And it's Tuesday

1) April's wedding was b e a u t i f u l . Sunset wedding in a little 200 year old church facing the bay. Very soft, very romantic, very April. We didn't dance (but the dj was really doing his thing. I thought even KJ was going to have to jump up, but he's got willpower like nobody's business), but we did sit at a table with some very entertaining people and the food was FABULOUS. They served shredded pork straight out the pig, yummm, yummm!



2) Things are so unbelievably slow at work. I've managed to organize all of my photo files and order a few wayyyy past due prints for friends (Viki-lynn's wedding, Kendi's visit, Trice's shower... etc)

3) I'm on the hunt for a new car. Kia is dead. Sadly I really want to replace it with another Sorento, but I have to consider the bigger picture which has something to do with gas mileage (I put 500 miles on my car per week driving to and from work. yep.).

4) Kj's started playing flag football and basketball again and I haven't been to a single game yet. (I know, I've already given him the unsupportive wife disclaimer, his games just fall on nights that I've got Ladies Bible study and church). Alas he'll start having games on Mon (football) and Thurs (basketball) so I'm getting my game face and cheer voice ready (although in football I tend to yell things like, "Don't Touch Him" which is generally met with Kj just shaking his head).

5) Tricey's coming to visit this weekend. Yay!!!!!!

6) My sister turns 22 on Thursday. When did I get old enough to have a baby sister that's 22?!?!?!

7) I'm not dressing up for Halloween, although I am fooling with the idea of wearing an orange shirt and pining a felt jack-o-lantern face on my belly.

8) I've decided that dealing with insurance companies is one of my least favorite things to do. Blue Cross Blue Shield - please just do your jobs, and AllState - I'm starting to wonder about that "we're in good hands" thing...

9) Liz, my heart is aching a bit as I have been unable to find these cookies anywhere this season. If I find some I'm going to buy them in bulk and store them up for years to come. I'm pretty sure they'll keep.


10) Okay... I don't think I have a ten. Wait, yes I do. I believe the little mini is in there doing her thing. I can feel "bubbles" occasionally and since I'm no foreigner to effervescence, I'm pretty sure that's her moving about. Tah-dah. Ten.

Happy Tuesday all!

Weekend Plans

Okay, so in theory I'm going to:
• Straighten up the house which means doing laundry and hanging some pics that have been laying around waiting on my hammer and nail to attack them

• Make pumpkin bread for my neighbors on both sides since we'll be in church Wed night and their kids are the only ones that I really care about giving goodies to.

• Attend my dear friend April's wedding. (She was my little made-from-scratch pixie at Auburn. Tiny as can be and could cook up a storm! Threw the best "themed parties" EVER!) It's only 2 hours away and it's a night wedding. I don't think I've ever been to a wedding at night and it's conjuring up all kinds of thoughts of romance (dancing in candlelit room, whispering sweet nothings over tasty appetizers... but funny thing is 1) KJ does not like to dance at weddings and 2) KJ can not whisper to save his life, so I guess I'm thinking of another couple... hehehe).

• Return my unread library books. I give! Plus I've noticed that there are a few books that I've never read that I own so I'll probably have better luck with those.

• Start and maybe finish the decor to revamp my church classroom. (oh side bar- Wednesday went really well. I typed up a rules, regulations and respect guideline sheet for all my students to read over with their parents and then return to me with both theirs and their parents signature. I let them know that we would NOT have a repeat of the previous Wednesday night EVER. That I will not go home as disappointed in my class as I was that night. That they will not come into my class with stank attitudes and the mindset that they would dictate how class would go. And yes, I did say "stank attitudes" and I think they understood. My bad apple 8 year old included. I'll keep you posted on this.)

•Maybe, just maybe start cleaning out the office/manroom in preparation of its nursery revival.

hehehe, just typing this up, I already know that there's quite the possibility that the only thing I'll be able to check off on Monday is attending April's wedding.

Happy Friday all!

From the wreckage...

On Tuesday morning, driving into work, I had a car accident. Let me say that God is better than good and we (baby and I) are fine! I drive the highway to work and it's been raining here a lot lately. It wasn't raining that morning, but as I was driving suddenly my steering wheel felt loose and when I taped my brake to release the cruise control I started spinning. In the middle of the highway. Complete and total blessing that no one was even near me and in all that spinning God shifted the car for the guard rail on the right which ultimately stopped me. I jumped out the car, grabbed my purse and sat on the guardrail. Looking around the area was probably just as scary as the accident. It could have been bad. Really bad, but it wasn't at all. My fine piece of Korean craftsmanship didn't fair so well, but it's just a car. Again, I'm so very blessed and very thankful.

Now that being said, I really did like my car. It served me well... very well for the past 5 or 6 years. So with the possibility of it being totaled, KJ started asking what I might want to start looking for. Ummm, a white Kia Sorento (just like the one I just sacrificed) ....I don't always fair well with change.... My girl Connie called to tell me that her and her husband were in the market for a new car and since I've talked up my Sorento so much since they've known me that they were thrilled when they found a great deal on one! She's got her heart set on it, and this morning I contemplated what kind of damage it would do to our friendship if I drove to Bham and she saw me at the bank signing paperwork on her car... hehehe just messing, I don't think I could do that to her, but if they decide to go another direction, you just might see me in a local Regions bank displaying all 28 (my teeth are large so I don't have as many... really, it's the truth, KJ and I counted them...) of my pearly whites in a ridiculous grin. Love you dearly Connie-lee! ;-)

Okay so besides sharing my blessing and God's goodness I also wanted to fill you in on this.
When we went to the dr. just to be sure everything checked out and that the little mini was also okay, the sonogram tech asked if we wanted to know what we were having. Ummm, yes! (I don't do surprises) Frankly the countdown to Halloween was starting to drive me nuts. So she scanned around and proudly announced that this baby:


would indeed be someone who could use one of these:


;-) I have a feeling she's going to be a daddy's girl , and I'm perfectly okay with that.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Trice's Baby Shower

Oh, I'd say that we had a good time. ;-)
Ladies and babies showed up on Sat. to shower Tricey and Miss Reagan with some love, and they really pulled out all the stops.
There were presents, games, good food, scrumptous cake, and lots of smiles and laughter. Here are a few of my pics, but Dionne, Colleen and any others who had their cameras, please send (email, upload, whatever technology lets you do) me your pics so that I can put them all together and get to Trice before the end of the month (you know if I don't give myself a deadline, Reagan will be 14 wondering where she was in these shower pics...). Kendi and Dionne were my right hand women and helped make sure all went smooth. My mom was beyond amazing in letting me use her house and helping me with all the prep and helping keep the kids occupied during the shower. My daddy and KJ were good sports when I had to kick them out of the man room and banish them to a bedroom to indulge in their Saturday football fest. ;-)

Yep, little Miss Reagan and her momma were definitely VIP on Saturday.

3 Secrets I'm willing to share:

1) I've discovered the BEST time to go to Walmart. No really, I'm not teasing, I understand how it is as I live in a town where there are elderly people who love to mingle between 5am and 10am, housewives that feel the need just to get out and let the kids have an adventure running around like wild animals between clothing racks, and teenagers who apparently think their school is located on aisles 8, 9, and 10. There's never a good time. But ahhh-haaaa I dare you to go when it's pouring down rain (like I did last night) and tell me if you bump into 25 people in the whole store. And I'm talking a super Walmart. Test my theory out, I'm pretty sure it could be written in stone somewhere.

2) When your office-mate is out, do not use the opportunity as free range to release a little effervescence as it is Murphy's law that everyone in the company will immediately flock to your office and stand by your desk just to chit-chat.::shame::

3) I opened my "maternity shipment" of clothes from Old Navy and let me tell you THEY ARE THE BEST. And yes I'm basing that off of the one t-shirt I pulled out to wear this morning. This one:


Isn't it cute??? It makes me feel artsy-fartsy pregnant and I love it. So much that I've deemed this my favorite shirt after only wearing it for ummm, 2 hours and 39 mins.

Happy Friday!
We're showering Tricey with some baby love this weekend so pics will surely follow (I know you're thinking, yeah right, I've heard that before, but this time I really mean it....)!!!

I've got a bad apple...

Okay so last night I had the toughest time teaching at church that I've ever had. There's one little boy. He's 8. He's relatively new to my class. And he's a hellion. He does so many things wrong that the culmination of him, last night, was my breaking point. He's rude. He's disrespectful. He's ungrateful. He's got an attitude that he's 8 and he can do what he wants when he wants. Ummm, no sir. So, honestly, I don't like this little boy. Honestly I don't like his mother. (Now yes, I love them b/c they are my family in Christ, but I don't care for their actions one bit). So after fussing at him all thru class and barely getting thru my lesson I decided to have a quick meeting with him and his mom after church. I had hope. I wouldn't say that she's a terrible mom b/c she provides food, clothing and shelter, but I think a few parenting classes would do her some good. Anywho, we meet, and as I'm telling her about the debacle of his behavior, she's plum ignoring me looking over my shoulder and behind her as if I'm taking up too much of her precious time. Okay fine. She says she'll handle it when she gets home and walks off and it's obvious that I've bothered her and wasted her time.

Sidebar: When we were little my mom used to do this thing where if we said something she didn't like or if we were acting like we didn't want to hear what she had to say, she would firmly caress (grab) our jaw so that we had to look her in the eye and she let her voice go very low and calm (that scary calm where as a child you're pretty sure that when she's finished speaking she's going to bite your head off) and speak to us matter of factly with a look that dared us to act like we weren't going to straighten up. I didn't grab his jaw, but that's purely by the grace of God. ;-)

So I get home and I've decided to kick him out of my class. He's broken. He's my bad apple and I don't want to deal with him anymore. If I don't have the help of his mom, then I'm surely not going at it alone. Hand him a pistol and let the ball start rolling on his mission to be a menace to society. I'm done. Yeah right, people, you know me! About 2 secs after I had resolved to kick him out, I start talking with KJ and then I call my mom and I realize that I'm letting an EIGHT YEAR OLD defeat me. Ummm, no sir. So I'm on a new mission. I'm going to help him grow to be the best man our little FL town has ever laid eyes on (at least in my class... gotta start somewhere). I was wrong. I wanted to put the heel of my shoe thru his esophagus* last night, and that was wrong (of course I didn't do it, but somewhat only because my balance is a little affected by the little mini that's taking over my womb). Okay, so I got great advice from both KJ (who was/is willing to put a sleeper hold on him or break his little tail-bone* so that he'd behave better... don't mess with his wife, he doesn't care if your 8 or 80 and I love him so much for that hard-coreness) and my mom and I've got a few solutions I'm going to start implementing.

1) I'm going to pair him up with the 14 year old boy in my class. The 8 year old wants attention and wants to run with the big kids, well, if my 14 year old lets him know that what he's doing isn't "cool" then I think it will crush his little menacing spirit. (Mom's idea)

2) I'll give one warning and then you go sit outside my door and work on the lesson's worksheet. I'm a good teacher, we have fun, they're learning not only bible stories, but moral lessons and how to be better children of God. If you can't handle the interaction of class, then sit outside and study that lesson on your own and then present in front of the church. (KJ's idea)

3) I've got to be more structured. Last night I didn't have enough copies so I had to take time to run some off and that 7 minutes was all he needed to feel like I'd handed him the reins.

I've got a few more ideas, but I'm anxious to hear any suggestions you all may have. I know a lot of you are teachers (Candi, Kendi, my cousin Tasha) or work in the school system as counselors (Tasha (frogqueen)..I think, and Connie), or have kiddos of your own (most of the aforementioned, Lisa, Cindy) who you refuse to let run the show. I'm not plucking my bad apple just yet, so hit me with your suggestions.

*And just because I have no idea who stumbles across my blog, let me say that KJ nor I are violent people, but we both believe firmly in discipline, not abuse. I'm not really going to put my heel in a child's esophagus, my shoes are too cute for that. ;-)

Happy Thursday all!

Forget Tuesdays, Wednesday's where it's at...

1. I'm avoiding work like the plague. There is one little task that's been on my to-do list for the last week and here I am avoiding it again (Just a little fyi, I despise doing instruction sheets...)

2. I don't consider myself accident prone, or clumsy, but if you glanced at my right arm, you'd promise that I was trying to get rid of my useful appendage. About a week ago I accidently got my arm caught in the door at church (I can't even begin to explain) and yesterday I burned my arm on my curling iron while brushing my teeth. A true testament as to why I hardly wear my hair straight anymore. :-)

3. I'm thinking of designing a halloween t-shirt for myself since there are none on the market that have caught my eye.

4. We have been on the go every weekend since the last of Sept and we won't have a chance to slow down until the weekend after Veterans Day (Nov 17th -ish). Then we'll jump right into the holidays.

5. I have not made a single casserole and I'm unsure as to exactly what we've been eating to maintain our existence. Oh yeah, Monday I had a work dinner and yesterday KJ made a quick pasta meal. Seems like it's been forever since I was in the kitchen...

6. My dear acne has returned with a vengeance. hehehe If it wasn't for this and my ballooning belly I think some people would challenge my whole pregnancy (myself included as I literally feel fine, just the same as always, and I know that's such a blessing b/c it could be really rough, but I'm really anxious to feel some action in this ole tummy.)

7. My library books were due yesterday (seriously, they give you 30 min to check them out before you have to bring them right back). Is it bad that they're just going to have to be overdue for a sec b/c 1) I'm still on page 8 of my first book and 2) the library is waaayyyy across town and 3)I'd like to think of myself as rebelling b/c the don't have on-line renewal. Heellloooo, it's 2007 people, let's embrace technology.

8. I'm hosting a baby shower for a friend this weekend and whenever I do a shower, it never fails that I get really nervous that people won't enjoy themselves. I'm not really a party-thrower, more like a goer. So fingers crossed that all goes well!

9. Do Russian Tea and pumpkin bread scream autumn to anybody else? I think the fact that it's down to 80 degrees is reason enough to bring out the fall goodness.

10. ummm, I think 9 is all I have. ;-)

Hope everyone's doing well. I should be able to tickle your fancy with some pics or randomness soon.

All is well with the world

Today was our first Jim-free day at work and I must say that it's going gloriously. I've got a few things to update you on (a ten on Tuesday kind of update), but for the most part everything's been about the same. Due to me eating nothing but bagels with cream cheese and pepperoni yesterday (didn't feel like doing an ounce of cooking), I've vowed that this week will be a casserole week. Kj's eaten up most of our left-overs and I'm pretty sure feeding him was somewhere in our wedding vows (along with washing dishes if he vowed to do all yard work and wash my car...) So if you've got a great casserole recipe, send it on. I'm looking for a poultry one, a seafood one, a vegetable one and then a wild card.

Oh, and I did tell you that my half-godbaby (I share her with Trice) came to visit, right? Look at all this beach cuteness from weekend before last.


Lots of lovin and happy Jim-free Monday!!!

Things are looking up...

Because I missed Tuesday...

Here's what's new:

1) Went home to NC this past weekend and had a wonderful time. So good to see family. They threw the guys a surprise baby barbeque (I've got several cousins who are preg. or just had babies), and KJ and I got some great stuff (see the sheer excitement in my face in the photo on the right...). We had to mail a box home b/c there was no way it would all fit in our one suitcase (the one time I pack light...) Thank you family, you're beyond the best!


2) KJ's out of town on business and I have to admit that I miss him terribly. He's my best and closest friend in FL and the house is soooo quiet when he's not there. As pitiful as I sound, I must say that I'm going at this time better than past times he's been away for a length of time and I think it's because I have little missions that I want to get accomplished. It's tough to get some things done when your closest FL pal wants to cuddle on the couch and entice you with the promise of a movie after the football game...

3) Here's a whopper (Liz I don't know how in the world I forgot to mention this while we were talking...): My super. resigned on Monday. Yep, he's moving on!!! And much to your surprise, I was able to refrain from doing a ridiculous happy dance or exhibiting a smile that overwhelmed my entire being... I simply took the news with a blank doe-eyed look and a few nods. hehehe Cindy and Lisa you may remember the look from Ladies class...

4) Had dinner at a FABULOUS Thai restaurant on Monday night. I've managed to spread my leftovers into dinner last night and lunch today and I'm a bit sad that all of my yellow curry chicken is almost gone. It's taking all of my will power not to lick the plate here at my desk. And those who know me know that I'm serious. I should really find a recipe for this...

5) Okay, okay I'm busted: I did lick my plate, but everyone's out for lunch and I sit behind a really big computer screen...

6) Went out and did a little maternity clothes shopping this week. Found a few things at the outlets and then really scored at oldnavy.com yesterday afternoon (sale sale sale). I know I know as my daddy said, I only have a kangaroo pouch, but I'm having to expand my work pants waist with a rubber band (trick I learned from a coworker... anybody else have any suggestions? I'm game!), so I figured now was as good a time as any. Basically my plan is to get a few work pants, a couple of pairs of jeans and some tops. Luckily I held on to my sweater collection and I believe that they'll work out just fine...

7) Finally went to the library and was so disappointed that most of the books I've been putting on my list (I'm pulling from JJ at 6:37 as I believe we have similar reading taste) weren't there. Stinky library. So I left with 3 books and I have until the 16th to read them. Oh and my overdue fine from last time was 90¢. The book selection stinks but the price for being tardy with a return is not so bad...

8) My computer at work is seriously broken. It's at the mac doctor now. I had to bring one of my laptops from home in to work on. I've heard some talk of them trying to switch me over to a pc. I told our IT guy that if that should happen, they'll need to find a designer that comes with their little pc, b/c I'm not having it. I'm a mac girl and I dare them to try to take that away from me.

9) Kendi, her daughter (my little angel S), Kendi's sister and her neice are coming to visit this weekend. I'm so excited! I love having company and finally I've been able to lure a few pep down. I'm already planning a breakfast casserole to start us off on Sat morn and then there's a Seafood Festival, the beach, great weather, ahhhhh, it's going to be a good weekend.

10) Had a dr's appt today. All looks great. Little mini's heart beat was 160 and strong. Next appt is on Halloween and we find out what we're having. So do you want to start placing your guesses now? Ghoul or Goblin. hehehe

Lots of lovin to you all. I'm learning there are a few of you out there who check on me but never comment (Lisa whom I know thru Liz), but that's completely cool b/c I'm a lurker on quite a few of my favorite blogs. ;-) I'm just glad you come by!