• Photography

    December Photo A Day {Instagram}

    Day 22: Decoration A Christmas ornament that I received during the ornament exchange for the ladies at might church. Right now it’s hanging on my door knob because we didn’t decorate this year. Lazy. Day 23: Joy is _______ Hanging with my daughters. They make me laugh like crazy. The boy is OK too. {from the vault} Day 24: Tradition/Something I always do I love grinding my own beans for my morning coffee. There’s something therapeutic about that whirring sound. Day 25: Lunchtime The girls and I decided to bake cookies on Christmas afternoon. They were, uh, edible. But we had a ton of fun. Notice the boy isn’t around…

  • Fun Stuff

    Things That Leave Me Scratchin’ My Head {Coffee Talk}

    Wow! Y’all, this is the last Friday of 2012. Is that crazy or what? I just want to take this time to thank all of you for hanging in there with me for the past year. I enjoy reading your comments on my blog, talking with you on Facebook, and sharing our lives on Instagram. I’ve celebrated with some of you as you’ve added to your families and I’ve cried with others of you as you’ve lost loved ones. You’ve wished me well with all the changes in my life and laughed with me when I’ve had moments of silly. We’ve been through a lot this year and I thank…

  • Style

    Fashionable Legs {In the Closet}

    This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of No nonsense for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine. I learned something about myself this year: I absolutely love skirts. For years, I was anti~skirt. I thought they were just too fussy for me and, honestly, I thought the only things that looked good on my body were jeans and sweaters. After a couple of trips to the thrift store, I found out that I was wrong; all it takes is a great pair of tights, cute shoes and some fun accessories and anyone can rock a skirt. One of my favorite brands for tights is No nonsense because,…

  • Style

    Weekend Fun {Saturday Share}

    The hubs and I went on an impromptu date last night to Starbucks for some coffee. The hubs always gets a plain coffee. Drives me insane. I usually get one of the seasonal flavors, last night it was a Salted Caramel Mocha. While we were sitting in the parking lot we decided to go see what was playing at the theater; we ended up seeing “This is 40”.  That movie was alternately hilarious and sobering. Honestly, it was quite possibly one of the most realistic portrayals of what happens to individuals and couples as they see middle age staring them in the face. If you do go to see it,…

  • Fun Stuff

    Things That Leave Me Scratchin’ My Head {Coffee Talk}

    1. Hey, you’re reading this, so that means we’re still here. And the reason we’re still here is that the world is never going to end! Stop listening to those idiots who keep predicting that the world is doomed. It’s not. They know nothing! Need I remind you of Y2K? 2. I’m going to have to ask the powers that be to pass a law that males are not allowed to make any judgments regarding rape because when they do they say the dumbest things. A Southern California judge reprimanded a woman for not fighting back hard enough against her rapist. The judge went on to say “I’m not a…

  • Photography

    December Photo A Day {This Or That Thursday}

    Hi, everyone! This has been such a long week. Most of the students are gone, so work has slowed down significantly, making for long days. I’ve been spending it putting together work schedules for the student workers for next semester. And doing clean up work.  But, mostly, I’ve been counting down to vacation. How’re you spending your last week before Christmas? Day 13 Lights Old St. Vincent’s Church in Cape Girardeau, MO. I love taking pictures of old buildings. There’s something mysterious and romantic about them. Day 14 Something Green My favorite green eye shadow from Bare Escentuals. It’s called “Glamourista”. Sexy, no? Day 15 Outdoors   I love the…

  • Faith

    Be Strong {Words of Encouragement}

    I’ve gone back and forth over whether I should write anything about the tragedies in Connecticut and China that occurred last week… How do I respond to the senseless taking of innocent lives? What words of comfort do I offer to those who’ll be left with the physical and mental scars? There simply aren’t enough words to convey the sympathy that I feel for all of those who’ve been touched directly by these tragedies. I can’t begin to say I understand how the parents feel to lose their children in such a senseless manner, but I do understand the spirit of fear that grips your heart when you’ve been touched…

  • Photography

    December Photo A Day {InstaFriday}

    I had my performance evaluation this week. I was so nervous. Even though you kind of have a rough idea of how things are going, it’s still unnerving to sit there and listen to someone break your work down. I always expect the worst because I stress decisions. I always wonder if I made the right one. Or if there are things I could have done differently. I replay conversations and have to stop myself from calling, texting or emailing the person to clarify. I’m not sure where this lack of confidence comes from because I know I’ve accomplished a lot. And under some difficult circumstances: young kids, cancer, a…

  • Fun Stuff

    If You’re Stressing Over Christmas, You’re Doing It Wrong (Repost}

    The other day I was watching CNN and they were talking about how to soothe the guilt over not being able to give the number and types of gifts one would like to give this Christmas season and I was kind of thrown for a loop. I always thought Christmas was about celebrating the birth of the savior with the gifts being secondary (possibly even tertiary) on the list of importance.  Then I read an interesting post by Stefany on her blog To. Be. Thode. about how she and her husband want to refocus the meaning of Christmas from the secular to the religious by encouraging their children to choose 3 meaningful gifts rather…

  • About Me

    Easy Twist Out Tutorial {Natural Hair}

    I’m doing it again. I’m giving up the Creamy Crack (aka hair relaxer). I know, it seems like I do this every couple of months but this time I’m determined to see it through. Last time I lasted a full year and was completely natural, then I went to my mom’s and the rest is history… As much as I loved being able to control my hair with the relaxer, I was seriously missing my curls. And I started to develop a bad case of hair envy. Have you seen my Pinterest board? I’m obsessed. Check it out here. I’ve been transitioning for 6 months now and so far my…