Shoe Shopping

So I had to take Calvin to Kohl's today to get him some new shoes. Seriously, this guy has GOT to stop growing. He wears a bigger shoe than his dad and he's just 13...where did this Gigantor come from???

He also needed some new clothes. So while he was in trying on all his clothes, Dave and I amused ourselves by trying on shoes. (Okay, really I amused myself by trying on shoes, Dave amused himself by playing real-life mario kart with the shopping buggy, lovely.)

These were the first ones I tried. I just loved them. I asked Dave. He said they weren't my style. I told him I wanted to change my style. He said that was just too bad. I told him I wanted to start being a hoochy-mama. He said, 'wha?'. Nevermind.



What do you think? Jay will love them. My feet didn't quite like them, and I just walked 10 feet. Then when I fell over and slammed into a display I thought perhaps I should set my sights on something a little more practical.



Well, let's not go crazy! These totally remind me of something my sister would wear. (And don't try to deny it, Marcie, you know it's totally true!)

These are cute. And they are totally comfortable. I wish they had them in the brown or black in my size, but all they had was this obnoxious color, that Dave kept saying no to. Whatever!



I used to wear these types of shoes all the time in high school. Dave loved these. But I was afraid I'd give Jay flashbacks, and not in a good way. But aren't they cute? They feed my inner child that wishes my parents didn't abuse me by making me quit ballet lessons. I could've gone far.



I found some totally cute bright color beaded t-strap sandals that looked really cool with my hippie jean capris I was sportin' today, but I couldn't get my big size 8 horse toes into them, and Dave quickly grabbed them and put them back. It was really sad, kind of like Cinderella's step-sisters trying on the glass slipper, not a pretty sight. Oh well.

OH, check out these! These were totally comfy and reminded me of the shoes I used to wear when I taught pre-school and wore denim jumpers. Talk about torturing Jay with flashbacks. I'll never forget the day he begged me to PLEASE get rid of all those horrible dresses. The man has no style.



These, these are gorgeous. I loved these. Very comfy. Very cute. Passed the Dave test. (very important) They might find themselves in my closet very soon.



And then.... hello friend.... like butter between my toes. Ah!!! And they were on sale!



Let me just say, I didn't buy any shoes for myself today, but please don't ask me tomorrow, as Sweetie is leaving town for a week and you know there is nothing that comforts like a new pair of shoes.

Can I get an Amen?

Warning

Just a bit of information I've learned recently. If you find one of your ear plugs laying on the floor, and the dog has been in the house, you may not want to re-use that plug. Believe me, I know.

Stacey over at all stace all the time gave me this award, she's so nice. I met her right after moving here, she worked at our little hometown homeschool store where the boys were signed up to take some classes even before we got into town. I liked her right off the bat, she's hilarious and down to earth real. We haven't been in classes this year, so I've missed seeing her, except for the occasional run in at Target. Thanks Stacey, you're the best!

Rules:
1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Oh my gosh, I just read the rules. Seriously 15? I mean, I have 15 that I love. I have a lot more than 15, but do you realize what it takes to make all those linky things. Geeze! Okay, I'll stop whining and get to it.

These are not neccessarily new to me but they are great, and they aren't in any kind of order so don't be thinking that I'm playing any kind of favorites...

1. Jennifer over at All Things Henderson, she's the cousin of a new friend at church, she cracks me up and apparently I'm her new BBF.

2. Sylvia of Sylvia Basham, I met her through football. She's the one that ratted me out on facebook with the police report. But she's great.

3. Amy at The Johnson Family, she's actually my cousin. She has always had the most amazingly funny stories, they are short and so pickin' sweet and funny. Go forth and pee your pants.

4. This is Big Mama , she's wildly popular and you probably already know about her, but just in case you don't OH MY GOODNESS, she's' the type that I totally wish I could live by her and go to her house and have coffee with her. She's hilarious.

(are you getting the common thread here? i read blogs that make me laugh, it's my replacement since the guys don't like me watching daytime tv)

5. Crayola Lady, her husband used to be the music guy at our church in CA. They are funny people. I love being able to keep in touch with her. But I love her blog because she is honest and is sharing at times the difficulties that this life has thrown at her, she is such an encouragement & blessing to me.

6. This lady over at Homespun Living, I just found her blog about a month ago, but I just love it. She's all crafty and I'm not. I love to sit down with a cup of coffee and scroll through all her pictures, just so cute.

7. Kelly at Kelly's Korner, this is a new blog for me too. I found her on the day that she had gone into labor, I read her whole blog and then prayed for her sweet little baby. She's too much fun with all her bows and monograms and big southern smile. I absolutely love the home tours that she does every Friday. She's another one that I want to sit down with and have some diet coke, um I mean Crystal Light.

8. Lisa at It's the Little Things,I've shared about her blog before. She's great with a photograph and makes the cutest jewelry. I got my mama a necklace one year that says "mimi" on it. And Sweetie and the boys have gotten me a couple...one especially that says "happily ever after" on a heart that he got me for our anniversary...isn't he sweet? Anyway, I love her simplistic way for inspiring and encouraging us.

9. Lori at Livin' in a Fishbowl, she's going through adoption hell right now, but for the time being has a very precious little baby boy to be the little brother in their sweet family. She was at our wedding. She was in the youth when Jay and I used to help out. She was Calvin's first babysitter. She married our Pastor's son in CA. She's a great writer, a funny pastor's wife, a bit of a drama queen, throws up a lot, is strong & faithful under pressure, and is teaching us a lot through this rough patch.

10. Heidi at nothingbutbluesky, she JUST had her second baby this week. She's been through the ringer this pregnancy with a really bad accident, but we are praising God for her safety, health and the health and strength of little Samuel. Her husband has been a friend of ours for years and he works for our little company in CA.

11. Sarah at In the Midst of It, this is where it all started. I used to read Lisa Whelchel's site all the time for encouragement with homeschoolin' and when she quit she sent us all over to Sarah's one day. I've been hooked ever since. I'm lovin' that they now live on a ranch/farm type place and all their shenanigans...too fun! :o) And her little daughter is so yummy.

12. Ree over at The Pioneer Woman, we all know her, she's absolutely famous. But let me just say that her love for her husband and her ability to get distracted by his forearms...I understand, I completely understand...have I ever showed you Sweetie's forearms, remind me to...you'll swoon.

13. The Pleated Poppy blog, another crafty one, funky and fun. Her stuff inspires me so much. I wanna be just like her when I grow up. I just found her blog and haven't even read all her stuff yet, but check out her little shop, her stuff is too cute.

14. This is a guy's blog, but I knew him when he was a goober of a jr. higher, so it's okay. And he's like 20 years my junior, so whatever. But he's the brother of Lori Fishbowl and his writing is awesome too. And I really don't think his blog is 'lovely', I'd call it 'cool'. And no, I don't really think he's going to post this 'lovely' blog award on his blog.

15. Tracy, the coupon lady. She was great. She'd help us all find some awesome deals in our area. She had just shown me how to do her little coupon game, how to use her website, and then she went and got all spiritual on me and stopped. But she's great and funny and I'm thankful that I get to call her friend.

Whew, that took a long time, but it was really worth it and fun. Thanks guys!

I'm Just Here To Help You Feel Better About Yourself

It's confession time. Your welcome.

Tuesday, May 12th, I'm driving Jay's truck down Capitol Blvd and a cop nabs me and pulls me over. Yes sir? No sir. I'm so sorry sir. My that's a nice hat you're wearing. No sir. I'm so sorry sir. Thank you for my lovely pink ticket. You have a nice day too.

...

Monday, May 18th, I'm driving Jay's truck (anyone see the problem here?) down the street by the college and a cop nabs again and pulls me over. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!! No mam. I'm sorry mam. Yes mam. I'm so sorry I'm crying. Thank you for another lovely pink ticket. Oh lookie there, my court dates are on the same day, that's convenient. No, mam. Thank you very much. You have a nice day too.

I drive the rest of the way home a blubbering mess. I am completely mortified, feeling like a total loser. How can I face Jay? What do I tell him? How can I blame this on his truck? What kind of example am I setting for the boys?

Jay doesn't believe me and then gets real quiet and then tells me that I should slow down (thanks Einstein) and then tells me there is no sense cryin' over spilt milk (that's when I start crying harder). Calvin is very sympathetic. Dave gives me a good laugh and then is looking around not quite sure what to do.

It takes me two whole days until I finally can laugh about it and look anyone in the eye.

I have my hair done by my friend Kathleen three days later and she's apologizing that she didn't warn me about the cops in our town. I'm thinking I can blame this whole thing on her now. She calls me later to tell me that her husband said I could do my community service hours at his Boys & Girls Club. Thanks Jason, you're the best!

I'm totally fearful they are going to take my license away. When we moved here to NC I remember some sort of traffic ticket rule on the driver's test that said something about three tickets in three years and license being taken away. I mean really, I'm not THAT kind of person, so I didn't need to remember THAT rule.

We now honk and wave at all the nice cops in town, hoping they won't see the bumper sticker on my car that says 'pull this one over, she's probably done something illegal lately'.

I leave days later for my trip to CA feeling better and able to laugh about it.

...

You'd think the story ended there, but it doesn't, it just gets better.

A week later I get a comment on my facebook page from a friend that says she saw my name in the local paper...twice...that my parents would be so proud and would i like her to cut it out and save it for me? I'm all flattered, thinking I'm famous, they probably caught me at the National Day of Prayer ceremony in town, how fun. I ask her what I'm in there for. She replies back... ' um, police report. '

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!

Then follows several comments back and forth of her telling me the details. Not only is all of facebook world now privy to this lovely information but apparently my local sweet small town newspaper thinks its a great idea and wouldn't people enjoy some slow news day reading with a posting of all the speeders and their tickets. Yep, my full name, my address, what I did is listed in my paper. Thanks Sylvia for pointing this out to me, I was needing to be humbled, yet again.

I was wondering why people were looking at me with smirks on their faces at church on Sunday. Lovely.

I posted this for anyone who wrongly thinks I may have it all together, or even thinks my life is a bowl of cherries.

Hope you enjoyed! :o)

oh and this is just a little added bonus...since Calvin was gone this past week at camp I had to take up the role as the 'cat-sitter-uponer'....this is him...massaging my fluff till he could get it just right so he could lay down upon it. It took him FOREVER!



Have a great weekend!

7 Glorious Days in California

They were glorious all except the fact that I was 3000 miles from my three favorite guys, that being said, here's the fun that I had...

The reason for my trip was for my OLDER sister's 40th birthday. It doesn't happen till later this month, but this was the week she had off work, we opted to plan my trip for some time when I could actually hang with her for the most time. For this reason I spent the first three days nights at her house. It was too much fun.

SATURDAY: She and Lancie picked me up and took me straight away to rolled taco & guacamole heaven, El Indio. I made them be quiet while I savored every morsel.

They were great hosts, I had a lot of fun staying with them and then my parents would come down during the days. I loved raiding their pantry for scrumptious morsels, having coffee in the morning while watching TV, my brother in law's hilarious sense of humor, stealing jewelry from my niece, Mallory, picking on her driving and finding out she drives just like me, just hanging out and relaxing.

The highlight of staying with them is their fuzzy little dog. He is the ultimate in dog perfection.

They spoiled me with making sure I didn't spend any money & by feeding me all my favorite foods. Thanks guys.

SUNDAY: Visiting their sweet new church, check them out if you're ever in the area.

MONDAY: Shopping on Memorial Day. Taking a family day drive up and all around San Diego. Seeing all the flags at Rosecrans and visiting the burial site of Lance's Dad. Dinner at China Camp, too yummy.

