I Eat. Therefore I Run.

Clarification.......... I love to eat!

And dessert is my favorite!

Therefore running is a necessity in my life!

This water bottle is perfect for me!  It about sums up my philosophy on running.

 

Over the past few years, I have run 2 Half Marathons.


Some people call these mini marathons, but I think that is just plain blasphemous.



A mini marathon would be like.......... a mile.

A half marathon is 13.2 miles........... there is nothing "mini" about that!

I still am a little scarred from my last half marathon.

BEFORE baby sis & I ran our last half marathon.

I hated the actual course!  HATED! 

But I finished.  Beat my previous time.  And, most importantly, I got the t-shirt!

I haven't been quite ready to sign up for another race until I saw something about a race called the Hot Chocolate 15k.

Umm, what???!!!

Apparently, when you finish the race, this is what awaits you!

There is also talk of hot chocolate & fondue!


What?  What?

Chocolate is my l♥ve language!  ♥ ♥ ♥

Sign me up!

Literally.......... the baby sis & I are really signing up for this one!

You'll hear more from me later about my crazy training {which I don't usually get serious about until 45 days before race day} & the BIG RACE DAY!

Stay tuned........

The Luxury of Crying

In our son's home country of Uganda, crying is not something that many children do.

No crying if they fall & scrape their knee or bump their head.

No crying if a toy gets taken away from them.

No crying if they are scared or afraid.

There is just very little crying amongst these children.

Often when they do cry, they are laughed at and ridiculed by other children or even adults.

That seems so cruel to us.  But there, it is a cultural thing.

When you are literally fighting daily for your life & the lives of those who depend on you....

When you don't know if you'll survive another child birth.....

When you don't know when you'll eat again or from where the food will come......

When you don't know when your husband will find some kind of temporary work..........

When all of these things are a constant, daily reminder of the reality of your life, then tears & crying become a luxury you can't afford.

We had noticed this with our son.

He cried about very, very few things.

Although, culturally I had known this for years, it was still shocking for me to see this lived out in my son.

He would fall & get hurt & not cry. 

Or if he did cry, it was very short-lived.

And almost never any actual tears were produced.

As he has learned to trust us for his food & daily provisions, he has begun to cry a little more.

The change has been so small that I barely noticed.

That is until today.

This morning, while he was making his bed........... which he can do all by himself!  {proud Mommy moment}........ he began crying.  I ran into his room to see what was the matter.  The comforter was all askew, & he was standing there engulfed in his red & white striped comforter.  He had a huge tear just resting under one of his little eyes.  It was ready to roll down his face!  I scooped him up, & then he just let go....... baby boy just cried a big, loud cry & clung to his Mommy.

The actual crying didn't last longer than about 60 seconds. 

But he cried!

As I was comforting him & holding him, it struck me that he was actually crying about something as "silly" as not being able to get his comforter on straight.

Life & death.

Eating or starving.

These are no longer daily realities for him!

The Lord has graciously brought him to a place of security & deep love!

And he is learning to trust his new Mommy & Daddy............. and know that he is loved & wanted!

My baby boy now has the luxury of crying!

And I couldn't be happier!!!!

My Son the Photographer (installment #2)

We continue to allow our son to carry around his little point & shoot.

He loves being like Daddy!

{if you missed the first installment, here it is}

He snaps all number of things.

Some things that need to be deleted..............

But there are some that are quite interesting & a bit artistic.

Some that are a little horror movie-ish.

Some of Daddy.

And some of Mommy.

 



And some in which he wants to be the center of attention.

But most of his pictures consist of the things he loves most in this world!

I love this little boy!  I love all the fun a 5 year old brings into my life!  And I love that he is happy, well adjusted, & a cuddle bug!

Our blessings abound!

 

Happy ONE YEAR Sweet Georgia Sweet!

Well, I can hardly believe it.............. Sweet Georgia Sweet is one year old!

With all the hullabaloo going on around this house these past few months, I very nearly missed it!

Actually I did miss it........... my baby sister reminded me about it!

