All I Long For...

... is time to catch up. On:
Life.
Blogging.
Laundry.
Housework.
Refinancing paper work.
Ansley's baby book.
House.
Grey's Anatomy.
The Office.
Office work.
Updating photos around the house.

And maybe time to get ahead. On:
Housework.
Blogging.
Bills.
Grocery shopping.
Potty training.
Project Binkie Gone

And, maybe just a little time for myself. For:
A warm bath.
A good book.
Shoe shopping.
Nails.
Hair.

But I'm not sure I'm willing to sacrifice:
Walks in the evenings with Ansley
Blowing bubbles.
Playing fetch with Rascal.
Quick chicken nugget dinners.
Sidewalk Chalk.
Wednesday Sister Dates for American Idol.
Hitting snooze 3 times each morning.

People...

...I'm proud of

My father and mother, Dad, for being the strength of our family, Mom, for teaching me the in-and-outs of mommyhood, and both of them for sticking with the other for almost 28 years now.
My sister, Crystal, for bucking the system and moving to a new place-across the country- with her hubs.
My other sis, Brandy, for working so hard and putting up with her husband :o)
My brother, for managing a job and school, and for always being willing to help out at home.
My husband, for working his butt off so me and the kiddo can have it pretty easy
My grandfather, for putting his life on the line and fighting for his country during WWII, and my grandmother, for supporting him from home
All those who serve our country in uniform: Soldiers, Police Officers, Fire Fighters, and those that support them at home
Volunteers at our office (even if they do occasionally sing Evanesence at the top of their lungs while sorting baby clothes)
People who break the cycle, and become more than what they came from
Missionaries
Parents of multiples
My bestie, for being willing to work multiple jobs to score an awesome camera (rather than putting it on plastic like I did with mine)
Another bestie, for patiently learning the ropes of having a nicu babe
Moms who finally make it our of the tunnel that is PPD
My in-laws, for raising such a wonderful son
Teenagers who encourage a handicapped kid to participate during class


... I'm not proud of
Lil' Wayne, because he is destroying our youth. Sorry to be a hater.
Cheaters (any kind- academic, political, personal)
Men who run away from the responsibilities of being a father
People who promise funding for 5 years and then withdraw it 3 years early
People who abuse animals
Teachers who are happy with tenure and don't care to teach
The creators and writers of "Family Guy"
People who don't own up to mistakes
Women who fall for any bum on the street because of "love," sacrificing all that is good for them
Teenagers who bully those who are different

Some things...

I hate:
People being mean
not seeing my husband
when my dogs destroy stuff
people who bully
abortion
when Ansley is sick
cold toes
faded clothes
only having 3 channels, 2 of them garbage
my sister living in New Mexico
being frustrated with people
colds
the current decor in one of the bathrooms at work
being late for work (maybe I hate the fact that no matter how hard I try, I can never seem to be on time)
cute shoes that are just a smidge too small
pepperoni
shrimp (really, all seafood, except fish. I like fish)
earrings that make my ears itch



I love:
warm breezes
puppies
fuzzy socks
my husband (these are in no particular order)
making a difference
my new phone
new clothes
hearing my daughter laugh
success stories of those who had fertility problems
willow people
chocolate milk
decorating for Christmas
watching Ansley play with the dogs
Panera Bread
reading a good book
Jesus
diamonds
taking pictures

Love.

I love my husband. I love that he frequently brings me fresh flowers.

I love my dogs. I love that they know when I'm upset, and need a furry cuddle.

I love that even though Jillian Michaels is kicking my butt, I feel good. Because I'm doing something about my fat jeans not fitting.

I love that Ansley is generally a happy baby, and loves to wave at people.

I love her birthday decor.

I love my house, though am not at all opposed to getting rid of the old carpet.

I love that as I read more of the Bible, I feel closer to the Lord.

I love that even though our babysitting situation didn't work out, we've been able to find the best possible replacement.

I love polka-dots.

I love that a dear friend who just had a baby is able to strengthen my faith.

I love that the hubs got a much needed raise.

I love crunchy leaves.

I love reading books in a bubble bath.

I love watching Ansley nervously take a few steps, only to drop to her knees and crawl at lightening speed.

I love the feeling of satisfaction and comfort that comes with writing.

I love my life.

Vogue

Today, I'll let my love do the talking.

After a brief description.

On Black Friday, I stumbled upon a Nikon digital SLR package. It included two lenses, the bag, a software package and a bunch of other stuff. It was a great deal, even though I'm pretty sure it cost more than my engagement and wedding rings combined. But, I'm hoping that it will eventually pay for itself.

So, enjoy these pictures, and hopefully you'll understand why I love my camera.

Now, I understand I'm not an amazing photographer, but I have two things going for me:

1. I used to work for a newspaper, therefore I can call myself a "published photographer," and

2. A friend used one of my photos as her Facebook profile pictures. That has to mean you're good, right?

Make that 3. My camera has amazing color on it, and though I haven't figured out all the gadgets on it yet, I can tell it to figure it out for me, and it makes wonderful adjustments.

I do love photography, though I don't have as much time for it as I would like. I hope to eventually get into some studio and wedding work, but that's pretty far down the line.

What about you? What is something you LOVE doing and hope to, or already are, making some bank on it?

The Best medicine

Next on my love list is baby giggles.

What's that saying? It's something like the giggles of babies is like the poop of 1,000 butterflies?

That's probably not it, but, what I mean is, baby giggles are precious.

Like I've said before, it should come as an understanding that I love my husband and baby more than I can express on a silly little blog. So, I'm focusing on the small things.

Baby giggles. It doesn't matter how many tears are in a room at any given time, baby giggles seem to serve as a universal Kleenex. But, seriously, don't actually use a universal Kleenex. That could get really gross.

Ansley is much more animated now. And things make her belly laugh. And some things make her giggle. As fun as the big belly laughs are, it's those giggles that send my heart racing.

The other day, Ansley was sitting in her stroller waiting for Daddy to get ready to go on a walk. She was starting to get restless, so I decided to keep her amused. What possessed me to do this, I will never know, and I can't guarantee I'll ever do it again, cause it made me throw up just a little.

Instead of garden variety Peek-A-Boo, I opted for one that involved mommy spinning around very quickly and suddenly stopping in front of the baby. Though Ansley filled the room with giggles and claps, I almost filled the room with my lunch. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it.

Last night, after finishing off her before bed bottle, she was playing on my bed while I sorted the laundry (before you call and report me to children's services, know that I was sorting the laundry at the foot of my bed). She was on all fours, and I tossed myself on the bed beside her. She would pick her head up, look at me, giggle and hide her face. She repeated this process for about 5 minutes. Despite me being crazy tired and it being over an hour past A's bedtime, I let her play. Because she was happy. And because of the giggles.

I think one of the best things about the giggles is that they are reserved for a select few. Occasionally, strangers get a smile, and sometimes the fam will get a fake laugh. But the all out giggles? Those aren't easily accomplished.

So today, I leave you with a picture. I need to try to get some video of the giggles, but I'm afraid my readers may get motion sickness because of all that has to be done to get them out. This is a picture of Ansley's new grin. She squints her eyes, waves her arms, and smiles really big. Normally, this face shows up with the appearance of a bottle, or the sight of a rescuer coming to get her out of bed in the morning.

Is this what I signed up for?

When I was telling the hubs about the new blog series I started, he was offended that I first wrote of Ben & Jerry's instead of him.

I tried explaining that it is simply understood that I love him and our daughter, and these writings were to focus more on the things that make me who I am, to which he quickly replied "Aren't you who you are because of me?"

So to ease his conscience, I will share some things that I love about the hubby (please note that some of these things have taken time to grow to love).

1. I love his weird quirks, and occassional OCD. What, all the coffee cup handles aren't turned the same way? For me, no big deal. For him, it means taking the cups out of the cabinet and rearranging them. It has also grown to mean that I simply don't put dishes away, since I know he's just going to move them.

2. His passion for a beautiful yard.

3. His willingness to make chocolate chip pancakes for me every Saturday, even though he's not a fan.

4. His complete comfort in who he is, yet his willingness to make adjustments when I may not be. He will head to the grocery store in a shirt with holes, athletic shorts and tennis shoes with his church socks or knee high soccer socks, just pushed down. I get totally embarrased and he doesn't mind putting on nicer clothes for me, even if we're just going grocery shopping.

5. I have to get on to him for not letting the babe play with her toys because he's afraid she'll destroy what he has built.

6. He enables my Ben and Jerry's addiction.

7. Though I thought I never would, I love how he likes to have his back scratched before he goes to bed, and how much he appreciates it when I put toothpaste on his toothbrush for him.

8. He's a freakin' awesome athlete.

That's him, catching the ball!

9. I hate to admit it, but I do love that he doesn't let me spend money the way I want. If so, we would eat only ice cream and we would get new clothes from Old Navy each season.

10. I love that he's willing to work to provide for his family.

There it is. 10 reasons I love my husband, including his quirks (which, I honestly only really started to appreciate).

An Unhealthy Obsession

First on my list of things I "love" (mind you, these are in no particular order), has to be Ben and Jerry's Half Baked ice cream.

If you have been a reader for &some time, you know that I frequently reference that ooey gooey goodness.

Here'e the issue. On sale, it comes in at around $2.50 a pint. I get about 4 servings out of a pint, so, really it's about $5 a week. $20 a month. That means I spend 20 flippin' dollars on ICE CREAM. However, it must be stated that I don't buy it every week. Maybe more like every other week, or even once a month.

Granted, B&J is to die for, and if I was stranded on a desert isle with only one food for the rest of my life, I would have to figure out how to make a freezer cause I'd have to keep that nectar frozen. But, it may be nearing an addiction stage. Or, at least obsession.

So, you may ask, "Is it really worth the money?" HECK YEAH. I know all the different things I could buy with that $20 a month. Like buy Ansley clothes. Or buy me clothes. Or have lunch with the girls. Or put gas in the car. Or feed my kid. All those things are important, but doesn't a momma with a full-time office job and a full-time momma job deserve a little treat?

I have, however found a downside to my love of the cold comfort. It seems that my consumption has a direct correlation with my washer and drier shrinking my clothes. I haven't quite figured it out yet, and I should probably call the service guy to come out and take a look. If I can't figure out what going on and why all my clothes are shrinking, I may have to cut out the Half Baked and use that money to buy more clothes.

While I'm at it, maybe I'll just buy new appliances too, so my new clothes don't shrink. Then I can go back to my friends, Ben and Jerry.

Stalkerlicious

So, yesterday, I pretty much camped out over on one of my fav reads, The Heir to Blair.

It was her birthday, and in proper style, she decided to give away a ton of goodies. Like Oprah's "Favorite Things" episodes, Blair enlightened her readers on things she loves, from cooking, to Etsy, to pearls and the smell of home. Each of her "loves" offered the chance to win an associated freebie.

So, with each update she posted, I quickly commented in hopes of bringing home some totally awesome thing that Blair loves. Ok, I'll be honest. I feel somewhat of a connection to Blair, as I'm sure most of her readers do. But, seriously, check this out:

We're both southern girls who love sweet tea, our husbands and Jesus.

We're both miscarriage survivors.

We both say "ya'll" a whole lot.

We both have babies that LOVE to puke on us, or, even in some cases, in our mouths.

Anyway, her posts encouraged me to think about things in my life that I "love." Of course, there's the hubs and the babe, but what are those things that I so enjoy that really tell a lot about me.

So, I've decided to start a blog series about those "loves." Unfortunately, because I don't have super awesome sponsors that give things to me to give to my long list of readers (all 15 of you), I'll just have to tell you what I love, and you'll have to trust me on it, m'kay?

Sit tight, keep all hands and feet in the vehicle at all times, and keep a pair of dry undies handy, cause it may get funny.