The Kindness of Strangers....

Oh - what a weekend! You absolutely never know what life is going to throw at you, sometimes you get all shook up, spun around & still manage to come out at the end intact. Granted, you may have shot nerves, muddy boots & tear stained cheeks...but you're still intact. I'll get to that later though...

I do love the weekends, so very much. I love knowing that I have almost two days of time stretching out before me that are completely mine to do what I want. I like knowing that if that means I sit on the couch drinking multiple cups of coffee & watching old episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" until eleven in the morning it is completely okay & no one will complain. That is bliss.

Doing his best "give me some coffee now" face...it didn't work.

Coconut Mocha coffee - I think I have a new favorite!

Found 2 more crosses I didn't remember I had, loving how this looks!

I still cannot figure out for the life of me why this silly blog skips such a huge amount of space when I post pictures - maybe the blog is trying to insert a sense of anticipation, making you scroll to see what comes next? I don't know...but it pesters the fire out of me. Oh well, life goes on.

I was completely lazy on Saturday, I promise. I've tried to be completely lazy & it never really works out so well. I always end up washing clothes, cleaning off counters...something. I can't stand to just really be a completely bummy. What a burden! It rained all day on Saturday & that just made things so dreary. At one point in the day I was contemplating a nap but couldn't fall asleep. I came to the realization that I just wanted to lay there & not do anything but look out the window & watch it rain. So I did. After all that, I set about completely destroying my bathroom while I got ready to go out. Why I curled my hair when it was raining I can't tell you...but I did. I met David in town, we went to get supper & go see "This is 40". Supper was a big hit; the movie not as much. I liked it, thought most of it was funny but David...he hated it. Oh well, can't win em all, right?

So curly....

Yep - I've become one of those people. I take pictures of my outfits. 

So good. And it was from the lighter selections part of the menu! 

It is so hard to get a good picture in a car. This took about 10 minutes & me continually complaining that "you can't even tell my hair is curled." I'm kind of dramatic. I'm also still not 100% in love with this picture. *sigh*

So, once David & I parted ways in North Hills...my night got very interesting. Not really the kind of interesting that you want. It had been raining all day & the roads were wet, which is never really ideal. A slick road causes you to fishtail, which causes you to feel the need to over-correct...and all of this leads to your car going off the road, spinning through a field & only skidding to a stop once it had dug into the mud level with the opening of the door. Not fun. I discovered quickly just how blessed I am for numerous reasons; had I gone off the road just a couple inches later than I did I probably would have went into a ditch, which very well likely would have flipped my car. That didn't happen - praise the Lord. A wonderful woman stopped to check on me, had a son that was able to bring his truck with a wench & pull my car out of the mud. I could have been alone at 10:30 at night while I waited for help. That didn't happen - praise the Lord. There could have easily been a car in the other lane as I slid across the road; I certainly saw enough pass while I was waiting for my car to be pulled out of the mud. That didn't happen - praise the Lord. I got lucky last night, but I don't think it was really luck. It was the power of prayer; the power of having people that pray for me daily & the Lord hearing & answering those prayers. I was home & in my bed before midnight. Shaken up & little sore? Yes. Seriously hurt? No. 

The kindness of strangers renews my faith in humanity a little bit. I think we all need moments like that from time to time, even if they come about from doing a little unintentional mud riding on a Saturday night. Besides the kindness of strangers, I also feel blessed to have so many people who would call me time & again to ensure that everything was okay, to check up on how the situation was progressing & to have so many people that wanted a text or call to ensure I got home safely. I'm blessed, no doubt about it.

Not good. Not good at all.

Survived the night still looking pretty good. Love my boots!

Here we go with another weirdly long page break - pestered I tell ya, I'm pestered. The size of the text has also shrunk - I mean, what is going on with this weirdness?

Sunday has been so peaceful & calm, I do love my Sundays. I love my church family & spending time with them, I love my sweet babies in the nursery & how they make even the craziest mornings feel better with a smile or a pat. I love taking a nap on the couch & just relaxing... Another week is about to start & Sunday is always get for preparing. I think pictures speak better than words sometimes.

Rainbow start to the morning - because the car was covered in mud & that just wouldn't do.

My two favorite boys!

Snuggling with these little people make things much better.

Reading in the sunlight....

He was glad to see the sun. So was I.

Well, I guess that is about all for now. I think it is time for me to whip up some potato soup & prepare to settle in for a new episode of "Once Upon A Time" in just a bit. Another week is about to start, are you ready for it? 

Goodbye weekend...I'll see you again in a few days.

Auld Lang Syne...

I actually have no clue what Auld Lang Syne means...so thank goodness for Google. I might not know what lots of things mean without the help of Google, but I digress. Auld Lang Syne means times gone by, but the only time gone by that I'm going to blog about tonight is the New Year's Eve party I went to last night.

Up until Sunday, I really had no plans for New Year's Eve beyond spending time with my best friend but then an invitation was extended to come to a party at my friend Hope's house. A party is almost always a great idea, because who doesn't love party food, party games & the general merriment that comes along with a party? So at 9:30 we climbed in the car & headed over to Hope's for some of that aforementioned merriment. There was good conversation, a rousing game of Taboo & great food. It was to David & I's misfortune that we got the seats that were located directly in front of the sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies & a type of cookie that David so eloquently called "something with a Reese's cup that is GOOD". This resulted in sneaking cookies throughout the game & at one point having David whisper to me would I "eat half of one of these cookies, please.." so that he could have just one more. I obliged, because seriously - who can say no to a chocolate chip cookie? There were noisemakers & confetti for the big countdown, as well as numerous sparkling beverages. All in all, it was a ton of fun. Peep the pictures below!

Just playing a little Taboo before midnight!

Making sure this thing works right before the big 1-2-0-0 comes around on the clock.

Happy New Year!

What will 2013 bring for all of us?

I was (blessedly) off work today & so I decided to seize the day & make the red beans & rice that was in my new cookbook. True Blood: Eats, Drinks & Bites from Bon Temps. I love red beans & rice but I'd never gotten my hands on my Mommas recipe, so I thought this was the perfect time to give the recipe in the book a try. These are called All Mixed Up Red Beans & Rice, courtesy of Sam Merlotte - a character played on the show by Sam Trammell. I put my beans in water to soak this morning at around 12:55, right before I fell into bed & my house has smelled delicious all day with this stuff cooking. I realized at about 4:30 that I had no rice, so Watson & I made a run to the Piggly Wiggly to get rice, in the rain. Thank goodness, because it was divine. I'm not posting the recipe since I'm pretty sure that would mean I was violating some kind of copyright law(s)...but I do have pictures of the deliciousness. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty great way to start 2013.

All my ingredients...and my awesome cook book!

All the little beans, just a soakin...

If it has sausage, bacon, bell pepper & onion...it's probably pretty good.

I felt it was only appropriate to drink out of my Merlotte's glass while I cooked...

From this.....

To this! 

Oh yeah - it was delicious. If this is what food in Bon Temps taste like, maybe I should move! ;)

Holiday Round-Up

I confess - I've needed to blog for about 2 months now & I haven't touched the thing. Such a failure on my part, especially when the last thing I posted was about how I was going to post more often. Talk about irony. Tomorrow starts a new year, so maybe among other things I'll actually follow through & post a little more often than I have this year. I have had a wonderful holiday season & I hope you have also! I thought I'd post a few pictures from my Thanksgiving & Christmas in the lovely state of Virginia...so, here we go!

I was able to spend my Thanksgiving holidays with my family in Virginia; I was there from early Wednesday morning until late Sunday evening - 5 great days! It is strange how as a child, you take for granted that your family is with you daily (sometimes as a teenager you wish they would just disappear) but as you get older & end up spread out, you realize that times like Thanksgiving & Christmas, when your family is all together...you realize how precious those moments really are. But enough sappiness for now - we had a great time cooking, watching movies, exploring Front Royal & the surrounding areas (new territory for me), visiting with old friends, eating plenty of good food & do a monument dash on my last afternoon in DC. I discovered that I am seriously missing out on some awesome things that they have in VA that MS just hasn't quite gotten to - The Alamo Drafthouse is basically the best place to see a movie, ever. The Sharp Shopper is just a grocery store, but it has some pretty neat things & great deal; it's not Wegmans...but it is pretty great. The Puppy Cottage is awesome & I wanted to adopt every dog in the store. They were having a sale, $100 off any dog...I still don't understand why we couldn't have bought that little dog...

I was pretty bummed to have to leave VA after those 5 great days, but knowing I'd be back in less than a month made it a little easier. So here are just a couple moments from my Thanksgiving jaunt to VA!

Home Sweet Home - the stoop of 105 Spoon Square

My lovely bedroom, my Mom did such an awesome job decorating it.

Lindsey & I on the back lawn of Mount Vernon - the Potomac in the background & DC just around the river bend.

