My First Ever!!

My friend Bethany Briscoe (now Bethany Toney) was married on Friday last and she had asked me earlier last week to be a guest blogger on her blog while she is gone on her honeymoon!  I was thrilled beyond belief!  I was so happy.  So of course what did I blog about?  Wedding CUPCAKES OF COURSE!!

So go check it out!

Seriously!  RIGHT NOW :)

Isn't she a beautiful BRIDE!!!  The wedding was gorgeous!  Like I took notes :)  the Prettiest wedding I have ever been too!  

Oh and they left in a HELICOPTER!!  

FOR REAL!

My week has been very uneventful and with the loss of the Cardinals I am having an extra hard time coping, but I still believe!  HOWEVER, working in Texas is making it very hard to keep the faith alive!  haha

I went to dinner last night with a friend, more like coffee, but we got to talking about having the opposite spirit and focusing on the Lord's thoughts and not our own.  '

So many times I think that we live life and constantly think about what other's are thinking about us, about what we do , etc...

What are they thinking?

Are they mad I said that?

What did I do wrong?

Why do we think like that?  Well, it's because we have a selfish spirit.  Often times we focus so much energy on not thinking those selfish thoughts - they we are actually doing the same thing, we are NOT consuming our minds and thoughts with the Lord's thoughts, but with the selfish thoughts.

I heard a pastor one time say if you want to think and be pure - you need to bring every thought into the light.  You need to talk about it - God is walking this road with you too, He understands.  So instead of personally going about life thinking  DOn't think that Don't think this - we need to stop and intervene with God.  

Lord, I am thinking negative thoughts about my group in class.  I do not like them and am having a hard time with patience.  - Ok so God isn't happy that we aren't practicing patience, but we are also human - and sometimes it will be hard.  But the fact that you have invited God into those thoughts and you have proclaimed and prayed to God for help - you have had the right attitude about those thoughts.  That is all God asks of us.  

And when those people perturb you.. what do you do - you don't fight back and retaliate. You have the 

OPPOSITE SPIRIT!!!

That is a great phrase to remember!  

HOLIDAY SHOWER AT MOM'S

So my mom hosted a shower for one of my friends for her wedding.  It was a HOLIDAY SHOWER!

I got some great ideas from High Heeled Hostess!  She decorates some incredibly cute and very detailed parties!  Go check her out!  

So what you do at a holiday shower is you bring gifts for different holidays so that the Bride and Groom have some what of a "starter kit" for decorating for different holidays.  My mom was so creative in getting decorated for this shower.  She used all different decorations from different holidays - as you can see in the pictures there are 4th of July, Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine's Day, Halloween - Mom had a blast decorating!

This was such a fun shower and Natalie, the bride, was so excited by all of her gifts that she received!  

All of the decorations were so cute mashed up together.  Who would have thought decorating with all different holidays would end up being cute.  I thought initially that it would look modge podged and thrown together!  

However, I thought that this turned out so cute!

Hope you get some ideas for your own Holiday-themed party!

I will leave you with this doodle from Homegrown Hospitality.

Follow God always - ask for his guidance, because you can't go wrong when His WILL is what you choose!  God DOES NOT make MISTAKES!!

HAVE A CHARMED BLISSFUL DAY!!

abby

(Thanks for stopping bY!)

WORLD SERIES. GO CARDINALS!

I am a huge baseball fan.  I might not know a whole ton about it, but I do know how to watch a game and I LOVE the Cardinals!!  I am probably like their biggest fan!  One day:  MARK MY WORDS:  I will own the Cardinals!  I am so just kidding, but seriously - if I could.. I so would!  So as you all know I am in Waco -and the World Series was in Arlington this weekend (and tonight tune in to FOX at 7pm Central time to watch Game 5) and so Dad got me a ticket to go!! HOLY COW!! It was the greatest thing ever!  I LOVED IT!!!!  It was like so much fun!!  And I enjoyed every moment of Pujols 3 home runs and the 16-7 run win for the Cardinals!!  The only bad part about it was that last night when I was watching Game 4 - it was sad not being there.  I wish I could have gone - but I definitely got spoiled Saturday Night!!  This is my ticket - it was soooo amazing!!!!  However, I don't really understand the marketing technique used to design the logo this year (Pocohantas anyone? )  I think it looks a little to Colors of the Wind for a baseball game.. but oh well - you don't have to agree with everything I guess!  I am just so fortunate and thankful that I was able to go!  It was a blast!

