Confession Tuesday - Part 2

I have a guilty pleasure confession - I love Judge Judy. I know! I used to make fun of Hubby for watching it and now I'm hooked. Ya'll! I just can't believe that there are that many people who would actually go on TV and air their grievances. Pretty much every case is the same. It's usually a girl suing a guy (or vice versa) for a loan they made that never got paid back. The defendent 100% of the time says, "It was not a loan. It was a gift." And the people are so stupid! I know that's ugly, but wouldn't you watch some episodes before going on the show and learn what works and what doesn't? So there you go - I highly recommend it for some laughs.

On another note, I can't believe that 2008 is almost over. This year just flew by. I plan on taking some time this weekend to do some reflecting. I'm not going to think about things I didn't do. I want to remember all the wonderful things God allowed to happen to me. Don't worry! I'll share some of the highlights!

By the way, Gym Trainer said I rocked it tonight. I promptly asked him if he meant I rocked it like a rock star. I think I lost some cool points.

Who's in the "House"?

It's been a while... Christmas is definately over. I was on a serious festivity high and believe you me, I have come tumbling down. I can only sustain the EXCITED ABOUT EVERY LITTLE THING for so long! That's what I do - I get super excited and wear myself slap out. So, right now I have a little of the after Christmas blahs. But don't worry, New Year's is right around the corner and I'll be super pumped about that.

Little update on my TV watching: After years of declaring "I tried to watch House once and couldn't get into it", I have done a 180! Ya'll, it is so good! I DVR'd a marathon and I am loving, loving, loving it. Unfortunately, work is getting in the way of my watching the 12 episodes I have recorded.

Speaking of New Years, I'm curious about what ya'll will be doing? Leave a little post and share your plans!

Merry Christmas Eve

I'm at work - seriously! Dad makes us all come in on Christmas Eve because we have clients open. The goal is to stay till 12:00 before we all head down to Granddaddy's. Usually, Dad gets antsy about this time and starts hurrying us out the door - I'm still waiting...

I can't wait to get down to Granddaddy's. It is my most favorite day out of the entire year. Sister's kids are so precious and I LOVE getting to watch them open their presents. I LOVE seeing all my family. I LOVE getting a little snooze in after I'm so stuffed I can't stand it. Can you tell I LOVE everything about it?

Unbelievably, we will have highs in the upper 60's today. Yes, it's Christmas Eve and you gotta love the South.

Just so you know, today will be the biggest cheat day of all time. I am going to pack it in. Is it possible to eat an extra 17,500 calories in one day to gain 5 pounds. I'm pretty sure I'll be close.

Well, Merry Christmas to all of you who read my humble blog. I pray the Lord will bless you and we'll all see the REAL meaning of Christmas - Happy Birthday Jesus.

A little of this and that

It's been a few days... The weekend was pretty jam packed so here's a few of the highlights:

Saturday - I ran my 2nd 5K. I beat my last time by 2 minutes!!!! After the run, J2 and I shopped a little over on Hwy 280 as we complained about our sore legs and the headaches we had. I would attribute that to the fact that after the run, we promptly got Diet Cokes instead of drinking LOTS of water. I know!!! - it's the addiction.

Late Saturday afternoon - Hubby got home from Atlanta (for good!!!) around 3:00 and we left for my parent's house. We had a little Christmas get-together which was super fun. Sister's kids were precious and too cute opening their presents.

Sunday - Church and then a whole ordeal I don't even feel like getting into and then off to Hubby's sister's house to do Christmas with his Grams. We had a really great time.

Tonight I met with Gym Trainer and now I'm home sitting with Hubby watching some Judge Judy. (Yes, we love us some Judy Judy!)

I can't believe it's almost Christmas!!! I also can't believe I haven't finished my shopping.

How Funky is My Tree

J2 and I went to Sips N Strokes tonight and painted "Funky Tree". You probably won't believe this but it was kind of an ordeal. We had it all planned out. It started at 7 so we decided we'd meet there at 6:30. I was in charge of picking up our Diet Cokes from Jack's.

Quick Sidenote: A Diet Coke from Jack's is my absolute FAVORITE drink in the whole world. I don't know why it's different from every other Diet Coke BUT IT IS!!!

