Getting to know you

It's time again for getting to know you...check out my friend Keely's blog for more info, and to link up!

1.  Have you ever snooped around someone else's house?
nope.   just see no point. lol.  i am nosy, but openly so. :)
2. Can guys and girls be friends?
yup.  i have guy friends.  not the "hang out late at night and share secrets" type of friendship, but the kind where i know i can trust them, and lean on them when i need to type. :)
3. Can you curl your tongue?
yuppers
4. Have you ever stolen anything?
mom says i stole something as a child...but i don't remember.
5. Would you rather talk on the phone or text?
yup. ha!
6. Memorial Day plans?
hanging around the house.  relaxin with my family.
7. What do you do to relax?
different things...watch mindless tv (the office anyone?), read, drink a wine cooler, play a board game.
8. Do you do anything to honor those that have died fighting for our freedom?
honestly?  i think of them and smile...knowing that in this day and age, this is their profession.  their job. 

Lazy days

Today is a lovely day...hot, but gorgeous.  so i went grocery shopping this morning. then i cut the grass...see how lovely?

If you look carefully, you can see where the grass is still tall b/c it was too wet to mow!

then we washed the dogs...and moved two of them by the chicken yard to protect the new chickens. see?

 Then we brought Rosco in to be trained to be a service dog for me...he'll have to get used to being inside...and he's camera shy!

Then we checked out the garden and my potted plants while teaching Rosco some new commands.

all this while the cat was being useless...or is it lazy?  maybe both!

 oh, and the children played in the new sprinkler...for a lil bit anyway!

all in all, a great day.  now Rosco and I have to get in the kitchen to make dinner!

Thru MM's eyes

1. What do you love the most about Gen?

Is this PG?  Um, Selflessness

2. what is Gen's best feature? 

Smile

3 - What is your favorite thing to do? 

Sword fight

4 - What was the last gift you gave Gen? 

Shopping Spree

5 - What is your favorite movie?

Lord of the Rings Trilogy

6 - What does Gen do, that is your biggest pet peeve?

Forget stuff

7 - Describe your first date with Gen. 

Pizza after camping.

8 - What is your favorite Superhero? 

Deadpool

9 - Who is the saver and who is the spender in the family? 

I'm the saver, she's the spender, no doubt about it.

10 - Which family member (out of hers and yours) are you the closest to? 

My dad.

11 - What do you see for yourself and Gen in the next five years?

Raising girls.

12 - What's your favorite thing to do with Gen? 

Uh...SCA

13. what would be a good profession for Gen? 

Teacher

a weekend of fun

Hey ya'll! as you may, or may not, know, mm and i took a trip to arkansas with three of our closest friends...and our youngest daughter. mm was the solitary male in the van full of females...and he still did all our lifting. i got a great guy ya'll!

This is my best friend. the one my daughter is named after...she's a light in my life like no other!

SCA fighting...This was the first bout of the day.

This is my Pops...and my Miss V.  He is my best friends hubby...and a wonderful friend.  My girls love him to pieces!

Pops again, with my, uh, adopted daughter Shell in the background.

Arkansas country...it's beautiful!

MM loves the mountains...and climbing things!

The four muskateers.  These are some of the greatest friends a girl, or MM, could ask for.  left to right it's me, Isabella, Shell, and Auntie K.

MM lovin life.

Just to prove I'm not ALWAYS behind the camera, here is me walking thru the water. :)

Shell, or Izzy as we call her, is all smiles on the way home...just before she napped!

Bella and Izzy hangin out.

Auntie K and Miss V hang out...Miss V loves it!

Blog button party!!!

Hey ya'll, check out the blog button party!

I think this is a great idea, and I'm really glad I made a blog button now!  join in, could be lots of fun!

Pictures, fun, and more!

Lookie at me mom...I'm helping!  Hard to believe this baby was just....

This new little thing.  Well, ok, not little...but anyway.  Miss V started at 11.5 pounds...and now, at 7 months, weighs in over 22 pounds.  wowsers.

i think that top pic is one of my favorites, what do you think?

Keely has her getting to know you post up a day early b/c of mother's day.  check it out here.

The questions..


1. What has been your most memorable Mother's Day? (with your mom, as a mom, or with your wife)
The year my hubby got me a vacuum, because i asked for it.  the whole day he'd tell people what he got me, and they'd be all "oooHHHH you are in TROUBLE", but truthfully, i was over the moon!
2. Have you ever been pulled over for speeding and were you able to talk your way out of it?
I have been, and I didn't try.  Told the officer that I was hurrying to get home b/c I had two crying babies and a sick-trying-not-to-throw-up girl in the backseat.  He gave me a ticket for an expired license (this was right after they changed the rules about when your license expired), and then said if I got my license within the week, he'd drop the ticket.
3. What's the oldest thing you have hanging in your closet?
My wedding dress, I think.
4. Do you whiten your teeth?
Nope.  tried it once, didn't seem to do anything.
5. Underwear or Panties..What do you call your "unmentionables"?
panties.  undies.  unmentionables.  depends on my mood and who i'm talking to!
6. If you could go on vacation right now..today..where would you go?
Paris.  France that is. ;)
7. Do you get offended when people cuss on their blogs?
Not particularly.
8. If you had to give up one luxury item, it would be....?
no idea.  i love my stuff man!

Giveaway at a friends...

hey ya'll!  Check out my friend over at The Toy Box Years is having a birthday giveaway.  Her blog is now a year old...check it out!  The giveaway on day 7 is from my etsy store!  Check out my etsy store here.  I've been adding things...so if you've looked before and it's only been earrings, check again!  In a week or so i'll be doing another giveaway so keep checking back!  If you are interested in my sponsoring a giveaway on your blog, let me know!  I'm totally for that. :)

dowdy motherhood and weight loss dreams!

hey ya'll.  So, am I alone in my quest to want to be thinner?  Give a shout out ya'll, after birthing many babies, the weight just doesn't fall off anymore!  I'm not sure it ever did...but don't tell!  So yeah, after all the children...i was huge! (this is pre-miss v days)

I've now lost around 30 pounds.  But there were many years when I tried thing after thing and nothing worked.  Believe me...I tried it all!  So, two and a half years ago, I decided to try running.  yup.  running.  got the shoes.  check.  got the clothes.  check.  got the spot to run.  check.  got the hubby to come home and watch the children...no check.

you got it.  while MM was thrilled that i wanted to get in shape, he wasn't so good at coming home in time for me to run.  so two years ago, i decided to join Curves.  My husband asked why.  My answer is simple...if you are paying for it, you're more likely to come home!

So I joined.  It's been two years...and i've lost almost 30 pounds.  In that time, i've gotten pregnant and given birth to a precious 11.5 pound baby girl...all the while losing weight.  Trust me, I have plenty to get rid of! lol.

So for years I've wished I could pull off those cute spring time fashions...you know, the sleeveless little dresses that are so cute...and my arms just were NOT going to agree to that.  After two years, my arms are finally decent enough that I tried on one of those cute lil spring dresses.  So I tried one on, and came out of the dressing room...and MM's face was....amazed.  He said that he loved the way I looked in this dress, and we *had* to buy it!  So we did.  And today, I'm wearing a lovely springtime dress...see?

 If my other computer would let me get to the pictures, i could prolly find an older one. :)  Anyway, I know it might not be thrilling to ya'll, but I feel great!!!

May 3

Today is May 3.  It was 13 years ago today that my maternal grandmother passed away.  My baby girl, Miss V, is named after my Grandmother...we called her "mawmaw".  seems hardly possible that it was 13 years ago.

How she'd enjoy these great grand babies...

I can hear her say how much AJ, CG, and V look like me...and my mom....and her.

All the memories I have from so many years ago...

I wonder if somewhere there is a pic of my grandmother and me...like this one of my mom and miss v.

Amazingly...there are so many memories...like the time that I wanted to enter a cooking competition with my grandmothers shrimp stew...and needed a recipe.  and she didn't have one.  My mom drove us to her house to measure while she cooked....so i could have a recipe.  won a blue ribbon with her recipe.  Miss her so much.

She would love these babies.  AJ looks so much like her...and me...and my mom.  AR LOVES to cook...she'd love that!  CM loves to eat...she'd love that too!  CG...looks a lot like her too...and Miss V....oh how she'd love Miss V.  The giggles, the eating, the playing....she'd love it all!

I miss her...so much.  and i see so much of her in my mother...you know....she spoils her grandbabies just like my grandma did.  so looks forward to seeing her grandbabies, and cooking to their preferences.  How blessed are my children to have such time with their grandmother.  I love my mom...greatest grandma ever, next to my gramma that is.

Playing along with Keely over at MannLand5...check her out!

The questions..

1. Are you superstitious?
   Not really.  OCD yes...

2. If you were an animal..what kind would you be?
   cat.  so i could own the world and not worry about anyone else!

3. You would never catch me wearing.........?
  spandex.  fat people just shouldn't...

4.  If someone posts a VLOG..do you watch it?
  what's a VLOG? ha!

5. Have you ever waxed your girlie/manly parts..or any other part of your body?
  nope.  i get my eyebrows waxed though.

6. Are you a spender or a saver?
a spender.

7. If  you were starring in a movie..who would you want to play your leading man/woman?
does my husband count?  if i have to pick...sean connery.  or richard gere.

8. Smoker..never smoked..social smoker..or smoked back in the day?
never.