Sweet Summertime!

It's summertime! I completely love summer. Since I am an instructional assistant in a school library, I get to be off work all these long, glorious, wonderful weeks. I take full advantage of them by spending tons of time with my girl. 

We've been having a great time this summer so far. Our town has opened up a new splash pad at a local park, so we've spent several afternoons there. It's a super-fun, free thing to do with my girlie and it's only a couple of minutes from our house. 

We've also taken full advantage of the free programs at our local public library as part of the Summer Library Program. I may do a post soon about the importance of public libraries, but for now, let me just share some pics from a program presented by the local agriplex center on farming at our public library. 

Grinding corn off the cob

We've gone to movies. Our local Carmike Cinema has a deal going on in the summer where every Thursday at 10 am, they show a children's movie that has already been released but it still fairly new: Despicable Me 1 and 2, The Croods, Turbo, Rio 1 and 2 etc. It's $4 a person and you get a small drink and small popcorn. For any of you who haven't been to the movie theater lately, that's a crazy good price. 

So far, it's been a great summer, and we're only halfway in. On Thursday, we head out for the beach-our first trip all three of us as a family- and I can't wait! 

Finish This...Week XV

I've been missing for a few weeks. We're out of school for the summer- which means I'm off work (yay!), but also that I didn't have internet at my house (boo!). That is, until last week, when we finally got the local cable company to come out and install our wifi! So glad to be back as a part of this link up, and will hopefully be updating on some of our summer activities soon!

For now though, thanks Nicole {Three 31}; Jen {The Arizona Russums}; Becky {The Java Mama}; and Lisa {COASTLINED} for the awesome linkup.

 

I have a quarter to use a pay phone, I call ….Bruce, my husband. If I'm somewhere without my cell or anything else on me but a quarter, I must have some serious problems, and he's the one person I would want to get there as soon as possible. But really, I don't know that I've actually SEEN a pay phone anywhere in a very long time, so I imagine I'd actually have a lot more problems....

I found $25 in my pocket, I buy …something for myself, like a new dress or a new pair of shoes. I might buy a new gym outfit since I literally wear the same black capri gym pants every time I go. I desperately need to work on expanding my wardrobe.

I have 25 minutes to watch anything on TV, I turn on …How I Met Your Mother. I hardly ever watch TV unless it's after Allie's asleep or when she's with her dad and the husband and I have a few minutes, so we don't even have cable or satellite-just Internet- and we watch everything online. I'm working my way through several TV series- HIMYM, Downton Abbey, and Game of Thrones. HIMYM is the one I could finish an episode in the allotted time. Aren't Marshall and Lily just the best thing ever though?!

A meal I can prepare, from start to finish. in 25 minutes or less is …These boxes of red beans and rice we buy at Aldi, just like Zatarain's but a different brand. I brown a pound of ground chicken, then throw the rice and seasonings and water in the pan and let it simmer. Does a boxed dinner even count? I don't know, but it's ridiculously cheap, and fast, and sooo good. 

At the age of 25, I wish I had known …Letting go and getting out of a horrible marriage would not be the end of the world. I would come out on the other side of this better and happier and more sure of who I was and what I wanted than ever before. I would not feel the pain and misery that I felt at the time forever. I would not be destroying my child's life and sentencing her to an awful future simply because she had divorced parents. I would eventually meet an amazing, wonderful man and my daughter would turn out to be a kind-hearted, well-adjusted, happy kid with a mom, stepfather, and dad who loves her. 

If I drove 25 miles south from my house, I’d be in ..Warrior, AL; home of The Warrior Public Library, where I used to the Director. Despite the daily commute and long hours, I really loved that job. However, after my divorce, I needed to be a little closer to home and there for my daughter more, so now I work and Allie goes to preschool less than 5 minutes from our home. Also, home of The White House Restaurant-the best place I've found in the northern half of this state to get a good, home-cooked, Southern, meat-and-veggies meal. 

Budget End-of-Year Teacher Gifts

My daughter goes to a great preschool and she's always had wonderful teachers who I never thought twice about letting take care of my most precious possession all day. They are just awesome. But this year, her two teachers were just  FAN-TAS-TIC! I cannot say enough about how much I adore these two ladies, and how thankful I am that my baby got to learn from them all year. They are really going to be missed. 

To show just a tiny portion of my thanks, I wanted to get them a little gift. I perused different boards on Pinterest, and found some ideas and kinda pulled together what I wanted to do. 

I found this adorable little free printable at The Idea Room, through a post on Pinterest, and I just printed it out on plain white paper at work. I found two pretty indoor plants, Allie-approved, at our local Wal-Mart, which totaled $ 9.66 and then bought some twine and two sheets of paper at Hobby Lobby, totaling $1.35. I'm on a budget people, so these things are important. 

Anyway, I cut out the printables and paper backing, used some Modge Podge I had at home to secure the labels to the side of the pot, then wrapped some twine around it and voila! --$11 and about 15 minutes later, I had two adorable end-of-year teacher gifts! 

Finish This...Week XIV

Finish This... linkup with Nicole, Jen, Becky, and Lisa.--

The best mistake I ever made …Marrying someone way too young, for all the wrong reasons, and somehow convincing myself that it was real love. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, and I can see now how very wrong I was about so many things, but obviously, very good things came from this...

From this mistake, I learned …I love being a mom! It's the most wonderful thing that I will ever be and I will never take it for granted. I learned what I really want out of life. I'm also stronger than I think, and I deserve happiness and to have all my dreams come true. Second chances are a reality, and sometimes your darkest hours to lead to your brightest days.

