I found this great idea from Gina who found this great idea from Chili. Just write a funny caption in the comments that goes along with the picture/s! You can choose to do Bella’s, Noah’s, or both.

The one that makes Jeremy laugh the hardest wins some HAPPY MAIL! I’ll send you a silly little package full of stuff to make you smile! I’ll post the winner on Saturday. You are welcome to participate until then!

or

I am entertaining buying a new camera. But truth be known, I don’t know if I know everything I need to know about the investment. I love taking pictures and carry my camera everywhere with me. But I’ve thought about investing a little more money into my next camera so that I can capture better/faster pictures. I don’t want to make money off of photography though, I basically want to capture memories. Any point and shoot can do that, I guess. But I want to capture pictures like Yvonne, Deana, Darlene, and Meghan. They have talent, no doubt. Having good tools is a great place to start.

So I guess I’m posting tonight just to get some advice from anyone who knows cameras better than I do. I’ve been flirting with Nikon 10.2 MP D40X and the Canon 10.1 MP Rebel XTi a little bit. Isn’t Nikon such a show-off with their whole 10.2 MP? TEN-POINT-TWO, not ten-point-ONE like those stoopid Canon folks. Like that .1 really makes you cooler or something. Puhhh-leaze. Is that .1 going to make my boobs bigger? Is that .1 going to make me look skinny? Is it gonna give me some Tuesday night neck massaging and “Oh-honey-you-are-the-sexiest-housewife-on-planet-Earth” gratitude? No? Then shut-up, Nikon.

Ok, where was I? Oh. Is there anything I should know? These cameras aren’t cheap so I don’t want to buy one and then wish I had bought something a little cheaper (maybe older) so that I could afford fancier lenses, flashes, etc. too. Is there another camera I should consider, maybe even one that’s as good but cheaper? Is there a recommended retailer? I also want to be able to buy an extended warranty. My luck has been that my cameras punk out on me right after the 1 year warranty expires.

Thanks ahead of time for any advice or insight you might have!

Ok, I’m totally drooling all over my keyboard because of these delicious cameras.

I just wanted to start by saying…

… Things work out. They always do. Jeremy called his old boss over and over and over. The dude would pick up the phone sometimes just to cuss Jeremy out. We were nearly at witts end. We didn’t want to file a Mechanic’s Lien, we just wanted the money he owed. I asked Jeremy over and over to let me call the dude. Let me try to talk to him to get the check. He kept saying “No. It won’t help.” Finally, he let me call. Of course, his boss quit answering the phone, so I left a message…

“Hi, Shane. I know you probably don’t want to hear from me either at this point, but I had to try. I know you are probably a nice guy, as is my husband. Maybe we are all good people in a bad situation. But pride isn’t going to pay my bills or put food in the fridge for my kids. It’s not going to buy my son school clothes. So, you have to understand where I’m coming from. I’m calling against Jeremy’s wishes, but I have an agenda. I hope that you will just humble yourself, call Jeremy, or call me and I will come get his check. You may not like Jeremy, but I know you have nothing against me or my children. Please do what’s right.”

He called Jeremy a few minutes later and asked him to meet Jeremy at the bank. We got paid. I’m not sure that it was because of my message. But it sure made me feel better.

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Right after all the cussing, fighting, and silliness, I went and checked the mail. I needed something to perk me up, and was hoping there would be something nice at the post office. Maybe my lottery check (dream on, steph), maybe a new magazine. Or maybe. Just maybe? Some GOOD MAIL!!!

Sissi, my sweet and lovely French friend, sent me a package full of goodies! She sent sweets (and the chocolates are MINE), an awesome CD full of great music, some postcards, and Avian water face sprayer (ohhh, it’s like a bit of heaven)! Thanks so much, Sissi!

But here’s the funny part. Bella threw one heck of a temper tantrum for the candy. It was kind of funny, so I caught the whole dance on camera…

While she’s got a whole mouth full of French jelly beans, she starts throwing a fit because she wants my chocolates. She was moving so fast in her fit that the camera couldn’t even keep up.

After she saw me put the chocolates in my room on my dresser, she demanded more jelly beans. I told her she had to eat some lunch first. I watched as she snuck the jelly beans off of the counter (she thinks she’s so sneaky). She went and hid under the kitchen table with them. She slid all the chairs back in so that we wouldn’t see her. When we’d ask her what she was doing, she’s say, “Oh, nothing. Go away.”