OK, anyway.. I left work in plenty of time, got the drinks and headed that way. I called Hubby so I could hear his sweet voice, promptly passed my turn and went about 15 minutes out of my way. No biggie, I was there in plenty of time. At 6:45, J2 still wasn't there. I called her and she was roaming the Target parking lot looking for her car. (That is also a problem that I have. I ALWAYS forget where I parked.)

J2 got there and got signed in about 6:55. We're still good - THEN! we realize our large Diet Coke's our regular Coke. FOR THE LOVE! So, we hightailed it to the BP, boutght Diet Coke's and did a little switch-a-roo with our cups and ice. We did all that in 7 minutes - pretty good, huh?

This is us before we realized we had a Diet Coke problem.


Here's the first phase of "Funky Tree".

Phase 2:

Final Look:

It's Getting Hot in Here

How can it possibly be this HOT 8 days away from Christmas??? I mean, I don't want it to be super cold or anything, but a nice brisk breeze would be a little nice. Seriously, I have the back door open right now - in December - 8 days away from Christmas!

Gym Trainer gave me the HARDEST workout EVER tonight. I may never walk again. It was about one hour of pure torture where I went from thoughts of passing out, throwing up, hurting Gym Trainer... anything to make it stop. BUT, I survived it and you know they say that anything that doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger!

By the way, I Googled the whole toe cramp thing and basically, I need to drink more water. I drank more today and guess what?? NO TOE CRAMPS! So there...

I best git (that's Southern for I need to go now) and get some presents wrapped and the rest of Christmas cards done. Toodles.

Random

Monday, Monday....

Today was good. Work went by really fast. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch and my trip to The Dollar Tree. Oh yeah, baby. I spent $42 which means I got 42 things!!! I was so excited that I didn't even let the mammoth line get me down. It's just hard to believe that Christmas is only 10 days away. I still have presents to buy, gifts to wrap...

Gym Trainer is all better so we were back in the gym. My workout tonight was brutal. My legs feel like noodles which I guess means I worked out to my full potential. So I feel pretty confident in saying, "I rocked it tonight."

Let me tell you what doesn't rock - my hair. I went for a much needed color Friday afternoon. I went in with mostly dark brown hair with too many highlights of gray and walked out with dark brown hair but with the entire top BLONDE - I kid you not. Oh my heavens. It was terrible. And because I'm so smart, I decided to color it myself last night. In my mind I just knew that all that blonde was going to be magically brown. Oh no, now the entire top of my head looks like a bright copper penny.

No big deal, right? I guess I'll wear a hat for the next 6 weeks. Grief.

One more thing, anybody know anything about toe cramps?? I have this one toe that cramps up about 90.8% of the time when I workout. Maybe I need to google that. Hmm...

Up, Up and Away

Big weekend!

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of watching Hubby walk across the stage at Samford as he received his Masters in Environmental Management. I was so proud! Not only because he's a National Honors Scholar, has a 3.78 GPA, but also because I looked around and realized that the cutest man there belongs to me!!! After graduation, the Sharpe Family Christmas began.

Just a little background on the way the Sharpe's do Christmas: Hubby's mom is a planner. She loves to plan parties and she loves to surprise people. The parties always have a theme. So, Christmas is an event that requires weeks of planning on her part and always ends with everyone loving what a good time they had. The hard part is that we never know where we're going. This year the theme was Up, Up and Away.

We rode with my Sister-in-law and her hubby. All we knew was that we had to take I59 to Exit 231 and call his Dad when we got there. His parents were waiting at that exit to lead us to our destination. We ended up at this house on a mountain in Cloudland, GA. (I had never heard of it either.) The house was huge and the view was spectacular. It was almost like being in Gatlinburg.



We had a blast! Last night we built a fire in the firepit, roasted marshmallows and were amazed at all the shooting stars. I really had a great time. We ate, played games, ate some more, laughed like crazy, ate. Did I mention we ate? We played a game with hats... I won't go into the details but the girls got a little silly with them later on.



So, I'm home and Hubby has left to go back to Atlanta. Thankfully, it's the last week he has to go. I'll sign-off now. Got to get some Christmas cards ready to send out!

