Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Before Pictures

How long this room will stay in its "before" condition... only God knows! But let's just say we're preparing to be blessed. Believe it or not, this beautifully empty room was filled wall-to-wall with junk mere hours ago! In the almost four years that we've lived in this house, we've actually kept this room fairly empty and organized (well, what little was in there was organized). Since the day we started with mere floorplans, we have always referred to this bedroom as the "nursery." But earlier this year, the "nursery" slowly but steadily turned into the dreaded I'm-not-sure-where-I-want-to-put-this-so-I'll-just-dump-it-in-here room. And because I'm considerate and don't want to damage my dear readers' vision, I refrained from taking the *real* before pictures when it was in that condition. No one needs to see that... for real.

It got to the point where everytime I saw the door to this room cracked open, I did an audible sigh. Sometimes even an "ugh." My blood pressure would rise just seeing the pile of junk in there. But when to find the time to do something about it?! That was my problem. Well, as we're once again on the two-week-wait to see if this cycle was a success, I once and for all decided to get this room back in fab condition. I mean, we're trying to make babies here! Baby needs his/her room!

The hub and I were watching "Facing the Giants" a month or so ago for the first time and one of the scenes really stuck with me. One of the characters was telling a parable about two farmers who desparately needed rain. Both of the farmers prayed to God for rain, but only one went out and prepared his fields for rain. Rain came to the one farmer who trusted God to receive the rain. As said in the film, "God will send the rain when he's ready. You need to prepare your fields to receive it."

So girls, whether or not God blesses us with a baby this month, I'm trusting him and getting prepared...



This is the view coming into the room from the hallway.




A closer look at the window on the far/back wall. It sits directly in the center of the wall and we plan to add built-in bookshelves all along that back wall with a bench seat and overhang in front of the window.



Found this on the web... not exactly what I'm going for, but just so you get the idea - this is kinda what we're after in general (but ours will be much more decorative and fab!). If, however, we are blessed with twins, I have an uber cool plan B. We'll get to that if and when we need to...




This is the far side wall (to the right if you're looking at the window).




This is the front wall (with door to hallway).



This is the left side wall with doors to bathroom and closet.



Another view of the same wall... door on the far left is to the hallway, middle door is the closet, and the door on the right is the bathroom.


And a view of the far left corner.



Here's a peek in the bathroom - my favorite part! (That's a cute shower curtain, I know, but that will change. It's just there for fun right now.)


We picked fixtures especially for a baby's bath. I ADORE baby & kids' bathrooms, so I wanted it to be perfect. We chose this fabulous little pedestal sink. No mirror yet... we will probably get a medicine cabinet style one to have some storage space behind it.


Close-up of the plumbing fixtures (didn't take a pic, but the tub fixtures match this as well).


Inside the closet - which is currently full of miscellaneous stuff that we'll have to eventually move out! Some is actually baby stuff, some is what's left of the maternity wardrobe I didn't put on ebay, and the rest is... who knows?! We will ultimately put in new shelving to maximize the space. You know my kid's gonna have a closet full!


The boob light (cuz it looks like a boob) - which most definitely will be replaced with some fabulously fabulous chandelier.



The view from the window (picture yourself sitting on the bench!).



And up the street...



On another note... thanks so much for all the sweet messages regarding yesterday's mishap with the car! We are doing fine. Still waiting to get the word on the repairs, but we'll get it all figured out. Like y'all said, just glad no one was hurt!

OK... off to put some laundry up and get in the bed!

Monday, July 27, 2009

This was my Monday. How was yours?



Yeah... that's poor Phoebe after a battle with a big truck. (Phoebe lost.) And apparently Phoebe's momma has been having trouble obeying traffic laws as of late. Friday I got pulled over for failing to come to a complete stop at a red light before turning right. Got off with a warning, thank goodness!