TUESDAY: Walking the model homes with Auntie Joyce and having Rubio's for lunch.

Visiting with my Grandmother, made her cry when I left and felt so bad that I'm so far away and don't take the time to call her more often.

Dinner and talking for hours with my Mom-in-Law.

WEDNESDAY: Walking with Sara and Gia, dang girls, 4 miles, it was the best. Coffee and painting toenails while watching the today show at Sara's. Seeing her kids and them not being completely mad at me for not bringing the boys. Hugging her mom's neck. A scrumptious late lunch at Bucca De Beppo, so yummers. Shopping, getting lost in Old Navy, iced coffee at just the right time, Clinique bonus days at Nordstrom, and lots of catching up.

Sleeping in my old room, at the best bed & breakfast in the world, my mama & daddy's, if you're ever in the area...well, you're on your own, that's my room. Having my mama's cookin' again. Double yummers.

THURSDAY: Redecorating my niece's room while she was at school. Dinner and a movie all snuggled in the family room with my parents.

FRIDAY: Last meal together at Studio Diner, it's become a tradition, we go there before they drop me off at the airport. It's the only time I remembered to dig my camera out. Sorry, I realize it makes this post a little boring.



I had such a relaxing and fun time, I don't remember when I've laughed so much. It was so good to get home. It's always bittersweet, I'm excited to get home, but don't want to leave those that I love so far away.

I'm Back & I'm Thankful

Tomorrow will be the post listing all the highlights of my trip to CA. Today is just the highlights of my life this past month. :o)

1. Coffee out on the deck this morning with my Sweetie, he's so yummy. We feel like we're cheating that we get to live with such beauty surrounding us. Then Dave came out with his bowl of cheerios and ruined our romantic moment.

2. My health. Two days after getting home from CA I came down with the flu. Lovely. I'm feeling so much better today, I'm so thankful.

3. Sitting with my Sweetie at Dave's baseball game last night. Watching my little pip-squeak play against boys that surely needed to shave and were planning for college. They were no match for Dave's swiftness, they can't catch the Dave.

4. Waking up to find Sweetie still in bed, he didn't wake up early to go work in the office, I love it when that happens.

5. We're taking cookies to Calvin today. He's at camp this week. I'm hoping we get to actually see him. I miss him so much.

6. When I told Dave that I was going to have HIM make the cookies for Calvin today, while I clean house, he got all excited and said, 'Good, then I can put some cockroaches in them.' I was appalled. His dad was cracking up. Ah, life with boys.

7. So on Jay's last trip to CA he took Dave with him and they were gone for Mother's Day, not nice. In two weeks Jay and Calvin will be leaving for Guatemala for a missions trip, they'll be gone for our anniversary. Oh, but don't worry they'll be home in time for Father's Day. Yeah, whatever Buddy. I can't wait to see where he's going for my birthday.

(i just forgot this is suppose to be a thankful list, i'm thankful that my husband is even someone that feels remotely guilty about being gone on such monumental occasions)

8. Being gone for 7 days, leaving Sweetie and the two boys home by themselves, then having the flu for three days when I got home, you can imagine the state of my house. I'm actually excited about cleaning house today. No really, I am. Seriously. I'm not joking. Where is that number for merry maids?

9. I lost five pounds this week. I'm thankful for my flu.

10. I walked out my front door this morning and found that I have grass growing on my welcome mat. It cracks me up every time I think about it, I think I'll leave it like that.

Thanks for letting me take a much needed break. And thanks for not complaining..oh, except for the lovely email I got from Sara telling me that I suck. That wasn't very nice.

Spring Break

I'm going to be taking a break for the rest of this month. We've got a busy month ahead, Jay and Dave being in CA for 7 days, Calvin and I purging the house and having a garage sale, I'll be out of town for 7 days, and trying to get as much schooling done as possible.

I'm feeling the need to spend time on more important things, and hopefully getting myself away from the computer will work.

Blessings to you all and I'll see you in June, hopefully.