Dear high school sweetheart,

You had me at hello on January 16, 2001. I can remember that night like it was yesterday. There you were sitting in your white ford truck with Justin & Brandon. You stole my heart and never gave it back. And I never wanted you to. I thank god every single day for you, all of you.  I can't wait to explain to my little girl or boy on the day s/he is experiencing her/his first love that the little blue eyed boy who captured mommas total heart was her/his daddy.

Aaron, you are my world & you have been since day one.

I love you. Happy 11 years of life together.

♥ Your Wife, XoXo

Picture taken  February 2001 - ages 16/15:

at a friend, McKenzie Pickett's house. We were with two other couples, hanging out... falling in love. I can still remember walking around the Pickett's house along with the other couples... my heart was pounding & blood was pumping 90-to-nothing. I was full of smiles.. and stopped breathing when he grabbed my hand.  I was falling

I never want to forget this day. I never will.

All I can remember about this day was...
{Are you ready for this mom?}

After prom, we all went back to Aaron's {parents} house. Which was planned.
Us and about 7 other prom dates. Well, I had to be home at 1:00am, no later...
my parents would have killed me. Well, we fell asleep and I woke up at 5:00am knowing my parents get up at 6:00am. I screamed. He jumped up. We got my stuff together in about 2.5 seconds... no joke, I was scared to death. Knew I was going to walk in to my parents starring at me at the table.
Well i didn't. They were still asleep. THank God. At 10:00am I woke up and was REALLY nervous.
I walked out to my mom smiling huge asking me how Prom was.
I knew I was safe. Later {in picture} Aaron came back over to hang out.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our Story:

God knew what he was doing when he made this little tomboy who always had a bow in her hair while baiting her own hook... she grew up being the complete opposite.

She was the first girl to ever take his attention away from "I'd rather be fishing."

♥

met in January 2001
became... as my parents would say
"steady" January 2001.
we were kids.
we were in high school.
we went steady all throughout high school...
for the most part.
he had my heart from day one.
i had his attention but it took longer for him
to settle in.
#now comes college.


ouch.
i lived in an apartment with my girlfriends.
he still was at home.
{mommas boy..yes}
parties. break-ups. crying. finding ourselves.
we made it.
it was rough.
it was only the beginning.
now comes the first time we lived together.
#2008


wow.whoa.what happened?
you're just not ready to play house at 22.
well we weren't. we were far from it.
reality hit us.
big time.
wait - let me correct that.
reality hit ME.
this was a bad idea.
we were on two different roads of 'knowing what we wanted'.
i moved out 8 months later.
hardest thing i've ever done.
not really moving out
just everything that came along with it.
okay and yes - moving out.
a day/moment i never want to feel again.the hardest moment{s} of our history yet.
however, it was the best thing that ever happened to {us}.


he is a bachelor.
i live with my parents.
something I never thought i'd ever have to do again.
he was high on single life.
i was broken to pieces.
shattered.
torn apart.
alone.
he partied & ...
partied.
well, he was a bachelor.

my heart was brought interest elsewhere.
 yes, with a guy. a great guy.
not with aaron.
i was swept off my feet.
aaron begged. cried. pleaded. but partied.
he was still in the same mind set.
not ready for the serious-ness of a relationship & love.
make sense?
he was a bachelor & wanted that life.
he needed that.
#five months later.

he hasn't given up.
i found myself. my life. my confidence.
my heart.
which was with aaron.
he was my heart.

best valentines day yet was our first
day back together - 2009.
the.perfect.date.
love took some time to find us again
the real love. the trust. everything that comes with it.
we moved in together with time.
still a few bumpy roads but nothing
was worth giving up.


June 2010 spent our time
 moving into his late great grandfathers home.
it was given to us.
it was remodeled to make it our home.
it was a very good time in our life.
we found the our happiness - together.
happiness was alive, living, and regained.
we found partnership.
we found respect for each other and most of all...
we became stronger friends
best friends
& lovers all over again.

September 2010 Aaron picked out THE ring.
December 26th he was on one knee.
we planned my perfect fairy tale for eight months.
the happiest, most joyful experience.
became husband and wife on September 3, 2011.


Life now...
is spent building our roots.
 a lot of couch-time. dinner dates.
 time with family & friends. new traditions.
& a wife trying to cook like momma does.
 #notquitethereyet
starting our family.
making plans knowing nothing can beat us.

