No rhyme or reason

Because there isn't going to be a lick of cohesiveness to this post, I'm resorting to bullets.

• Last Saturday Kate and I went shopping with my sis-in-law, Abbi, and my niece, Kennedy. We took advantage of the fact that it was just us girls and ate lunch at Panera. The men in our lives do not heart Panera.
  

Abbi and Kennedy

Kate - showing us her tomato. Always a lady.

• Saturday night I went out with my friends Kerri and Jessica. Kerri had some birthday money "burning a hole in her pocket" so we had to help her out. We went to dinner and did some shopping. I would have taken a picture of the three of us but when I busted out my camera, I got laughed at hard core! Not because I wanted a picture, but because I was going to use my mini-camcorder to get it! I never realized how dorky I looked using such a big ol' camera for my still shots. Even when I don't have Kate out with me, I'm still constantly reminded that I am indeed a mama. Seriously, I really didn't think twice about toting my video camera in my diaperbag-sized purse! I just got so tired of always carrying around two cameras (one for video and one for photos) that I resorted to the not so great photos that the camcorder produced. Besides, THIS is on my Christmas list. And it'll probably be on it next year too, and the year after that. It'll become a perma-item on my Christmas list for years to come, I'm sure. A girl can dream big can't she?

Kate - after church on Sunday. We ate lunch at my Aunt Ann's. Can you say yummy?

• Thanks a million for all of the great perfume suggestions! I can't wait to go and give them all a smell. I'll let you know which one I choose. They all sound delicious!
  

Not the Brightest Youth in America

Matt to me: Hey, Blogspot dot com, you gonna come downstairs and watch TV tonight?
Point taken. I probably have been spending a little too much QT on the computer lately.

So I'm gonna make this post short (yea right). And I've actually been thinking about changing the times that I post. I usually do it at night, after I've put Kate to bed. Now I'm thinking of making my usual post time in the mornings before I go to work. I usually have a good hour of down time before I leave for work.....we'll see.

I got to talk with a friend of mine from college, Virginia, on the phone today. She's getting married in April and we had some catching up to do! After reminiscing for a while, I was reminded of a story from my college days that I told Sal Gal the other day and she insisted that I blog about it.

She has an unhealthy love for stories involving my humiliation.

During my freshman year of college there was a short period of time that I had a deep concern for Asian youth. My roommates and I usually kept our TV on at all times, so I would constantly be hearing bits and pieces of different shows. I kept hearing the news stations talking about the Asian youth and I couldn't help but keep wondering what on earth did they do that was so wrong (or so right) to keep them in the media so much? Like I said, I rarely caught the news program in its entirety, but instead heard parts of it as I was passing through.
Well, as time passed, I found myself still wondering about the youth in Asia and my curiosity finally got the best of me. So one day while eating lunch with one of my roommates, I nonchalantly asked, "What is the big deal with the youth in Asia? Why are the news stations always talking about them?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, it just seems that every time I hear the news, they're talking about the youth over in Asia."
It was in that moment that every bit of my roommate's preconceived notions of my intelligence were shattered. She looked at me with sympathetic eyes, as if feeling sorry for me, and then started laughing.
"Really? Are you being serious?"
"Yes. Why? TELL ME."
They're saying, 'euthanasia' Hollie, gah!"

Now excuse me while I go and carry out a self esteem building exercise.

Just when I thought there was nothing to blog about...

...M to the Izza sends Kate running into the bathroom to find me.


Wearing this.

Oh but wait, you need a closer look.

Really.

You do.

I know sweetheart. The face your making is the mirror image of Mommy's.

Take note of the handy dandy cell phone holder that is... still tacky... no matter how handy it is.

Words that will never again be spoken in our household:

"Matt, can you get Kate dressed for me?"

