Cara Box Reveal!! I am a LUCKY Lady!!!!

Can I just tell you how amazing participating in the Cara Box exchange from Kaitlyn from Wiffesionals has been? (Go sign up! Do it!!!)  I have met some truly amazing women who I would not have gotten a chance to meet otherwise!

This month I was paired with Jodi and Stacy and the exchange was so much fun. We got to pick out stuff from our region to send.  I got to send Jodi a little bit of Texas in Boston. Check out Jodi Bean's Blog to see what I sent. Side note here is that Jodi is a big Red Sox fan and she and  my friend Rachel From Randomness with Rachel are real life friends and Rachel is actually going to see Jodi today.  Small World!

My box:
Stacy from Siriusly Craftables  lives in Connecticut and named her blog after her dog Sirius who just happens to be my FAVORITE Harry Potter character! . Actually, she is from Newtown so I have been so honored to get a chance to meet some amazing women from both Boston and Newtown this month!
So let's see what Stacy sent me....I must admit...I am seriously siriusly excited about the amazing stuff which I love!!!! Stacy and I have been exchanging emails for several weeks and she totally nailed it!

I got a bottle of Wine and a bottle of Maple Syrup! Plus some YUMMY soap!! She figured me out!!!

A bottle of BBQ sauce and Oh, my favorite thing...the bracelet

This smells so good and I love the smell of APPLES

This bracelet really touched my heart!

I may have teared up.  I was so touched that she sent me the Sandy Hook Bracelet.

Plus I got a Newtown cookbook.  I don't know why I didn't get a better picture.  The cover is charming!

Sadie got treats

an so did Ries and they must have been amazing because the kids were QUIET!!

I can't say enough about how amazing both Jodi and Stacy are and how much I have loved getting to know them.  Honestly, I wasn't sure when I signed up for the Cara Box exchange originally but the two months I have done it have been absolutely awesome.  Stay tuned and thanks to all the amazing ladies!






Simply,
Laura
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Crazy Things I am THANKFUL for and a Shopportunity!!!

 I can't remember if I have done a Thankful Thursday but I wanted to give y'all a few things that may seem crazy that I am thankful for and why.

*I am thankful for my last broken heart.  He never meant to break it.  He never meant to hurt me but the fact that I was hurt made me so much STRONGER.   I know what I need and what I want and while I will always love him, I can let him go live his life without it hurting me and I am having a really good time living mine.

*I am thankful for a night crying in a bar.  What was one of the most pathetic nights of my life has turned into something that has given me confidence because of a guy (T) who didn't give up on me when he should have.  I don't know what the future holds but I really appreciate the fact that he has made me see myself in a whole new way and a way that makes me feel beautiful.

*Rain: I am having a really hard time being thankful for it but I am trying.  It keeps messing up my mountain biking and my baseball.  There are more important things than me...I guess.

*Stress: My work is so stressful right now and I am going crazy on a regular basis but I am going home and working out instead of eating my emotions so there is that, right?

*Distance:  T and I being in different states right now has made me appreciate the little things this man does to make me smile.  Maybe some day soon we will be back in the same state and I can actually get a picture to share my cute new friend.  Who knows.   (I have pictures just none of us together).




INITIALS PARTY!!!!!

I have been meaning to share my Initials Party for 3 weeks and I keep forgetting so, Of course my party closes tomorrow and I wanted to give all my wonderful blogger friends an shopportunity. 

Initials has some cute, cute stuff and they do not charge extra for the monogramming so feel free to go and shop til you drop.

Below is the link to my party and to shop on-line, chose the Shop On Line button at the top and it will give you the option to select the party....chose me! chose me!  (I am the only Laura on Stephanie's list!!)

There is a special May option as well.  If you purchase something $35 or over you can get the Train Case at a special discounted price.  The TRAIN CASE IS ADORABLE!  Okay, I may just love the train case a lot!!


My Super Awesome Initials Party!!!!!


Feel free to share this with anyone who may be interested as well.  Sorry it took me so long to get it up!

Love y'all

Tomorrow be prepared for my Cara Box reveal.....it is SO AWESOME!