A "Charlie Brown" tree lot in Front Royal. I was in love.

Monument Dash Part 1: Jefferson Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, WWII Memorial & MLK Jr. Memorial

Monument Dash Part 2: Washington Monument, Iwo Jima, Lincoln Memorial & Korean War Memorial

Monument Dash Part 3: Pacific War Veterans Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Pentagon Memorial & FDR Memorial

I came home for about three and a half weeks, which were filled with busy days at work & holiday merriment when the work day ended. I went to a cookie swap, where I loaded up up on enough sugar to fuel me through the weeks before Christmas. My friend Lisa came to visit & we searched for Christmas gifts in & around Meridian. I had a great time with the rest of the members of the church staff at the annual Christmas party; who knew that a game of Battle of the Sexes would get so heated with members of the church staff? We are a competitive bunch, no doubt.  I took numerous pictures of my decorated house - it was the 2nd Christmas for me in my little home in Collinsville & even though I didn't play host to anyone or have any parties, I still decorated it up just perfectly!

The haul from the annual cookie swap - can you say sugar rush?

Searching for gifts & decor in the Winter Wonderland of Little Acre...ha-ha!

My Christmas tree - love it!

On December 21st, I happily found myself winging my way back to the lovely state of VA! I was in VA for 5 days again but somehow these 5 days seemed shorter. I have come to find it is very true what they say about time flying when you are having fun - because these days absolutely flew by! I was able to visit my parent's new church home where everyone was so kind & welcoming; we even went Christmas caroling, which was so much fun! I don't know why we don't do that anymore these days. There was more movie watching, cooking & eating delicious things...but the most wonderful thing of all? I had my very first WHITE CHRISTMAS! There is just something so magical about watching the movie "White Christmas" & knowing that as you hear Bing sing those familiar words, all you have to do is open your front door to see that the world has been transformed into a Winter Wonderland. It was amazing. I am beyond blessed & being able to spend Christmas day with my family was just one of the many blessings that I am able to count. And if you get the reference I'm making, you're awesome. Just sayin...

The warm glow of home...in the snow!

No longer dreaming of a White Christmas...it is a reality!

The mountains on Saturday morning...before the snow arrived on Monday.

So excited to be standing in the middle of the beginning of the snowfall.

One of my Christmas gifts - y'all better get ready for some good ol Cajun cooking pictures, I've got my eye on the red beans & rice recipe.

So - there you have it. A short little recap of my time in Virginia this holiday season. Obviously, I could have made this post pages in length because I was able to experience so much & make so many amazing memories in the few days that I was in VA. I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for me, I've already got a trip to Colorado Springs planned for February & a trip to California planned for late March, so the traveler in me is sated until then. I've made my resolution for this new year to change my life. I'm not sure what kind of changes that will entail, but I'm ready for a change or two - and I'll try to keep the blog updated as things unfold! Happy New Year & best wishes for 2013!

Weekend Recap!

I'm trying to think of ways to bulk up my blog so that I post a little more often. I guess I tend to think that I just don't lead that exciting of a life, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe what is dull to me might be thrilling to someone else. I think my parents think my life is thrilling; I know my Mom loves reading this blog. This one will be mostly just pictures, but that's fine with you guys, right?

I didn't do a whole lot this weekend, the prerequisite(s) of watching movies (the Money Pit) on Friday night, sleeping late on Saturday morning, cleaning house on Saturday, watching more movies on Saturday night (Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)...that about rounded out my weekend. Except there was still Sunday. Sunday morning was chaotic at best, but Sunday afternoon I went with my friend Hope to some of Meridian's little shops which were all having their Christmas open houses. Yep - on November 3rd. Let's start back at Sunday morning though...

Sweet little faces make the chaos alright....

I love cuddling sweet babies on Sunday morning.

Sunday afternoon, like I said...was spent at the Christmas open houses. See all the wonderful pictures...I also included a few snaps of the awesome things I bought. :) Because who doesn't love sharing their awesome finds? Hope y'all enjoy the pics & have a great week! Next weekend is only 4 days away...

Owls & Sock Monkeys....so cute!

Um - can we say delicious?

Do you see the little teeny garden - it was so cute!

All the trees at Little Acre

The wall of Christmas tree decor - I love it.

Traditional red & green!

So beautiful - I was in heaven!

A little petit four & some delicious punch!

Oh my goodness - cutest little reindeer planter ever! Can't wait to see this on my porch!

Cute necklace that I got on sale at Southern Accents!

Some additions to my tree decor - can't wait to try them out!