But today... after I had already had a lovely morning where I spilt oatmeal all down my dress... I decided to make a run to the bank and instead ran into a truck. I failed to yield when turning left. (Allegedly.) No one was hurt and my air bag didn't even blow - so that's good. And you'll be glad to know that the rear window we just replaced stayed intact! But what should've been a 10 minute trip to the ATM turned into a 2 1/2 hour ordeal. My car had to be towed off to a nearby body shop. We're awaiting word from our insurance as to whether they'll total it or not. Phoebes is over 11 years old, y'all... so it's very likely the repairs could cost more than the poor girl is worth. But I really hope not! I seriously will be SO sad if we aren't able to repair her! She's got lots of life left in her and you know I'm gonna drive her till her wheels fall off. So say a lil prayer for Phoebe, my beloved '98 Honda Accord.

Yeah so... after yoga tonight, I'm totally beat. I was annoyed today with myself for getting in the wreck... especially this month when we have so much going on, but now I'm just tired and kinda blue. Remember that credit card we were supposed to pay off? Yeah... that's going on the back burner for now thanks to my failure to yield! (Allegedly.) But I know that's what Dave would tell us to do... so we're OK with that - it just sucks because we were really pumped to pay off that card! Oh well... we'll knock it out soon. But for now, I think I'm going to go to bed and start over.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Goodies on the Auction Block

It's been a while since we got busy selling stuff, so we're going for another round. We're trying to get extra aggressive (supa Cheetah style for you fellow Dave Ramsey fans) over the next few months with knocking off a few of our smaller debts. We know once we get pregnant (and stay pregnant) we're going to have to put the debt snowball on hold and start stashing away cash.

Unfortunately, we don't have any kind of maternity leave at my office, so I'm saving up vaca this year to roll over into 2010 (I can roll over up to 2 weeks, but I get 5 weeks total in a year). So the plan for now is to roll over 2 weeks to 2010, which will give me a total of 7 weeks vaca for the calendar year. I plan to take off 3 months, so I'll use 6 weeks vaca... which means I'll be without a paycheck for about half of that time. I want to save the 7th week for odds and ends and the holidays, you know. And if we don't end up having a 2010 baby, well, I'll just have lots of vacation time!

Anyway, so we've been rummaging through junk again to see what all we can sell. I was hesitant to do so the first go around, but I'm so far past caring about "stuff" these days, that I barely blinked before throwing these babies up on ebay...





Hardly junk, I know... but honestly, am I gonna miss these bags? No, not really. I honestly think I get way more attached to shoes than I do bags. I can't believe I just said that... but it's true. Really, the Marc Jacobs bag is a bit small for me. I thought it was a lot bigger when I originally got it. Y'all know I'm a honkin' huge bag carrying girl. So no medium bag is really going to do for everyday use... and while I love the look of the bag, it's just not very practical for me personally.

I seriously bought the Kate Spade bag because the style name was "Amanda." I mean... meant to be, right? She uses my name quite a lot - shoes too. But so far I've refrained from insisting on buying all the Amanda products ever made. Haha! I love, love this bag - it's so chic... but how often do I use it? MAYBE once a year. Maybe. So... ebay!!!

Here's hoping we get a few bucks out of these! We shall see...

Where's my shopping fund when I need it?!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Nips and Necks

Hey girls, fatty-fatty 2x4 here. Hope y'all are having fantastic weeks! My weekend is here - woot woot! I have a fab pool day planned tomorrow with one of my girls. I can't wait! We have a perfectly good pool in our 'hood, but I never go. Like I've said before, I have a hard time just chilling out. I have to plan my chill out sessions or I'll just busy myself and suddenly the day is over. There's ALWAYS something that needs doing, you know. So I'm looking forward to pool day, which will be followed up by an afternoon massage and facial.

I know I talk about getting massages and junk all the time like I just live in the spa or something... but really I just got lucky with a killer spa deal with my guy (who I've been seeing for years). He has gone out on his own and started a membership program and I quickly joined up. New memberships aren't available right now, but if he does open it up again, you'll be the first to know! I basically get $360 worth of services a month for $119.98/month - and that INCLUDES tips. So basically what I'd pay for a one hour massage + my monthly brow wax with tip is what I pay for an entire month of spa heaven. I'm in there pretty much every week. I mean I gotta be to get my full benefit - it's a use-it-or-lose-it plan. So you can bet your britches I take advantage of every last dime! I call it my Dave-approved spa plan. Cuz goodness knows I wouldn't be able to afford regular spa treatments otherwise!

