Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Y3W: My Guilty Pleasures

I have a confession to make.

I'm embarrassed to say that I can not go without some these things.

Scroll down and don't judge me.

Teen Mom

As a mother and step mother to 2 daughters, I should HATE this show right?  Wrong.  I'm feel so wrong for watching show and liking it but I .Just. Can't. Stop. Please don't call DFACS.

Real Housewives of Atlanta

Being an African -American woman living in Atlanta, at first I hated what this show represented and how it depicted black women and Atlanta.  Then it got good and I threw all that BS out the window.  Clearly these ladies do not speak for or represent me or any other black woman in Atlanta or the world. I'm sad to say, I watch this almost religiously and laugh uncontrollably at the tomfoolery.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

No explanation needed.  I'm sure you watch them too.

FRIENDS

This is my all time favorite show!!!  I have all the seasons on DVD and watch the shows over and over and over again.  I am praying daily for a movie or reunion show or something!  Is it bad to secretly hope that every person who was involved with this show (writers, actors, camera men, stylists, stage crew etc.)careers crumble so bad that they will have no choice but to bring this show back forever to support their families???  I need Regina Philange back in my life!!!! (If you aren't a fan you wont get that.)

Family Feud

The families on this show are so hilarious at times!  Hubby and I actually get mad then laugh like crazy watching them.  They say some of the DUMBEST things.  This is our weeknight dinner time TV show.

The Game

I became so invested in this show and I don't know why.  All I know is that come 1.11.2011, it's coming back and I'm thrilled!

Uno Attack

This game is so fun!  I am crazy competitive and I can sit and play this for hours!  Great new twist on a classic!

Scrabble Slam Card Game

This is another game I recently discovered that I would play every day if I could. 

Facebook

Nuff Said....

Notice how they are almost all TV Shows??  I seriously have a problem here.  I am currently using about 80%  90% of our DVR Storage space.  I even delete hubby's shows to keep my own.  It's that bad!

What are your guilty pleasures?





The Mrs.



I'm Jealous...

…of stay at home moms.

I long for the day when I am able to be a stay at home mom. I envy them so much. I know the job is hard…very hard and often thankless, but it seems much more rewarding and beneficial than what I am doing now. (Shout out to the Insurance Industry!!)

I miss my daughter terribly during the day and I find that by the time I get home from work and Hubby brings her home from her sitter, I have about 2 1/2 hours with her before she is ready to hit the sack. In the cases in which she does stay awake, I'm often too tired to play and stay up like I want to with her. I used to struggle to keep her awake just to steal a few more moments with her.

Sad hunh?

I know its normal to feel this way, but it really sucks.

I know women have done this for years and years but IT. REALLY. SUCKS.

All kinds of thoughts ran through my head when my maternity leave was about to end…

What if she forgets I'm her mother and thinks her sitter, my Husband's Aunt is her mother?

What if I miss every milestone?

What if she needs something that only I know how to handle?

What if she misses me?

What if I miss her?

Crazy I know, but that's how apprehensive I was. No one knew though. I think I played it pretty cool.

Even now, it has gotten easier but I do still get the tug at the heart when I look at her picture on my desk and wonder she is doing at that moment.

Is she having fun?

Is she crying?

Is she sleeping?

I'm very blessed to have a job with the way times are now, but if miraculously our situation changed where we didn't need my income anymore (durn student loans), I'd jump on the opportunity to stay home and never look back.

For now I'm struggling to deal with feelings of guilt about not being able to be there with my daughter. I know it will continue to get easier but even that thought makes me feel guilty as well.

Maybe one day, I will have the opportunity to stay home, and I guarantee I'll take it.

Makenzie is way more mature than some of these "adults" I work with anyway.


The Mrs.

Wedding Wednesday

The Cakes

I will admit, our Wedding Cakes were the least of my concern when planning the wedding.  My only request was that the cake have our initials on it.  That's it. 

For the Groom's Cake, my husband chose an Atlanta Falcons themed Red Velvet cake   This cake was probably the best Red Velvet cake I have ever had!!!

During the Reception, My Husband & I actually cut the grooms cake together with his parents.  I thought this was a great idea and was thankful for the suggestion from our coordinator.

Happy Wednesday!

The Mrs.

Shutterfly Shows Bloggers Some Love!!!

And I for one love them too!

