I'm Back....And With A Pay It Forward!

Okay friends, I'm back after a few days of a break. It has been a really busy week with not much time at at home and when I was at home I was either worn slap out, or catching up on my TV shows! Priorities ya know!! Anyhoo, I am back and ready to rock your socks off with a big 'ol "Pay It Forward" surprise!!

A couple of weeks or so ago, Kelly at Chatty Kelly did a fun little Pay It Forward on her blog, and I was one of the lucky duckie's to get picked!! That folks, is a big WOO TO THE HOO!! She sent me this...

Oh boy, does the soap smell yummy (look closely at the soap she put my blog name in it!!) and I am always in need of cards to send note to folks, so thank you bunches Kelly!! Trust me I get so excited to get things, and especially something in the mail!! I'm crazy that way!

So ya wanna play?? Here are the rules to the "pay It Forward":

• The first 3 bloggers to leave a comment saying "I want to play & pay!" will receive a hand-made gift from me.


• Those 3 bloggers promise to post this challenge on their blog (meaning they too will ‘Pay-It-Forward’, creating a handmade gift for the first 3 bloggers that leave a comment on their blog!!)

That's all folks! So what am I going to make homemade for y'all? Good question, but I am sure going to make it special! So go ahead and leave a comment if you want to play and pay! Even if you don"t want to participate, you can still leave a comment and tell me how wonderful Higgins is and how mantasically handsome you think he looks in his new shirt!! JUST TEASING!! HE HE!

Bradley's Driving!!

If you live in Tennessee BEWARE!!

WARNING, WARNING
Bradley is driving!!

Yep, my Bradley got his Restrictive license! He is so proud. Of course I never could get a good picture of him holding his new found freedom, well he thinks it's freedom, but he still has to have us around to drive, but who am I to burst his bubble! Anyhoo, here is a couple of pictures of him working on his truck. He wrecked it a few weeks ago, so he has been replacing the whole front end along with a few other things. I will post a few more picture in couple of days of the finished product. All he has left is to order the grill and it's brand new again, except for the paint job!!

Of course what kind of mom would I be if I did not show you a picture of Higgins!! He is so sweet smiling up at his mama!! He loves the camera, but wouldn't we all if we were so mantastically handsome as he was!!!

Happy Birthday Joey!!

Happy Birthday our Sweet Baby Boy!!

My youngest is turning 11 today, double pennies, the big ONE ONE!! Woo to the Hoo! Today our plans include:

• Me working (half day)
• DJ & Bradley going to school (full day)
• Jeremy & Joey shopping (debit card is already smokin' today)
• Steak for supper
• Yummy Cake

We are maybe going bowling, but Joey has been sick all weekend and his best 'cuz Victoria is sick too, and I am not feeling so hot either, so that may have to wait until later in the week, so we will see!

Happy Birthday Joey!!

Have To Do The Meme!

It's going around y'all! The 5 Things Meme! Of course I can not be left out, so here we go!!!

5 Things

5 Things I found in my bag:

1. Camera
2. Cell Phone
3. Gum
4. Make Up
5. Wallet

This could go on for days, glad we stopped at five!!

5 Things I found in my Wallet:

1. Receipts
2. Debt Card
3. Moth's (dang things ate my money!!)
4. Insurance Cards
5. Receipts

5 Things I found in my room:

1. Clothes
2. Lamps
3. Flowers
4. Higgin's Treats
5. Alarm Clock

5 Things I want to do:

1. Lose Weight
2. Go On A Vacation
3. Write a Book, or at least finish writing one!
4. Decorate My House with all new things
5. Be debt free!!

5 Things I am currently into:

1. Blogging (like everyone else!)
2. Reading
3. Cats
4. Exploring Mission Field Ideas
5. Of course HIGGIN'S!!!!!

Okay, that was fun, now I don't feel left out anymore!!!

You Are Entering Into The Twilight Zone

I almost pulled out the soap box for this one, but really it more like a 'The Twilight Zone" kinda of thing!

This week has been an extremely busy week, and I am running from here to there and back yonder. I am really tired y'all! Yesterday was no exception and Hubby had a procedure in Nashville, for his back....not an MRI, but something that I just lost the word for, involves dye and needles and pictures.....still I can't get the name to come up. Anyways, that's not important!

On the way to Nashville we talked about plane crashes and death, and as y'all know I am terrified of flying and yet again, I will drag my big butt on a plane this summer to fly for our mission trip! My main topic of conversation yesterday was of the recent plane crashes and how I dreaded getting back on one and the great possibility of dying while on it! Hubby talked about how we could die driving down the road, right now on the interstate. We could die sitting in our house, or be gunned down in a restaurant. Trust me it was a morbid conversation, and really did not diminish my fear of flying in the least!

