Found it!

Hubby found the usb cord for the camera today! Thank goodness....I already had to *gasp* delete some pics off the camera!!!!! I hardly every delete pics before I download them and I was debating the entire time if I realllllly needed to do it...I mean how many pics does one need of ones birthday party??? Apparently, a lot! =)

Pics tomorrow! I promise. Now, I must fold laundry *gasp again*! I know.....why am I being so domesticated? I figured it's the least I could do for hubby after her found the cord!!!

Winner!!!

Is Kelly Bee from Beehive Five!

I am sorry it took me so long to post the winner of the wine glasses giveaway! It's been quite a busy weekend of birthday parties and family visitors!

Now, you can still get your own glasses or other fun handpainted items in time for Christmas or birthdays! Just let me know. I'll post pics of all kinds of stuff with prices soon!

Searching...

for my camera usb cord.....

I PROMISE to post fun birthday pics of both parties as soon I as I find it!

Grrrr.....

Surprise!

Well, almost!

Hubby worked hard, super duper hard on a surprise party for me! But, due to changing locations and some other things, the cat was out of the bag! Never the less, the party was still a success!!!! I had a blast and enjoyed myself thoroughly - but why wouldn't I, it was my birthday party afterall!

I am blessed to have such great family and friends that let me love my birthday as much as I do and put up with my countdowns and "it's all about me" days leading up to, during and sometimes after the big day has come and gone! I know they pick on me but I still love it just the same....and I'm not mad at the girls anymore for totally dissing my happy hour on Friday! I was a little bummed when I put the word out for a low key porch happy hour to celebrate my birthday and only 3 were willing to come! Everyone had an excuse, but I didn't realize it was because we were going to be celebrating on Saturday night!!! I cancelled happy hour and just shook it off!!! They all apologized for turning me down but said they weren't sure they could've made it through the afternoon knowing that there was a party the next night!

There were a few surprises left and they were great! My roomie from college and her husband made the trip from Raleigh to celebrate with us and hubby did a fantastic job of putting together a great photo collage from the past 30 years along with my baby blanket and some other mementos my mom helped out with!

I loved every minute of it and it was such a great feeling to know that I have the friends I do that love me unconditionally and made it such a special night! Thanks so much to everyone for a wonderful birthday!

Less than year until the next one!!! HAHA!

Pics to come!

Happy Memories!

Gussie and Linda....so in love!

This is how I will remember you....You were full of spirit, love, laughter, and a dancing fool! I'm so glad we shared a dance together last month!


We love you!

Prayers

The sweet baby girl I mentioned that was born yesterday is having a some heart issues. Her heartbeat is too fast, so they are working on trying to slow it down. Please say a little prayer for her and her parents.

Also, a great friend of ours passed away last night in his sleep. He was a great man! Hubby grew up with his middle son and he was one of my in-laws best friends. Special prayers for their family would be appreciated and also the two grandbabies he has on the way.

Best Birthday Present Ever...

A new life! A miracle! A friend of mine and his wife gave birth to a sweet little girl, Clara, tonight! Such a special time! And all these babies are being born....I Love It!

So, other great birthday happies included a confetti filled office!!! Oh yea, my boss let her 12 year old son loose with confetti in my office! I had it on my desk, computer, filing cabinet, chair, floor and even on top of the door!!! I can pretend I was mad, but I love it! After I left work, I treated myself to a dunkin donuts bagel! Yummy!
A trip to the spa was next where I got a fantabulous pedicure and massage!!! I didn't relaly have plans for the evening and hubby needed sleep, so I was super excited when my friend's work schedule changed and she invited me out for a cocktail!!! We had a great time at our own happy hour!

I got absolutely nothing done that I had anticipated, but I'm ok with it because it's my bithtday!! It can all waith until tomorrow right!

Let the Festivities begin!

My birthy-days have officially begun!!!!! Technically, there is still ONE more day until the blessed event, but the party has already started!

Today, I was greeted with some gifts from the girls at work and just finished up a nice lunch with the office folk! Great people they are!!!!! I'm so lucky to work with such a fantastic group of women (and one pretty important man) and they are so good to me! I feel loved!