Over the past year, I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of wonderful customers, fans, & friends because of Sweet Georgia Sweet.

SGS wreaths & topiaries have been a part of so many special occassions, & I am blessed, humbled, & excited about what the future holds!

Thank you to each of you who follow along & to each of you who have placed orders & orders & orders!  It has been my pleasure to work together with y'all!

Your orders helped contribute to us being able to bring home our son from Africa, & they also help me be a full time, stay at home Mommy to him.......... which is truly the best job EVER!

I pray that the Lord will continue to bless SGS through all of you!

Much love & sweetness from this Georgia peach to each of you!

When I Die Young, Lay Me Down in Some Cake Batter!

It's a certifiable fact:  I am gonna die young if I keep visiting Sally's Baking Addiction blog.

I stumbled across these 2 cake batter recipes that I absolutely HAD to try!

My Momma's visit {because she was having grandparent withdrawals} was the perfect excuse to do a little 3 Generation Baking! 

First up to the plate was Cake Batter Sugar Cookies.

{please pause to notice my cleverness......... first up to the "plate"........ cake "batter" cookies...... that's hilarious....... go ahead & laugh!!!!}

YES!  That is my new Zoya Zuza nail polish!  Thanks for asking.  It's a lovely blue/green teal with LOTS of shimma'!

The recipe seemed a bit odd to me. 

It called for just one egg. 

No vanilla extract. 

Only 3/4 cup flour.

No vanilla extract. 

Butter flavoring!  {I'd never used this before}

And no vanilla extract!

I knew that there was NO way these cookies could be bad, so I just went wherever the smell of cake batter took me!

These little things were WoNdErFuL!!!!!! 

I've never had a cookie that had the perfect {and I do mean perfect} crunch on the outside & chewiness on the inside!  The taste was really very, very good!  I'm not sure that it tasted like cake batter, but who cares???!!!!  They were delicious!

Next time I make them I'll use less sprinkles & add a little almond flavoring to them!

AND because one recipe just wasn't enough to curb my craving............

I also decided upon a recipe for Cake Batter Blondies.

Honestly!!!!  How.in.the.world.was.I.supposed.to.pass.these.up????

I didn't!  I couldn't!  I wouldn't!

Corner pieces are the best!  And this isn't the best pic.  Sorry.  :(

These are so yummy & I wouldn't change a thing about them!

They are a lot like I remember Chess Bars tasting.............. but better!

The next time I make these, I think I'll leave them in the oven a touch longer so that my edges stay crunchy & crispy........ it was a little softer than I like.

Happy Baking!

And Happy Long-Run Day for me!

I've gotta burn off all these calories so that I can eat some more! 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

ps - I don't know Sally.  Sally doesn't know me.  We will probably never meet!  I am shamelessly promoting her blog & her recipes because I love sweet, yummy goodness........ and this girl has got the goods!

pps - I may need an intervention....... I keep stalking Sally's blog for more recipes!  HELP!!!!

Maybe I Should Start Collecting Arrowheads

If you missed my other 2 posts about our beach trip, then I pity you!

They were terrific.  A beautiful, emotional experience!

Your life is sadder because you missed them.

'Cuz I love you {and I'm a bit OTT today}, here they are again if you missed 'em. 

(HERE & HERE)

One of my husband's hobbies is photography.

I'm so proud of him for having a hobby!

I hate that word........ it always makes my skin get cold & clammy & my thoughts all jumble together whenever someone asks, "So, what are your hobbies?"

I always think that the appropriate answers to this question must be something earth shattering & totally impressive.  Like rock climbing, whale watching, designing my own clothes, or playing golf with the Prez!

Instead I always say something like, "Umm, I don't know, I like to run."

{awkward silence that makes me feel I need to say more}

"Oh & I like to read too!" 

They are always a little stunned by my awesome choice of hobbies, & a long silence usually ensues during which I'm thinking why don't I collect stamps or arrowheads or something.  I usually break the silence by excusing myself to the powder room or pretending that I need to find my husband........... you know, the man who's comfortably sitting there talking about his photography hobby!

Actually, my husband is quite good at his little hobby!

