"....I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ~James 10:10~

Friday, April 30, 2010

New Product Review!

I just got a new lip gloss and I wanted to give it a quick review:

N.Y.C. Liquid Lip Shine 555U Iced Orchid

Doesn't that just say it all? It's as pretty as the name!I almost chose the Covergirl Amazmint brand in a similar shade but this one was $3 less so I grabbed it instead.

It's a bright, shiny pink with an AWESOME smell and for $1.72 I would highly recommend it for a pretty summer shade! It almost looks "bronzy" pink when it's on my lips. It's also not too thick and "goopy" and goes on just right!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Pancakes?

Sorry guys...regarding the post below...
I called our local Denny's to see if they were participating and sadly...they are not!

P.S. I am SO HAPPY! My sister NIKKI is blogging again! Woo Hoo!

Thanks Nikki...you just made my day!

Yea for blogging Sister Friends!

It's a wrap!

Because that's about all I found at the thrift store today...

But I'm not complaining! I was happy to find three pretty gift bags and a roll of bright, floral wrapping paper that I needed for Mother's Day gifts. I also found a Care Bear Book I had as a child (which just happened to be one of my FAVORITES) for $2!

It's selling for $8.99 +shipping on Amazon.com right now so I snagged a bargain! Pretty good deal, huh?

No luck on the food processor or new purse but that's just an excuses to plan another trip soon!

Tonight I still have to wash my hair (this is a MAJOR chore for me...I just don't enjoy doing it and with this LONG hair it's no easy job to wash it and then blow dry it)...but I wanna have nice, clean hair for some stuff we have planned for tomorrow!
Then I need to paint my nails and toenails (desperately needed!) and I think I've decided to use my bubble gum pink color I just ordered from Avon. I really LOVE ordering from Avon and my Aunt Fran is a representative so I can hook ya' up if you ever need anything! I really look forward to my goodies being delivered a week or two later because by then it's like a little surprise! Finally, I'm gonna snuggle up in bed and watch tonight's new episode of "The Real Housewives of New York City"...SO GOOD! But sad that people really live like that...just doesn't seem like a very fulfilling lifestyle to me...

One more thing before I go...
Free Pancakes for a GREAT CAUSE!!!

I will more than likely be eating pancakes for one of my three meals tomorrow...just not sure which one yet! Thanks for Smart Shopping Ladies for the heads up!

Well...time is running short, only 30 minutes left to jazz up the hair and nails!

Night! Night!

Love,
Laura

Who likes FREE milkshakes?

You can get one today!

Simply test cfablvd to 74679 and you'll receive a reply text message. Take your phone to the Chick-fil-a on Clemson Blvd. and they will give you a free milkshake!

Simple as that!

Two of my friends at work already got their free milkshake! Go get yours!
Love,
Laura

Thursday Thrifting Adventure

Good Morning!

Today's treat to myself will be a stop at the Haven of Rest to see what treasures I can find!

I must also stop and get some batteries for my camera because they went ka-puts on me last night! And I NEED my camera!

Today I'm hoping to find a purse that can have my initials embroidered on it so maybe I'll get lucky! I'm also looking for a clean food processor because I really need one and I'm gonna look a little longer for a good deal somewhere before I buy a brand new one. It's the kinda thing you don't use everyday so I don't wanna spend much on it.

Also, My friend Bubba did some Spring cleaning this week and passed done lots of cute stuff to me...THANKS BUBBA! She gave me several cute dresses that I can't wait to wear!I need to do a little Spring cleaning of my own...

What's the best thing you've found lately at a thrift store???

Hope you have a GREAT day!

Love,
Laura

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Lunch Time!

Work was absolutely CRAZY today...to say the least! So I was more than happy when my friends invited me to lunch at Ryan's.

I had this yummy salad...


*complete with lettuce, tomato, a FEW bacon bits, a FEW pieces of diced ham, cucumber, and Fat Free Thousand Island. I passed on the chesse and croutons to try to save some calories and it was just as good without them.

...and this fresh fruit (plus another whole plate full of fruit with pineapple, too!)


Then I had some sugar-free lime jello + an orange sherbert cone! No photo available...sorry..I ate it so quick I forgot to take pics!

Then a few minutes ago I had a few MnM's leftover from the movies this past weekend! Yummy!