Sick Trainer

I just got off the phone with Gym Trainer and as of Tuesday, he is Sick Trainer. We had to cancel Wednesday and tonight due to his sinus infection. Bless his heart, he said he's scared of shots and opted for a prescription. Doesn't he know... always take the shot!!! (Also, he said he's scared of clowns. Hmmm.) Gotta run, Hubby just got home!

Mama and Patricia Anne

Just so you know, I have the best Mama in the whole world. I don't know how I got so lucky because I've looked around at some other people's Mamas and WHOA!

So here's a little tidbit about Mama. Many years ago she discovered the Southern Sisters books by Anne George. There are 8 of them and she has probably read each of them at least 10 times - no lie. Now, Sister and I love them too and you can ALWAYS count on them for a good read and a good laugh. They're about 2 sisters, Mary Alice and Patricia Anne. They live in Homewood, AL and they get in all kinds of messes.

Mama doesn't really believe that Mary Alice and Patricia Anne are real, but she REALLY wants them to be. Rarely a week goes by that something doesn't happen that has her recalling a Patricia Anne story. She, Sister and I talk about them like they're real and sometimes we get so tickled that it's a struggle not to wet our pants!

Unfortunately, Anne George died in 2001 so there will be no more Southern Sisters books. (Although, Mama is desperately hoping that her relatives are going to clean out a box sometime and find a manuscript that hasn't been published yet.) If you haven't read them, I STRONGLY encourage you to head to the library and check these out.

Murder on a Girl's Night Out
Murder on a Bad Hair Day
Murder Runs in the Family
Murder Makes Waves
Murder Gets a Life
Murder Shoots the Bull
Murder Carries a Torch
Murder Boogies with Elvis

You will NOT BE SORRY!!!! And Mama, I love you more than I can possibly write.

Confession Tuesday

I have decided that Tuesdays are just blah. I think that my 8 hour work day really lasted a million hours. Oh my gosh! It was so never-ending. In light of that, there is nothing to write about. SO! I have decided to start Confession Tuesdays.

Today I need to confess that my house is a Christmas imposter. I have no decorations on the inside. My little Christmas Tree is shining out of my attic window and my baby Christmas tree is out on the front porch. I did put a decoration on the mailbox and a wreath on the front door and THAT IS IT!

I just have no desire to decorate the inside of my house this year. It's not that I'm being a Scrooge, it's just that there will be nobody to see it but me and let me be clear, I can live without it. If Hubby was not spending almost the whole month in Atlanta I would definately decorate. Maybe I'll just put a little mistletoe up to get a little kissie-poo!

I promise I'll do better next year. By the way, it's raining and I couldn't be happier.

It's a Monday

As far as Mondays go, today was pretty good. Things were clicking at work, I didn't feel like I was going to die with Gym Trainer and now I'm watching another awesome episode of Heroes.

There was one hiccup with my day and that was my trip to Wal-Mart on lunch. M and I got checked out and then headed over to McDonald's (No Gym Trainer, it was not for me!) so M could get something. It was unbelievable incompetence. They had one lady cooking and one at the register at the height of lunch hour. It turns out that after about 20 minutes of waiting, another lady was SUPPOSED to be working but she had a more important duty which was to leave and go pick out a card. Hmmmm...

All in all, I give today an A.

Chicken Ball Recipe

Sister asked me to post my Chicken Ball recipe so here it is!

1 8oz package soft cream cheese
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 5oz package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
2 13oz canned chicken (put it thru your chopper - not the can, just the chicken - HA!)
Pecans, chopped
Mix everything together (except pecans) and roll into a big bal. Then roll your ball thru the pecans and coat the outside. Leave in the fridge overnight.

What a weekend!

I did it!!!! I ran my very first 5K ever!!! I was really nervous that I wouldn't be able to finish, but I DID IT!!! My time was 40 minutes and 34 seconds which I'm really proud of. J2 (on the left) ran it in 30 minutes flat. She rocks for her 10 minute mile! She's my running hero. (By the way, our shirts said Jingle and had little jingle bells on them!) The last I checked, the 2008 Jingle Bell Run for the Arthritis Foundation raised $84,028. I loved it and I've already signed up for another 5K on the 20th!

