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  • Thankful Thursday

    I know this post is coming a bit late in the evening, but I was busy working on some projects earlier.  But as the saying goes, better late than never.  So, this week I am thankful that JJ officially turned one month old today!!!  I can’t believe that much time has already flown by.  And he’s changed so much in this last month.  
    I am thankful that he is starting to sleep better during the night.  We still have some nights where he wants to party until almost 3 AM.  However, I can see that he’s at least trying to sleep longer hours.  That means he’s finally getting used to being outside the womb.
    I am also thankful for the writing opportunities that I have come my way in the last few days.  Best believe that I am taking advantage of them all.  My faith has been renewed and I know that God is the one allowing these doors to open up for me.  I am very thankful that He is enabling me to live out my dream of being a writer.
    What has happened in your life that you are thankful for this week?

  • Wedding Day Romance Wednesday

    So, my lovely blogger friend, Amber, over that The Yeyo Diaries came up with the idea of doing a Wedding Day Romance Wednesday post every week. The purpose of these posts are to “ celebrate the reasons that made us fall in love in the first place…all the time – not just on our anniversary!” 

    Nobody knows better than I do the importance of celebrating the reasons you fell in love with your spouse than I  do.  In fact, at one point my husband and I almost didn’t make it to becoming husband and wife because I did forget.  As a child, I lived in a house with a very affectionate mother and a not so affectionate father.  Yes, I saw my parents kiss before and on rare occasions I would witness my dad flirting with my mom. However, those points were short lived and often interrupted by outbursts from dad over his unhappiness with the situation life had dealt him-a wife and a five kids.

    And eventually, he just left.  As a result I ended up being this super guarded young woman who was afraid to really let anyone in.  I was dying on the inside for affection but had no clue how to go about getting it the right way.  Thus, this made for many rocky moments in my relationship with my husband.  In fact, our relationship got so rocky because of my inability to allow myself to show or accept affection that we ended up going our separate ways before Moo’s first birthday.

    Things got really ugly before they got better.  February 2010, I lost one of the most important people in my life-my aunt.  She was for all sense and purposes my second mom.  She was the one person I could always be myself with and not be afraid of being judged.  Sitting at my mom’s computer typing up her biography to go into in her obituary for the funeral, I got a text my husband (my then ex).

    He was checking in to see how I was holding up.  The previous summer he had seen how I melted down at the hospital that awful night she coded blue and we weren’t sure the doctors could revive her.  It was him who called out from work to stay with me and my entire family in the waiting room almost until midnight.  It was him who curled up with me that night when we got back home and tried to reassure me that everything would be ok.

    And almost everyday afterwards, he would come home and ask if there was any improvement in her condition.  This man was wonderful and I had let one simple argument and my inability to let my guard down ruin our then four year relationship.  We’d survived larger fights and obstacles before.  So, how could something so stupid and small cause us to part ways for a whole year and do and say some truly awful things about each other?

    It was in that moment of texting him that I realized why I fell in love with him.  He reminded me of my aunt.  From the beginning of our relationship, I had felt such a comfort whenever I was with him.  The reason why was because like my aunt he accepted me for who I was and didn’t judge me.  He always made sure to let me know that he loved me for me and that my beauty was just an added bonus.

    And somehow I knew he was telling the truth.  Having grown up in foster care and being raised by his late great uncle and great grandmother, you would think he would be the one with the affection issues. That’s how I knew he must really see something special in me because all his life women has disappointed him and screwed him over yet here he was taking a chance on forever with me.

    Long story short, that night before my aunt’s funeral I realized that I was about to pass up on someone great.  And I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I did.  My aunt had taught me about forgiveness and that when it came to love we had decide whether it was or wasn’t worth doing.  Well, our love was worth moving past everything that had happened and letting the past be the past.

    I’m happy to say that we have been together coming up on 7 years and are approaching our first anniversary as husband and wife.  Neither of us regrets the choice to get back together and make the ultimate commitment.  If anything the reminder of what attracted me to him has made us so much stronger this time around.  I’m sure that we will have more obstacles and battles to face but I know that we will emerge from the victoriously.

  • Mealtime with Country Bob’s

    When it comes to family, nothing brings you together like good food does.  In my house, family mealtime is serious business.  My husband and I share the cooking duty and are always trying to outdo each other with our cooking skills. I’ve learned that the best way to impress him and keep meals interesting is by trying new products.  So, when I heard a raving review from one of my blogger friends about Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce, I just had to try it.

