A Nice Surprise

Today I received this at my house (all pretty and nicely packaged)...

My prizes from My So Called Homeschool Life's 16 Month Planner Package Giveaway!!!  It always makes my day to get a package in the mail!  Everyone should go check out her blog.  She has fun blog posts and a couple of giveaways going on right now.  Thanks so much Ruthie!!!  

9/11 Always Remembered

Source: PhotoDu.de Thomas Anderson

On 9/11/2001, I was at the dentist office getting my teeth cleaned.  I was sitting in the dentist's chair watching television when someone said to turn the channel to the news.  I watched the aftermath of the first plane crash, then saw the second one hit.

I can not believe it has been 10 years since this attack on the United States.  My heart goes out to the friends and families of those who were killed.  I am so thankful for those people who put their lives on the line to protect and save lives.  We will always remember.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett this past week and would highly recommend it.  The novel is about three very different woman from Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's who come together to work on a project that will cross social barriers of the time.  They decide to risk their safety because they are fed up with the way "things are". 

My friend Lindsey suggested I read the book and I flew through it pretty quickly.  It made me really think about how glad I am that some people are brave enough to stand up for what they know is right (even if the consequences of them doing so are brutal.).  I can't wait to go see the movie ( I always like to read the books first because they are usually better than the movies.  My one exception so far - The Time Traveler's Wife. (that book was very depressing)).  Anyone seen the movie yet???  I heard it's been at the top of the box office the last couple of weeks.

Baby Shower Fun and More...

I am so glad everything turned out well this past weekend.  I stayed busy planning Brittney's Baby Shower with Selena, while battling our upstairs A/C unit which decided to stop working on us for another week (we just had it fixed two weeks before).  Praise the Lord it got fixed yesterday morning!  Sleeping on deflated air mattresses and a couch meant for one is not the best way to get a good night's sleep.

Thursday we went out to the beach, so Eric could enjoy surfing the waves created by hurricane Irene.  I was so nervous he was going to bonk his head on a rock and I would never see him again.  Surfing is fun to watch, but way to risky for me.  I just don't like to take risks (at least those kind).  I didn't worry as much once he got some friends out there with him.  I'm really glad he got to go though.  He's been wanting to get back out there for awhile.

My Surfer

Saturday was the big day-- Brittney's Baby Shower!!!

I was so mad I forgot my camera, but I did take a few (poor image) shots with my phone.  The party was great!  Lots of people came to celebrate the coming of baby Cody (and brought many wonderful presents along with them!).  Good food + Good Company + Presents = A Fantastic Time!  Lol.

Selena and I were so proud of our diaper cake we made.  I'm definitely not a crafty person, so we were surprised it came out so cute.  It was pretty easy to make too.  I rolled all the diapers and rubber banded them.  Then we divided the diapers into 1:2:3 portions and rubber banded them together in the shape of cake layers.  We bought a palm tree decoration from Party City which we stuck through the top "cake" layer" and connected all the layers with a wood dowel.  Then we hot glued ribbon around each of the three layers.  I printed animals on the computer and Selena laminated them and cut them out.  Then the animals were hot glued to the ribbon and the other decorations were placed on the cake (the stuffed monkey on the tree and the travel size baby items).  WahhLahh-- A Gift/Decoration Combo that is sure to impress!   

Diaper Cake

 

Present Table

The Guests

The Cake

Brittney and Baby Cody!

 

I am SO excited for the arrival of baby Cody!  He is going to look so handsome in all his little outfits.  :)  Thanks to everyone who helped out and came!  I love you all.

Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room

I finally got to visit the much talked about Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room when my good friend Namrata came to town.  Want some true southern cooking?  This is your place.  Every weekday masses line up in front of the old boardinghouse to get a taste of the delicious food they can smell from the street.

As 11:30am approached, Namrata and I headed down the beautiful tree-lined path to take our place in line for lunch.  We waited about 1.5-2 hours.  The dining room is open Monday-Friday, 11am to 2pm.  The sun was hot and the line seemed endlessly long, but every person leaving the dining room encouraged us by saying it was worth the wait.  And who better to judge than those who have already waited? :)

Once we got inside, we were seated at a table with 7 other people (I think each table holds 10).  You sit and dine with strangers, which actually is kind of fun (unless you have awkward people at your table, lol.).  They bring out tons of sides and meat to eat, along with sweet tea to wash it all down.  I couldn't get enough of the bread- it was warm, buttery, and oh so good.  You just pass the bowls around the table, sharing everything with your neighbor.  I tried to get a little of everything on my plate, but it was just too much food!  You definitely want to come hungry!

