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Dresses from Shabby Apple

Monday, May 30, 2011

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday y'all!

I'm writing random today and linking up with Carissa at lowercase letters for Miscellany Monday!


Miscellany Monday @ lowercase letters

{dinner and a show}

Last night my husband and I went out to dinner at O'Charleys with his parents for my birthday which is Saturday. My husband and I went to our local amusement park, Carowinds, after dinner to see the special Memorial Day LED light show and fireworks. We had such a great time!









{what goes up, must come down}

I am still seeing the number on the scale drop thanks to Weight Watchers! I've almost lost ten pounds on the programs, fifteen all together. Also, I'm only two pounds away from reaching weight loss goal number two!


{count your blessings}

I'm very excited to host my new linkup, Thankful Thursday, for the very first time this week! I'm hoping to see a lot of people participate and share what all they're thankful for this week.


{thank you}

I just wanted to thank everyone who has served or is currently serving in our armed forces. I also want to thank the families of those who have served and are currently serving. Today would not be possible if it weren't for your sacrifices! To read more about what Memorial Day means to me, click HERE.


{baby proof}

I just finished reading Emily Giffin's book Baby Proof. I thought it was a good book but not as good as the other two in the series. Did anyone else think that compared to the other two this one was kind of a let down? I think I just expected so much more out of the book that I couldn't help thinking, "That's it?!"



I hope everyone has a wonderful, and safe Monday and Memorial Day!


I'm an American Soldier

Happy Memorial Day y'all!

For those of you who don't know, I'm in the Army Reserves. Ever since I enlisted in the military, holidays such as memorial day have taken on a special meaning. Joining the Army was one of the toughest things I've ever done and one of my biggest accomplishments. Being in the Army has taught me a lot of valuable lessons I might not have learned otherwise, and I am truly a much better person because of the time spent.






My grandfather was in the Navy during World War II. One of the things I always remember him saying was that he didn't understand why God chose to let him live. He said that during the war, people were getting killed that were standing right next to him.

Today we honor those fallen soldiers, men and women, who died fighting so that today the American people can still enjoy the freedoms upon which this country was founded. 

We also recognize those members of the armed forces who are currently serving stateside or overseas for the sacrifices that they themselves, along with their families, make every day.

Today I also remember the unit to which I am assigned: the 941st Transportation Company. The majority of my unit is currently deployed overseas. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

To end my post I just wanted to leave you with one of my favorite songs about soldiers. I hope y'all love it as much as I do!


I hope everyone has a great day!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Getting To Know You

Happy Sunday y'all!

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend! Mine has been really good so far :)

But now to take a break from the weekend festivities and play along with Getting To Know You! You can link up HERE.



1. Would you rather go on a picnic or to a bbq?

I'd have to pick the bbq. Hot food off the grill sounds so much more appealing than cold fried chicken!



2. Would you rather go bra-less or panty-less?

Panty-less. Only because the "ladies" are a bit too large to get away with that sort of thing ;)

3. Would  you rather go on a $5000 shopping spree at your favorite store or go on a $5000 vacation?

Vacation! I love shopping and all, but I'd so much rather make the memories on a vacation than have a well stocked closet.

4. Would you rather eat escargot or sauteed crickets?

Hmmm....I guess the escargot. Since it is actually a dish people eat, and I've never heard of sauteed crickets. Although the world is strange, and it may be out there! But I did try escargot one time when I was little. I can't really remember if I liked it or not.


Either way it looks pretty gross now!

5. Would you rather go on Survivor or Amazing Race?

To be honest, I've never watched either one! I think they'd both be pretty cool to be on. I'd pick Amazing Race though. I don't know if I would have what it takes to be on Survivor!


6. Would you rather be hot or cold?

Haha, it depends on when you ask me! I guess cold because I'm pretty hot natured. Also, I've always stuck with the idea that you can layer until you're not cold anymore.

7. Would you rather go to the beach or lake?

The beach!


8. Would you rather not shave your legs for a month in the summer or your armpits?

Such a hard decision for someone who shaves both every.single.day. even during the winter! If I had to choose I guess armpits?! Just because I think I could hide my armpits. I'd be really uncomfortable though!!


I hope everyone enjoys an extra day off tomorrow for Memorial Day! Thanks to all our military members and their families for everything they do!