Rudolph and Witches

Sister's Hubby told me something distressing today. He said they watched Rudolph last night with the kids and then Sister had nightmares AND that this has been going on for years. WHAT??? Sister, is that for real?? I mean, I personally WILL NOT watch The Wizard of Oz but that is totally different. With the witch, those flying things and the awful clicking of the heels... who can take it? Believe you me, if I had kids, they would NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, EVER be allowed to watch that movie. That's all I have to say about that. OK, not all - seriously, Sister, is that for real?

Anyway, since it's Thursday -- that means Hubby comes home tomorrow AND I have my work Christmas party. I love myself a party and I am FIRED UP about playing Dirty Santa. Of course, I'm more excited that the niece and nephews will be there and I'm super excited about hearing them play Christmas carols on the piano. They don't know it yet but I figure they need a last minute practice before their recital Saturday.

J2 came by my work today and brought me my 5K packet for the Jingle Bell run Saturday. I guess I'm ok with the fact that I can't even run 3 miles but I'll do my best and what more can the Arthritis Foundation ask for, right? I just got my MP3 loaded up with some Christian music. I figure that will do me some good since I'm sure I'll be praying for Jesus to "help me" pretty much the entire time.

I doubt there will be a post tomorrow night since I'll be partying hard like a rock star (or maybe just a computer programmer) and then gettin in the bed to rest up before the run. LOVE YA'LL!

How Old Do I Feel

Home from the gym and watching a little TV while I recuperate. How bout they have a show now to announce the Grammy nominees?? They just did the nominees for New Artist of the Year and I had only heard of those cute little Jonas Brothers. Have ya'll seen them? They are precious. Oh! The Foo Fighters are singing Carly Simon's "You're So Vain"! That song is so catchy. It's so good no matter who sings it.

Gym Trainer wasn't very happy with me tonight after finding out I had a candy bar for breakfast. It wasn't intentional. Let me rephrase, obviously no one was shoving it down my throat or anything but my morning got away from me and then I had to rush off to see the niece and nephews sing at CBS.

Oh for the love! I was going to post a picture and I can't figure out how to get it off my camera. Absolutely everything is an ordeal.

M, This is for you!

M, one of my co-workers, called today to let me know that I didn't post yesterday. Of course I know that I didn't post yesterday, but I had no idea that someone would actually notice! I feel famous! OK, not really but how sweet is that??

Just so you know, M is a terrific co-worker and friend. She is funny and you can always count on her for a good story. Seriously, if they made a movie of her life, it would be #1 at the box office. And that girl can shop the Dollar Tree! She went today on lunch and spent $85!!! I LOVE THE DOLLAR TREE! I so wish I had been with her today.

We had some not so happy news at work today though. K turned in her resignation. K was in my department and now with her gone, I'm the only girl. I think I'm gonna drape my cubie with some pink lest I forget to act all ladylike.

And before I sign off - Hubby is in Atlanta and had to go to the doc this morning. I sure hope he starts feeling better and I HATE that he's not home.

Bye Thanksgiving, Hello Christmas

The Thanksgiving holiday is officially over. I'm back on the couch and contemplating exactly how much I'm gonna decorate for Christmas this year. Usually, I'm really excited about decorating but this year I just feel kind of blah about it - not Christmas! just decorating. I think I've kind of decided to just do the outside this year. Of course, decorating the outside consists of putting a wreath on the door, a mat at the door and a decoration on the mailbox. Who knows, I might get crazy and put my tree up...

Hubby left to go back to Atlanta this afternoon. Only 3 more weeks of this thank goodness. We went to church this morning and then to lunch with T, K, C, O and baby K. We had Chinese AND I followed the RULES and got chicken & brocolli with brown steamed rice. It was pretty good but let's face it, you can't get much better than sesame chicken (or basically anything fried.) I had baby K in the nursery today and I think she gets cuter every week.

J2 and I went running this afternoon. I ran a mile and a half straight today. I'm really excited about that but somehow I've got to get up to 3 miles by the time I do the Jingle Bell 5K Saturday morning. Although J2 is a pro now, this is my first run. I REALLY hope I can do it.

It's really rainy right now and they're saying possible snow drizzle. I wonder if it could drizzle enough where we don't have to go to work!

