Prayer Request

I want to ask any of you who may happen upon this site to say a quick prayer. I'm sure many of you have seen this story in the news about the 2 NFL players and 2 of their friends who have been lost at sea off of Florida's coast.

Well, one of those still missing (Will Bleakley) went to the same high school as me. Although I don't really know Will, it's one of those situations where we have a lot of common friends, so it still hits close to home.

I just ask that you all say a quick prayer asking God to bring Will and the other two guys home safely and to be with their families during this unimaginable time. A miracle was already shown in the recovery of Nick Schuyler, now we just need a few more.

Update: The Coast Guard suspended the search for Will, Corey and Marquis on Tuesday night. Please keep all of their families and friends in your prayers.

Hello Spring! Or Not.

Now that the winter weather has passed and spring is on its way we decided to spruce up the outside of the house. My mother-in-law offered to take Charleigh for the weekend so this was our perfect opportunity to say "Hello Spring!"



We had it painted and re-roofed last year so the house itself looks pretty good. The yard on the other hand could use some help, so that's where we started.

At the advice of a friend (who knows what he's doing when it comes to this stuff, unlike me!) we trimmed the gardenias down quite a bit to even them out and let the sunlight get to them better. I'm not even going to lie to you...this step almost killed me! Not because I was doing any hard labor for it, but because hubby took that trimmer and just started hacking away at my poor plants. I thought for sure I was going to have to just rip them out and start from scratch. But once they were all done I had to admit they looked much better. Then with the help of our friend (the one who knows what he's doing) and his wife (who is also an awesome friend, and about as close to Martha Stewart, Betty Crocker and every other cool decorating, baking wonder as they come) we went to the local nursery and picked out our flowers.

I understand that I picked out annuals which means we'll be doing this all over again in the not too distant future, but I REALLY wanted bright colors and this was pretty much my only option for now. Plus I'm cheap...er thrifty...and the annuals were on sale! So we got lots of pretty purple and yellow hybrib pansies, purple pansies and yellow violas, some mulch and some landscape timbers and we were on our way.

Here's our end result!

Pretty good if I do say so myself! What you see in the middle of the yard is a bird bath without the bowl. We had to pressure wash the bowl and I was too impatient to wait for the pictures!

Thanks to the help of our friends we were able to get it all done just in time to catch the weather report on the news where they said we'll be having near freezing temperatures this week. Well, so much for "hello sping." Looks like we may get to do it all over again sooner than we thought!

And just because I think they're too stinkin cute...here's some new pics of the little people in my life! Cagen eating his thumb in his new bumbo and Charleigh eating cereal and watching a movie before school.

Message Heard...Loud & Clear

I've gone from this (sorry about the quality, it's a picture of a picture)...

to this...

in just a few short years.

And no, I'm not talking about the toned thighs, arms and tummy (that's a whole other post). I'm talking about going from the tanning bed queen to the dermatologist's office for a follow up to an atypical biopsy.

As you can see from the more recent picture ~ the one with me contorted in all sorts of odd angles trying to get a picture of my own back ~ I have a good number of moles, freckles and other "sunkisses" as my Grandma George used to call them (yes I said GrandMa George, the name is yet another post in itself). Because of that abundance I try to go to the dermatologist fairly regularly and have my skinned checked. I've had numerous spots removed over the years, but didn't think any of them had been troublesome.

A couple weeks ago I went in for a regular body check and the PA removed two spots ~ one on my right thigh and one on my back. I didn't think anything else about it, I just assumed they would be normal like the others.

Well, earlier this week I told hubby I was going to start tanning again. I just look and feel so much better when I do. So on Tuesday I started calling around to local salons to find one that was open late enough for me to go after work. I wasn't having much luck at all, but decided I would keep trying. I was determined to tan!

That afternoon when I got home from work there was a message on our machine from the dermatologist's office asking me to call back. I called back yesterday morning and the nurse said one of my biopsies came back atypical, I needed to come back in today and have the doctor remove more of the spot to be biopsied again.

