Here’s my 2nd edition of Makes Me Smile Monday. I was going through some of my old photos, and came across this gem:
Because of this party, we’ve started planning for a big 30th birthday party for a couple of us who have the milestone coming up next year. :) Cannot.Wait! :) It’s gonna be awesome!! :)
The month in review. :)
So proud of my best friend!! Tiffany graduated from UNC with her Masters!! :) I’m so excited for her.
After the graduation ceremony, her husband threw her a great dinner. This is after dinner, and I love them. :) They love each other SO.MUCH. And I love seeing them together. They make me happy. :)
The kids in TinyTown at church sand some songs for us one Sunday morning. Ava, my youngest niece, is the on on the right in the blue dress with a bow in her hair. She was so funny, as always. Love seeing kids sing to God! :)
We did landscaping around the front of the house. This is the picture the day we did the planting. Since then, we’ve added a dogwood tree to the right front, just beside the sidewalk, and spread more mulch to the left. It only took us 3 years to add some “curb” appeal. :)
For my brother’s birthday, he decided that he wanted to race 4-wheelers, again. Two weeks later, he raced again. We went to see him, and rode with his wife and kids. Ava passed out on the way.
This is Brock with some of the other guys who raced that night looking over the track. Brock’s on the 4-wheeler.
And this is Brock during the practice. I love watching him race. He’s such a natural, and so good! He won first place that night!! :)
We spent Memorial Day at the beach with friends. It’s always a great, relaxing time. The guys went fishing on Saturday, and came back with a lot of dolphin (mahi). This is the biggest one they caught, >30 lbs. It was GREAT fried up Sunday on the beach!! :)
And this is one with all of their fish.
The girls with the fish, and the big fisherman of the day! :)
Everyone game Marc a hard time because his shirt looks like the dolphin. If you count him, he’s the biggest catch of the day! :)
Sunday of Memorial Weekend:
Sand bar at low tide…the guys pushed us off
Wild horses on Carrot Island. Seriously, one of the most beautiful sights there is…
And that’s pretty much it for May. Great month.
Now, I’m looking forward to the rest of June. :) Two of my nieces have birthdays, helping to host a baby shower for one of our life group couples, DEF LEPPARD concert (I.cannot.WAIT!!) with all the friends, my 28th birthday, which then leads to July and another weekend at the beach. :)
Hope you’re having a great month! :)
July was such a busy month!
Remember all this from my last post?
Well, softball is finally finished! I had so much fun playing this year! I think it might have helped that we won a few more games than in years past? I don’t know. But I had a great time getting together with friends every week! =.)
August should be much more relaxed, but our days, weeks, weekends always seem to fill up fast. I have a ton of birthdays to celebrate this month! I can’t wait to celebrate with Tiffany and Kelli for their birthdays! =.)
Our circle of friends is growing, and I love that! =.)
Here are a few more pictures of the past month…I love my life! =.)
Karleigh
It’s crazy how fast that little puppy is growing! My Mama hasn’t even had her a whole month, but she’s getting taller and gaining some weight. And she just loves on Ace! I love watching them all play together! =.)
This weekend will consist of LOTS of cleaning! My house has taken the brunt of my busy schedule. I keep putting off a true cleaning!
Unless, that is, Marc guilts me into going to the lake tomorrow. =.) Hah! =.)
Alright…an hour of work left…I can do it! =.)
Have a great weekend, y’all! =.)
This weekend was so much fun…but it went by WAY too quickly, as seems to be the trend, recently. =.)
Friday night, I headed over to help tie up the programs for Krystle’s wedding. Holy cow, she’s getting married on SATURDAY. I.Can’t.Wait! =.) A bunch of us ladies were hanging out at Krystle’s mom’s house to finish up the programs and some other stuff she needed finished for the reception. Some of the Good Time Girls were there…seriously, so fun. =.) I love them! =.)
Oh, and I found my shoes for the wedding…I’m in love. I’m not sure how long I’ll actually stay in them, though…they’re a bit high. =.) But so gorgeous! =.) And they were on sale for $20. Score! =.) I can’t find a pic online, but I’ll be sure to show y’all later.
Saturday, I painted my nails…they were looking rough. Now they’re pretty, again! =.) Then, I headed to pick up KT and meet Katie so we could go to the Bridal Luncheon. We went to the Carolina Inn. It was my first time there. It was really nice! And we were in the Coral/Fish room…so fitting for the bride! =.)