 

boy, it's been too long.

Geez Louise! I'm missed all of you.

Not sure who has been messing with my website access in our I-T department

but they can sure as heck stop it!

So. Now that I'm completely off track & can't think about writing.

I figured I'd share what HAS taken the place of my breaks {aka blog time}

at work this week. Ohhh don't you worry. I've been just fine this week.

Stay tuned. You'll love it.

  All I gotta say.. is there are a lotta cool bloggers from TEXAS... but I learned a lot about the people from Houston, Texas.

Welcoming my favorite person I've never met:

The Ellen Show  

Round ONE-

Round TWO-

Round THREE-

 Now for something a little something different.

I about snorted way to many times watching these ladies...

Round ONE-

Round TWO-

Round THREE-

... will have to come later.

For some reason it's no where to be found.

When I find it... I promise to post it because this one chicks cracks me up... hysterically.

It's Inappropriate

Dear high school sweet heart,

The Good Girls get a shower

I'm lovn' Jo!e.

First, I'd like to Thank EVERYONE who shared {or tired to share} their punch recipes! I had an amazing turn out and let's just say... the punch went well. It ran out.
I'll have pictures ASAP!


Second, Forgive me for not blogging this week. I had a crisis. My work blocked all BLOGSPOT.COM. Thankfully, Aly's URL is a dot com therefore I was about to scope it out and... somehow get back on my blog. I don't think it'll last for long. But bare with me on my "lack of blogging".

Now... for my product of the week!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

after all amazing shares of favorite products I have the urge to show my favorite kitchen gadget of all time.  After Dottie's & Breann's wonderful show & tell kitchen loves I must move along to share my hands down most FAVORITE kitchen gadget ever...

don't laugh.

because Aaron makes fun of me all the time but really

it makes the happiest cook alive.

I'm not only going to share just ONE product but a few.

However it's the brand that I am using as my "Favorite Product of the Week."

#truestory

Last year at my {Around the Clock} shower my mother was struggling with her gift. She would tell me every morning how she hated the time of the day she got. "I'm the mother of the bride and I got....breakfast."  My mother is a perfection & likes fun pretty gifts {as i do}. I could tell she was stressing over what to get. So... when she found this brand of products she really hooked Aaron and myself up.  Thanks Mama!

Product Brand: Jo!e

My #1 favorite product made my Jo!e is....

The Kitch Oven Devil Pull

Yes. you are looking at this correct.

I love this little guy. He is great.

best part about him he is only $2.99.

The perfect idea for wedding showers.

Most people shop of registry but after using a lot of Joie products like this little

guy,  I buy kitchen gadgets for my brides. Hands down was my favorite thing receiving.

I used my Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card to go out and buy many more gadgets

like this guy. Yes, this is where my husband said I was crazy. I used my gift cards for this.

But I promise you I use him more than any other gadget in my kitchen.

 I love all Jo!e products.

They all make life in the kitchen easier, happier & a lot more fun.

Runner up:

The Tomato Slicer

Who cuts a tomato evenly WITHOUT help?

Not me.

Matter of fact, I despised cutting a tomato until I got this guy.

You can buy this tomato slicer for $9.99.

Wouldn't THAT make the kitchen experience more fun? and prettier?

Second Runner Up:

The Spoon Rest

Small. Easy. No mess.

best part... $3.99

Third Runner up

... which should really be first runner up is

The Omelet Ease

We use this a LOT. You flip it back and fourth to make an omelet...

resteraunt style. It's simple & easy to clean.



Baby Shower 101 - {with your help}


{via}

So I have this baby shower that I am co-hosting tomorrow for one of my good friends, Shanna {who already delivered her twin girls six weeks early}. My favorite thing of ALL time is to host gatherings. I love it.

Yaddi Yaddi Ya.

My reason for this post. One of the things I've been said to do is make the punch.

I'm excited because I finally get to use the beautiful punch bowl we received at one of the showers. Yay! I usually do the green sherbet/ginger ale punch but  I really want a spectacular Outstanding over-the-top De-Lish punch that has everyone going back for more??? Yeah, that punch you made at your last gather. Tell me!

Any help? Maybe you have a recipe that is amazing & everyone will

dote over? I want dote-ers!