Here's where this wonderful thing called the internet gets me in trouble...the nurse gave me just enough information to be dangerous! I started looking up 'atypical skin biopsy' and got the range on responses...could be nothing, could be cancer, could be a mistake....everything. I decided not to worry ~ or at least to try not to worry ~ and just wait to see the doctor.

So hubby and I went in today and the nurse says, "Your biopsy was atypical with characteristics that can lead to melanoma."

HELLO!! The only thing I hear is 'melanoma'!

Then she says, "but the doctor can explain it better."

So the doctor comes in and tells us that my results were moderately atypical and while that can lead to melanoma sometimes it by no means means (means means?) that it is cancer.

OK, from now on I suggest just letting the doctor do the explaining, he's a whole lot better at it than the nurse!

For caution's sake he went ahead and did a larger biopsy and took off another spot to look at while we were there.

So, although today's results weren't bad (not great, but not bad) I still heard the message loud & clear and I've officially given up my search for a tanning salon!

On a much brighter note...

I'M GETTING ANOTHER NEPHEW!!

The Anticipation is Killing Me!

It's killing me, I mean it! Well, maybe not literally, but's it's really driving me crazy! Well, maybe I'm already crazy, but you know what I mean!

My very favorite middle sister-in-law (you like that, huh? I have a favorite oldest s-i-l and a favorite youngest s-i-l as well!) is expecting a baby and they find out tomorrow if it's a boy or a girl!!

I can't wait! I already have one niece and one nephew on my side of the family who I absolutely adore and want to eat up, but this will be the first on hubby's side!

It's been a long, often times heart-breaking process for my s-i-l and her hubby to get to this point but now that it's here it couldn't be sweeter! They are going to make that baby so proud to be theirs, I just know it!

And I just know that I'm going to be that baby's absolute favorite youngest aunt!

Note: I am well aware that this post is overflowing with !!!'s. Please be understanding, I'm really excited!...!!

Imagine That

As I was cleaning this past weekend I could hear hubby in the family room laughing and cheering. When I went to see what all the fuss was about I found Charleigh playing her "pinano," also known as the cover over our fireplace (I'm sure there's a technical name for that, but it's early and I can't for the life of me remember what it is) and performing for her daddy and brother.

So you know I just had to get that on video! Her first performance is 'Twinkle Little Star.'

That performance was followed by 'Peanut Butter and Jelly,' an original by Charleigh.

All of the adjusting that you see at the beginning is Charleigh tuning up her "pinano." We think that all comes from her playing on her Grandma Grape's (great-grandmother) electronic keyboard.

She has the best imagination, and I love it!

It's Become an Addiction

My name is Tamara and I'm addicted to organizing/decorating.

This is a new phenomenon for me, one that my husband is whole-heartedly supporting. After joining Nester's 10 Minute Makeover party and sprucing up my master bathroom, I spent the weekend making the family room, hall closet and Charleigh's room more 'imperfectly beautiful.'

I would have liked to get more done, but I had to take a few breaks for a birthday party, cookout and church. Cake, Steak and the Good Lord...can't beat that!

Anyway, back to the makeovers. I started with the family room on Saturday. Here's a few befores. It's a fairly large room (20 x 20) but with built in bookshelves and a crazy counter (more on that in a few minutes...don't go away, I need your help!) it's not my favorite space to arrange or decorate.

We started by rearranging the furniture and I must say I think this is my favorite layout so far. Then I decluttered everything and put all our junk in its rightful place (which I must admit for more things than not was the garbage!). Then after a quick trip to Wal-Mart (hey, we live in a small Southern town and Target has not graced our presence yet, there's one close but not here at home) I put out some new pillows, some artificial greenery (brownery?) and then rearranged pictures and other knick-knacks from around the house. Finally, I added a floor lamp to add some soft light and I must say I was pretty pleased with the end result.

Sunday afternoon saw me tackling the hall closet. I'm almost too embarassed to even show you the before. I would like to say I was raised better, and I was...but I also get it honestly.

My mama organized this for me a couple years ago when she was visiting (thanks Mama!) but since then it's gone back to the catch all closet. All I did in here was pull it all out, get rid of stuff we don't and won't use and organize the rest. Not really a big deal, but it sure does make me feel better to see it all neat and clean!

