{Thursday Adventures!}

Hi Friends!!!I had TONS of fun trying out all my new cosmetic purchases from yesterday:) I think the eyeshadow was my favorite! My morning, in fact, went quite well UNTIL....

DOM-DOM-DOM!!!!....
REX ATTACKED! That mean cat! After some peroxide and a bandaid, I made it out of the house just in time to swing by Mickey D's:)
The BEST 300 calorie breakfast a dollar can buy! I love breakfast burritos!

I used my cute new knit pouch/thing today...it's so lovely:) I found it at Goodwill a few weeks ago.
It has a simple little button on the back:) Then, this evening, I got to pick Makayla up from daycare and spend the evening with her:) We played outside, heard the birds go "tweet! tweet!", found "Tinkerbell the Wandering Kitty", and then went to Chic-fil-a for supper and playground time:)
FUN!!!
She even made a new friend!

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!!!!

YAY!

Love,
Laura

{Indulgences}

Starting with new nail stickers!!!I'm addicted to these things! I found the Kiss brand that I like at Wal-mart for several dollars cheaper than I've found them anywhere else....BLESS those (rare) times that I actually like Wal-mart:)I had plenty to do my toes, too!

Keeping in the theme of treating myself---- (we deserve it sometimes:)....
...I used a gift card to get this new eye shadow---it's a GORGEOUS GOLD shade:)
...this chubby stick in STRAWBERRY....
....and this eye shadow/blush duo, along with a couple other products, for free in the bonus gift. I love FREE! I normally wouldn't buy expensive cosmetics but since I had a gift card I thought...why not?:)

I had just enough left on my gift card to get these beautiful new earrings!
After shopping, I went to Bible study and had a great time with my friends:) Tonight's lesson was from Mark 7: 31-37.....

³¹ Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.³² There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.³³ After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). ³⁵ At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. ³⁶ Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. ³⁷ People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

What really stood out to me was the last verse which says "He has done everything well" or "Everything he does is wonderful" from some translations. God always give us something WONDERFUL we just have to choose to see it that way. Even in circumstances that might not feel wonderful, we have to remember that he has already done the MOST WONDERFUL thing, in that he saved us and made us His own. And in the midst of those not-so-great-feeling-times, he might just surprise us, as we leave the crowd and draw near to Him, and do something truly amazing!

Thanks Carrie for leading a great study tonight!

Love,
Laura

{Side Note...}

Guess where I spent the better half of my day....
...Yep---in the Doctor's office :(
I started having pain in my right side two days ago and decided to get it checked out before I go on vacation. I didn't wanna be stuck out in the middle of the ocean needing an emergency surgery! YIKES! I thought it was most likely a kidney infection but they ruled out any problems with my kidney or bladder. The other cause could be an ovarian cyst---so they did some blood work to be on the safe side. I told my Doc that if it's my appendix then put me on tomorrow's surgery schedule because come HECK OR HIGH WATER I'm getting on that boat next week! I SERIOUSLY doubt its appendicitis though...we'll see when the tests come back tomorrow.

Later, for dinner, I had the most nutritional meal of the year-------NOT!!!
....half a peanut butter cookie and half a brownie (on a pretty Vera Bradley plate:)
Followed by a glass of milk----to balance it out a lil' bit:) In all seriousness...I didn't have much of an appetite.

Following yesterday's post on my WILD HAIR...I just went with bangs to have something new without hacking it all off----thanks Jessica for helping me (insisting that) we try this first before jumping into the deep end:)
And yes---I should not be on the phone and taking pics in the car---IRRESPONSIBLE!---I promise to do better. But... I WAS still in the parking lot:)

Love,
Laura

{I gotta WILD HAIR! }

No...like SERIOUSLY! I am having one of those days where I'd like to come home with an extreme new and crazy 'do similar to this.......or this...
...or maybe even a much MILDER this one...
...but I don't guess I'll really do it:) I would probably really regret it but I would love to be able to have them each for just a day or two! I thought maybe blogging about my secret fantasy hair might help to get it out of my system...lol!I'll just stick with what I've got for now (which is like that when I take the time to fix it) and when I see J-LOWE (Watson:) tomorrow I'll just get her to give me a purple streak or something to walk on the wild side a lil' bit:) What do you guys think???

So...back to the real world:)...and today's hairdo which was a slept on french braid. That's pretty pathetic isn't it?--- but if you wake up at 8:15, make your husband a smoothie, and have to be at work by 8:30 there's just no other option. I had to make it work:)...And since there was only enough coffee left for half a cup I decided I'd look on the bright side and see it as half full:)

I'm glad I looked at it that way because it turned out to be a FABULOUS day! My two besties celebrated their Birthday today (you've probably noticed by now that they're twins:)We had a delicious lunch at FATZ. They had several good and healthy options so I chose the grilled chicken wrap half with skewered grilled veggies and a side salad. It was the best lunch I've had out in awhile!
I just finished up my afternoon snack...
...orange sherbet and a big 'ole bottle of water.

Now it's time to tackle this house!

Love,
Laura

{Sundays are FUNdays!}

We woke up to a GORGEOUS morning!And it just kept getting nicer outside as the afternoon progressed:) After a wonderful Worship service, we went to Papa's and Beer for lunch then came home, played with Glory, and sat on the front porch swing for a lil' while. I could've sat there ALL DAY but it was time for the Senior Follies.

Travis's Grandmother, Bette, performs every year and she always steals the show:)

Daughter+Mother

...And this year was no different! She's beautiful...inside and out!
It was a wonderful day! When I got home, my sweet hubby had cut the grass AND done the dishes....what more could a girl ask for? :)

Love,
Laura

{Lucky TWO!}

This morning I looked over at my bedside table and realized that obviously, when it comes to diet soda, it makes no difference to me....and TWO is better than one.So long as it's caffeine...and caffeine's for me:) Actually, I've cut WAY WAY back on soda but sometimes it's just a necessity:)

And I needed all that extra energy this morning to meet Molly and start getting ready for Makayla's 2nd birthday! I can't believe she is already TWO!

When the festivities began, Mom was the only one small enough to get in and jump with Makayla so she needed more energy than anyone, except maybe Molly who gave her sweet daughter a fabulous party while battling what we suspect might be strep throat...bless her heart! Her voice was GONE by the end of the night. We ate pizza...
...and candy. I love these little white cups because when I had my 4th birthday party (which just happened to be Pound Puppies:) my Mom filled them up with Valentine hearts! Me and Molly love that memory:) Makayla gave us all a bite of cake...
...but kept most of it for herself!
I don't blame you, Makayla! You ARE the birthday girl after all!

When I got home, I was starving again so I whipped up a taco salad (lettuce, cheese, and salsa) to tide me over until morning. I also broke out my new summer (vintage:) gown because it's so warm tonight...which is so wonderful!!!
It's certainly no luck that I have such a sweet little niece to love on! Happy Birthday Makayla...WaWa and Trav will always love you!

^"Every good and perfect gift is from above..." ~James 1:17~

Love,
Laura

{TGIF!!!....Leprechaun Style!}

HELLO!
I'm so proud of myself...hehe! I won two free movie tickets for being the "greenest" person at work today:)I see a showing of 21 Jump Street in my future!

So to celebrate my win, what did I do??? I went to Goodwill, of course!
I got all these things off the dollar rack:) I've seen this tank top several times the last few weeks and decided it must be destiny for it to hang in my closet. It's totally 1980's I'm guessing from the tag and I can't wait to rock it:)

I also got this Old Navy cuffed capris......this Old Navy cargo skirt (obviously I gotta break out the ole' iron)...
...these lime green Old Navy capris...
...and these Charlotte Russe wide leg lined white trousers that I'm thinking about wearing for Easter. I just need a pretty new tank top and pair of heels to go with it:)
I went to Goodwill looking like a crazy Leprechaun (still) but it was totally worth it for the bargains I found! I couldn't get the green crayon off my eyes and looked like I was sea sick or just....weird:) Take your pick...lol!When Trav got home from work we decided that a walk to Ingles for some dinner would be a good plan for the evening.

So...while Trav went in to pick up our groceries, I waited outside and held hands with Glory:)
And then we walked back home with a delicious meal of steak, squash, and zuchinni in tow...
....taking turns carrying the bag as we went:)
Ok...YES!...Trav did MOST of the carrying:)
Thanks Honey! TGIF!!!!

Love,
Laura

{He made it, We enjoy it!}

This morning started with a new power bar:)
...but by lunch time I was ready to refuel so I went to the park to spend some time enjoying nature instead of my dull office walls.
I made myself at home, spreading a blanket and making friends with some ducks....
...who look like they're in love, dont they?:)

The ducks enjoyed a three course meal of Cinnabon bars....
...while I enjoyed my subway leftovers. SO GOOD!
I wiggled my toes in the sunshine...
...and realized that there was something unique and beautiful everywhere I looked.
Acorns, trees, flowers, and feathers....
Sunshine, branches, and birds.
Little purple flowers...
...and big yellow flowers:)
Grandpa's and grand daughters....memories and love:)
It doesn't get much better than this!
The Good Lord really outdid himself when he made this place!

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities‑his eternal power and divine nature‑have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Romans 1:20

Love,
Laura