Simply,
Laura

Dog necklace make you beautiful, WILW and OHP

Wednesday!  Don't you LOVE short weeks?  Time to Link up with Jamie for What I'm Loving and
Michelle for Oh How Pinteresting!

I love:

*That my brother totally surprise me last night.  I was expecting him to be very unhappy with a choice I have made and it turns out, my mom gave him advance notice that she supports my choice and he wished me happiness.  It made me so happy, I almost cried.

*The text messages I get almost every morning basically saying "I can't wait to see you and have an amazing day."  I know he is traveling for work but I miss his face.

*Not feeling unsure about a relationship.  Not wondering what he wants because he tells me.  Not feeling like he is pushing me away and pulling me in because he doesn't know what he wants.  Knowing that I am exactly what he wants just as I am.  I have never had any of those things before and to have them now is so amazing.

*That when T called me the other day, he asked how my dogs were out of the blue.  I just love that.

*I love the workout I got in last night.  I like when I can combine muscle and cardio and drip after a workout is done.  That is a sucessful workout in my opininon.

*That I feel like being a girlie-girl again.  I have spent the last 6 months in jeans and t-shirts because I didn't want to feel female.  I wanted to push that aside. I am breaking out the heels and pretty cloths because that is who I am.  A girlie-sporty girl. 

*I love coffee.  It is true.

*I love the Cara Box I got last night.  It is totally amazing..and it must wait for another blog for the big reveal but I have to say, I feel so lucky to have met all the amazing women in the Cara Box Exchange!  My new blog friends now reached 4 totally amazing women!  I love amazing women and boy have I been surrounded by them.  Thank you sweet lord.

*I get to see baseball and Toby Mac in concert Sunday.  How awesome is that? 

I love my Sadie necklace.  She cracks me up! I definately feel this is me at my most beautiful.

I love that I can see a tiny bit of muscle definition in my really pale legs.  Time to ramp up the workouts!

I love this quote.  Feeling your own beauty is a struggle!

With that in mind...here is some of what I pinned this week:

T told me something similar about what he remembered about me when we met. (Not the I love you part.  Way too soon)

He tells me this too.

My grandma used to sing this to me.

Best advice ever!

Smile until it hurts!

I tried to clean it up.....but OMG this made me laugh...a lot!

This is my problem motto!

Simply,
Laura
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Sweet Tea Social: Being myself and linking up with @TxWomenBloggers

Welcome to my weekly Sweet Tea Social with Texas Women Bloggers!!!!!!  My blogs last week weren't earth shattering or amazing.  They were simply, fun so I am going to share a few of them with y'all. 

Wed.  I took a look back at my childhood in my What I am loving blog: Kids Stuff!  I am a child of the 70's and 80's and you can definately see that but I am also a product of a simple, mid-western early childhood and that I love.

Thurs I said goodbye to one of my favorite blog hops and Happy Birthday to one of my favorite Friends:
It's ok though because everything is amazing right now.

Friday I wrote about what a freak I am.  Actually, I don't think I really am but when a guy tells you that you are a freak, weird or crazy...that seems to be somekind of guy code for "I like you".   It must be the same thing as pulling girls hair in class and just proves, men never really grow up.   That's okay because I don't feel like a grown up a lot of the time either.


I hope everyone had an amazing weekend and I hope you all know....I love you!

Simply,
Laura

Memorial Day Weekend Round-up

I want to take a moment to thank all those who served, past and present. This is my grandfather, Gerald who was a medic in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Love you Pappy! Thanks for your sacrifice!





Friday night I went to happy hour with friends. We had a blast and it was very cathartic. Apparently it was just what I needed to feel better. You know the girl-rule about how you must always get two shots to make sure everyone is happy? Well, this is the other photo the guy at the bar took.


I was laughing so hard when I saw it. Nothing much to see...so it's funny.





This has been my drink of choice all month.


Saturday was look like crap and clean some here day.


Including dusting and adding my newest bobblehead to the collection.



Nolan and Nolan.

Later I made guacamole, salsa and this cupcake:








Maple-Bacon-Whiskey....yep!




