J and K, and prayer journaling...

I'm pretty sure I won't be the only person blogging about Jon and Kate tonight. I just finished watching it, and I must say, I'm a little mad at Jon and a little sad for Kate. Did you see it? Does anybody else think Jon is a jerk? He pretty much sealed the deal for me when he said, "I'm only 32 and I'm excited about starting a new chapter in my life." WHAT? I just felt so sorry for Kate. I'm willing to bet that in a few years, he's going to realize how badly he's screwed up. Ugh. He just makes me so mad.

On a subject change, I wanted to share something that I'm starting (or I guess I should stay "restarting"). I believe in the power of prayer, and I always want to make sure I'm praying for those who may really need it for whatever reason, especially when I specifically tell someone that I'm praying for them. I don't know why it seems like I've been surrounded around lots of people who are experiencing difficult times. I know a couple of people who's husbands or sons have just been deployed, others who have recently lost loved ones, some who are going through difficult times in their personal lives, etc. Everybody's issues are different, and I think whenever somebody is hurting, they need to be prayed for.

SO...I'm opening up a journal I got recently, and I'm going to start prayer journaling (the poor Gosselins will be at the top of my list!). I'llwrite down all prayer requests that I can think of, and I want to invite YOU to share with me! If you're an open person (which I very much consider myself), feel free to share your prayer request by commenting on this post. It will allow others to pray for you too! Otherwise, feel free to email me at lltomlinson@hotmail.com with your prayer request. Please write "prayer request" in the subject line, so I won't accidentally overlook it!

Rest assured that if you share a request with me, it will be written in my journal and you will be prayed for! And guess what? PRAYER WORKS!

Sunday night ramblings...

First of all, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all of you daddies out there! I was glad to spend the day with MY daddy today. Like every other year, it's also a day for me to think about my 2 wonderful grandfathers who are both deceased now. They were the best, and are always greatly missed, especially on Father's Day.

Both of my sisters were able to be here for the weekend. Rob and Henry joined Kristen, but Trey wasn't able to make it. Sad. Unfortunately something is wrong with either my camera battery OR the camera battery charger. Either way, I was still unable to take any pics this weekend, which was a total bummer.

A couple of highlights from the weekend:

Kris, Rob, Henry, Heather, and I ate at UMI (the new Habachi grill here) last night. It was so good and very entertaining! Henry had an absolute blast. I'll definitely be going back! (Of course it'll have to be after pay day! Hurry up June 30!).

What's going on with Henry these days? Glad you asked. If you were to ask him what was going on, he's more than likely going to respond by saying one of the following: "I swim like a fish at the pool," "I not hit at school," "I almost a big boy," or "I go potty in big boy potty." He's just so cute. Unfortunately, however, this precious, innocent child hasn't quite mastered his "T" sound. So, basically, "Trey" sounds like "Fray," "train track" sounds like "frain frack," etc. You get the picture. So, I want you to imagine this if you will: Mom, Dad, Henry, and I were in the car and we drove past a fire station. Henry excitedly shouted "A FIRE #&*$! (truck, minus tr, plus f). Yep. My 2 1/2 year old nephew said the "f word" while simply just trying to say "truck." And he said it over and over and over again. Bless his heart. Of course my mom and dad had to literally look away because they were about to DIE from laughter. I looked at it as an opportunity for his aunt, the teacher to step in and help him practice his sounds. He could easily make the "t" sound, but he just can't quite say a word using the "t" sound. Too bad the precious child loves TRucks so much! My advice to Kristen and Rob: steer clear of all fire stations! :)

I'm spending most of my week at MINT this week. As much as I love traveling during the summer, I'm looking forward to spending a couple of weeks at home!

Here's to hoping you have a wonderful week. Stay cool!

LT

now for anniversary #3 of the month!

Yep. My parents and BOTH of my sisters celebrate their anniversaries this month!

Today is the 33rd anniversary of my wonderful parents! They're pretty much my favorite couple. :)
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

MSKS'S ABC'S

I consider MSKS the master at creating the A-Z list for other people's birthdays. In fact, I probably shouldn't even attempt to create one for HER birthday, since my creative juices don't flow quite as nicely as hers.

Still, June 16 is a special day. My oldest friend, Mary Straton (better known as "MSKS"), was born this day 28 years ago. I've been friends with MSKS longer than any other friend (26 years to be exact), and although our differences quite possibly outweigh our similarities, we're still the best of friends. Life without MSKS would be such a bore.

So, MSKS, even though my list won't be nearly as good as the list you created for me a few months ago, please know that I'm giving it my best shot! :) Mary Straton Karatassos Smith

A-Z

Anthropologie. She loves it.

Beatles fan.

Creative. She can make, draw, bake, or paint anything.

Destin

Etsy. A favorite website of hers.
Fashion expert. I want her wardrobe, and I would like for her to dress me, fix my hair, and do my make up daily.
Greek. Well, half Greek.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Oh, how she loves those Whooos.

In style. Always.

Japan. MSKS has been to Japan and everywere else with that cool job of hers.

Kell: her cute hubby.

Lover of all music. Well...almost all (I'm still working on her become a fan of the country genre!)

Martha Stewart

Nursery at our church: where we became best friends in 1983!

Olive and Charlie

Phone talker? NO. Thank goodness for texting and emailing.

Quite a friend! We've been through it all together!

Recipes. Go to her for them. She has tons!

Seinfeld
TV...Some of her faves include: Law and Order, House, and The Office

Unique. There is no one like her. I PROMISE.

Vomit. Don't even say the word around her.

Weight Watcher extraordinaire. Have a question about WW? She can answer it. She is, after all, a lifetime member.

XM radio.

Younger than me.

Zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba: She's the only person (besides myself of course) who can say the alphabet backwards. Although I don't really remember, I feel sure that we spend several hours at a camp one summer practicing this. 2 of a kind for sure!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIEND!

letting the cat(s) out of the bag!!

FIRST OF ALL...thanks for the sweet comments from my previous post. The kind words that were said are greatly appreciated and I will definitely consider each comment before my final decision is made!

Now, on to the real reason for tonight's post. 2 of my best friends in the whole world recently found out they were expecting! Candy and Meredith are no strangers to my blog. If you're a reader of my blog (or theirs!), you probably know how special each of these girls is to me. My life would be MUCH lonelier without them!

I've known about Candy's pregnancy for a few weeks, but I was asked to keep it quiet for a while (I'm not good at keeping secrets like this Candy!). She finally blogged about it, so I assume it's ok for me to now express MY excitement! This will be child #2 for Chad and Candy, and they're expecting sometime in December. I'm going to visit them next week, and I'm pumped about seeing little Landon and Candy's cute pregnant self! CONGRATS ROBERTSONS!

Secondly, I just found out that ANOTHER one of my best friends of all time (I told you I had a lot of friends!) is expecting, too! Sweet Meredith and her husband Vic will be welcoming their first child into the world in January. I found out about this just a few days ago, and soon after, Mere gave me permission to spread the word, so that's exactly what I'm doing! :) They live in Alpine, TX (again...you probably know this already), and I'm going to do everything in my power to get there as soon as baby Horn arrives! I can't wait!!! YAY FOR THE HORNS!!!!
Both of these couples are amazing people and I could not be more happy for them!! In my own perfect world, I'd live in the same town as the 2 of them so I could do all of the pre- and -post "baby things!" (I would even babysit for free!!!)

I'm so so so very excited I can't even stand it!

my kindred spirit??

So, I graduated high school in 1999. If you do the math, you'll realize that that was 10 years ago, and you know what happens 10 years after you graduate high school? Yep. The class reunion. Now, I'm not a pessimist, I'm really not, but I do NOT want to go. I know I still live in the same town where I graduated, so it really would be silly for me to be here and not to go. Honestly though, I am still friends with a handful of people I graduated with, and I'm content with that. I'm not huge on making small talk with people I haven't seen since before the new millenium. I'm not good at it, and I think it will get old really fast. I'm a little ashamed to admit the main reason I don't want to go though, but I'm going to confess anyway. I'm still single. No husband. Not even a boyfriend. The thought of going to this event alone does NOT excite me. In fact it depresses me a little.

I probably wouldn't even mention this on the blog if it weren't for this blog post I read today. Mom copied and pasted the post to me, so I don't have the url address for it (Mom....if you still have it, leave it in a comment! ). When I read it, I realized that this girl, whoever she is, and I are A LOT ALIKE! She understands me! She feels the same way I do! Read for yourself!

I use cinnamon rolls as a sort of. well, anxiety calming drug. I don't pop pills, I definitely pop cinnamon rolls.
See. there was this thing invented a good long while ago called the 10 Year Class Reunion. It's where you get together with all the people that made fun of you during your painfully awkward teenage years. Yea. Why? Why do I have to do this? Can't we all just become friends on Facebook and Twitter and consider ourselves properly reunited!?
Seriously. The future is now!
Since I think I'm going to gracefully bow out of the reunion festivities, here's the CliffsNotes of what I might have said to my old classmates.
Hi. Yea, it's me Joy. I sat behind you in.. a bunch of classes probably. Here's the update. I went to college. I read a lot of books. I graduated. I traveled around some. I haven't gotten married or pregnant yet. Yea.. I'm prettier now, but that's mostly because I was actually really ugly when you knew me. I'm a baker. I think it's the most awesome thing ever. I know a crap ton about food. Would you like to discuss French cheeses at all? I have a blog. also awesome. Sure, I'd like to meet your boyfriend Steve. I recognize him from your Facebook photos. Your relationship status is "complicated" though. care to discuss? No? Hm. well, sure I'd like to see pictures of your kids. Would you like to see pictures of my cinnamon rolls? It's only fair.
Don't make me go to this thing. It will be awkward. Awkward. Awkward. Awkward!
I need counsel and another cinnamon roll.

See what I mean? I just couldn't have said it better myself (especially the part about how I look better now than I did 10 years ago--YIKES!).

My reunion will roll around this September. Do I suck it up and go, taking the risk that I may leave there feeling a little sorry for myself, or do I make other plans so I don't have to face all of the awkwardness that it may bring?? HELP!

anniversary #2 for the month...

Happy 6th anniversary to my sister, Kristen and bro-in-law, Rob!

wasting time-ology

FOOD-OLOGY
What is your salad dressing of choice? any type of vinaigrette
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? there are several really nice sit down restaurants here. In my book, you can't beat Harvey's or The Veranda
What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it? mexican. No doubt.
What are your pizza toppings of choice? black olives, pineapple, sun dried tomatoes (yes, i like them all together. I have been given several odd looks when I order this though!)
What do you like to put on your toast? spray butter, splenda, cinnamon--EVERY MORNING!

TECHNOLOGY
How many televisions are in your house? 2. I only need one though. Anybody want to buy one from me?
What color cell phone do you have? grayish, silver. Not too exciting.
What does the first text message in your inbox say and who sent it? "Does MINT home store have lots of good stuff?" From MSKS.
Who was the last person to call you? Heather

BIOLOGY
Are you right-handed or left-handed? right
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? wisdom teeth--can that count?
What is the last heavy item you lifted? a new table I got yesterday!


CRAP-OLOGY
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? absolutely not.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to? i'm very proud of my name, but if I were forced to change it, I would probably choose a simple name: Anna, Kate, etc. I also really like Caroline and Olivia.
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? yes, but then I would kill over and die.

DUMB-OLOGY
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? about 6
Last time you had a run-in with the cops? they've never come after me, but I did have an experience with them a couple of weeks ago. Recall that story??
Last person you talked to in person ? a customer in MINT
Favorite Month? April

CURRENT-OLOGY
Missing someone? Yes
Mood? content
What are you listening to? Sara Groves
Watching? the cars go by
Worrying about? future--same 'ol same 'ol