Anyway, still waiting out the 2 week wait... We still have another week and then some before we can test. I WILL say I'm having a rather strange symptom that I had during the last IUI cycle... [TMI alert] - wonky nipples. As in they look weird and they hurt. Now I know a lot of chicks get breast tenderness and whatnot with every cycle, but I personally have NEVER had that. So when I first got this *interesting* symptom back in May with our first IUI cycle, I (a) thought it was really weird, and (b) blamed it on the HCG trigger shot. Because, OK - two days after my IUI to be feeling anything? Way too early for pregnancy symptoms, right? And I read in many, many places that the trigger shot can give pregnancy-like symptoms. So I totally chalked it up to that. Well, y'all know I got pregnant, so who knows if it was the real thing or just the meds?!

OK so fast forward to now, two days past my IUI - exact same time as my May cycle - I got the weirdo sore nips again. Noticed it when I was changing clothes to go the Gwinnett Braves game the other night. But the thing is, I didn't take the trigger shot this cycle... didn't have to - I detected an LH surge on my own. So now we're like...hmmmmm..... Maybe?!?! We're certainly not banking on anything, but we're of course very hopeful and full of faith! Plus, it'd be truly fabulous if we could get the job done this cycle since we're out of baby makin' funds. I know my parents will step in (they want grandkids like 6 years ago) and help but I don't want to have to do that. So yeah... continue those big prayers, y'all! We really need them and they mean so much! I'll keep y'all updated on my busted oven and wonky nipples...

Now on a much more light-hearted and superficial note, I'm molto obsessed with this here necklace from Banana...



If you frequent my Bump Day posts over at Make Room for Style, you've probably caught on to the fact that I LOVE Banana Republic's jewelry. They have such gorgeous pieces and it's all really, really affordable. Plus they have killer sales in store, so you can often find some serious deals by rummaging through the jewelry sale bin. If I'm ever looking for a great statement piece, Banana is my first stop. And I definitely *need* this...





Think I can convince my momma to invest in an early birthday present for me?! I mean, it's only a little over two months away. ;-)

And I'm gonna be 32. Holy shit.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Children's Boutique Warehouse Sale

So Phoebe has a new rear windshield - good as new! Not exactly a fun expense in a month we're doing an IUI cycle AND paying off a credit card... but hey, what can you do but laugh and pray?! And thanks so much for the sweet messages regarding our baby makin' - your prayers mean SO much to me! I hope y'all know that.

By the way, does estrogen make you a fat cow? Cuz I sure feel like one. I've been eating normal, but my weight has like ballooned lately. They've got me pumping the estrogen due to my lining issue. So here's hoping this extra "cushioning" falls off once I get off that junk.

Anyway... Atlanta mommas, make sure y'all check out the children's boutique warehouse sale this Friday and Saturday - it only happens a couple of times a year and it's fab! For more details, meet me over here. I could do some serious damage there if I had (1) money and (2) a kid. Seeing as I have neither, I'll stay put. But let me live vicariously through y'all!

Alright, off to work. Gotta be productive today. Lots to do...

Sunday, July 19, 2009

A few things.

1. We got back from the doctor's office an hour or so ago... I ended up getting a surge on Saturday, so we did the insemination this morning. Lining is still an issue and I'm on meds for it, so keep those prayers comin'! I know God can do anything, so we'll just have to wait and see! The hub definitely brought his A-game today... good job, hub! And Dr. Toledo and I laughed about my "special" uterus. He thinks the lining issue has to do with my poor girly parts having been through so much with the surgeries and all...

2. Got home today and the hub decided to remove my ancient stickers from my car's back windshield. Like seriously ancient... I have an old Georgia "G" that has seen better days. I still have all my apartment parking stickers from college... from 10+ years ago. So anyway, he proceeds to try and scrape these stickers off and BAM! The window completely busted into a million pieces out of nowhere. So now we're calling glass companies to get quotes on replacing the windshield. Awesome. You can't do anything but laugh though...

3. Got the little Vera Bradley flyer in the mail for the new Frill collection. Everyone in the photos is like 16. So maybe these are geared toward a younger generation, but who cares. You can consider this little diddy added to my wishlist...