After the main meal, they bring out dessert.  There was barely room for my banana pudding, but I stuffed it in there some how.  Overall, I thought the place really lived up to what I had heard about it.  I thoroughly enjoyed my southern cooking, though I'm not sure my stomach was happy that I put so much of it down my throat!

         
If you are in the Savannah area on a weekday, this is definitely some grub you are going to want to indulge in!  Just don't forget to get there early and bring cash because they do not accept charge cards!

On a completely different note, Namrata went fishing with me and caught her first fish!  And this was probably the first fish I think I've ever had to take off the hook by myself, so I was very proud of the both of us!  :) 

Also, yesterday was my one year anniversary with my hubby!  I am so lucky to have met someone who can put up with me!  He is kind, patient, loving, and so many other things.  I am excited for everything we will experience together in the future (including our anniversary celebration vaca in New York coming up soon!).

 

Fishing at Sunset

I'd like to thank God for all the blessings and troubles I have in my life.  I know that I am stronger and closer to Him because of them. 

Eric and I have had many visitors over the past couple of weeks and it has been great spending quality time with friends and family.  Thank you for visiting us!  I love exploring our new city with ya'll.

Then there are the lazy days when no one is here (Not that we don't tend to be lazy when people are here too, lol.).  Eric comes home from work and we can take the boat out for a fishing trip at sunset.  I've gotta say, sometimes I love fishing and sometimes I find it quite boring.  This past outing I really enjoyed it (catching a couple fish probably helped).  The lake looked amazing as the sunset over the water.  I caught 2 brim and a small bass.

 

 

Look at God's splendid creation!

Hawaiian Tropic® Shimmering Summer Skin Soiree

I haven't been updating as much as last month because we have been in the middle of moving (and didn't have internet at our new place for a while).  We finally got through the process of purchasing a house and are now happy, first time home buyers!  It just so happened that my Hawaiian Tropic party ended up being scheduled the same weekend we could start moving into our house (we were supposed to close 2 weeks earlier).  Though it was a bit much to think about, everything went great (except for the weather) and our friends and family were able to hang out, try the new Hawaiian Tropic products, and visit our new house!

I applied and was accepted to do a Hosted Party for Hawaiian Tropic® brand Shimmer Effect Lotion Sunscreen and After Sun Lotion through Crowdtap.com.  I received:

• For the Host:
• ­-Stylish metallic gold beach tote
• ­-Hawaiian Tropic® brand Shimmer Effect Lotion Sunscreen and After Sun Lotion
• ­-Schick Quattro® for Women® razor
• ­-Loofah
• For Guests (10 each):
• ­-Eco-friendly tote bag filled with Hawaiian Tropic® Shimmer Effect Lotion Sunscreen and After Sun Lotion sample packettes and product coupons
• ­-Schick Quattro® for Women® razor coupon

The party started with pizza, cupcakes, chips, fruit, and drinks.  Each guest received the bag above with samples, coupons, Girl Scout cookies, Bath and Body Works lotion and body wash.

A few of us headed to Kroger to meet the Deen Brothers who are currently promoting their new book, The Deen Bros. Get Fired Up.  We got our books autographed and got to tell them about our Hawaiian Tropic party! :)

Once back at the apartment we sampled the Hawaiian Tropic® Shimmer Effect Lotion Sunscreen and After Sun Lotion.  I for one was pleasantly surprised by these products.  I really thought these "shimmer" lotions would be better suited for pre-teens because they love sparkle.  I thought it would be a little much for some one older, but I have to say I love it!  The sparkles are small and really do highlight your skin tone!  The sun catches the sparkle just right.

Everyone really liked the smell of both products.  The sunscreen is great because it has UVB/SPF with UVA to help protect skin.  The after sun lotion is great because it not only smells good, but also leaves your skin moisturized after a shower so you can keep your tan longer.  The only thing we did not like about the product was that it was a little hard to get it out of the bottle.  Nothing bad to say about the product itself though!

After sampling the products, we decided to try them out at the beach even though the weather was not looking good.  Let me tell you...it was NOT good beach weather!  lol.  It was pretty funny watching all of us out there getting pelted with ran and sand while the wind blew crazily.

    

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Disclamer:  I received products listed above to review and share with friends through Crowdtap.  I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own!