Fighting With Myself

I just can't take it anymore! I HAVE to pull out the Christmas decorations!!!
See I was dead set on not putting up a tree this year, because, well, there just aren't going to be many presents under it.
I know I know, presents aren't what Christmas is about. Trust me, I FULLY understand and cherish the true meaning.
But this is my favorite time of year. I get high off of buying presents for other people. I could care less if I get anything. I just like making others happy....and I'm just not in the best position to do that this year.
My mind is running wild with homemade creations that I could make. The possibilities are endless.

So in the end, I've decided I WILL put up a tree....even if I have to wrap empty boxes in order to get the full effect! ;)
Maybe I'll bake some stuff this year. I'm just in a baking mode.
Who knows!
Bottom line:
there will be a tree up
there will be decorations
there will be pictures!

Happy Monday!

Oh Sunday....

...you're almost over and that means that life is back to normal tomorrow! I have so enjoyed a few days off!
Sad news is I've spent most of it stressing about a paper due for school tomorrow. And I'm still not done. It's 5:30 and I have 3 more pages to write!
BUT, the good news is once it's done, I have one more final next week and then school is done for a while!
I'm not taking any classes next semester so that's good. It actually worked out well...we're kind of in a transition period.
I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and a blast of black Friday shopping!
Now if I could just get rid of this ridiculous headache and get my paper done, life would be looking better!
Happy Sunday!

A Very Thankful Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving!

You know, when life is going crazy around you, it can be hard to focus on the blessings you have rather than what you don't.

But one thing I've come to know is that at the end of the day, if all I have is the salvation Jesus provided for me, I am more than blessed. His grace is sufficient for me.

I know that I am blessed beyond measure with my hubby, family, friends, a job, a roof over my head, transportation, etc, etc, etc. That is more than a lot of people have.

So for all of that, I am very THANKFUL.

Catch Up

Hello blogland! I thought I should post at least once before Thanksgiving!
Lots and lots going on in my world!
This weekend was fun....I had a great family photo session with a family from church! I'm still editing, but can't wait to get the finished product out! I'll post a few on here when I'm done! ;)

Chris and I are getting creative on the grill! Last night however, well, it was disastrous!
I tried to make quesadillas on the grill. I put them in foil and then just put right on the grill. For whatever reason I thought that since it was in foil, the stuff wouldn't burn.
WRONG!
So we had BLACK and I do mean black, chicken quesadillas. The tortillas were whole wheat too. Let me just say, it was one of the nastiest things I have ever made!
So....we had pudding. Hehe!

Never a dull moment with us, and life just wouldn't be the same without a constant dose of drama!

My family is rescheduling Thanksgiving. Apparently, my grandmother has a severe tooth problem that is pretty much debilitating her. So, she's not up to eating, much less cooking.

So Turkey Day is seeming a little light....think we'll hang out with Chris's family and then head to the Kutzman's No Thanks Thanksgiving!!! I'm so excited!

Today was a great day....got to see my girlfriend from New York and have lunch with her! It's always good to see her! And then tomorrow, we get to spend half of the day shopping for gifts for our company Christmas party! Yippee! I love shopping....especially when it's not my money!!!

And just because....here are a few peeps I'm thankful for:


Me, fab cousin Holli, and my oldest brother James


Me and my brother Shane, who by the way just set a date for his wedding!!!!!


My baby brother Cody

Happy Tuesday to all!

Do you ever?

Do you ever have the feeling your on the edge of something great?

Right now I feel like I'm standing on the edge of something fantastic and awesome....I just can't see it.
So it would require me to take a huge leap of faith.
And I'm willing to jump.
I just don't know when, where, what, who, etc, etc!
This is scary stuff folks!

I'm definitely going through a lot of growing pains, but over the past few years I have just been searching and searching for what God wants me to do. And now, more than ever, I am passionate about something that I want to do. It kind of feels like it's being dangled over my head and my hands aren't quite close enough to reach it. But it's definitely closer.
And it's definitely exciting.

There's a lot of nurturing my heart needs before jumping, I am sad to say. And I can add that to the list of things I don't know how to get! I was reading Meg's blog yesterday, and I could relate so much with her! Needing connection. I am in desperate need of some deep relationships and connecting. Don't get me wrong, I have fabulous friends. But we all seem to get busy with life and then those friendships become very surface level. I need lots and lots of depth right now. I'm not sure what I expect to happen out of that, but I just feel that I need it.

