The Good Life

Matt and I bought tile for our bathroom floors back around New Year's (when it was on sale). We got our first bathroom floor done back in January (I think) and we have been putting off doing anything to the second bathroom because it needed the most TLC. Anyway, we got the tile down this past weekend. Tonight, Matt was trying to put the bathroom back together and noticed that he needed new bolts for the toilet. Family trip to Lowes (we LOVE Lowes). When we walked toward the entrance, I saw a guy standing - with his back to me - at the check out counter. He looked so familiar and I finally realized that it was Joe (a guy that works for my Dad). I was so busy trying to place Joe that I hardly noticed that my Uncle Pat was the guy standing there beside him. Pat was busy paying/talking to the lady at the check out counter so he didn't see us until we were right up on them. Of course he said hello and wanted Colton to ride in the buggy out to his truck. My exact words were "y

I'm, by no stretch of the imagination, a professional writer but I find it interesting how there are certain days when words just flow out of me easier than other days. It's like there's something on my heart that I'm supposed to share. Just because the words flow out, doesn't mean that they flow out in any certain order or with any clear format (kind of like when I'm talking). I don't know if I'm sharing it for anybody else or just for myself - either way, I'm thankful that I have allowed myself this outlet. What's on my heart today? My son. The independent little guy - just thinking about him makes me smile. I had no idea I could love a human being so much. It's hard to explain because I love and adore my husband and I love him in a companion/lover/best friend kind of way. The love between myself and my son is just, well, unexplainable. I keep saying my independent little guy, because that's exactly what he is. If you've been ar

Addiction is a scary word to me. Most of the time our minds go to drugs or alcohol when we hear the word, but there are far more addictions out there. By definition, addiction is "the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity". There are so many more addictions, like  pornography , exercise , weight , sex , body art (tattoos), collecting items , shopping  and the list goes on and on...! The sad part to me? People make jokes about these addictions like it's not a serious problem in our society. I've always had a fear of becoming addicted to something. I know my personality, and I know that I have the personality to become addicted easily. I think this is the main reason I never wanted to try recreational drugs. I had my round with alcohol and realized, very quickly, how people can and do become addicted to it. So, needless to say, addiction scares me! Addiction hits close to home for me because, now that Matt and I are abl

Calling All Teachers Are you a teacher, working long hours? Are you finding yourself tutoring/coaching/mentoring on the side to make extra money? Are Tweet   Pin   +1   in   Calling All Teachers Are you a teacher, working long hours? Are you finding yourself tutoring/coaching/mentoring on the side to make extra money? Are you spending less time at home with your family than you want? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I'm talking to you!! I'm looking for trustworthy, naturally charismatic, goal oriented and organized individuals who are wanting to add to their residual income and join my Rodan+Fields team! The sad truth is that teachers work longer hours than anybody realizes and for practically, peanuts! On top of the uncapped earning potential, R+F offers lots of extra luxury items and trips that won't happen with a "normal career". Since the school year is winding do

It's ironic to me that one of Colton's favorite songs is "Itsy Bitsy Spider" because I have a horrible fear of spiders. It's not one of those fake fears that I just kid around about for attention - it's a real, honest, true fear. I literally freeze when I see them. I have tried so hard to overcome it, but it's horrible. I don't really even know where the fear stems from, but it's there. If any of you have a genuine fear to something like this, then you know what I'm talking about. If you don't have a fear like this...I'm jealous! So today, I was standing in the kitchen fixing supper and Colton had just finished eating. I always get C out of his high chair and he hangs out in the kitchen with me for a while. He sat down on the rug in front of the sink as I was moving his high chair. When I turn back around, I see it. A big, black, yucky spider and it's crawling toward my son. I froze. What am I going to do? The fear is kicking in w

One of the things that "hurt" the most about deciding to quit working a job outside the home was the loss of income. Matt and I pretty much split our household income in half when I started staying home. OUCH! So, we have rearranged some things and we budget and we make it. Some weeks are harder than others, but somehow, we always make it. I thank God for that. When I was contemplating the jump into Rodan+Fields , I'm not going to lie, I was unsure. I had been doing direct sales via PartyLite and I was failing miserably. I was thinking about why I was failing in my direct sales venture and I made a list of all the things I was doing right and another list of all the things I was doing wrong. The "doing wrong" list was much bigger than the "doing right" list. So, when I started looking at the things I was doing wrong, I asked myself why? The answer was simple - I wasn't passionate about the products. I was not comfortable asking people to host a p

A look at the old kitchen wallpaper This week has been crazy. I'm not sure what is going on with Colton. I guess he is just getting over that little stomach bug and he has just been grouching me like whoa this week! My only saving grace is that it has been beautiful and I've just been able to let him run like a crazy man outside ! The downside, I had a lot to do this week inside ! Being Mommy is my #1 priority so I do what I gotta do!  New Back Splash A big thanks to my Mom and Dad for keeping the little guy so that I cold finish my back splash project tonight! I can't wait until we can actually fully remodel our kitchen - but I am thankful that I'm able to do little updates here and there to make it more my style. I was in such a crazy mood the morning I decided to start ripping wall paper that I didn't even take a "before" picture (so not like me). The "after" is much better anyway and will hold me over until the next mood hits to r

Forklift Operator I don't know if there's anything more awesome than watching my child experience things that I got to experience in my childhood. For those of you who know my family and my background, you know that I was raised in the mountains of Western North Carolina (and when I mean in the mountains - I mean literally, IN the mountains)! We lived on a dirt road near my Grandparents and my Uncle Pat and Aunt Teri. My family ran a sawmill and raised a small patch of tobacco, so my sister and I made lots of toys out of sawdust (makes great toppings for dirt pizza), mud (cupcakes), sticks, slabs, horse buggies and everything else we could get our hands on. We spent lots of time outside. Not only were we just outside playing, but we were learning to work and to be involved and interacting with our family. It was our life.  We don't live in the mountains of North Carolina anymore, but we live right over the hill, in Tennessee. My family still runs a sawmill and I

I'm going to brag on my husband for a minute... Yesterday was a long day. It started at 3:30AM when Colton woke up! He has been battling a stomach funk that won't make him totally "sick" but won't go away either. After getting him back to sleep and (what felt like) just closing my eyes, my alarm went off at 6:15AM. It was time to get ready for the Wounded Warrior Project Cross Country 5K. Since the race was sponsored by Laughlin Hospital, the LMH Cloggers were proud to participate! After the race, Mom and I drove to Johnson City. We were going to SAMS club and had planned on being back home by noon(ish), but we got side tracked by a HUGE plant nursery (that I plan on going back to) and lunch at McAlister's Deli ! :-) - Back Story - I woke up one morning (a little over a week ago) and decided that I was tired of my wallpaper in my kitchen. The wallpaper was peeling, outdated, stained and just blah! I went to Lowe's to get all the material I needed fo