Wordless Wednesday

Grab some tissue...

Amen!

5 Day Recap

I having been ripping & running these last 5 days y'all! It has been crazy around here.

Last week I got the news that my car's head gaskets were blown. So I could fix it for $1600 or get a new engine for $3500.  Either way it was going to cost some serious cash. So by Thursday I decided to go "look" for a new car.I really didn't want to pay for repairs because there were several things that was really needed to get the car back in good shape: the A/C, both seat motors, & a list of several other issues. I was just emotionally & financially drained with this car!

So I said my good-bye's to my benz...

And hello to my new 2011 Nissan Altima Coupe! LOVE IT!! 

I got in winter frost so it has a pearl finish!

Friday I surprised the hubby with tickets to the playoffs and we went to Phillips Arena to watch the Hawks & Orlando play. We won of course which made the night even better! Here's a view from our seats...

The only thing that bothers me, which shouldn't because I should expect it, is when people constantly come in  & out of your row and you have to keep standing up to them in or out. I was so annoyed! I purposely always buy the seats at the end of the aisle so we have more room and so we won't bother anyone when we come & go. Eh, oh well, it's to be expected so what can you do!

My friend Bev came into town from Montgomery for the weekend. So Saturday we were out & about shopping. I have to confess that we actually spent one hour at the mall people watching. We literally sat on a bench in the middle of the mall to people watch. I know it's not right, but LAWD! The things that some people wear to the mall amaze me.  Some girls looked like they were about to go dance on a pole right after they left the mall! I love heels like the next girl, but 4" inch heels to the mall?? No thanks!

I snapped this pic of Bev sleeping on the pull out & look who was in bed with her! lol!

 Saturday night we Red Boxed Due Date. This movie is Hilarious! Zach Galifianakis is sooo funny!

Sunday of course was fabulous. We went to Keith's parent's home and had a big Easter lunch. Sadly his grandmother wasn't there because she was admitted into the hospital for arthritis related issues. She's doing ok, but just in a lot of pain. So please pray for her!

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend as well! :)

5 day recap

Since my last post was Thursday, here's a recap of the last 5 days...

We actually ended up canceling our usual Thursday night dinner last week so no pics to show. Hopefully we'll get back to the dinners next week.


Friday would have been my dad's 72nd birthday. He died in 2000 and I miss him like crazy. Here's a picture of us (right before he died) at my undegrad college graduation.

Excuse the quality! This was back in 2000 and all I had was one of those Kodak one time use cameras!

Saturday was the hubby's grandmother's 80th birthday! We went to his parent's house for a bbq with family. My in-laws can cook some serious food! We had a good time with his family.

 hubby & grandmother

 ribs, potato salad, deviled eggs, baked beans, corn, meatballs, etc!

The in-laws pup Marco...he is too cute! 

Too bad Bebe doesn't care for him though! lol

Sunday the hubby spent the day doing homework and I went to a friend's son's football game. I wasn't to happy about it though. I understand the teams are formed by age, but I think they should do it by height & weight class like boxing.

I was watching a game between the Giants & Patriots, all 12 year olds. Well the Giants had HUGE players and the Patriots had tiny players. I watched as one of the Giants tackled a kid from the Patriots and it knocked the kid out. COLD. He just laid there & the adults went crazy. The mom ran out onto the field, people starting booing and yelling! The kid finally came to after a while but the fans were not happy. People were screaming "kick them out of the league" and they booed the whole team at the end of the game. The parents of the Giants applauded their kids. It was just a mess! I felt bad for them all.

Monday I started my new work schedule. I picked it, but now I'm not so sure about it. I'll be working M, T, W, & F from 930-730 and Thursdays I'll have a 1/2 day and work 11-3. This week won't be so bad because we have Friday off. So I'll give it some time & see if I can adjust.

Speaking of Friday I'm planning on surprising the hubby by taking him to see the Hawks vs Orlando in the playoffs! He is going to be SO happy! I told him to take 1/2 the day off and that we were going to Atlanta. I'm sure he knows already because he keeps mentioning the only thing going on in Atlanta is the playoff game. I told him to wear a suit to throw him off but the hubby's a smart cookie! lol! I'm kind of excited myself because it will be my first NBA game.

Prior to the game though I'm "planning" to go to the matinee to watch "Water for Elephants." I've read on so many blogs how good the book is and the hubby isn't too interested in seeing it. Have any of you ever gone to the movies solo? I used to be totally against it but one of my friend's told me she does it a lot and I tried it once and it was actually not so bad! So, Friday I'll be going solo to see this movie!

Viva Las Vegas!

I am SO excited that we have decided to go to Las Vegas (yet again) for the 4th of July! We even decided to rescheduled our May 1st cruise to the Bahamas just so we can save a little more for VEGAS! Yes, I we love to gamble! So we need to save as much as possible.