This the the view from our seats!  I should have gotten more pictures - but I was so into the game that I didn't even think about it!!  Hopefully they will make it to Game 7 so that we can win in St. Louis!!  It would be so amazing to win!  I kept on telling Rangers Fans at the game that commented on my St. Louis shirt - Always a Bridesmaid NEVER the Bride! Needlesstosay they were not too happy with my comment!  

I was a little disappointed in the Lesux Valet Parking - because I got there at 5 and they were ALREADY FULL!!!  what!!  Did people just rent Lexus vehicles so that they could Valet!?  It was crazy.. I ended up parking in a General Parking Lot and the lady said $30 and the sign said $20 so I was like umm the sign says $20 and she said but you are a Cardinals Fan.  She was joking - but it took me a minute.  I guess because I am blonde but I was going to pay the $30 - she could have made money on her little joke to me! HA.

Driving to the Game!!! AHHH I HAVE ARRIVED

It was the best experience ever!!  I loved every minute of it!!  Game 5 the Cardinals are about to DOMINATE!!!!

Witch Season Is it Anyways?!?

I went home this weekend and was shocked at the weather.  It was so cold - I could have easily been okay wearing long johns, jeans, long sleeves, north face, and maybe even a knit cap.  Okay the knit cap is probably an exaggeration, but it was cold.  You see I am in Waco - okay I know all of you know this if you are reading my blog, and we don't have seasons in Waco.  We have summer.  That's it.  It's hot all day everyday.  So you can imagine my surprise when my grandmother called me over to see her witches.  Her what?  Yes. I said it, her witches.  So here is how it went....

GrandMolly took me to get my belated Graduation present... 2 beautiful rings from James Avery!  Then I was taking her home and she asked me to come inside and see her witches.  I thought she had gotten a new decoration or something.  I was in for a huge surprise!!! Here was my first witch - sitting on the front porch. 

And then 3 on her front door, 2 on either side and one of the front door banner.  She has obviously decided to celebrate the fall/halloween month of October solely with witches.  And just keep reading - it gets better!  My grandmother took me around the house to see a grand total of 43 witches 5 of which have names.  It was 4 until I named my favorite.  You see the Turner granddaughters, I say granddaughters because there are no grandsons!  My cousin Emilee will be have a baby boy and it will be the first boy to be born in the Turner Family in 52 years (since my dad in 1959) WOOO!  So back to the witches.  

The Turner granddaughters like to "claim" items in GranMolly's House haha - so I claimed that witch.. I really liked it:)  So the witches you are about to see are the witches I think are the cutest and most unique.  GranMolly talked about each witch as if she knew them.  What a fun way to celebrate a Holiday - really getting to know your decorations.  She talked about their faces and what she thought they were doing.  She loved how animated they were and I thought it was a very unique way to decorate.  She has a great imagination - I hope I don't ever let my imagination wither...  Take this witch for instance.  Look at her face.  She doesn't look scary or mean - she looks like she is having a great time riding her bike!  GranMolly imagined her going to the store to get toads and spiders to make her Halloween stew!  See!  What an imagination!

 This is her whole house if you look closely you can see all of the witches - now these are only the ones that I can pick out right now looking at a blurry photo... Keep scrolling to see all of them!

Okay here is the table behind the couch and you can that there are like 6 on the table.  The really cool thing I like about the moon is that it is like those plates you can change the occasion and it says Happy Everything on it and you can change the occasion?? 