Tonight's dinner is going to be none other than...FRENCH TOAST!!!

I'm looking forward to it because all those fruits and veggies have just about worn off!

What's your favorite thing to eat for lunch???
Love,
Laura

I *HEART* Pics! And sisters, and babies, and mommies....

Here are some pics from yesterday...

Me and my sister friend, Mo! Me and all my sistah's call each other sister-friends...because we are more than sisters and more than friends! We are both! They are such blessings in my life! I love you Molly, Nikki, and Ali!

Doesn't this look amazing! My friend from work, Diane, made it along with this delicious veggie tray!


The next party I have, this is going on the menu! I LOVE how she used the bell peppers as containers for the ranch dip and hummus!

This is the the sweet Guest of Honor, Ansley and her new little girl, Harper, will be arriving very soon!
We had lots of fun watching her open presents and enjoyed sampling all the yummy treats!


Leave a comment letting me know who is really special in your life!
Yea for people I LOVE...(and really tasty veggie trays! HAHA!)

Love,
Laura

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

ZZZZ's.....

I think I'm getting too many! I've been SO SLEEPY lately!

Take today for example...

Woke up at ten
Napped during lunch from 1-1:45
Fell asleep on the couch after work from 7-10 (only woke up because I was about to pee in my pants...lol)
Ready to go back to sleep now and it's only 11:45

I trust my body though and if it thinks it needs sleep I guess that's fine but I wonder why I'm so sleepy...and NO...I'm not pregnant! Lol!

I've been eating good, exercising, going to bed at a decent time??? Hmmmm....

Do you find yourself needing naps throughout the day or not?

A friend of mine at work told me she's just not a nap person? Must be nice because I can't get enough naps into my day...

Slept through dinner...poor Trav made himself a little salad and let me sleep...he's so sweet! I was hungry when I got up so I had a baked potato and a few pieces of turkey sandwich meat and it was right tasty! I tried to keep it light since it was 10 pm but when you're hungry, you're hungry...right?

Anyway, I so HATE 30 minutes TV shows...aka THE HILLS...because as soon as you're into it...BOOM! It's over! Boo! But i'm already looking forward to next weeks episode. Their drama=my viewing pleasure! LOL!

I got to see my Mom today because she came to Anderson to get her hair done but missed her appt. because I forgot to remind her that Jessica has her own shop now...OOPS! But she made the best of it by visiting our new $5 Christian book store and spending some time with me, Molly, and Makayla! Fun times, fun times!

Well, it's time for me to hit the hay...AGAIN!

Night, Night!

Love,
Laura

So far this Tuesday...

I have:

1. Slept until 10 am...YEA! (I had overtime from work so I got to flex it off this morning!)
2. Had plenty of time to straighten my hair (which is a rarity around here!)
3. Had a little cup of Diet Sunkist (it's actually Diet Sunpop...Bilo Brand *smile*)I acknowledge that this might not be the healthiest way to start my morning but I have very few vices...diet soda in the morning just happens to be one of them!
4. Made up for that not so great nutrition choice by making myself some scrambled egg whites and a toasted whole wheat bagel...yum!
5. Had time to make this post!

So far...so good!

Now I have about 15 minutes before it's time to head off to work so I gotta find something to wear...

Other plans for the day include another baby shower at work (Congrats Ansley!) ---If you come to Anderson DSS...DO NOT DRINK THE WATER THERE! People are popping up preggers left and right...but it's so fun!

And later on the Tube... the season premier of the Hills..looking forward to that!

Gotta go, as my HUGE white cat is standing right in front of my computer screen and licking my breakfast plate...No! No! Rex!

Have a Terrific Tuesday!

Is there anything you're looking forward to today???

Monday, April 26, 2010

Laundry Update...

I've had several people ask me lately if I'm still using the HOMEMADE LAUNDRY detergent I made back in February HERE....

And Yes! I am and it's still working great! I'm still using the same batch I made then too so you can see that this stuff lasts a LONG time and works GREAT! Make yourself some...you'll be glad you did. Here's the RECIPE!

Have fun and save some money!

Love,
Laura

Funday Sunday!!!

Lots of FUN happened around my house yesterday! We accidentally over slept church so when we woke up we took our time getting up and getting going and went to Denny’s for some breakfast! We had a coupon for a BOGO breakfast.