When I’m anxious, I ask myself …  if there's anything I can do to change my situation. If there's not, I try to let it go or make some type of peace with things. I also remember that God is in control and listening to my prayers.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:6-7

All I really want to do is …To not have to go to work everyday;  because I have to be so focused on money, but to be able to work if and when I want to, and to fill my time with things that I really want to do. To be able to eat all the foods I love whenever I want and not get fat. To be really fit and have a great body. 

Memorial Weekend Camping/Rafting Trip

My husband's best friend from childhood/high school is also in the Army and has been serving in Germany and has not been home in over 3 years. He is currently in town on leave, so we planned a couples camping trip with him, his girlfriend and my husband's sister and brother-in-law for this past weekend. We left home Saturday afternoon and drove 3 hours to Tennessee to our campsite, where we stayed Saturday night and went white-water rafting on Sunday.

I had never been camping until I went with Bruce this very same weekend last year, but it's turned into one of my favorite things to do. We had so much fun playing cornhole, tossing the football, grilling out, sitting around the campfire and making new friends with our fellow campers.

As we were preparing for our trip, someone decided we should have a patriotic/America theme for our white-water rafting trip--and my goodness, the men went all out for this. I think the photos speak for themselves here...

Yep, that's my hubby in the middle..jorts and the stars-and-stripes..."Merica!

The ladies (also, I Pinterested that tank from one of hubby's old tshirts!)

Pre-rafting kisses

Bruce with his big sis and my wonderful sis-in-law

On a more serious note, I want to remember what Memorial Day is really about. Both my grandfather's served overseas, as well as several other family members and friends. My husband was stationed in Italy for several years and also served a year in Afghanistan. I'm so proud of him and the type of man that he is, and I'm thankful for him and all the others who have served and I remember them on this day and all others, especially those who have given their lives for our freedom. 

Finish This... Week XIII

I've missed a couple of weeks, but I'm excited to be back as part of the Finish This... linkup with Nicole of Three 31, Jen of The Arizona Russums, Lisa of COASTLINED and Becky at The Java Mama.

My favorite recipe is … Taco soup. It's so easy to make and everyone I know loves it. My incredibly fit, healthy-eating, gym-rat hunk of a husband repeatedly asks for this soup, even though there isn't anything particularly healthy about it at all. The first time I made it for him, and he went back for literally like 4 servings, I knew I had a winner...

Taco Soup

1lb. ground meat, cooked

 (we currently use ground chicken, but have used beef or turkey at different points)

Lg. can crushed tomatoes

Med. sized can of tomato sauce

1-2 can black beans, drained

1-2 can light red kidney beans, drained

2 cans Mexi-corn, drained

1 packet taco seasoning mix

1 packet dry ranch dressing mix

Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot for about 15-20 minutes (the longer the flavors get to meld together the better); or a crockpot during the day while you're at work. Before serving, top with shredded cheese, sour cream, and crushed up tortilla chips-at least that's what we do! 

I believe… the following things to be true about life-from my Pinterest board-Quotes!

I need to set boundaries … In what I eat. I love going to the gym, it makes me feel so much better and I always try to make that a priority. But, I'm just not strict enough with my diet. It will be my diet that keeps me from ever having a really great body or being as fit as I want to be unless I make some changes. 

I began living when … I became a mom, then again when I met my husband. Both times, I was introduced to a completely different type of love, a kind that I didn't even know existed up until that point. 

When my daughter was born, I didn't realize you could feel that strongly about another person; it's just a love like I can't even describe. She was and is my reason for doing all things-doing the best job I can as her mother is the most important thing I'll ever do. She changed my basic way of thinking and living life and I'll always consider myself blessed to have her. 

 Then I met the husband, and he basically brought me back to life. He brought fun, laughter, and adventure when it was glaringly absent from my life. He brought passion and love and hope for the future. He gave me confidence in myself and a desire to be the best version of me that I could be in every way. 

Lately...

I haven't written much lately. I don't really have any good excuses, just it's been busy, but it always is, at least in my life. 

We're wrapping up things on another school year, so I've been working a little longer hours than I normally would. We've celebrated Mother's Day and my brother's and grandfather's birthday and I'm trying to get things ready to plant a vegetable garden. We're preparing for a 2 day camping/white water rafting trip next weekend-just Bruce, his sister and brother-in-law, and his best friend from high school and his girlfriend. We're very excited for that. Then there's the usual shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, bill-paying etc. that I've been trying to stay on top of here lately. Of course, spending time with my sweet girl and loving on the hot husband are top priorities too. So, I guess the weeks have just flown by with nothing really spectacular happening, just the everyday joy of living a life that I love so much. 

Here are some recent glimpses into our life...

Our first door-hanger, made by my brother's sweet girlfriend
 that we've recently gotten hung on our front door.

Allie loves the new kittens that
her cat at Nana and Papaw's had

All decked out for Preschool Sunday, where her
class sang songs they'd learned in school for the church
(As you can see, we're in the middle of a remodel)

Sporting the new mermaid dress Nana bought her at the thrift store.
She loves this thing!

Loving on Russell Papaw (her great-grandfather) as we ate ice cream
for his birthday, which was also on Mother's Day!

Allie deciding that she LOVES salad!
(Wearing aforementioned mermaid dress!)

My precious Mother's Day gift Allie made me in school. 

The picture Allie and I had taken at church on Mother's Day