Edition 6: Sunday Savings

We started a little something different today and changed the list of our usual stores. We decided to give up Publix and Walgreens and added CVS and Rite-Aid in their places for traveling distance purposes. We kept Winn-Dixie because it is the closest 'grocery' store. Besides, Publix and W/D usually have a lot of the same items on their lists and Sal Gal and I decided that we really didn't like giving up our entire Sunday afternoon for the love of savings.

Today was a great day in Savingsville because I actually saved more than I spent at W/D. I saved $52.75 and only spent $41.92. LOVE IT!

Now, we had planned on hitting up Rite-Aid after church tonight but Sal Gal accidentally left Mr. Jones at home and we didn't have time to run back and get it before they closed. She blew it.
Next weekend we'll try to make it to all three stores and I'm hoping the CVS and Rite-Aid change out will prove to be worth it.

And then he started picking out my deodorant

I'm on the hunt for new perfume. For the past six years I've worn Michael by Michael Kors.

However, when I ran out of my last bottle, I had just given birth and replenishing my perfume (or parfum) supply was not top on my list.

Well, I think I'm ready to take the leap.

I'm ready to smell good again.

I knew it was time to make a purchase when the other night M to the Izza and I were in Wal-mart in the deodorant section. The boy is forever running out of deodorant so we find ourselves in this section quite often. Anyway, I was on the verge of running out too, so I decided to pick me up some as well. I grabbed my usual Ban Regular Scent and threw it into the cart. That's what I've worn since the first day I ever started wearing deodorant and I've never strayed...even though there's been way cooler deodorants that have came out since then. I live on the edge like that. It doesn't have much of a scent, just a light one. Well, I turned and started to walk away to continue our shopping. I notice Matt isn't following so I stop and look back. He's holding up a stick of deodorant and says, "Ooooo, I would like it if you would wear this kind. It smells goooooood. "

Great. Apparently he's realized that the only part of my body that I manage to put any kind of scent on is my pits.

"Okay that's it. I'm buying myself some perfume," I say and chunk the deodorant he's holding into the cart.

It's pretty bad when your "signature scent" has become your dadblame deodorant.

I have plenty of body sprays from Victoria Secret and Bath and Body Works but I don't what any more of those. I want REAL perfume again!

So here's where you come in.

What are some of your favorite perfumes? Although I LOVE my Michael Kors and am tempted to just buy some more of it and call it a day, I really would like to try something new. I know that I've smelled different scents on people and liked them, but didn't get a chance to ask them the name.

So help a girl out and share with me your favorite perfume (parfum).
I would love to hear from everyone, even if you've never left a comment before, even if it is anonymous.

Help me take the pressure of smelling good off of my pits for a while. They've done a fabulous job over the past year but hey, everyone deserves a little break every now and then.

Thank you...no, thank YOU!

Right now I'm smiling pretty big because my blogging buddy Rebecca gave me an award! She has such a sweet spirit and her blog chronicles her life as a newlywed. Check her out if you haven't already!

I'm very thankful for the award and it thrills me to no end to know that someone out there actually enjoys my daily ramblings!

Characteristics for the Smile Award:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude.

2. Must love one another.

3. Must make mistakes.

4. Must learn from others.

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.

6. Must love life.

7. Must love kids.

These are the rules for The Smile Award:

1. The recipient must link back the the award’s creator

2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.

3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.

4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere

5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.

6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.

7. You must thank your giver.

And here are the five people that I'd like to give this award to:
1. Mimi (Mimi's Memories) - This wonderful lady is full of wisdom and.... she cooks! I love reading her blog because it gives me lots of insight and gets me thinking!

2. Kristy (The Hall Family) - This chic reminds me a lot of myself with all of her randomness and sarcasm. I really think we would have been the best of buds had we grown up together.

3. K-Bo (The Boatright Buzz) - Kerri is someone who always gets me smiling and I love her. She just gets me.

4. Jenni (Jiggety Jigg) - She is sassy and hilarious! bhahahahahaa! See, just thinking about her blog made me laugh.

5. Megan (The Life and Times of Megan) - This girl is such a cutie and I really think she'd be a blast to hang out with! Her stories are always fun.