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Full of Glee

Hey, all! So Harry Potter was TOTALLY awesome. They of course changed some stuff and left some stuff out... but it was fabulous. Lots of great funny moments - my favorite being when Harry took the Felix Felicious potion... SO funny. Daniel Radcliffe is really turning into a good little actor. Lavender Brown was hilarious - as was her Won-Won. Snape was delicious as always. Great movie and I can't wait to see the IMAX version on the 31st! We went ahead and got our tickets while we were there.

What else... we've got 5 doggies with us now. They've all been pretty good so far, but I do feel like I'm running a doggie day care! Really meal time is the most challenging part... because some of the lot will go bonkers if the other doggies get near their food. So it takes a little careful planning. Not much else going on this weekend though... I did have my 3rd ultrasound yesterday and my lining has thickened some, but it's still not where it needs to be. My doctor still wants to go through with the insemination this cycle, but he said if we don't get pregnant this turn, he wants to discuss more advanced measures. Not sure what that means... I'm just trying to focus on this cycle for now. I'm hoping I don't get a surge over the weekend so that my lining has time to continue to grow. So we'll see... looks like the IUI won't happen till Tues/Wed unless I surge before then. Ya know I'll keep you updated!

OK so anyway, seeing as summer TV totally bites for the most part, I get my hulu on a lot - especially while on the 'puter. Did y'all catch the sneak preview of Glee back in May? The show premieres on Fox this fall, but they ran the pilot this past spring to get you hooked.



And OMG what a teaser, because I totally took the bait. AND I've watched it again on hulu - I can't even tell you how many times. It's so brilliantly written and the cast is just great - the characters are hilarious. And really, I just love any good high school parody. I think if you love musical theatre you'll absolutely adore it, but it's fun to watch even if that's not your thing. (Bestest - this is right up your alley!)


It's basically about a high school teacher, Mr. Schuester (played by Broadway cutie, Matthew Morrison) who decides to take over the Glee Club after the former leader was fired. His pool of interested students is rather lacking, so he ends up trying to recruit some of the popular kids to garner some interest in the club. Each and every character is so well written... I especially love germaphobe Emma, another teacher at the school, who's obviously head over heels for Mr. Schuester AND whose entire head-to-toe wardrobe appears to be from J. Crew...



It's just absolutely delicious and I can't wait for the show to get here in September! Do go on to hulu and watch the pilot and see if you don't fall in love. The ending number - a remake of one of my favorite Journey songs - is probably my favorite part. But the whole thing is fab, so take a peek and tell me what you think!


Thursday, July 16, 2009

Buford Baby: Round 2

I'm posting via email, so if the font is a little wonky, that's why. I'll fix it later when I can get into blogger. Anyway, had my mid-cycle check yesterday morning. I have 4 potential eggies! Two definite and two others likely... I should know more tomorrow. But my lining was rather thin yesterday (they check all this via ultrasound, by the way)... so they are having me double my estrogen intake. If it doesn't get up to where they want it, they will probably not do the insemination - because there's nothing much for a fertilized eggie to attach to.

SO, I'm going back again tomorrow a.m. for yet another ultrasound to see how it has progressed - well that's assuming I don't detect an LH surge today (which I really don't think I will). So while I'm very glad that they're making sure everything looks perfect before doing the IUI, we're already $1,000 in on this cycle before even getting to the actual insemination whether we do it or not. I'm therefore hoping all systems are a-go and that we can complete this cycle. So keep those prayers comin' - pray for some fabulously thick lining and lots of sticky vibes! I know those are odd things to pray for, but if you want to get specific and all... that's what we're after!

If all goes according to plan, the actual IUI (possibly two) will probably occur over the weekend. I'll of course keep y'all updated! I'm having a massage tomorrow morning after my appointment, so hopefully that will relax me and I'll be all geared up...

Nothing much else going on this weekend - thank goodness! We've been running around like mad this week and with being out of town last week, we've got a lot to catch up on around the house. Plus we will have FIVE doggies in our house this weekend. We've got a 4th with us now - Nugget. And a 5th - Hannah - will be joining us tomorrow. We're suckers for dogsitting... when you have three, what's a couple more?! They love it. OK, Belly doesn't - but the other two do.

And tonight we're going to see Harry!!! I'm so beyond excited. Everyone I've talked to that's seen it loved it. I heard the midnight showings on Tuesday night pulled in about $20 million... I'm curious to see the total Wednesday opening figures to see if they beat Transformers' $55m. This stuff fascinates me for some reason.

Alright, girls... gotta get some work done! Hope you have a fabulous Thursday! I'm off tomorrow... weeee!!!!

Monday, July 13, 2009

I know I'm a total nerd...

...but I'm SO excited for Harry Potter this week! We would normally hit the midnight showing as soon as it comes out, but I've got a 7:30am appointment at RBA the following day - so no thanks. I'm going out with kuntry bride and Lucky Wednesday night for Lucky's 31st... so that puts us seeing Harry on Thursday night. I snagged our tickets before we left for the beach.

I've reread Book 6 and even read Book 7 again on vaca - totally forgot so much of that book! It's been forever. So I am in total Potter zone right now. The reviews I've read are really good so I'm beyond pumped! We're going again on the 31st to catch the IMAX showing since they delayed that release due to Transformers... anyone else going this week?!




Saturday, July 11, 2009

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

How good do I look?

I know, right? Thanks to the fabulous Krystyn over at Krizzy Designs, my blog has gotten a gorgeous makeover. Krystyn is super talented and has a great eye for putting together a fab looking page. Thanks, Krystyn!!! What do you think, girls? I'm so pretty in pink, aren't I?!

It's a dog's life.

My parents' pooch, Bailey, enjoying the view. That's right, it's not raining (for now)!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Rain, rain, go away...

...come again another... week when we're not here. Poor Belly has seen more of the underside of our bed (her special hiding place) than the beach. She loves water, but NOT rain. And certainly not tunder-torms. Well, all I can say is, I rather be at the beach in the rain than at work in the sunshine. So I'm not gonna complain! I brought plenty of books with, so I'm good to go. Hope y'all are having fab weeks! My blog is currently getting a makeover and I can't wait to debut it! It's about time I got one- it's gonna be fab.

Alright, girls... off to do a bunch of nothing! Love it! :-)

Monday, July 6, 2009

The view from our back porch...

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

And the Vera goes to...

Good morning, bloggy world! Guess who's sitting on the back deck staring at the ocean? That'd be me! Much more fun than staring at my computer screens at work, I tell ya. Belly is LOVING the ocean of course. She seriously can't get enough of it. Girl did not sleep a wink yesterday till bedtime. Charlie is basically just confused as hell as to why we're here at this place with not only lots of water - but SCARY water that comes crashing toward you! And this morning... those bright terry cloth things hanging over the railing and blowing in the wind (aka beach towels) - scary stuff! What the hell, momma?! Hahaha... and of course last night some punk kids were setting off fireworks at like midnight that scared him half to death. And it was like *one* firework every 20 minutes. So as soon as we got him calmed down, there goes another one. This went on for about an hour last night... even the "Charlie sandwich" (where he's curled up tight between our heads on the bed - this is a 65lb dog mind you) wouldn't calm him down. Poor buddy. Aside from scary firecrackers and blowing beach towels, he's having a good time.

Anyway, so on to my giveaway at last! By random number generator, the lucky gal is...



Congrats, girl! Be sure to email me with your address so I can get this lovely prize en route to you as soon as we get back to reality. You're gonna love your fab Bowler! And thanks to all who entered! It was a blast reading all your Michael Jackson memories.

Alright, y'all... off to eat some breakfast and head to the beach! :-)

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Off to the beach!

Hope you all had a fabulous 4th! Ours was JAM-packed, but fun. I cannot even explain how exhausted I was last night. And I'm SO gonna be feeling that 10K today while we're on the road. So we're about to head out, but we will have a 'puter on us. I'll be back soon (I promise!) to announce the winner of my VB giveaway! But for now, I'm off!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Vera Bradley Giveaway - LAST chance!


