Weekend recap & Inspired to Inspire

Happy Sunday, everyone. (See 7/30 update below)

So, how was your weekend? Do anything fun and exciting?

As I mentioned in Friday's post, my hubby fired up the ole grill and we had some family over. For the first time in a while, Jayla was able to play with her 2 cousins, Madesan & Haidyn. My goodness, when I tell you that girls really do know how to scream and have fun...trust me on that one. Now, it's loud enough around here with just Jayla running around laughing, screaming and dancing. But when you add 2 more girls to the mix, it's unlike anything you can imagine. :-)

Needless to say, Jayla was...how you say in the South?...PLUM TUCKERED OUT!!! :-)

This actually worked out well for us though. Marque and I were able to go out on a date last night and my MIL watched Jayla for us. Mom told us this morning, that Jayla was asleep probably before we got off of our street...lol. Poor thing was exhausted from all that playing.

Back to this date...Some of Marque's high school buddies invited us to get together last night. We've been planning this for about 3 weeks now. There were about 20 of us at this little pub and we had such a great time. His classmates are the sweetest people. And guess what? We even did a little Karaoke. I've never done it before, so it was fun to do it with a group of people. We sang, "We are Family" by Sister Sledge. Remember that one? One of the girls that was there did a few solos for us. TOO FUN!!! Anyway, we had a ball. I think we got home a little after 1 this morning.
We had Jayla take a couple pictures of us before we left. This first shot, she took of me. She said that she just LOVED my dress; because I NEVER wear dresses :-). And just a little note for all you mothers out there with daughters in the kindergarten age range....it is NOT a good idea to take them with you to buy a new bra to wear with your new dress. EVERYONE in (or in close proximity outside) the dressing room WILL know what size bra you wear. AND they will be advised that, 5 year olds do NOT have boobies as big as their mommies....but they will as soon as they turn 6! LOL

And here's me and my good lookin' husband. Jayla said she could NOT believe that daddy was wearing a yellow shirt...because it does not go with a single thing that mommy has on. But that the black pants were PERFECT! :-)

I'm sorry folks, I just HAVE to say...we make a pretty cute couple :-). I love when we get to go out together and just enjoy eachother. We have a ball.


UPDATE: One of Marque's friends took a picture of us at the pub we were at. And he sent us a copy. Thanks, Mike.Well, that's about all we did this weekend. And being 40...that's enough...hee hee.

This weekend leads me to todays "Inspired to Inspire". As I mentioned, we had a really nice time with some of Marque's friends from high school. I have a hard time calling them HIS friends. As over the years, they have become very good friends of mine as well. So I dedicate this Inspiration to them.

" The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him."

Have a beautiful week and Be Inspired...I AM!!

SURVEY SAYS.....

Hey, I need ya'lls help.

As you are all very aware, Markell is no longer living with us. Which means, there is an empty room in our house. My DH was very adement about getting rid of the furniture that was left in there. And as of today, the bunk beds have been sold via Craigs List.

I've been a little hesitant about inquiring about making that room into my craft/scrapbooking room. As, DH may have other plans for it. What? I have no idea. We have a room, that we affectionately refer to as the playroom, where we spend about 80% of our family time. DH's computer desk is in here, my scrapbooking/craft area is in here, Jayla's toys are in here and there's a TV in here for Jayla to watch. Even the dog, Trae takes an ocassional nap in here.

Speaking of the TV, that leads me to my reason for wanting to move out of this "common area". Tell me...how much of Dora The Explorer, The Wiggles, Hannah Montana, High School Musical and That's So Raven is a mom supposed to take??? (there's more too, but I don't dare mention them ALL) I mean REALLY!!! lol Daddy has it good...he's playing shoot 'em up games on his computer with headphones on (Saving the world, as he calls it). So he doesn't get the pleasure of hearing all of the aforementioned shows. Jayla could fall out the window, get hit by a bus, get chased by wild boar, I could yell for him to call 911 as I dive out after her and he'd NEVER hear any of it! Two hours later, he'd say, "Dawn, did you say something?" LOL Not to mention, he's at work during the day. (Note: none of this regarding Jayla has the possibility of happening. Merely trying to make a point.) Ok, moving on...now where was I?

I would REALLY love to, "spread my wings", so to speak, with regards to my scrapping and crafting. I would REALLY love to have my printer at arms reach, and not have to walk around the table, step over Trae and risk Jayla missing one second of The Suite Life of Zach & Cody, as I walk by. I would REALLY love to be able to listen to MY oldies music...and sing out loud, while I whip out some fabulous scrapbook layouts. All without having to hear, "MOM! Look at this!!! It's my favorite part!" ARGH!!

I have tip toed around the subject of relocating--literally, across the hall. However, I have yet to get an answer. Let it be known, that he has not said, "No!" But he hasn't said, "Yes" either. We have even discussed the paint color for the room. Which he likes & approves of. I have gone so far as to draw up a floorplan, to scale, mind you...hee hee. And I've made cute little furniture pieces so I can see how to set up said room. (And some how, my sewing machine has already made it's way in there...weird! )LOL. I honestly think I can do the room, in it's entirety, for about $250, maybe even less. But again, I have yet to do my presentation for the Mister.

Ok, this is where you guys come in. PLEASE tell me the best way to present this to my hubby. I'm not real good with rejection. So I think that's why I haven't brought it up again. I can't bear the thought of him telling me no. And then I'll probably question him if he says yes. (Remember, I'm a worrier by trade) I am open to any suggestions you may have.

I'm sure you guys will come up with some great suggestions for me. I can't wait to read your thoughts.

Oh well, I'm off for the evening. Tomorrow, we're having some family over for a little BBQ. Then DH and I are going out mingling and dancing with some friends. Can't wait! I'll show pix either Sunday or Monday. Ya'll have a great weekend!!!

Friday Flower Fix

"The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for."

And I HOPE you all have a beautiful weekend!!! So get started....

Now THAT's something you don't see everyday...

Happy Thursday everyone!

I FINALLY went and got my hair done today...and I stepped out on a limb. Let's put it this way, my hair stylist knows me so well, that she doesn't even ask me how I want my hair done anymore. I'm a very simple, straight hair kinda person and she knows I don't want her doing anything that I can't recreate tomorrow, lol.

But today, I told her I wanted something different. Do you know, she didn't believe me?? Well, I decided to do a few curls this time. Jayla was so surprised and excited that I got my hair in "curly's", that she wanted to take a picture of me. And she did really well too. See my profile picture?

So, what do you think? Curls or NO curls? I kinda like the picture, so I may leave it for a while. But I'd love to hear what ya'll think...not to worry, I can take it :-).


Enjoy the rest of your day!

I KNEW IT!!!!

Ok, I must admit, I was a little scared to take this test! I found this on Laurie's blog and when I saw that she was a "COKE"...I just KNEW that if I did it, I wouldn't "be" what I wanted to be.

But I went ahead and took my chances and...DRUM ROLL PLEASE....I'm a PEPPER!!!! LOL You all have NO idea how excited I am about this! :-)

You Are Dr. Pepper

You're very unique and funky, yet you still have a bit of traditionalism to you. People who like you think they have great taste... and they usually do. Your best soda match: Root Beer Stay away from: 7 Up

What Kind of Soda Are You?

That SUSIE Q!!!!

I can't believe it...that Susie Q has stumped me!! She CLAIMS that I'm the only "Dawn" whose blog she reads. And therefore, she tagged me on this list. Normally, I don't shy away from a quiz or a list...as I really enjoy doing them. But again...like I said...she stumped me.

Ok, I'm not gonna shy away from this one either. But I will say that I really struggled trying to come up with EIGHT random facts/habits about myself. During this struggle, I've come to the conclusion, that I'm a very uninteresting person...lol.

Well, Susie...because it's YOU...I did it :-). Hopefully, what you're all about to read about me won't stop you from continuing to read my blog. lol...I promise, it's not that bad.

Alrighty, Here are The Rules!

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts. 2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves. 3. People who are tagged need to write in their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. 4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

1. When I was about 7 years old, I met Muhammed Ali in LaGuardia airport in NY. He pointed at me and said, "HEY...I know you!" Then he came over and took a picture with me. I have NO idea where that picture is. But I'm sure he has a big poster of it somewhere in his home. I was kinda scared of him because he was so LOUD. And I thought he was gonna punch me :-).

2. I absolutely LOVE oldies music. Most of which, music that's older than I am. My hubby enjoys testing me by turning the TV to the oldies music stations, telling me not to look and tells me to guess what the song is. I "get it right" by either knowing the name of the song, who sings it or knowing some or all of the lyrics. 9 times out of 10, I'm right. He swears that, I'm neither "only" 40 or black :-) LOL.

