It has been, a while…

It’s not like I have a lot of viewers or people banging on my e-mail door asking for a post. But I will go ahead and give myself an ultimatum because that is what I do. If you don’t put yourself in the corner occasionally, you become a naughty public menus. 

Okay. Where am I? I am in a coffee house with my laptop. First time ever blogging from a “trendy” spot. I am so cool. Well, not really but some people think I am. Am I suppose to be blogging? No. I am suppose to be working. Yes peeps, I have a job among my other duties as a mother raising my daughters which is the best job ever and is my main job still. There came a point where I knew, if I was to reach my goals, I needed to find another form on income. We are truly blessed and not hurting, but need to rethink the need verses want mentality that this generation has encountered. Both of my parents were born at or the end of the great depression. So, the thinking of my grand-parents was to not waste anything nor get rid of anything. I have a reminder of this downstairs in my garage and sun-room. It isn’t until now that I have been really okay with letting go of so many wonderful “collectibles”. E-bay is a great reminder why you should not hold onto Barbies with lopped of hair and beautician in training make up via Crayola. You should see my collection. Yikes. Vintage 1970’s with joints that move. Scary! Anyway. Next topic. 

So, like I was saying and got off topic like I usually do, I found a job doing insurance work from home. It pays well and is definitely challenging my brain. So, after waking at crack of dawn to prep the day with my sweet girls, once they are down for a nap or quiet alone time- I am working on E-mails and spreadsheets. Then, back to focusing on my girls development, and then the day is almost done, hubby home and back to working. Laundry and dishes get a smidge behind some days. But I try to keep it up and not leave to much for the hubs. It is a huge adjustment to keep up with it all and my brain is doing a huge reset after not working (using the other part of my brain very often) in corporate America since 2009. 

I am still back and forth about some avenues i’d like to take. We humans always fear failure or making a bad decision that could domino effect your entire world. It’s much easier to uproot when you are single. When you have small children and a career around your belt, you have a lot more anxiety because you have other mouths to feed other than your own. And diapers. Many diapers. I found that the things that I do have control with like organization and decorating help me feel accomplished in other areas I cannot fulfill yet. I hope to post what kind of organization, baking and decorating I have done. 

Thank you for reading my post. Enjoy the updated image of my two rain drop and dew drop playing.  

Have a happy, always blessed outlook life. And look at the clouds today. Or tomorrow. And find a fluffy sheep, prancing in a meadow. Or a turtle jumping over a dog. Whatever the clouds do, you find it. 

Right now I see a walrus skip roping. No, I am not on meds. You’d see it too…maybe. 

Milling Wheat- A Flavorful Shock!

Here is a sneak peek into my kitchen and what has been going on. I’ll post more and update soon! I am needing some beauty sleep. Until then, I bid you farewell. 🙂

Bring out the groundhog!

For most of the region there has been snow, ice and horrible chills to the bone kind of wind. We on the other hand, in the south-east are at the last week of January and we have a high of 64 and have had temperatures above 50 degrees for several weeks. Did I mention it is monsoon season as well? Don’t get me wrong, we need the rain. We have had very low water counts during the summer putting us at the mercy of nearby puddles that tempt you to splash in them… oil slicked and all. So.  I say. let’s bring out the groundhog before groundhogs day and see what he thinks. No people. Not global warming. 1800’s had their warm winters too.

On another note. My girls are finally feeling a hint better even though they still seem to run a tad warmer than I like here and there.

What’s to come for 2012 posts.

• Fresh Ground Wheat and bread making moments
• More of my girls
• Dealing with debt
• Cooking and baking without white sugar…brave soul I am!
• Organization the OCD way
• Craftiness in so many ways
• Love of family
• Photography via Instagram
• Health in real wheat
• Managing being a mommy of two

At that- due to being a short post. I will post pictures, why? Because they make me happy and they hopefully will make you happy too!

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Beware of the Lady Bugs

My sweet two year old daughter, Alida loves bugs… as pictures… in books. Not on the ground, crawling, flying towards her. It seems our house is being inundated by lady bugs, which I will take over most other bugs. But as I was trying to feed my 2 month old Heidi, Alida comes running, face full of fear of a sweet little lady bug( can’t full me bug, I know you stink, badly when threatened). I try to explain to her “You’re safe!”,  “Sweet bug, nice bug” but she will not have it. She wants up, in my lap, right then and there. So, to accommodate this fear stricken child, I pull her up on my right side while Heidi is being braced by my left, having to take a reluctant break in her feeding. I finally calm Alida down by petting her. As I proceed to get up, she freaks out. Refusing to get down. There was no way her toes were going to touch the ground that lady bug rules over. I start a rhyme about a lady bug from a book she likes. She peeks down at it on the floor, making sure she knows where it is at all times. I get up to set Heidi, my two month old down and Alida still refuses to get down. So, I come to the rescue, carrying her with me to the kitchen.