One last reminder that my fabu Vera Bradley Giveaway ends today! Get those entries in by 5 o'clock (EDT) by clicking over here... hop to it! My goal is to get on here later tonight with the winner since tomorrow's going to be so crazy with our July 4th plans. Back soon!

Online Sample Sales - Ready, Set, GO!

We've all swapped stories on fabulous finds on fun sites like Rue La La and Gilt, but this ever popular mode of online shopping seems to keep growing and growing in popularity. They all offer up great designer boutiques open for a limited time (usually 1-3 days), and each has some sort of referral program to encourage you to share the love. So I figured it was time for an update on my favorite sample sale sites!

Now y'all know I've put the kibosh on spending for myself while we're on our debt-free mission, but I still peruse these sites on a daily basis and often snag great gifts for others. Plus I do my best to keep an eye on the weekly kiddie sales so I can alert readers over at Make Room for Style.

So here's a list of my current faves when it comes to online sample sale sites. Most are "by invitation only," but several are open to newcomers with no invitation. So, bargainistas, take note!

  • Rue La La - most of y'all know and love this one. This fab site, a birth child of another favorite of mine, Smart Bargains (Loehmann's), just celebrated its one year anniversary! Two or three new boutiques open every weekday. The sales are great, the site and packaging is like eye-candy, and the customer service is top notch. We loves the Rue! Consider yourself invited.

  • Gilt Groupe - If you're looking for a lot of killer boutiques in any given day, Gilt is your place. They also have a lot of men and children's sales popping up every week. Tory Burch Kids is happening today over there at noon EDT. Gilt also has great customer service and fun packaging - it's the little things like this that do it for me. This one really does have extraordinary sales, so make it a favorite! Come on over as my personal guest.

  • Gomatta Girls - I absolutely love this site... it's kind of like woot.com for fashion. New duds are featured each day - for one day only. So grab it while it's hot! The prices are usually rock-bottom, so this is a must hit site with your morning coffee. It's become a daily ritual of mine to see what the witty Gomatta Girls have up for grabs each day. No invitation is required for this one, but feel free to add me as a referral if you're so inclined (aaz106 at yahoo.com)!

  • One Kings Lane - This site is all about home décor and accessories. You'll find a lot of high-end goods for the home here from luxurious linens, to barware, to doggie beds... in every style imaginable. An invitation is required for access and I'll have to email you one... so please leave a comment here with your email if you'd like in!

  • ideeli - This is one that has grown a lot since I first started logging on. They feature mostly accessories, but do have several boutiques with clothing. And though I've yet to win one, they're always hosting fabulous giveaways! Do take note that items purchased at ideeli are NOT returnable, so click with caution, girls. This concerned me once when this gorgeous tea set that I ordered for my mom arrived with a chipped spout. I contacted ideeli to see if it was at all possible to exchange it, since it was broken. They were out of stock, but not only did they refund my money, they let me keep the order! So I just got some super glue and voila - a fabulously free tea set! So while sales are final, they do their best to keep customers happy and coming back! Click here to join the fun.

  • The Mini Social - This is one of the newest online sample sale sites and it's especially for mom and baby. They have new boutiques opening almost daily - great designer duds for tots, as well as the occasional accessories for mom and the nursery. A must hit for you mommas! No invitation is currently required on this one, but feel free to add me as your referral (aaz106 at yahoo.com)!

  • HauteLook - This is another one that offers up a wide array of boutiques, including several children's sales each week. So mommas, take note of this one too. You'll often see boutiques for skincare and makeup items here as well. Lots of jewelry and other accessories pop on here, too - lots to see! This is another one I really keep my eye on. Hop on over here as my guest!

So those are my personal faves. New ones seem to keep popping up, so if you've stumbled on a great find recently, do tell! Here are a few others worth a look...

Happy online shopping, girls! There's just nothing quite so nice as designer duds on a dime...

Thursday, July 2, 2009

In my belly this afternoon...

In case you were dying to see how my fab crockpot BBQ I threw together this morning turned out, take a peek...


It may have to do with the fact that I missed my afternoon snack and was starving when I got home, but this is like the best BBQ sandwich EVER!




Hop back over here for the recipe.

Also, while you're salivating, jump on over to Shop It To Me where I guest-posted on closet reorganization! It's truly one of my favorite topics - I'm obsessed with having an organized closet.