I finally got the jelly beans away from her. She was good and sweet for a few minutes while she plotted. I was making lunch when she started dragging the kitchen ladder across the room and into my bedroom. I always notice when munchkins try to go into my room, much less with a ladder. That usually means they are trying to find my chocolate stash. Nuh-uh. A few moments later I came to take pictures again. Here’s Bella trying to act like she just wants to watch Sponge Bob.

Here she is making her move.

Those are my chocolates being compromised.

So, I guess I had to share. Because she’s cute. And because she’s so resourceful and determined.

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But Sissi wasn’t the only one who sent me Good Mail! My friend Kim sent me some too! She sent me note cards, body wash, chapstick, hand lotion, and MORE CANDY! Bella made quick work of the gum. It’s gone today. But at least it was sugar free so her teeth stay pretty. And it had antioxidants, so it had some nutritional value… Right?

Kim packaged the items so sweetly with little beaded bows. Bella and I are going to use the beads for a fun crafty project next week. The hand lotion is lavender scented, which happens to be my favorite. It really gave me the motivation to get started on my soapmaking again, so that my bars can be cured by Christmas time. My favorite thing to cook up is some lavender castile soaps– sooooo yummy. I’ll definitely be sending Kim a bar for Christmas.

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Do I have some rockin’ friends or what!? They even had some intuition, because I received those packages just when I needed a smile the most. Thank you soooo much Sissi and Kim! You’re the best! Thanks to all of you that dropped some prayers and happy thoughts our way too. Everything worked itself out!

I make an award winning quiche. Ummm. Actually my quiche hasn’t won any awards. But, it’s deeeelish. So I thought I’d share my recipe with you. Now you will have the power! This is great for brunch, lunch, or dinner!

Ingredients:

2 deep pie shells (I prefer Marie Calendar or Pillsbury)

10 eggs

3 cups shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar)

1/2 can organic spinach

1/3 jar of sliced sweet red bell peppers (usually on the pickle aisle)

1 cup mushroom slices uncooked

1 small handfull of diced onions

* sometimes I add a chicken breast, sometimes a 1/2 jar of soft bacon bits, maybe even some green chilli if you are feeling spicey. But this time it was all veggie and was quite filling. It’s a great way to disguise veggies if your kiddos hate them, like mine do.

Cook on 370 degrees for 1 hour- 1 hour 15 minutes. Serve with a delicious fruit salad. Or better yet, try this:

fresh organic spinach, sliced strawberries, feta cheese sprinkled on top, with a bit of strawberry dressing (yes, they make this. look for it cause it’s so yummy). (Thanks, Chanda, for the delicious salad idea!)

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Also, my son is a football star. Well, almost. He’s a star in training. He’s been going to practice all week and just got the position of Quarterback! My son is a Quarterback, Bronco bound, y’all! I’m so stinkin’ psyched!

All the girls love the Quarterback. I remember our Quarterback in high school at Terry Sanford. He was something else. Great looking, point scoring, super friendly. He got scholarships to NC State. We loved you Edwin!

Austin is my favorite Quarterback though:

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Lastly, Jeremy has been working on this multi-million dollar home as a sub-contractor. He was offered a better paying job with a competing contractor, which, of course, he excepted. We figured there wouldn’t be hard feelings with his present contractor since the job was done, everything passed inspections, etc. On the day of Jeremy’s expected “check-cut”, the present contractor found out about Jeremy finding a better paying job. He refused to pay Jeremy. So, we’re floating and at this guy’s whim for an entire month’s pay. He cusses Jeremy out everytime Jeremy calls for the status of his check. He hangs up on Jeremy. He jerks him around. This is all so very humbling because what the guy deserves is a kick in his jaw but all we can give him is patience and hope that he’ll pay up. Meanwhile, you know, bills need to be paid and children need school clothes and fall jackets, and the world fargin’ keeps on going despite this jerks pride and ego. So, we’re having to go file a mechanic’s lien on the house he worked on which is a total bummer because it means it could take MONTHS to see the money, if ever, and we still lose hundreds of dollars for the cost of the liens. I’m sooooo bummed out. If you pray, will you drop one in the mail to God for us? If you light candles and send happy thoughts, please do for us. We could use a little of that right now. We’ll make ends meet. We always do. But the funk and negativity this has brought our family this week has really put some long on our faces.

But we’ll keep on truckin’ because that’s what we do. And with a face like this to brighten your day, what else matters?

“Mommy, I LOVE your strawberry and spinach salad. More, please!”