Also, don't forget to come back on Thursday for my first Thankful Thursday link up!


Saturday, May 28, 2011

Introducing my Thankful Thursday linky list!

Happy, happy, HAPPY Saturday y'all!

I hope everyone is off to a great start to Memorial Day weekend!

I just wanted to let y'all know that starting THIS Thursday, I will be hosting my first link up!

I have found, especially here recently, that I have been having a little bit of trouble remembering all the things I have to be thankful for in my life.

So introducing....


I thought y'all might want to have a weekly reminder of all the blessings in your life too!

Hope to see everyone here on Thursday!

Friday, May 27, 2011

A Recipe A Week: Week 9


Happy Thursday y'all!

My recipe this week is one that I got from Weight Watchers!

Dijon-Roasted New Potatoes
from the Weight Watchers website


PointsPlus value: 4 per serving
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 35 min


1 spray(s) cooking spray
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 pounds uncooked new potatoes,
red or white, quartered or  
halved   

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together mustard, oil, paprika, salt, thyme, and pepper; add potatoes and stir to coat.



3. Transfer potatoes to prepared baking dish and roast 15 minutes; stir and roast until tinder on inside, about 15 to 20 minutes more. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.


** I used honey Dijon mustard rather than Dijon mustard **


These were really good and really healthy which is a plus! My husband and I were really surprised that they didn't have a mustard-y taste to them. They just tasted like regular roasted potatoes. I don't know if me using honey Dijon mustard rather than Dijon mustard has anything to do with that or not.

Hope you enjoy the recipe!

Friday Confessional

Happy Friday y'all!

I have lots of confessions today, as usual!



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I confess... I've about had it with all Blogger's shenanigans. It still won't let me comment on anyone's posts. Or sign out. So if you want to skip out on leaving me comment love, I understand as I don't know when I'll be able to reciprocate! I really, really miss y'all. I feel so disconnected :( Oh but don't worry. According to Blogger's maintenance site, it is a known problem and is "being resolved." We'll see.


I confess... I've been using my husband's deodorant for the past couple of weeks since discovering the brand I bought doesn't work so well for me. I guess I could go buy some more. But it's just so convenient using his ;) Plus, isn't men's deodorant supposed to work better anyway?

I confess... that I cannot go to sleep unless I'm cuddling with my body pillow. I don't really know when this habit started, but my husband despises it. He thinks it takes up too much room in the bed. I think that the reason he really doesn't like it is because he wants me to be cuddling with him! When I get pregnant one day I want one of the ridiculously huge ones.


This one will do.

I confess... that the house renovations have put me in a pretty bad mood this week. We have a love/hate relationship. On the one hand I feel so good about how much better the room is looking. On the other hand, I hate how junky it makes the rest of my house. And because of how old the house is, slapping bad paint job on top of bad paint job, and similar factors, the renovating is becoming a lot more difficult than it should be. In my defense, if this stuff would have been done correctly the FIRST time (or even the second!), I might not be having such a hard time right now!


I want this shirt when I get done.

I confess... that my mom has only been out of touch for 24 hours (she's on a cruise to the Bahamas!), and I already don't know what to do! I call my mom multiple times a day, every day. I hope I can make it until Monday!

Need to confess? Link up HERE.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Friday and a great Memorial Day weekend!!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

I want to leave you comments!!

Hey y'all!

I just wanted to let y'all know if you're wondering why I haven't been commenting on all your lovely blogs....

It's because Blogger won't let me!

I've been trying to leave comments, but every time I press publish it asks me to select profile. So I select google account and press publish and it takes me back to the Blogger sign in page. What the heck!

I've seen someone else post about having this problem so I know I'm not crazy!!

I love you all and as soon as Blogger will let me I will be stopping by your blogs to give you all the bloggy love you deserve!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday y'all!

Here's what I'm loving this week!


I'm loving that my family is leaving to go on their cruise to the Bahamas today! It has been a really long time since they have been on a "real" vacation so I'm excited for them!

I'm loving how full of furbabies my house is because in addition to our two dogs, we have my parents dog and cat while they're on the cruise!


I'm loving that the Army finally promoted me!

I'm loving reading Baby Proof by Emily Giffin so far! Her books have been such a great summer read.


I'm loving that I'm getting some painting done this weekend! It amazes me how a new coat of paint can do so much for a room.