3. I DO NOT like Doritos! However, I only eat them ON ham sandwiches. NO...not WITH ham sandwiches..ON them. There's just something about that cheesy crunch.

4. I was once in a car accident a with telephone pole...immediately followed by a minor fendor bender with the car of the police officer that stopped to assist. "But officer, that telephone pole came out of nowhere...and so did you!" Can you believe he let me go with a warning? I was a new, inexperienced driver. And somehow he noticed that and just let me go.

5. I read the same magazine about 4 or 5 times before I put it aside. The first time, it's just to skim the pages. 2nd time, I read SOME of the articles that caught my eye during the skim. The 3rd time is to read articles thoroughly and look at every detail of the photos. The 4th time, I glance through the magazine backwards (from the back cover, forward) this is where pages get dog eared for future glancing. What can I say? I have to make sure I get my moneys worth.

6. When I was a teenager, my mom always told me that, due to my constantly being on the telephone, I was gonna, one day, work at the phone company. Well, what does she know? So what I worked at BellSouth/Cingular Wireless for a little over 14 years!! LOL.

7. I am the biggest worrier I've ever known. NO...I didn't say WARRIOR....I said WORRIER!!! I can't help it. I am overly concerned about everything that's even worthy of a 2nd thought. I totally realize that more than 1/2 of what I worry myself sick about, there's nothing I can do about it. This in turn, makes me a very emotional person and a person who has a hard time sleeping. I cry VERY, very easily. I'm a mess....I know. But THIS is the kicker...I am also a very HAPPY person. I love to laugh and smile. I just happen to worry alot. So sue me...no, don't...it would just make me cry.. :-).

8. When my oldest daughter was about 2 years old, I accidentally locked her in the car in the dead of winter. Back in 1986, it wasn't the "law" that a child be in the backseat. But they did have to be in a carseat or booster. So, she was in her booster seat, in the passenger seat. I was on my way to take her to a babysitter so I could go to work. I'd forgotten something in the house, so I left her buckled in the car, heat on, radio on and doors locked. Well, I thought I'd left at least one door unlocked. I run in the house, come RIGHT back out and find the drivers side door locked. So I go to the back doors...LOCKED. Lastly, I go to the passenger door...LOCKED. Briyanna (my daughter) is sitting in her little seat, all bundled up, laughing at mommy running around the car. And what do I do?? I WORRY!!! I PANIC!!! It's about 7:00 in the morning and I have to be to work in an hour. A few days prior to this, Briyanna had learned to unlock the car doors. But oddly enough, she only knew how to unlock the drivers side (reason this is so odd is, all the locks are the same...go figure!) ANYWAY...I run in the house and wake up my step-father. He comes out into the cold with a hanger to try and jimmy the locks. My mother has decided to call 911! Back at the car...Briyanna is in there dancing and singing whatever is on the radio...LOL. She taps on the window, saying, "Hey mom...your song is on!" She has no clue that we're in the middle of a minor crisis. Finally, I remember that she knows how to unlock the door. So I go to the drivers side and call her to me. She looked so cute. She scrunches up her little face and says, "WHAT? Can I hear you???" I said, again..."Honey, come to mommy!" Somehow, she manages to climb out of her seat...even with that big ole winter coat on :-). So she's now kneeling in the drivers seat, grinning and kissing me through the glass...still singing and dancing. I say, "Baby, unlock mommy's door!" "WHAT?" she says. "UNLOCK MOMMY'S DOOR!!!". Then she says, "Wait a minny...I can hear you, mommy!" And what does she do next??? She rolls down the window! And then says, "What you say, mommy? Bri Bri can hear you good!" LOL And just as this all comes to an end, we look up and see this big red fire truck screaming down the street....at the same time that my step-father is about to smash out my back passenger window! What a funny morning THAT was.

WOW, finding EIGHT semi-interesting things about myself, was quite a task. But I did it. Hopefully, you all are still my friends...lol. Ok, from what I understand, I'm now supposed to select 8 fellow readers to do the same. Alright ladies, you're on: Adrienne, Diane, Veroncia, B.E.M., Jude, Leah, Cheryl, Gretchen & A Brasilian in Atlanta (Colleen). (Ok, I know that's 9 people...I kept thinking of more names) However, if there is anyone else who'd like to join in...please do. I'd love to read your list.

WHEW...I'm exhausted! Thanks SUSIE!!! lol

What Year Do you Belong In??

Ok, now this is just the cutest thing. A friend of mine shared this with me and I just HAD to share it with all my readers. I love stuff like this.

My hubby has been telling me for as long as he's known me, that he SWEARS I was born in the 50's! LOL. I LOVE oldies and know songs that are YEARS older than I am. He's gonna get a kick out of this.

Why don't you guys try it too? Click on the link below. I'd love to know which year you REALLY belong in...LOL.

You Belong in 1957

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Inspired to INSPIRE...

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else, is the greatest of all accomplishments.

Be Inspired...I AM!!!

Friday Flower Fix

Good morning everyone.

Can you believe it's already Friday? Where did the week go? I'm SURE I've missed something :-). So, what do you all have planned for the weekend? Not too much here...again, just like I like it. I HAVE to get some scrapbooking done. So that's probably what I'll do. And we may try and go here too. But I'll let you know about that one later as the idea is still up in the air.

Well, here's your flower fix. But just a note beforehand. I DO realize that the focus of this adorable picture is NOT the flowers. But this was one that I couldn't pass up. Is it not the cutest thing??? There are flowers in the actual picture...so it still works...lol. Enjoy!

"Don't hurry. Don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So be sure to stop and smell the flowers."

Have a beautiful weekend everyone!!

Inspired to INSPIRE (a day late)

Ooops, it's Tuesday, isn't it?

I can't believe I forgot about my weekly "inspiration". To those of you who look forward to it every week, I apologize.

Well, here you go:

"There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun."

Pablo Picasso

Expo Loot!

Hey ya'll!

Well, I successfully got my grocery shopping done and I made it to and from the Scrapbook Expo safely. :-) (Thanks again, Mandy!)

Mandy and I got an early start this morning and headed to the other side of town. The conference center was really easy to find, all we had to do was look for all the SUV's and minivans :-). We got there about 17 minutes after the doors opened and STILL had to park about 50 miles from the entrance...ok, maybe it wasn't quite THAT far. We get in, walk right up, pay our admission fee, fill out our door prize tickets and we're ready to get our shop on!

On a funny note, as we're filling out our tickets, we notice a lady with some free give aways. You would not believe what she was giving away....RICE! Yes, rice. I don't know about you other scrapbookers out there. But when I have a touch of "scrappers block", a nice single serving of microwavable RICE always gives me the boost I need...LOL. Seriously people...RICE??? I just found that pretty humorous. But of course, when we were leaving, they were still opening cases of the stuff and giving them away to people. So GUESS what Jayla had for dinner tonight???LOL (she loves rice)

Anyway, we had a really good time. There weren't as many vendors there this year as in previous years. But it was still really nice. Normally, I go on Fridays...and now I know why. There are so many people there on Saturdays. HOWEVER...you can get some good deals on Saturdays. Those vendors are really marking stuff down! I know all my readers don't scrapbook, and I'm sorry to bore you. But I have GOT to share this one thing with those of you who do. I'm sure you've seen the line of albums by Heidi Swapp, right? They were selling the HS spiral bound albums for $6.99 each OR 4 albums for $20! I about passed out. They're normally $20 for ONE! My friend, Mandy bought 2 and I got 2. We racked up on the HS stuff!

Oh well, that's all I've got for now. I could go on...but again, I know everyone doesn't scrapbook and I don't want to lose any readers, hee hee. I'll just end telling you that I had a wonderful time and I'm already looking forward to next year.

Take a look at my loot: (click on the picture to get more detail)

I got some GOOD stuff! And I only spent $40!!! Now that's what I call shopping!! Ya'll enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Friday Flower Fix & Fun weekend ahead

"Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, like a flower, may alight upon you."

~~~~~

So, do you all have a big weekend planned? It's actually supposed to rain all weekend here. But that's not gonna stop me from enjoying my plans. I get to begin my fun filled weekend by going grocery shopping later on today...lol. And tomorrow....OH tomorrow...it's FINALLY here. I get to go to the Scrapbook Expo!!! YIPPY! I have been planning this day since I left the event last year :-). For all you scrapbookers out there, you can only imagine my excitement. This is NOT the place to go if you are a "recovering scrapbooker"...lol. It's the "heaven" on my "scrapbooking earth"...so to speak.

Anyway, that's all I've got planned for the weekend. And I'm beyond excited about it. So tune in later Saturday or sometime Sunday to see what kind of damage I did.

Ya'll have a beautiful weekend!!!

Inspired to INSPIRE...

Good morning everyone!

So, how was your weekend?

Guess what I did....NOTHING! Absolutely NOTHING!!! Ok, well we did have a community cook out at our neighborhood pool on Saturday, so we went to that. But other than that, we did NOTHING! It was so nice to be able to just wander around the house and/or take a nap (or 2).

Anyway, that was about it for us. So I guess it's back to "normal life" today. You know, loads of laundry, errand running, stuff like that. But before I get started with all of that, I'm feeling Inspired to Inspire you......

Reach high!

The best is always kept

upon life's topmost shelves,

but not beyond our reach,

if we will reach beyond ourselves.

Have a beautiful day and remember to Be inspired...I am!!

Friday Flower Fix

Happy Friday, everyone!

I hope you all had a great week. So, what's going on with you guys this weekend? Got anything fun and exciting planned?

You know, we have ABSOLUTELY nothing planned...that I know of. That hasn't happened in a while. But I'm actually looking forward to doing nothing.

Well, here's your Flower Fix!!! Enjoy.

"If we could see the miracle of a SINGLE flower clearly, our whole life would change. Now, imagine a DOZEN...."

Have a beautiful weekend.

Weekend recap, men and shopping & Inspired to INSPIRE

Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you all well.

So, did you guys have a good weekend? Mine was actually pretty fun. I mean, all we did was go do some shopping for the upcoming 4th of July holiday. (we're having around 30+- people over) For the first time in many moons, my hubby went shopping with us. We had to go to BJ's to do our large quantity shopping and we NEEDED him there to help pick up the big & bulky stuff. Not to mention, pick out the "right" ribs since he'll be the one grilling them. After we left there, we stopped by the house to drop off all the big stuff so we'd have room in the back of the van. Then we headed to "the man" store...LOWE'S :-). I mean, doesn't everyone HAVE to have another grill? It's a cardinal sin to have chicken, hot dogs, brats, and burgers on the same grill as the ribs. DUH!!! So we grabbed another grill and some more charcoal.

Then we headed down to Publix to get the "normal" family sized stuff. Not to worry, I won't tell you guys everything we bought. But I will say this...I found out exactly why I don't often take the mister shopping with me. He is the BIGGEST kid! I'm not sure if it was because his mother was with us or if he was just having fun and showing out for Jayla. Regardless, I'm gonna try not to ask him to go with me again...lol. Maybe in the future, I'll just have him go FOR me! Yeah, that's a great idea. That way, he'll just go in for what he needs them come back out.

People, this man was messing with stuff and asking all kinds of questions. Questions, like, "Why don't you ever buy this for us?" "What is THAT stuff for?" "Do people REALLY eat that?" I think the man was hungry because he wanted EVERYthing he saw. One of the things we went there for was BBQ sauce. He didn't want the kind we normally get this time. He wanted to try one that he heard about on The Food Network. So we found it...and you guys, this man opened the bottle and stuck his finger in it to taste it! I was SO embarassed! Then, to add insult to (my) injury, he LICKED the seal that was on the bottle opening. ARGH!!! At this point, I am now PRAYING that he liked the sauce. Because I was having palpatations thinking about what he would've done with the opened bottle had he NOT! I can see it now...him "accidentally" dropping and breaking the bottle on the floor -- then hearing "CLEAN UP ON ISLE 5" over the store intercom!! MEN!! Thankfully, he liked it and we did in fact purchase the opened bottle.

THEN...once we filled up the shopping cart (or buggy...depending on what part of the country you're from), we headed to check out. My MIL paid for her items first and then the crazy man started unloading our stuff onto the belt. I moved the cart just a little bit so that he could get to things better, and it happens.....My husband FALLS on the floor, right in front of the candy and magazines, grabbing his leg saying that I'd hit him with the cart.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

I know I turned every shade of red!! Jayla got the biggest kick out of her deranged daddy laying on the floor, rolling around, pretending like he's in agony. By now the cashier and the bagger are STUNNED!! They don't know rather he's really hurt and they may have a lawsuit on their hands. Or if he's kidding. However, they quickly noticed me, my MIL and Jayla laughing at him...and by now, hubby is laughing too. Needless to say, the cashier said that we'd been the highlight of his day. As they had been VERY busy due to the upcoming holiday. Oh my goodness...why US?? Better question, why ME??? :-) What a fun outing!

Ok, I thank you all for your patience and sharing in our family craziness. Now, for your words of INSPIRATION:

"Always give without remembering and always receive without forgetting."