Shutterfly is currently running a promotion where blog owners can get 50 FREE holiday cards!!

*insert swoon*

I must say this promotion makes me giddy!!

Even though I have never purchased from them, I’ve always loved Shutterfly’s designs and after my horrible experience using TinyPrints a few months ago, I decided I’d look to Shutterfly for our Holiday Cards this year.

I want to have to make sure they are extra cute this year since this is our first Holiday Card EVER as a family (I slacked last year) and from the looks of their 2010 collection, Shutterfly will help me do just that!! 

The card options are so cute!!!

I like the idea of the folded Christmas Card because we can insert our own message inside the card.  That touch seems to make the card even more personal.

Below are three designs that may be contenders for this year’s Christmas Card:

With Love Chartreuse

Plaid Bliss

Good Blessings

If you own a blog and are interested in this fantastic Shutterfly promotion....Click Here!! 

The Mrs.

Update:  Here is the card we chose!!!

With Love Chartreuse Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Y3W: Party Over Here!!!

*I am linking up with Jenni over at Jenni From The Blog again this Friday for Your Three Words*

I am so excited about this weekend!!

Hubby and I have been blessed a great group of friends.  Some we have know since we were younger, others we met while in college and beyond.  Some of those friends we see a whole lot more often than others.  This weekend we are going to re-connect with the friends we don't see as often.

A few weeks ago I was talking to one of my best friends and we both mentioned how it had been so long since we all hung out and had a good time like the "old days".  We decided to pick a date and make it mandatory that all of us keep that date open.  Well everyone kept their promise and come Saturday, we are all gonna re-connect.  Re-conneting sounds so boring but when we get together...it's anything but!

We have made some of the funniest memories together in the past and I'm sure this weekend will be no different.

You see, we have all been friends since forever and its generally hard to get us ALL together because of our schedules and hectic lives. While we haven't grown apart, its harder to keep friendships the same when new responsibilities come in the picture. I used to beat myself up about the fact that we didn't hang out as much as we used to but I had to remind myself that our friendships are going to continue to change and develop throughout the years and what matters most is that the love we all share remains the same. 

This weekend is our attempt to hang out and have a good time together like we used to before we officially became adults! (After college but before careers)

Wow...it's been 3 years since I graduated college.  Time sure does fly!!!

I'm an nearly old lady now, I hope I can keep up! 




The Mrs.

Wedding Wednesday

Bride's Entrance

The song I chose for my walk down the aisle was Jennifer Hudson's Giving Myself (Over To You).  This song encompasses everything I was feeling about getting married and how I felt about being with my Husband.  I still cry when I hear this song.

Pictures of my can be found below the song.

I was so excited to walk down the aisle.  I was as calm as can be when that moment finally arrived.  I stayed in the Bridal Suite until the lobby of the chapel was clear. Once my coordinator gave the ok, I left the suite and was immediately greeted in the lobby by my Step Dad who was smiling from ear to ear.

Before the doors to the chapel were opened, I requested that the song I chose be allowed to play for a few moments. I did this because the words to the song meant so much to me...and my husband & I wanted to take time to take everything in. 

Once the chorus came, the doors of the chapel were opened and my Step-Father and I stood in the doorway while my wedding coordinator perfected my train. 

As soon as she gave us the go ahead, my walk began.  

I was told my husband had gotten antsy waiting for me to enter. The Coordinators took so long getting the guests out of the lobby before they grabbed me from the room that he & the wedding party waited a good 6-7 minutes at the altar before my song began to play. 

But once it did...it was on!

I know its corny to say but while I was walking, I only saw my husband. 

I saw no guests & no attendants standing at the altar, only him.

The aisle in the Chapel was long so my walk was perfect for me. Long enough for me to enjoy the time and short enough to keep my Step Father & I from being out of breath by the time we got to the altar. 

 From start to finish, my walk was complete at about 3 minutes into the song.

Have a great Wednesday!

The Mrs.

What's For Dinner?

I like to cook and for the most part, I think I'm pretty good at it.

I will admit however that my Husband has eaten his fare share of tough steak and burnt potatoes.

My challenge now is finding the time to cook and finding new recipes.  You see right now, I find myself in a cooking slump.  I have begun to cook the same things over and over and while my Husband isn't complaining, I feel our taste buds need more variety.

One site I love to visit for ideas is The Givens Chronicles.  I met Mrs. G aka JoVonn at a GTG for a wonderful website we both frequent, brownandbridal.com. She is just as sweet as she comes across in her blog.  I have always pledged to try more and more of her delicious recipes, and although I have printed off a TON of her recipes and have them organized in a binder, I haven't taken the time to actually try more of them until now.

With the new baby and returning to work, it's easier to go with what you know when it comes to cooking a meal, but I want to will  get out of this rut and try more new recipes. 

When I try new recipes, from JoVonn's blog and other sites, I'll post pictures of how they turned out and how my family liked them. 

Hopefully this is the start of new, tasty dinners...and I'm sure expanding waste lines. 

Now if I could just make myself work out...ah well...

The Mrs.

Life's Juggling Act

As I  become even more acclimated to being a working mother, time and time again, I find myself thinking...WHERE DOES ALL THE TIME GO?!

I have been very busy these last few weeks. 

You see I wear a lot of hats...

Child of God
Wife
Mother
Daughter
Daughter In Law
Sister- In Law
Grand Daughter
Niece
Cousin
Friend
Employee
Organization Member
Blogger

And with those hats comes a set of responsibilities I take very seriously.  The juggling act of wearing each hat perfectly is a task that at times seems daunting, and I will admit, tiresome at times. 

Even now, I am thinking about adding more hats to this list in the near future.

While I love and cherish each hat I wear, I do admit that sometimes I wear one hat longer than another and other times I forget to wear a few hats altogether. Neglecting to wear some hats hurts me the most because I in no way want to make those I love and have made commitments to feel less important or not important at all

In the past, I have been good at juggling a ton of activities and I thrived on being busy and needed.  While I still love to be needed, I am realizing more and more how important it is for me to take the time to simply wear no hat at all.My Husband always encourages me to take some time for myself to things that will relax me (outside of surfing the net) but as great as that sounds, I feel selfish for even thinking of spending a few hours and $$ on myself when I know there are needs that need to be met under those hats.  Even when I browse the Internet, I'm looking at articles and forums that would make me a better wife, mother etc. 

Although the balancing act is hard at times, I know how worth it will be for me and my commitments.

It's hard but I will make it work simply because I love my life and all that God has blessed me with.  I want to be a good steward over all He has given me and all the hats He has blessed me to wear.

Here's to my balancing act...

Time to kick it into overdrive.

God will make sure the wheels don't fall off.

The Mrs.

Makenzie's Christening

(Please be forewarned, the pics in this post are from the Church  photographer's website.  Sorry for the stamp but these are the only pics we have until we purchase the CD)

On Sunday, October 24, my Husband & I dedicated our daughter, Makenzie to God in the presence of our family & friends.

My Husband's uncle, who also officiated our Marriage Ceremony, performed the Dedication.

The Dedication Ceremony was perfect & very meaningful.  His uncle talked about how proud he was of us and how great of parents he knows we will continue to be.  It really did mean a lot to us to have him perform the Ceremony.  Who better to do it than family?

After his sermon, He called the 3 of us (My Husband, Makenzie & myself) to the altar. 

We vowed to raise Makenzie the way God would have us and be good examples for her life and walk with Christ.

Then he called our Parents & Grandparents to the altar.  They vowed to support us & our choices as Makenzie's Parents.

After that, he called the rest of our friends & family up to the altar.  They also vowed to support us and to provide constant examples of Godly living.

Once the vows were complete, we said a group prayer covering Makenzie and us as her parents and then we all took communion together..

After the prayer, we were presented with Makenzie's Certificate and we proceed to take pictures.  (Daddy & Makenzie were tired at this point. lol)

Let me back up for a second...

Near the end of the sermon, before the ceremony, Makenzie had fallen asleep after a bottle.  I'm sure any Mother knows not to wake a sleeping baby.  Well I had no choice this time.  Once we were called up to begin the ceremony, our sweet little angel turned slightly grumpy.  Although she was pretty silent throughout the ceremony except for the occasional whine, when it was picture time, she let us know she had had enough.   You can see us trying to keep he calm during the ceremony in some of the pictures.  Here a a few more pictures from the service.

 
After the Ceremony, we all headed to our favorite family restaruant, O'Charley's for brunch.

All in all the entire day was better than I could have imagined and I can not wait to share it with Makenzie when she gets older.

The Mrs.