a prayer, gift ideas, and DSP...

First of all, Hi.

My posts seem to be few and far between these days, but hoping that'll all change SOON.  I'm having a minor surgical procedure done next Friday, and blogging is on my to-do-list while I'm recovering!

Anyway...

Some of you fellow Mississippians may have heard about the tragic shooting that took place in New Albany last night.  A high school coach and his wife were shot (his wife was killed) in what seemed to be a random shooting.  I understand that the wife was about 30, and she and her husband have a little girl.  It's hard to make sense of any crime, but murdering an innocent woman?  I just don't get it. 

I can't imagine what this family is experiencing right now--especially since it's Christmas. 

Please join me in praying for the Price family!

Now...on to a much happier topic...
If you're stuck on what to get certain people for Christmas this year, I have a couple of great ideas for you!:

Perfect for hanging my necklaces!

I love displaying my Christmas cards on this one!

No...you can't have these actual pieces, but I'll tell you where you can get some like them! 

My friend Brad makes fun pieces like these and sells them!  I actually ordered this thinking that just maybe I'd give them away as gifts, but...well....I kinda decided to keep them for myself.  Selfish?  Maybe.  But I just had to have them.

I can always order more for myself somebody else, right?

If you like these and want to check out some of the other things Brad makes, find him on facebook: (Bradley Clay Barksdale) or email him at: bbarksdale13@gmail.com

His items are very reasonably priced!

Another idea:

COFFEE.

But not just any coffee.

You may remember reading this post (feel free to re-read if you need to be refreshed!).  You can order coffee from this site, and a portion of the money you spend will go to the G.I.R.L.S. Ranch (founded by my dear friend Shannon!).  So, go ahead and order some coffee for yourself, or other coffee lovers, and know that you're also helping hurting girls in Middle Tennesee! 

And finally...

I'm pretty sure you could get any female in your life something from Deep South Pout! Check out their new arrivals on facebook. You'll just love 'em.
Oh...and I just saw on twitter that if you donate new/almost new coats, blankets, or socks, you will receive 30% off any of their coats!
Awesome.

Now...please allow me to get back to my Lifetime-Christmas movie watching!

I love this time of the year...
Fa la la la la!

ABCs...

A couple of years ago, I compiled a list A-Z of things for which I'm thankful.  I created a list for this year and compared it to my first one.  Though some of the things are the same, there are many new things added this year!

Here's my 2011 list:

A: Another day!  Though life is hard and exhausting, I'm grateful for each new day I'm here on this Earth.

B: Brothers (in-law)!  They're just fantastic.

C: Computers!  What was life like before Internet, email, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and Pinterest?

D: Deep South Pout!  My new favorite boutique in Starkville.  Love the clothes and atmosphere but love the people even more!:)
E: Eight-year-olds!  Though my students drive me nuts sometimes, I still love them dearly (all 25 of them!)!
F: Friends!  I have THE.BEST.
G: Grandparents!  They all hold a special place in my heart. 
H: Henry! My almost 5 year old nephew.  My buddy!

I: Independence. I'm 30 years old and single.  Being on my own and knowing I can make it on my own, is a wonderful feeling.  I'm thankful that I am don't depend on a spouse (or anybody else!) to survive!  God really is all I need. 

J: Jones!  My 1 1/2 year old nephew.  My favorite little man.

K: K-Love!  Besides country music radio stations, this is the only other station I listen to!

L: Laughter.  As Charlie Chaplin says "A day without laughter is a day wasted."  Couldn't agree more.

M: Max!  My pup (duh).

N: Noelle!  My sweet new niece...

O:  Old people.  Seriously. You can learn so much from them!

P: Parents!  I'm blessed.

Q: QUIET'NESS'.  Those who know me well, know that as social as I can be, I also very very much love "me" time.

R: Relationship with God!  It's the most important of them all!

S: Sisters!  They're my favorite!  I would be a sad person without them.

T:  Teacher friends!  What would I do without them?

U: MY University--Mississippi State of course!

V: Veterans!  Never will we ever be able to repay all of those who have served or are continuing to serve in the military and fight for our great country.  As I've gotten older, I've begun to appreciate the selflessness of these men and women more and more.  If you are one of them, then THANK YOU!

W: Wireless capabilities!  Confession: I love my cell phone!

X: X-mas.  Not a fan of the "x" replacing the "Christ", it was the best I could do with this letter.  Christmas is, after all, the most wonderful time of the year!

Y: Yesterday.  Not literally, but you know what I mean here.  I'm thankful for my past.  I've felt lots of happiness and lots of sadness.  My heart has been broken, abused, stomped on, cheated, and hurt, but I'm THANKFUL for that.  I wouldn't be who I am without the good times (and bad times!) of my past.

Z: zzzzzzzzz.... Never will you meet someone who values a good night's sleep as much as I do!

I'd love to read your ABC list!  If you create one and post it to your blog, leave me a comment and
let me know so I can check it out!

Happy Thanksgiving week!

Wish List Wednesday

Now, we all know that nothing beats my dear friend MSKS's "Wish List Wednesdays," (I look forward to hers every week....don't you?) but I've been doing a little wishing myself on this Wednesday, so I thought I'd share. 

I wish...

1. ...that every week was a 4 day work week.  I'm grateful for mine this week!

2. ...that I could pull off being a redhead.  I've wanted red hair for as long as I can remember! 

What do you think?



Hmmmmm....perhaps I should stick to being a brunette....
(Click here to try hair styles on you!)

3. ...that college football was on every Saturday!  (Speaking of....is anybody else excited about these?)

4....that I had the time (and patience) to create something like these for Halloween!  My 2nd graders would love them!

5....that I could pull off these headbands!  I've tried several on multiple times at DSP, but I just can't do it. 

6. ...that I could sing--like really really sing.  Unfortunately, I'm hoarse about half of the time, so singing is sort of out of the question for me.  I'd probably choose to sing like Adele..or Sara Groves...or Patty Griffin...and oh how I love Carrie Underwood's voice too!

7. ...that I was going to a Halloween costume party this year.  I would most definitely want to wear this! 

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Right now....

I.....

...am thankful for a fun football weekend with friends



Candy...



Alexa...

& family!



My cousin, Brian.  He lives in TN and I don't get to see him very often. :(



...am enjoying my weekly guilty pleasure

....am looking forward to a 4 day work week! (Fall Break Friday!)

and

....wanting everything I see HERE!

Where in the WORLD have I been?

Thanks for calling me out for my lack of blogging, Hope!

It's not really like me to go more than a couple of days or so without blogging, but I guess the end of my summer has just been crazy chaos!

Where have I been and what have I been doing, you ask?

Well, here's an attempt to summarize the end of my fantastic summer...

I was so happy to get to spend some time with this friend in Tennessee! 

 She's a school counselor, so we both were able to enjoy having the summer off!

...Oh...and while I was there, I decided that I needed to follow the feather trend (I guess Shannon brings out my "funky" side!).  Even though I've been told that I'm too old for it, I'm still loving it!  Judge me if you want (but please don't!).

....I was also so happy (obviously!) to get some time with "my" little man on the coast.  What a honey pie he is!  He's at such a fun age, and I love every second I get to spend with him.

....I also got to hang out with these cute girls

at Deep South Pout!  I started out just a customer, but by the end of the summer, I was working a  little at the store! :)  Haven't been there or visited their website yet?  If not, then it's time you do!  I love them AND their store!

I went here 

where I attended an Autism conference with some co-workers.  Great conference and such a FUN place to visit!
And finally....

about school...

a good bit of the month of July was spent here...

I'm getting ready for my new class!

My first day back was today (already exhausted!) and my 23 babies come Monday! 

Now, you know I love LOVE what I do, but I'd be lying if I said I was too thrilled about my summer ending. 

Oh well....all good things must come to an end I suppose.

Here's to hoping for a good start to the 2011-2012 school year! 

Pray for my students, will you?

and the winner is....

