Because Mondays Are Random

Warning: This post will not contain one ounce of anything remotely inspirational, educational, or cohesive even.
Heck you may not even find complete sentences.
Just the mindless ramblings of the day.

By the way...it has been Monday all. day. long.

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Why is it that when I watch shows like Biggest Loser and Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition all I wanna do is eat a biscuit?
Or three.
Why can't watching other people do all the hard work count for something?




I am officially adding learn how to play empty butter tubs to my bucket list.
It can't be that hard right?



This website has just made my day.
I'm not sure what this says about me exactly.
I'm pretty sure my husband is writing these by the way.



I made this for dinner tonight.
It is delicious.
Instead of using turkey I use Laura's 96% lean beef.
I got the recipe at Skinnytaste.



Have I told you how much I love Gina's recipes?
I have made like a gazillion and loved every one of them.
I also made her Garlic Mashed Potatoes tonight.
I leave out the garlic.
My family likes the more traditional flavor.

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There are two things in life that seem so unfair.
The fact that I now, at 36, share a tube of Clearasil with my teenager.
And the fact that every single time I look in the mirror, I see a new gray hair.
The whole "crown of glory" thing just is not for me.
They are just gross.
Dead.
Coarse.
Gross.
Gonna go with my "natural instincts" and douse those bad boys with color.


"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Dixie Chicks, Corn Shuckin', and a Creamy Grape Dessert {InstaFriday}

Last weekend my boys came home from their Mission trip in Bolivia.
I was tempted to run onto the plane and kiss the pilot, but it was late and I wasn't up for dealing with the Feds and all.



As a mom you know there will be times that life pulls the people you love most in different directions.
There will be times you are not under the same roof, in the same car, or heck...on the same continent even.
By the grace of God you make it through those times.
The minute you are within the same four walls again...you realize you've been holding your breath the whole time.
Exhale.



Having my peeps back called for a celebration of some sort.
This is pretty much how we do it.
Fried dough.
Would you think less of me if I told you that I fantasize about laying on that conveyor belt, on my back, taking a ride through that waterfall of confectionery euphoria?
Or that I'd open my mouth and stick out my tongue?



Speaking of celebrating...my man turned 37 this week.
He's not into surprise parties and such.
In fact he requested I not.
So I decided I'd let the calm, introverted folks down at the local Mexican restaurant make a "quiet" fuss over him.
There may or may not have been an accordion involved.



I was afraid he would never speak to me again.
So I had my mom bake him his favorite strawberry cake.
It's all good now.
He loves me.
Phew.



This is so completely random but sometimes when I'm alone in my car I can't help but crank up some Dixie Chicks.
I'm sorry...I love them.
Heck, I'm not even a Country Music fan.
I really don't care what they think about our Presidents or whether or not they are "Ready to Make Nice".
Musically they are ridiculously talented.
Write.Play.Sing.
At the end of the day, I can respect that.
Especially when the poor folks that do like Country music are stuck with songs like "Honky Tonk Badonky Donk".
What tha??
Anyhoo, I had completely forgotten about this song.
I used to sing it to my boys while rocking them to sleep for naps.
I pretty much snotted up right there in the car while driving down the road.
Not a good plan.



Ever had one of these?
I had three.
In one day hour.



Yeah that's me in my Yoga pants again.
No, I don't do Yoga.
Never have.
Never plan to.
As long as the next President doesn't make it illegal to misrepresent what a Yoga body should look like, I'm good to go.
I love pedicures but lets talk about those massage chairs shall we?
Am I the only one that finds these to be awkward?
Oh they feel great and all but have you watched someone sitting in one of those chairs lately?
Too much jiggle.
Too many really awkard convulsive body movements.
I keep mine off.
I know I know...I'm missing out.
It's ok.
I've made peace with it.



I heart summer...and corn shuckin'.