He almost never takes photos of people.

That's just not his thing!

Unless you are a dilapidated old historical building, my husband won't photograph you........

Well, unless you are his gorg wife & darling child.

This post should wrap up my incessant blogging about the beach.............. at least until next year!

Drum Roll, Please.......... {and a Giveaway!}

The new product unveiling is finally here!

Mini Burlap Topiaries!!!

Go Dawgs!  I made this one to match my husband's b-day party decor.  :)

Natural Tan Burlap & Pink accents.

Aren't they adorable?

They are approximately 6" tall & can fit on a window sill or practically anywhere!

When ordering, you can choose from Natural Tan, Black, or Red Burlap, & any color ribbon accent.

These MINIs are great for decorating for Birthdays, Holidays, or College Football season.

These little cuties make great gifts for you or a friend, & they are only $16.99!

You can order yours from my Etsy shop, by clicking HERE!

Natural Tan Burlap & Blue ribbon accent.

Black Burlap with Orange Ribbon accent.  Perfect for Halloween or Fall!

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

I am giving away one of these!  You pay the shipping & WIN THE FREE MINI TOPIARY!!!!!

Just leave a comment on this post stating how you would use your mini topiary! 

{don't forget to become a Blog Follower!}

***The only requirement for the WINNER is that you either already are or become a follower of the SGS blog!***

One more picture......... because this is too funny!

Size comparison with my 5 year old son.  :)

Ode to the Beach!

I've composed a little classical piece that I like to call Ode to the Beach.

Ode to the Beach

Oh, lovely beach how we love you!

Your expanse of white, sandy beaches calls to us.

You invite us to come & build sand castles & walk barefoot.

The waves break upon the shore & beckon us to come,

To shed our towels & cover-ups & come frolic & play.

However, letting baby sharks swim in the "shallow end" is not cool!

Not cool, beach.  Not.  Cool!

We will miss almost everything about this beach trip!


We have made some wonderful memories!

Getting to take our new son to the beach for the VeRy FiRsT tImE has been an absolute delight!


As we were walking back from the ocean this morning, WJ asked when we were coming back.

My husband told him that we'd come back next year!

Next year?  What?????  But Baby Boy loves the beach!  He loves the sand, the ocean, Nana & Pawpaw swimming with him, having chicken nuggets & soda every night for dinner.

Next year seems like such a LONG time to make him wait!

And who knows........

By that time we might've adopted again.

I wonder how many times we can have "first" beach trip trips?  ;)

Here are a few photos I snapped today {while my ears were getting burnt to a lovely dark red crisp!}  I totally forgot to put sunscreen on those little sticker-outers!

Enjoy & have a great weekend!

These little pigs went to the beach!

Diggin' in the sand!

Daddy & son sand castle masterpiece!

Proud of his sand castle!

Love this one!  It's a framer, for sure!

     

A Precious Trip to the Beach

There are some things in life that are just precious!

Like my son saying, "Mommy looks boo-te-ful" at random moments throughout the day.

Or when he says "Gimme hug!"

Or like when my husband says that I look cute in my new dress.  {melt}

I've had a few of these precious days recently.

And they've happened at the BEACH!

We love the beach, & we were really excited to take Little Man to the beach for the VeRy FiRsT tImE!  We kept talking it up to him, & he'd act very excited when we said the word "beach."  It was really pretty cute.

The day came when we finally arrived at the beach & took the walk {loaded down with all the beach essentials} to the beach.

When we crested that little hill overlooking that great, wide, breathtaking expanse of beach & ocean, he was absolutely mesmerized!  He took in all the sights & sounds & smells. 

 As the three of us walked into the sand, the sand began to wiggle its way into our flip flops.  WJ looked up at me & said "Mommy???" and then inquisitively looked down at the foreign substance beginning to cover his sweet, little feet.  I told him that it was sand, & my husband told him that he could take his shoes off & walk in it. 

I knew that he had never been to the beach & that EVERYTHING would be new to him, but I was thinking ocean, ocean, ocean & it hadn't even crossed my mind that even the walk in the sand to the shore would be filled with firsts for him.