As much as I love Vegas, year after year we say we're going to go somewhere else. But with all the wonderful free Hotel offers, it's just a great deal. This time we had free hotel offers from the Venetian & Caesars Palace. We've stayed at the Venetian for the last 4 trips so this time we decided to try out Caesars. 

Group shot of me with the girls last year!

 We absolutely love Las Vegas and I never get tired of going. I feel like a teen when I'm there! LOL! But seriously, we have got to stop going every year. The one major bonus is my bestie Lynda lives in AZ so she always meets us out there. So I get to see her once a year. :)

So to get in shape for Vegas, today was day 1 of Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred. I've read a lot of good reviews so I am very optimistic! She is NO.JOKE.

I also had a friend tell me about something called SENSA. Have any of you heard of it or tried it? My friend has gone from a size 22 to 16 in 3 months. I did a little research but I am always skeptical of things that sound too good to be true. I've read a lot of good reviews so far though. If anyone decides to try it, go to GNC and avoid any auto-ship charges.

As for tonight's weekly dinner, we have decided this week's theme will be "Breakfast for Dinner"!

Pics will be posted tomorrow!

Happy Thursday All!

Disregard Multiple Reposts

If you see multiple old posts coming up in your reader please disregard.

Due to the many recent blogs about security issues, I am in the process of going through and disabling the left click function of certain photos from previous posts.  For instructions click HERE.

I have also disabled the right click feature on my website. For instructions click HERE.
(Go ahead and right click on my page & read the warning message! Feel free to use it if you'd like!)

This won't give me 100% security but it's a start.

It's sad to have to go through all this, but better safe than sorry!

Happy Wednesday!

Friday Night BBQ

Happy Saturday!

Last night the hubby & I hosted a bbq for my co-workers. They did some moving around at our job & we've all been moved around to  different teams so we all wanted to get together one more time. 

We bbq'd, karaoked, danced, & had a few drinks! 

We even decided we're going to try & do this monthly with only our "alumni" team members.

This is "J", he is THE fastest drinker EVER. 

He won the beer drinking championship in FL a few years ago.

"J" likes to challenge people all.the.time.

"H" & "M" who took "J" up on his challenge.

 "J" can finish a whole beer in 2 gulps!

I am not even exaggerating at all!

"M" ended up with half of his beer ended up on his shirt.

"M" exclaimed "J doesn't have an esophagus!! No one can drink that fast!"

Other co-workers watching in amazement! lol

I should have recorded it bc words cannot explain how fast he can drink.

The hubby on the grill chatting with the co-worker's husbands.

 Then inside for some karaoke.

"J" sang us some Bohemian Rhapsody!

 "A" sang some Elvis!

"T & A" sung Superwoman!

Every time this song is sung all the men leave the room! lol

It gets the women fired up & the hubby says the room gets filled with too much estrogen! HA!

If you've never heard it, click HERE for the YouTube video with lyrics!

It's old but so so good!

 A little dancing...if you can call it that! HA!

" A" giving "H "some dance lessons!

" H&J" doing some karaoke

" H" is my former supervisor! She is the best!!

 "J" kept us entertained all night!

We had such a great time! As much as I dislike my corporate job, I really enjoyed my team.

Great group of people that made the day bearable! lol!

Weekly Dinner Party

Last Night's dinner party theme was "Thanksgiving in April"! The only problem was no one made it to the store in time to pick up the ham, so we had rotisserie chicken instead.  We also had mac & cheese, dressing, collard greens, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, apple caramel walnut pie, & a birthday cake (even though the birthday boy was a no show, pfffft)!

The birthday cake my sis-n-law made for the birthday boy Jason.

collard greens, made by Miss Diem

 Mac & Cheese

 Rotisserie Chicken

 Green Bean Casserole & Dressing

Our neighbor Jeremy & his daughter Shaylin

 Lillian, my brother, & Sam (sis-n-law)

 (from the top)

Miss Diem, Rodney, Steve, & Kathy

We had several other friends over but I didn't snap any pictures! And I never take pics of the hubby & I since by the time we are done getting everything prepared we don't look so hot! LOL!

Tonight we're hosting a party at our home for my co-workers. We're going to be grilling again & singing karaoke! Saturday we were planning to take a quick day trip to FL but I am just so tired, I'd rather sleep in & be lazy for a day.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Good Bye Clinique...Hello Estee Lauder

I have been primarily using Clinique products since I was 16,  but for the last 3 months they have ALWAYS been out of everything I needed. Foundation, eyeliner, eyeshadow, etc. So When I went to Macys & Dillards today (for the 3rd month in a row) I decided I was done with Clinique right then & there. So I made the switch to Estee Lauder.

I bought their starter skin care line which included a make-up bag, foaming cleanser, day wear skin creme, night repair creme, & eye repair creme. The sweet sales lady also put some pore minimizer skin refinisher in a  sample jar for me. Then I switched my staple items, foundation, powder, & eyeliner. The lady said I was "old school" because only old school women wear foundation & powder still! She also gave me some sample mascara! Woot Woot!