Love me some Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day has wound down for me. It has been a great two days. Mom and I got to Granddaddy's house around 9:15 yesterday morning and headed to Wal-Mart to get those last few items. (I know you probably won't believe it, but a few other people in Clanton had the same idea.) Then, Granddaddy treated Mom and me to lunch at - none other than Arby's.

Granddaddy LOVES Arby's and while we ate he recounted his many visits there. Now, Granddaddy is a man of few words so it was a treat to hear his memories of the first time he had Arby's (which he didn't like because he didn't know about the Arby's sauce.) Then he remembers the 2nd time when he used the sauce and it has been LOVE, LOVE, LOVE ever since.

We got back to his house around 12, got everything unloaded and I promptly got in the bed to take a nap. I laid down at 12:30 and woke up around 3:20. I KNOW! Apparently, I slept through all of Mom's dinner preparations and the smoke alarm going off 3 times. Just so you know, Mom didn't burn anything up. The smoke alarm just does that. (It started going off today and Granddaddy just sat there. I thought maybe he just didn't hear it so I went over and said something about it. His response - "It will stop in a little bit.")

It was nice getting caught up on all the family gossip. C & H are back together. C is my cousin. He and H broke up a few months ago but apparently the LOVE has brought them back together again. Teenage love....

I loved being with my family and I'm so thankful for them. I totally realize I'm a blessed, blessed girl.

YIPPEEE

OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! I just got an email from Big Mama !!! She is my blog hero and SHE EMAILED ME!!!! I can't believe it. Can you tell I'm excited??? I'm pasting it below because it's so special (and so you'll believe me.)


From:
"Big Mama"
To:
"sharpej@ny-yankees.net"
Subject:
Re: [Big Mama] Comment: "Doodle O'Malley"
Hey Jill- I just wanted to say thanks for the sweet comment and welcome! Love, Melanie

Did you see that? She said "thanks for the sweet comment" and she welcomed me ya'll! And she signed it "Love". See, I knew this day was going to turn out special since the Lord wanted me to get started on it so early!

This day better be good

Yes, it really is 4:30 AM. I've been up since about 2:15. I couldn't sleep so I decided to get my rumpus out of bed and do my Bible Study. I'm going to assume that this day is going to be so SUPER good that God wanted me to get it started at the CRACK of dawn! OK, even before the crack.

So... I've done my Bible Study, straightened the kitchen, done some laundry, read some of my book and am going to leave in about 20 minutes to meet J2 at the track to run. After work, mom and I are meeting a couple of girls at Sips N Strokes to paint a Santa picture. THEN! I have to meet Gym Trainer. Oh my stars, it will be a long day. BUT! I'm off work tomorrow and Mom and I are going to Granddaddy's to cook for Thanksgiving. OK, I'll be honest, she'll cook. I'll probably do a lot of tasting and talking.

Better run (literally!)

A whole different world from where I come from

Hubby and I are over at Jill Squared and M's house right now. The kids are hyped up on sugar and WILD! J-Squared is trying to bribe them with a movie to get them calmed down for bed. Little G just asked for another piece of cake for about the 10th time. Of course she said no (all the while M is in the other room giving a piece to Little H.) Oh, good times.

I had a training day at work which went well and then went to lunch with two friends from work. Just so you know, I had the chicken and rice at Cracker Barrel and it was to die for. Not really, I wouldn't really die for it. Maybe a butterfinger Blizzard but definately not chicken and rice.

Speaking of food (which I do often), Gym Trainer says you should have a cheat day each week and eat WHATEVER you want and as MUCH as you want. I think that's my favorite thing he's said so far. It does help to be good about what I eat all week knowing that on Saturday I'm going to blow it out of the water!

Hubby has asked me twice if I'm finished so I'll check out for now. Keep it real ya'll.

In for the night!

I'm settled in for the night!

Comfy jammies on - Check!
Contacts out, glasses on - Check!
TV on - Check!
On the couch - Check!

The weatherman just said it is going to be super cold tomorrow with a high of 47. I'm pretty sure that's grounds to stay home from work. Of course, I think you should be able to stay home from work if it's raining too. It should be a law that whenever it rains, you get to stay home and read. Totally just my opinion.

I figured it up today and it's only 34 days till Christmas!!!