I'm loving my plans for Memorial Day weekend! My husband and I are spending the weekend at the water park, watching fireworks, and eating lots of good food :)



I'm loving the long weekend my husband and I get to spend together!

And, as always, I'm loving my sweet husband!


What are you loving today?

Don't forget to link up your loves with Jamie HERE.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday y'all!

I don't know about y'all, but I'm so glad the weekend is over and it's finally Monday! Hey. Give me a break. I worked all weekend doing the Army thing :)

I'm writing random today so if you want to play along, link up HERE.

Miscellany Monday @ lowercase letters

{PT test}

Well, I had my Army PT test on Saturday and.................I passed!! I did 32 push-ups, 67 sit-ups, and ran my two mile in 18 minutes and 56 seconds. This isn't anywhere near as good as I have done, but I was very in shape from basic training back then :) I'm just very excited that I passed!

{promotion}

 And..............I got promoted! I'm really excited to see my hard work pay off. My new rank is Specialist :)




{cup of heaven}

Let me preface this by saying I am not a coffee drinker. It's really just not my thing. But when I wake up at 4:30 in the morning to go to battle assembly and do PT, I make exceptions. When we got released from PT, I went to the gas station to get some caffeine before the next formation. And that's when I met Bean Street Coffee. It was so good I called it my "cup of heaven"! Hazelnut coffee with french vanilla creamer and sugar...delish!



{my faves}

I'm super excited that Blake Shelton's and Miranda Lambert's wedding has finally been published in Us Weekly! I'm definitely going to need to own this edition. I just love them both :)



{saddest.movie.ever}

My sister and I watched Titanic the other day, and I cried my eyes out! I mean, I keep thinking that one day I will watch it and not cry because I've seen it before and know what happens. But that day was not Friday.



Well that was pretty random :)

I hope everyone has a marvelous Monday and a great start to the week!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Friday Confessional

Happy Friday y'all!

As usual, I'm linking up with Glamazon and Mamarazzi for Friday Confessional. If you want to play along, write your confessions, click the lovely button below, and link up your post!



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I confess... that Aunt Flo coming to visit this weekend is the worst thing that could have happened on so many levels, and she's not even here yet! Doesn't she know that I have a PT test to take? A 2-mile run that's hard enough without her wanting a piggy back ride during it. Don't even get me started on Weight Watchers....she knows I'm on a diet, and when she visits she brings all kinds of tasty things along that I want to eat! She's so selfish putting all her needs before mine!


I confess... that I also blame my stand still in my weight loss on her. I haven't gained any, but I haven't been able to lose any either. It's all her fault right?!


I confess... that she has also put me in a rather bad mood. So it's a good thing that it's confession day :)


I confess... I'm a little peeved that she's taken up so much of my post today. Like I said...selfish.



I confess... that I may be a little slack about posting for the next couple of days. Army Reserves weekends are pretty long and exhausting. But I promise to do my best!


I confess... that I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. reading Something Blue a couple of nights ago. I just couldn't put it down!



I confess... that I actually had to sit and think about the last time I put on makeup. Since I've been out of school, I've just been around the house working and haven't really seen the need to take the time to fuss with makeup. Or doing anything with my hair except throw it in a ponytail. Or wear anything besides a t-shirt and gym shorts. Talk about frumpy.

I confess... that my house looks pretty good even if it is at the expense of my appearance.

I confess... that I can't promise next week won't be the same way because I'm planning on doing a lot of painting.


I think I need to stop while I'm ahead ;)

I hope everyone has a fab. Friday and a great weekend!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Favorite Things Thursday

Happy Thursday {night} y'all!

Tonight I'm playing along with Melanie's Favorite Things Thursday! If you want to play along, link up HERE.


This week's topic is...

Dream Car

My dream car would be NOT a car! I'm an SUV kind of girl. That being the case, I would be perfectly satisfied with a Range Rover! Black with leather interior. Hopefully if gas prices don't come down, they'll make one that doesn't guzzle so much gas :)




Until then, I am MORE than happy with my Jeep Cherokee! I absolutely love Jeeps and have already owned 2: a Wrangler when I graduated high school and a Cherokee when I got married :)

What is your dream car?

I hope everyone had a great Thursday and a great day tomorrow wrapping up the week!