If so, PLEASE let me in on the secret.

I'm looking for R.E.C.I.P.E.S not {check pinterest}.
Being I've waited last minute to dwell on this... there is no time for pinterest. k? thanks lovers!

Ready. Set. Go
get your recipe book & come back!!!

WEN is where it is.

 Product of the week link up withAly & Tiffanie! my product:




having issues with your hair?

dry? frizzy? pure yuck?

you need this product.

mainly the shampoo & conditioner.

... and then you know you need the rest but really.

no joke.

wen product is amazing.

expenisive I know.

not only am I a Used-To-Be-Stylist

but I am also a firm believer in spending money on your hair.

good shampoo makes a complete difference.

seriously. no kidding.

"If your hair is dry, frizzy, oily, dull or out of control, the problem might not be your hair—it might just be your shampoo.
Shampoos that lather use sulfates and detergents, which can strip your hair of natural essential oils, and make it less manageable. WEN® is different. The creamy formula cleanses and conditions without harsh chemicals to improve the look and feel of hair.
You can see the difference after just one use. In fact, in a 3-week study of users of WEN® cleansing conditioner:
97.5 % of participants saw more shine
90% of participants saw less frizz
90% of participants saw more bounce and body"

order it here.

you can thank me later.

Tweeters?

The photo says it ALL.



I'm kinda like an outcast in twitterVILLE.

I'm fairly knew at it and still very much learning about it & how it works.

I remember having no face for the longest time until Aly harassed me enough. kidding.

Well I'm there. finally.

however I don't follow a lot of bloggers nor do I have a lot of followers.

I am pretty much  a stalker of celebrity life.

OF COURSE I am follower my boy JB. daily, duh!

but what I want, is to reach out and find YOU on twitter.

Soooo...

Here it is. I no longer want to be in the projects & a tweeter wanna-be

I wanna follow YOU & you and you and you on twitter just as I do in the blog world.

So come find me.

Let's be tweet friends.

& give me a shout out so I know what's going on & to be sure to follow you back.

K? Good!

Yo you....

I am talking to YOU

come find me @JLDrew9311

Coming from a NON-book reader.

Never been much on reading books however in the past year  I've gotten into it more and more depending on the book itself.  I am reading The Help because I loved the movie so much and I must say that I'm LOVING it so far

& I am still in the first few chapters!

If you haven't seen the movie head to the next RedBox & rent it. You'll LOVE IT.

I promise! 

the story of my tats.

aint gonna lie.

when I first wrote my title of this post

i had to remove the words tits & replace it with tats.

tit for tats?  no cool story for them. i know, i know. dammit, right?


what i AM here to show you today are my tats.

my tattoos people. i have two of them.
nothing too special - random and dumb.

do i regret them... naaaahh! no way.
why? they are both memories and tell a story.
i'm linking up with Raven & A Mommas Desires & Pacifiers
with her lastest  link up.  If you have any make sure to hop over there & show us your Tattoos!.   If not, come anyway.

so here it goes.

I like to call my very first one...
The Independent College Student.

once upon a time i was the aggravating no-it-all teenager that my

mother tried to comprehend but couldn't.

i was independent & thought everything i did was right.

i also had a best friend who is still my best friend who was

JUST LIKE ME!

only my mother loved her - her name is Danielle.

Living the college life we were. very much so.

going out. drinking. partying. drinking. working.

oh and school, yes.

we were out and about having the time of our lives.

Dani and I had this thing were would draw a little heart on our left foot

with a pink pin outlined in blue that was located in between our

two smallest toes...

like so

one random Tuesday we got really excited {talking about getting this tattoo}

and said we were going to do it.

So we did.

however, when we got there we decided that we no longer wanted the cute little

pink & blue heart that we wore on our foot for like 2 months straight...

we wanted a butterfly.

yes. a butterfly.

my nerves drew in & my amazing mother popped in my head.

{she's gonna kill me if she finds out}

so  not only did we decide {since we were best friends & all it made since}

we decide on a random butterfly but we also decided to each pick a color and then together pick a random color. Fun right?

we also decide to relocate our tattoo due to me freaking out and due to Mama

chopping my head off being she F.R.E.A.K.E.D about my belly button piercing.

did I mention I was 18? Okay.

so we decided we were gonna locate it in our bikini area... hidden.

danielle actually has hers right above her bikini line & mine is completely hidden.

you have to be... shown or i'm naked.

most of the time i forget it's there. really.