Good Time Girls In-Training: me, Katie, Jennifer, Sarah, KT, Krystle, Victoria, Megan
After the luncheon, I picked up the dogs, and KT, Katie and me met the boys at the lake. It was such a hot day…the lake felt wonderful! We had a great time, and Paisley had a blast swimming and chasing waves! =.)
Here’s all the girls from the lake:
Stacy, Katie, Krystle, KT, me
We spent Saturday night at the lake with everyone. Woke up on Sunday, cleaned, washed sheets and towels, and went back out on the lake. The boys were having fun wake surfing, and it was the perfect day! The sun was out and there was a great breeze. Heaven! =.) We headed back to the lake house, packed up and came home.
It was a very nice, relaxing weekend. I believe it was prepping us for this weekend, which is going to be so.much.fun. I can’t wait for the wedding!
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Happy Monday, y’all! =.)
Something awful has happened. We lost one of our friends. That was Tuesday, March 2, 2010. We lost our friend Brad at the age of 26. His birthday is tomorrow, March 12th.
He died while doing tree trimming work.
You see, Brad was a firefighter. On his days off, he and several other firemen worked for a tree trimming company. On Tuesday, Brad was working, and fell from a tree.
He didn’t survive.
On Thursday, a ton of people turned out for his visitation at the funeral home. The firemen were lining the hall leading to the family. They show so much respect for their fallen. They had their fire truck in front of the funeral home for the service. There was a huge flag hanging from the raised ladder. It was absolutely beautiful. The fire station even had this banner made with Brad in all of his fire gear, In loving memory.
The funeral was Friday. Gosh, Brad was loved. He was loved so, so much. The church was completely packed with all of his family and friends, and his fire family. The service was just wonderful. The preacher spoke a little, then the fire chaplain spoke. After that, they opened it up to friends who wanted to say something about Brad. His superiors and co-workers got up and talked about Brad and his work ethic. How he was just great at being a fireman, and how he loved it. Everyone told great stories. We laughed and we cried.
The firemen all lined up again as Brad was taken out for his final ride. All of the city fire trucks led the way. It was all so touching.
At the graveside, they gave him a fireman’s burial, and a Mason’s burial.
It’s just so hard to watch his family and friends going through all of this heartache.
With all of this happening last week, it’s made me realize how God hasn’t promised us tomorrow.
So, live each day to the fullest.
Make sure everyone knows you love them.
Don’t take friends and family for granted.
Thank God for the blessings He has given you in this temporary life.
Make your life MEAN something…even if it just means you’re a great mom, sister, brother, son, father, daughter, grandmother, grandfather.
Don’t let a day go by where you regret your decisions.
Take advantage of your life, your love.
And for Brad:
“The road goes on forever, and the party never ends.”
I don’t know why y’all still follow me, unless it’s the fact that I’m not gonna fill up your Reader! =.)
But I’ve been in a funk. I’ve got nothing interesting to blog about.
My weekends are almost always the same. Dinner with friends on Friday. Hanging out with friends on Saturday. Church on Sunday. That’s my wrap up!
And while we aren’t getting near the amount of snow as some of the states north of us, we’re still getting a little bit. It’s been nice. I know – don’t get mad at me for saying that! We don’t get a lot of snow, and it’s so pretty when we do! =.)
It snowed this past Friday. And it was all melted by lunch on Saturday. Perfect snow! And we got almost 2 inches overnight.
I have 2 favorite things from the past two weekends:
1. Dear John. I saw it with Tiffany, Kelli, Katie, and KT. I really, really liked it. I read the book way back when it was first published, so it’s been awhile. As I was watching the movie, bits and pieces kept coming back to me. I loved the movie, though. And I knew I would cry. I cry at everything Nicholas Sparks. But it wasn’t about the love story side of it. It was all the scenes with John’s dad. So precious!
2. Game Nights. Last weekend, we played games with 2 other couples on Saturday night. We finally played Pictionary Man, and then we played Cranium. Needless to say, the girls won. =.) We’re awesome! =.) Then, this past weekend, while we were all together to celebrate February birthdays, we played Imagine Iff and Cranium, just the girls. So.much.fun. I absolutely LOVE board games!! =.)
Perhaps I’ll have some exciting things to post about this weekend. I leave Friday for New Orleans for work. I fly back up Tuesday night. That means I’m leaving Marc at home by himself. I think he’ll survive. I imagine he’ll enjoy being able to play Call of Duty without me interrupting when I get home from work. (Seriously, I’m close to hating that game)
And that’s all I have. Told you I sucked as a blogger! =.) Guess I’m just in a funk. I bet if I had more Vitamin D (i.e. more sun), I’d be more interesting! =.) I love my snow, but I’m ready for spring! =.)
Have a wonderful week! =.)
And I leave you with this awesome quote I found! =.)
“Your life is your garden, your thoughts are the seeds. If your life isn’t awesome, you’ve been watering the weeds.”
–Terry Prince
In my part of North Carolina, it’s rare that we see substantial snow. And by substantial, I mean more than a few inches. You see, when we get more than an inch, cities shut down. Our area just isn’t prepared for snowfall.
Which is absolutely GREAT if you’re a kid, because all you want to do is play in the snow. And you definitely don’t want to go to school if there’s snow on the ground.
However, if you’re a teacher, you understand that snow days = less Spring Break. Kids don’t think about that part of it, though. =.) And who could blame them?!? =.)
The weather people were forecasting anywhere between 4-10 inches at my home. Depending on where the lines were, it could be a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain.
So, on Friday around 6:00 pm, it started snowing. It was gorgeous! Lovely, beautiful flakes of the white stuff. I absolutely loved it.
People in my office…not so much. You would think that the world were ending with just the prediction of snow. I went to Appalachian State University. That means that I had the potential to see snow from November through May. Since I’ve graduated and moved back home almost 5 years ago (has it really been that long?), I’ve only had 3 snows worth counting. One this past weekend, one last year, and I’m sure there was another one before that.
Needless to say, I don’t mind the snow. =.)
And I got some pictures of the house before the dogs and trucks ‘messed’ it up. =.)
The snow was still falling…
We decided to go sledding, so some of our friends came over. A few miles from the house is a road with a massive hill. Perfect for sledding! =.)
Here’s the girls: Sarah, Katie, me
The start of “The Hill”
On Sunday, Marc had to work some, so I hung out with my Mama and Miss Ava. She’s simply precious! =.) She and Mama came over to my house to walk the dogs, so when we got back to Mama’s house, and took off Ava’s toboggan (her hat), her hair was just crazy!! Love it!
She fell asleep before I left…sweet girl
Hope you had a great weekend! It’s almost here, again!! =.)
Have a happy day, y’all! =.)
We had such a nice weekend!
We weren’t sure if Marc’s dad and stepmom were coming up until late Thursday. The guys are building a ramp for Marc’s grandma that fell. Lyman, my FIL, doesn’t want her walking up the steps to their porch/entry door to their house. I think he, and Grandpa Johnson, would just feel a lot better if there was a ramp for Grandma Johnson. However, the ground is so wet from all the rain we’ve been getting around here lately. So, they couldn’t do it this weekend. Lyman and Melinda might be coming up this weekend, instead, depending on the weather. It absolutely poured here last night, but it’s windy today. Maybe it’ll dry out. =.)
So, instead, we went out with friends. There were 13 of us total, and we went to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, then we went bowling. By the time we finished eating, it was around 9, so we got to “Cosmic Bowl” in black lights. I was so excited, because I outscored everyone except for one guy on our first round. It was a lot of fun just hanging out with everyone. One of our guy friends spent the night at our house on Friday so that he and Marc could stay up and play a game on the PS3. After I turned off the subwoofer and asked them to turn down the volume, I slept. They didn’t go to bed until around 4:30. No, thank you!
Saturday was just a low key day. We slept in, which was fantastic! =.) Marc and our friend, Chad, started playing their war game again, so I took the dogs over to my parents house and hung out with my Mama. She sewed up a few things for me that I needed fixed, and we talked crafts. =.) She’s decided that she’s making everyone something hand-made for Christmas this year, and she’s going to get started on it, now! We went through some of her old fabric. She received this “a craft a day” calendar, and one of the crafts tells how to make a cover for a camera strap. Since my camera’s strap is kind of old and dirty, I want to spruce it up. So, I’m going to piece together these 6 brightly colored scraps that she has, and make a strap. I’ll show when it’s finished! =.)
