Lather, Rinse, Repeat

I am a total creature of habit.  I do the same things, in the same way, basically every day.

I have to do things in "order"...when I shower, I wash my hair...wash my face...wash my body...shave what needs to be shaved.  I have to do it in that order.  If I don't, I will forget something.

Or I will use my face wash on my hair and conditioner on my face.

It has happened.

When I get to work, I follow the same "order" every morning...get coffee, log on to my computer, start my radio station live stream, check my yahoo e-mail, check Facebook and then check my work e-mail. 

Over and over...

Just like the back of the shampoo bottle says - lather, rinse, repeat.

And sometimes things just get stale.

And that's how I feel about this blogging thing.

I've been doing the same things over and over and over...

And it's just stale for me right now.

So...for now, blogging is going to be moved to the back burner.

And if you are looking for me on Twitter, there's a good chance I won't show up there either.

For me, blogging & Twitter represent my virtual world.  I don't know the people in the blog world or the Twitter world in real life, with only a very few exceptions.

This isn't the end...

It's just "till I see you again".

Almost Wordless Wednesday...

One of my favorite twins is dealing with something no 18 year old should have to go through.  Her 19 yr old boyfriend was hit by a boat while tubing with his family in Nebraska.  His younger brother (12) died at the scene in the same accident. 

And while this whole thing is horribly sad...there is good coming out of it too.

Matt is an organ donor.  They expect for around 60 people to benefit from his organs and tissue that will be donated.  Matt was always a giving kid.  And he will continue to give, even in his death.

Please pray for the families affected here.  They will need all of the love, support & prayers they can get.

Once again this year, I am reminded of how precious life truly is.  Make sure you tell your friends & family how much they mean to you...we are not promised tomorrow.

Fifteen years later...

This sweet baby boy...

has kept me very busy for the past 15 years.

He walked at 9 1/2 months...

And ran at 9 3/4 months! :)

Today...he still keeps me busy...still runs...a lot...and I couldn't be prouder to be his mom!

Happy 15th Birthday, Dylan!

Wordless Wednesday - Family

from our recent family pictures...

Happy Wednesday! :)

Gratituesday! :)

I'm really trying to get back into this blogging thing...

VBS is over...

But work was C-R-A-Z-Y yesterday.

And I thought about writing last night, but then I just sat on my couch and played Sudoku & Scrabble on my phone.

I'm such a slacker!

Anyway, I'm hoping a little Gratituesday will help me get back in the swing of things...so, here goes!  Ten things I'm grateful for today...

#1 - Vacation Bible School is OVER! I love the concept of VBS...I don't mind participating in it...but this year, I just didn't feel like I had the time to put into it...and I hate not being able to put my best foot forward.  Plus it was such a long week.  But now it's over until next year...

Except that really it's not...because we get to do this all over again at the end of July when we go to Florida on our mission trip.

BUT, I won't have to teach it...I'm just there for crowd control! :)

#2 - Right at this moment, I'm loving this Jumping Jelly Bean scent I have in my Scentsy warmer at work. YUM!

#3 - Last week, I took my car in to the shop because it keeps throwing these strange warning lights.  Sometimes they come on...sometimes they don't.  Bad news is, the part that *might* need to be fixed is $1600.00 - just for the part.  Good news is, the mechanic says it's not a necessary fix right now since we don't know for sure that it's even bad!

Best news - he didn't charge me a DIME for checking it out.

#4 - I teach in our Children's Worship at church...my helper has had to go be with her parents for the month of July...which leaves me without a helper.  I have some subs lined up - hopefully.  I've been stressing about this...and then on Friday night I was talking to my friend Deanna (who is on the other Children's Worship team) and found out that she's been going to school to get her CNA license.  I had no idea (she wasn't telling a lot of people for some reason) and since then I've just been so grateful for her dedication to this ministry.  She very easily could've said that she has a lot going on and she might need to take some time, but she didn't.  And I would've understood that, because she also is a hair dresser...is married...and has two step-sons that she & her husband have joint custody of with their mom & step-dad.  But she didn't.  And she probably doesn't even realize how grateful I am for all of this.

But I'm gonna let her know! :)

#5 - I think my flower beds are pretty much finished.  I couldn't be happier with the way they've turned out and the way they look.  I am so proud of the way my house looks on the outside now!

#6 - This weekend is the annual God & Country celebration in a town close by.  I usually go with my BFF & her hubby.  A couple of years ago, we didn't really have much going on and after the parade we drove around a bit and ended up in Mt. Airy.  We had so much fun...just walking around...laughing...just having a day out of town.  We've decided to do that again this year...but this year, we are heading for Boone after the parade.  I'm ecstatic!  Boone is kind of my other home and I haven't been in over a year.  I need to just spend a day soaking up the mountain air & sunshine. 

Plus I got a gift card to the Mast General Store...I hear the candy store calling my name! ;)

#7 - This is Dylan's birthday week!  He will be FIFTEEN on Friday.  FIFTEEN!  When in the world did that happen?  I'm so thankful for a relatively good child.  He has his moments, as most kids do, but the issues we deal with are so minimal compared to what it could be.

#8 - We finally got some much needed rain last night!  I've been water my plants...and they've been doing ok.  We had some storms roll through around 9ish last night...nothing too severe in my neck of the woods...but I know we got a good dousing.  Of course, with our mid-90's today, most of that is probably dried up by now!

#9 - Last week during VBS, my cousin's little girl was in my class.  We were talking about sacrifice and I asked the kids ways that they could show God's love by sacrificing something of theirs.  Destiny raised her hand and told me that she had been selling some of her artwork to her family and donating the money to her church for charity.  It was probably the sweetest thing...and when I told her Mom about it, her Mom said that she never even asked to keep any of it...she gave it willingly and freely.  I'm so thankful to see young children with such giving hearts.

#10 - Next Monday is the 4th of July.  I'm thankful for an extra day off this weekend...but more importantly, I'm thankful for the independence that we have in this country.  I'm thankful for the men and women who made that independence a reality...and who KEEP our country free.  Regardless of how you feel about the economy, our president, wars, etc., you should ALWAYS be thankful for the people who put their lives on the line to keep our country safe - including our local police, firemen & emergency services people.

Hope you have a great Tuesday! :)

Dear Friday...how I love you! :)

After the longest Vacation Bible School week in the history of Vacation Bible School...I'm so thankful it's Friday!  Tomorrow I plan to sleep in...go to the pool with my friends...plant some flowers...and that's about all.  I'm hoping to ignore the fact that I desperately need to go to the grocery store so as not to ruin my day...but Dylan tends to get hungry, so I might have to give in! :P

Anyway, I don't have time for a super long post (I know you guys are thankful after the novels I've written lately), so I'll just get right to Five Question Friday with Mama M!  If you'd like to play along, head over to her site, copy the questions & link on up! :)







1. What is your current favorite tv show?

Well...I have quite a few.  I just recently stumbled onto the genius of Psych...

And then there's always Parenthood...

And for my guilty pleasure???  Jersey Shore.

Such a wide variety there...

2. What's the worst haircut you ever got?

Sorry Mom...but my worst haircut was actually a series of haircuts...and they all looked the same.  Very mullet-y. 

And I have to say sorry to Mom because she cut my hair way back then...

I'm on the right...

*sigh*

3. What was something that you did as a child that you thought you were so cool for doing?

When I was 9, my family flew to California.  Back then (in 1985), people didn't just hop a plane to Los Angeles.  We actually few from Greensboro, stopped in Charlotte (but didn't get off the plane) and then went on to Los Angeles.  We went to Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, the beach (COLD) and visited with my Great-Aunt Uncle. 

Yep...I was definitely cool...I'd been to the West Coast!

;)

4. Do you have any GREAT frugal family fun tips?

Not really...but I'd love to read some of your tips!

5. Would you drive across country if you had the money to fly?

No.

6 hours is about my limit in a car

And I'm too impatient to drive when I know I can get to my  destination in 7 hours rather than 14 days.

I'd like to see everything between NC & California...but I don't think I could spend days in a car...

Maybe I underestimate myself...

But probably not! :)

Happy Friday...Hope you have a GREAT weekend!

What I've Been Up to Wednesday!

I guess for at least this week, I'm down to two posts per week...

I have missed reading your blogs...I have missed your comments on my blog.

But I guess it's hard to comment when there's nothing to comment on!

So....what has kept me so busy???

Friday night, I had a little BFF / Girl's Night! We went to The Loop (one of my favorite places to eat)...and then we went back to my house for a {mini} Netflix movie marathon. I was so right when I said if we made it to 11pm, we'd be lucky!  We watched 9 to 5 and The Incredible Shrinking Woman (kind of a salute to Lily Tomlin).  9 to 5 is and will always be a classic.  Not to mention that it was just funny to see all the styles...and realize that the boss in that movie would be in jail for life with all of the horrible things he said/did! :)  The first part of The Incredible Shrinking Woman was good...the last half, not so much.  In fact, I think we both fell asleep.  Oh, well...live & learn!

Saturday I went to get a haircut and then to Lowes to pick out some flowers for my new flower bed.  I was able to get all of the impatiens planted before a huge storm came through...

Which I thought was going to threaten my "redneck therapy" at Bowman Gray...

BUT, what actually happened is that the storms came through early enough that it cooled the evening down and made the night at the races so nice!

Before we went to Bowman Gray, though, we did a little more celebrating at El Maguey...my favorite Mexican restaurant...YUM!

Sunday was church...lunch at The Loop (I told you it was my favorite - plus Dad's ate free!)...some swimming in a cold pool...and then some hanging out with my sister, niece & nephew...as well as my parents & Dylan.  That evening I had to go back to the church to get some stuff ready for VBS...

Which brings me to the rest of my crazy week...because that's where I've been every night this week!

All in all, a lot of fun stuff.  And a great birthday celebration thrown in to the mix!

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes...they were the best.

And I was going to post  some pix...but Blogger isn't cooperating...maybe later I can.
Have a great Wednesday...I'll probably see you on Friday! :)