I'm alive and kicking

Just so you know, I'm alive and kicking. My chiropractor has greatly improved my status and I am ever so grateful. One of my old college buddies is coming into town for the weekend, so I'm playing hostess and will not be around for blogging. Maybe I can make it to some Friday Follows though... see you then!

oh whoah is me

I am currently parked on my couch, where I have been for the better part of twenty-four hours. I went to pick Lucy up yesterday from her afternoon nap and hit the floor with indescribable back pain. Thankfully I didn't land on her and she wasn't scared. She thought I was playing. So I wrangled her into the living room by crawling behind her and creeping my way onto the couch to call the hubs. It hasn't really relented though I've been using ice, a tens unit, and OTC meds. My chiropractor worked me in today (thankfully) but gave little hope for a quick recovery. He was as shocked as me about how bad things got so quickly. I'm going to see him again tomorrow and hope to gain some relief by Thursday. Prayers are appreciated. Oh whoah is me... haha

Welcome to Monday, like it or not

Since I wasn't around to partake in my usual Friday Follows, I'm joining a new Monday Blog Hop (Marvelous Monday Blog Hop). And to make it a little more interesting, I'll post the Meet Me on Monday Questions, as well. I'll post later to fully disclose Lucy Bug's birthday party details and likely another book review. Welcome to Monday friends, like it or not, it always comes!




Questions:

1. What one food could you eat every single day?
2. Do you wear glasses or contacts?
3. What kind of cell phone do you have?
4. What did you have for dinner last night?
5. What is your favorite candy?
_______________________________________________________________________

1. chips & salsa! I can never get enough and I have to make myself stop.
2. not anymore- I had LASIK surgery a few years ago and no longer wear either. Before my surgery, I was legally blind!
3. Blackberry but I'm probably going to upgrade soon.
4. smoked sausage w/sauerkraut, fried potatoes, and green beans
5. Reese's cups or starburst 

Review #8: It's Not Me, It's You

It's Not Me, It's You
by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor
240 pages
Grade: A

This book is a montage of short stories Mrs. Wilder-Taylor has written about every aspect of her life. She writes stories that are truthful and wildly entertaining and puts a lot of herself into them. Though they aren't all funny, they are all delivered with an excellent entertaining spin (and will likely have you laughing regardless). My only warning: these recollections are honest and abrupt and often not for the faint of heart. A few could offend you if you find any level of foul language too distasteful to be entertaining. I, however, was laughing throughout the entire collection. One of my favorite facets of writing is when people reveal their own faults and quirks in lighthearted, humorous anecdotes and Stefanie did just that. I highly recommend this read if you're looking for a good laugh and a quick read. I look forward to reading her other books. Cheers!

one year ago...

*I started this post yesterday and never had the time to complete it. So one year ago was literally one year and one day. :)*

I went to the OB doc to see how Lucy bug was doing on July 21st last year. It was incredibly hot and I was incredibly pregnant and miserable. Dr. Mills hooked me up for the non-stress test, told me I was having contractions (much to my surprise), and he told me that I was already dilated to 4cm. As a back story here, I broke my pelvis in a car accident at 18 and was told then never to have natural childbirth because it would likely cause another break. My plan, whether I liked it or not, should be a c-section. So, Dr. Mills tried to talk me into delivering her that day, but I just wasn't having it. I am a planner, and unless I literally went into labor and started feeling the contractions or my baby was in danger, I wasn't having a baby until my scheduled time. Besides being a planner, I'm a bit stubborn.

Needless to say, my daughter cooperated and kept her cute little bun in my oven until I wanted, July 24th. At least she listened then. :D It feels like so much longer than a year in many ways. It's odd to think of my life before her. And yet, I can't believe that she has grown so fast. I can't believe how smart and strong and beautiful she is. She obviously still looks like a baby but she also is just too beautiful to be called cute. This year has been wonderful. We've had it lucky and I try to remind myself of this fact when we have one bad day out of twenty. She's perfect. She's everything I ever wanted. And she definitely reaffirms to me that this is exactly what God called me to do in life. I know each child is different, but because being a mommy is the best thing I ever did, I'll keep doing it. I'm still planning on having that house-full of kids, no matter how crazy you all think I am. My cup runneth over....

<>< Cassie

another day-to-day

I thought that being at home full-time would give me an opportunity to accomplish more and hopefully get my house organized, if only for a hot minute. I never for a second thought that being a SAHM would be easy. I did however believe, logically, that if I was at home more, I would be able to spend a little more time on my home and getting things organized in a fashion suitable to me. I WAS SO WRONG! Moving on...

As of next week, literally all of my girlfriends will be gone from Chattanooga. My BFF is moving to Oregon, another is in D.C., and still another just moved to Kentucky. I had girlfriends at work, but mostly we went to lunch together and didn't really hang out otherwise or chat on the phone much. I miss them too but nothing can replace my Amanda, my Amy, and my Holly. And to be honest, I'm the only one of my friends with a child, which has made things significantly different anyway. I like thinking that maybe I can be there for them one day because I've "been there, done that."

But enough ranting, now for some pleasantries: I joined a new mommy group last week on meetup.com and we have our first play-date tomorrow morning. I have to say, I am incredibly excited for the chance to meet other mommies and for Lucy to have some more interaction. My poor husband has heard little else for weeks (without complaint, which makes him more amazing) and I can't wait!

Also, I found a lady to take Lucy's birthday pictures for a very reasonable price and I'll own the rights to the photos, so I can have as many printed as I would like. The photographer wants to update her portfolio and I will benefit greatly! Lucy is such a ham, I'm sure she'll be a great model for the pictures. It's hard to believe that she's turning 1! Time to think about baby #2....

Have a great day friends!
Much love and many blessings,
<>< Cassie

Recipe Issues

I have always thought of myself as a great cook. I can come up with something from practically nothing and it's beyond edible, it's usually quite yummy. However, I have recently encountered a rather difficult obstacle: my husband has celiac and now we must live a gluten-free life (well technically, he does, not "we"). Thankfully, there are lots of companies recognizing the necessity for gluten-free foods. My biggest complaint is the general yuckiness of pre-packaged foods that are gluten-free. This is really only an obstacle for his lunches because I can conform most of my recipes to make them gluten-free. I just want new recipes. I want to try new things and tweak them to make them my own. Any recipe suggestions are appreciated! Thanks lovely readers.

Happy Friday!

And the blog hop begins, in no particular order:













So I'm not 22 anymore, but I'm living the housewife life now and I feel entitled to join! :)

Happy Friday to you all my friends! It seems that someone lit a fire under me this morning because I've been ever so successful at marking things off of my unrealistic to-do list. Go me! My baby girl's 1st birthday party is planned and now I just need to wrap presents and wait the week until her party. I hope I'm always this on to of things when it comes to my kids and their joy.

I've also been tearing through some books and have definitely enjoyed my reads. Particularly the last two I finished (Love Walked In and Speak). I listened to WAR yesterday as well. I really seem to enjoy a book more when the author reads it. Maybe because they read it in the way that they want it to be interpreted.... if that makes any sense. Anyway, I doubt I'll write a review about it but it was different than my norm and yet, I felt that it was a good insight for me to viewed.

Time for some lunch and to hit that list again, but I want to wish you all a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend. Check me out and become a follower!

<>< Cassie

Review #7: Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark
by Charlaine Harris
336 pages
Grade: C

As many of you know, our world today is ever so slightly vampire obsessed. I include myself in this category and do not feel shame for it. However, because of this I included a few different vamp tales to test out the different story lines. Unfortunately, I wasn't that impressed with Dead Until Dark and doubt very much that I'll continue on with the series. Maybe Twilight ruined me with it's virtue and morals, or maybe I'm just not a sex-crazed maniac. Either way, there are a few things I liked about this book. I liked Sookie for the most part. I liked that she was somewhat simple and naive but that she endured the life she was given. I liked that the author actually killed idiotic bad guys and didn't have any qualms with that. But for the most part, my likes stop there. I was annoyed with the sex and sex and sex because it was mostly cheesy and badly delivered. I disliked that I guessed who the killer was about half way through the book. I disliked that there seemed to be a few twists taken from the Twilight series and therefore it seemed unoriginal. Overall, maybe I'm a book snob or a sex snob for that matter and therefore, I don't recommend this read. It was quick but not really worth it.

Review #6: Have a Little Faith

Have a Little Faith
by Mitch Albom
Audio Runtime: 7 hours
Grade: A

Side Note: As you can see, I've decided to continue on with my reviews afterall. I guess it doesn't make much sense to have a book challenge without actually tracking the experience.

I am especially grateful that this was one of my audio books. Mitch Albom read this story himself and I feel that it was like a gift to his readers. The story was beautiful, with inspiration in ways that you wouldn't have expected and I loved it. There is something incredible about everyone's life, whether they choose to acknowledge it or not, and Mr. Albom shows you the insight into the lives of two religious men with very different backgrounds. This book caused me to look at my own religious prejudices and to visualize more closely the content of a life. He didn't sugar-coat his own misgivings and was very forthcoming with his own struggles. I feel that no matter your religious background (even if you have none), this book will make a difference to you. It will change each reader and only for the better. I highly recommend it!

100 Followers, Wahoo!

Good day friends! I logged off yesterday with 99 followers and woke up today with 100! Thanks for finding my challenge interesting and for encouraging me through the day-to-day. I have been especially productive this weekend around my home and I'm going into this rainy Monday with a sense of pride for my new SAHM title!

About a few bargains I was so lucky to find this weekend:
Target is quite possibly my favorite store of all time and of course I am excited to search through the $1 bins for little treasures as I enter the store each time. I was VERY excited to find that there was a huge 75% off section for most of these items! I bought so many cards, board books, packages of tissue paper, gift bags, etc for .25 each that I thought I might cry out with joy. To top it off, I had a $5 gift card from some recent purchase, so tax and all it cost me only $2.62!

Also, at BiLo, one of our local grocery stores (only in TN, GA, NC, & SC), there are often items that don't see incredibly well on close-out. This weekend, I found GreenWorks detergent at half off and had $3 off coupons to combine with that for a grand total of $1.19 per unit. That's another 90 loads of laundry for $3.57! And it's much better for the environment.

Enough about deals... I need to follow-up a bit about my book challenge. I am finding it difficult to review the books I've read with objectivity. I've written three more reviews and yet I don't like what I have to say and I am unhappy because I don't think they are helpful. It is yet to be determined if I will post another review. I am considering simply talking about books that I've enjoyed and the experience itself. Before this book challenge, I never listened to an audiobook in my life. Now I've listened to quite a few and it's been great! I love that I can clip coupons, fold laundry, cook dinner, etc, and still have that entertainment. I also enjoy being such an avid reader. I find that there is very little on television now worth viewing and I have a HUGE pile of books to tear through instead. I'll decide soon what to do about reviews and I'll let you all know. Please feel free to give me your input, because I would like to know what you want to read on my ever-evolving blog!

Happy Monday,
Cassie

How fitting: Post #100 FRIDAY FOLLOWS

Alright ladies and gents, it's FRIDAY! I remember as a child always being so excited when it was Friday, not because school was out for the weekend, but because so many adults around me were in such an incredible mood! I also find it amusing that though most of us had Monday off for a holiday, this week seemed just as long (maybe longer) than a typical work week.

In other news, I have kept up pretty well with my book challenge and yet, not so well with reviews. I've enjoyed fewer books than I've disliked but I appreciate this journey and how many new ideas/genres I've been exposed to. A surprising twist is that I am loving historical fiction novels.

My Lucy is still feeling slightly under-the-weather but she's getting better. I've been planning her birthday party (she'll be one in two weeks!) and spending a small fortune on wonderful, educational presents that I know she'll love. I remind myself that though I'm spending the money, I'm planning to pass many of these toys along to her siblings (whenever that happens) and/or reselling them through consignment.

Our vacation went from being six days, to ten days and though I loved Hilton Head Island, SC and Savannah, GA, I'm very glad to be home. The weather was beautiful (and HOT) and I always feel very energized by the ocean. We stayed the last two nights in Savannah's historic district and it was incredible. We honeymooned there and fell in love two years ago, so walking through the many alleys and parks again was a nice trip. I may have mentioned before that we don't see ourselves staying in Chattanooga forever. Savannah is on our top 5 list of cities to move to. We have already begun our research to find the greatest city for us and our family but likely will not move for another four-five years.

I'll post a quick picture of my two loves from our trip, and hopefully post another book review soon.

Happy Friday all!!!

A real excuse

I hate excuses. I hate that I have always felt the need to defend myself, like everyone wants to hear about the what/when/why of a situation, to hear my explanation. But I always give it. I always defend. I always put in my two cents. Anyway, here's my latest:

I was on vacation for 10 days without reliable internet access and upon getting home Monday afternoon, found my daughter to have a temp of 102.9 and since then I've been cuddling this new, can't live without mommy bundle of hugs and fever and of course trying to unpack.

So there is it. There's my sob story. Sorry for my absence ladies and gents but it's likely to stay that way until the Lucy Bug is better. She literally won't let me put her down unless she's asleep and I'm enjoying every minute of cuddle time because she normally won't stand still.

Until next time....
Cassie

Friday Follow Alongs... Plural

I'm planning to blog again soon.... VACATION IS GREAT!!!