 

Well it comes with a Santa and an Egg and a Heart for the different holidays!  How cool right?  She says she has been collecting witches for about 12 years and has gotten them everywhere from Tuesday Morning to Eureka Springs to Branson even Hobby Lobby.   What a cool thing to collect!

These two are my favorite and GranMolly could not stop talking about these two.  They are her newest additions to the collection.  She found these two cuties in a magazine and ordered them.  Their names are Annabelle and Agatha.  She loves them.  She even animates them herself by setting them on cookie jars and Agatha on a wine bottle to give them a certain "demeanor" as she called them.  So funny! 

Isn't she so cute how she decorates?  I love how in this one she has put fall leaves around it.  She definitely has a knack for decorating.  This next witch is one that she got all of her granddaughters who had houses to decorate. 

 Imagine my surprise when I pulled this one out of a box at my house.  I wasn't expecting it at all and then suddenly I have a creepy looking nutcracker witch staring out me.  It is now on our coffee table.  I have to admit I am not a decorator like my grandmother - but who cares.  I have a little bit of her in my house and that is all that matters.  I am blessed to have her!

This next witch GranMolly got at Eureka Springs and she said that she named if after her high school friend Gracie because it has red hair and glasses and so did Gracie.  This one is in her bedroom because she is reading and GranMolly likes to read at night!  How precious is my grandmother!  

GranMolly made sure I knew that this witch (which was very glittery - I LOVE IT) was carrying a candy corn piece - not an egg.  HAHA Sometimes you just got to love your grandmother and what she says!  You can't do anything but smile!  She is adorable!

And finally.  Here she is!
My sweet precious GranMolly (my dad's mother) holding Tabatha (the witch I named).  I love this one because of her velvet stick legs and her glittery curly tinsel she is holding in her hand.  I can't wait to decorate with this witch one day!

I love my grandmother!  Let me tell you something about my grandmother - she is a fighter.

About a year ago Labor Day GranMolly took a trip with her best friends to NYC. This is an annual trip for her every year.  However, this trip - she didn't feel very good.  What began as some stomach pains turned into a puss pocket in her organs.  She was rushed to an Upper East Side Hospital and taken straight to surgery to remove the pocket.  However, her doctor's didn't know that her stomach lining was so thin because of Diverticulitis that they would not be able to remove the pocket but needed to suction it out.  They ended up having to take half of her kidney and some more of her organs (that you don't need of course) out of her body.  My grandmother, as you can tell, is a very thin frail woman.  She lost a lot of weight and weighed in around 60 pounds.  That is not healthy.  Over the course of 4 months GranMolly battled poor health and a weak body and on Thanksgiving Wednesday she returned home.  I can still remember it!  We ate Thanksgiving dinner on her bed.  She was put into the hospital again in the spring because her wounds were becoming infected and a scary case of Staph almost killed her.  But this Labor Day 2011 she braved the Big Apple again and she won!  She even went to China Town and brought all of her granddaughters and one great-granddaughter a surprise back!  She is a fighter...

So when the Lord says:  

Be strong and have strength of heart. Do not be afraid or shake with fear because of them. For the Lord your God is the One Who goes with you. He will be faithful to you. He will not leave you alone.” Deuteronomy 31:6 

He means it!!  God is going to be faithful! And he was.  And now we get to watch her celebrate Halloween with all of her witches!  

Be charmed and be inspired!

Abby

Wordy Wednesday

I thought I would update you on Tiger Tunes - The EEE's WON!!! woo!

Way to go Brittney and Stephanie - our Song Leaders and Directors.  Below is the winning performance followed by several photos of my weekend in Arkadelphia!

 My Best Friends ever Caitlin and Ashlee... I was informed on Saturday night that Ashlee is number 2 in my life to hear information preceded only by Caitlin - and she is okay with that.  HAHA  my friends keep me accountable in life - and if you don't have friends like them, then add them on Facebook because these girls are great friends!

The Gosser girls Molly Anne and I and then Meg and Gretchen!!  We had so much fun being altogether this weekend at Ouachita!  

This is my pledge class missing a couple of girls which you will see in a later picture.  But these are the girls that attended our EEE Homecoming Tea!  These girls have truly been there through everything for me!  They have seen me morph into the woman that I am and for the most part they have helped or played a very influential part in making me this way!  

This is Kati from Along from the Ryde blog.  She was one of my pledge sisters and one of my dearest friends! As you can see we have done a lot of growing up over the past 5 years.  (LEFT:  TWIRP WEEK FRESHMAN YEAR 08/07 and then RIGHT: THIS PAST WEEKEND)  Her son Ryder is the light of my life - or the light of my life when I am in Conway!  Go on over to her blog and see what is happening!!  She also sells Scentsy - click HERE to see what is new (pumpkin spice scents and holiday warmers - perfect for parties and home decorating) 

 These are the girls from the show - or some of them anyways!  As you can tell the costumes were amazing and legit!  Part of the girls were aliens and the other half were astronauts with of course BIG RED BOWS!! My Favorite part! I hope I have some little girls one day so that I can dress them in cute EEE outfits and put HUGE bows in their hair!  I can't wait!

These are my newest friends Ryan and Joseph!  They did a phenomenal job at hosting Tiger Tunes this year!  They have amazing outstanding voices with personalities to match!  And the best part Joseph is an EEE Beau!  He has recently been inducted to the elite group of women on Ouachita's campus - and I can tell you one thing.. He was super excited!

My cousin Meg with Amy and Anna two of my pledge sisters that couldn't make it into the EEE Tea Picture!!! I love them so much and Amy is getting married in April!!  Can't wait!

And of course you can't have a Tiger Tunes weekend at Ouachita without my sweet family!  I love them so much and doesn't Molly Anne look so cute in her green body suit!  Laura Leigh looks fabulous as always - and my mother... the beauty behind all of us - isn't she beautiful!!

NEEDLESS TO SAY I HAD A BLAST THIS WEEKEND!!!!  

Okat 2 more things to talk about :  ADVOCARE and TIM ALLEN

First of all really quick - i think that tim allen is a very attractive and handsome man - and one day i hope my relationship is like tim the tool man and his wife!  I loved that show and I just think Tim Allen is the sweetest and funniest actor ever.  OVER RYAN REYNOLDS.. I KNOW - SHOCKER!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK??

Next: ADVOCARE

I am the newest consultant for Advocare Products.  And I absolutely Love them!!  I have been borrowing my friends Spark drinks for the past 2 weeks!  They are a healthy version of Adderoll or Ritalin.  It engages your mind and sharpens your focus while giving you as much energy as 2 cups of Coffee and it is sugar free.  It has 45 calories and if you like Crystal Light Lemonade packets you will love this stuff!!  It tastes so good!  

Another product I use is Catalyst!  It helps you build muscle tone when you are on a diet and have restricted caloric intake.  The best part about Advocare is that it is solely based on Amino acids and the right types of vitamins and minerals.  There is 24 day cleanse you can do for $175.00 and it is amazing!  The vitamins and minerals really make you feel so much better.  I didn't realize that I wasn't getting the nutrients I needed until I felt like I feel on Advocare.  It is amazing.  I hope you give it a try.  Go to my site and shop and look around and I promise you will not regret trying this stuff!  

However i DO NOT want this to be a buy me use my products site.  I am not about that.  But if you are interested.. or are trying to lose weight or feel better - I would suggest using Advocare!  It is amazing.  

I'll leave you with some inspirational doodles from my friend over at HomegrownHospitality.    All of my doodles that I post on here are hers!! She is so creative! and I LOVE IT!

BE CHARMED - 

ABBY

My life as of 10:15 am

Don't be a chicken today!  This chicken is here to help you remember to be strong in the Lord! He will catch you if you fall! 