RANDOM-OLOGY
What’s the last movie you watched? Raising Helen
Do you smile often? yes. I try to at least!
Do you always answer your phone? 90% of the time! The only time I ever silence a call is if I'm busy.
It’s four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it? my friend Nelson.
If you could change your eye color what would it be? umm...i don't know...blue??
What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? cherry
Do you own a digital camera? absolutely!
Have you ever had a pet fish? yes. As a child. We Tomlinson girls never really had luck with our fish staying alive though.
Favorite Christmas song? "Oh Holy Night"
What’s on your wish list for your birthday? my bday is not until March. Not sure I've really started compiling my list yet.
Can you do push-ups? not many!
Can you do a chin up? please don't make me.
Does the future make you more nervous or excited? both!!
Do you have any saved texts? nope
Ever been in a car wreck? no--THANK GOODNESS.
Do you have an accent? southern accent. Proud of it too! (NOTE: It's "southern", NOT "country")
What is the last song to make you cry? "How Great Thou Art". My Dada's favorite song.
Plans tonight? cooking out with my family.
Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? yes
Name 2 things you bought yesterday. 1. a new table! 2. orange juice
You ever been given roses? no, but I've been given tulips, which I prefer
Current hate right now? watermelon. It's always a hate of mine, but especially this time of year when it's everywhere!
Met someone who changed your life? yes
What song represents you? I could probably make a list! There's actually a song on right now by Sara Groves called "It's Gonna Be Alright"---very meaningful words!
What were you doing 12 AM last night? sleeping away!
What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? hmmm...should I wear my hair straight or curly today? (straight won)

my new find!

Look at the new addition to my living room! I got a great deal on this awesome table at MINT Home Store (the new best thing in Starkville!). I decided I had too much brown in my living room, so I headed up to the store, fell in love with this table, and was able to sell my former brown table to a friend! It definitely adds a little "pop" to the room. It was exactly what I needed and I just love it.

Be sure to check out the MINT blog and read about the sales that will be going on at the boutique ALL SUMMER! Also, if you're in Starkville next Thursday, you definitely need to come by for the "Cupcakes and Cocktails" after hours party from 6-10 pm. The later you shop, the more you save!

Now, I'm heading to bed, because I've got a long day tomorrow. Doing what, you ask? You guessed it.. working at MINT! Come see me!

Happy Anniversary!!!

June is quite the popular month for anniversaries in my family, so get ready for anniversary posts to come!

Today is the 3rd anniversary of my baby sister Heather and her husband Trey.

Have a great day you two! Love you both!

Artist of the Decade

Last week, my George was deservingly awarded ACM's "Artist the Decade." My friend Heather willingly "allowed" me to watch the award show, which I thought was fantastic. It was award show entirely honoring him. Country artists got on stage and performed his songs, and while it wasn't the same as hearing George sing them, I still thoroughly enjoyed them!

Congrats, King George!

HEAVEN ON EARTH!

I'm home! I spent the past week at 2 different beaches and loved every second of it!

My week in paradise began with my friend Heather and me heading to Orange Beach. There, Heather and I did nothing but RELAX. It was exactly what we both needed after completing another year of teaching! Heather's parents graciously allowed us to stay in their condo and I could not be more grateful to them!

Alright Heather, is it too soon to start the countdown for our beach trip for NEXT year??

On Thursday, I left Orange Beach and drove a couple of hours to Seaside, Florida, where I met my family for a few days. "The Truman Show" was filmed in this picturesque town, and the town was just as beautiful was it was in the movie! We stayed in a fantastic cottage, which was walking distance to the beach, shopping, restaurants, etc. It was unlike anywhere I've ever been before!


Pictures of the cottage where we stayed:
As much as I didn't want to leave the life of luxury on the beach, I was glad to be home to see Max, who had been staying with a friend of mine. I'm going to spend my day cleaning, grocery shopping, and running about another zillion errands. Jealous anyone? ;)

"I'm dreaming of a white...."

BEACH.

May 22, 19_ _

YAY FOR MY SWEET MOM'S BIRTHDAY!!As selfless as my mom is, she deserves a day in which SHE receives all of the attention! The list of my favorite things about my sweet Mom could go on and on, and if you know her (or even if you're one of my blog readers), you know what a wonderful person she is. Just yesterday, someone came up to me and said, "I saw your mom yesterday. She is such a beautiful person!" My response: "I know. And she's just as beautiful on the inside too!" I hope to be half the person she is one day.

Allow me to share the most recent favorite memory of her. As you may remember, she went with me to Nashville a few weeks ago when I ran the half marathon. Now, let me preface what I'm about to say by letting you know that my mother is not really an outdoor person and she absolutely hates to sweat. HATES IT. I knew that going with me to the race wasn't exactly her cup of tea. She'd much rather be at home drinking coffee and doing a Sodoku.

So, she's with me at the marathon and it's really really hot. We got there around 5:45, and by the time the marathon started and I found her after, it was nearly 10:00. Do the math, friends. That's over 4 hours in which my mom stood BY HERSELF, waiting to watch me cross the finish line just because she knew how important it was for me to see her there. She was my motivation. It brought me such encouragement to me knowing that she and my friend Shannon were there cheering me on!

After the race, while searching amongst THOUSANDS of people looking for my mom, I envisioned seeing her miserably hot and sweaty and ready to leave! Instead though, the second I saw her, she was literally jumping up and down with her hands in the air cheering for ME! She was my number one fan that day and I definitely couldn't have done it without her support!

So, happy birthday to my wonderfully amazing mom! You're loved by so very many!

"The Good Samaritan Law"

Perhaps you saw the Seinfeld finale back in 1998. If you did, you probably recall the infamous "Good Samaritan Law." The re-run came on TBS today, which I thought was ironic because I considered myself a good samaritan today!

I witnessed, what was quite possibly, the scariest thing I'd ever seen. While jogging down University Drive late this afternoon, I came upon an apartment complex in which I noticed a lot of commotion. I remove the headphones from my ears and look to my right where I see a guy completely beating a woman. He was kicking her, hitting her, and trying to force her into a car. She was screaming and trying to get away. I didn't know if I was witnessing a kidnapping or some sort of domestic violence. Either way, it was a terrible sight.

You may recall that I run with my cell phone in hand. Well, on this particular day, that cell phone was quite handy! I couldn't help but notice that these college kids, who most likely lived in the apartment complex, were just watching this take place. They were taking no action. Well, I couldn't stand it. I immediately called 911 (for the first time in my life) and provided the dispatcher all of the information from what the guy was wearing to the license plate number of the car into which he was trying to force her. I stayed until the cops arrived, but by that time, the girl managed to get in the car alone and speed off without him. He took off running in the opposite direction. I didn't stay long enough to see if the guy got caught (hopefully he did!). While I don't tend to get scared, I must admit I was a little afraid to jog back to my house! After all, the guy did see me on the phone reporting the incident! I was afraid that if he was still 'on the run' he might see me (I was wearing a HOT PINK T SHIRT of all things!).

Needless to say I locked the door behind me when I got home, but at least I felt like I had done my good deed for the day.

I hope that jerk is behind bars RIGHT NOW!

Adam vs. Kris and the Jon Gosselin scandal...

Well, I personally think it's going to be a tough call tomorrow night. In my opinion, both performers did well tonight, each having their own "shining moment." I think Adam is favored to win, but I definitely don't think Kris should be ruled out! I truly like them equally, but I tend to pull for underdogs, so I'm crossing my fingers for Kris (plus, my friend Heather is a die hard Adam fan, and I think a little rivalry between us will be fun!). Something else to think about-- There were a lot of Danny Gokey fans out there, so who's going to get the majority of THOSE votes? I think Kris will, but that's just me.Thoughts?

2nd topic of the night: JON GOSSELIN. Now, I've heard the rumors that have been going around about him having an affair, but I tried not to think anything of it in hopes that they WERE just rumors! I mean, I LOVE JON AND KATE PLUS 8! You'll watch an episode or 2 and be totally convinced that, even though their lives are completely chaotic with 8 children, they were very much in love with each other and happily married! My heart hurt today when I saw Kate on the cover of People magazine. It's one thing to see their picture on the cover of The National Enquirer, but when it's seen in People, I tend to believe it. I read the article in which Kate was interviewed, and it made me so sad. She seemed very hurt about it all, and says their marriage is really struggling. While Jon denies having an affair, she still says that regardless, things aren't so great. It makes me so sad! I guess it just goes to show you that even though some families seem picture-perfect, they may be, in fact, very far from it.

I'm anxious to see what's going to happen with the Gosselins!

isn't it Thursday YET??!!

If someone were to ask me how I feel at this very moment in time, I would provide a very contradictory reply: I'm tired, stressed, impatient, easily irritated, but MORE EXCITED THAN I'VE BEEN IN A LONG TIME.

Period.2 1/2 MORE DAYS!!!