I settled on my usual whole wheat pancakes with sugar-free syrup, egg whites, and turkey bacon.



I had leftovers too which I just thought about…maybe I’ll have that for lunch today!
Travis got a veggie-cheese omelette this time…it looked pretty yummy, too! Isn’t this a pretty bottle…I took my own Diet Mountain Dew in it to breakfast.

After breakfast we came home and took Glory on a LOOOONG walk…I had to push her up the final hill to the house…LOL! It was so BEAUTIFUL outside and we needed the exercise. Going on long walks with my two BFF’S (Trav and Glory) is one of my FAVORITE things!

After our walk, we met up with Ali and Bond at the theater to see a movie and then we went out to eat at Logan’s. I was craving one of their Roadhouse salads and it really hit the spot.



Then we got to go visit Molly, John, and Makayla! Forgot my camera so no new pics of Makayla (BOO!!!) but I’ll have some soon! But just so you get an idea, she had on the CUTEST little outfit yesterday and looked PRECIOUS! A little shirt with Strawberries all over it and pants with a big Strawberry on the “booty”…so CUTE! Kids clothes with strawberries, cupcakes, and tu-tu’s are just MY FAV!

As promised…here’s some pics from my past Goodwill Adventure!




Have a Marvelous Monday!
Love,
Laura

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Under Construction...

Please forgive the blank banner...I'm having technical difficulties and can't get it to do right...

Jackpot at the Clearance Center!

By now I'm sure you've realized that many of my post have to do with my ADDICTION to thrift store shopping! I *LOVE* it! TREMENDOUSLY! Such a stress reliever...

Anyway, today after my conference in Greenville I decided to make a little stop to my favorite little place, the Goodwill Clearance Center, and found some AWESOME FINDS!

Here's my loot from today:

1. Light Blue Express Editor pants
2. A Minnie Mouse Costume...Funny enough I've actually been wanting to find one so I can be Minnie next Halloween *SMILE*
3. Hollister Tee
4. Hollister Tank
5. Gap cropped low rise capris
6. Little Black Dress from New York and Company
7. Several purses for the "fruzins!"
8. New Straw purse for...Me....lol!
9. Gap sandles
10. Old Navy Summer Dress (like a "churchy" type dress)...WEARING IT TOMORROW!
11. Melon colored sundress..very cute!
12. Purple and green polka-dot belt...very cute WITH the sundress mentioned above!
13. American Eagle Kakhi cargo skirt
14. New Mossimo jeans
15. About 5 tee-shirts
16. A kid book (yep...I have quite the collection for my own kids one day)
17. About four scarves (I'm thinking mainly for my updo's this summer)
18. A new dressy teal colored jacket/cape
19. Two packs "D" batteries for my new camping lantern! Weird I know but there they were just laying in one of the bins!
20. White leggings from the Limited
21. Fuschia Banana Republic short sleeve sweater
22. I also got three hours of FUN digging thru all the bins!
(pics to come soon!)
And just so you know I don't care one bit about wearing "designer" clothes...they just need to be CUTE--lol--but I'm certainly not going to complain about getting so many designer lables for this cheap!

Ok...now for the grand total...

$16 BUCKS! WOW! I'm telling you...if you've never been you are REALLY MISSING OUT!

I was pretty pooped after my three hour thrifting adventure today but I went ahead and washed all my new stuff when I got home and it's all ready to wear now. When Trav got home from work I made myself some french toast (Surprise!...I already confessed that I'm hooked!) and we just chilled around the house for awhile. Thankfully it FINALLY stopped raining so we took Glory on a walk up to Bette and NunNuN'S to visit for a little while. I really missed them! We came home and watched Mosley/Mayweather 24/7 (any boxing fans in the house???) and I ended up despising Mayweather even more than I already did which I thought was impossible! Hoping he gets KNOCKED out COLD next Saturday! There are actually two rowdy boys in my living room watching a fight right now...

I made myself an awesome little healthy treat tonight...wanna know what it was? Of course you do because it was SUPER yummy!

Homemade Banana Icecream...recipe courtsey of Red Head Recipes!

Freeze two bananas
Once frozen place bananas (broken into pieces) into a blender or food processor
Throw in a little vanilla, a few cubes of ice, and about a third a cup of skim milk
(and I added a packet of slenda)
Blend until smooth and creamy
Top with a few chocolate chips

DELICIOUS!