So, this is just the kickoff to the rest of the events occurring over the next few days and I have to say, I'm really excited! Tonight I'll hang out with a great friend who I don't get to see enough and tomorrow after work (10:30am) I will promptly visit Sweet Baby Girl in the hospital and finally meet Micah who finally graced us with his presence around 12:30 this morning after a LONG labor! Then I get to head to a much needed spa appointment for the afternoon! I will get pampered with a pedicure and massage! I will top off the evening having dinner with Hubby - just the two of us -which is a treat in itself!

Friday will be fun as I get to take Little Hauss to get his pictures taken and spend some one on one time with him and the rest of the day will be taken up with pirate party preparation!!! Hopefully, I'll end the afternoon with a happy hour on the porch with girlfriends!

Oh, and the fun doesn't stop there - as you probably figured! Saturday we will celebrate LH's birthday with lots of little kids running amuck then dinner with friends that night!!! Thank goodness Gigi is taking LH back to Georgia with her on Sunday because I'm going to need some rest after all this fun stuff!

Finally, coupons worked!

But not like a charm like I hoped! I must have caused a stink in the valley, because I was questioned at the self checkout about my "computer" coupons at yet a different Kroger! Yes, I have some, but after speaking with numerous Kroger representatives about this, I know that they are supposed to take them and I followed the limits! He obliged and I went on my merry way! I have decided that I'm going to have to be very methodical about my couponing. I'm going to have to mix them with regular cut coupons from the newspaper inserts and I'm also going to try smaller shopping trips as to not freak out any of the cashiers!

Whew, who knew this was going to cause so much trouble!!! I'm hoping that by voicing my concerns and trying to prove my point, that my fellow coupons shoppers are not in any danger of losing their internet couponing privileges! That is not my intention! I want the store managers and cashiers to follow the policy of the company and not keep making up their own decisions because they are too lazy to scan some coupons!

Happy Birthday Giveaway!

These are some I've done, but I have new designs I will post tonight as well!

I love my birthday and I want everyone else to love it too!!! Seriously, not kidding about that! No one forgets it simply because I won't let them! I remind friends and family well in advance (like they didn't already know) and if I notice your calendar sitting around on your desk or even hanging on a wall, I'll fill it in for you!!! I'm just like that, get over it!


So, in honor of my very special 3oth birthday, I am going to do a giveaway! My first ever! I was thinking some pretty wine glasses! It will be a set of 2 and can be personalized any way you like. I usually do a two color scheme polka dot design with whatever personalization (I usually do things like a couple's names and date for weddings, or sporting teams - Virginia Tech Hokies, etc). They are fun and festive and I thought this would be a great birthday gift to my readers!


So, you can enter 3 ways:
1- leave a comment
2 - become a follower
3 - post about it on your blog


You get one entry for each. So, total, you can have 3 entries per person. I will have Little Hauss help pick the winner at random! Make sure you leave your email address in your comment and if you posted on your blog, so I can get an accurate count! The drawing will be Sunday, Aug. 30th (LH is heading back to the ATL with Gigi that day)!

Good Luck!

3rd time is a charm...I hope!

Test results were available early.....after seeing them, I could've done without! I obviously didn't pass....again! BUT, I did better than last time! So, I have another shot coming up Sept. 12! I even made a bold (and quite expensive) move to change from regular math (grades 6th-12th) to middle school math!!! The GOAL at this point is to pass A test so I can at least get IN the program for the spring semester! I feel confident in my choice to change the test AND pay the extra money to do so! I just glanced at some sample problems and got the first 5 right without even "working" on them...so that makes me feel a bit better!

Once I'm accepted in the program, I can have more endorsement areas. I have thought about middle school science (since math and science seem to be the most needed these days) but I would love to pass the reg. math just to give me a leg up later!!!

Also, I will attempt Kroger a third time with my coupons! I have talked to 3 store managers and 2 customer service reps from the corporate office! I was told that my coupons should be accepted unless they look photocopied or altered in anyway - which they are not! The manager of the store does have the right to deny them if necessary, but that rarely happens - except in my case where the manager has no clue that the cashiers were brain dead and they didn't even so much as look at my coupons before they told me I couldn't use them. Well, I fixed that problem and they added a $5 off coupon on my next order directly to my plus card! Now I just have to see if they will take the coupons!

Oh, and just in case you forgot - my birthday is on Thursday! I love cupcakes, pedicures, and all things girly just in case you needed a gift idea! wink wink!

No She Didn't....

Oh Yes I did!

I've been getting into couponing a little more seriously and Kroger is having some awesome sales this week. So, when I combine my coupons with the sales, I can rack up and stock the pantry like you wouldn't believe for a fairly low price! It takes a little extra time to plan a shopping trip, but it is well worth it! I went yesterday for a big grocery trip and got $330 worth of stuff for about $155. It was ridiculous how much stuff I had - and I'm proud to say that I fit it all in one cart. However, with that said, all bagged up, it filled up 2 and I had help taking it to my car!! I don't know where the little bag boy went when it was time to unload it from the car, bring to the house and put up in the cabinets.....just like a man!

Well, I was excited about all the sales, so I went home and printed off more coupons for the stuff that I knew was on sale and planned another trip last night just to grab a few more things for cheap!!!

I got to Kroger about 8:45 and had my list all mapped out with exactly how many of each item I needed, so it took about 10 minutes to run through the store....all to come to a screeching hault at the checkout! ONE lane open! The self checkouts were open, but I had about 25 coupons, so that wouldn't of been practical! Well, I wait, and wait and wait for about 10-15 minutes for my turn to checkout! I watch all the groceries get scanned and roll toward the end (oh, not to mention, there is no one at the end to help bag), when the cashier sees all my printed coupons in my hand and informs me that they can't take those!!!! WTH? I just used them earlier today, I've used them in every shopping trip and have NEVER had any trouble. She says they can't take them unless a manager is there - all while still scanning my items! Well, with about 4 people in line behind me, I tell her no thanks, politely apologize to the people behind me, and walk out of the store!!!!!

I was furious! Don't you know that someone at Kroger is going to get an earful on Monday and I'll be checking first if a manager is on duty before I shop so I can use my coupons! Ridiculous!

I hope she enjoyed cleaning up her cashier station and reshelving all of my unbought items!

Worth it?

It's not a secret that I don't love exercise. Hubby is addicted, which makes things interesting. I've been trying - again. I love walking (no more running for me or I really will have a hovoround) and swimming and I don't mind exercise classes if I can get to them. It's getting a little easier for me to take them with our schedules and Little Hauss being able to stay up later as long as he's fed a snack!!!
Well, I took a new class and it kicked my arse! along with my abs, legs, arms, and especially back! Wow! I was so sore before bed that night that I knew 2nd day soreness was going to suck! It really didn't so I think I'm a gluten for punishment and I'll take it again....as well as a few more classes! I've even dvr'd some videos from Fit TV!!!
So, as much as I don't want to do it, I'm liking the results....well, not the immediate soreness, but the rest of it aint so bad!

Hanging on...

To my 20's!! I know that I'll be entering a new era in a week, but could the old lady emails wait?

I just got an email from Hovoround! Are they telling me something?

Updates

• My birthday is nearing. Know how I can tell? Besides the date? The afternoon thunderstorms! Everyday they roll in and only linger for a moment it seems! I always planned a pool party and every year but one I had to move it to the house due to these thunderstorms! So, August is a love hate relationship for me! I love that I celebrate my anniversary and birthday, but the weather drives me crazy!
• I get the results to my second attempt of my test next Tuesday - lots of possibilities when I pass! I did sign up for the next test in September just in case!
• Pirate Party Planning is going well - we found lots of stuff in the dollar store!!! I now have all the "booty" and just need to worry about food! We could have about 15 or so kids there!
• Football season is approaching and we are heading to Hotlanta for the kickoff of the Hokies season against Alabama - which should be interesting since mom, dad, and my uncle are huge fans for the Tide! At this point all of our tickets are together, so we will definitely be a diverse bunch!
• We are planning and researching for the cruise and Nawlins! Dad scored us a sweet deal at the Omni Royale right in the heart of the city! Apparently this is where celebrities stay when they are in town....I'll keep you posted if I see any when we're there. Now we are just checking out some things to do while we are there and also trying to figure out which excursions we want to do.
• I am taking Little Hauss for his 4 year old pictures...HA! I say that like I get them done regularly! I haven't had professional photos taken of him in years.....My roomie from college will be happy that she has an updated photo on her fridge!!!
• Last but not least - I'm starting to look for LH's Halloween costume!

Baby Shower

The baby shower was great and I think my brother and his girlfriend are finally ready for the arrival of the baby! This was the final shower for them and after going through all the stuff, some returns, and lots of gift cards, they should have just about everything they need! Here are some pics of the celebration!

Diaper Cake and lots of yummy food....check out the umbrella cupcake cake from SAM's - who knew they did such cute stuff and it was yummy!
This was a basket of Barbies - all of her barbies from when she was little!!! Her childhood friend had them stored in her attic and gave them to her all clean, dressed and ready for the baby to play with some day! This was really special and so thoughtful! We all shed a tear over it!

The happy couple! She's all belly!!!! Jealous - damn straight I am!

They were sharing a plate - they didn't notice I was snapping pictures of them feeding each other! Too sweet....

My Mom (Gigi), the mommy to be, and me....

Love Man....

Little Hauss has found a new love interest! I can't believe he's growing up and falling in love!!!! She is older, sweet as can be and just the cutest little girl from his preschool class! He is smitten! Sweet Pea (that's what we'll call her) came over after school for a play date and they were cracking me up before we were buckled in!
They were practically climbing over the fence on the playground to get out and start their "date"! We had toys scattered all over the house and I think less than half of the sand from the sand table stayed in it - the rest was on the patio! No worries, fun was had by all! They had a snack on the front porch swing and played school (not LH's idea, but he follows direction well) and just had a great afternoon!
Poor little man tried to go home with her by planting himself in her mommy's back seat, but we explained that it was time for them to part ways....he was ok with it, but they've both already started asking when he can go to Sweet Pea's house and play!

Here are some pics from the afternoon!

Little Hauss and Sweet Pea in the car on the way home!
Playing school and in the tunnel (of love?)

Time for a popsicle and swing on the porch!

Digging in the toy box....yay, he found his special helmet!

The simple things....

Hubby picked up Little Hauss from school and they will have dinner ready for me when I get home....

This is why I love him so much! Such a special treat!

Not much longer

We got our passports!!! This means our cruise is getting closer and closer! It also means that our summer is slowly coming to an end! Boo! But don't worry, there are plenty of things getting ready to happen that will be keeping us busy! This will be a perfect time to remind you of my birthday in 16 days! There is also a baby shower, 2 weddings, LH's birthday party and new babies that will be born! So much excitement!

Now, I just wish we could get more pooltime, daylight hours and sunkissed skin.

Trucks, Planes, and Things

A few weeks ago, Little Hauss and I headed out in the heat to "touch some trucks"! It is a free event put on by the county we live in and its awesome for kids of all ages (and some adults too)! He got to really explore all types of machinery. Tractors, go carts, 18 wheelers, Army jeeps, cranes, police, fire and ems, even a plane and helicopter! I can't wait to take him back next year with the hubby and we will definitely get there a little earlier to beat the heat and crowd!

Cruisin'
I can't believe he got in a fighter plane!!!

My little fireman

I think he was more excited about the school bus than anything else! He said he was a big boy!

Blowing the horns was all the rage, but not fun when you weren't the one in the driver's seat!

He was fascinated with putting on his seat belt!!! Safety First!

Climbing in the cab!

Taking Charge!

New Do!

Not really "new" but "improved". Best pics I could do on my own!

Ready, Set, Go!

I would have never guessed earlier this summer Little Hauss would be DIVING off the board by August! It took him a couple of weeks in May to finally get readjusted in the water and to relinquish his floaties, but then he was in fish mode and swimming all over the pool! Wow, he's growing up fast! I'm not sure I'm ready for it!

Ready, Set....
GO!

All I got?

After 4 days, you would think I would have more pics! NO, this is the ONLY picture that was taken at the beach and it sure is a beauty!

Getting ready for our steampot at Joe's Crab Shack

Um.....I guess we just had too much fun to take time for photos!!!

What a difference a year makes...

Or not? This was last year's girls beach trip.....um, I'm pretty sure I was feeling very happy about the time this pic was taken....
I leave tomorrow afternoon for a few days of rest, relaxation, coctails and lots of laughter! I can't wait!

The seven year itch?

Well, we aren't itchin' yet! Hubby and I are celebrating 7 years married today (um, almost 14 years together)!!!

It really has been a fun ride so far and we are ready for the next 14! I love you babe!