Recovering From A Turkey Induced Coma

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine turned out a lot different than other T-day celebrations...
For one, Kat left at noon to spend the day with her BF, Matt, and his family in Hueytown.

For two, we were an hour late getting started because MY Matt had to pick up his GF, Amber, in Hueytown and stop by here on their way to her Nanny's house.

For three, hubby made a HUGE production of sharpening the knives before carving the turkey. Mind you, the turkey was so moist it was literally falling off the bone and didn't NEED carving...but we let him have his fun.

Reason #4, Kat and I would normally go to the movies after dinner and we'd cleaned the kitchen.

And the final reason...it was the first holiday that hubby and I were alone in the house after dinner was over. Honestly, it felt strange not having any of the kids here. Though I must confess it was rather peaceful, but I'm not sure I'd want a repeat.

WHAT WAS OUR THANKSGIVING MEAL??
TURKEY (my recipe)
Green Bean Casserole (my recipe-cause Amber loves it…)
Mashed Potato Timbales
Deviled Eggs (my recipe)
Cheesy Corn Casserole
Stove Top Stuffing (cause hubby won't eat anything else)
Cranberry Salad (My mom's recipe)

DESSERTS:
Cranberry Sweet Potato Bread
Tomato Soup Spice Cake
Makeover Crunchy Pumpkin Bars
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
(If you'd like any of the recipes, feel free to ask...)

The day after I spent the afternoon camped in front of the TV watching the IRON BOWL. (Alabama/Auburn football game) Though it didn't end like I'd wanted, it was still an amazing game!!

Saturday morning I packed an overnight bag and left for Wilson, North Carolina with our friend Shea to drop his kids off with their mom. Was a very long, 10 hour trip there, an interesting conversation over a few games of pool, a restless night tossing and turning on a strange bed, and another very long, 10 hour trip home. I tried like crazy to make it home in time for evening church service, but it just didn't happen. (Of course, I took a few pics of the kids, their mom & some amazing scenery...)

The trip must have taken more out of me than I'd realized because most of Monday I was stuck in bed dealing with sore muscles, a sore throat & the icky blahs.

Tuesday found me shopping for a few groceries and then spending an afternoon in the kitchen cooking and cleaning. On a bright note, hubby finally figured out what was wrong with my "sick" 'Stang that had been sitting alone in the driveway for the past 2 weeks... the timing belt, of course!!

And that brings me to today...cleaning the den and trying to rearrange furniture so I could put up our Christmas tree. Sadly, no matter how I placed things, the tree had NO PLACE to go. So it looks like our two large bird cages may have to be moved to another room for the month, but WHICH room is the question. (Will try working on that tomorrow.) In between brainstorming over furniture pieces, I colored my hair to a lovely shade of light auburn. It'll take me a little while to get used to it, since I've been a sandy brown/dirty blonde since last Spring.

My Latest Scrap Pages

These are my scrap pages since March...

GOOFY KAT
Scrap Kit: Alchimie by Galiscrap

Font: Tall Paul
Program: PSP-9
(March 28, 2010)

KAT'S NEW HAIR
Background: Alchimie by Galiscrap
Grunge Overlay by Miss Foxy
Font: Fiolex Girls
EyeCandy 3.0 - Glass
EyeCandy 4000 - Chrome
Program: PSP-9
(June 15, 2010)

LETTING GO
Photos taken of me 5/13/10
Timeworn SampleTexture by Paint The Moon
Grass from Easter Freebie by Lily Designs
Faerie from Little Bird Freebie by Lily Designs
Word Art from Vintage White Freebie by Lily Designs
Sand, Butterfly & Trees from Autumn Freebie by Lily Designs
Program: PSP-9
(September 2, 2010)

A New "DO"

Several months ago I was trying to decide if I wanted to cut my bangs. I got tired of my hair being all one length and the only thing I ever seem to do with it was just pull it all back into a ponytail. After going back and forth with "DO I" or "DON'T I"...I finally decided to cut them.

OK...I didn't cut them...my hairstylist, Peggy, cut them. *giggles* I called her yesterday and she squeezed me in at lunchtime today. She gave me exactly what I wanted...long bangs and the sides shorter so that it framed my face when I pulled into a ponytail or bun. She wanted to give me the works (wash, cut, style) but with the top still off the truck, we figured it would be a waste of her time (and my money) since it wouldn't last a block...lol!!

MY HAIR BEFORE HAIRCUT!!

MY HAIR AFTER HAIRCUT (AND RIDE HOME)

MY HAIR PULLED UP FOR THE WINDY RIDE HOME!!
MY HAIR AFTER COLOR...ALONG WITH MY NEW GLASSES!!

A Sleepless Night...

No matter what I did last night, I just couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep...so I opened up PSP again and created 2 more layouts.