    I’m a firm believer that you can never go wrong with a good sauce.  Having a great sauce gives you the ability to turn plain old fried chicken into something extraordinary and delicious.  So, I contacted the company because I hadn’t seen their product in my local grocery store.  Thankfully, they were nice enough to send me two bottles to try out.  I was beyond excited when my husband came back home Saturday with a huge brown box. 
    I just knew it had to be my All Purpose Sauce from Country Bob’s.  And I was anxious to try it out.  It just so happened that we were planning on having my specially seasoned fried chicken tenders.  The perfect opportunity to test out this sauce I had heard such great reviews about.  I cracked open the box and set about making dinner.
    Folks, when I say this sauce is good, it’s very good!!  Being the sauce loving southern belle that I am, I don’t play when it comes to my food.  And this sauce was absolutely on point in terms of taste.  It has the slight tanginess and texture of a steak sauce mixed with the mesquite flavor and smokiness of your finest southern barbecue sauce.  I was in sauce heaven.
    Even  my husband who usually only eats ranch had to admit that this was some great sauce.  The uniqueness of the flavors was something that neither of us had ever tasted before.  I’m proud to say that this sauce will be a regular staple in our pantry from here on out.  Since, Saturday I have tried Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce with french fries and it’s way better than plain old ketchup. 
    BUY IT: You can purchase Country Bob’s products here.
    WIN IT: The wonderful people at Country Bob’s would like for you to try out their All Purpose Sauce for yourself.  They have generously offered to give two YUMMommy readers their own bottle!!
    (You MUST be a follower of YUMMommy via Google Friend Connect and US Resident to enter this giveaway.  Please include your email address with each entry comment.)

    This giveaway ends June 21, 2011 at 11:59 PM!
    HOW TO ENTER: Visit Country Bob’s and check out their Recipe section.  Leave comment telling me which recipe you would like to try.
    EXTRA ENTRIES:  
    ~Like YUMMommy on Facebook here
    ~Like Country Bob’s on Facebook here
    ~Follow YUMMommy on Twitter here
    ~Follow Country Bob’s on Twitter here
    ~Tweet about this giveaway once a day (leave link to tweet in comments)
    Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this review.  I contacted the company and requested a sample of their product and offered to perform a review.  All opinions expressed in this post are strictly and solely my own!!

  • Alcohol Vs. Marijuana

    Source:onlinecourtreportingschools.orgOnline Court Reporting Schools.org - Alcohol Vs. Marijuana

  • Back in Business

    Guess what? I’m back in business yall!!!  Yes, the FedEx man has come and gone. I am now happily clicking away on my new Dell Inspiron Mini laptop.  Boy is this thing mini too.  I love it.  I can now take it everywhere because it will fit nice and snug in the diaper bag or my purse.

    So, glad to have my virtual office back.  I’ve been somewhat lost without. Now I can get back to editing pictures, making the posts I really want and sending out some important pitches. 

    I would like to thank everyone who hung in here during this time of technical difficulty.  Thank you for all the comments and continuing to stop by and check out the blog.  Thankfully, the Blogger app isn’t that bad.  It actually got the job done. I just hated not being able to position my photos where I wanted them within my post.

    Plus, I couldn’t watermark them because we know sometimes people get sticky fingers on the internet.  They will not only jack your posts but your pictures as well.  In fact, I’m thinking about watermarking my pictures before I upload them Facebook.  I have had some family members jack pics from my photo albums and then act like they took it. And Facebook has made it easy for people to jack your pics with that all download option they have put in the albums.

    You would think they would have come up with a way to make it harder.  Anyways, I’m looking forward to getting back to my regular posting schedule and delivering you all some awesome stuff.  I have a lot of things that I wrote down and can’t wait get typed up.  Hope everyone is having a blessed weekend thus far!!

  • Back in Business

    Guess what? I’m back in business yall!!!  Yes, the FedEx man has come and gone. I am now happily clicking away on my new Dell Inspiron Mini laptop.  Boy is this thing mini too.  I love it.  I can now take it everywhere because it will fit nice and snug in the diaper bag or my purse.

    So, glad to have my virtual office back.  I’ve been somewhat lost without. Now I can get back to editing pictures, making the posts I really want and sending out some important pitches. 

    I would like to thank everyone who hung in here during this time of technical difficulty.  Thank you for all the comments and continuing to stop by and check out the blog.  Thankfully, the Blogger app isn’t that bad.  It actually got the job done. I just hated not being able to position my photos where I wanted them within my post.

    Plus, I couldn’t watermark them because we know sometimes people get sticky fingers on the internet.  They will not only jack your posts but your pictures as well.  In fact, I’m thinking about watermarking my pictures before I upload them Facebook.  I have had some family members jack pics from my photo albums and then act like they took it. And Facebook has made it easy for people to jack your pics with that all download option they have put in the albums.

    You would think they would have come up with a way to make it harder.  Anyways, I’m looking forward to getting back to my regular posting schedule and delivering you all some awesome stuff.  I have a lot of things that I wrote down and can’t wait get typed up.  Hope everyone is having a blessed weekend thus far!!

  • Thankful Thursday

    It’s Thankful Thursday and yes I am still blogging through my phone. Which brings me to the first thing I am thankful for- the Blogger app.  I can’t do all the things I can do from a computer but at least I can post something. And something is better than nothing.

    I am thankful to report that JJ is 3 weeks and still healthy.  His baby & heat rash been clearing up.  We’re still working on sleeping in the bassinet at night. He’s getting more used it but still prefers to sleep right next to me.

    I am thankful that my loving husband was able to spend three weeks home with me to help with the adjustment.  Lord knows it would have been a rude awakening otherwise.  He pretty much did the cooking everyday, cleaned, changed diapers and handled the night duty. I am so blessed to have married this man.

    And after weeks of asking around on Twitter for how to get some freelance writing work lined up and where to look for legitimate opportunities, I ended up actually getting some great advice from a mom in one of my groups on Linkedin.  I posted a question on our discussion board and wasn’t sure if I would even get an answer.  After all I didn’t get any replies from Twitter except for the spam bots. Anyways, I am taking her advice and seeing where it leads me.

    I am also thankful that I ran across a post on another blog about faith. I know it had to be God’s way of telling me that I need to trust Him more. I am sure this means that some doors are about to be opened. I have been worried and praying about somethings. Now I am stronger in my belief that He is about to answer my prayers.

    What has happened in your life that you are thankful for?   

  • Wordless Wednesday: Beach

    Wish I was back at the beach.

  • I’ll Be Back

    Still laptopless and it sucks because I have been oozing with creativity.  Needless to say there are a ton of posts that I am dying to write and share with you all.  However, working from my smart phone isn’t exactly the ideal situation. Thankfully, my new laptop is on the way.

    The hubby ordered it for me.  Just love him to pieces.  Can’t wait for it to get here and I can get back to my regular posts. And thank you to everyone who is still hanging in here and coming by the blog.  I appreciate it!   

    By the way, JJ is 3 weeks! Hard to believe that he’s almost a month old. Time is soaring by like the speed of light.  I am trying to learn to enjoy each moment since I can’t slow down time.

    Oh and my sister’s graduation was a blast!

  • Thankful Thursday

    Well, my laptop has crashed yet again. However, I am not letting that stop me from doing my Thankful Thursday post. I still have a lot to be thankful for. So, let’s get right into it.

    Today, JJ had a weight check with the pediatrician to make sure he was still gaining weight and doing relatively fine.  I am happy and thankful to report that he has almost packed on another full pound!  I am also thankful that his infant rash is going away. I am sure it was a combination of the baby wash and just his delicate skin getting used to being outside the womb.

    Earlier this week we started having issues with JJ sleeping in his bassinet at night. Last week, I figured out that the mat wasn’t soft enough. So, laid an extra blanket in there and presto! He loved it. Anyways, I am thankful to report that we had a breakthrough last night and he slept in his bassinet until almost 4 AM.

    I am also thankful to announce that I am part of Bloggers for Joplin. So, if you need to advertise your blog or business I am offering 125 x 125 ad space for $15 for a one month placement in my sidebar. All monies will go to the Red Cross. Be sure to check out my previous post for more info or check out the Bloggers for Joplin page on Facebook.

    Lastly, I am thankful that my baby sister will be graduating this weekend! I am proud of her because we have had some family members who have already dropped out of school this year. Glad that she has a good head on her shoulders and wants a better future.

    So, what are you thankful for this week?