(Cue the you'vetakenwaytoolongonyourspeech music here.)

Better late than never

It's been 15 months since I made it, but I finally painted and hung my belly cast from when I was large and in charge preggo with Kate. I ordered my kit from a company called Proud Body. It was really easy to do and only took about 45 minutes or so. I would (will?) definitely do it again.

If you go to the company's site, there is a whole gallery of photos showing the different ways people posed for and painted their casts. I wasn't looking to turn Kate's nursery into a nipple-opolis so I took the conservative route and put my hands over my chest. Some of the example pics on the company's website are pretty amazing and even look professionally painted. I decided to keep mine simple and thought it would be a little more sentimental if I painted it myself. And...let's face it, I'm not that creative.

I had to put in a profile shot so you could see the overinflated beach ball that was my stomach.

Before I hung it on the wall, I put it over my belly to try and remember what it felt like to be 9 months pregnant again. Toward the end of my pregnancy, I gave up on trying to bend down to put on my shoes, so I just went barefoot. JUST KIDDING, I wore flip-flops people. Good thing it was summa-time!

Hopefully when Kate gets a little older she'll get a hoot out of seeing where she "kicked it" for nine months.

Would you wear these?

Pics courtesy of People Style Watch

Have you guys heard about the new trend in footwear? I'm not so sure these bad boys are for me. They're described as "the latest hybrid shoe – part open-toed sandal, part ankle boot."


The pics above show Jessica Alba, Whitney Port and Rachel Bilson all sportin' the new look. What do ya'll think? Would you wear them?

Around the house

What's wrong with this picture? I'll tell you what's wrong.

1. I'll start by stating the obvious. It's a bag of jewelry labeled "Refrigerate any leftovers". Need I go on?

No, but I will anyway.

2. I have given in to what M to the Izza has been trying to get me to do for years now: reuse ziplocs. Eww.

3. I found it necessary to show Kate's sitter that day just what a cheapskate I am. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT throw away the leftovers for Pete's sake!

4. Not only do I now reuse zip-dang-locs, it apparently doesn't even phase me to cross room borders.

This bag seems to have started out providing service in the kitchen and somehow managed to make it to my vanity in my bathroom.

5. The jewelry in this bag has been there since the last trip we took.

6. The aforementioned trip took place in June.

It is now nearly October.

And this picture? Well...it's what got me out of bed this morning.

Edition 5: Sunday Savings

Okay ya'll, so I had to meet Matt's mom half-way again to pick Kate up from her "Weekend at Grammy's" which means I had to do my grocery shopping tonight after church, which means I had Matt and Kate along for the ride, which meant my shopping trip was doomed needed to be shortened, which means I could only hit up our local W/D for my savings, which meant...j/k.

But I have been thinking, and I've decided to only go to all three of my stores (Publix, Walgreens, and Winn-Dixie) twice a month instead of every Sunday, and just do W/D all by its lonesome the other couple of Sundays. Going to all three stores takes a lot of time, especially since Publix and Walgreens are a good 30 minutes from where I live.

I was especially proud of myself tonight because I did not have my coach (Sal Gal) with me and still managed to rack up the savings.

I got about $70.00 worth of groceries for only $36 and some change.



Not too shabby.

And because I love all things random:

1. I just recently finished painting and hanging the belly cast I made when I was pregnant with Kate. I plan on posting some pics here shortly.

2. Matt is usually not as quick-witted as....oh, I don't know......ME, but he said something yesterday that I thought was pretty funny.
I asked him if he would please hang the shelf I've been wanting him to hang in my closet and he responds with, "Sure, honey" (in an extremely overdone sappy tone).
And then he looks at his brother, Adam, and says, "If one more person needs me to do something, I swear..."
"I heard that!" I snap back.
To which he comes back with, "Oh, I wasn't talking about you."
And then he points to his dad and stepmom's house. And says, "I was talking about Chaka Khan and Chaka Can't over there."