As we walked a little farther in the sand, we came across a stretch of sand littered with sea shells.  I drew WJ's attention to the sea shells in the sand & how pretty they were.  He looked at them for a little while, & then lifted his little face to the sky & said, "Oh, thank you Jesus!"

I nearly broke down crying at this point.  I thought that was one of the most precious things I'd ever heard.  I was so touched by his thankful spirit, & that he was learning that God is the giver of all good things!

However, the "awe" of that moment was dampened a bit when later that day he ordered chicken nuggets (a treat in our house) for dinner.  When said nuggets were delivered to our table, he again lifted his little face to the heavens & declared "Thank you, Jesus!"

I guess having chicken nuggets is a bit of a miracle. 

I really only let him eat them when we eat out, & we don't eat out very much. 

Poor, poor child!

WJ absolutely loved jumping in the ocean's waves.  He held Mommy's & Daddy's hands & jumped & jumped & jumped & then played in the sand!

I am usually a "lay on the beach, read a good book, & get tanned burned" girl.  You won't usually find me in the ocean.  Swimming in a shark's playground just isn't my thing!  However, I've now discovered that I'll stay in the ocean & nearly lose my swimsuit bottoms untold amounts of minutes & hours until my son is finished jumping in the waves!

It's a pretty amazing thing to be a Mommy!

It's also pretty amazing to play so hard that we all 3 wear ourselves out & get to take a 2 hour nap!

I love vacation!!!!!!

I love naps!

I love the beach!

I love using the word love!

Signing Off.

Love,
{'cuz I just had to squeeze one more in}

Poised, Posed, & Fabulous! My Magazine Shoot!

Well......... it's not actually ME in the magazine shoot!

It's my Sweet Georgia Sweet products, y'all!

Yay!!!  Yay!!!  Yay!!!

A black burlap wreath & one of my burlap topiaries!

How fun is that?

This is the second time I've had the opportunity to be included in one of the fabulously styled shoots for Bird's Party Magazine.

SGS products were also featured in the Alice in Wonderland party in Issue 5 which was released earlier this year.

Both times I was blessed to work with Dorangela of Two Prince Bakery Theater.  She's such a talented, amazing, stylist, & I just love working together with her!

This is Issue 6, & I'm again honored to be a part.

Make sure to browse through the magazine's current issue for WoNdErFuL, cReAtIvE, & iNsPiRiNg party ideas!

Click here to view the current issue!  You can find my products styled in the party on pages 75-78.

Enjoy!

 

Gross Out! Kitty Kiss! Purple Heart!

Last week we went to visit my {favorite} sister Hannah.

Hannah Boog lives in South Carolina.

I love Palmetto Trees!

I want to live in S.C. so I can have a cool Palmetto Tree decal for the Land Rover I don't have.

I know that I don't need to capitalize the words Palmetto Tree.

I just want to!

We had such fun at "Ant Hin-nah's" house.

"Ant Hin-nah" has 8 indoor kitties. 

Poor thing!  She tried the foster kitty thing, & just couldn't give those little ones away!  She has such a big heart for those poor babies!

If my husband & I die, send our cats to Ant Hin-nah they'll live glorious lives!

One of Ant Hin-nah's cats gives kisses.

{Gross!}

My son learned how to give & receive kitty kisses.

{Double gross.}

But sUpEr CuTe!!!

He has not tried such shenanigans with our 2 indoor kitties.

He knows he'd be awarded the Purple Heart for Bravery, but I just don't think he's willing to risk losing a limb or an ear or an eye for it.

Right or wrong, I feel compelled to tell you about our cats.

They have adjusted very well to having a 5 year old invading their space.

I barely see them all day!  :)

They hide from him most of the time........ I'm sure this is due partly to fear & partly to irritation at his existence in our home.

And the times they venture out, they keep a safe distance from him trying to figure out his next move - which is usually loud & spastic.

The other day WJ was playing with his army men, & he asked Sheppie to play with him.  When I asked WJ what Sheppie said, WJ said that he'd said "No."  I think that WJ deduced that correctly --- considering that Sheppie flicked his tail in WJ's face & walked away.