So basically what if you think about it in about 40 years
from now my beautiful butterfly will become a moth.

pretty right? not!

So here she is friends...

Ugly Fugly, right?

danielle and I love our tattoo. we do.

we also bless our own hearts more every time it comes up

in conversation.

Next up ...

The Birthday Party

Not huge story here.

basically, Aaron's sister is pretty much in love with tattoos & we always do something for our birthdays celebrating somehow.

so we did with tattoos.

THIS time I wanted mine to show.

being I wear heals 90% of my life I wanted it on my foot.

{figures}

this one too, I forget it's there.

until people bring it up like my client did last year.

Client: You married?

Me: No.

Client: {speechless} with this gosh awful judgemental face

Me: Why are you looking at me like that?

Client: I always thought you had a man in your life.

Me: I do.

Client: You do know that is the symbol for lesbian?

Me: No. I didn't. Thanks though.

dammit.

The End.

The Independent College Student

Show me your goodies: Accessory Swap!

Good Morning Accessory Swap Participants!!

I'm so happy this morning to FINALLY see what everyone was gifted with. I had a blast hosting this swap and think I may do it more often... whatcha think?
Would you join in again? 

I'm super excited to share what my sweet friend, Dayna Leigh from A Bama Belle & a Bucket List  so graciously bought me. She pretty much spoiled me rotten, not kidding. First, let me introduce Dayna. She is a beautiful brunette who loves fitness, dressing up, drinking wine & hands down a huge football fan, ROLL TIDE. Not to mention she's a southern. I sure wish we lived closer, we'd get along great! {better than we do over the blog world, of course}  Dayna's blog is always interesting to read so hop over to the Bama' Belle's blog and give her some love.

Okay okay...

now for the accessories.

 

Last Thursday I was just getting home from work and saw a box on my front porch with MY name on it waiting so patiently for me to open. I had so much to do that day but everything stopped & excitment ROLLED in.

 

I quickly open it as if it were Christmas morning & see this...

 

... with or without the accessories I would have been in heaven. One thing you may or may not know about me is I LOVE anything to do with stationary or wrapping.

Dayna made this gift opening SO.MUCH.FUN.

Here's why?

Fun already, right? I thought so too.

Love it! So me.

 & then I saw this

Dayna, your wrapping excited me ALMOST as much as my goodies.

{please excuse my chipped nail polish. Don't judge.}

Was I NOT spoiled?

Thank you Dayna for not only picking out some really great accessories but

being my wonderful partner! You're awesome!

Okay, NOW if you are in this swap PLEASE make sure to link up using the URL

code for JUST your show off post, not your entire blog. I want to be able to check out everyones goodies & not have to search for it. I'm sure I am speaking for everyone else too. Please & THank you!

& Thank you ALL for signing up for this swap. I really enjoyed hosting it & if you are interested in more swaps comment me and let me know. I'd be more than happy to put them together!

Now link up!

If you are reading this...

 then I ask you to stop what you are doing &

Peace for a sweet little boy, Tripp Roth.

{via}

I do not ask that you read his story today, because I'd rather you use your

time to stop and pray for him. His amazing mother, Courtney

mentioned that she feels his life on earth is coming to an end soon but knows he will be rejoiced in heavens with our God almighty where there is no harm or pain. Tripp is incredibly strong & battling the worst disease I could ever imagine.

Most people haven't ever heard of it {including myself} until they've read his story.

Courtney shares his excruciating story in hopes to one day someone being able to maintain this disease or find a cure.

Tripp is so strong, stronger than most men I know.

He absolutely loves Elmo with all his heart. Courtney says Elmo is Tripp's best friend. He holds Elmo in his hand day in & out up until a few days ago.  Elmo even wrote his own song just for his biggest fan!

Tripp has the most incredible talent that I have ever seen. He brings a smile to my face and so much joy to my heart, he plays the drums. Watch him play! 

Friends, I ask for your prayers to make Tripp as comfortable as possible.

As his mother asks, 

Thank you.

All of these pictures are pictures captured from

"Ebing" A Mommy, Courtney's blog.