Well...I have stayed up ENTIRELY too late tonight because I have a busy day tomorrow with Church, Double date with Ali and Bond, and hopefully a visit with MAKAYLA!

Sleep tight...
Love,
Laura

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Happy Earth Day+Let's GO TEBOW!!!....from a FRENCH TOAST FANATIC!

Happy Earth Day!

I'm really trying to be more "GREEN" and I love this beautiful Earth God created for us to enjoy! We need to give our planet some lovin'! I'm trying to do better by:

1. Making my own laundry detergent (it works GREAT and is SUPER DUPER CHEAP!)
2. Using less paper towels
3. Trying to RE-USE EVERTHING if possible! I rarely through anything away that still 1 has some value! I even used my one leftover carrot shaped treat bag from Easter to take mini bagels in to work all week *proud!*
4. I try to walk when I can instead of driving which is hard to do in my town but when I can I Love it!
5. I hang clothes to dry as much as possible so I don't have to use the Dryer.
6. I try to remember to use my fabric/reusable shopping bag

I hate to stop at random # 6 and I guess there are some other little things I try to do but I can't think of them right now...but I know I can do better...I'm keeping my eye out for ways to be more Green...

I'm really thinking about having a GIVEAWAY soon on my blog so keep tuning in!!!

Today was good...I've been feeling super TIRED lately...not sure why...so I took my normal afternoon nap but I was ready to get some stuff done when I woke up around 7:30. I accidentally forgot about my bible study tonight so I didn't set an alarm and woke up when it was already half way over...BOO HOO! I was disappointed but there was nothing I could do so I decided to get some things done around the house. Got all our dirty clothes washed and most put up...just a few of mine left hanging out to dry...and got some cards written while I watched some of the NFL draft with Trav....SPILLER #9 OVERALL PICK...YES!!! And WAY TO GO TEBOW...such a great guy! Good luck in DENVER!

Tomorrow will be a very pleasant Friday workday because I'll be in a Foster Parent Association Conference in Greenville all day and last year it was pretty good...learned some neat stuff...and they had some good fresh fruit...little things mean a lot when it comes to perks on the job! haha!

Well...gotta go check and see how the Draft is going and start getting ready for bed. Hope you have a FAB FRIDAY!

Love,
Laura

P.S. I am now officially addicted to French Toast! I have had it for dinner atleast 7 out of the last 10 days! LOL! So simple and so low in points (that's Weight Watchers Talk!)

4 pieces light bread
2 egg whites
cinnamon
1 pkg.splenda
sugar free syrup
Pam spray

Spray skillet with PAM.
Dip bread in egg whites and place on skillet (I use my big, flat skillet).
Sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/2 pkg. splenda
After a few minutes, flip and sprinkle cinnamon and splenda on the other side.
Keep flipping and cooking until the toast turns golden brown and toasty
Plate up, cover with Sugar free syrup and ENJOY!!!

But don't go overboard like me! My hubby said he needs to stage a french toast intervention!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Caboodles + A BIG DEAL!

In my last post I mentioned that I cleaned up and organized some over the weekend and here's the proof...

This one is full of all my makeup, neatly organized into each little section, with my larger things I use every morning like my deoderant, sunscreen, and moisturizer stowed in the large bottom section. It's made my mornings much easier! And I'm all for easy! Yea!

This one above is full of my hair accessories and lip sticks, balms, and glosses, and there are more than enough of those to go around! *I LOVE LIPGLOSS!*

I wasn't planning on shopping at CVS yesterday but since I had to pick up a prescription I decided to go in to get it, instead of going through the drive through, to see if they had further reduced any of their Easter clearance. Well...boy am I glad I did because I got all that you see below for $14!!!

My finds were all marked 75% off and I got two crystal lazy susans (I actually had been wanting one of these!), two boxes of picture frames (a total of 20 frames) some binoculars for my little brother, an LED lantern to put away and give as a gift later on, new purple nail polish, glitter eyeshadow,and three huge lollipops for the fruzins and lil' bro the next time they visit! I was so happy to stumble across these deals and now I have some ideas for mother's day gifts for the ladies in my family! In addition to the items being 75% off, the makeup was also BOGO and I had $2.50 in extra care bucks! Woo Hoo! I am continuing to try to stretch my dollars as far as they will go and I always feel so good when I can get a good deal like this!

It's dreary and chilly outside and since I just filled my belly with an apple and some frosted mini wheats, I think a quick little nap is in order! Have a great night!

Love,
Laura

Monday, April 19, 2010

And we had FUN, FUN, FUN...

Good Monday To Ya!

This past weekend was AWESOME! Friday night my movie plans fell through because I fell asleep at 6:30 pm and didn’t wake up until Saturday mornin’…but on the plus side I woke up feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed! Lol! Travis went to play golf so I ventured out on the town. I got ready and then stopped by Subway to try one of their new breakfast selections and on a scale of 1-10 I guess I’d give it about a 6. I guess I’m just spoiled by my yummy McDonald’s Egg McMuffin that I think is so DELICIOUS! But since the Subway choice is a good bit lower in calories I won’t mind trying to get used to it. I stopped by Dunkin Donuts after leaving Subway because I had a coupon for a free cup of coffee but you know what…I just don’t like coffee that much anymore unless it’s at night or in Sunday School. Those are my favorite Coffee times! I ended up throwing it away and what a waste because Travis LOVES DD coffee…sorry honey!

After breakfast I drove around my neighborhood and found a few yard sales. At my first stop I got a LOVELY pink straw purse and a HUGE pack of threads in all different colors for my sewing machine for $1.00! Woo Hoo! I am really DYING to learn how to work my sewing machine! At my next stop I got a Tupperware cake server for $2.00 (I saw one later on at the Salvation Army for $5.00 so I got a deal and mine was SUPER CLEAN!). Next I found a small pearl bracelet with little green beads woven in (loved it because it looks kinda vintage and Earthy) and some Christmas stickers to use for my Christmas cards next year all for 50 cents. After yard-selling, I went to this new Salvation Army store in town and found a HUGE bag of stickers for $1.00 (I LOVE STICKERS!!!) and then I went to Haven of Rest where I found about 20 brand new greeting cards (various types) complete with envelops and another Caboodle for some stuff I needed to organize for a total of $2.00. After shopping I came home and took a quick nap before heading to Lincolnton, Ga for our evening activities…

Around 4 we plugged up the GPS and headed to GA to celebrate my Poppa’s birthday and see my little sis, Ali, go to the Prom there with her boyfriend Bond. It worked out PERFECTLY because my Uncle Eddie lives directly across from the School where prom was being held so we had pizza and cake and watched my Poppa open his presents and then walked over for the Prom Ceremony.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY POP! HE'S A VERY VERY SPECIAL GUY!!!















The way they do the Prom is really different in this town and I’ll try my best to explain it. At the entrance of the prom there were two big sets of bleachers for the spectators and a big fancy ramp with lots of sparkly lights set up in-between the bleachers. As the limos pulled up to let the kids out an English teacher introduced them to the crowd as they walked over the ramp and into the prom. While they posed at the top of the ramp, some one positioned a big spotlight on each couple and it was just BEAUTIFUL! I thought it was an AWESOME way to make the prom more special for the parents, kids, and community! Of course, Ali was so BEAUTIFUL and I was so happy to see her having so much fun!







*We all wanted to hop in and go on a JOY RIDE!* lol!
We got home pretty late and hit the hay…
Sunday Worship was WONDERFUL and so was our Mexican lunch outing with the McAllisters!


Ray ordered catfish which we all got a kick out of and Jessica and I insisted we have our pictures taken (for our blogs, of course!) and both of our hubbys begrudgingly obliged (apparently husbands don’t see the value in documenting the little day to day moments like we do… *SMILE*) After a nice Sunday afternoon nap I got up and cleaned of my “junk rooms” which were DESPERATE for a good organizing! I felt like a NEW WOMAN when I got finished. We decided to have breakfast for supper so we took Glory on a walk up to Ingles and got some bread and eggs. We were doing our best to be GREEN and walk to get our groceries instead of driving two minutes over to pick up our goods. The only mistake I made was leaving my reusable shopping bag at home…oops! I’ll remember next time. I made some homemade French toast using light bread, egg whites, and sugar free syrup and made some turkey bacon to go on the side. DEE-LICIOUS!!!

Also...here are a few pics from Lisa's Baby Shower on Friday!






Have a great day!
Love,
Laura