Thanks to all 11 of you who voted for my little sis to win a new chair! 

She WON and  soon, her empty living room will have this lovely chair and ottoman in it (valued at $910!!):

Heather and Trey are so excited!

Each of you who voted (and commented on my post telling me that you voted!) was assigned a number.  For example,  if you were the first person to leave a comment, you were given #1, the 2nd person who commented was given #2, etc.  I used this site to randomly choose one of you as my lucky give away winner!

I entered #1-11, and the winning number was 3, which means that the winner is Lane Connerely!

Congrats to you, Lane, and thanks to all of you for voting!

Lane, you should expect something really fun in the mail soon!  (HINT:  It may possibly come from my new favorite store in Starkville, Deep South Pout!).

Hope you're having a fantastic weekend.   Next week is my last week of summer!  Where did the time go??

A quick favor (or 2!) and a giveaway!

 Happy weekend, friends!

I first of all need to ask you for a favor for my little sis!  She and Trey recently moved and while they are enjoying the extra space their new house has, there's a good bit of empty space!  Below, you'll see a picture of their living room: 

Notice something wrong? Yep!  They're without furniture! 

No, I'm not asking you to buy them furniture or donate some of your own.  It's much simpler than that! Heather has entered a contest to win a chair, and all she needs in order to win are VOTES!  It's a very easy process.  In fact, it's not one of those contests where you're asked to vote every single day.  All you do is "like" their picture on this page  ONE TIME! 

Need easier instructions than that?  Ok!

1. Click here and "like" their page.

2. Next, click here and like their picture!

That's it!

Now, you might be thinking, "What's in it for me?"  Well, because I love my sister and my blog readers, I'm here to try and help you all! :)

If you follow the simple directions below and leave a comment on this post letting me know that you did so, I'll enter your name in drawing to win something fun!  Better yet, if you leave a comment on my post and then encourage your blog readers to vote for Heather on your blog, I'll enter your name twice! 

Easy huh? 

The contest ends next week, so next Friday, I'll announce the winner of my giveaway (and hopefully announce that Heather has won a chair because of YOUR votes!)!

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

Now on to my other favor...

This may actually only be something that those of you in Starkville can do.

You've probably heard (or read on my blog) about Deep South Pout, the new fantastic boutique here.  Well, they're having a school supplies drive at their store to help one of the schools in our district.  Isn't that fabulous?

If you are in town and want to find a way to help, simply bring by 1 (or more!) of the following supplies to DSP, and you'll receive 15% off your purchase!  What a great way to help the children in our community and add something new to your wardrobe at the same time!

So....

 don't forget:  VOTE for Heather, and leave a comment on this post

AND

visit Deep South Pout to drop off school supplies!

Thanks much!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Great stuff!

The other day, I blogged about my new favorite store here in town.  If you haven't already "liked" Deep South Pout on facebook or checked out the blog (created by yours truly!), then you MUST!  They have so very many cute and reasonably priced things that you must have for summer!  If you don't live in the area, you can shop online and have items shipped to you!  Click here to check out and follow Deep South Pout's blog!



my new favorite.

So...how cute is my new bulldog necklace?



I absolutely did not need a thing when I went in there today, but come on?!  How in the world was I supposed to not buy this?

There's a new boutique in StarkVegas, and I'm in love with everything there.  They haven't even been open  2 weeks yet, and I'm embarrassed to tell you how many times I've been in already! I've gotten a couple of fabulous pieces in there.  And the best part?  Everything is very reasonably priced!  I got this necklace for only $16.95! 

The store is called Deep South Pout. You definitely need to find them on facebook and check out their blog so you can see pictures of some of their merchandise!

Oh, and if you think you just have to have a bully necklace like mine for football season, I think they still have some left!  I hear they're getting some maroon outfits (in addition to the "bulldog-like" rings, necklaces, etc.that they already have!) soon, so I'm pretty excited about looking cute during football season this year.

If you don't live here, you most definitely need to go the next time you're in town, and tell them that Laura sent you! :)