Then it was on to Charleigh's room. Again, I apologize dearly for what you are about to see. It's a disaster and I know it. I try, I really do.

This room is still a work in progress. We're getting a playhouse for the backyard that will soon house her kitchen and babydoll's items (stroller, crib, highchair). Once those have all moved out I'll come back in and do the decorating. But for today I was proud of the organization. I cleaned out the closet, added a shelf for the shoes and voila! Then I brought in a bookshelf that would let me consolidate the majority of her books, flash cards, games, etc. in to one location. I also used a tray that one of her baby outfits came in to hold her DVDs and piggy bank. Other than that I just straightened everything up and this is what we have...

I know it's not perfect (not even close) but at least I can walk in there now!

Now...remember earlier when I asked you not to go anywhere because I needed your help? Well, here's my problem ~ the dreaded catch counter!

What can I do with this counter? It's in my family room and I hate it!! We can't knock it. 'Why?' you ask. See that first cabinet, it holds the backside of my dishwasher. And see that fourth cabinet, it holds my hot water heater. So the counter is pretty much here to stay. I want to decorate it so that we'll stop using it as a storage space, making the room look oh-so-cluttered and yucky. But nothing seems to look right.

Any ideas?

Thanks ever so much for your help!

10 Minute Room Makeover...A Day Late!

Some of you may have visited the blog A Nesting Place, where 'Nester' has been doing a series entitled '10 Minutes to a Room You'll Love'. As the finale to that series she invited other bloggers to post links to 10 Minute Room makeovers of their own.

Well, I'm a day late but after looking at all the other links yesterday I got a bug in my britches and came home to 'makeover' our master bathroom. Hubby was delighted that it was getting organized and a little terrified at the mess I made in the process, especially since the cleaning lady JUST came and won't be back for a couple weeks!


Here are the before shots...

Yes, it is pretty much always this cluttered, I can't help it. My name is Tamara, I am a clutter freak.

Notice the aspirator (aka the nose sucker), Cagen has been sick so that thing has been my best friend and his worst enemy. Sorry, back to the makeover...


The counter was full of things that I'm no longer using but haven't gotten around to cleaning up and the cabinets (underneath and the medicine cabinet) haven't been gone through in about a year or two. I pulled out the trash cans and went to work. I threw out anything that was past the expiration date (we officially have one bottle of grown up tylenol left, everything else went out), lotions that no longer smelled purty, general trash and makeup that I wouldn't wear these days if you paid me to!

Then I organized it all. Medicines all in the box (the one bottle of tylenol) so that it's one step farther away from the kids (should the child locks on the doors not deter them), hair supplies in an basket, lotions all lined up, kids medicines grouped together for easy access.

And finally I went to work on the counter top. Taking some advice from the Nester I got rid of all the clutter and tried my best for the spa feel. And let's be honest, I think for a spur of the moment $0 cost makeover done with Charleigh's help it turned out pretty good.

The plate is one that my brother and s-i-l gave us for Christmas two years ago. I just rolled up some cream hand towels and threw some rocks on there. I have to ask for a moment of silence now for our dear fish 'Cody' who went to fishy heaven yesterday, thereby allowing me to use the rocks out of his bowl. Rest in Peace Cody, you were a good fish.

Sorry again, back to the makeover...

After the plate, towels and rocks I added our bedside lamp (which I can't turn on at the moment because I dropped and busted the bulb and we're out of them) and a tall candle on the other side of the counter. Finally, I added a glass bowl with some more rocks and a candle on the back of the toilet and called it a day.

We're getting ready to redo the paint throughout the house so shortly the walls will cease to be rose colored and will become a buck skin-esque color (I think). I also plan on putting some 'something' on the walls I just haven't figured out what yet.

I still wouldn't call it a room I love, but it's definitely one I like a lot better than yesterday. Thanks for the inspiration Nester!

And just because I can't help it...Here's a new pic of the babies and me (WARNING: this picture contains no makeup, not suitable for small children!).