Back to School

I can't believe it is back to school time. I can't believe even more that both of my nieces are in school this year! Molly has been going to Greenville Classical Academy for the past 2 years and absolutely loves it. This year, Eve gets to join her in their K-4 program.


Before I show you these pics, I must give a disclaimer...I am pretty sure that I have two of the cutest nieces in the whole wide world!!

 Molly and Eve ready for their first day of school.

 Eve is in K-4.

Molly is in 3rd Grade.

Teeth

When I was in high school, I had braces. I hated them when I had them, but I really can’t complain. I only had to wear them for 1 ½ years – compared to my sister who wore hers for at least 800 years.

Over the past few months I have started noticing a shift in some of my top teeth. I know that this is because I stopped wearing my retainer, but that was pretty much around the time when we got married – about 7 years ago.

Being inspired by my sister in law who just got braces, I decided to give the ole retainer another try. I took it out, cleaned it exceptionally well, and popped her back in. I learned VERY quickly just how much my teeth had shifted, because that thing didn’t fit at all like it use to. Nevertheless, I was determined to tough it out. I took some Advil and went on to bed, being laughed at on the way by my dearest husband.

This morning when I woke up, the whole top of my mouth was sore from all the shifting, but I could tell it had worked. A few more nights of this pain and I just may be back to normal – at least as far as my teeth are concerned!!

This Weekend

What a crazy week!! Earthquake and Hurricane on the East Coast?! Who would have thought?! One of our doctors is from Cali and made fun of our earthquake. That's ok though, I had to teach him how to put down the toilet seat this week!

After everything that has happened this week - and the weeks prior to this one, this weekend was just what David and I needed. He has worked like crazy lately - even on his days off. That makes for long days and nights - for both of us.

Friday night, David did work a side job, but that was ok. That kind of work is totally different than him being called in! Plus, it gave me time to get some stuff around the house done that I haven't been able to keep up with lately - laundry, cleaning/organizing, couponing, etc.

Saturday we were able to sleep in, which was very needed. I had gone to the garden on Friday and had some okra and peppers that I wanted to can. This was going to be my first attempt at this water boiling stuff on my own. I was nervous, but decided to try it any ways. Not too shabby, I might add!!

That afternoon David decided that we should go shoot since I hadn't been in a while. This is one thing to being a cop's wife...David feels very strongly that I should know how to shoot all kinds of guns and be good at it...lucky for him, I am!! :)  We headed up to Hendsonville to Rex's Indoor Range and shot LOTS of practice rounds. Here are two videos that David took of me while I shot. (The second one is sideways because I don't know how to change it. It took me long enough to get these on here in the first place!)

We stopped by a pizzeria on the way home that I have been wanting to try, got some dessert, and went to the grocery. Another thing about being a cop's wife is, this is what counts as dessert...

My Favorites

I found this list and thought I would share some of my favs with you. You know, to help you get to know me a little better. Don't act like you aren't curious! I know you can't wait to read this to see what I love!! Maybe I'll add some more later...who knows!

1. A favorite color - blue
2. A favorite number - I'm going to say 3, but I really hate #s. I'm more of a letter girl!
3. A favorite place - the beach
4. A favorite person - guess I better say David on this one, huh?
5. A favorite time of day - bed time
6. A favorite spot in your home - my bed
7. A favorite vegetable - green beans
8. A favorite pair of shoes - chacos
9. A favorite child’s toy - my ribby
10. A favorite game - The Question Game
11. A favorite place outdoors - the pool, beach, lake or somewhere else in the sun by the water
12. A favorite walk you take - into the house at the end of the day
13. A favorite article of clothing - t-shirt
14. A favorite spot to sit - on my bottom
16. A favorite book - Blueberries for Sal
17. A favorite piece of technology - my phone 18. A favorite dessert - ice cream
19. A favorite animal - dog
20. A favorite fruit - kiwi
21. A favorite kitchen item - garlic press
22. A favorite hobby - blogging
23. A favorite mode of transportation - flying
24. A favorite activity - ziplining
25. A favorite food - anything Mexican
26. A favorite beverage - KoolAid

Happy Birthday!

Although I did not miss his birthday for real, I did miss the actual day to blog about my dear brother, so here it is.

Saturday was his birthday. The BIG 3-0!! It sure is hard to believe that I have two siblings in the 30s, and I'm knocking on the door right behind them. It seems like just the other day we were all living together in la casa de Phenix City.

Stephen and I have always had a unique bond. Growing up we were partners in crime. We explored in the woods, rode bikes, played ball, burned things, fried eggs on the patio, built forts, aggravated the sisters, watched old movies, and so much more. Stephen is even the reason for my first lost tooth! I have so many great memories from my childhood that have my brother right beside me!

He is one of the funniest people that I have ever met in my whole entire life!! I could tell story after story about him! Stories about running into glass doors, having a gun pulled on him by my cousin, kicking people out of his car on the side of the Interstate, almost killing our neighbor with a baseball bat, taking a prosthetic foot to Guatemala, and so many more. Maybe I'll save some of those for posts later in the future. Let me tell ya, our family has some KILLER stories!!

I am so thankful to have him as my brother! I really couldn't ask for a better one than him. I have learned so much from him in my life. I hate we live in two different states, because I don't get to see him half as much as I want to!

One thing I do know is I will NEVER be as old as he is!! Enjoy the 30's, bro!! I love you!!

You Should Read This

I just finished The Hunger Games series. I HIGHLY recommend this! Like seriously, go buy it, download it on your eReader, or get to the library ASAP! I know it is in the Young Adult section, but you will really enjoy it! I read the first two books in two days - as in each book took me one night and a day to read. I had the luxury of reading those books on days when David was sleeping though, so I had a lot of time and quiet. The last one took me a little longer since I had to read at night.

I must admit, I was sad to see it come to an end, but I am super excited to see the movies that they are making. The first is scheduled for theaters on March 23, 2012 and the second on Nov. 22, 2013. I don't think they have set a date for the third, but it will come.

Next on my reading agenda...

I have only heard good things about this book and movie, but I'll let you know what I think when I finish it too.

New 'Do

I know this will come as a shock, but I was perusing through Pinterest today and came across braid that I absolutely love! It is called the Waterfall Braid. Those of you that know me, know that I never do anything cool with my hair. It is pretty much the most boring hair there is. I've tried to do fun things in the past, but it never really works. I've just come to grips that I will forever have boring hair.

I showed D this braid, and she, too, thought it was really neat. I went to the blog and saw that there was a link to the YouTube video showing us how to do this braid. We watched it, and D said she thought she could do it. Since D has braided my hair in the past, we thought we'd give it a shot.

Before I show you any pics, you must know that this was a progressive hair-do. We couldn't leave it plain. We had to add some D and Reb magic to the mix.

This is the original pic of the braid. Obviously, my hair isn't this pretty, but you can see why we liked it.

This was D's final braid. We thought it was really good for her first time. I know it could have been better if we had more hair accessories to work with, but we were limited at the office.

This is the view from the side. Please excuse the bright purple pony tail holder. That was all we had to work with.

And this is the view from the front. Not too bad, eh?!?

And here is when it started getting interesting ...

We found some beads, and D added them to the strands that were hanging. This was a lengthy process since we could only use tiny portions of my hair, so we didn't get to add many beads.

Here is a close up of the beads.

D decided that the beads weren't good enough, so she braided what was left hanging creating a double braid.

To answer the question that all of you are probably wondering, Yes, I did wear it like this the entire afternoon. I only received stares from a few people, but really, with all the feathers and crazy hair styles that people have these days, this isn't that bad!! I also received a few compliments which made D and I laugh!! 

I Heart Pinterest

Iced Coffee

Back in June my "friend", The Pioneer Woman, shared a post about making the Perfect Iced Coffee. D and I decided we should start doing this at work - hot coffee in the morning and iced coffee in the afternoons. We make an extra pot every few days and store it in a special container in the fridge. This was going great until I found a link on new fav website, Pinterest. This was a total enlightenment, I tell ya. A "Why haven't we thought of this before?!?" moment. COFFEE ICE CUBES!!! D said she had an ice cube tray at home that we could use. Yesterday was our first day of having the Iced Coffee with the Coffee Ice Cubes.

Here's how it went...

This is the ice tray D brought in. Why she had a tray like this at her house, I'll never know!! If you can't tell, the shapes are Outer Space themed...planets, stars, moons, etc.

 This is what our Coffee Ice Cubes looked like when they were all frozen and ready to go.

 The coffee version of Saturn.

 My Coffee Ice Cubes hanging out, waiting to swim in some good ole Iced Coffee.

 The final product...Iced Coffee with Coffee Ice Cubes - GENIUS, I tell you, PURE GENIUS!!

In the words of my other "friend", Rachael Ray ... "YUMMO!!"

Physical Traits

My BWF is having a hissy fit over the fact that I don’t post something every day, so I decided today would be the day for posting. I mean, I’ve got to shut her up somehow!! It is hard for her to understand what my busy life is like since she doesn’t have one. Like yesterday…I got off work, went to the gym for an abbreviated workout (something is better than nothing, right?!), went to Publix, stopped by the in-laws and took a shower and was at the NGU Crusade by 7:00. I got home late, did laundry, unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen, cut coupons for my trip to Publix again today and then went to bed. I mean, really, when was there time to post anything?!? D’s evening consisted of getting off work, going to get something to eat with her hubby and going home. If I had a life like that, sure I could post every day. Sorry, D. That isn’t me!!

I did, however, think of something for this post, and I managed to jot down a few things in the Notes section of my new iPhone. Now, before you read this, please don’t think that this is any kind of pity party. I am not whining. The things that will be mentioned are part of what makes me unique. I’m not complaining…I’m sharing.

I know that God created us all in a very unique way, and we all have things that set us apart from others. I’m not talking personality…I’m talking physical appearance. I don’t know about y’all, but I feel like I have a lot of these unique aspects. Some of these I was blessed with at birth, and some I have earned along the way. Most all of them have been the source of much laughter and discussion over the years, and I’m ok with that.

Here is a list of some of those Unique Physical Aspects that I could think of…

I have one flat foot, and one with an arch (thanks, Mom and Dad!),

A bald spot in my hair line,

A tiny eye,

A bum knee (with scars from surgery),

A bum ankle - thanks to my flat foot (surgery scar there too),

Crooked toes (thanks to a big ole girl in a softball game),

Boney knees,

Boney elbows (the cause of a lot of heartache and money during the winter months),

Connected ears,

Tiny wrists

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Feel free to share any that you may have. I’d love to know that there are others out there with stuff like this too.

Boys and Girls are Different

Speaking of the gym...

I saw this last night and couldn't help laugh. I had to take a pic and show y'all. Like I said, David and I have been working out at the gym for a while now. Obviously, we have very different goals. This image is from one of the drink mixes that he uses before working out. I think it is protein or something like that. I can't really keep up. What I do know is I would NEVER, I repeat NEVER purchase anything that had this as a selling point!!!

Boys and Girls are definitely different!!!

The Gym

The gym is a funny place to be. Most people there have a serious love/hate relationship with their time there. There are only a select few that actually love going and working out. The rest of us simply do it because it is something that we should be doing.

David and I go to The Rush here in Greenville. It is a big gym with a wide range of members. Basically, it is a people watcher's dream. I'm 100% sure that other people there watch, laugh at, and make fun of me too, and that's ok. It's a give and take relationship. My all time favorite people watching spot is from one of the cardio machines - treadmill, elliptical, stair stepper, etc. Those machines face the entire gym, and it is so easy to watch from there. Plus, doing that makes my time on those cursed machines seem to go by a little bit easier.

Like I said, there is a wide variety of people at our gym. Some are young, some are not. Some are fit, some are not. Some wear enough clothing, some do not. Some know what they are doing, some do not. Some are on steroids, some are not.

One of my favorite people to watch is one of the new trainers. There are a lot of things I could say about this poor girl. Most are very, well, just not nice, but this one is really hilarious! She was working with a guy the other day and made him run stairs. Unlike the other trainers who tell you what to do and make sure you do it correctly, she took off running with him. This was funny for two reasons. One, she was yelling for him to pick it up, but she herself was dying and out of breath. He was barely winded!! Two, which is by far my favorite, when she ran by, I noticed immediately that she is a "Boobs to Knees". What in the world is that, you may ask. Well, this is a phrase that my dear BFFF Tara and I coined during our days at NGC. (Maybe we'll have time later for some other stories. Let me tell you, those don't disappoint! Some good times were had back then!) Anywho...there was a certain girl on campus that earned this name first. Actually, I have no idea what her real name was because that is all we called her. She liked to jog on the trail around campus. You could also frequently see her jogging through campus...on the way to the caf, class, or elsewhere. This girl was the weirdest runner ever! Her back always remained in a perfectly straight line. She never hunkered over, even slightly. She definitely worked her arms though...out and back with BIG motions. Oh, and her pony tail constantly swung out and back. Quite literally, like a horse's tail. The upper body was odd, but it was the lower body that got us every time! Instead of jogging like most, with her legs kicked out behind her, she lifted her legs right up to her chest. Literally almost knocking her boobs with her knees (hence the name!!) It truly was an odd sight. Tara and I got the biggest kick out of seeing her run. There were many days that I got random texts involving "Boobs to Knees" sightings. Although there are a ton of things that seem to only be funny to me and Tara, this was not. You could hear people all the time talking about it. Not necessarily her. Definitely not the fact that she jogged on campus. It was the odd way in which she ran.

Ok, seriously, have any of you ever seen someone run like that?!? Do you know what I'm talking about?!? If there happens to be any of you reading this blog who were at NGC in the early 2000s, I'm betting you know exactly who I am talking about!! Now that I have seen this new girl do it, I know it wasn't just the original "Boobs to Knees" that does it!! Who would have thought there would be more than one in this world?!? Not me, but I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to witness them both!! Although not a pleasant sight, it brings a smile to my face and memories to my mind.

Good times. Good times.

Quitting

Just so you all know, I'm officially giving up on the Photo Thing. I really don't like it, and I don't think anyone else really did either. Noone that I've talked to - that I know actually reads this thing - has really mentioned anything great about it, so I give up. I hate to do that since this is the first thing like this on my blog, but oh well. There are some thing in life you just have to get over, and this, I'm afraid, is one of them. Live and Learn, right?!

Bob White Quail

All day I have had to listen to D whine and complain about how she pulled a muscle in her butt. She did it while couponing at BiLo yesterday...Boo for the Carpet Fresh being on the bottom shelf!! Not only has she complained, but she has asked me several times to massage it - which I'm pretty sure is borderline sexual harassment! I'm still debating if I should report this to management or "turn the other cheek" - pun intended!!

On a lighter note, D has a new addiction to playing random animal noises. I'm pretty positive this is nowhere near as funny to anyone as it is to us, but let me tell you, there is a lot of laughing that takes place over these noises. D's personal fav comes from the Bob White Quail. You can hear this sound at http://soundbible.com/suggest.php?q=bobwhite+quail&x=14&y=7. We hear all kinds of animals from birds to jungle animals. You just never know what she's going to come up with next!!

iPhone

This is my first post from my iPhone. I've been a Droid girl for several years now, but I finally let David talk me into making the big switch. It just happened last night, but so far I am pleased. I must admit, two of the things I am most excited about are the ability to blog from my phone and the Pinterest App! :)

One of the Best Noises I've Ever Heard

Disclaimer...this is kind of a long post. I add this, because D complained the ENTIRE time that I was working on it!!



I have always wanted to can things. I come from a line of canners…my grandmothers canned, my aunts can, and my mom cans. I’m sure generations before that did as well, but those are the only ones that I can vouch for. I love the whole canning idea, but I have always been afraid to try it. After all, it is a lot of work and a lot can go wrong that will ruin everything.

Since we have a garden this year, I thought I would try it out. I have done some amateur pickle canning a couple of times already. I say amateur because I haven’t water boiled my jars. I made the kind that you refrigerate and eat a few weeks later. They have been successful which gave me the confidence to make the big leap.

After making my pickles, Leigh Ann and I decided to give real canning a shot. You see, she too comes from a long line of canners, but she has done more with this than I have. She’s made jellies and stuff like that before. That’s why I wanted to join forces with her – experience with the water boil – plus, I knew we would have loads of fun.

We gathered some recipes and all the produce that we needed – okra and peppers from my garden, tomatoes from her bro and sis-in law’s garden, peaches from one of the nurses at work, as well as a few extra things that we had to grab from a local produce stand. We made plans to meet at her house since David would be sleeping all day at mine. (Gotta love those night shifts!)

Here are some pics from the day …

First, our Salsa
**You know that's the #1 condiment in America?!? It's because people like to say Sal-sa, Sal-sa!!**

Here are our tomatoes. We had to blanch them, let them sit to drain, peel them (Doing that makes the peeling feel like old lady skin! It's kind of weird!), cut them, and let them drain some more.

We mixed onion, garlic, jalapeno, and cilantro (Well, in one batch. We made a second batch on a whim and didn't have enough cilantro. That batch has Bell Pepper instead. Not an even trade, by any means, but we needed some more green!)

 Then we had to cook the salsa. That was kind of weird, but it is what is needed for canning.
*Notice that nice water boil going on there too!!*

I poured the salsa into the jars and put on the lids.

 Then, we had to water boil the jars and flip them upside down. Why upside down, you ask?!? We have no idea, but that's what the recipe said to do, so we did it.

After that came the moment of truth. When we flipped them over, the popping sound began. We waited with great anticipation as they all popped one at a time, sealing the jar and making them able to keep for months on end! We were so excited!! That truly is one of the best noises EVER!!

Next came the Pickled Okra.

This is the Okra that came from our garden, washed and ready to go.

This was more fun and less stressful than the salsa. All we did was boil the jars, stuff the okra and add the seasonings (garlic, salt, dill, and peppers).

 Then came the water boil and the flipping!

The finished Pickled Okra. This was our favorite thing that we did!!

The last thing we did was the Peaches

 The peaches came from one of the nurses that works with us.

They were pretty easy too. We had to blanch them so the skin would be easier to peel off. Notice I said easier, not easy. Some of them were a pain in the rear end and some burnt the tar out of us!

Once we peeled them, we put them in the jars, poured in the simple syrup and flipped them upside down too.

 This was the finished product for the day - salsa, okra and peaches.

Anna Grace (aka AG) took our picture at the end of the day. She did great with LA's camera, but had a more difficult time getting focused with my phone.

Photo Challenge Catch Up

Sorry about the delay in the pics. I had a super busy weekend! (I'll blog about that next) That means I've got 3 days to make up for, plus today. Here we go...


Day 5 ... Number 16 ...Orange

I HEART Peach Nehi, especially when it is in a glass bottle. Every time I take a sip, I am automatically transformed back to my childhood sitting on the bench at Little Momma's table. I love the way it tastes, and I love the wonderful memories that it brings back every time I drink it.


Day 6 ... Number 29 ... Home

This is the home that my parents are living in while they are in the States. I am so thankful that my parents are "home" for 6 months. I have loved being able to visit them in Costa Rica and Guatemala over the past few years, but there is nothing like being able to drive to their house or have them drive to mine. I hate that we aren't able to spend more of this time together, but I'll take what I can get.

The next two pics will take me into the events of the weekend. I'll give the full details next.

Day 7 ... Number 10 ... Glass

This is the finished product - glass jars - from my canning day that I spent with Leigh Ann on Saturday.


Day 8 ... Number 18 ... Asymmetric

I will explain the blurriness later, but I couldn't help noticing the asymmetricness (not sure if that is a word...don't judge...it fit) of the two of us. This is my dear friend Leigh Ann...tall, slim and blonde. Me...not so much.

This is Totally Me

Bored

So, I'm 5 days in to this Photo Challenge and bored with it already. Maybe this wasn't the best idea that I've ever had! Sorry, Guys! I'll finish it though, since I said I would. I just really thought it would be way more fun than it has been. After I got started, I thought that I should have done this with Internet pics instead of my own. Maybe I'll try that another month. I think there would be much better things on the Internet. I do have one pic idea that should be pretty fun if I can pull it off, but we'll have to wait and see.

As a side note, I just learned how to share books on my Kindle. (If you don't know how, you can learn about it here http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200549320 ) I am going to borrow my very first book this weekend, and I'm pretty excited about it. I keep hearing about the series The Hunger Games, and my friends Beth and Leah talked me into reading them. I was skeptical since they are "Young Adult" books, but they say they are really worth reading. Don't worry, I'll let you know what I think when I finish.

Photo Challenge Day 4

Day 4 ... Number 13 ... Nature

This is Ben. Isn't he the cutest thing ever?!? Leigh Ann and I took her kids to pick strawberries a few months back. Ben mangaed to pick a few and eat A LOT!! We all had the best time!

Photo Challenge Day 3

Day 3 ... Number 22 ... Culture

My friends Beth, Leah, and I had dinner at Sakura last night. This was our chef in action.

Photo Challenge Day 2

Day 2 ... Number 28 ... Pattern

                                         The shirt D had on at work today.

Photo Challenge Day 1

Day 1 ... Number 19 ... Animal

Strykie

What's for Dinner

Thanks to Pinterest, I have found several new blogs that I enjoy reading. One of them that I have fallen in love with is Eat at Home. One of the things that I love about this site is the Weekly Menu. She posts a menu, recipes, and a grocery list to match. This week is the first time that I am trying it out. I am using this menu to start out with

http://eatathomecooks.com/2011/07/menu-grocery-list-recipes-year-2-week-38.html
Here's what’s on the menu this week:
Chicken Florentine Pizza, salad
Angel Hair with Red Onions and Black Olives, salad
Beef and Black Bean Taco Bake, chips and salsa, salad
Barbeque Pepper Jack Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Roasted Potatoes
Honey Cashew Pork Stir Fry over Rice, fortune cookies
Garlic Chicken with More Garlic in the Slow Cooker, couscous, steamed veggie

31 Day Photo Challenge

I saw this and thought it might be neat to try. I'm not promising to post a pic every day, but I will try. I will definitely take the pics each day, but I'll have to post as I can. I also don't think I'm going to go in order. I'm just more random like that. I'll post the number when I post the pic though so you can keep up.