I love my life!

This month has been fun posting "the loves" of my life! And as I look over my list, I can't help but see how lucky I am! I LOVE my life! I am so blessed and I really do thank God everyday for all of these blessings!



Simply blessed~
Laurie

I love movie night!

Family movie night is always a highlight here on N. Hickory Trace! It's a night to sit and cuddle and watch something fun! Oh yeah, and the popcorn with M&M's is a big plus too!


Tonight's feature was "Shorts" and it was pretty cute.


Lights, Camera, Action~
Laurie

I love original artwork!

There's something about handmade things that I go crazy about. I claim to be pretty crafty, but it's amazing to see what other people can do with their hands and their imagination! My taste ranges from beautiful landscapes to funky folk art. When we travel, my souvenirs are usually paintings, pottery or quirky little pieces of art that I will probably never see again.

Here are a few of my favorites...



This beautiful landscape was painted by a woman who is a cancer survivor and donates all of her proceeds to cancer research:





These two funky friends are made from gourds:



However, in my biased opinion, my most beautiful pieces of art are pieces like these:


Art lover~
Laurie

I love sunsets!

One of the most beautiful sights to me is a sunset. The colors are always amazing and it's so incredible to watch everything change and the sun gives it's last flashes of the day. Here are a few I've caught on camera...





And what about two sun-kissed faces with a beautiful sunset!?!?


Wow, God can work wonders with His paint brush!

Red sky at night, sailors delight~
Laurie

I love to cook!

Well, I love to cook things that are fun, different and YUMMY! Meatloaf, casseroles, pork chops, grilled chicken are just plain boring, but I do cook them. But what I really love cooking are the dishes that take a little bit more work and the people who eat them really enjoy them! Here are some samples...

Monday night we had a Thai Dinner with Thai Pitas:

Thai Cucumber Salad

and Edamame

And tonight:
Pasta with Basil and Sun-dried Tomato Sausage


Other favorites are:

Low Country Boil


Tortellini Soup

Petit Fours


I do not claim to be Ina Garten or Rachel Ray, but I'll give it my best shot! And when I'm feeling a little lazy, my lovies always always enjoy a bowl of pasta with red sauce...and that's EASY!

An Iron Chef in my own mind~
Laurie

P.S. One of my favorite compliments was from my kids..."Mom, you make the best white rice ever!" Yeah, I brag! Ha!

I love my computer!

If my house were on fire and I had to quickly grab something, it would be my computer! Well, after I grab my kids, of course!!!!!

This little laptop gives me hours and hours and hours and hours of enjoyment! I have it on all day and use it all of the time! Some of the things I love about it:

Google any dish you are craving and you can get recipes instantly, have any ache or pain and you can diagnose yourself easily (HA!), creating my blog, great way to communicate with family and friends, being forwarded some hilarious jokes, on-line shopping - YEA!, great way to communicate with teachers throughout the day, keep up with all of the celebrity gossip, Facebook!, the list goes on and on.

I do some really productive stuff on here too, I promise. I volunteer to do the Public Relations for the PTA, so I'm always typing press releases for the local newspapers and t.v./radio and I'm on our neighborhood BOD and handle the neighborhood news. So it's not all fun and games. (Although a lot of it is!)

And the amount and subject matter of my photographs on this laptop----PRICELESS! So, yep, this baby is one of my favorite things!

Call me "techno-nerd"~
Laurie

I love sweet tea!

Not just "tea", but sweet tea!


Is there anything more refreshing than a tall glass of iced, sweet tea?!? One consistent thing about my house is that you will always, always find a pitcher of sweet tea in my fridge. And my family knows that -heaven forbid- if there is only one glass of tea left at dinner time, it is mine! (I do my best to make sure we never get into that situation!)

My favorite combo is sweet tea and biscuits! And seeing as I can't remember the last time I had biscuits in my house, this favorite is a rarity, but believe me try it sometime! It's so awesome and so Southern!

Come on Northerners...add some sugar to your tea and join in the bliss!

Oh so sweet~
Laurie

I love scouting!

Some of the best memories I have growing up in Texas are from being in the Girl Scouts! The meetings, the friends, the crafts (Hey, give me some fabric and thread and I'll whip you up a "sit-upon" in no time!) I can't wait for Lily to be old enough to join!
(I must add that my sit-upon would be much fancier with ties to allow you to attach said sit-upon to your belt loops leaving your hands free to pick flowers and such!)

Right now, I'm enjoying watching Sam in Cub Scouts! I think this is such a great organization in teaching boys about responsibility, character development, fitness, etc. All under the motto of "Do your best." And Sam loves it, which thrills me to death! This is what's going on in my backyard as I type...

Learning the procedures for a flag raising ceremony.

Sam with his pine wood derby car.

Building character and being cute all at the same time! Good times!

Doing MY best~
Laurie

I love the sunshine!

With the crazy weather we've had these past few weeks, I am so excited to see the big ball of rays shining bright in the sky! We will be outside all weekend soaking them all in!

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” ~ C.S. Lewis

Basking in the glow~
Laurie

Shhh - I love reality t.v.!

And please let me clarify -- SOME reality t.v. My personal faves are:




Usually my t.v. is airing HGTV or Food Network, but a few evenings I need a little added indulgence of the silly programs. And who could blame me for watching The Bachelor when this season's star shares an uncanny resemblance to someone near and dear to my heart?!?!?


I accepted his rose~
Laurie

I love Honest Abe!

Not that Honest Abe, this one.....


(Contemplating the Emancipation Proclamation!)

Sam's class was doing a project on famous Americans and he picked Abraham Lincoln. The project consisted of reading a book, preparing a poster board and doing a presentation about your famous America. For extra credit, he had the choice to dress up as his subject when he made his presentation---Ohhh, Sam was all over it! He is so excited to get the 5 or 10 extra points, because he already "knows that he will get a '100'" on what is required! (Yes, he is mighty optimistic!)

He is also giving everyone in the class a penny! Bribery never hurt either, right?!?!

Honestly~
Laurie

P.S. Lily calls him "Abrahan Linkum"! So cute!

I love "brinner"!

Is that even a word? What I love is breakfast for dinner! And why do I love this?!? Because my kids love it soooo much! It's kind of a tradition for Sam, Lily Clare and I to have "brinner" when John is out of town on business. Well, this week, Sam asked for "brinner", so I made it last night. This meal usually consists of...

pancakes


bacon


and grits!


So last night when the kids smelled the bacon, they asked "Is Dad out of town?" And as a pleasant surprise, I got to say "No, Dad gets to eat this with us!" I do believe he enjoyed it just as much as the kids!

Yummmmm~
Laurie

I love music!

Pretty much, you can name any genre of music and I can name at least one song that I like from it. I love it all! Take a peek at my iPod and you can see the wide range of artists that I enjoy listening to! (Oh yeah, my iPod was stolen while vacationing in Jamaica...blah!) If I still had my iPod, you would see all of my likes and I would look like this while jammin' to my tunes:


To me, music sets a stage for events and is a back drop for setting a mood. It gets me pumped up when I want to exercise and relaxes me when I want to "chill". It brings back awesome memories of my childhood and teenage years.

I like Ella Fitzgerald and Eddie Van Halen!
I like Amy Grant and the Black Eyed Peas!
I like the twang of down home bluegrass and the beat to Moby's techno sounds!
I like Hank Williams, Jr. (Really! Just ask John!) and Mozart.

Tone Loc, Jimmy Buffet, Wolfmother, 10,000 Maniacs, Alison Krauss, The Allman Brothers, Zac Brown Band, LL Cool J, Motley Crue, Kenny Chesney, Colbie Caillat, Yo-Yo Ma....so, do you get my drift?!?!

What? You don't know Yo-Yo Ma? Well take a listen --- just beautiful!



With a song in my heart~
Laurie

I love my "old man"!

That "old man" being our 14 year old black lab...."Bear"! In continuing my February "list of loves", Mr. Bear has to be included!!!


Let me tell you, this guy is a trooper! He came to us back in 1996. I was jogging through our neighborhood and he came out of nowhere and started following me. He hung around our house for about a week, then disappeared. A few days later he reappeared with what looked like some cuts and bruises from being hit by a car. We took him to a vet who made sure he was o.k., then we tried to find his "family" with no luck. At that point he became ours and has been pretty spoiled ever since! I will admit that his life was a little more luxurious before the kids came along, but he has adapted very well and he lets them poke, prod, and pull on him without a peep (or growl, I guess is the better word).

Here's to you "Old Man" you've been a great addition to our family!!

He can weasel into the most odd places:

He knows where to go to get some lovin':
He definitely knows how to savor the good life:
and has become a very big fan of the pool!
Lovin' our furry family member~
Laurie

I love my Valentines!

How wonderful to have a day to celebrate "Love"!


The emotion that causes hearts to race, hearts to break, tears of joy and tears of sadness. It is the emotion that everyone yearns for and the lucky ones get to possess! I know that I am one of the lucky ones!

Today I celebrate the love that I have for my incredible husband and the love we have for our precious little ones! I celebrate the love that I have for my family, for John's family and for the special friends that surround me on a daily basis!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

"Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired."~Robert Frost

"If you have it [Love], you don't need to have anything else, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you have." ~Sir James M. Barrie

A full heart~
Laurie


P.S. The day must be decorated with treats of red and pink! Yummmm -- red velvet cupcakes!