We had a lazy Saturday afternoon, then headed over to our friend’s house for dinner. Pulled pork that was delicious, with some sides. Three of the girls there have weddings this spring/summer, so there was TONS of wedding talk! =.) Then two of us slipped away to catch some of the Duke/Clemson basketball game. =.)
Sunday morning, we went to church, then went to the 3rd membership class. We learned a little about our spiritual gifts and where we can serve using those gifts. It was pretty interesting. Of the 15-20 people in the class, 8 of them were from our life group. We totally represented! =.)
After class, we grabbed lunch at Red Robin with our friends, Chris and Jennifer, who are getting married April 24th. The we headed to Family Christian Stores to pick up some devotionals for Marc and myself. I’m excited about mine! I picked up Women of the Bible, and it’s a 52 week study. So, so excited to learn about some of the women that aren’t taught or talked about as much. =.) Marc chose the Max Lucado Devotional Bible. I think I’ll be reading that one next! =.)
We lounged around at the house and I did some laundry before we went to bed.
It was kind of a lazy weekend, but I absolutely LOVED it! I needed a low-key weekend. And it was nice to have Marc home to lounge with! =.)
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Oh, and I won a giveaway a few weeks ago, and I haven’t posted, but I’ll post about it this week! I’m in love! =.)
This weekend was absolutely wonderful!
I was in Charleston, SC last week, from Wednesday through Friday for work. It’s my favorite training event of the whole year. It’s just people who share my position in different offices across North and South Carolina. It’s laid-back and relaxed. We send in our questions/discussion topics, then a lady from Austin, TX flies out to spend two days with us, answering any and all questions we may have about a myriad of things. They can range from processes and procedures, to programming and preferred vendors, to time blocking and best practices. While not everything that will be addressed is applicable to everyone, it’s so much better than the international training that seems to be geared towards all the newbies with really just the most basic of topics.
Anyways…I got there on Wednesday evening, and met up with some others for dinner. We went to R.B.’s, and it was delicious! I had a GREAT salad, and a spectacular dessert of key lime pie. Yum! =.)
Thursday, we had class until around 4:30 p.m., then some time to relax a little before dinner. I enjoyed 27 Dresses on HBO while I waited for dinner.
Dinner was at a great restaurant called Crave. Delicious! I had a salad with lemon vinaigrette (delish!), ravioli, and tempura cheese bites. It was all wonderful! =.)
Friday, we spent in ‘class’ until around 2:30 p.m., then I headed up to Charlotte to meet Marc and Katie at Grant’s house outside of Monroe. Friday night, we went to Dave and Buster’s at Concord Mills, and had an absolute blast! =.) Marc and I were awesome in Air Hockey. They have a table where 4 people play at a time. We played couples and opposite sex. We played some shooting games, some skee ball, some racing games. Then Katie and I gave all of our tickets to this little girl who really wanted a stuffed animal. Too cute!
Saturday, Grant had to work at the Boll Weevil Festival in Marshville, which is the town he’s working in for the next year. It was quite interesting. =.) And that’s all I’m gonna say on that one…
We went to Razoo for dinner on Saturday, after TONS of deliberation on where to eat. It was great! Very tasty Cajun food. =.) And a gator bowl…=.)
Sunday, Marc and I went to Concord Mills to look around…I’m quite proud of myself, as I didn’t buy anything while we were there, other than a Mocha from Starbucks and a Sprite out of the machine that looks more like a TV with a 4 ft by 2 ft touch screen menu. Very weird, but kinda cool.
Then, we headed home, and I was pretty much lazy for the rest of the evening. I was a bit frustrated, as my laptop wouldn’t connect via wireless at the hotel, which offered free internet, and at home, it wouldn’t connect via Ethernet cord. Not too happy about that. Gotta get with the tech guy at work to see if he can get it fixed for me. =.)
And, that’s my weekend, in a very random matter.
My favorite thing about this weekend, though, is that we didn’t have anything planned. We weren’t on a schedule. We could decide we wanted to do something, then do it, with no time restraints. It was glorious! And it almost felt like a vacation! =.)
I did learn how to hit a golf ball this weekend. We practiced with golf ball sized wiffle balls in Grant’s back yard. I didn’t think I would enjoy golf, and now I know that I don’t. However, I can see where if I were better at golf, I might then enjoy it. I still don’t plan to watch it on television, as it’s just really boring to me. Sorry for those of you who enjoy it! =.)
