a wonderful week off, a fantastic Thanksgiving, and AN EGG.

First and foremost--HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I have basically been in heaven for the past week. I was able to sleep in, work at MINT a little, spend a whole lot of time with my family, and see a dear friend who I haven't seen in a really really long time.

Did I take pics of such events? Why yes I did. Oh...you want to see them? Ok then...here you go!

WARNING: photo overload! Enjoy!

Pics from Thanksgiving Day:

me and Henry

my aunt and several of my fun cousins

me and the b-i-l, Trey me and my cousin Adelia

me and my Mamaw

Mom and her 2 sisters

me and the preggo sis!

A few other pics taken during the week:

Nana and Heather

Precious boy

I was also able to hang out with my friend Nelson this week. He and I have been best friends since 8th grade and I always enjoy hanging out with this guy. He is in the Air Force and is stationed in California, which, in my opinion, is just way way too far away from here (but he didn't really ask my opinion). His family lives in Columbus, so he was in town during for Thanksgiving! I was so very glad to see him some, but sad to see him go! :(And FINALLY.............The infamous "EGG" is back in Starkville where it belongs!

Henry and 2 of my cute cousins, Braden and Cooper. How cute are these bulldogs??

Mississippi State: 41

Ole Miss: 27

It's been a fantastic day to be a bulldog!

MY kind of Christmas...

A friend of mine got on to me yesterday because he said I was getting into Christmas too early. In his words, "it's not even Thanksgiving yet! At least wait until Friday!" But I just can't. I love Christmas decorations. I love Christmas music. Of course I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, but it's hard for me to get into decorating for Thanksgiving, as my turkey decor consists of salt and pepper shakers.

My house is completely decorated for Christmas, and I'm looking forward to enjoying them for several weeks!

My friend Hope posted this on her blog, and it looked like fun to me!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I'm actually in the process of trying to acquire a taste for egg nog. It's so festive!

2. Does Santa wrap the presents or just set them under the tree? He's always just left them under the tree.

3. Colored or white lights on the tree/house? WHITE!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. Nor have I ever kissed a boy under mistletoe (insert frowny face here)

5. When do you put up your decorations? Generally I wait until the weekend after Thanksgiving. I couldn't wait this year though. I decorated last weekend and I'm loving it.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? It stresses me out to have to choose just one. I can't do it.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Sleeping in the same bed as my sisters on Christmas Eve. I of course had to sleep in the middle of them....oh the memories...

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Oh please. Santa still visits me every year. I just finished my list this year.

9. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve? nope.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I would say traditional. All of my childhood ornaments are on my parents' tree. Any ornaments I've gotten since I've had my own house go on my tree. If they're given to me as gifts, I use a sharpie to write who the ornament is from and what year it was received.

11. Snow! Love or Dread it? Oh I love it. Living in MS, it's very rare, so when it's here, it's very much enjoyed! I'm sure if snow was a part of my everyday life, I wouldn't care for it too much though.

12. Can you ice skate? that would be a negative.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? tough one. Maybe my barbie house? Or my American Doll, Molly. :)

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you? everything about it. EVERYTHING.

15. Favorite holiday dessert? if it involves chocolate, count me in.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Christmas music and Christmas movies!

17. What tops your tree? a green star.

18. Which do you prefer- giving or receiving? I love buying gifts for people and seeing the excitement on faces when a much anticipated gift is opened. But of course I enjoy opening a gift or 2 myself! ;)

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night, Go Tell It On the Mountain, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

20. Candy Canes? Yummy!

HAPPY A HAPPY DAY!

good, good friends.

During hard times in my life, I realize how blessed I am to have the friends I have.

Today, I'm especially thankful for those friends.

Not Me Monday...

I think it's time for "Not-Me-Monday"! I've made a some Monday confessions one other time before, and thought it was time again!

So...here I go:

1. I definitely did NOT spend more than just a couple of hours last night playing this dumb on-line game that I'm now addicted to (thanks a lot, Mandy!). Was there something else I could have been doing to make better use of my time? Absolutely. Not last night though; it was the most important thing in my life at that very moment. I just kept saying "one more game, one more game..."

2. How did I spend my Saturday night you ask? I absolutely did NOT lounge on my couch for hours watching "48 Hours Mystery" on-line. What's wrong with me? I grew up LOVING mystery TV shows: Unsolved Mysteries, America's Most Wanted, Dateline, etc. As a child, I even liked Perry Mason. Odd.

3. I also promise that I did NOT make Puppy Chow for "other people" just so I'd have an excuse to have a bite or 2 or 12.

4. I not only did NOT download Mariah Carey's Christmas album to my Itunes, but I also did NOT jam to it while running down Main Street this morning. Nope.

5. Finally, my clean, neat OCD self did NOT leave 3 loads of clean , unfolded laundry in the basket for more than a couple of days. My reason for not folding and putting away: I just didn't feel like it! (Or either I was too busy with activities 1 and 2 mentioned in this post!).

So...what have you NOT done lately?

yay..YAY...YAAAY!

So...have I mentioned how long this week has been, how glad I am that it's Friday, AND the fact that I'm off ALL WEEK next week?

I'm pretty much excited right now. Really, really excited.

I also get to see one of my dearest friends who I haven't seen in over 6 months this weekend AND my sisters will be here next week for Thanksgiving!

As Jesse Spanno would say, "I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so...SCARED!" ;)

In the meantime, I'm heading to Bunko shortly. As far as my agenda tomorrow? Well....I plan on sleeping really late. Other than that, I have no idea. I'm kinda thinking of maybe starting to decorate for Christmas. I know I should wait until after Thanksgiving, but with the busyness of the week next week, I'm wondering if I might be able to enjoy it a little more if I go ahead and decorate a little! Thoughts?

I hope you have a great weekend! Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment on a previous post if you're wanting to be in the drawing for a fun give-a-way!

LT

ABC's of Thanksgiving AND a fun giveaway!

Here are several things for which I am thankful! A-Z!

Aunthood. While that may not even be a word, I'm thankful for it!

Baby Skaggs! I can't wait for her to arrive. Hurry up, April!

Communication...calls, emails, texts...I love it all!
Diet coke (AKA my afternoon best friend).

Energy.

Friends. I'll never know what I've done to deserve so many amazing BEST friends.

Grandparents. God couldn't have blessed me with anything as wonderful as the relationships I have (had) with my grandparents.

Henry. That little boy's smile can brighten my day!

Ice cream. Well...any dessert for that matter.

Job. AND it just so happens to be one I love!

Kids. My kids. All 22 of them.

Laughter.

Max. I know I ask this same question over and over, but seriously...What would I do without him?

No's. As a dear friend recently said to me: "Looking back at my life thus far, I'm very thankful for the no's God has given me." I couldn't agree more.

Office, Desperate Housewives, Seinfeld...just a few of my favorite shows! Thank goodness for cable TV! :)

Parents. They're the best. Period.
Quiet time.

Roadtrips! Too many of my friends live out of town, and I love visiting them.

Sisters. I think that every girl needs at least 2 sisters.

Teacher friends. How else would I manage to stay sane (well...somewhat sane!)?

University of Mississippi ...wait...let's make that MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY! Much better... :)

Vacations! I'm grateful for getting the opportunity to have WONDERFUL vacation-time (See "J").

Weekends. What would I do without them?

X-mas. OK, so I hate that abbreviation, but I was left with no choice because: a) I already used "C" and b) What else was I going to use for "X"??? Christmas really is the best time of the year!

Y. I've got nothing. While I'm thankful for so much, I can think of nothing that starts with "y"!

Zzzzzzz's...I HAVE to have my sleep!

NOW....In honor of my 3rd "blogoversary" which is in a few weeks, I'm having a giveaway! What am I giving away? I guess you'll just have to wait and see! :) Here's how to enter: Simply leave a comment on this post. Also, if you give me a shoutout on YOUR blog, let me know in your comment and your name will be entered twice. BUT WAIT! That's not all! If you sign the guestbook at the top of my blog, your name will be added AGAIN!

So..there's actually a way to get your name in the drawing 3 times!

Got it?

On the day of my blogoversary (see sidebar), I'll announce the winner AND tell you what you've won!

Have fun! :)

Baby Skaggs is a... (for real this time!)..

Don't know yet? Click HERE!

Never has there been a more excited aunt!

fun football weekend and BABY SKAGGS' GENDER!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, so while I will admit that UA's football team is freakin' awesome and by far the best team we've played this season, I still strongly dislike them. I can't help it. I'm getting better about not taking it too personally when we lose. Well...sometimes...maybe...

Regardless of the outcome though, the weekend was fantastic and extremely busy. You know how much I love seeing my sisters, and when I get to see them both at the SAME TIME, it's like a special treat. :) The sisters, bros-in-law, and Henry were here all weekend for the game. A couple of my cousins (Alabama fans nonetheless) came for the game too! I gave my cousins and their 'significant others' my house for the weekend, and I shacked at my parents' house with everybody else. It kinda felt like Christmas with us all there! :)

As you can tell, Henry had fun at the game! Here he is cheering on the dawgs!

Me and the pregnant little sis. And NO, she is not taller than me! Those dang shoes of hers...

Me and HEGS! Seriously, Heather, how many pictures do we have that look just like this one?! Ha! The game wouldn't be complete without a HEGS pic!

Henry, enjoying the food and saying "CHEEEEEEEEEEESE!"



Me and Kris! (I look short here too!!!)


Me and my "Alabama cousins" Ashley and Amanda. Love these girls!


And the most exciting thing of the weekend...
WE FOUND OUT WHAT GENDER BABY SKAGGS IS!!!!

And as hard as it is for me not to announce it right now, I guess I should allow Heather (aka the mother of the baby!) to announce it first, right?
Sometimes I don't like being fair.
(I DO like knowing that baby Skaggs is looking healthy and everything is going well! Praise God!)

Keep watching the Skaggs' blog for the big announcement or stay tuned here to find out!
I hope you have a great Monday! One more week for me and then I'm out for a week for Thanksgiving! Woo hoo!

Veteran's Day

I couldn't let the day go by without mention Veteran's Day and taking the time to say thank you to all who have served or are currently serving in the United States Military.

I've always been proud of my grandfather, a WWII veteran, who, as you may remember, passed away 3 years ago. The thought of his military service gives me chills. I'm so very grateful for that man!

I'm also reminded of one of my best friends in life who serves in the military and comes from a military family. I couldn't be more proud.

Thank your ALL service men and women today. You are more appreciated than you know!

a couple of quick things...

I have 2 prayer requests today:

First of all, please say a prayer for my sister Kristen. Tomorrow and Thursday, she will be taking the STEP 3, which is a test that she must pass in order to get her medical license. Please pray that God gives her strength and peace while taking this difficult test. (Can you imagine??).

Kristen is one of the smartest and most dedicated people I know and I have complete confidence in her and I know that God will be right there with her!

Also, please pray for a friend of mine who experienced something very heartbreaking today. Pray that God wraps His arms around her and her family today and the days to come.

Thanks for being prayer warriors with me today!

good times.

Oh! You don't know enough about me? Ok. I'll see if I can help...

1. It's early morning, about 2:00AM, and you're driving home. You come to a red light and sit there. There is no one in sight for miles around. Do you wait it out or run the light? Oh I definitely wait until it turns green. I don't like to break rules.

2. If you had the chance to re-do the last 24 hours, would you change anything?Actually, I think I regret my dinner choice for tonight. Dang it.

3. When you reply to someone's comment on your blog, do you reply in your comments or go to her blog and comment? Well, I OF COURSE comment on "her" blog! Who doesn't appreciate a good blog comment?

4. Your favorite Disney movie is: The Little Mermaid. There was a span of about 4 Disney movies, that, in my opinion, are the BEST...The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and the Lion King (a close 2nd)

5. Do you recycle?

No but I should. I need to add it to my to-do list.

6. Games of strategy or games of chance?Strategy. I enjoy trying to make my mind "work". I like trying to be as smart as my mom (wishful thinking).

7. Do you have any recurring dreams? Yes. What are they about? You'll never know.

8. What did you learn from your first real job? I was able to distinguish between 62 different Aspen Bay candle scents. If I closed my eyes and you put a candle under my nose, I was approximately 95% correct when identifying the smell.

9. Do you buy or borrow most books? Borrow. I love for people say "you'll LOVE this book!" and then proceed to give me the book to read. I trust those people. I am not one who is able to walk into a book store, look at a random book, and say "hmmm...I want to read that book." Whenever I DO try to choose a book on my own, I usually read the book and end up being depressed because I'm single. I don't get it.

10. What fashion trend of the past did you say you'd never wear again but did?

Well....for the record, the following "trends" were a part of my time but were never officially (and thankfully) worn by me AND WILL NEVER BE WORN BY ME. Period:

-backless tops

-2 piece prom dresses

Nope. I will never be caught dead wearing either of the 2. Yikes.

11. When do you start Christmas shopping?

As soon as Dave Ramsey tells me it's OK.

12. Have you ever been so happy that you literally jumped up and down for a few seconds? If so, what was the occasion?Yes. I can think of a few particular times:

-anytime MSU wins (especially vs. Ole Miss)

-hearing that my sisters were pregnant (it doesn't get any better!)-seeing an old friend that hasn't been seen in WAY too long!

Enjoy your weekend! I'm planning on doing it myself!

Thankful Thursday...

Every morning at school, I write a journal prompt on the board and when the students finish their morning work, they're to take out their journals and write. I love letting them read their journals to me because I enjoy seeing what's going through their little minds. :) This morning the journal prompt was "What are you thankful for?"
One particular entry caught my attention--not just for the wonderful sentence writing it contained but also the content that was included. I was so touched when I read it, that I took him down to the principal and let him read it to her. She then made a copy of it to share with others. I'm going to type what he wrote exactly how he wrote it, so obviously, I don't want anybody criticizing the spelling/grammar here! :)

Here you go:

"I am thankful for the teachers I have they are kind and respecful. I am thankful for what God gave me. I am thankful for my mom and my dad for taking cre of me and teaching me to do write. I am thankful for my friends for believing in me for everything I do. I am thankful for God for taking care of the rich and poor everyday. I am thankful for Miss T. and Miss Marquita for teaching me and I know they work hard. I am thankful for my grandmother every time I cry she makes me feel better. I am thankful for God for giving us food and clothes and our life and we should prase him everyday." -Jamori, age 8

Precious, precious, precious.

Now that you know what this sweet 8 year old little boy is thankful for, I want to ask...what are YOU thankful for today?

not really loving the whole "time change" thing...

I'm a very routine person...I eat breakfast at 6, lunch at 11:45, and ideally I like to eat dinner around 6. I guess my child dog has picked up on some of his mommy's character traits...

He eats EVERY night at 5:00. And don't worry...if it's after 5, he'll LET ME KNOW. Today he starting telling me that he was hungry around 4 (and YES, he does TELL me when he's hungry!). I finally realized that his little 8 lb body hasn't quite adjusted to the time change!

Take a look. I just think he's the cutest thing here.

Oh...and uh..go ahead and ignore my whiny, high pitched annoying voice. If you've been around Max, you know that the higher your voice, the more he tilts his head! :)

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I did feed him a little early. I mean, how could I say "no" to that? :)

Fun weekend in Gulfport!

I'm so glad I decided to spend a nice long weekend in Gulfport with Heather and Trey! Even though Heather didn't know where she was going half of the time, we still had a great time! :)
A few highlights from the weekend:

• a bulldog victory! Heather and I were so proud to see our dawgs win! Almost equally exciting was this interview with Anthony Dixon. Gotta love him.

• I got to see TWO of my dear friends from college! Unfortunately my time with sweet Kelli (Darnell) McGuffee was so short, I didn't get a chance to snap a pic of the 2 of us, but I was able to have lunch with my college roommate, Morgan, and insisted on getting a pic of us! Morgan and I lived together in McKee Hall our sophomore year, and and in the KD house together our junior year. Ilove that girl! Morgan is getting married in a few weeks and it was really special to have a little time with her before then!

• Oh! I also got about half of my Christmas shopping done while I was there! GO me!

My parents went to see Henry in Clinton so they could see him on Halloween. They took him trick-or-treating, where they just happened to to run into my friend Heather and her husband Tom, who were at a Halloween party close by! Although I was a little jealous that I wasn't there for this cute photo op, I was glad that they thought to take a pic of them together! :) SO cute.
Even though this is only a 4 day week for me, it's still past my bedtime. Good night to you all!

Oh, and by the way, am I the only person who's itching to put up my Christmas decorations? I'm just wondering....