This is only a small portion of my day of the, what you would call… drama. Humorous, fun memories that I can always cherish. No matter how stressed, overwhelmed or anxiety filled the day may be. End of the day, I am loved and wanted. I am a mom who is there for my girls and always will be.

Hope you enjoyed the post. Kids are fantastic!

Homemade Soup & Bread- the best for warming the soul

Photo by Me

Crusty French Bread

This is a delightful, bread that will be worth every oz of muscle used to prep it. Really not that hard to make. I use King Arthur Flour. I am in the process of purchasing a wheat mill to venture to the healthier side of breads since I am a carbohydrate queen.

via Allrecipes.com By: Deanna Naivar 

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• Cornmeal
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon cold water

 Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; return to bowl. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a loaf 16 in. long x 2-1/2 in. wide with tapered ends. Sprinkle a greased baking sheet with cornmeal; place loaf on baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes.
4. Beat egg white and cold water; brush over dough. With a sharp knife, make diagonal slashes 2 in. apart across top of loaf. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup

This is a satisfying, hearty soup that will make you feel you did a good thing eating it. Soup, does a body good. 😉 Instead of Italian Sausage, I used Jennie-O Ground Turkey Sausage. The outcome was lovely. I went to Olive Garden, and I prefer this version.

Via The Pioneer Woman By Ree Drummond

Ingredients

• 2 bunches Kale, Picked Over, Cleaned, And Torn Into Bite Sized Pieces
• 12 whole Red Potatos, Sliced Thin
• 1 whole Onion, Chopped
• 1-1/2 pound Italian Sausage
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (more To Taste)
• 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 4 cups Half-and-half
• Splash Of Heavy Cream
• Fresh Or Dried Oregano
• Black Pepper To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Prepare the kale and set it aside.

In a medium pot. boil sliced potatoes until tender. Drain and set aside.

In a large pot, crumble and brown the Italian sausage. Drain as much as the fat as you can. Stir in the red pepper flakes, oregano, chicken broth, milk, and half-and-half. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Give it a taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add the potatoes, a splash of heavy cream for richness, then stir in the kale. Simmer an additional 10-15 minutes, then serve.

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The soup recipe makes enough to feed twice for a family of four if not more. I froze the leftovers to have quick, hearty, healthy pull out lunches. My husband does not like “unique” soups, so it is just me. Don’t knock it until you try it. 😉

 

 

Adjusting to Two

It really as been a whirlwind since having my second child in early November. With Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas & New Years, I am ready for a calm 2012 for the most part. I know that calm is a relative term when you are raising a toddler and newborn. These girls are such a blessing to our family. You know how you feel complete? Fulfilled? That is me. I really feel this is what the Lord has planned for me and to feel content. Children are a blessing from Him and I know that things can change.

We brought in the New Year with illness, sadly. With all the hectic rush of gatherings with family members, it was bound to happen. It has be an overwhelming three weeks with almost starting sleep training with our newborn, now that she is sick we are behind. We feel she will do great though. She seems to have sleep and feeding down pat. Tummy time is always fun for us, especially for big sister come sit down and join in. My oldest loves to interact with little sister which is a joy to see.

In public, it seems people are looking for animosity in children when you introduce a new sibling. But I am a firm believer in if you prepare your little ones with love and reassurance about the new arrival and explain to them from day one, you will have great success. Personality can alter that sometimes, but if you feed your little ones negativity, you are signing your little one up for failure to accept change. I am speaking based on experience of being a third born.

My girls get along swimmingly and see a strong relationship developing each day. We have moments where we try to balance time for each child but sometimes, time is against us. I get hardhearted when I hear family members or strangers bring up favoritism or send favoritism signals without knowing it. It is a dangerous, delicate in the little ones brains to suggest to them these fears of not being loved as much as the other or compared to the other. Bottom line, don’t even bring up the word jealous and comparisons. Just love. Send a good vibe in the home.

It has been a balancing act for me as of late due to illness and getting behind on household chores. With my first, everything was smooth sailing, things were figured out and fluid. I know it is still early, and I will get the kids synced along with other responsibilities. Yesterday, I was able to paint my toe nails. Today, a nice long shower and shave. Each day varies in the length I have time to do the things I love. My girls are worth my full attention and would not put my house above my girls. They are only young once. I cherished my one-on-one time with my first, but I seem to be clinging to my last very tightly. I want to build strong bonds and it seems I have done so. The smiles and giggles that come out of my newest addition bring back awesome memories of my first. Genuine, sweet chuckles. Many will say it is gas, but I know it is genuine love smiles and giggles. A recent study completed by scientist were in favor of the idea of a newborn genuinely smiling. I can believe it, ultrasound scans show smiles all the time.

So, maybe by my next post my girls will all feel their finest and daddy and I will be ourselves as well. I look forward to this weekend to get out briefly by myself and then some awesome family togetherness. What to do in my own time always ends up being errands. But this time, I think I am going to stay focused on just fun walking around and just rejuvenate. I took my oldest out last weekend and left the little one with daddy. My oldest absolutely loved our one-on-one time so much, her attitude seemed reset. She was having some cabin fever I feel last week. We try to make one-one-one time with each of our girls once a week. Hubby took the oldest out a couple weeks back to Chick-Fil-A and he was amazed at how well behaved she was. How mature compared to the other kids who were older than her. He felt we were doing a great job as parents and he then felt refreshed. We really have fantastic girls. I pray they always walk in the way of the Lord. God willing, they have a desire for you always.

As a parent, it is rewarding to hear your two year old reciting poems almost word for word and only two years old. A poem my oldest loves:

God spoke to the night

Let there be light

And all the world grew sunny & bright

I pray you all have a safe, fun, blessed weekend. Thank you for your time. May you find encouragement in my posts.

 

Pre-eclampsia stinks. Outcome, wonderful.

First of all, I would like start out by stating I am a very blessed and overjoyed mother of now two daughters. I am joyfully listening to the gentle thumps of my daughter dancing to a Kindermusik album. Another sound that just melts me is the coos of my four week old daughter. She came four weeks early but is very healthy. So grateful for that! A huge thank you to my Lord! Here are some pictures of my loves.

The reason she came early was due to me being induced after having three needs for going to the hospital and being admitted each time, but eventually released two of the three times. To say the least, I ended up pre-eclamptic again after having this condition in my first pregnancy in 2009. Here is a helpful link to familiarize yourself with the condition.

http://www.preeclampsia.org/

My hope is more will be learned about this condition. It has been known about for over 100 years, but not understood entirely.

The low down:

I visited the hospital at 33 weeks not to count the dots on the ceiling or evaluate their curtains, but due to contractions every 2 minutes apart and lasting 3 minutes long, so I got three shots of terbutaline to stop the pre-term labor, stayed two days & received two corticosteroid shots, which is a steroid to mature lungs. I was sent home on moderate bed rest. A week later at 34 weeks, I was admitted for elevated protein in urine (which is a sign of pre-eclampsia), left after two days and got a lecture about staying but convinced them to let me leave on stricter bed rest. Obviously my body was trying to get delivery to a move on. Then, for the third time at 35 weeks, I was admited again with blood pressures on a roller coaster ride, elevated protein levels, again and a series of emotions to join the club. I was calm, but knew something was wrong, espeacially when they told me I gained 9lbs in 6 days (sign of Pre-e) and only going to get worse and had to make a decision to be induced early. My doctor was blunt and told me, “You are going to go eclamptic, it is only a matter of time now.” Side note: If you go eclamptic, the mother and child typically do not survive the stroke and/or seizure. I finally gave it to God to guide me, my husband and doctors. We felt okay to let her come early- I knew it was time. I felt peace come over me. On the evening of O’ Hollows eve, October 31, I was administered Cervidil, which is a labor inducer. The morning of All Saints day, I was started Pitocin to get my contractions regular and after laboring a long time w/o meds, I caved due to blood pressure issues and exhaustion. If you have not had Pitocin, it is a synthetic hormone, similar to your own natural hormone, that magnifies your contractions. The nurses were battling it out with the pitocin to keep my daughter from stressing and my blood pressure from spiking and so it was best to get the Epidural. It helps lower your blood pressure and obviously numbs your nerves. Dr. Heinz, wherever you are- you are a Anesthesiologist Ninja! Best epidural given ever! I had a not so pleasant experience last time.