I sense repressed anger.

Meet Shephard aka Sheppie.  The name sake of Jack Shephard from Lost.  He is much prettier than this picture reveals!  He gets his lack of photogenetics (it's not a word, I know) from me!  He hears voices in his head, & is SUPER needy after the vacuum cleaner is used.  He's beyond sweet!  He is very nurturing & likes to head butt!

Meet Sawyer aka The Little Pirate.  The name sake of James "Sawyer" Ford from Lost.  Lost was my husband's favorite TV show, & I wanted "matching" names.  It was devastating from the beginning!  Too bad you couldn't have met our cats B.B.King & Lenny Kravitz.  RIP, boys, Rest.In.Peace!

Sawyer is MY kitty!  He's a punk and a half!  He demands to be picked up & walked to "bed" at night.  He acts like an angry drunk when on catnip.  He's terrified beyond meows of the vacuum cleaner.  He never drinks any water except from the master bathroom sink.  He only uses his scratching post when he wants to be praised.  Did I mention that he's a punk?  Believe it or not, he really loves me & he's hilarious! 

And............scene!

That should be enough kitty talk to last you for a good while!

 

Share Your Favorite Children's Books!

We have a bookshelf that is about to explode with books!

We have........

Sweet books.

Funny books.

Pop-up books.

Boy books.

Stupid {as in, why was this ever published} books.

And awesome books!

We try to read a lot!  Not only to help WJ's English get better, but for overall learning, development,  & cuddle time.

My son's favorite book is his pop-up book from Mrs. Tammy of Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go.  He is beginning to memorize it & quotes it while walking around the house.  It's really cute!  His favorite 2 words in the whole book are "boom bands."  He makes it into a song, "Boom bands, boom bands!"  He's such a muscial little guy!

I have two current favorite books.

One is Because You Are My Baby  by S. North.  It's a Mommy telling her baby that whether she is a sailor, a rock star, a geologist, or a mountaineer she'll do anything for him.  It's so sweet & imaginative!  I love it!

God Found Us You by Bergren & Bryant is a book about the journey of an adoptive momma fox to her little baby.  For adoptive first-time Mommas whose journeys were filled with prayer & hope & waiting, this is the perfect book.  It so beautifully conveys our journey to WJ.  I love reading it to him!

So, what are your favorite children's books?

I'd love to hear!

We love discovering new books!

Have a great weekend!

 

Rookie Blue Tears & Lizard Screams

If you watched Rookie Blue last night on ABC & cried.

And watched it again today on Hulu & cried again.

I have nothing to say to you, but CALL ME!

I don't know anyone who watches this show, & for some reason, I love it!

You will either be sad or glad to hear that the beginning of this post has nothing to do with the rest of it! 

I'm sad!

I need chocolate chip cookie dough icecream.  Stat!

If you are looking for a fun, inexpensive activity to do with your children or to let them do by themselves while you go watch Rookie Blue, then this is it, my friend!

This was given as a gift to WJ, & he loves it!!!!!  A teacher friend of ours gave it to him, & she says this works on fine motor skills.  I just know it's fun & my son loves it!

Instructions:
- Buy a big, huge, can't-imagine-who-would-use-all-of-this bag of rice.
- Buy some kind of clear Sterilite (or any other brand) container with a lid that secures well! {don't ask how I know this}
- Buy bunches of Dollar Store creepy, crawlies.
- Buy a plastic magnifying glass & a set of "bug" tweezers.  (about 3 x's bigger than the ones for eyebrows)
- Pour the rice & layer the creepy crawlies inside.
- Set kiddo outside or on kitchen table (controlled environment) & let them have at it!  Uncovering all of those fun icky creepy crawlies!

Box o' Rice!

Digging for Pink Snakes!

CRAZY EYES!

I am a calm, happy child!

Whatever you do, don't buy creepy, crawlies that look real.  Please save yourself squeals, screams, & heart attacks by buying ones that clearly look fake.  I'm serious!