After his procedure, we were heading home. Quite a trek from Nashville to our home in Woodbury and after we got past the heart of Nashville rush hour, the roads were really light considering. We decided that once we hit Murfreesboro that we would stop at IHOP for some supper, because we did not eat lunch and we were S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G!!

(I'm Getting to the point here really!)

We pulled off the interstate on a really busy road, Old Fort Parkway, and there was no traffic. This road is usually a parking lot. I told Hubby, wow, this is like The Twilight Zone, there is no traffic! We went a little more, and no cars. Strange, and again I keep talking about us entering into the twilight zone! We past Target, and there were only a handful of cars in the parking lot, and again, I am making the do do do do do sound, we are in the twilight zone! Glory be, we turn into the parking lot of the IHOP and there are only a very few cars and again, I am going insane.

Walked into the restaurant and we are in there only with two other groups, a mom and a young son, and another mom with two kids. I am just loving this.......trust me! So of course, I continue on about he twilight zone and Hubby is about to murder me, because he is, I am sure tired of hearing about it!

We order of food, and quickly are served our food, and we bless it and dig in!

Here is where I know we were in "THE TWILIGHT ZONE!!" A couple enters in with a baby, maybe this baby girl is a year and half old. They sit and they look strange in my opinion, but hey, I am looking at things in a whole new light right now! Another couple comes in and walks to this couple, they sit down, and then the fight erupts! They are screaming and cussing and the lady with the baby yells for some to call 911, and I am replaying the conversation that Hubby and I had on the way to Nashville, ya know the one where is says, and I quote, "We could get gunned down in a restaurant"!!!!!! Yep, I counting the minutes of my life now!

Granted, the Twilight Zone works like this.......everything is going so well, that it can't be real, and them BAM! You are in The Twilight Zone!!!

Of course my first thought was to get Joey to duck, and then as it got more heated I told him to lay down in the booth, and I was getting ready to get him to hit the floor before the bullets started flying, but thankfully the group ran outside and as quick as light, three cop cars come in and they take over! Hallelujah!

This group was fighting over that poor little baby, and the guy that walked in after the first couple was there wanting that baby girl and the mom did not want to give her to him because he was just let out of jail and on drugs and in my mind, I just knew that they had guns and life as we knew it was getting ready to end!! Just plain sad!

Now granted this is the same IHOP that we went to not that long ago after church and two moms got into a fist fight over a little league game with their kids there to watch it! There is something about us and IHOP's, I really think we should steer clear!!

Okay, guys, we can now leave THE TWILIGHT ZONE, DO DO DO DO DO DO!!

Last Week in Pictures

I thought I would share with y'all a few pictures that I took last week. Of course I have to start with my wonderful Higgin's. The other night while we made our disastrous cupcake lollipops, I snapped a these pictures of Higgins. I think he thought we were crazy for cooking in the dark. Isn't he S-E-X-Y in his Handsom Little Devil shirt, which of course he is!

Now turn your head sideways so you can see my precious Abbey Baby! Here is a picture of her laughing because Higgins was getting a bath!

We had a girl night out last week with a bunch of ladies from church, so we took the opportunity to celebrate a Valentine's Birthday, I love the look on her face!

Of course there were several bloggers there, and I thought it was funny everyone snapping pictures that would be posted on their blog, so if you Google Cindy's Birthday or Limestone Mexican Grille, you will see several thousand of these types of pictures!

Here is another picture from our devastating cooking experience, where Abbey is begging to eat one.

My Hubby works 2nd shift which is usually 3pm to 11pm, and he called the other night to tell me he was working late, so Higgins and I went ahead and went to bed, instead of waiting up. When Hubby came home this is what he found.

Disclaimer:

If man-ly parts and things scare you,

you may want to look away!

My dearest Higgies was sacked out! Hubby took these pictures of him and he never woke up. I didn't wake up either! Too finny!

Happy Valentine's Day

Ahhhhh, it's February 14th and that time of year comes around again when people are scrambling to buy chocolate and goodies for their loved ones. There are men standing in lines to buy flowers and cards to give to their significant other. Restaurants are preparing for huge crowds of folks that wait in line for hours so they can have a romantic meal. The prices of above said items can be so outragously priced that it can make your wallet smoke!

Not me! Nope I am not a Valentine's Day kinda of girl! Wow, is my Hubby one lucky guy!!

Don't get me wrong I love all the cute hearts and the beautiful bouquet of flowers and I especially love to get a mushy card with ooey gooey, luvie duvie, sweet things written in it. I most certainly love a romantic meal out on the town or at home and it is just the two of us. Just not on the day that everyone else is getting it too!

I want to be special and not just loved on February 14th but loved each day of the year. I want my flowers and all that romantic stuff to come to me on a day that no one eles is getting the same thing. I want to be special on a day all by myself!!

I hold no ill will to those that love Valentine's day and can't wait for their loved one to get home with the flowers and such. Trust me I am sure my Hubby will do something romantic and maybe a card or flowers or even maybe chocolate and I will love what ever he does. He know if he does or does not come home with something he is fine either way. Really I am not much a Grinch, I do have a heart!

So enjoy Valentine's Day and whatever come with it.

I Am INSANE!

I am laughing at myself, because I am so stinking not the perfectionist and trying to make something that's so pretty and cute & trying to make anything that has those two words in it should be my first and only clue NOT TO MAKE IT!!

I thought since I had so many comments on these......

That I would make them and document the whole process for you so you could make them! Well, what a disaster! I come home all excited from the trip to the grocery store, and for those that know me....I hate shopping! That aside, the WOW-mart experience only caused a mild headache instead of the usual migraine that I often experience when I darken their doorstep. I loath that place!

I walk in, drop the bags, all excited to get started on making my culinary masterpiece and the lights were out! We had terrible storms roll through yesterday, so no lights. Not deterred, I went ahead and got out all the ingredients and was ready for the lights to come back on. They did, and so I start.

Cake is in the oven, great, I am mildly excited about the minutes ticking away, when the cake would be done and I could start. The timer goes off, and I get the cake out, a little giddy, well because I am insane!

Our lights go back out! UGH! I am a little irritated, well because, that is just irritating. No bother, the cake needs to cool, and I do not need to rush the process anymore than I am trying to rush it, so I wait, and wait and wait and wait. 30 minutes turn into an hour, an hour turns into two. I am really grumpy!

Plan two, Candlelight! I have the kids round up candles through-out the house, and I break out a bag of tea light candles and off to lighting them we go. It does not produce the amount of light I want, but it's enough to get the cake balls rolled. So that I did and into the freezer they go to cool.

Lights are still not on, and now I am getting really mad, because in 45 minutes American Idol comes on and after that LOST, so I am getting a little panic stricken by this point.

6:27 pm the lights come back on, and I yell, THEY'RE ALIVE and again, I get all excited because, partly I am still insane, and here is where the real creative part kicks in. I start melting the chocolate and putting the lollipop sticks in to the cake balls and all is well.

It's time to dip the balls into the chocolate, and this is a little difficult, but I am managing. It is also really messy, which at this time the picture taking comes to an end, because I have chocolate all over the place! I get all the balls dipped and put through the holes of the drying rack, all I have to do is lift them off and apply the pink icing, sprinkles and M&M's when they are dried. Easy enough.......NOT!

I have my white chocolate all melted and tinted the prettiest color pink and I am ready to get busy!! I go to pull off the first lollipop and I crush it. Note to self, do not grab the top part!

The second one I take the stick to push it through the top of the drying rack and the stick goes through it. Okay, so do not panic, I tell myself as I am yelling for Hubby to come help me. We finally get one up without destroying it and I go to dip it into the pretty melted pink icing and it melts the chocolate and the chocolate proceeds to mix with the pretty pink icing making an ugly mess! Okay, this is not going as planned.

At this point I will spare you, I am so aggravated and not pleased with myself. Did I mention that I was also making these for a friend that we are surprising tonight for her birthday?

Hubby, suggested that I take the stick out and make them into BON BON's, but you should of seen them. They looked like they had been through a war and back! I am not a happy camper!

So of course there are no pictures to document this fiasco at the end, and the ones before are pointless to show now, so you will have to take my word for it.

The upside of this learning experience......I will never try to be creative again in the kitchen/cooking arena and the kids& Hubby are loving all the lollipops cupcakes rejects, which were about 45 of them. They will be running laps around the house with all their sugar shock, oh my!

Oh Yummy Day!

Look what I made for Hubby this morning, well of course I made one for me too! Yep, I made peppermint Mocha Latte's for us.......awwwwww, I am so sweet!! Trust me they were scrumptious too!

Now, let me explain why my diet is failing big time! April, our Children Director keeps bringing in these little yummy treats for us. Last week she made Oreo Truffles and today she brings in these....

Have you ever seen anything so cute in your life? They are Cupcake Lollipops! Just for the record, they are absolutely wonderful! Ughh, my dream of ever being skinny are miserably gone!

Oh well, as long as there are peppermint mocha's and sweet yummy treats, life is good!

Weekend Randon Happenings

Sorry y'all it's been a while since I blogged last, but you all know how it gets sometimes....to busy!

It has been absolute beautiful weather this weekend in Tennessee, YAY, and I do not want it to end, but I am sure it will!

Yesterday morning we hung out at home and talked about a three year plan and what that entails for our family and where we wanted to be in three years. I think we have a good handle on what we want, so this week we are getting an estimate on expanding our house, just a little. Of course after we add on a room, we will have to install new flooring to match, so that is extra, and of course there is always new furniture involved in any new room addition and not just for the room in question, but for the adjoining rooms too!

After we dreamed for a little bit and made a phone call to get the ball rolling for the carpenter to come and look, hubby was off to work, and me and the boys headed out for a cookout! Yummy burgers and all the fixin's at our family's house, and of course a few games of YaYa and also we played around with trying to put a puzzle together! Did not get to far with the puzzle, but had fun messing with it anyways!

So today, enjoying our last day of beautiful weather, I am inside, of course blogging, washing clothes, cleaning the kitchen and getting ready to gear up for another busy week. At least it's pretty outside (while I am stuck inside) and the windows are opened, even thought the wind is a bit chilly, it's still beautiful!!

Well as I was typing my boring weekend review, Higgin's just pranced in, covered in horse poo AGAIN, so there is another chore added to my list...UGGHH!! That spoiled dog better be glad I Luvie Duvie him so much or he would be pound bound!! Nah, I am too big of a softie for that!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

I Rebuke Thee Devil!

Yep, you guessed it, this is a soapbox moment! Wow, what a time we are having, so are you ready for me to rant? Surely not, you are just being extremely nice and are going to read this because, well, it is better me than you right?

Oh well, the joke is, the devil is not to happy with things that are going on with our household, so what happens when you are doing God's will? The devil does not like it and wants it to STOP! Here are a few things that he has been throwing our way:

• Crash (Hubby) wrecks his truck
• Medical insurance dragging their heels with sending us $900
• My son wrecks his truck
• Microwaves breaks
• Refrigerator stops cooling
• Washer machine decides to not turn off the water (flood)
• Water pipes are frozen
• Higgins decided it's fun to roll in horse poo when pipes are frozen

I think you get the just! This morning riding to work, I decided that I would have a little conversation with the devil! Yep, went something like this...

Devil, you win, you made life tough lately, but guess what, you really have not won at all!! Nice try with the Hubby's truck, but it's up and running again!

The microwave is a little aggravating, but we still have the old fashion way of heating things up and making tea, it's called the STOVE. A little time consuming, but hey, we have the time!

The refrigerator not cooling, but hey, the weather is cold enough, so my milk is still cold, OUTSIDE! Ha!

I give you the washer, well, because the water pipes are frozen!

You think your funny tempting Higgins with horse poo! Jokes on you, we have thousands of baby wipes, so you lost here too!

Oh, by the way, you know that Dominican Mission trip you do not want to see me going on, Ha jokes on you, not only am I going so is Hubby!! Ha!

Devil, GO AWAY!

Weekend Fun

Sorry, but as of right now I have no photos or video's but should have some tomorrow, so until then I will tell you what I did and then torture you later with a video! Lucky you!

This weekend our ladies went on a Ladies re'Treat" to Henry Horton State Park, here in Tennessee and the retreat was called, "The Role of a Lifetime" and we were asked the question of "Is you life worthy of a heavenly Oscar?" Of course the retreat was centered around a Hollywood theme.

Well, at first I was not going to go, and had every "good" excuse to back up my reason, from it being Bradley's birthday to I'm so tired and need to rest! But of course these women took no for an answer. So how do you punish the ministry assistant that pussy-footed around until the last minute? You put her in charge of coming up with two games and make her sing and dance!

The game part not that hard, but singing and dancing??? You have got to be kidding me. First, I have big enough shoulders to admit, that when I sing, coyotes in a two mile radius, drop dead...seriously! Secondly, I am like a slug, I hardly move, and they want me to dance??

(Note to self, practice saying these words, "NO" & "LET ME PRAY ABOUT IT")

Anyhoo, I did it, and it was so much fun! Not only did I sing, I danced and I was filmed doing it!! So as soon as I get the video, I will show you, just because if I had to do it, well I want more than the 75 women there to suffer and watch it!!

So what did I sing and dance to?? Have you seen the movie Mamma Mia? Me either, but we sang "Dancing Queen", by the Abba Sisters! Totally a riot and it was fun too!

So what happens to the girl that does not sing or dance? Well Sunday Afternoon, I had to take a 3 hour nap to recover from my debut (and screaming fans) and then I went to bed around 8:30 that night! It totally worn me out!! Hopefully all that singing and dancing helped me with my failing diet, I doubt it though!

So until tomorrow, rest up, because I will have video's!!

Sneak Peek

Dancing Queens

Just a quick picture of what I did this weekend...more to follow later!