Sunday I cleaned the dining room & refinished the two new cabinets my parents gave me. They are a little lighter than my hutch but I like that. This is what I was working on when T called from the road.

This man is so sweet. I don't know what I did to deserve him in my life. He texts me in the morning just to wish me a good day and he called me while he was driving through Terre Haute, Indiana on the way to New Jersey. Did I tell y'all we are both originally from Indiana? Anyway, he called just to hear me talk. He listened to me go on about nothing (not even baseball) and when I laughed and asked if he was bored he said nope, he was listening to me and actually repeated what I was telling him. It's a new relationship and before I get 32 text messages from my friends, we are taking it as slow. Him being out of town days at a time working kind of forces us to slow down. That said....I miss his big brown eyes.




My beast of a nephew caught this Monday. Ten pounds! Wow! He is 12 and brought that fish in fighting the whole way!




I fixed the missing pieces in my kitchen floor (lifting the stove because I am a beast too) and cleaned the kitchen. Later it was time to relax with some frozen wine.

I finished a book between Sunday and Monday and aside from a lot of cleaning...mostly watched NCIS and baseball. I know...I am a wild woman.

So how was your holiday and what special stuff did you do?


Simply,
Laura
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I'm a freak!?!?

It is really interesting....being a single person in 2013.   I think my life has been relatively uneventful until now.  I have been responsible and tried to do the right thing....apparently even though I have done that, I am a bit of a freak.  I didn't realize this until T informed me a few days ago of this fact.   Men are so strange.  So, I am a freak.  I don't really know why...probably the red hair thing.  I can not tell you how many times I have been asked "Is it true what they say about gingers?"  Let me set the record straight right now.  Whatever you have heard about red heads. Whatever people have said about how freaky we are.  It is absolutely not true.  We are worse.  Okay, now that that is cleared up......

 I thought I would embrace my freakishness.

What makes me a freak?  I used to think it was being a female and being so in to sports but I met a lot of ladies who are that way and realized, that doesn't make me a freak, it just makes me really cool.

The first night T and I officially went out, I picked a place that we could watch the Rangers play.  Yu Darvish was pitching.  I admit, I didn't see much of that game.  When a guy makes you laugh and smile so much that your face actually hurts, you have to ignore baseball for a little while.  Okay, maybe that does make me a freak, I don't know.

I like ketchup and onions on my hot dog and beans in my chili.  I think that makes me a definate freak in some peoples eyes. 

I keep my good alcohol in the freezer.   I don't know if that makes me a freak or just really smart.

I know my dogs are just dogs in my head but I still refer to them as my kids and say stupid stuff like 'Come snuggle with mama.'   That is mostly just trying to get the little goobs to do what I want but I reason with them like they are people so maybe that is a little bit freaky.

I do not understand the Texas fascination with Whataburger.  I admit it. That may not make me a freak outside of the state but in the state not only am I a freak but the fact that I prefer Heinz to Whataburger ketchup may actually get me kicked out.  While we are on the subject....Dr. Pepper is fine but Cherry Coke is AMAZING!  Especially if you can find a drug store and have them make it fresh! Just saying.

I want to be a good house keeper but I want a wife to be a good house keeper for me.   If that's wrong, I don't want to be right.

Okay, honestly...I really can't think of anything that makes me a freak unless you think that shrine I have to Dirk Nowitzki is odd.   Aside from that, I am pretty normal for a girl who gave her bike it's own bedroom and named her Skye.

---I feel a sudden need to add...this is a little bit tongue in cheek and T was teasing me because my dogs have their own steps and I had a bunch of books sitting on my coffee table because I had just been to the book store.  At least, I think that is what he was teasing me about.  Boys are so....male!



Happy Friday, FINALLY!!! Have a good weekend. 



Simply,
Laura

It's ok, a Sad Goodbye and a VERY Happy Birthday plus...a peek at JUNE!

Linking up with Amber and Neely for the Final (tears) It's Ok Thursday link up.  I am not promising that I won't dust this puppy off whenever I can't think of anything on Thursday to write....which is always. so without further ado, here is what's ok with me:

*To be sad that It's Ok Thursday is coming to an official end.