"I've commanded you to be strong and brave. Don't ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the LORD your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 (CEV)

 

 

Are you serious!?  How can you not smile and be encouraged when you look at this quote!  I mean it just screams I just brightened your day!  It is what helps me get though even the saddest or loneliest of days!  Life is an adventure!  How many times do we think that specific thought?

I know that when I think of Waco - i DO NOT think about life as an adventure, I think of it as an interference- as a hindrance, as something that is keeping me from my family and potentially ruined a relationship.  But guess what... it is an ADVENTURE!!!

 I am learning to grow in Christ and figure out the nature of life and to change my challenges and to make them the best part of life!!! and to give me joy!  I am going to bei n BLISS today because I see the beauty in the Adventure and I am not going to be chicken ANYMORE!!!

I AM SAYING GET BEHIND ME CHICKEN! 

i am going to be bold. to face the challenge and see the beauty! 

I am about to get real with you:

Sometimes, well it happens everyday, most of the time around 8 am, but it happens, I get sad.  I get lonely.  And right about the time that I sitting in tears - I decide to pull up my big girl pants and face another day.  God speaks when we are quiet and when we sit and listen.  I can't listen when I am petrified about another day in a strange city without anybody.  I can't listen when my anxiety levels are through the roof.  God calls us to sit queitly and wait patiently and his will will be made known!

On another note!!  I am going to TiGER Tunes Tonight!! Wooo!!  Go women of EEE!! 

 

 

Look at what was said last night on Twitter:

 

@OSF_Official: EEE didn't know you could sparkle that much without glitter! #spacejam #Tunes11

 

That is what I am tlaking about :0  Can't wait to see my little sis!! :)

 

And then Friday night the other little (my sister queen) is cheering at the NLR Homecoming game with her cousin twin and my cousin is playing!!  I will be taking my camera - so be sure to come back next week and read all about it!!

 

 Alex is the one in the front :: and then this is Laura Leigh and our cousin McKenzie - she is a doll and always with us!! I love her so much!!!  And of course the photo on the top is of me and my family!!!  We are just a hoot!  and this picture displays the perfect personalities of each of us!

LOVE THEM

DON'T BE CHICKEN TODAY!!

be full of bliss

abby

 

Life. Love. & Tunes.

Life - its going okay.  Work is fun and I love the people I work with.  It is actually Vegetarian Month or something and so our potluck is to bring a vegetarian item - anybody have any suggestions?  If you think of anything let me know!  This is what I was thinking:

VEGAN PUMPKIN WALNUT BREAD or PUMPKIN 7 SAGE SAVORY MUFFINS

Almond Oat Bars topped with Apple Blueberry Crumble.  & GARLIC SMASHED POTATOES

VEGETARIAN CHILI

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

THERE IS ONE THING THAT I LOVE LOVE LOVE.  AND THAT IS TIGER TUNES!!

It happens once a year for 3 days and it is the best 3 days of the year.  I will most likely lose my voice this weekend because I will scream so loudly for the Women of EEE.  and then for my cousin Alex while he plays in his Homecoming football game at NLR high school.  I still don't know what I am going to wear to that - but come Friday night I will :)  

To recap my Tiger Tune experience at Ouachita here are some of the moments :::

 My Sophmore year we were Carhops!  It was my first experience with the Women of EEE and it truly was an great show!  I loved it and had so much fun doing it!!! 

My Junior Year - the year that my best friends Amy and Bethany directed the show, we got on a plane and had to make an emergency landing onto a deserted island - that had "natives" living there.  It was such a fun show!!!

My senior year!  We were Ring By Spring!!  This was very fun because we were the seniors and on the front row - I have to admit, the Saturday night show I got teary eyed.  It would be the last time I ever performed a Tiger Tunes show.

This year - the EEE's are Outta this world... Maybe I can find a video and post later!  Get excited!  If you have never seen Tiger Tunes before - go to www.obusignal.com and watch it live cast this year Saturday night at 7.

Well, my kid that I tutor is about to come in - Hopefully I can write a blog tomorrow about Baylor 

 (my puppy!)

Have bliss in your life today!
Abby