Old Maids and Rock Stars

I would just like to say that I sure am glad I have Hubby and am not a part of the dating scene. I'm pretty sure I would die an Old Maid. I was just driving home from the gym and got choked on my water (no lie). I was coughing like a maniac and the guy in the car next to me did not look impressed. It's hard to look cool when you're gasping for breath.

OK, so I got to thinking about rock stars today. (I know, it's the Pink song. It's so catchy.) Don't get me wrong - I know I'm not rock star material. But, it reminded me of when Sister and I used to ride back to Montevallo on Sundays. I kid you not, I think we heard Elvis' Suspicious Minds and Shake the Sugar Tree by Pam Tillis every single time. (Sister, do you remember that??!!) We used to sing at the top of our lungs and we are 100% convinced that the backup singers for Elvis are the best EVER!

Just so you know, I did intervals (Gym Trainer calls it "conditioning") at the gym tonight and it's entirely possible that I won't be able to get out of the bed in the morning. It's amazing - I actually pay someone to make me feel this way....

Bunko Baby

Woo Hoo - 2nd prize baby! Let me just tell you, I love my Bunko group. This group started about 5 years ago and since then there has been a marriage, multiple babies born and TONS of fun. I love each and every one of these girls.

Missed Opportunity

Oh me, oh me..... Gym Trainer worked my legs tonight - nuff said.

I missed Abbie's Heritage Girl's Award night. Sister failed to let me know about it until 8:45 last night. If I had known, I could have rescheduled Gym Trainer. Get this, Abbie told Sister that "Aunt Jill will definately be there because she wants to be involved with everything I do."Seriously, she's 7! So very growny and oh the pain in my heart for not getting to be there!

I'm watching the Amazing Race right now- I would have watched it last night but I got hooked watching a recorded America's Next Top Model. I'm not sure if it's evident, but I'm really into reality TV.

Just a thought, if you could be on any reality TV show - what would it be??? It's a toss-up for me, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader - Making the Team OR America's Next Top Model. And then I wake up. I would laugh, but I'm afraid my legs will move.

Friends, Friends, Friends

I got home a little while ago from Hadley's 1st birthday party. Hadley is the daughter of my most favorite friend from college. Alicia moved to Kentucky several years ago when she got married and I have missed her terribly. You know you have a real friendship with someone when you can go months without talking or seeing each other and it only feels like a minute has passed when you see them again. This is my first time to post pics so I hope all goes well!!

I also want to give a big shout-out to K (Kerrie) & T (Tom) for inviting us over last night to play games. We were some party animals playing Phase 10 and UNO. K has been my best friend since 8th grade - 20 years of a wonderful friendship. And..... I love, love, love her 3 girls!

Right now it's cold and rainy outside and I am loving sitting on the couch next to Hubby. I can't tell you how glad I am that he's home. He spent some time out riding his dirt bike with friends while I was at the party. We're gonna have a little date nite tonight!!!

By the way, I saw 2 rainbows driving home from the birthday party - beautimous!

I Heart Hubby

Hubby comes home tomorrow!!! (I would stand up and do a little jig but I'm still a little sore.) I love Hubby with all my heart and can't tell you proud I am to be his wife of 10 years. He's the most wonderful man - funny, smart and SUPER good-looking! He's always doing sweet things for me like...

The lamp on my nightstand is pretty tall so I would have to get out of bed to turn it on or off. Very frustrating when I'm reading and my eyes are so heavy that all I want to do is put my book down, take my glasses off, roll over, snuggle up to my body pillow and enter dreamland. MY MAN ordered me Handy Switch and put it right on the side of my nightstand!!! It is fabulous. I totally recommend it.

The best thing about Hubby is that he totally "gets" me. He knows exactly who I am and loves me anyway. He deals with my moods, gives me space when I need it and somehow seems to know exactly when I need a prize. It doesn't get much better than that. I heart him.

Arrrrrrggg!

Seriously! How is it that I keep writing these long posts and then somehow deleting them! I feel like a total goob. You would think this is rocket science.

So anyway, basically I was just letting you know that I can barely move after Gym Trainer decided we would start "intervals" tonight. I am so stinkin sore. I can't imagine what I'm going to feel like in the morning. I'll save all my complaining till then.

Anyway, as part of my "real life" I need to get myself in the bed. Actually, I may have to sleep on couch. I'm not so sure I can hobble to the bed.

Happy Birthday James!

Today is my youngest nephew's birthday. He is 2 and according to my sister - full of the two's! Check out her blog over at http://itstartedwithlove.blogspot.com/ and see the cutest 2 year-old ever. My sister is pretty remarkable, but the greatest thing about her is that she has provided this world with 4 of the most precious, beatiful, brilliant (I promise I'm not biased) children in the entire world. I can't imagine life without them.

Tyler is 10 and has the warmest heart ever. Oh my heavens, he was a beautiful baby! I remember just wanting to hold him and watch him sleep. He's becoming a young man - hard to believe. Tyler was my first unconditional love.

Matt is 9 and without a doubt, you will never meet anyone like him. He has a love for animals (especially chickens) and is amazing with them. He's always trying to make a buck but he's a giver too.

Abbie is 7 and our only girl. She's all girl but don't get me wrong - she can hang tough with the boys too! I love everything about her. She's a great little 2nd mama to James.

And James.... the birthday boy. You can't help but look at James and fall in love. My heart just lights up when I see him and he hugs my neck.

Just so you know... Sister is in the process of adopting a baby girl! I'll keep you posted.

Everything is an ordeal

Oh for the love, I just wrote a whole post and somehow deleted it! I'm too lazy to do it again - so for my one reader (yes Sister, that's you) - sorry. More tomorrow.

Alone again...

I'm back on the couch. Hubby left a few minutes ago for another week in Atlanta. I miss him tons but am thankful that he has a job. I know that so many people are out of work right now.

I just got back from Academy where I bought some of those 180 degree ear thingies. I met Jill (I'm not crazy and I don't refer to myself in the 3rd person. Jill is my bestest friend.) at the track at 6:00 AM (yes, AM) to run. It was freezing and because I'm the dork that I am, I wore shorts. It felt like needles were hitting my legs over and over. My ears were the worst though. We're meeting again at 5:30 tomorrow morning and I will have on pants and my new ear thingies!

Before you get the wrong impression, I am not some kind of fitness freak. (Although I would really like to be.) I will be 35 next August and have decided that by the time I'm 35 I want to be in shape and run a 5K and 10K. I have never ran before in my life so I'm doing the Couch to 10K deal. I'm on week 2. Baby steps. I have also gotten a personal trainer. Tomorrow starts week 2. More on that later.

It has been a GREAT weekend! It was actually a long weekend for me. I decided to take a personal day Friday which turned out to be the beginning of some much needed fun and rest. Mom came over Friday morning and we went through my gift closet. I am a clearance nut! I buy things here and there all throughout the year, put them in the gift closet, promptly forget what all I've bought and then LOVE MYSELF because right now I have pretty much finished all my Christmas shopping! Jealous, huh?

Church was so good this morning. The sermon was powerful and really made me think about whether or not I have really died to self. One thing Bro. Bill mentioned was mentally praying each morning about that and committing it to the Lord. It was about using your time and talents for the Lord also. In light of that, I need to 1. Figure out what my talent is and 2. Start using it. Sunday School is one of my most favorite times of the whole week. I work in the nursery and keep babies from about 3 to 8 mos. We only had 2 today. Little Mr. C was ready for his bottle when I first got there. He is the cutest eater you've ever seen. He makes noises the whole time and it just makes you smile. He fell asleep and was out for the rest of the time. I know I could have laid him down but I just held him and he slept till his mama came.

Well, I'm about to start my Bible Study for the coming week. It's week 2 of Kay Arthur's Return to the Garden. Hmmm... lots of week 2's in this post. C-ya!

WOW - I can't believe I'm doing this!

I was just sitting here reading up on some of my favorite bloggers and I thought, "Why not?" I can be somewhat impulsive so hear I go... And even if no one ever reads my humble little blog, at least I'll have something to look back at one day and remember.

You know, I'll want to remember that I'm sitting on my couch on a Saturday afternoon at 3:45 watching recorded episodes of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. There are just some things you never want to forget.

Memories are good. I have lots of good ones and know that there are many more to come. Can't wait to share them with you!