A hodge-podge, April 2012 edition

First things first...

I am now 32 years young.

If hubs were here, he'd be quick to tell you that for the next 2 months, I'm five years older than he is.

Not four.

Funny hubs.

I spent the majority of Saturday afternoon strolling the aisles of Sam's with my girls- looking at books and movies, printing pictures, and of course sampling free food.

I promise that MM was happier than she looks. She's just upset because she ate her sample of french fries and wanted more. I'm holding a sample of stuffed salmon that was deeee-lish and we'd already consumed some crackers with garlic & herb cream cheese, cookies and cream chex mix, ham, fruit, and pizza.

Thank you Sams, from the bottom of my heart, for the free and well-balanced meal last Saturday. You totally rock.

And since it was my birthday, I treated myself to a couple new books. They weren't free, but Ree's latest cookbook retails for $30 and Sams sells it for $18. The Hunger Games People issue was also 30% off, so again, I say to you,

 Sams-

thank you for the bangin' good deals on these books.

I really appreciate it.

 These also jumped into my cart.

Because they wanted to come home with me and live in my dining room along with the other white ceramic pretties there. These babies were a mere $30 for all 3, and THAT, my friends, you cannot beat with a stick. Do you hear me?

Not even a really big one.

***

I spent several hours of my weekend photographing products that I made for my shop's open house but never got around to listing online. I took photos of 68 products and stayed up til 12:30 am this morning after having only listed 10. Good GRAVY it takes a while, but, if you'd like to see what's new in the shop, click HERE. Mainly pillow covers & a few headbands with lots more to come as soon as I find a few extra hours...

***

In the past 2 weeks, we've sold a bed, night stand, bookcase, and changing table. Needless to say, we're making some ch-ch-ch-changes and I'm hoping to be able to share them soon. Still looking for one elusive piece of furniture to bring it all together...

***

For those of you interested, these are the new Matilda Jane pieces that are available as of yesterday-

For information on how to order, see THIS post, or simply contact me. I'll be glad to help ya.
*There are also 2 new adult pieces that will be available by mid-April but are currently stuck in customs I believe. It's a super cute tank & skirt, just FYI.*

***

I think that's all the news that is the news,

and-

if you follow me on twitter or instagram, thanks for all the congrats,

but,

I'm totally not prego.

It was a Taco Casa baby and it was also April 1st.

I blame hubs and his shenanigans for rubbing off on me.

Happy April 2nd to ya!

big things a' happenin'

First of all, I'd like to wish each of you a happy Hunger Games.

The day is finally here, y'all.

I'll be at the midnight show and I'm praying I don't fall asleep.

Not that I won't be loving every second of it,

but because I'm not as young as I used to be.

psst- to watch the official movie trailer, go HERE.

Also making headlines, the demolition of our church began this week. Oliver had a follow-up visit on Monday with the surgeon who put in his stitches (all is well, by the way) and on our way home, we pulled into the church parking lot to see this:

which, odd as it may seem in light of a beloved building being torn down, was thrilling. It's the beginning of a new day for our church. Rebuilding is just around the corner, and that, my friends, is good good news.

And then, today, on our way home from school, we passed this:

Still thrilling,

still exciting,

but somehow seeing the sanctuary gone, it got to me.

And I was sad, just for a moment.

And then I was glad again.

Beauty from ashes, right?

Beauty from ashes.

As the one-year anniversary approaches, it is wonderful to have at least started the process of rebuilding, and what comes down will eventually be built again better and brighter and more suited to our church family's needs.

God is good, all the time.

(For pics of our church before and immediately after the storm, go HERE)

***

The kiddos and I ended our Spring Break with lots of outside playtime, some green-St.-Patty's-day-themed-cake-baking immediately followed by some green-St.-Patty's-day-cake-eating, an awesome photo shoot that I'll be sharing with you soon, as well as making some major changes to the girls' room.  More on that note soon as well.

 Until then,

may the odds be EVER in your favor.

(sorry, I had to do it...) 



Is it March yet?

can

not

wait

I finished the third book (Mockingjay) today, which means I read all 3 in a span of 3 and half days.
Yes, they're that good.
Can't believe I thought it was a diet book.

I keep watching the trailer to see how the actors compare to what I envisioned the characters to look like as I read. Katniss and Gale are a perfect fit. Even Effie I like. Not sure about Peeta yet...

Are any of you looking forward to the movie as much as I am?

I got sucked in

I haven't blogged in days.

I also haven't slept much lately and it's not the babes faults.

I admit that when I first heard of this, I thought it was a new diet fad and immediately dismissed it,

but now I'm hooked and soon to be on book 3 of

(Yes, I know I'm late to the party)

Have you read them?

Did you think it was some sort of new age diet at first, like me?

Does everything turn out okay, because I'm right smack dab in the middle of book two and things ain't goin so hot.

We've had one amazing Christmas break and I have much to share, but for the next 24 hours I will be trying to finish out this series because I must know the fate of Katniss and Peeta before I start back to work on Thursday.

Was that dramatic enough?

(I do enjoy the occasional drama.)

I promise to be back soon with news of 2012 and real life and whatnot, but until then, I'll be sucked into this future world of starvation and victors and hunting and romance- only stopping briefly to fetch a sippy or change a poop.

p.s.- I'm the new owner of a nook tablet which I'm still learning to use-

do any of you have one? Do you love it? I've just learned that you can loan and borrow books from other nook users which I find to be totally cool. Are there any other books out there that any of you are reading now that you can't put down? Please share- I'd LOVE to hear!