And if you're not on the Shop It To Me train already, well get on it, girls! The team at Shop It To Me has tipped me off on many a killer bargain. You create an account, go through a list of designers and retailers and choose the ones that interest you. Give the specific sizes you're looking for in whatever categories you're after... and then you start receiving your *Sale Mail* - however frequently you choose - which alerts you to items of interest in your size that are on sale. They do all the legwork for you! It's truly awesome. LOVE it. You will too... sign up here!

Well, I'm officially on vaca, girls! Looking forward to a day at home tomorrow getting packed for the beach and all the preparation that goes along with that.

In the crockpot this morning...

It's my last day of work before vaca!!! Who's excited?! ME! I got all my major errands run last night. Snagged our Harry Potter tickets for Thursday, the 16th. I'm totally pissed about the IMAX shows being delayed a couple of weeks because of Transformers. I love Transformers and all, but give me a break. It's Harry-freakin'-Potter! So anyway, we're going to go see it when it comes out on the "normal" screen and then go back later in the month when it hits the IMAX screen. There are special scenes in the IMAX version that won't be in the normal one, so we can't miss it!

I also hit Costco last night and got the cutest baby shower gift for christmas bride. She's having a girl and I got her this sweet pique Hartstrings dress with delicious embroidery and ric-rac ribbon trim. Plus a sweet little top and bottom from Baby Lulu... total for both? $27. I just love Costco. My babies no doubt will have a closet full of Costco finds one day.

Alright... so while we're running around getting ready for the holiday and leaving town, I decided to whip out the crockpot today. I use it a ton in the winter - especially tax season when I'm pressed for time and have no energy to cook. It doesn't get out so much in the summer, though. But I had a big ole pork roast I needed to use before we left town. So here's one of our favorite easy-peasy crockpot recipes that you're sure to love...

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Roast

You'll need:

-1 cup ketchup
-1 cup BBQ sauce (I just use whatever's on sale)
-1 cup water
-2 tbsp vinegar
-2 tbsp Worcestershire (aka "wooster" in my fam)
-2 tbsp brown sugar
-1 tsp chili powder
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-3 lbs boneless pork roast (I get whatever variety's on sale)

Combine all ingredients (except roast) in a bowl, mix well. Place the roast in the crockpot and poor mixture over the meat. Cover and cook on LOW all day.

When you get home your house will be smellin' like good ole Southern BBQ! The meat just falls aparts and shreds once you put a fork to it. Grab some buns and load up.

Alright girls, off to work! I've got a meeting this morning, and then I'm heading to RBA around lunch for my clomid check. Dammit... that just reminded me... I meant to take a pregnancy test this a.m. (just in case) and forgot and already went to the bathroom. Doh. Whatev. OK peace out!

And yeah I'm gonna remind you again... don't forget to sign up for my fab Vera Bradley giveaway! You've got ONE more day!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Happy July!

So the year's officially half over - wow! I hope y'all have some exciting July 4th plans. We'll be running trying to survive the Peachtree on Saturday morning and then hitting a couple of parties later that day. We're doing suburban style fireworks that night at a neighborhood party, but if you're in Atlanta, the best fireworks are always at Lenox - hands down. So head down there (early) if you're up for that. Sunday morning (way early) we're heading down to the beach for a much needed vaca! Cannot wait! We're heading to St. George Island in Florida and we'll be in a house right on the beach. Heaven!

So if you didn't catch my tweet yesterday, my firm announced that we are getting Fridays off in July TOO! I'm soooooooo totally stoked. That made my summer. So awesome! I mean those two months of Fridays off is like 2 weeks of vacation! So yeah, super excited about that.

What else... oh I posted over here about these fab new bib and burpee jar sets Javis Davis introduced this past week. They are to die for and super affordable! Perfect shower gifts - only $20 for the set and YOU get to choose the fabrics! I've already sold a bunch, so contact me if you're interested in snagging a few! Free shipping on orders over $99 and no sales tax outside of Alabama, girls!


And lastly, don't forget to enter my Vera Bradley giveaway! Deadline is Friday, so hop to it, girls!