The delivery:

So, I wasn’t happy with the nurses one bit! The rotation of nurses continued as I went through my laboring process, and some were better than others. But I landed a real winner. I was feeling pressure and knew my daughter was in the birth canal (Though you have an Epidural, you still feel pressure so you will be able to push) and I wanted to push!  I told two nurses at two different times, I felt extreme pressure and needed to see my doctor. My irritation was the fact my dilation was not checked in hours within a few, I was at 9! My doctor finally came after just delivering and she was surprised to see me at 9, oops- 10! What!?!?! So, I was told to hold it as they prepped the room for the baby. Yes… they told me to wait. What!!!! ANYway. In one contraction and three pushes later, I was looking at my second daughter. My emotions were flowing, along with tears. The joy that overcame me was nothing compared to the emotions earlier. I am so grateful to be alive and see my family grow.  

The fears:

I know I should not be fearful when I have a savior who cares for me, but I am sinful & sin get in the way of trust often. I was terrified at a few points when there were medicines administered to me that I knew were intense.

Medicine Fear #1

Beta-mimetics- terbutaline
Possible side effects for you include:

• Fast heartbeat- Check
• Fluid in the lungs
• Poor blood flow
• Low blood pressure
• High levels of sugar in the blood
• Highlevels of insulin (a kind of protein) in the blood
• Low amounts of potassium in the blood
• Less amounts of urine
• Changes in the function of the thyroid gland
• Shaking
• Nervousness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fever
• Hallucinations

Possible side effects for your baby include:

• Fast heartbeat
• High levels of insulin in the blood
• Low or high levels of sugar in the blood
• Enlarged heart
• Poor blood flow
• Low levels of calcium in the blood
• Jaundice
• Low blood pressure
• Bleeding within the brain or heart

Medicine fear #2

Magnesium sulfate
Possible side effects for you include:

• Redness of the skin
• Tiredness and drowsiness
• Headache
• Muscle weakness
• Double vision
• Dry mouth
• Fluid in the lungs
• Heart attack

Possible side effects for your baby include:

• Tiredness and drowsiness
• Decreased muscle tone
• Slowed breathing
• Loss of minerals

Overall, God is in control. He knows my story and how it will end. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to Him for blessing me with this life. Having Pre-E has taught me many things, and to be specific, faithful.

Baby Heidi born 11/1/11 @ 5:30 PM 22″long and 7lbs 3 oz

One of my favorite passages:

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”. Romans 12:12

More than likely, I will not have anymore children, unless God decides a different path for us. But we both feel we are content. I am comfortable with what I have. Originally, I wanted 6. Then down to 4. Now to 2. Oh the irony.

I hope you enjoyed this reading and that it provided insight and educated you.

mac

Stay at home mother of one…two?

My journey as a mother has been a fun one since I found out in the Spring of 2009 I would be having my first child in the Winter of 2009. I was elated and scared. So many emotions to swallow and realize, this wasn’t a dream. I was sustaining a life within me that I would soon take care of 100% for the next 18+ years. The main emotion overwhelming me was morning sickness. But I cannot overlook the fact I felt blessed and I was.

I have been working since I was in diapers at my dad’s hobby shop and put in a good amount of years at a grocery store and then several more at a bank. Though I went to school for Graphic Design and Web Design, I hit so many walls after economic slam from September 11, 2001.  It was impossible to find a good paying job when the market was inundated with several graduates in that field and old school printers going back to school for the new edge. So in my thinking then, I figured I would stick with banking to pay the bills and decide once married, if I would decide to be a stay at home mom or not.

My husband was able to find a Mechanical Engineering job right out of school thanks to a friends reference. We purchased a home and made improvements with the help of friends and family. During the renovation, we found out we were expecting. I was laying tile while pregnant, I was beat and couldn’t figure out why when I was used to being the energizer bunny. Soon we would be announcing to the family and then friends. We waited until my eight-week appointment to make sure everything looked okay and it was. So, we invited family over to a meal and then we did a left/right story for everyone to pass around an envelope. I teased them by saying, maybe lotto tickets or cash is inside to reward you all for your hard work (hahaha). As I read the story of my husband and I’s life, having them pass left and right based on the story, it was time. Each person opened their card and had different expressions. Most members said, “I knew it” or “I told you mama they would once they bought the house”… Some just gasped and were blank. But Overall, I feel they were happy of the news.

At this point, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be a stay at home mother or not. There were a lot of things going through my mind. I was unsure of my abilities. I worked with the Sunday school kids at church and older children, but felt I wasn’t sure how I would handle the change from working so many years. I was a workaholic and used to my income. Soon I would announce to my managers I was pregnant and shortly after my announcement. My manager called me into her office and talked with me about my goals. I knew where she was going. I told her I still was not clear on what I wanted to achieve in the banking world let alone career goal. A week later I would be transferred to another position in that department and knew they had me out of the door before I was even into my second trimester. I worked the call center department and realized I wasn’t going to be happy doing this. It was a lot of verbal abuse from customers who didn’t know how to balance a check book and poor management direction. I wasn’t sure yet if I was willing to give it up, but it felt like I was heading towards leaving that present job and turning it into a memory.

Into my second trimester, I was doing great. Proper weight gain, I was healthy and felt great. I was starting to feel the summer effects and disliked heat more and more. Soon my legs and feet were swelling to unrecognizable sizes and my heart was acting erratic. I had a few appointments and complained to them at each one about my symptoms and found myself seeing a heart specialist to just check things out. It was a Friday and the start of my vacation weekend/week. But would be informed of a loss very great to me. My husband’s grand-father passed away. It shocked me. He was a great man who I enjoyed being around. He understood me and I liked his wit. That weekend and week was very rough for me and the family. But I know that he is in a much better place and in peace. My vacation week was busy and still had my appointment for the baby and it didn’t feel like much of a vacation. I was still awaiting my results from the heart doctor and heart monitor package for a in-home stress-test but would find those out in the hospital. I went to my appointment and they found a large amount of protein in my urine and my blood pressure was insane. My doctor joked, “Your not wearing those slippers as a fashion statement, are you?”. I replied, “No, I can’t fit into anything.”. He asked me to go to the hospital and get more testing done and so, I did. They would not let me leave. I was admitted at 32 weeks pregnant to their high risk pregnancy floor with Pre-Eclamsia. I delivered at 37 weeks which is full term and fine with me. She was a healthy 8lb 4 oz baby at 20 3/4 inches. After being in the hospital three weeks and some odd days, I decided I would make up my mind once at home with the baby and see how I weather. I made my mind up close to the end of my leave and decided to stay home with my daughter and be the mother I always wanted to be. With the support, prayers and love from my husband, we knew we were doing the right thing. My paycheck was not worth her being raised in a day care like I was at six weeks of age.

Now we are onto the news of our second child, and we are thrilled. They will be exactly two years apart and we have been prepping our daughter for this welcomed addition. This will be are last addition as far as we know.

In less than six days, we find out the gender of our little one and cannot wait to share with our loved ones.

Have a blessed day. I hope you enjoyed reading this lengthy post. All 1,000+ of it. Hahaha

MC 

Meeting and Marrying Part I

If I told you that I knew the moment I met Brett that I would marry him. I would be lying to myself and to you my fellow readers. Geez that was a lot of I’s. Grammar Guru’s, chill out! Anyway. Back to point of this posting.

I will clarify, about two months into our relationship I knew he and I would lead to marriage, eventually. But only if it was Gods will for us. And it was. But I really need to back up for this story to tickle a funny bone in you somewhere.

I worked for a grocery store very popular in the south and continued from high school to collage. It paid the bills and it really fed a need for my temperament. Temperament you ask? Okay. I will get to that later. But I really did just about everything and anything for this company. I really put all I had into it. That is how I was raised and who I was.

That being said. I need to fill you in on a funny part of my walk with employment. Trust me. This will lead to how I met and married. I originally posted for a position for Target. Which was in my mind, an excellent choice. They called me and scheduled an interview. I came to the appointment and remembered from the application the “psychological profile” portion I had filled out couple weeks prior to the interview. Questions like, “Are you a thrill-seeker?”, “If you had a day off, would you go sky diving?”. I was like, NO way. But in the interview, the lady asked me, “What would you like to do in your free time?” I went stiff and said, Skydiving! This is a moment that reminds me from Charlie Brown Christmas and Sally goes, Hockey stick when she should have said Hark! What happened to my brain. From there I answered everything opposite. Needless to say, I did NOT get the job. I am happy about this by the way- not getting the job. I love Target. Don’t get me wrong. You’ll know why shortly.

So, I humbly get into the car with my mom and tell her everything I said and we are both baffled to my responses. My mother knows I am scared of heights. I know I am scared of heights and I have trust issues. Do you honestly think I would have trusted some dude wrapping my ankles to bungee jump or strapping myself to some dude to jump 13,000 feet from the air. I don’t think so! Alright. More temperament filled in. Next movement please.

I get home from school a few days later and get a call from the grocery store where I had also applied and did a high-five kind of interview. SO. I got the job. And worked at that location for roughly two years. Boy did I learn a lot about people in that short period time. But let us move on, shall we. Please? Okay. Good.

I transferred to Atlanta from this other location and found myself in a freshly unearthed grocery store and starting collage. It was Fall 2001. I was nervous, excited and ready for a change of pace and scenery. It really was refreshing. Cow manure and all. Soon there were newer faces and the older faces faded from the store. But one face stuck in my mind. It was Brett. A new bagger. He was intriguing. Annoying and adorable. He was 16 and I was 19. Roughly. I set the relationship thought aside and continued with my education in Graphic Design and majoring in Visual Communication. I dated a few people and made friends with other great characters. But the dating scene flopped. God was also working on my heart that needed a lot of maintenance.

In Fall 2003 I decided it was time to hang out with this intriguing, annoying fellow who threw pen caps at me and who decided my favorite sweater, jean jacket combo needed a submersion in water and then a trip to the frozen foods freezer in the overflow room. Poor jacket. It really was folded beautifully. Think Gap store.

So, we set up a hike to a mountain with our friends for January 11, 2003 to Red Top Mountain in Cartersville, GA. This is where all of our friends would cancel last minute on us and leave us with 15 sandwiches and tons of condiments. But that is okay. That was their master plan. Brett and I hiked the mountain and about five miles in. We rested and finally came clean and we both admitted we had interest in one another. We decided to head back to the car and awkwardly slid our hands into place. And just smiling at each other and just enjoying the quietness of the mountain. It was peaceful and you could just tell the birds were happy for us!

Our journey would lead us down some interesting trials and lessons. But we don’t have to get into everything here. Yet. What was so special, was the amount we had in common. Yet we had so many differences. We shared tears and shared dreams in parking lots of another grocery store parking lot. That is where we could get a moments peace and feel we had privacy. Until a tap on our window one night from a police officer asking us to move on. He made sure to shine is flashlight on parts that would make you blush. No officer. We were having a devotion. You know, a bible study. He didn’t believe us. So, we left. It really was a great discussion too.  We are kindred spirits. Honestly, God guided my footings. Why else would I have been a completely different person at Target. I would have had a different path. I thought that was the end of the world for me. I was so hard on myself and felt like a failure… but who would have guessed I would have been led to a certain someone so particular in such an obscure town I had been in briefly where there were just cattle and horses and no buildings to buy goods other than tobacco and fuel.

Eventually we would return to Red Top after other hikes and memories built to other neat places nearby. I was offered a ring to marry on January 11, 2006 our spot at Red Top. The proposal and other detail will come in another post. Hense the Part I indicated. I want to preserve my fingers for other duties of my day also, there is much to tell in that post that I don’t think I could fit into one without missing something amusing.

Okay, you can laugh now. I totally understand. We all go through dramatic hardships. That is what gives us character.

Good night and hope you found enjoyment. I did. Nothing like going down memory lane.

mac

Awakening

Atlanta has been blessed with some wonderful sunlight from our orange sphere in our galaxy. We have sprung forward, and crawling to the official first day of Spring. Cherry trees, Forsythia, Crocus, Tulips and just about every other type of Spring flower has been teased these past few weeks with our warm weather then cooler weather. But now that it seems that warm is here, again. I thought I would share some photos of the garden and plants that are awakening.

From left to right: Cherry Tree, Bradford Pear, Tulip magnolia, Forsythia, Red Twig Dogwood, Hens and Chicks, Gold Mound Spirea and Wisteria (tree),

My yard is bursting with personality and begging for more. And so, I planted away this weekend. I went to our local hardware store and they had put several plants of interest on clearance… so of course, I had to buy them all! I purchased three Camellia shrubs. One is white with a burst of pink, deep red, and deep pink. These are a winter blooming shrub that really will help the landscape cheer up among all the Spring time blooming plants. I then purchased a Pinata Climbing Rose as well as a Queen Elizabeth Climbing Rose. My hope is that I will be planting my squash, pumpkins and carrots as soon as my husband and I find time and funds to build raised beds.

I hope you all have enjoyed your weather as much as I have. And if you are not quite there, I hope you find a warm spot on the floor next to your vent and imagine you are feeling a warm breeze from the south with love.

Toodles, thank you for visiting!

MAC