To all the ladies in the place with style and grace

And in Big Al's much, much needed defense:

I thought you should know, I've met someone new

Yes, it's true.


It happens to the best of us.


I have indeed met someone new.

I didn't see it coming.

It just happened.

Meet Dyson.

I guess I shouldn't say that I didn't see it coming, when in fact, I know I did. I've been looking him up and down since the first day I caught a glimpse of him.

Sal Gal is in a relationship with his twin, and I hate to say it, but I've borrowed him a few times for myself. It was on those few occasions that I completely fell head over heels.

Okay, I can't do it anymore....

M to the Izz-A had this beauty waiting on me when I got home from work yesterday.

I know some may have taken a gift such as this as an insult of sorts. You got me WHAT? THIS was the surprise?! YOU PUNK!

I've been wanting a Dyson for quite a while now. I'm telling you, if you've never used one, you have NO IDEA what you or your home is missing. I only thought I was cleaning before. This vacuum cleans like you never knew a vacuum could.

So today, I'm gonna get my clean on.

You'll be surprised to know that I let Kate go and stay with her Grammy (Matt's mom) this weekend. I have never done this before. I, the mother, am the one with seperation anxiety. Admitting it is the first step, right? Well, this time I figured I could give it a try. I mean, she is 15 months old! So Matt and I met his mom half-way to hand my love over for the weekend. Hence the reason that I will be able to clean my entire house in one day and not just "spot treat", as Matt calls it.

Big things people, big things.

Welcome Sarah Gail!

The past few days have been super busy. Thursday night Kate stayed with Granny T while Matt and I went to the hospital to visit my cousin Ben (although he's always been more like a brother slash best friend to me) and his wife, Kristin's, brand new baby girl, Sarah Gail. She is such a cutie and looks just like her older sis, Anna.

She is just perfect! I loved being able to just sit and enjoy holding her, without all of the post-partum emotions that come along with having your own baby. We had a great time sitting around that little hospital room talking and of course, laughing. Anytime Ben and I get together, our family always says something like, "Oh my word, Ben and Hollie together?...Here we go....". At one point, without Ben knowing, I took a close-up photo of his big toe. What? He had on flip-flops. His toe was BEGGING for me to take a pic! It was THE definition of why the pumice stone was invented. The best part (and this shows just how Ben is) is that when I showed it to him on the screen of my camera, he started dying laughing and said, "Email it to me. Email it! I wanna put it on my MySpace!"

I'm gonna email it to him but decided it was against my better judgement to post it. See, I'm showing a LITTE restraint.

Hopefully they'll be coming home today.

Welcome to the world Sarah Gail!

My P-List

My blogging bud Amy came up with a great idea to help remind us to pray throughout the day at moments we wouldn't necessarily remember to pray, like when you're driving, sitting at work, on your computer at home, etc.

I put my P-List on my home computer because there's not much time during work that I sit, and I think I'm gonna put one in my car, too. Originally it was started to pray for our blogging buddies, which is what most of mine are, but I couldn't help to add a few of my hometown friends and family who have been on my heart lately as well.
Even if you can just say a quick prayer at different times throughout your day, God hears it.

The Bible makes many promises regarding prayer. He are just a few of my favorites:

Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
Psalm 55:17

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Luke 11:9

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer, thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am...
Isaiah 58:9

...he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
Isaiah 30:19

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Matthew 21:22

Just reading those over and over gives me a peace. It makes me feel silly for sometimes worrying even after I've prayed about things.
We can be rest assured that God is a promise keeper. When we give it to Him, we've got to let go off it. We can't still be holding on to it by a thread. Fully let go and let God. HE IS the CREATOR OF ALL THINGS.

Thank you Lord, for hearing our prayers.

As promised...

...Behind the Scenes: Getting up close and personal with the heel click.