FULL CREDITS:
KITS: Cherry Crushed Denim, Cherry Crushed Denim Add-On
DESIGNER: Veronica Spriggs
FOUND HERE
TEMPLATE: Christy Haig
PROGRAM: PSP-9
TITLE FONT: OldgateLaneOutline
JOURNAL FONT: Tall Paul

JOURNALING READS:
It amazes me how much you can change in a period of
two hours...you went from a little girl to young woman!
The morning of your 16th b'day, you had your hair cut
into an inverted bob, and colored red with black streaks.
It's a style that suits your personality!

FULL CREDITS:
KIT: Cherry Crushed Denim, Cherry Crushed Denim Add-On
DESIGNER: Veronica Spriggs
FOUND HERE
LAYOUT: Jay Elliott
PROGRAM: PSP-9
FONT: Tall Paul

A Gift For CCM...

Funny how God speaks to you when you least expect it...

I started working on this special gift for CCM yesterday evening after dinner. I'd been planning it for several days, even down to what I was going to write. The complete layout already mapped, and all I needed to do was find the perfect papers and elements to match what was inside my head.

I worked on it for hours before I went to bed Thursday night/Friday morning (1am), and even tweaked with it again today before taking Kat to Driver's Ed. It was nearly completed, but I had one final item to add...a butterfly. It couldn't be just any butterfly!! It had to be blue. I saved my work and then headed out for the day.

Finally, at 10pm tonight I found the perfect butterfly and opened the layout to finish it...it was THEN where God spoke. I was still feeling pretty bad about my hair when I started reading what I had wrote on the page last night..."It's not the hairstyle that makes you beautiful...it's the tender and loving heart that God has given you. I love you my dearest friend." I broke down in tears again...but this time because i allowed myself to think hateful things about my former pastor's wife. I allowed vanity to ruin my day's happiness...instead of just being thankful that I was able to get my hair cut...and FOR FREE. It was a hard lesson to swallow.

So CCM, this gift is for you for being such an amazing friend to me. For always having a word of encouragement, and for having a great big, loving heart. You're an enormous inspiration in my life!! I Love You!!

FULL CREDITS:
Background from Signs Of Eternity by Manuela Zimmermann
Frames from Vintage Photo Frames by Nancy Comelab
Frame Color and Background Overlay from Moments by Manuela Zimmermann
Pearl Blue element and Blue Butterflies from EphemeralsII by Jofia Devoe
Heart from Frame Hearts by Monika69
Swass Border Freebie by Shandy Vogt
Faerie by Outlaw By Design
Font Color from Endless Love Add On by Manuela Zimmermann
Fonts: Treasury and Jerry's handwriting
Program: PSP-9
Plug-Ins: EyeCandy4000 - Shadowlab

Unable To Be Like My Friend CCM

I tried...really I did!! But once the scissor-happy, weed whacker went nuts on my hair, I lost all of my "complaint-free, no whining" attitude.

Honestly, I had no intention of going to my hairstylist today...but when I had to drop off Kat at Driver's Ed for a 2 hour period, I figured it was plenty of time for a quick trim. I pull in and notice they are closed for lunch. Knowing I was limited on time, I went against my gut-feelings of just returning tomorrow and stopped by to see my former pastor's wife that cuts hair. Now, this is the same woman that has chopped my hair off twice before, and brought me to tears both times. You would think that I would have learned my lesson with TWO unhappy events...guess I needed a third time to let it sink in.

I explain to FPW the reason I had to cut my hair to begin with and described IN DETAIL how I wanted it to end up. I had done my homework and knew how much needed to be removed for the style I was after. I even told her how long I wanted the front and how short I wanted the back, and even let her know that she was NOT to come near me with a razon to shave my neck!! There was even a lady that worked in the same salon that had the EXACT hairstyle I wanted and I even pointed at her and said, "I wanted THAT WOMAN'S HAIR"!!
I wanted this.......


I got this...

NOTICE, how the front does NOT come down past the chin. It's hard to see from the second photo, but instead of it being a 45 degree like I mentioned...it's more of a 15 degree. And the worst thing...she SHAVED the back of my freaking neck!!  Not only THAT, but she didn't shave it completely off, so there are these little hairs sticking out everywhere. I've been itching ever since and now ready to go postal on someone!! Seriously, it looked better after I whacked it myself a month ago. *cries*

She gave me a dry cut...didn't even style it, so I came home, washed and styled it...still didn't help me like it any better. So now, I have 2 choices...I can either leave it like it is and hate it, or I can go to my REAL stylist and get her to cut it at the proper angle (only even more shorter than I wanted it to begin with) and hate it until it grows to the correct length. Either way, my neck will still drive me insane until the little wild hairs grows completely out.

Ending on a bright note...
Guess I should be thankful that FPW was just happy to see me and didn't charge to whack my hair leaving me still with a pocket full of money.