*Everytime I don't feel well, Web MD tells me I am either pregnant or have cancer.  One of these days, one of those things is going to be true and I won't even believe it.  (I am shooting for the former not the later!)

*To plan on not eating at all today so I don't get sick.  I really don't  know what is wrong with me but food...makes me sick.

*To not want to go to another doctor because mine is out of town this week.  Anytime I have gone in the past, the other doctors have just never gotten it right.  My doctor knows me.  I am not saying she is the best, well...she is, but she also has been my doctor since 1999 and she knows everything about my history

*To be 40-something years old and realize last night that the inscription on the watch my mother gave my father has their wedding anniversary on it.  I knew they got married in 1969 but I had no idea they were married on 8/30.   I like August.  I was born in August and my father was born in August so it is one of my my favorite month.

*To not get to see T last night because he was driving in from another state and I was sick.  Enough said.

*To smile when I get a text message from him first thing in the morning just because. 

*To make a decision that I really don't care what anyone else thinks about my relationship with this man because it is fun and he treats me well and that is really all I want right now.  


And now for a VERY special              

                                                            Happy Birthday!

It's Rachel's Birthday!

I can not express how much I adore this girl.  She makes me look good in photos.  My dogs adore her.  She understands my Rangers love, supports my Longhorn and Irish love even when she is torn between her devotion to Texas teams and our friendship.  Rachel is simply one of the best, strongest, sweetest people I know and she does her best to make all of her friends a part of her life even when she is being pulled in 72 directions at once.  Trust me, this lady is very popular and has a huge family and Rangers addiction  dedication that calls her to the Ballpark at least as often as it calls me.  All I can say is I love you, girl, you deserve to have all of your wishes come true!




Finally, y'all know I joined Texas Women Bloggers and today I am really excited to give you a sneak peek at what is coming in June: a Photo Challenge!   This is perfect because I may be am addicted to my iPhone so I am so in!!!  You can link up with them too.  Just go to their site and join the link up starting in June.....you don't even have to be from Texas.  (Shhh!)



Simply,
Laura
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What I'm Loving: Kid Stuff!

Linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday!
This is my trip down memory lane kids stuff edition.



*Slug Bug:
Did you play this as a kid? Did you know there are official rules? Do kids still play this game? Ah, these are all the questions that ran through my mind when I saw a Beetle this morning! Memories of punching my brother and not getting yelled at!!! Good times.




*Hot Potato:
we played this with a balloon. Yes, we managed to play with and pop balloons when I was a kid without choking on them. Amazing, I know! We also rode our bikes without helmets, played with toy guns, and slept on our bellies as babies.   It was a dangerous and wild time!  :)



*UNO:
We had all night marathon battles of UNO! My dad's family was obsessed with this game! It true! When my cousin Chrissy was a baby we would stick her in the middle of the table to keep her entertained as we played a wild game of UNO with her parents.




*Chinese checkers
It's a classic, right? Kids have to still play this and other board games.




*Solitaire
We played with cards, not the computer. There is some tactile pleasure involved in shuffling an old deck of cards, dealing them, and seeing what the world, not a computer program, gives you.




*Rummy:
My mom's family never went anywhere without a deck of cards. My grandparents played each other for fun. They kept score. There were little pieces is paper with M and L on them and tick marks for whoever won. Serious stuff!

There were a ton of other games we played with friends: Tag, Hide and Seek, Red Rover, jump rope, Clue (my favorite) and Monopoly. I personally spent hours coloring during the summer. Naturally we rode our bikes everywhere or nowhere in particular and we went swimming and drank lemonade.

It was the simple stuff that made us the happiest. Toys came and went but we could play for hours with $5.00 worth of balloons, crayons, a coloring book, and a plain deck of cards.





This big kid got a new toy last night and I love this too! It was free with the ticket so it's still the simple stuff that makes me happy. Nolan joined Other Nolan, Wash, Nelly, Beltre, and a host of other bobbleheads after the game and it made me smile.


So, what games or toys did you love and do you still love?

Happy Hump Day!



Simply,
Laura
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone