a party, baby shower, snack, or any kind of get together quickly and easily without getting totally stressed out.



Parties can be done a number of ways:

Have a book party and collect your orders.

Invite people over for a party. You'll receive samples of the products to serve & let allow people to try the products before they order so they know just how good they really are. You could also bring your samples into work, to someone's party, shower, friends house, etc. to help spread the word and get you even more orders.

Whichever way you choose to do it is up to you. Orders will be added up once the party is closed and you could be eligible for free products and gifts!

If you don't want to have a party at all, no problem. Just contact me. I'll place the order and send it to you. Once my web site is up and running, I'll be able to accept your orders there too. Whichever you prefer.

The web site should be really helpful and convenient for you since you'll be able to place an order at any hour of the day. Say you realize you're running out of the Spinach & Herb mix. Go to the site & order a bottle - it will be shipped right to your door.

Either way, there's never a need to place a huge order.

I'll be putting an order soon in case you need something.
Samples should be available soon! Let me know if you'd like me to send you one.

As always, thanks for your interest and support. Extra special thanks to those who've already ordered and/are planning a party!

{{{{HUGS}}}}

Bloody-nasty movie!

Alright, let me start by saying that I'm a fan of horror movies. The creepy, ghost, murderer-type flicks. Well, maybe I should have read the reviews before I picked up this film at Hollywood Video. It was a 94 minute film that took 45 minutes to get started. Yep, for awhile I thought I was watching a porn movie. Tons of sex and naked people. It made me blush and I'm NOT that shy! I found a pretty cool movie review website if you ever want to look one up....www.rottentomatoes.com.

Here's a short description of the movie, not to spoil it for those who still want to see it.

Two adventurous American college buddies, Paxton and Josh, backpack through Europe eager to make quintessentially hazy travel memories with new friend Oli, an Icelander they've met along the way. Paxton and Josh are eventually lured by a fellow traveler to what's described as a nirvana for American backpackers--a particular hostel in an out-of-the-way Slovakian town stocked with Eastern European women as desperate as they are gorgeous. The two friends arrive and soon easily pair off with exotic beauties Natalya and Svetlana. In fact, too easily. Initially distracted by the good time they're having, the two Americans quickly find themselves trapped in an increasingly sinister situation that they will discover is as wide and as deep as the darkest, sickest recess of human nature itself--if they survive.

So, to make a long movie less long, some sicko is trapping people in hostles to take to members of a "hunting club"...human "hunting club" that is, where they can pay major moulah to mutilate, torture or kill these poor people. It made me want to throw up!

VaVaVa VOOM!

****edited to add pics***I'm not good at taking these of myself ;)
It's amazing how GOOD I feel about myself after I get a haircut. I am OBSESSED with my hair. It has to be just right, look perfect, or I will pull it up on top of my head. Well, it's been on top of my head alot since my last haircut. For those of you that don't know, my hair is super THICK and therefore has a mind of its own. I've had the same "hair chick" since I moved to Murfreesboro almost seven years ago. She's sweet, and a good friend, but man has she just butchered my hair the last two times it's been cut. I didn't know how bad it really was. I thought it was the humidity causing the frizz and "rat-chewed ends" of my hair. I even tried switching up my hair products...yep, forked out some $$ for good shampoo and conditioner. I could STILL never get my hair to feel right! I spent way too much time working on it everyday. I went to ADORN salon here in Murfreesboro, and boy did AMIE fix me up! My hair feels so healthy, and she managed to salvage it without chopping it all off. I've been a walking billboard for her since! I went to my mom's house last night to show off my new do' and she's taking my little sister out there today! I'll try to get some pics up at some point today...I just look like crap right now :)

Blog challenge...just a few questions!

This is from the daily blog challenge over at Two Peas.
1. FIRST NAME? Monica
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? not that I know of
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? about a month ago over a movie
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? sometimes, when I try
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? turkey
6. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? one (Bryce, 2 /12)
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? yep
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? just my blog
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? oh yeah
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? heck no! I'm terrified of heights
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? you bet!
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? chocholate soft serve
16. SHOE SIZE? 9
17. RED OR PINK? pink
18. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? saggy boobs
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I guess I would say my father, even though people tell me I wouldn't. Oh, and my girls at MTMC in ultrasound. They always make me laugh!
20. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? January 24, 1979 Cookeville, TN
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? navy blue shorts, no shoes
22. WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? chicken
23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the hum of the computer
24 IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? red
25. FAVORITE SMELL? gasoline...I know...weird
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED WITH ON THE PHONE? Amy
27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU MEET? teeth
28. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?. not that I can think of
29. FAVORITE DRINK? Diet Coke from Sonic
30. FAVORITE SPORT? softball
31. HAIR COLOR? blonde
32. EYE COLOR? blue
33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yep
34. FAVORITE FOOD? anything mexican and spicy
35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Scary Movies!!
36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Skeleton Key
37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Pink
38. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
39. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
40. FAVORITE DESSERT? chocholate chip cookies
41. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Breast Ultrasound Registry Review, and of course my celebrity smut mags! Where are you Stephanie?!?
42. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? don't have one
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Bryce laughing
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Stones all the way
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Arizona or Mexico...don't know which is farther
46. IF YOU COULD PICK ANY TWO PEOPLE TO HAVE DINNER WITH, WHO WOULD
THEY BE? Oprah and Nick Lachey :)

Our trip to Chattanooga

Chris took a week off from work last week, and we decided that we would head to Chattanooga for a weekend getaway! Bryce is into choo-choo's and fish, so it was right up his alley. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Choo-Choo Hotel in a refurbished Victorian traincar.

There was alot of history with the train station turned hotel, and if you're interested, you can check out their website...Choo Choo Hotel

We bought tickets to the Tennessee Aquarium and IMAX while we were there. The aquarium was LOTS of fun, but you better wear comfy shoes! My favorite part was the butterfly room. I love butterflies, and they were everywhere you turned! I got some pretty cool pics, but that was a job in itself. They didn't stay still very long!

Bryce loved the fish at the aquarium! He had a hard time realizing that there was more than one tank to look at. He would stand and stare at the same fish for a very long time. It was so cute! His favorite were the turtles. He also made his very first fish-face-------

"Oh Monta"

My child has given up on calling me mama. Yep, he's finally picked up the fact that "big people" have another name for me, and since he thinks he's SO big, he must now call me Monica. Or, to pronounce it like he does..."Mon-ta". I got told today, and I quote, "Go play Monta!". Maybe my son's just eclectic, you know, wanting to be different, break the mold and such. I have to look on the bright side, it is pretty darn cute.

But anyway, here's how the rest of my day went....I went out searching Lowe's and Home Depot for some 1" square tiles. I saw the coolest thing in a BH&G magazine of how to do a mosaic frame around your bathroom mirror with tiles and clear acrylic caulk. How simple, and different! But, no such luck. I may have to order online to get the colors that I want. Next, I went to the Y around 11 and did a 25 minute elliptical interval session. Atleast I think it was 25 minutes! I accidentally hit the "reset" button in the middle of my workout. I didn't get my exact time, which accelerates the OCD in me. I worked with a resistance band today for my legs and booty. I started with 50 squats, hip extensions, lying leg lifts (inner and outer) and crunches. I'm going to hit it in the morning early and get in cardio and some upper body weights, granted I don't get called in a bunch tonight.

After my workout, I assembled kits for my class on Saturday. It took me four freakin' hours!!! I could not believe it! I knew there was a good reason I hated mini books! It will be my last class for awhile, and I so need the break.

Bryce and I headed to Kristen's house. Thanks Kristen for hosting the Pampered Chef party tonight! I really wish I could've indulged in the chocolate chip cheesecake, but I need a little less jiggle in the middle right now.

We have TONS of people coming to the house tomorrow to repair things that are crapping out. Our 1 year builder's warranty is up in July, so we've started calling in advance to get people out here in ample time. I guess my booty will be staying close to the house tomorrow. *Note...set alarm for 5:30am to get to Y*

:::yawn:::

VENT about my day yesterday

Alright, this may offend some, but it's MY blog and I need to get this out!

My last patient of the day yesterday....WOAH! Let me start from the beginning. She was originally scheduled for 1:00. She called to reschedule to 3:00. Well, 3:00 came, no show. Called at 3:30 to request to come at 4:00. Okay, FINE! This is it. They told her if she wasn't in by 4:15 she would have to reschedule. I didn't plan on her showing up, but you know she was there with bells on!

She's scheduled for a pelvic ultrasound with a diagnosis of ammenorrhea (absence of periods). I bring her back and begin to get her history about symptoms, etc. She came out and said, "I'm here to see my baby!". Okay, so you're PREGNANT?? The doctor's office is too STUPID to figure that out?? I'm very confused at this point with the entire situation.

Enter....baby daddy.

This poor guy is about to become a father for the first time, this will be her FIFTH child (she was born in 1983 by the way). I usually don't bring the significant others back until I've done all of my diagnostic images, but since I was SUPPOSE to leave at 4:30, I thought I would kill two birds with one stone.
BIG MISTAKE!!! Baby daddy (BD from now on) really started to drive me up the wall! The PDA's were enough to make me want to stop the ultrasound and barf in the trashcan! He was kissing and licking her belly, while I was doing the ultrasound!!! I had to bump into his face with the probe. Totally disgusting!!! So, I had enough with his redneck, Podunk comments, and asked him to leave the room because he's becoming very DISTRACTING! He proceeded to tell me that this is HIS baby (I guess not to be confused with the other guys that have had sex with mom) and he'll be in here if he wants to be. So I got up out of my chair and slid it over in the corner, and made him sit there until I was finished. Yes, I had to put BD in a time-out.

I eventually finished with this 3-ring circus. (by the way, mom's best friend was in the room, but I think I scared her to death since she didn't say a word the entire time) It was definitely one of those days that I needed to find a liquor store after work!

What would you do with a day?

A day all to yourself? No kids, no husband, no phone, no responsibilities. Just you in your home to do what you wish.

I would spend the day in my PJ's!! I would sleep as late as I could, watch a sappy movie or a cheesy reality TV show on MTV, catch up on all of my celebrity gossip mags....oh it's nice to dream!

Pickin' Strawberries

First of all, strawberries are my all time FAVORITE summertime fruit, with watermelon coming in a close second. When I heard about a couple of strawberry patches on the outskirts of Murfreesboro, I knew it would be an awesome outing for me and Bryce. On Friday we went to P & P Strawberry Farms in Lascassas. The drive out to the country was so beautiful! I miss Smithville for that reason only. Just seeing empty, rolling hills for miles is so refreshing.

So, we go rolling up the gravel driveway, and see two HUGE strawberry patches! These were the biggest, reddest berries I have ever seen! Not at all like the crap you get at Krogers. We walk up to the man who seems to be in charge, and he shows us to some baskets and directs us where to start. You pay when you finish, which can be dangerous with a toddler who always wants MORE! But by the time we filled the basket he was already wanting to move onto other things. It was so much fun picking the berries (we ended up with a gallon...which are already halfway eaten) and we may have to journey there again this week!

Cellphones...love 'em

Cellphones.
Personally I don't think I could live without mine. There are so many things that I love about it. First of all, I can SEE who's calling! I don't have Caller-id on my home phone. It's so convenient to have when I'm on the go so I can call when I'm running late or I'm lost. It's my "camera" when I forget the real thing at home. It stores everyone's phone numbers for me, and will even dial them upon my voice request.

The con in my cellphone that I currently have is that it's a little outdated. I think we've all dropped it our fare share of times, and now it drops our calls. Sometimes the person on the other end can't hear what I'm saying, so that makes me think that the mouthpiece is messed up now. But a new one is in our near future. We're Sprint customers, and our contract is up on June 1st. If we renew, we get $150 towards a NEW phone!


Ideally this is what I would like to have...
------------------------------->
but Sprint's version of course. I love the razor phones! I would love to have a pink one! But Sprint's only comes in black. Maybe if I got a pink one, Chris would get his own phone!

Yep, that's right. We SHARE a cell phone! It used to work out well for us pre-Bryce. We worked the same shift, at the same hospital. We always went everywhere together. Now, we don't work together, I'm usually gone somewhere during the day, and he's impossible to get intouch with at work. We go separate directions a lot of times, and his friends are calling when I have the cellphone, and vice-versa. I'm petitioning for another cell phone!

He's still MY American Idol

At approximately 8:26pm the earth stopped turning. Chris Daughtry was voted off American Idol.

How did this happen? What is wrong with America? LOL! I really enjoyed watching Chris perform, and I'm sure he'll move on to bigger and better things. It's just really sad how kinda whacked the votes went last night. I agreed that Kat should have been in the bottom based on her Tuesday night performance, but Chris?

WAKE UP AMERICA!! If you have a favorite, vote! It's important! It's not something trivial like a Presidential Election, it's American Idol for crying out loud!!!

It's my anniversary!

It's been four wonderful years with my husband! We tied the knot on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm. Our wedding was on the front lawn of the Stones River Mansion, which sadly has become dilapidated thanks to the new Medical Center Parkway. It was such a beautiful place, and such a beautiful day!

A few of my favorite things...

Blog challenge for Monday (I know...it's Tuesday)

Fave coffee: French Vanilla that we order from Gevalia
Fave tea: I don't drink tea anymore, but I used to LOVE Cracker Barrell sweet tea
Fave jam: Strawberry Preserves (lovin' the chunks)
Fave Peanut Butter: ick!
Fave sandwich: Grilled Vegetarian from Penn Station
Fave fast food item: hmmm, I guess the french fry
Fave appetizer: Chips and Salsa
Fave summertime drink: Margarita
Fave fruit: Strawberry, watermelon, pretty much anything I guess
Fave vegetable: Grandpa's green beans!
Fave indulgence: Mexican food!

Long time, no blog

I can't believe it's been almost a MONTH since my last post! Where does the time go? We've been very busy landscaping around my place. Got the spring fever ya know! I have been loving our weather lately. But today....looks pretty yucky. Actually I'm kind of glad. I need to do alot inside the house today, and this way it won't be so tempting to be outside.

Well, last weekend was convention here in Nashville. I went to the Opryland Hotel for a little bit on Friday morning. It seemed alot bigger this year than last. But, I actually didn't spend that much money! I got out of there about $40 lighter, and that was including lunch! I'm a big doo-dad freak (aka embellishments), and there were a couple of booths that had some pretty cute clips and such. Now I just need to sit my bottom down and do something with all of the supplies that I've been hoarding for the past few months. I mean, I have UNOPENED packages of QuicKutz dies!

During convention last weekend, Amy Totty and Kelli Collins (aka Bazzill chicks)came to my LSS!!! It was a real treat to meet them! I took two classes from them at the store (I'll try to post pics later) and I adore their style. So simple, but yet so chic. I'm really regretting not making enough time to sit down with them and really pick their brains for ideas :( But, such is life. I have a toddler and a 3rd shift job. My energy has been kaput.

I've also been in the process of re-organizing my scrap area (for the hundreth time). I took "before" pics, but I don't want to post those until you can also see the "after" pics. It's a shame how messy that area can get.

Just wanted to leave you with my favorite photo that I took recently. This is Bryce at the "Fun Factory". He was so apprehensive at first, but that kid cut loose and was having a ball! I still crack up when I look at this!