You're probably wondering what the heck this is.
It is a fabulous Creamy Grape Dessert from Gina over at Skinny Taste.
I made it last night for the family.
If you haven't visited her site before go.
Run even.
She's fabulous and her recipes taste divine.
Plus, her picture of this dessert does it justice.
Only problem is that this recipe is so good that it can no longer be labeled "skinny" in my house.
I've eaten half the pan already.






"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Thursday's Mindless Ramblings

Is it a boy thing to sleepwalk and pee in random places?

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I take the crust off of my Pop-Tarts.

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E-Mealz may have just saved me from jumping off the "what's for dinner?" ledge.

A computer print out of 7 meals complete with a grocery list to boot.

Meal planning for dummies folks.

Praise the Lord.

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My grandpa Sammy was my biggest fan. I miss him today. I used to say that I could commit murder and he'd be the one to hide the body.

 I could do no wrong in his eyes.

I played ball in high school and he would come watch and bring the whole team Snickers bars. Or he would randomly stick wads of cash in my purse and say, "Now don't tell anybody that I gave you this...not even Grandma."

 Oh what I wouldn't give for just a brief moment to tell him how much his unconditional love meant to me. I didn't appreciate it back then.

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I swore I wasn't gonna watch American Idol again this year.

I swear this every year.

It is way too dramatic for me.

Let it be about the talent people!

After last year, I was determined to stick to my guns.

Sorry, but Scotty was not my cup of tea.

Anyhoo. I caved.

I'm pathetic.

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I need a haircut desperately. It is officially a beast that needs to be tamed.

I've been itching to go shorter lately.

I need some sass I'm thinking.

I'm really digging these cuts right now...but I'm a big fat chicken.

And smart enough to know that there are probably personal stylists and expensive hair products galore behind these looks.

With my hair it would just end up looking like a dandelion gave birth on my head.

I'm a 10 on the frizz meter.

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My son will be 16 in exactly 2 months.

I'm pretty sure I am having a mid life crisis about this.

Did I mention I was 19 when he came into my life?

Or that I never gave him permission to grow up?!?!

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I hate politics.

Ditto for elections.

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Tomorrow I will begin a weekend long celebration of 13 years of marriage.

It has not been easy...at times ugly even...but oh so worth the fight.

I wish every couple understood that sometimes the "better" comes after the "worse."


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Have a great weekend friends. 


"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Giveaway Winner and a Little Bit of Random.

A huge thank you to each of you that left a comment sharing what you were grateful for.

Reading your comments blessed me each day.

I used the Random Number Generator to determine a winner and it was Rachel.

Rachel, your book and Starbucks card will be in the mail soon. Enjoy!

For the rest of you...do yourselves a favor and add '1000 Gifts' to your Christmas lists.

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It has been one of those weeks around here.

A venti salted caramel mocha latte kinda week.

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I have had a nasty head cold since Tuesday.

Bleh.

Wastin' away in Nyquilville.

Colds are the worst.



Actually this stuff is the worst.

I have no idea if it really works...but I do it anyway.

Dear flavor creators at Emergen-C: Buttercream. Think about it.

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The week wasn't a total loss.

Thanks to my mom and coupons I was able to get all of this for $36.

Boom!

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We've been participating in the Happy Day Project this week.

Have you?

Can't wait to tell you all about it.

Life changing stuff.



"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

InstaFriday {Costume Day}

Nothing makes me feel more empowered than starting off my week with a kitchen full of fresh fruit.

Right now Honeycrisp apples and pears are my go to.

If you've never had a Honeycrisp...you've never had an apple.



Of course nothing says lets see how empowered you are now like my children making orange rolls for breakfast.



We visited Goodwill this week to put costumes together.

We passed old vinyls and Adam pointed them out to Aidan.

He immediately asked to "see" one of "those".

Like they were rare dinosaur fossils or something.

I think I aged 50 years in that moment.

My 9 year old laying eyes on an LP for the first time ever.

Priceless.



Our knockouts have quadrupled over the past 3 months.

Fast growing. No maintenance. Blooms all summer and fall. Doesn't die when I touch it.

Best shrub ever.



We attempted to make Olive Garden's Zuppa Tuscana at home.

It was fabulous.

And super easy.

I may post a recipe soon.



This girl of mine has more style in her pinky finger than I will ever have in my entire body.

She put this whole outfit together.

She's 11.

Good gravy!



Found this guy curled up in my chair early one morning.

It was still dark out and he was snoozing pretty good.

He only does this when he thinks we are sleep.

He's not fooling anyone.



Every 9 year old boy needs a freakishly large poodle by his side while he plays Angry Birds.

The iPoodle.



We don't really do "Halloween" around here.

Not that I think it's wrong per se...just not exactly right for us.

We sorta feel like there is enough real evil in the world...no need to add to it.

We prefer to think of it as Costume Day.



Personally, I like to refer to it as "Chocolate Day".



With or without nuts.

I'm not picky.

Chocolate Day was lacking in the Baby Ruth department this year.

Just an observation.



The mercury is dropping so the Keurig is working over time.



And date nights look like this.

Four words people...

Salted. Caramel. Mocha. Latte.

Yourwelcome.





"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

InstaFriday {Weight Watchers is Gonna Revoke My Lifetime Status}

I've been confined to my couch with a stomach virus this entire week so no picture taking for me...



Unless you count this picture I took of my blanket.
My grandma made it and I was admiring it this morning.
I love the color and "vintagey" feel it adds to my living room.
And it makes me think of her...so it's a win win.

Since I have no pictures from this week, I'll go back and share last week's events.



This beautiful gal of mine completed Phase I of her Orthodontia plan.
And the dreaded Herbst is gone!
She will have to go back into braces for just a bit longer, once her 12 year molars come in, but the hard part is over for sure.
The results are astonishing.



Tyler and I met up with his World History II class to take in the Egyptian exhibit at The Frist.
To be so talented musically, this kid loathes any art of the drawing/painting/creating sort.

This was his sarcastic {notice the evil grin} attempt to tap into his inner Picasso...said it was abstract.



I think we hit Rita's twice last week.

I can't remember.

I received an email that they will be closing soon for the winter and became a bit distraught...so it's all a blur now.



Adam and I took the youngest two to Honeysuckle Farms thanks to Groupon.
It's the only way I would go again.
Last year we paid $50 to get a free pumpkin that would have cost $3 in Kroger.
As nice as it is, I was just as annoyed this year with their "extra" cost for things once you have paid admission.

Note to pumpkin farms: If you want a family of five to visit more often, don't charge us a ridiculous amount of money just to enter, and then nickel and dime us for every little thing the kids are gonna want to do once inside.





We had a good time but it was a strange trip for me emotionally. My oldest had no interest in going so we didn't make him.

I pick my battles. Ok, so the Groupon was for 4 people and I wasn't too bummed when he didn't want to go. There, I said it.

Still it was strange to be there without him. And I noticed that my middle was probably on her last year of enjoying it as well. Just made me sad as a mom. The family dynamics are shifting and I'm just not sure how to process this new phase of life I'm headed towards.

That's a whole 'nother post though really.



I love to find my kids engrossed in a good book.
Makes my heart happy.



Love to find my freakishly large poodle making himself at home on my chair too.

Yes, that's his chin resting on the ottoman.

Oh this dog...he has no idea that he is big.

Cracks us up.



Last weekend was our last camping trip of the season.
It was cold but gorgeous.
I took this photo while on a run/walk {trying really hard to be good to my knee} one evening.



I also jammed out to this. Oh how I miss these gals. They made Country music almost bearable.



Since it was so cold, I sat by the fire all day and drank copious amounts of coffee...thanks to this stuff.

Sinful. Don't do it.



Speaking of don't do it, I am convinced these are some sort of gateway drug for food addicts.

You start out with a handful and before you know it you've eaten the whole bag...



and an entire slice of this Pumpkin Cheesecake from Olive Garden.



And you think, "Well, I've already sunk so low, I may as well eat these Zepolis as well. What can it hurt?"

It's a slippery slope people.


Please go check out the hostess of InstaFriday...you'll just love her.



"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"