I am skeptical of the foundation though. It feels so light but it's supposed be an all day wear product that will last up to 15 hours. So I will report back on my thoughts on this.

 All my new loot! :)

I will let y'all know what I think about all these new products!

I hope they work well! 

 

Does anyone else have any recommendations?

My skin has been feeling really dirty & looks rough lately.

I have combination skin but lean more towards oily skin.

I've tried products by Mary Kay, MAC, Philosophy, Bare Minerals, Lorac, Ulta, Sephora, etc.

Photography

2 weeks ago I shot a boudoir session for one of my friends. She wanted to create a calendar for her hubby with 12 different images. While I can't post all the pictures here, I can at least post details of her make-up done by my fabulous MUA friend Tamara!

This was one of the first looks she created!

Love those lashes!

This was the mermaid inspired look, to include "scales" on the side of her face!

I love those colors!

I'm sure if those bright colors would look good on me! I do admire girls who can pull that look off. I wouldn't even know where to begin or what to wear! lol! I stick to neutrals and occasionally I do the smokey eyed looked. If I have a special occasion then I always book an appointment with a MUA @ the mall. 

Do any of you ever experiment with crazy colors?

Davis Family needs your help

I'm sure many of you have already seen this, but just in case you haven't, I wanted to share this here.  
I've copied the following from "Our Perfectly Imperfect Life"...

"On March 17, 2011, the Davis family sat in a Russian courtroom and listened as the judge rejected their plea to adopt Kirill, an orphan with Down syndrome. "The judge said, “Your application to adopt is rejected.” The basis given was that Kirill was “not socially adaptable” due to his “medical condition” and he was better off in an institution than in a home with a family. As the judge read her ruling, she stated several times that we were a good family, that we met all the criteria to adopt a child, but that she would not approve our adoption because Kirill has Down syndrome. She told us that we could adopt another child, because legally our application had no problems according to Russian adoption law. She said she would approve our adoption for a “typical” child, but not this child. Why? The only reason? Because he has Down syndrome."


Being an adoptive mother to a Russian orphan with Down syndrome, I could expand on the million-and-one reasons Tesney and Greg's rejected application to adopt has deeply affected me. But that is not what is important.

What is important is that they are appealing the judge's ruling to the Supreme Court of Moscow and they need our help.

The Davis family has been through so much already... and now they have been slammed with astronomical unforeseen financial hurdles in bringing Kirill home. In order to just begin the process of filing their appeal, they had to pay $2,500. They have been told that they should plan to attend the Supreme Court hearing, which is a trip to Russia they never planned to have to make... add $3,000 - $4,000. If the Supreme Court overturns the ruling, they will have to return home and wait for a date to travel to Kirill's region to reappear before the original judge in their case... add $4,000 - $5,000. Assuming everything goes as planned, they will remain in country for the 10 day waiting period and finalization of their adoption... add $3,000 - $3,500.

What is important is that they are appealing the judge's ruling to the Supreme Court of Moscow and they need our help.


So how can you help? A few of us adoptive mommy bloggers have put our heads together to create a 7 day blitz for Kirill."
 
Please visit Our Perfectly Imperfect Life for additional information on how you can help. They are giving away some fabulous prizes.

Weekend Recap

Happy Sunday (night)! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! 

This weekend I shot a wedding, it was my first wedding for 2011 and it was the fastest wedding I had ever shot! 1.5 hours. The bride didn't want any family shots and didn't want me to shoot the reception so I was in & out.

Afterwards I went to Sam's since the hubby decided to throw a last minute bbq. We're in the process of decorating & renovating still, so I was thrilled that when I got to Sam's they had a huge zebra print rug on sale for $69! Woo Hoo! Just what I needed!

Now if I could just find some window treatments & something to hang on our bare walls.

This is the ONLY thing we have hung up in the entry way... a key "table."

We found it @ Hobby Lobby

 And I love this new lamp from TJ Maxx!

That's all we've got so far.  LOL!

Decorating is so hard for me! I always find things I like, it's just putting it all together so that it looks good is what gets me. I've looked online, in stores, in magazines and I can't decide what to buy.

Anyways, I also scored this little lovely from Sam's, perfect for parties!

It has a fruit diffuser so I sliced some strawberries...

 Yum!

 And this compartment is for ice to keep the drink cold without it getting watered down!

 Voila!

Here's some of the good food we had!

Friends hanging out eating & playing cards

For dessert, Vu brought another cookie cake LOL! It wasn't anyone's birthday but he couldn't think of anything else to have written on it! 

Today was also my mother-in-law's birthday so we went out to lunch with the family.

The hubby & I put together a goodie bag for her filled with some candles, hand sanitizer, notebook, personalized eyeglass case, & pashmina scarf! 

I forgot my camera so I have no pics from this! SMH!

But I did manage to take a pic when I got home of the 2 pashmina scarves the hubby got for me!

Can't wait for next fall to wear them!

I hope everyone great weekend as well! 

Time to get ready for the work week.

Ciao!