I hope your weekend was wonderful! What did you do?!?
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself…” Matthew 6:34
I’m really excited. I’m heading to Charleston, SC tomorrow for two days of training. This is my favorite training event that we have. It’s for just the people who hold my same position in offices across North and South Carolina. It’s just a lot of fun!
Last year, we were in Wilmington, NC. It was fun, but it’s just not Charleston. I’m excited to see some of my girls from Charlotte! =.) It’s been a few months, so it’s about time. =.)
And while I’m happy to be heading down to Charleston tomorrow, that means that everything at work seems to pile up and everyone waits until the last minute to request items they’ll need while I’m away.
So, on top of the typical daily tasks I need to complete, I also have to add in a few more unexpected items to get done. I don’t mind, but I feel like I’m forgetting something, because my ‘To Do’ list/stack just keeps growing. =.) Oh, well…I’ll be in Charleston tomorrow! =.)
And tonight, I finally get to enjoy dinner with my girls for Tiffany’s birthday! =.) We’ve been trying to get together for a few weeks, now. I miss these girls when we don’t meet monthly! =.) And it’s really only been a month since Tiffany’s birthday dinner and ballgame, but Kelli couldn’t make it that week, so it’s been longer since the three of us have spent some time together. Can’t wait to see them! =.)
I hope you have a great day! =.)
“…God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear…” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Okay, is everyone else as excited about the Fall lineup as I am? I mean, I keep seeing more and more previews, and I’m having a really hard time picking what I want to watch! =.) I don’t want to watch this much TV, but there’s so much out there! And it’s starting soon! I’m really excited! =.)
What am I excited about seeing, you may ask? Here’s what I will be DVRing:
One Tree Hill (No Luke & Peyton – I’ll have to see if it’s still worth watching after the first few episodes.)
Dancing with the Stars (Although I’m not as excited about this season’s ‘stars’ as I normally would be.)
NCIS:LA {Chris O’Donnell & LL Cool J? Hello! =.)}
Glee (I caught the pilot episode this week, and I’m intrigued! And I loved that they sang Don’t Stop Believing)
So You Think You Can Dance? (The summer season was great! Can’t wait for this to start next week!)
And, there you have it…my fall TV lineup. I’m gonna be a couch potato all fall! I’ll definitely have to DVR and catch up on the weekends.
Super excited about this long weekend! Working at two offices is wearing me out! =.) Enjoy your long weekend and be safe! We’ll be at the lake enjoying this gorgeous weather with friends and pups! Can’t wait!
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
“Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” John 20:29
Does anyone else use Windows Live Writer to post blogs? I sometimes just hate getting on blogger to post things. It seems like such a pain, especially if I’m posting more than one picture.
So, I’m gonna try using Live Writer, and see if it’s more user friendly. =.)
I know I’ve been MIA, but Marc finally went through both of the cards on my camera and put all of our pictures on the computer at home, so I don’t have any good pics to upload and share with y’all. I have a really cute post that I wanted to do last Friday about Paisley, but I only had 2 pictures, and I wanted some from when she was little. All of those pics are on the computer at home, and I just didn’t take the time to post this weekend.
I was quite crafty this weekend, though! I finally finished a purse that I had started ages ago (like November 2008). Really…it was forever ago. And I spent some time at Mama’s on Sunday cutting out an apron pattern for a Christmas present. Yes, I’m already planning Christmas presents. Things just get to crazy after Thanksgiving to do anything crafty – everything after that point just gets purchased, not made. (So, Tiffany, I’d love to make you that purse, so we need to go one Saturday so you can pick out some fabric!)
****Also, please pray for my friend Kelli. Her grandmother passed away on Sunday. The funeral is today at 11:00 am. I love you, Kelli! ****
“May the God of peace…equip you with everything good for doing his will…” Hebrews 13:20-21
So, I’m super slack and didn’t even post this yesterday, but here goes:
Happy Birthday, Tiffany!
I hope your birthday was perfect! I had a great time at the Durham Bulls game! Love you!
Chad jumping 'over' Katie
**It was getting dark, and the flash on my camera started auto-focusing on the dust between me and the jump instead of on the jumper. Sorry for that.**
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