Many of you have commented on my heel clicks and may even assume that they are easy to come by. You're probably thinking that they just happen on the first try, on demand.

Come, come my dear friends, gather 'round. You've been led astray. The heel click is an art form that takes several attempts to get it just right and...camera ready, if you will.

Take for instance the first documented heel click. It took several tries, along with perfect timing on the photographer's (Sal Gal) part, to snap the best one.

Check out the first futile attempts.

Attempt 1:

Here you see that Sal Gal got a little over anxious. Give me a chance to get warmed up would ya?!

Attempt 2:

Oooo, almost. But again, a little trigger happy.

Attempt 3:

Close, but not quite.

Attempt 4:

At this point, Sal Gal is laughing sooooo hard that she basically started snottin' everywhere. I think she may have even had those little sweat beads above her top lip.

Okay, one more try.

Attempt 5:

Bam! Got it!

Now last Sunday was a little different as you may have noticed. On this particular day, Sal Gal was feeling a little athletic. Oh who am I kidding? Sal Gal has NEVER felt athletic a day in her life. Let's just say she was feeling a bit adventurous and decided she wanted to attempt the infamous stunt.

Getting two heel clicks to occur simultaneously definitely demands some major skills. But again, it took several attempts. Take a look.

Attempt 1:

Eww, we were WAY off. I'm not even sure that Sal Gal got vertical on this one.

Attempt 2:

In this one I'm picking up the entire bag of Rolos that managed to spill mid jump. Rolos were this week's mid-game snack of choice. Yea thanks, just stand there laughing and watch me pick them up, nah, I don't need your help.

Attempt 3:

Okay chick, I think you're enjoying this a little TOO much.

Attempt 4:

Here Sal Gal has just slapped me because she decided she would count for us (to keep us in unison). I chose not to follow, therefore she got physical. Control freak.

Attempt 5:
Check out the look of sheer determination on Sal Gals face!
Disclaimer: My shoes are NOT white, they are indeed silver. The fact that I'm from the south + somewhat traditional = I still follow the no white after Labor Day rule!

Even though we finally got it, we may or may not have forever traumatized some local boy scouts who were selling bags of popcorn by the door. They'll forever remember the day at Winn-Dixie when those weird ladies were doing strange looking air calisthenics in the parking lot. Their future girlfriends will NEVER be able to live up to this! Haha!

So there you have it my friends, the heel click in a nutshell novel-length post.

Don't be afraid to give it a try. You may surprise yourself!

Edition 4: Sunday Savings

So yesterday Sal Gal and I headed out for some money-saving fun, only this time we came upon the grand fortune of having a personal chauffeur.

Meet Garrett. He's our cousin. He and Sal Gal attend the same church and she recruited him for a "quick run to the grocery store" (wink, wink) so that we could cut our coupons along the way. Unfortunately for him Sal Gal did not give out many details during his recruitment. He had no idea what was in store. Again, pun intended. :-)

Now since we're in the mood for meeting new people, meet Wilson, a.k.a. Mr. Jones.

This is Sal Gal's super-duper, boring, brown coupon binder. Feel sorry for her.

Now meet MY new coupon binder, Miss Veronica. Ronni if you're nasty.

Sal Gal broke the 10th commandment when she met Ronni.

We earned some great savings yesterday and were so proud of ourselves. I saved $30.66 at Winn-Dixie, only spending $27.79 and I saved $43.35 at Publix, only spending $37.82. In other words (I love other words) I got $139.62 worth of groceries for only $65.61!

Evidence please...

Do you feel that? Do you feel it coming on? Oh yea, I think ya do.

Savings like THIS deserve a...............................................................

DOUBLE heel click!

Coming up: A special Behind The Scenes edition of the heel click. Stay tuned...

Quick Preview

Just a quick post to say that I'll be posting about yesterday's Sunday Savings later today.
Here's a sneak peek:





















What's so funny?

And there's more where that came from...