I need to get issues straightened out with my dad too. He's so stubborn and defensive about everything and he completely misses the point. We pretty much haven't spoken since Father's Day. I've deemed myself parentless. I guess I just thought he would have tried harder once my mom died. I think it's gotten worse. So, somehow, I need this to work itself out too.

I just feel like I need to get a few things straightened out before "jumping". So, maybe I'll take this holiday season to work on me.
Gosh that sounds so selfish.
But I need it. I need to work on me.

Well, this blog just went a completely different direction than I was going, but oh well.

My friends, it is Friday! And that is super exciting!
Enjoy your weekend!

FAIL!!!

Oh my friends, sad times.
I couldn't fit in blogging yesterday which means I will not be successful at writing a blog for every day of November.
Boooo!
Maybe I'll try again in December.

It's been such a busy week and it's only Wednesday.
I have a presentation at school tonight and a paper that I'd better start writing ASAP!

Then there's Thanksgiving. Pretty sure I won't be cooking anything...store bought only for me!
I love to bake and cook but there are a few problems with this at the present time:
1. No stove
2. No countertop
3. No space
This works for me anyways...don't like Turkey Day food and since we're traveling between families, nothing would be fresh anyway.

I know, I just bought a stove in September. And a week ago we bought a grill and have been using it regularly.
However, Sunday morning we gave our stove to a family in need. The thought of 6 children who had not eaten in days was more than we could handle. After all, we have a grill. And I'm pretty sure I have a few pans that I can put on the grill to cook! My only prayer is that somehow they can find comfort in God everytime they use the stove. They were flood victims and lost everything when GA had the crazy flooding. They needed that stove more than we did.

Should be interesting!!!

And well, the house didn't have a counter when we moved in, and we just haven't gotten around to buying one. Something else always needs our money. We just got new tires and this week we have to get new back brakes! My car is only a year old!!!


Happy Wednesday!

Monday is Over!!!!

Whew! Today was the day I had a test and paper due and I didn't pull it all together until his morning! Pretty sure I developed an ulcer during all this! But it's over and I can sleep easy tonight!
Not to worry... I have another project due in a week! I literally have 4 more classes until the semester is over and I just can't wait!

And on a side note - the office is one of the best shows on tv! Love it!!!

Well I do hope your Monday was a fabulous one!
-- Post From My iPhone

Sunday, Sunday

Lots going on today.
Crazy life I lead.

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner at our church tonight.
I love our friends.

I should be doing homework....LOTS of it.
Just having a little trouble focusing. I'm just not interested in it.

We've decided no Christmas presents this year. Guess I got excited about buying gifts a little too soon. We're going to invest what money we would have spent into savings and charity:water.
Give to those who really need it. I'm actually excited about it.

Have a happy Monday!

Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day

My friends, today is loosen up, lighten up day according to holidays.net. And, while you are reading this, I am loosening up at the spa!

A little rest and relaxation only to be ruined next week by tests, papers and projects! I guess we'll just have to schedule another one of these spa days after school is finished!

Have a happy Saturday!

P.S. - Tomorrow is National Bundt Day, so go bake a bundt cake!

Your First Gift of the Season

This holiday season, more than ever, we are faced with tough economic times. This holiday season is one to focus on family and the things in life that really matter.
So often we think about how rough we have it.


We've got it good.
Do you lose family members daily due to contaminated water.
Water is a life source - a necessity to survive.
And in Africa that life source kills.
You could help stop this.
$5, $10, $20 can make an everlasting impact in the world.
Let your first gift of the season be that of life.

click the banner at the top of my blog to be directed to the secure donation site of the highly recognized, non-profit or click:
charity: water.
All donations are tax deductible.
100% of the profit goes directly to clean water solutions in west africa.

Five Whole Years

At this very time, noon, 5 years ago, I was walking down the isle to marry my hubs! I can't believe it's been 5 years. It has been quite the ride.
Our wedding was perfect.
Simple...just like us.
Sweet.
Intimate.
I loved it!
Our wedding night was nice too...my besties all pitched in and got us a night away in a cabin. It was great. And of course, in typical Lauren and Chris fashion, hysterical!
Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure we have never had a purely romantic moment without something ridiculous happening!
I think about our first year of marriage. We literally went months without eating meat because we were so broke. For our wedding my mom got us a Fry-Daddy. There was a period where every night we each had 3 jalapeno poppers and a handful of fries. It was all we could afford...but so good! I remember one time all we had was rice....so we got creative and added A1 sauce, Montreal Steak Seasoning, and Texas Pete to make a fabulous concoction.
We were broke, but we were happy.
I am so thankful that we have stuck it out this long.
Chris is my best friend.
I love being with him. He makes my heart happy (well most of the time!) ;)
It's hard to describe the comfort of knowing that at the end of the day, I have someone to come home to that loves me unconditionally, and I know that I'm all he will ever want.

I guess we always knew that we were IT for each other. "I Love You" came on date 5 (which was also day 5 of our relationship).
Proposal came 2 months later.
Wedding 5 months later.
And 5 years later, we're still here and happier than ever.
You know it's funny. When Chris asked me out for our first date, I was at a mutual friend's house. We were watching the season finale of "Friends". There was an episode early in the series where Phoebie was talking about a couple that was meant to be together and how lobsters mate for life. The catch phrase was "he's her lobster". Well, that night, partly because Chris's nickname is C-Bass (which I first thought was seabass), my new catch phrase was "He's my seabass". I guess I just knew. :)

It's so interesting to look back and see how each of us have grown in our own ways and grown together. We truly have a bond that's unbreakable.
Heck, if we've made it through all that we've been through, well then "forever" should be a breeze!

So Christopher, I love you! Thank you for choosing me!

Thursday!

Do you realize that Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away????
Wow.
Where has the year gone?
Have I mentioned that I hate T-Day food? I'm trying to get creative....I think I'll make my own T-Day dish to take to both families to eat from!
Especially since we're on the big diet!

Speaking of the diet, we're doing quite well. We started last Friday. Chris weighed in at the doctor on Monday and was down 3 pounds. That's exciting for 3 days! It's funny...we've become quite the calorie natzis. We're even finding it difficult to meet our caloric goal each day. Honestly I can say I am satisfied without a life full of carbs!
WHAT? Oh I never thought those words would come out of my mouth!!!
I usually live off bread. I'm down to one carb a day.

I also despise veggies....not by choice. I want to like them...I just don't.
BUT, the other night, for dinner, I had......
.....wait for it......
broccoli and carrots! Yes, that was my entire dinner - VEGETABLES!
I was so proud of myself.

Last night was a little more difficult. Chris had a grilled chicken salad for dinner which I had a few bites of, but nothing was satisfying me.
So, what did I have?
A few spoons full of mustard! It's free! And most delicious!
Actually, Chris was pretty grossed out by my solution. He said I was acting like a dude.
Oh well. He still loves me!

The main goal at hand is to find a way to make it through the Holidays sugar free!

Happy Thursday!

Keepin' Up

Ok, so I joined this "campaign" to blog every day for the month of November. I've done well so far....until today. I'm having a bit of trouble finding something meaningful to blog about.

I mean I have things to blog about that I want to get off my chest......
....but I don't want today to be a sad blog. There's enough sadness....we.... no I, need more happiness.

So what is a blog worthy happy post?
Well I don't really have anything of substance, so I'll just ramble.

I've mentioned that it's anniversary week! The plans are in order and I'm so excited. This is the first time we've ever really done something for our anniversary!
A few months ago I won a free night's stay at the Marriott in Atlanta, so we're cashing in on it! Then Saturday morning we have a couples' spa appointment! I am so very excited about this!

I was supposed to be taking pictures every day this week to do a scrapblog of anniversary week=FAIL! It's now Wednesday and no pictures! I've just really got a lot going on and at the end of the day I don't feel like posing for a picture! ;)

Ok, I'm not going to waste any more time. Hopefully I'll do better at this tomorrow! :)

It's Tuesday....

...and that means it's time for What I Learned This Week!

Oh, so much I've learned! It's actually been a refreshing week. A hard pill to swallow kind of learning experience, but so freeing.

See, I learned this week that I am very broken. I have a bunch of crappy glue holding all the pieces of me together....and a really good coat of paint on the outside so it looks like I have it all together.

The truth is...I don't have it all together.

We went to Passion City Church Sunday night and they've been talking about Grace....with a theme of FREEDOM. It spoke to me this week.

I am broken and that's ok. I don't have to act like I have it all together. Because truthfully, it is impossible for any of us to do life effectively on our own.
I think of my mom and how broken she was here on earth, and now she is whole and radiant with Jesus in heaven. I long for that.
Wholeness....no holes, or cracks, or crappy glue.

I realized that life is not about me trying to be Jesus to others, because I will always fail.
Life is about me allowing Jesus to live and work through me. See, I serve a God who can put all my pieces back together and make me better than I was before.

I have an absolute new favorite song! It's by Hillsong United...don't we all know that everything they do is amazing! But the song is called Freedom Is Here. I highly suggest you find it and listen to it...it's very upbeat, makes you want to dance, and makes you realize that when we lift Jesus up, our lives come alive.

Happy Tuesday! Here are the lyrics to the song:

The future comes alive
You speak Your word and I
I'm running into Your hope
Because I've seen Your light
You bring my world to life
I'm coming after Your love

I'm not shaken
I'm not letting go

And everything comes alive
In my life as we lift You higher
Let Your freedom arise
In our lives as we lift You up
Sing it out
Sing it out
Your freedom is here

So take the limits off
No matter what the cost
I'm running after Your call
And I will run this race
See You face to face
So let Your power overflow

I will not fear
I will not hide Your love
Your love
All of my life
I cannot deny Your love
Your love

So take the limits off
No matter what the cost
I'm running after Your call
And I will run this race
See You face to face
So let Your power overflow

It's Anniversary Week!

Happy Monday! This week has officially been deemed Anniversary Week! This coming Friday is our 5 year wedding anniversary!!!
That is so crazy!
Most days it seems like we have just always been together - like our lives before each other just melded together.
I think I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that the number 5 is very significant in our relationship. So, I am definitely looking forward to this year....and another 55!

Moving right along, we are on day 4 of our new diet. Surprisingly, it is going quite well! I'm not starving, and I'm satisfied with what I'm eating. We're also in the gym every night so hopefully I will see some results very soon!

A big thing for us is that we went out to dinner last night with a friend and we were both able to order sensibly and resist temptation! So we are definitely feeling good about this!

Well, I hope you all have a fabulous Monday!

Sunday So Soon????

I tell ya, the weekends just go by too fast these days! Yesterday was quite a busy day! I had a photo gig of a 2 year old's birthday party! Let me just tell you, the people who work at those childrens jumpy play things are angels in disguise! I could NEVER work at one of those places. This particular party was at Kangazoom. I haven't started editing photos yet but as soon as I do I will post a few!
After the party, chris and I decided we needed a grill. Some of our fabulous friends got us a Lowe's gift card when we moved and it's been burning a hole in our pockets so we picked a grill. Chris has been working on it for an hour and a half and it's still not put together. Poor guy.
We both started this crazy new diet - it's all protein. I don't do protein so i'm adjusting. Two days into it I'm doing fine. I just need to keep motivated! The real problem is that there is a list on the program called "foods to avoid"---everything that I normally eat is on that list! What ever will I do? I will deal with it, that's what!
See I had a little reality check the other day. Back in April, at my yearly female doc appointment, my doc told me to spend the year focusing on weight loss. I have PCOS and it has caused some major metabolism problems and if I were to get pregnant now, the doc says I would probably go over 300lbs!!! That is NOT an option. So I've lost 10 pounds. But then it hit me....I go back to see her in 5 months!!!!!! Where did my year of weight loss go???? I always start out with good intentions but somehow 7 months has passed in a whirlwind! So needless to say we are on a mission! And not to worry....we have doctors supervision for this adventure!

Wow---not sure I got off on that tangent, but anyways it was a busy weekend! So I'm off to enjoy the rest if my Sunday and start this crazy routine all over tomorrow!

I'm Gonna Do It This Year!

Last year all I talked about was Snow Days at Atlantic Station.....and I never went! So luckily, they are having it again this year and I'm setting a date and going!

What is Snow Days you ask?
Well, in the city we have this apartment/condo/retail center called Atlantic Station...where you can work, play and stay. And November 21 - December 31, they make it snow every night at 7:30!!!! How exciting!
AND they also have an outdoor European holiday market during this time too! Oh I'm so excited!

So if you're in the Atlanta area for the holidays.....you should defintely visit!

My friend Heather and I were talking about this the other day and it's perfect for pictures! I'm pretty sure I'm taking pictures of her and Matt in the snow there!
Oh and they also have a big Christmas tree that will be officially lit November 21st!

It's the most wonderful time of the year......(you know you want to sing along)

With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you,

"Be of good cheer" --

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

It's the hap - happiest sea-son of all,

With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings

When friends come to call;

It's the hap - happiest sea - son of all.

There'll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting

And caroling out in the snow;

There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories

Of Christmases long, long ago.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

There'll be much mistletoeing and hearts will be glowing

When loved ones are near;

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Holiday Shopping Time!

I am so proud! I have officially blogged 6 days in a row! However, the question now at hand is:
What am I going to blog about for 24 more days???? So if you have any topic ideas, or anything you want to know about me, please tell me!

But, for today, I am all excited about Christmas shopping! I LOVE it!
And, like most people this year, I have an EXTREMELY small budget.
So I thought I would share a few places that have some awesome deals!

My new favorite is ABC Distributing Co.
They have some pretty cool stuff for great prices! You can choose to sort by price range and then low to high. My favorite is the $9.99 and under!

Another great one is Personalization Mall. Now they have some pricey stuff and a few good deals. But my thought process is that if you spend the extra money to get a personalized gift for someone, it means more, and therefore you don't have to purchase as many smaller gifts.

I also highly encourage you to sign up on e-mail lists for Wal-Mart, Target and Old Navy. They are always having great online specials. Most of them give free shipping with a minimum purchase.

The best tip of all is to get started shopping now! I find that it's a lot easier on the wallet to buy things here and there along the way rather than waiting until a couple weeks before Christmas and having to buy all at once.

Well, I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!!!

I just can't get enough Audrey!

Ok, I was just so inspired by Audrey Hepburn yesterday that I decided to devote a whole post of nothing but her fabulous quotes! Happy Thursday!

~For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

~I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it.

~I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.

~I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.

~It's that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so 'don't fuss, dear; get on with it.'

~People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

~Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present - and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.

~Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same.

~The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.

~There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl's complexion.

Believe

Ok, so Audrey Hepburn is one of my all time favorite actresses....ever! I love her!
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Charade
Roman Holiday
The list goes on and on. She was just so classy and lovely.
I ran across a quote of her's and that just made me love her even more!!!!!
So, I thought it was worth sharing:

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything else seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I belive in miracles."
~Audrey Hepburn

What do you believe in?

It's That Time Again....

Time for What I Learned This Week!
Now I'm a firm believer that we learn something new everyday.
However, a lot of the things I learn daily are not that interesting.
For instance, this week I learned about tickmarks in audit workpapers (I am admin at an accounting firm). I also learned the beauty of our medical flex-spending account!
See: completely unintersting to you but eye opening for me! :)

But I guess I have learned a couple relevant things.

On Friday, I learned just how difficult it is to drive on mountain roads at night with the thickest fog I've ever seen! Scary!!!

I also learned how much I enjoyed myself when I did something spontaneously! Scary for me....but so much fun!

I learned about albino squirrels...also scary looking. However, they refused to pose for a picture.

What did you learn this week?

November

Ok, so I'm going to try and post something every day for the month of November. So, I now have 2 days down, 28 to go!

Do you realize that there are only 24 days until Black Friday (the most fabulous shopping day of the year)?!?!?!?
Now that is some exciting stuff!

Oh, and I just realized that my anniversary is next Friday! So there will definitely probably be some sappy posts next week! :)I'm only sappy once a year.

Oh yes, and only 3 more weeks of school for me! That is AMAZING! I'm getting a little burned out. I'm completely ok with the fact that I might be retirement age before I graduate! That gives me approximately 40 more years to work at it! :)
And that also gives me a little more time to decide on what I really want to do.

Well I know what I REALLY want to do, but we'll have to wait for God to work that miracle out.

And then there's Thanksgiving! Can you believe we're already thinking about Thanksgiving dinner? Personally, I hate all food associated with Thanksgiving. Always have. My granny always makes me macaroni and cheese and for the last 25 years that's what I have eaten for Thanksgiving. Definitely going to have to carry that tradition on for year 26!

Well I think that's enough random rambling for today! Have a fabulous Monday!

Weekend Update

What a fabulous weekend!
So terribly sad it's over!

I was supposed to go to the mountains with my aunt and grandmother Saturday. However, I had a cousin pass away on Friday, so we cancelled our trip.

However, Chris and I decided we would go anyway. Friday afternoon we decided to just go ahead and go up to the mountains and spend the night.
Now this is huge for me, because..well...I'm not very spontaneous. So I was so proud of myself for going along with it!
We had sooooo much fun!

The best part was that we had no cell service for most of the trip.
We went to Cashiers, Highlands, and Franklin, NC.
Fabulous.
Very rainy.
But still fabulous!

Here are a few photos from our trip:








And here are a couple from our fall festival last weekend: