What A Weekend

Ugh, Monday so soon?  I'm looking at the week we have started and it isn't looking too shabby!  But the weekend?  Now that was pretty fun!

Friday!

He found love in the Chickfila Play Place...her name may be Dorothy because she was dressed like her.

Ready to get their shop on...well one of them is.

The kids were out of school so we took it to the mall.  I know I am brave!  Actually, it was a great trip.  We only went to one store - Justice.  I'm happy to report they have toned down the glitter and sequins and I didn't leave seeing spots this trip!  My daughter had birthday $$$ for Justice so she blew threw it and racked up several tops and pants for the cool weather.  

P.S. The cool weather came in on Friday!  I bitched and complained on Snap about it.  Secretly, I didn't mind it too bad.

Friday afternoon the daughter had a hair appointment.  I'm so glad she wanted it short again.  Does anyone else have issues with getting their daughters to BRUSH THEIR HAIR?  Then when they don't and you have to do it they scream bloody freakin' murder because of tangles?  Yeah.  Well we are stacked wedge again and this mama is singing hallelujah aaaaamen.

Saturday!

You know what I love? Getting up and going straight to the gym.  Too bad that didn't happen on Saturday.  Instead I got up and waited until 10:45 to go to the gym.  That sucked and made my work out suck even more.

I pulled through it and felt good.

The kids spent the day with their Papa (that is the step grandparent who is more of a grandparent than the blood linked male grandparents.)

After the regular Saturday pit stop at Hellmart, I mean Walmart (see abullnojoke on Snap Chat) I made it home.  

Saturday brought a project which I am not sharing here on ABW but will feature elsewhere after October 31st.  God, I'm vague, right?

Saturday night we headed up the road, towards the mountains but not quite to the mountains, and celebrated our friend Shane's 39th birthday.  Unfortunately, I did not have cell service there (hello NC boonies aka Wilkes County) and I didn't get any good pictures (that's two weekends in a row but that will change in a couple weeks too.)

Our kids had a freaking blast running around and playing with the puppy dogs.  

Sunday!

We slept late because we got home so late.  It was nice.

I finished that project that I mentioned under Saturday that I am terribly vague about.

The kids went off with their Grandma Joyce to a fall festival (two in one weekend, score!) for the late afternoon.

And my Patriots got another W with Gronk meeting a record that he will hopefully break next weekend!

My fantasy still sucks even though I have the fabulous Gronk and Sweet Feet White.

I wanted to be lazy and chill out all day with my husband but that didn't happen.  Oh I'm talking about my real husband not the guy you may think I am with....LOL!

Via Boston Herald

Monday, May I?

Via Pinterest

Last week I met my goals!

*Yes to easing back into my work outs.  My knee is doing fantastic!  Now if I can remember my Fitbit.

*Yes to vacuuming out my car!  Did that on Thursday.

*Yes to a fun Friday with my kiddos.  They had a blast at the mall, Chickfila, and getting a cake pop for being so good in Kohl's.

This week...

*Add in legs and arms days instead of whatever jumble of running and legs I am doing to my work outs.

*Go to bed before midnight every night but Friday.

*Start and end my day with 16oz of water.

Are these boring or what?

Do you have a small goal this week?  Share it!  How was your weekend?  I want to know!

xoxoxo

Amanda

Find me on Snap Chat @ abullnojoke

What A Weekend!

Look whose back...back again...Brownie's back...back again.

Last week was physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting.  I missed my blog buddies and am so thankful for those of you who Snapped me, emailed, and texted.  Part of this big party called life is leaving the party and though it is a joyful thing if you're ninety and have been battling dementia/Alzhemier's for just short of a decade it is also very wearing and tearing and draining as a mofo.

How poetic was that?

But in all the sadness and gloom there is happy to be found and I call that - The Weekend.

Friday

These came on Thursday from my mother-in-law in South Carolina.

Well guys we woke up to rain, rain, rain.  It also happened to be the day we did the whole bury the ashes, stand in a meet and greet line (it is awkward to be hit on while you're standing there in the honor of a dead person) for an hour, and listen to the minister from RHONJ pray my grandma into heaven over and over (seriously, she didn't need that.)

Post funeral, birthday midday, cold and rainy porch selfie.

Oh yeah...it was my husband's birthday too!  What a way to celebrate!  At least he had pound cake for his breakfast.  And all was not lost because he was serenaded after the funeral by my aunts, cousins, and their friends to the tune of Happy Birthday.

I took in five million too many carbs.

Really, that is all I remember about Friday.  Oh wait, wait, wait - we traded the copious amounts of Bojangles Chicken for a trip to La Carretta for dinner!

Yo quiero comida de mexicana

My sweet girl's first experience with death in our family.  She's pretty resilient and did a great job.  She also loved the attention from so many people...diva.

Saturday

So this kid (storm) named Matthew came on up from Florida to visit.  Those sweet texts checking on us - you guys are so awesome!  However, I don't live near the coast or sand hills for that matter so we were all good!  We had loads of rain and wind but we were golden.  Unfortunately, our state-mates along the coast did not fare very well.  Keep them in your prayers and if you can donate through the Red Cross please do!

My kids went off with their step grandpa for the morning and you know where I went....the gym.  Ahhh I just smile when I think of it.  I did a good and hard five miles climbing and running and also taught one little bad ass that if you get on an eliptical and leave your resistance and incline at 1-1 you really aren't a bad ass at all.

After the gym I hit up Walmart. No words.

I spent the afternoon doing housework and being lazy.  Why?  Because I had to rest up for a night out for the husband's birthday!  

Goobers.

Selfie bowling...pretty sweet.

Guys, we had such a fabulous time with Heather and Josh!  We ate at Logan's Road House and then took it to the bowling alley for three hours.  While we were there they shifted into cosmic bowling and that's the closest I've been to being a in a club in about five years so I was eating it up. 

This is crack.  This crack is not wack.  This crack will have you running the track.  

 I was also eating up funnel cake fries like it was my j-o-b.  Then Josh got nachos and it was all downhill. 

Heather and I.  Not saying we're like pro bowlers but we're like mediocre bowlers LOL!

Heather and I decided it was time to plan a trip to the beach and go dancing because there are few things in life that are necessary - getting away and going dancing being two of them.

Sunday

Why do I love helping out with Power Hour?  Because Ms. Cristy is amazeballs at setting everything up.  It is so much fun working with the little folks and not having to worry about prep because that woman has done it all!  She's fabulous!

So I'm old.  We got home Sunday morning about 1AM and I had to be up and at 'em by 8AM because it was my Sunday to lead Preschool Power Hour.  No worries, I felt good!  The little man and I left the hubs and daughter in the bed and took it on over to the church.  I had to sweetest group of babies!  They were all just precious.  We learned "God Loves Us" and shared it with each other over and over and ate Cheeze-Its like they were going out of style.  (OK I didn't but they rocked them out.)

When we were driving home I started feeling really crappy.  God loves us but God was saying, "You're too old to stay out to 1AM.  Sorry, I love you.  Go to bed."  After a trip to get Mexican cuisine for lunch I took it to the bed and cat napped for the brunt of an hour.  I'm not a napper so that was incredibly hard.

Cat napped - I need a cat.  Like just for about a week.  Here's the deal Sunday showed me it really is fall and summer is so far away and winter cannot wait to punch me in the face.  I know it is fall when...

*It is sixty-eight degrees out and I'm freezing

*We end up turning on the heat because the idea of a low of 43 is too much to take

*There are mice visiting

Like clockwork we have two mice shacking up in our home.  One in the kitchen/living room and the other in my closet.  Those little shits.  I can admit to the fact my fear of mice is real.  OK I'm not afraid of them in that way you are afraid of being mauled by a tiger but the fact they are quiet and have no problem running over your foot when you're brushing your teeth (or peeing, ask my husband) is a big issue for me.

We baited traps - yes we believe in the murder of mice, go ahead hate me haters - with chocolate, peanut butter, and sunflower seeds.  Then you learn they prefer cotton goods.  Yeah, like towels, clothes, stuffing from toys.

I'm over it.

While I was at my mom's I went out to see these girls.  It is crazy how if you feel tired or stressed just hanging out with them can ease off any anxiety.  

The old one who normally stands back came right up to me for a muzzle rub.  She's a sweet girl.

Sunday night my mom's husband made dinner for my husband's birthday - NY Strip!  Then we came home to wrestle our kids into going to bed.  Our night concluded with a bonfire and an adult beverage.

Monday brought the death of the mouse.  YAY!!!!

I hope your weekend rocked!  Let's keep in touch add me on SnapChat - abullnojoke; Instagram - abrownieworld; Check the Facebook Page facebook.com/abrownieworld; and on Twitter @abrownieworld

xoxoxo

Amanda

This post is on Tuesday Talk.

What A Weekend: Recap!

Hey honeys!  How was your weekend?  Tell me all about it, I want to know how fabulous or how horrible it was.  That way I can ooohh and ahhh or I can tell you that it's cool I can put on my boots and we can go whip some tail.

Our weekend was pretty fabulous.  I think you have caught on that most weekends around here consist of little laziness and lots of running about.  That is what happens when the mother is a ADD.

Friday...

I got my hair did.  Ahhhh I love hair day!  So.much.fun.

Lizz rocks.

 After school the kids and I headed to the gym.  My daughter swam, my son played, and I got in four miles.  OMG it felt so good to be in a very low populated gym (thanks to people having Friday night lives of fun and not sweating their butts off like me) and just pushing forward harder to make myself stronger.  That, my friends, is my kind of high.  Afterwards we hit up the local Wendy's for a caesar salad, two burgers, and frosties for the kids.  Everyone went to bed early.  It was a pretty phenomenal Friday.

Then came Saturday.  I love it when my mom's husband takes the kids on Saturday mornings.  Since my husband had to work and the kids were going to be gone I decided to take advantage of my time.

Hello Target....there is a post coming at you on Wednesday regarding this.

Sneakers are headed back...sizing is soooo wrong.

Hello Sam's Club.  I changed my membership a month ago to the Plus membership which allows me to go in early and get cash back rewards when I shop.  How about this trip was my lowest ever and I also had a $10 reward?  I was pretty stoked.

Currently at Sam's - Pumpkin EVERYTHING!

What did we do before Face Time?  Anyone?  My bestie and I got in a great Face Time session on Saturday I swear I wish we were still next door neighbors.

My bakers!

The afternoon was spent cleaning up, making cookies with the kiddos, taking care of the chickens and horses, and trying to eliminate the insane itch from the poison oak covering my legs.  

I haven't really ever reacted to poison oak, you need to know that!  I worked in it LAST Saturday.  It showed up on my skin LAST Tuesday.  Yes, it took it three days to decide to blister me.  I swear I look like I have a mild case of psoriasis on my legs.  Since this isn't a normal occurrance in my house I don't have anything to combat it.  So I created a paste (thanks Pinterest) of water and baking soda and painted myself with it.  Did you know baking soda hurts like a litte bee?  Yeah, I didn't realize that either until I painted my legs with it.  I let this paste dry and then I took a shower.  After the shower I swabbed the areas with straight white vinegar all while silently screaming "Help me God!" as it penetrated the raw spots (thanks to my scratching) to remind me I am indeed alive!

This got me through...well not the vinegar it burned like h-e-double hockey sticks.

Did it work?  For about 8 hours.  The itching went away and it looked like it was drying out.  I did it again on Sunday.

Saturday night was date night.  We went to Logan's Roadhouse for steak and then to bowl.  It was nice to see my husband but I was ready to go to sleep.  

Which I did go to sleep...a little before midnight Zzzzzz.

Sunday fun day.  I envisioned a nice lazy Sunday morning before church.  Instead my son woke me up because he wanted pancakes, the kitchen sink was clogged, and for some reason I could not find a single kitchen towel in my home.

Ready for church!  Gap Denim, Old Navy paisley dress, Target nude flats.

C is ready for church too.  She OPTED to wear a dress and that girl NEVER wears dresses!

Yeah...it didn't start off too lazy, huh?

After church we headed to my bestie's house for her littlest man's fifth birthday party!  Bounce house, cupcakes, brownies....yesssss!  The kids had so much fun!  I love how our kids get along so well - especially the older two.  They are a hoot to watch!

My bestie's the prettiest mama around!

This trip I came home with two bags of hand me downs.  I cannot tell you how much I adore some hand me downs y'all!  I didn't know anyone with older girls that I could bond with when my daughter was tiny for them.  Now that I have the youngest boy and she has two boys both older than mine I'm reaping the benefit of sister-friendship! 

So the kids were a pure pain in the ass on the way home.  They screamed and cried and screamed more.  We fed them, bathed them, and sent them to bed.  I found this graphic while my kids were acting like little jacks and it made me giggle and sigh...it could always be worse.  HA!

In my fantasy football news...

I haven't checked it.  BUT....I think I may be out of last place!  And I'm super happy I picked up Baltimore's D for this past weekend.  

Now let's have a rockin' week.  Shall we?

xoxoxox

Amanda

Today I am linked up with Johannah!

Jam Packed Post (Around Our Nest!)

Hi friends!  How was your weekend?

Around here it was pretty nice :)  Here's the quick run down of what non outlandish stuff we did.

On Friday I finished up work around 1:00 and knew that I did not want to hang out around the house with the kids.  I pulled the cleaning stuff out of the car, put the kids in, and we ran errands.  Of course running errands meant I decided to go to Party City (absolutely nothing fitting the bug or horse theme in stock!), Toys R Us (is it just me or are those stores nasty?), Chicfila (peace be with you), Target (clearance score), Shoe Carnival (waste of time), and Hobby Lobby (never with small children).

Target Clearance:  2 shirts for little man for less than $3, jeans for the hubby for $7.50.  Almost low enough for those $10 at Target posts!

This is epic sadness.  I love Christmas but not on August 5th.  My kids were in awe of the nutcrackers.

Wait, what?

We wrapped up our Friday evening by hitting up Krispy Kreme and getting a dozen of hot original glazed.  I think this is the cue to inform you I have ate like crap all weekend.

After the kids were tucked into bed I watched Cops because it is my all time favorite show.  My favorite line:  "She was all good until she saw me get the Jimmy Dean sausage."

The kids were out the door Saturday morning to go to a day time VBS in Statesville with my mom's husband.  I was a little lazy after they left.  I had envisioned sleeping late, drinking coffee in bed, reading, you know the stuff you see on Pinterest.  Instead, I did my nails, walked the dog, gave said dog a bath, and went to Walmart.

This is real life.

Since I didn't have the kids I walked all over Walmart and decided they didn't have crap.  I also hit up Sally Beauty Supply to get my shampoo - I could spend a while in there too.  Now that I have my Sally Card again I may be in there more than I have been in the past six months, shhhh!  Next door to Sally's is Shoe Show.  I know this is a regional shoe store but I generally have great luck there.  I went in excited to finally get a new pair of sneakers and of course everything I tried on felt bad and then I realized their prices were jacked up from the last time I went in.  The sales lady informed me i was because of back to school and they would come back down after Labor Day.  Can I just say that I cannot wait that long and the struggle to find good sneakers is really wearing on me?  Being honest.

One of the best parts of Saturday was shopping next door to my house.  I have highlighted Snoring Horses Vintage & Antique before on the blog and now I must tell you they are the best neighbors for so many reasons and maybe the worse neighbors too LOL - I mean every time we pop in we pop out with less money than we had before!

OK OK here is one of our newest pieces!

We also (not at Snoring Horses) picked up two Barred Rock hens for our coop. My husband has been wanting Barred Rocks for a while.  My favorite chickens are Buff Orpingtons but they aren't quite as hardy as our Rhoade Islands or the Barred Rocks so I will fuhgettaboutit.

 BIG NEWS:  My revive box from Influenster arrived!  I put a mini vlog on the Facebook page about it.  Over the course of August I'll be sharing about the products I received and my thoughts and feelings on them.  Honesty is the best policy so you will only get the truth about whether you should drop those dollars or not.  This month my box is helping me get back on track with my fitness. I'll be testing out some protein shakes.  For you beauty counter baby dolls I'll be testing out two shampoos.  So stay tuned!

Did I tell you Saturday was date night?  Well Saturday was date night!  Our first date night since Memorial Day Weekend - that is just stupid.  Now that I think about it we did have dinner out with out kids one night in June.  So maybe, in reality, we had a dinner date night on June 10th.

This past Saturday we headed to Mooresville to have dinner and go bowling.  My husband's coworker invited us and it was a fun time.  We had dinner at a very chilled out place called Kickback Jack's and then went and bowled four games at George Pappas Victory Lanes - I suck at bowling but I won three of four games.

How my son stayed awake until almost midnight is a mystery I may never solve.  When we got home the sitter and kids were all hanging out on the couch.  I was in total shock the three year old was still going strong - I had to wake him up at 8 AM and then he spent all day at VBS and then he failed to nap at all.  People talk about bottling kids' energy well that's the first one you should start with!

Sunday fun day.  We missed church services because our kids were at my mom's church for a VBS service and lunch. My goals were to take my dog to get some exercise - she's seriously a fatty and once again try to find some sneakers.  We did just that!  It was only eighty-three degrees but man oh man was it humid!  The hubby and I got in about 2.5 miles and had a good time.

Our day was great with some pool time, throwing the football around, and yard work.  

This week on the blog we're talking vacation prep, blogger love, and birthday headaches!  I hope you'll be checking in and reading.  Don't forget to like the Facebook page, add me on Snap Chat, and follow me on IG!

xo -
Amanda

Weekend Recap: Donuts, Camping, PJs, Prayer & Downton!

The second weekend of January is totally in the books.  It was a fast one <sniff, sniff> but it was a great one.  Here's a brief recap of this chick's sweet weekend!

Friday - 

One reason I adore our church is all the kid friendly activities they offer.  Seriously, that means the world to my husband and I.  Each month during the school year they offer a Parent's Night Out.  For three hours and a very small fee you can drop your kids off for dinner, crafts, games and a movie.  I l-o-v-e this.  It means a lot to me now that my husband has crazy hours and child rearing is mainly left to me.  The flip side is this - I get so lonely!  No one was available on Friday night to go to dinner so I was a bachelorette.  

My "free time" consisted of Taco Bell (I am in a mild state of depression that the Quesarito Big Box is gone), Target (I had to return some shoes for my daughter but also really scored some adorable Valentine's loot from the Dollar Spot), a Big Lots walk through (I swear that place is laced with crack, I'm addicted to walking around Big Lots.), and of course a Krispy Kreme stop.  You're thinking damn Gina on the calories.  However, I balanced them out and didnt go over!

Later in the evening, after the kids were asleep, the husband was home and watched Gold Rush.  He likes it....I think it is man's soap opera.  

Saturday -  

It is safe to say if you read or follow on FB you know I love to camp.  Clarification:  camp in a camper not in a tent.  I would do a tent for a night or two with no kids.  But that's it.  I like a mattress.  As you may also know we have a pop up camper.  Well, the hubs has had campers on the brain for a few weeks and he's ready to start considering upgrading and getting a new camper...in the next 12-13 months.  Saturday was his day off so he was ready to go look at campers around our area.  Little did either of us know there was a Camper & RV show going on in Greensboro.  After his step mom let that little secret out guess where we were headed?

It was the Little Man, hubs, and myself.  Our diva was left at her Pappaw's to help with the cows. I mean c'mon calves or campers when you are eight?  Exactly.

For a mild rip off of $20 we basically saw a gazillion of the same campers.  I will tell you this RV/Camper show was a bust and a racket.  Clarification:  For people like myself it was a waste and a racket.  If you're into seeing thirty-five of the same camper layout then go to the show in Charlotte or Raleigh.  If you're not into seeing thirty-five of the same camper or if you're not into seeing a trailer home on steroids that you can drive or pull around the country that you could never get a little dirt in because the thing is nicer than your regular home then stay away.  I was really hoping to see more booths on places to camp in and around the Southeast but um...yeah that was pathetic too.

At least we got some Mexican afterwards! 

PM- 

It was a rainy day and so by 5:45 I had on my pajamas, the kids were bathed, and we were vegged out in front of The Lion Guard on Disney Jr.  For us who remember the original Lion King this show sucks.

We watched some football (it sucked too, didn't it Texan fans?  Oh and Cincinnati, you are so ghetto.  I mean we knew Pittsburgh was but damn.)

Then we all crashed.

Sunday - Slept in and went to the late service at our church.  A great message about prayer and how it changes things.  I can attest to that wholeheartedly.  It has changed several situations for me for the better.  I signed up for a Women's Bible Study.  Can I just say that I have found it is really a great ingredient to forming a good year by going ahead and enrolling in a study or class.  Last year we did the Marriage Study in January and it really set our year up to be great.  After church we had a grocery run for things I failed to put on my list (oops!)  The hubs went to work and I worked on getting the house ready for another busy week and setting up Downton to record.  Yeah baby.

Simmer on this quote for the week ahead: