Life in the Turner family

Week one complete!

2010-08-27T07:52:00.005-05:00

So as you know I decided to start the C25K program once again this week. Today is the official end of week one and I feel pretty good. So I ask myself a question, why don't I feel great? Let me tell you why...it is because I have passed the milestone of being 30! that's why! During the first week I have experienced a mild case of Plantar Fasciitis, Shin Splints and super tight calf muscles. To quote a friend of mine, 30 likes to bitch-slap a sister!!!!
Even though I am experiencing the above, I plan to keep on going. Our family is heading to TN this afternoon to spend the weekend with some great friends in celebration of the upcoming birth of Ms. Jenna Suerstedt. Pics to come soon...

am I back?

2010-08-24T10:08:00.004-05:00

Not too sure yet! I don't have the desire to blog but I do need to try as many of you have asked if I have fallen off the earth at this point. Well, I haven't, not yet anyway. So I think I am gonna start fresh and not worry about a huge update blog as I have no time for that so here's to starting over!

Yesterday a friend of mine and I decided to start training for a 5K, now this is by far not the first time either of us has trained for one but it is the first time we have decided to train together. Now I am not sure how well this is going to work but we are both very optimistic about the end results. you see, we have a long history together and many parts of our personality are very similar. One in particular is that little thing called COMPETITIVENESS! So there is a very good chance that over the next 6 months one of us could very well DIE!!!! and I don't mean think we are dying but really DIE!!!! once that competitiveness sets in we will be pushing each other to the limit and sometimes we don't know when to quit. But we both realize this and hopefully will be able to reign this in just in time to stay alive for a little while longer.
We did indeed start our training yesterday and all was good. the only issue I am experiencing (due to little to no exercise in the last year) is a little heel pain that I will treat and hopefully it will subside very soon. So until next time...

Domino's House Party

2009-06-25T07:26:00.008-05:00

Not sure how it happened but I was chosen to host a Domino's House party this past week. I did apply for it but luck of the draw was the only reason I won. Domino's sent me a $75 gift card, a game called "You Gotta Be Kidding" and some coupons. What I was to do in return is host a party, order all 6 of the new American Legends pizzas and play the game. Since things have been so busy in my life, I decided the best place to host this party is work. I ordered the pizza on Sunday and the Customer Service group had a Domino's House party on Monday for lunch. It was great, the game was fun and the new pizzas were awesome (and this is coming from someone who does not care for pizza)!!

Fun was had by all and I am glad we had a chance to sample all of this fabulous pizza!

Later,
L

What a busy few weeks...

2009-06-25T07:09:00.017-05:00

The Turner family has been super busy over the last few weeks thus no blog posts for me. My camera finally decided to start working again so I have some new pics for you. First off we had Anthony's 30Th birthday party shortly after he came home from Boston, just family but it was fun. Anthony received some great gifts to add to his kayaking stash (it is almost complete, 4 more things to go).

I have spent a lot of time on the road for work lately, Baltimore, Alexandria and DC. Here are a few pics I took of the George Washington Masonic Memorial last week from the train station in Alexandria:

And on to Father's Day, which we spent in Selma with my dad.

Most of Saturday was spent at a friends house on the river in the pool. Anthony took the kayak out for a test drive in the pool and we went on a fabulous boat ride.

Cutler is ready to start boating! Ha! No way he will be doing that for many more years...

Oh my, he is MY child! (notice the tattoo on his arm!!!!)

Well for this coming weekend, Cutler is going to hang with G and Pampaw, Anthony is going to River Rats with Jason and Megan to run the Hiwassee and I am leaving for Orlando on Sunday not to return until Tuesday. The whole family will then leave on Thursday afternoon heading to Tennessee to spend the Fourth of July with some amazing friends, Megan and Jason, Katie and George, Christa and J! Upon our return, I will be packing once again! heading to Chicago on Tuesday. This should conclude the majority of my travels for the next month. We are planning a beach trip and Anthony and I plan to spend our 10Th wedding anniversary (I know, scary right?) in New York this year...wish us luck!

Later,
L

How can you fall off the wagon when you were not really on it in the first place????

2009-06-09T08:44:00.002-05:00

So running, not happening! I am going to try again but my motivation is shot. I am overwhelmed with work, life, family, SBA and others right now and feel like making the time to run is on the bottom of my list. how do I get it back toward the top? I need to do it in the morning, first thing. I need to get out of bed at least 30 minutes earlier than I do now and Just Do It! But that bed is so warm and comfortable in the mornings, I truly dread letting my feet hit the floor. I used to not sleep well and when it was time to get up, I got up. Now I am sleeping better and just don't want to get up. Hopefully the motivation will come back soon, we all know I need it to.
Update on the bully...
Cutler is no longer being bullied, his teacher was wonderful when Anthony asked her about it and they moved Cutler to another table that same day. No longer can the little mean-spirited, red-headed, freckle-faced meanie-pants pick on my precious little boy. Did I mention that he probably out-weighs her by 10 pounds and is a good head taller than her? I think it is time for him to enroll in a street fighting class or something, he needs to get roughed up! (and not by a little girl).

Later,
L

Running update

2009-06-03T20:11:00.003-05:00

Well I did it Monday night, I completed two miles in less than 25 minutes so I was happy. Was being the operative word, I am not happy right now. I am procrastinating, the treadmill is calling, slash that! yelling, and I have been yelling four letter word right back at it! I do want to run but I just can't make myself get down there and do it! So who knows if I will or will not tonight, we will just have to see.
Cutler update...
His little bully buddy, Reagan, is still being a bully. She punched him in the tummy today and he told me she did not even get in trouble. If you know me, you know what I am thinking...I am going to be at that school in the morning and have a little talk with the teacher. Well, I thought about it and decided to let it go for one more day. I am going to ask Anthony to ask them about it in the morning and if I am not satisfied with that then I WILL be going to the school on Friday morning to speak with his teacher regarding what will be done about this BULLY! I am not happy, but I am pretty sure you know that by now. So if you were me, what would you do? I don't want my kid to get kicked out of school because of his mommy but I sure as hell do not want him to get bullied everyday and end up not loving Big Boy School...I need some mommy help on this one.

Later,
L

Running...

2009-06-01T18:06:00.003-05:00

In more ways than one!
Seems like the last week or so has flown by, we spent most of the weekend at home working in the yard and washing cars but it still flew by.
A friend of mine who used to run like a maniac, like 7 days a week, has taken a running hiatus for the last few years but decided to start back up again. This friend is NOT me.
I took up running a couple of years ago, but not maniac style, and have recently taken a longer hiatus than I wished for. So, she started running again and has asked me to start up again so we can do a few races together...so here goes. Tonight is the night! I will start the treadmill up and again start the cycle! Part of me is very excited and part of me dreads this worse than bathing suit shopping, which by the way is much less devastating with a TAN. Back to the subject, tonight is the night, running, running like the wind. Or in my case running like a turtle. Let's see how it goes, I plan to get two miles in tonight by alternating running and walking. I am pretty sure I will regret that tomorrow but what the hell! I might even do a few crunches and write out a new diet since I am getting my ass back on the band wagon. Breathing seems to be my biggest obstacle, I need to learn to breathe right without focusing on it the entire time. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. So the band wagon starts tonight, listening to some PINK disco- logy and running, maybe this will inspire me to write in this blog a little more but who knows.

Oh I do have a Cutler update. He started "big boy" school last week and so far he seems to love it, even with a mean ass kid named Reagan in his class. This chick pushed him off a tricycle on his second day, seems she is a little of a bully. Believe it or not, my kid is super passive (unlike his mother) and just lets things roll off his back. BUT, he does tend to bring them up again time and time again as if he is holding a slight grudge (now this is just like his mama). One day, just one day, I hope he becomes a very balanced mix of myself and his father. Passive to a point but a little hot under the collar and not afraid to take up for himself. You know as well as I do that if I was being bullied in 3K, that chick would have no teeth! But luckily my son has no chance of getting kicked out of pre-school due to fighting, his only chance of getting kicked out might just be his mother's mouth!

Later,
L

T-Ball

2009-05-21T12:25:00.006-05:00

Cutler started T-ball the week after his daddy left for Boston and we just had our final game this past Tuesday. It went so well! Cutler is very good and loves playing! Here are a few pics from the game:Enjoy!

Later,
L

Almost Home

2009-05-20T06:12:00.002-05:00

Well I know I have not updated the blog in a while with what I have been doing up here in Boston. The fun and games are almost over. Last night we went to Fire and Ice for dinner and then to see the Blue Man group. I have to say it was a fun night. It is not often that you can bring together a group of 31 guys all from different backgrounds and cultures and still be able to have a good time and everyone gets along. I think I have stories to tell for months now on what has either happened around me or with guys in the group.
I fly home Saturday and I cannot wait for it to get here. It has been nice to make new friends and on one hand I hate to leave the guys but I miss my family, home, and friends. It will take a little adjustment to get back into the swing of things once I get home but like I said I cannot wait. I am almost to the point of counting down the hours and not just the days.
Well I am about to go to class and try to stay awake after a night on the town. I hope everyone has a Happy Wednesday and I look forward to seeing everyone once I get back.

Later,
A

A hell of a storm and bowling

2009-05-03T17:52:00.007-05:00

Well today we had plans to spend the afternoon at my friend Meredith's house letting the kiddos run around outside for a while. We started off by meeting at TGIFriday's for lunch and it just went downhill from there. Lunch was fine and the kids acted so well we decided to splurge for icecream. Meredith and I made a deal with each other that if we both ordered the brownie a la mode that we would start phase 1 of the South Beach Diet together tomorrow. So here we go. South Beach Diet here we come! Have you ever read what you have to eat on that damn thing for two weeks? Eggs for breakfast everyday it seems, and I am not a huge fan of eggs. but I thought two weeks, who can't do this for two weeks so yep, you guessed it, I got the brownie and man it was good. So we were finishing up the dessert when the manager started herding everyone into the kitchen as he was told a tornado was coming our way. So Meredith and I rushed all 4 kids, who were covered in sticky ice cream, into the TGIFriday's kitchen. Now I thought, oh this can't take long and it won't be so bad. WRONG...there were about 200 people in that damn kitchen for an hour!

We finally made it out of there (two hours after we arrived) and were headed to Meredith's house when she called her hubby. He said, NO GO on going home, there were tornado's all around the house. So we decided to head up to Vestavia to the bowling alley. Ever took four kids bowling who are covered in ice cream and have had no nap???? Wouldn't suggest it! They did great for a little while but soon grew bored, tired, and irritable. but we did score a few good pics along the way.

Oh almost forgot, we had to stop by the grocery store so Meredith could pick up some diapers (Annelise had shit running up her back by this point) and she picked up a couple of Monster Energy drinks for her and I as well. Enjoy the pics from today:

Cutler just bowled a STRIKE Annelise hitting the MONSTER

Leighton, can you see the ice cream on his shirt?
McKenna and Annelise waiting...
Meredith and I with a pissed off Annelise!

Later,
L

Wow, what a week!

2009-04-30T10:57:00.004-05:00

I know I have not posted in sometime but swear I have a very good reason! It is called being a single mom and everything that could go wrong HAS!

I came home last Thursday evening from work to find Boss with a swollen, bloody foot! It freaked me out but he let me look at it and it looked like he cut it really bad and split his toenail. So I called the vet Friday morning who said they could work me in Friday afternoon. I rushed home from work, had to call Mattea to pick Cutler up from school, wrestled Boss in the front of my truck and listened Cowboy cry in the backyard! We get to the vet and Boss is a little nervous, there are no other big dogs in the waiting room but he is not "fixed" and there were some other non-"fixed" males in there as well. So Boss proceded to spray both of my feet as if he were marking his territory! Now let me remind you that there are no other large dogs in the waiting room, he is the largest by at least 80 pounds but still sees the need to mark me! WTF???

Anyway,

We see the vet who is able to look at his foot a little closer and finds that he has a tumor in his foot that he has irritated. So surgery it is. now I talked the vet into letting me take him back home with me Friday night and bringing him back at 6:30 Saturday morning so I would not have to deal with a crying Cowboy all night. Boss did great, I picked him up around lunch time Saturday and was told to change his bandages everyday for at least a week to allow time for healing.

I guess now that this wound is healing, Boss feels the need to lick it and well...he can't because it is wrapped up. So everyday when I get home, the bandage is in 100 pieces on the porch and Boss is a happy as a lark. But not today, nope that will not happen today (at least it better not). Check out the pic:

That's right DUCKTAPE!

I put medicine on it, packed it with gauze, wrapped it with athletic tape, put one of Cutler's socks on it, then wrapped it with Duck Tape! I will let you know what it looks like when I get home today!

Oh, and since Boss was wearing one of Cutler's socks, he decided to wear the other one and one that he thought matched! Check this out, Cutler with mis-matched socks, 2 sizes too small pj's, wet hair from the shower, and a dog with duck tape on his foot!

Later,
L

I'm Certified

2009-04-26T20:27:00.002-05:00

And by that I do not mean crazy, even though many will disagree on that subject. After weeks of studying my butt off and stressing out I got my EMC Proven Professional certification. I start my more specialized courses for the next for weeks starting with our Clariion system. This should make the time go by much faster. We went and celebrated Saturday night after the test in Providence, RI and had a blast. It is interesting to see how people from different states and areas of the world act when going out to dinner and a night on the town.

The coming weekends will be busy as we all try and do different things, we are looking at going to New York in a couple of weekends.

Later,
A

He passed...

2009-04-20T07:33:00.002-05:00

Anthony called me this morning and he passed his course exam! he is very happy but has one more test this coming Saturday. After this he will be able to relax and have a little fun!

1 week down 6 more to go!!

2009-04-11T18:58:00.002-05:00

Just to give you guys an update I am doing good up here in Yankee country. The guys are great, the instructor is awesome, and I actually got to get some sleep last night. So far this week I have been getting out of class, eat dinner, and then study until roughly 1 or 2 in the morning. The course is kicking my butt, but I think I am getting it and understanding all the nice acronyms they throw at us. I think I learned about 100 of them this week. Some are easy to remember like DAE (disk array enclosure) and others that just have weird names like FLOGI, which means Fabric Login, why they dropped the N off the end of login is beyond me but whatever.

We have officially finished the first of the two books for class. I feel like brain overload is happening some days and expect to wake up one morning with my brain on my pillow because it leaked out. We have another week of this intense training and then next Monday have a course test with the big certification test to follow on that Saturday the 25th. I dread having to go in on a Saturday at 9 to take a test but after that if I pass I think I will finally be able to relax. It also doesn't help that it has rained almost every day since I got here. Last Saturday when I went to Boston it was cold and rainy, Sunday when I was too tired from the day before walking it was nice and sunny, go figure. Since then every night we get a nice full night of rain and most days too. I think I will have to find a tanning bed soon if I don't get some sun soon because this gets depressing. Well I am off to rewrite notes, make a presentation for Monday and reread everything again.

Later,
A

Wow what a day...I actually got my ass kicked today!

2009-04-10T16:39:00.004-05:00

So the day started out OK, Cutler was in a great mood, it is Good Friday and work was actually decent.

But things went downhill fast! I had to fire yet another Executive Director of the Spina Bifida Association but this one went fairly well. I guess as well as could be expected!

I went by Mattea's house to pick Cutler up and things were still looking good. Cutler had been great all day and his finger looks so much better. We then came home and ate a little lunch and I put Cutler down for a nap, once he was down I ventured downstairs to get a little laundry started and saw something glistening in the downstairs bathroom. It was WATER, all over the floor. Now this has happened in the past but my Mr. Fix It has always been home to well...fix it!

This time I called a plumber, set me back $200 but at least we will not have a flooded house in the near future.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Anthony was scheduled to get his first paycheck today but since it is coming from ADP they could not direct deposit it so they mailed an actual check and guess what, that's right folks it was NOT in the mailbox today.

So while the plumber is fixing our problems I decided to tackle something I swore I would never attempt, transforming an Optimus Prime Tranformer. They say these things are rated for 5+ years old but I can guarantee they never asked someone over 15 to attempt to transform the damn things. This morning Cutler wanted to take this particular one to Teta's house but he only wanted to take it if it was transformed into a car and at that moment it was still in robot form. Anyways, I tackled this thing while the plumber was here and it literally kicked my ass! In the end I won of course because mama ALWAYS wins! Here is an after pic, I didn't think to take a before pic as I was sure I would never succeed at transforming this thing and I am damn sure not turning it back into robot form in fear that Cutler will demand it be transformed back into a car....

OK it may not look that hard but please feel free to come over anytime and transform any of the thirty others in this house and I promise you will say words you wish you never knew!

Later,
L

Cutler had a date...and a possible broken finger

2009-04-09T07:30:00.004-05:00

Since Anthony has been gone we decided to meet Nora (the 3 year old girlfriend) at the park on Wednesdays. Here is a pic from yesterday.

When I arrived at school I was informed that Cutler hit his finger on the wall and it was swelling a little. By the time we went to bed last night it was horrible and looked like this:

I think it is just jammed really bad, he is not complaining about it but we will be keeping an eye on it for a few more days!

Anthony is doing well but studying for a tremendous amount of hours daily, he has a fairly important test in a few weeks but I have no doubt he will pass with flying colors!

Later,
L

Follow the red brick road

2009-04-05T12:59:00.005-05:00

Well yesterday me and Chris took the train from Franklin to Boston, mainly to avoid trying to navigate the streets up there and find parking. It was a fun day and I am using today to rest since my legs are sore from the all the walking we did. We were thinking of going to Cape Cod today but a lot of the guys went out drinking last night and didn't get back until about 3am so most of them are still sleeping. We walked the Freedom Trail which is quite a hike since the little bricks you follow disappear sometimes and there are only a few signs that point you in the right direction. We did travel the whole trail and ended with the Bunker Hill Memorial which is the tall building below. This thing whipped my butt. It is a spiral staircase with 294 steps to the top, and for those that do not believe me there is a picture from the entrance area of the memorial and picture from the top.

We took a tour of a WWII battleship and saw too many graves to count. All in all it was a good day. My only problem was that it was a little cold, rained a little on us, and wind was blowing like crazy. They call Chicago the windy city but I think this took the cake it was horrible. Especially when the wind would blow a nice amount of sand up in your eyes from the roads. Well I will post some more in the days to come if I can.

Later,
A

2 days down, 50 more to go

2009-04-03T22:57:00.002-05:00

Since I promised to let everyone know what is going on with me way up here in the North here goes. The past two days of class have actually been fun. Did some various icebreakers and opening up activities but it was not too bad. I have made several new friends now from all over. In the class we there are 28 of us. We have 2 guys from Australia, Saudi Arabia, Poland, the UK, and Switzerland. There is also a guy from Russia that is working in the NYC office. Me and Chris the guy from the UK are teamed up on the rental car and he wants to see as much as he can while here so we will be trying to see what we can when we can. This is our only free weekend for at least 2 weeks because we have the SUPER cram for the exam weeks coming up. Basically we have to see about 1000+ powerpoint slides along with learning 2 books worth of information, the books are about 400 pages each so come Monday you guys might not hear much from me.

For the free weekend we are planning to head to Boston for the day tomorrow and try and see as much as we can. Sunday we might head down to Cape Cod or Providence. The biggest problem is figuring out where to go since we will have about 5 weekends that we can do something and that is if we do not have to study too hard after the exam. I will try and post again this weekend with where I have been.

Later,
A

The little things in life

2009-04-03T14:00:00.001-05:00

I ran by Subway for lunch and this was what I saw parked next to me.

Later,
L

The things we do...

2009-04-03T09:40:00.004-05:00

I was so sick yesterday that I actually did not go to work and stayed in bed until almost noon. When I finally arose, I decided to go to the doc and turns out I am suffering from severe allergies. So I got a few shoe which included a steroid. Now when I get a steroid shot I tend to think I am SUPERWOMAN! So I picked Cutler up early from school and thought what a great afternoon to fly a kite... and in Cutler's words, "that kite was SUPER AWESOME!"

We did a few things around the house and then Cutler read his daddy a bedtime story over the web cam, it was so CUTE.

This morning I remembered C had a carpet burn on the top pf his foot from falling at school yesterday so I asked him if we could put medicine on it and a band aid. Let's just say that did NOT go over well and he told me only babies need band aids. So to prove him wrong I told him I needed a band aid (I had no boo-boo on my foot but swiped some lipstick on it to make it look like one) and he needed to put it on my foot. So enjoy the pic...

Later,
L

Home sweet hotel

2009-04-01T17:59:00.003-05:00

Ok I am finally here in Boston and just finished unpacking. I will post pictures later tonight or tomorrow of the room. The room is tiny but this will be my home for the next 52 nights. I am now off to find target and something to eat.

Later,
A

April Fool's Day !

2009-04-01T15:05:00.007-05:00

You know what...it really sucks for your husband to have to fly out on April Fool's Day to be gone for 2 months. As most of you know, Anthony has gone to Boston for training for the month of April and May! SO today has just sucked...

I must say that I was very surprised by my employees yesterday as they pulled an April Fool's joke on me a day early. Check it out:

I was shocked, surprised and proud of them all in one. This took a lot of teamwork, effort and planning on their part. I have been consistently working late and coming in before most of them so they had to do some serious planning to pull this one off!

Anthony should start posting about his journey in Boston soon, be on the lookout for those!

Later,
L

and we are BACK!

2009-03-17T13:11:00.014-05:00

We arrived safe and sound in Alabaster yesterday afternoon after a pretty good cmaping weekend. It did indeed rain most of the time but the lady at River Rats was kind enough to let us camp under a pavilion that is in the process of being renovated into a bunk house. Here is a pic of our sleeping arrangements:and yes this last picture is a tent, well kind of, it is a hammock that Travis sleeps in and it even has it's own rain fly.....weird I know (I am pretty sure I told him that several times). But he claims it is the most comfortable place to sleep ever and he would hang it in his house if he could figure out how!

So on to the river, Travis and Jason went paddling down the Tellico Saturday and Sunday. The rest of us stuck around camp Saturday during the rain but ventured out into what turned out to be a beautiful day Sunday to watch them.

This is what they did:

Jason>>>>>>

Travis>>>>>>>

and Travis taking a little swim>>>>>>

It was amazing and scary as hell all at the same time just to watch! I can't image actually being in that boat...

Here are a few other random pics from the trip:

Later,

PS: More pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/lcturner78

Time for a relaxing weekend

2009-03-13T11:56:00.002-05:00

I have put in so many hours at work this week that I am afraid to count to see the actual number. We are leaving this afternoon to go camping at River Rats with Megan, Jason and Travis. I can't wait!
I will post pics next week.
I know it will be raining most of the weekend but I have no doubt we will have a great time!

Later,
L

Daddy and Cutler Day

2009-03-06T19:04:00.008-06:00

Today Anthony let Cutler skip school and they spent the day together at Oak Mtn State Park.

They hiked up to Peavine Falls, played on the playground, had a picnic lunch, went to the wildlife rescue center, and hiked the Treetop trail. Cutler told me he had a great time and here are their pics...

Oh and here is a pic of our new condo tent. Looks like we will be using it next weekend at River Rats and I can not wait!

Later,

A really crappy Friday!

2009-03-06T15:31:00.002-06:00

I had to do a termination of sorts today and those always put me in a really down mood. After, things just started coming to me at what seemed to be warp speed and I am now feeling completely overwhelmed. Maybe by Monday I will turn into SuperWoman and get my plan together on how to accomplish these 50 things within the next two weeks...

Later,
L

Taking time to blog

2009-03-04T12:42:00.003-06:00

So I am sitting at my desk eating lunch and wanted to just get my mind off work (I have a conference call in 15 minutes) and I logged onto my blog to check out what some of my friends have blogged about recently. Guess what, nothing! I mean nothing since the weekend snow. Now I know you people have something interesting to tell the world so go ahead and BLOG it! I have 15 minutes to devote to non-work and I can't find anything today! This day will go down in history (I hope) as I know the next time this occurs there will be lots of interesting things out there for me to check out! I plan to post more now since I am sure you feel the same about me, deal?
You post more and I will post more!

Later,
L

I was just having an OFF weekend

2009-03-02T09:00:00.003-06:00

So Cutler went to Selma to hang with G and PamPaw this weekend allowing Anthony and I to have some long needed alone time. Friday night we ate dinner at a new place in Alabaster, The Patio Grill, and I have to say it was great! Saturday we arose very early despite not having a 3 year old ready to go and headed out to Harbor Freight, Roger's Trading, TGIFridays, Alabama Outdoors, Walmart, Walgreens and Publix! I know....what a day. We fared well for the most part of the day but as the evening started winding down things got a little strange for me. I dropped my Blackberry in my Diet Coke....then I realized I was wearing my underwear inside out all day. these are things that do not normally happen to me, I mean, I usually have my shit together...so on to Sunday.

We went to church in the BLIZZARD (I call it this because we could barely see driving there), I was upset that Cutler was in Selma and not getting to enjoy playing the snow with A and I. After church we headed home to change and hurried out the door to get on the road. The road was slick, the wind was blowing and we were certain this snow was going to last well into the evening if not through the next day. On this hour drive, the snow slacked up, we started seeing grass and by the time we made it to Selma, the snow had almost completely melted. But surely in Alabaster it was still there right????

Nope, when we arrived at home, you guessed it, NO SNOW! Cutler was so disappointed and truthfully so were A and I. So we headed over to some friends of ours for dinner and just hung out for the night. Nothing odd occurred there but shortly after we returned home and were all snuggled up in bed, a car started screeching tires in our neighborhood. Now most of you know that we live in a retirement community and there should never be a reason for screeching tires.

Well, there is a rental house on the corner and lets just say they were having a domestic dispute,
the lady was actually trying to run over the man with her car!!!!
A called the Alabaster PD and let's just say they were there lickety split!

That's all I got right now folks!
Oh and a pic of my Camellia bush covered with blooms and SNOW!

Later,
L

Awesome Publix Trip

2009-02-24T19:24:00.007-06:00

Well today was not the normal grocery trip but I still had a ton of coupons to use on this weeks sale...check it out! All of this for less than $15

and now for a look at my stockpile... I am sure it will be even bigger in the next few months..

And last but not least...

Later,
L

Free Quiznos Sub

2009-02-23T07:55:00.000-06:00

http://www.millionsubs.com/Reg.php

Sign up here and get a free sub!

Savin' BIG at Club Pub

2009-02-23T07:16:00.002-06:00

Well we actaully made three trips to Publix over the past week for various reasons but they were all worth it!!!

The first trip total was $27.51 with a savings of $53.93

Second trip total was $5.19 with a savings of $21.75

Third trip was $14.65 with a savings of $22.28

Let's just say I have enough Chicken Broth, Bread Crumbs, Pasta Sauce, and frozen vegetables for a family of 10 to eat for the next two months!

I will be taking a picture of my stockpile this week and posting it!

Later,

Long weeks and little going on

2009-02-23T07:07:00.003-06:00

Well soccer is over, A is patiently waiting to start his new job and I am working diligently as always. Not a lot going on in the Turner household lately but things are sure to pick up soon. We are planning to go camping in the next few weeks so A rolled the NEW tent out to spray it with Camp Dry and realized it is more like a 3 bedroom cabin than a tent. Last night he told me he was feeling guilty for owning a tent so large and that he thinks we should donate it to some homeless people who live under the bridge.
Oh and we had a yard sale this weekend to finally rid ourselves of all that stuff that has been in our closets for years. The sale went well, we made over $200 in about 2 hours and at the end told people if they needed or wanted it to take it, it was all free. This ensures our trip to the thrift store will be minimal.
The only other thing on the horizon is Tannehill, the third weekend of March!!
B and I have decide to venture into the Tannehill world with the sale of our WATKINS products, wish us luck and hope we prepare enough for it.
So, that's it for now! Hope something good will happen this week.

Later,
L

Weekly Menu 02/23/2009 - 03/01/2009

2009-02-23T07:05:00.003-06:00

This weeks menu...

Monday: Steak Stir Fry with Brown Rice
Tuesday: Homemade Chicken and Dumplings
Wednesday: BREAKFAST!!! (C will love this one)
Thursday: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Salad
Friday: TGIF (we have a coupon for BOGO entree and C is going to G's)
Saturday: Grilled Cubed Steak wrapped in Bacon, Grilled potato
Sunday: Going to papa's

Weekly Menu 02/15/2009 through 02/21/2009

2009-02-17T11:06:00.002-06:00

Sunday- Grilled Cheddar wurst, Homemade Mac and Cheese, Green Bean Casserole
Monday- Sauteed Fish, Broccoli Rice Au Gratin, Carrots
Tuesday- Marvelous Mini Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Peas
Wednesday- Chili Dogs and Fries ( I will be out of town so this is for the boys)
Thursday-Seasoned Pork Chops, Fried Squash, Rice
Friday- Leftovers (I bet we have a ton of them)
Saturday- Grilled Burgers, Grilled Potato, Grilled Asparagus

Leave me a comment with your menu!!!!

Later,
L

Grocery Budget

2009-02-17T11:02:00.002-06:00

In the past few year or so I have reduced our grocery bill dramatically but now it is time for a new challenge. I am challenging myself to a $60 a week budget for all things Walmart, Publix, Target, Walgreens, CVS, and other stores like these. The only thing that will not count are gifts.
Do you think I can do it?
Feed a family of 3 plus two HUGE dogs for under $60 a week?
This will include all personal hygiene items and such as well.

I think I can do it and it starts this week!!!

Later,
L

Some Rants and Raves

2009-02-12T22:15:00.004-06:00

OK here goes for my first post on here. Since I have been doing the shopping lately (Lori makes the list I go pick it up and fight with the stupid people at walmart over the coupons) today's trip was the best yet. I spent $47 bucks and saved over $70. The cashier kept saying that at this rate he was going to be giving me money(this was after about 5 mins of scanning the coupons and rain checks). Here are a couple of pictures in case there is anyone that doesn't believe that you can save with the coupons.

Next up is a picture of what else I did today. Lori asked me to make a cheesecake for work because one of the girls up there kept saying she was going to strip if that is what it took and I am not sure that I want to see that. But anyway here is a picture of the finished chocolate swirl cheesecake.

Now for my rant. The other day I was working out in the garage trying to clean it up so I can actually find stuff in there. Anyway a van pulls up and this woman hands me a roll of paper towels telling me that they are doing a marketing campaign and just wanted to tell me about some services they offered and it would only take a few moments. Well being nice like I try to be I said ok(thinking to myself a few mins will not be bad for some paper towels since we were on the last roll anyway). I have determined it does not pay to be nice. Next thing I know the woman has this other kid with her, says she has to make a quick phone call, and he is setting up a damn kirby vacuum cleaner. I am trying to tell the guy that I am not interested and come to find out the lady has driven off and is not answering her cell phone. AN HOUR AND A HALF GOES BY before she gets back, the whole time this kid has been doing the kirby demo. So she goes on about how she can cut me a deal on this one or sell the demo. I keep telling her Lori hates kirby's(for those who don't know we had one that was given to us and if it was up to her she would have set it on fire in the backyard) and we could not afford one right now even if we wanted one. And in case anyone doesn't know a freakin kirby costs about $2,000 if they don't keep dropping the price in every attempt to sell it to, at that price a Dyson looks like a steal at $400. I am never going to understand the kirby anyway, it has like 50 different attachments, who in their right mind would buy a kirby so they can blow off the driveway with it(That was one of the sales pitches)? I guess if you buy one you are not right in the head anyway(Sorry if I offended anyone out there). So if you see this people run the other way, let my pain be a lesson to you. Well I guess that is enough ranting about the kirby salesman, I will just leave you with this picture of Mr. Cool riding his bike.

Cross your fingers...

2009-02-12T19:16:00.002-06:00

If all goes as planned, you can expect a guest writer tonight or tomorrow. Make sure you give him some love as I think he is a little nervous about posting on here for you guys!

Later,
L

Weekly Menu

2009-02-09T07:08:00.003-06:00

Here it is for the week:

Sunday: Slow Cooked Boston Butt/Homemade BBQ Sauce, small group members brought the rest
Monday: Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday: Chicken Cordon Blue Calzone, Vegetables
Wednesday: Smothered Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Thursday: Leftovers, this used to be soccer night but we are done so I might have to start cooking on Thursdays again
Friday: Brunswick Stew, instead of canned meat I used left over pork from Sunday

Later,
L

Moonlighting = Stripping right?

2009-02-06T14:36:00.002-06:00

I was on the phone with a fellow board member and we were discussing some options of sorts and the term moonlighting came up. She said she moonlights on the side three nights a week and I assumed that meant stripping. Well I guess it does not necessarily mean that but someone else had to inform me.

Later,
L

Walgreens and Publix...

2009-02-05T12:21:00.003-06:00

I ran out on lunch today to the bank and decided to run into Walgreens for a few things, here is the breakdown:

1st transaction:
Right Guard Pro
on sale for $5.99
with $5 Register Rewards to use on next purchase
Total OOP: $6.29

2nd transaction:
2 3.8oz granulated Splenda
on sale for $2.99 each
3 Secret invisible solid Deodorant
on sale for $1.99 each (use coupon in the weekly ad)
used $5 RR from 1st transaction
used 2 $3 off printable on Splenda
Total OOP: $1.49

Total spending at Walgreens $7.78!!!
My best guess on savings for this is $17.60

on to Publix, since Anthony has been spending a lot of time at home, he has been doing the grocery shopping lately (this includes using all the coupons and buying the deals I tell him).
Today he spent $57.85 and saved $61.45, secretly I think he enjoys the game as much as I do!!!
here is his breakdown:

Toufayan Pita Bread 2
Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks 4
Cookie Crisp Cereal 2
Cinnamon Toast Crunch 2
Knorr Sides 4
Uncle Bens country rice 6
Pillsbury Cake Mix 2
Hm Graham Crackers 1
Idahoan Mashed Potato 2
Milk 1
Wize Cheesedoodles 2
Land O Lakes Butter 1
Semi Boneless Ham 1
Publix Bag Chicken 2
Fresh Express Salad 2
Publix Shredded Cheese 2
Crescent Rolls 1
Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls 2
Dixie Plates 2

All of this for a mere $58

I am so proud of him!!!!!

Later,
L

Kids Jeans

2009-02-05T07:05:00.002-06:00

Most of you have read my post about Cutler's jeans with the SMALL hole in them. Well I was shopping at Target a few days ago and they had a ton of jeans for toddlers on clearance so I decided why not get a couple of pair.....right? Well the problem is they have the boys and girls jeans inter-mingled and let's just say that they all looked the same to me except those with pink on them somewhere. I ended up only finding one pair of jeans in his size and after bringing them home I determined that they might just be girls jeans. They have a little stitch line on the back pocket but there is nothing about them that would really denote them being girls jeans. So, I either got a really good deal on a pair of jeans or I am officially dressing my son in girls jeans...one will never know.

Later,
L

Life

2009-02-01T20:42:00.002-06:00

Why is it that when someone hurts my feelings about something I have a very hard time telling them about it? Character flaw I guess.
Lately I have had many a reason to think it sure is easier to NOT bend over backwards to be nice and courteous to someone but just do nothing at all. But we all know that is not the right and Christian thing to do....

Just something to think about.

Later,
L

Kids...

2009-01-27T20:12:00.002-06:00

Cutler has this pair of jeans that are supposed to be "cool" and have a little worn place in the knee. Well over the last few months the worn place turned into a small hole but he still loves these jeans. So today I noticed the hole was a little bigger so we had "the talk" about leaving it alone. Well what do you know, the talk did not work and this is what it looks like tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and in case you did not know, Batman is the coolest thing ever!!! (right now anyway)

Later,

Three posts in one day, can you tell I am trying to redeem myself?????

2009-01-27T18:32:00.008-06:00

The past couple of weeks have been busy but nice around the Turner house. Cutler's soccer practice is down to the last two weeks but we are still playing in the yard as a family. I think we are going to skip the next session of soccer as I just found out Cutler is old enough to play T-Ball through the YMCA this summer and that made me all giddy! The Spina Bifida Association has finally hired a new Executive Director and are making great progress, our first board meeting of 2009 is this week and I can't wait to see all the progress made thus far. Anthony is still waiting to hear from EMC with a final offer but he has been in contact with them and should be receiving that offer this week. Worst case scenario he starts the last week of March and heads out to Boston the first week of April for 9 weeks of training. Cutler and I plan to fly up a couple of times during that time and I am sure those 9 weeks will fly by! Some of our great friends have asked us to vacation with them this fall in Maine and I have become a addict to checking out some places we may get to visit. Check it out for yourself:
I really can't imagine anything more beautiful that this!

Later,
L

Weekly Menu...a little late

2009-01-27T18:29:00.002-06:00

This weeks menu:

Sunday: Turkey Burgers and Potato Skins
Monday: Shrimp Stir Fry
Tuesday: Chicken Nachos
Wednesday: Sheppard's Pie
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Beef Tips, Rice and Gravy, Broccoli
Saturday: Baked Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, Honey Glazed Carrots

Later,
L

More Publix finds

2009-01-27T18:23:00.003-06:00

I ran by Publix on my way home today to pick up a few more things during the sale.
So this is what I got:
8 Yoplait Yogurts
4 Toaster Strudels (Cutler and Anthony love these things)
2 can of Rotel tomatoes
2 packs of Ronzoni spaghetti
2 boxes of Crystal Light
2 cans of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 cartons of Egg Beaters Southwest blend (you should really try these if you have not already)
16 oz Friendship Sour Cream
1 pack Oscar Meyer Canadian Bacon

and my total at check out, tax included was $17.61
I saved a total of $30.72!!!!!
This was a truly awesome shopping trip, I have determined that I am completely addicted to trying to save the most money each trip. My stockpile is getting full and we are down to spending $60 a week on groceries, health care and household items.

If you want to know how I do this, let me know and I will be glad to help you get started!

Later,
L

Valentine's Day is fast approaching

2009-01-22T16:24:00.001-06:00

and look what I found, a way to get 6 free personalized Valentine's Day cards.
Visit Stories by Everyone and you will get 6 Free Photo Valentine's Cards including free shipping! Just click on "Create your Valentines Now" to get started and remember to use the code valentine at checkout under "Have a coupon?" to take advantage of this free offer. Click on "Recalculate" after you enter your coupon code to see that your order is $0 with free shipping. Your box of 6 cards would normally cost $5.34 before shipping. You do not have to enter any credit card information, simply click on "Submit your order" and leave that form blank. You should receive a confirmation by email for your order.

Thanks to Heather at www.freebies4mom.blogspot.com

A few great deals at Publix this week...

2009-01-14T07:35:00.003-06:00

Pompeian Olive Oil BOGO $5.49
Click here for $1 off coupon
(use 2 and get 2 bottles for $3.49)
Kleenex Cottonelle 12 pack toilet paper $6.99
Click here for $.50 off coupon
(Publix doubles this coupon making the total $5.99)
Green Giant Frozen Vegetables 10/$10
Click here for $1 off two coupon
(use 5 and get 10 for $5)
Betty Crocker Premium Muffin Mix BOGO $2.59
click here for $1 off two coupon
two boxes will cost you $1.59

Just purchasing the items above will cost $16.07 out of pocket with $24+ in savings. That is over 50%, you can't beat that!

These are just a few, if I find more I will post them as well!

Later,
L

This weeks menu

2009-01-13T18:49:00.007-06:00

This weeks menu...
Sunday: Chicken Cordon Blue Calzones (had dinner with friends Saturday so this was put to Sunday)
Monday: Chicken Parmesan, Noodles, Broccoli
Tuesday: Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken, Brown Rice, Carrots
Wednesday: White Chicken Chili
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: BBQ Sandwiches, Baked Beans, Corn
Saturday: to be decided

I know it looks like a lot of chicken but it was on sale so we will be having chicken a lot in the next week or so.

Later,
L

Brrrrr, it's cold out there!

2009-01-13T18:33:00.010-06:00

In light of the most recent cold front, Cowboy and Boss have been spending a little more time indoors lately. Now I will be the first to admit that Boss is one seriously spoiled dog and I think this picture proves just how spoiled he really is.

as for Cowboy, I promise he is just as spoiled and man oh man what a beautiful dog.

So this is how we have been spending our evenings this week. God has provided a warm shelter for us and now is definitely the time to be thankful for that. Now, I have to tell you this winter has caused our two dogs to be a little less active than usual and after taking the following pictures I noticed how big they truly are.

Well that is about it for now, lazy evenings around this house during these cold winter nights.

Later,
L

This week's menu

2009-01-07T19:43:00.002-06:00

A little late but better than nothing:

Sunday: Made from scratch Chicken and Dumplings (this was my best ever)
Monday: Homemade Taco's, Re fried Beans
Tuesday: Crock pot Boston Butt (Tyler Florence recipe), wild rice, broccoli
Wednesday: Mini BBQ Meatloaf, Mashed Potato's, Cauliflower
Thursday: Leftovers and boy do we have some
Friday: Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas
Saturday; Chicken Cordon Blue Calzones, Brussell Sprouts

Later,
l

Garnier Fructise and Electrosol Deals at Walgreens

2009-01-07T19:25:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to let you all in on a couple of really good deals you can get at Walgreens this week through Saturday.
Garnier Fructis Shampoo, Conditioner and other hair care products are on sale for $2.99 each. There is a $2 off one product coupon in the Easy Saver Catalog found in the front of all Walgreens stores.
The limit is 4 but that means you can get 4 bottles of Garnier Fructis products for $3.96+tax.
Electrosol Dishwashing all in one tabs are on sale for $3.49 for a 20 pack, there is a coupon on this past Sunday's paper for $2.50 off making these $.99 a piece. If you really want to save, use the Easy Saver Catalog for an additional $1.50 off mail in rebate (this can be done online and sent to you on a Walgreens giftcard).

I bought 2 shampoos, 2 conditioners and 2 boxes of Electrosol today for $6.42 and will get $3 loaded onto my Walgreens gift card at the end of the month.

Wahoo, I am back on track to savings big bucks on groceries and household items!
Not much going on in our lives right now, just trying to get back to the grind.

Later,
l

On the road again

2009-01-04T17:18:00.013-06:00

So as you know we have traveled for the last week or so and are finally home relaxing in our own home. We started out the Friday after Christmas heading to Blairsville Georgia where we spend 4 days relaxing in the mountains with my grandparents and my Aunt Danni from South Florida.

Cutler had a great time helping with the cooking while Anthony spent some time teaching my grandfather how to make his computer a little faster. Here is a picture of the drive to Georgia, can you believe we found gas for $1.25 a gallon:Cutler was able to help Nanny and RJ cook pizza and had the time of his life, he even ate 3 pizzas:

Then he made biscuits for breakfast and they were some of the best biscuits ever.

and Cutler found a new friend, Jake.

We left Monday morning heading northwest to Murfreesboro, Tn to hang out with some of our favorite friends, Megan and Jason, Katie and George, and Christa and Jay. We mostly hung out and caught up with them but Anthony installed Megan and Jasons surround sound system and we cooked some absolutely awesome food! New Years eve we had a few drinks, played some darts, laughed and talked until 3 in the morning.

The boys smoked some cigars and played some darts:

The girls mostly drank and laughed a lot: and the kids hung out on the couch and watched some movies:

and for the New Years kiss:

We arrived back home safe and sound this past Friday and have been getting our house back together after dismantling all the Christmas stuff (check older posts to see it). So for now we are getting back in the swing of things and trying to get our lives back to normal..

Later,

On to a new year

2009-01-02T20:49:00.004-06:00

I promise to post pics of our holiday travels soon but until then I thought I would share my savings at Publix this week. Anthony, Cutler and I went on a quick outing to Publix this evening and replenished some of our stockpile items.
I spent a total of $46.41 but saved $52.16.
Check it out:
I sure do love some grocery savings!

Later,
L

Christmas Day!!!!

2008-12-25T10:14:00.012-06:00

Well well well...

Christmas is definitely among us. We spent last night at my grandma's in Selma and luckily for us it was short and sweet this year.

Mom, Grandma and my Uncle Tim.Cousin Bud, Aubrey and Alyson

Cutler got a big boy bike from G and Pampaw and as soon as we got home last night he HAD to ride it through the kitchen, dining room and living room. It was his personal race track.

And now for a sneak peak of this morning:

Santa dropped off an organized Crayola carrying case and a TV for Cutler's room. More to come but time for me to go spend some time with my family...Nana and Papa are here.

Later, Merry Christmas,

And stockings are hung on the chimney...

2008-12-23T18:52:00.013-06:00

So surgery went well and I have been bored to tears today! In an effort to boost my Christmas spirit I decided to take pictures of the Christmassy (Is that a word, I think I made it up) areas in my house to share with you! First here is the Christmas tree, we went with Red, Green and Gold this year.

Next are the stockings hung on the mantle.

And now the dining room table.

And a few other areas of the house. So enough about my Christmas decorations, you know what I am truly excited about? One of my guilty pleasures:

I have officially finished the "vampire" series by Stephanie Meyer and I have to say it was AWESOME! You all know me well enough to know that I have no interest in vampires and such but these books were all about a wonderful love story!

On to Cutler, he is spending some time with his G and PamPaw and Papa and Nana while I am recovering from surgery. Before he left, his dad and he decided to bake some holiday bread.
Aren't those the cutest pictures you have ever seen?
So that is it for now, I will post more on our adventures through the holiday season, keep checking you might just find a picture of yourself on here soon!

Later,
L

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Shotgun shells...oops wrong song!

2008-12-21T17:41:00.006-06:00

Tis the holiday season and how do I know this? Well...a few of you had heard me say my calendar looks like someone threw up on it, let's just say a family of little elves have officially thrown up on my calendar!
We headed up to Huntsville yesterday morning bright and early to spend Christmas with my mom, step-dad, step-brother and sister in law who is 37 weeks pregnant. We all had a wonderful time without turning the TV on until the last 30 minutes. The day was long but good times were had by all...well except for one little thing. You know I can't go somewhere without something happening, I got a ticket...wait TWO tickets actually on the way up there. One for speeding and one for not having my drivers license with me. We were in my mom's car and I left my purse in my truck and anyway, who's idea was it to give tickets for not having a little piece of plastic with you. THAT SUCKS!
So now we are home and today we had our last small group meeting of the year and played a little game to see how well we all knew each other, we have been together for almost a year and surprisingly we don't know each other very well at all, heheh!

Tomorrow I am scheduled for surgery at 12:30, nothing major in and out, Wednesday we are heading to grandma's for Christmas with my mom's side of the family. Wednesday night my dad and step mom will come to our house and help us bake cookies for Santa and drink hot chocolate. We will get up Thursday morning and spend the morning with them, and head out to Anthony's mom's house that evening for a sure to be eventful evening. You guys might want to start praying now that I don't 1.) cuss his mother out for doing something absolutely stupid or 2.) punch his step-dad in the face for undressing me with his eyes. Finally we will return home to sleep and leave early Friday morning heading to my Honey's house ( for those of you who don't know who Honey is, this is my dad's dad and I have always called him this). They live on the northern edge of Georgia on the North Carolina line. We will stay there through Monday morning spending time with my uncles and aunts that I rarely get to see. Monday morning we will be heading west to Murfreesboro, Tn. We plan to spend about a week with our great friends, Megan and Jason, and Katie and George. I am pretty sure Cutler will be spending most of his time with his little buddy George Alex. So prayers are welcome as we start this adventurous journey through the holiday season.

Oh yeah, Anthony received a call from a company he really wants to work for, they told him he got the job but they are waiting on their finance committee before they can give him an official offer. Should happen around the first of the year but it sure was nice to get that news prior to the holidays!

Peace and love to all of you!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Remember what CHRISTmas is all about and make sure your children know as well!

Later,
L

This week's menu

2008-12-15T07:14:00.004-06:00

Time for this week's menu:

Monday: Homeade Waffles, Sausage, Eggs
Tuesday: Mini Meatloaf, Garlic Mashed Potato, Sweet Peas
Wednesday: Slow Cooked Boston Butt, Green Bean Bundles, Rice
Thursday: Black Beans, Yellow Rice, Smoked Sausage
Friday: Chicken and Dumplings
We will be out of town this weekend for Holiday Celebrations so no cooking for us, YEAH!!!!

Weekly Menu 12/7/2008-12/13/2008

2008-12-10T12:19:00.004-06:00

Most of you know we are a very organized family and my husband and I both love to cook. A few people have recently asked me to start posting my menus weekly to help spark some ideas. I will try to do this each week and see how it goes... (BTW this is just our dinner menu)

Sunday: Sloppy Joe Pizza
Monday: Chicken Cordon Blue, Parmesan Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans Almondine
Tuesday: Chili
Wednesday: Chicken Quesadillas with refried beans and rice
Thursday: Chicken Sandwich and Baked Fries
Friday: Fat Burgers, Parmesan Angel Hair and Broccoli
Saturday: Family Christmas with my Step-mothers family

If you ever want the recipes for these items, let me know, I always share:)

Later,
l

Christmas is among us

2008-12-09T12:27:00.007-06:00

Anthony and I hosted a Christmas party for those who work for me in the US and their spouses this past Friday night. It was wonderful, everyone ate, played dirty Santa, and overall had great time. One thing happened that I will never forget. One of my employees, Lori yes spelled the same and we even have the same middle name, boyfriend brought his guitar. After everyone else left he sat on the couch in the living room with nothing but the light of the Christmas tree and played and sand some hank, David Allen Cove, Eagles and more. I started to get homesick so quick that I actually teared up but decided it was not a good thing to cry in front of them. Sitting around at night, singing those songs, drinking beer 9which we did not this time) reminds me so much of all the fun I always had in good old Selma, Alabama. I wish things were still as simple as they were when I lived there, part of that was the age I was and the other part is the simple fact that things just move at a much slower pace in Selma, Alabama. Everyone has people over in the summer for cookouts and playing in the pool, or they all go to the river. In the winter everyone hunts and the family gets together after the sun has set to hang out, eat, drink beer, and listen or play those awesome country songs. Somehow, someway I am going to make my life simple again, no more go go go...well I did say someday, don't think that will happen today!

Here is a pic of some of my staff members at the party:

The staff also posed this morning for a pic to send to my staff in the other countries:

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers as Anthony is still on the job hunt. Good things are coming I know, he has had a few great interviews that we are waiting to hear back on now.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." ~~~Hebrews 11:1

Later,

I told you I was going to get better about posting!

2008-11-18T14:53:00.003-06:00

I only have one thing to show you

More to come after I decide on my Christmas cards...and a big THANK YOU to one of my dearest friends, Crystal Champion Daniels for taking this.

Later,

Lori

Do you remember...

2008-11-18T13:14:00.007-06:00

Do you remember the door to door Watkins man????

If not read more and it might jog your memory.

So a friend of mine of decided to join the Watkins team recently and I went to her house this past weekend for an open house extravaganza. I promise if you would have seen her house you would call it an extravaganza too...oh you can see it, go check out her blog...http://goodtastings.blogspot.com/2008/11/grand-opening-success.html

See, I told you it was awesome! Anyway, I have decided to join forces with her and become a Watkins Independent Associate myself and am thrilled to have made this decision. I will be hosting parties, attending fall festivals, and most of all knocking on the doors in my subdivision. We all know I live in a geriatric neighborhood and most of the older generation still remember the door to door Watkins guy that sold the oh so famous "Liniment"

So check out the catalog at http://www.watkinsonline.com/ and let me know if you want to order anything. You can order directly online by using my Associate ID # 382014 or let me know and I can incorporate your order and save you a ton on shipping. I love these products and think you will love them too.

If you are in the Alabaster area Friday night or Saturday afternoon, come on by our booth at CreekView Elementary School during their Winter festival.

Later,

Lori

Not Dead...

2008-11-17T12:52:00.006-06:00

So I guess all of my followers have given up on me by now. I had a few things going on that kept my mind occupied most of the time and I was not sure that I needed to let all of that out at once. But...I am back. We have had an eventful few weeks. Halloween was wonderful, my dad and Dena came up to go to the church festival with us an keep an eye on "Optimus Prime" aka Cutler. Since then we have tiled the downstairs hallway and laundry room, attended a football party, and gotten a few incomplete projects around the house finally completed. Most of you already know that Anthony was laid off a few weeks ago and I hope that you continue to pray that God leads him to a job that is meant for him. Since Anthony has had a few weeks worth of vacation, little projects that were almost complete in our house are now finally completed and I am one of the happiest women in the world. I have two pics to share with you for now and I promise to start blogging a lot more...

Later,
Lori

No energy to Post

2008-10-27T15:00:00.007-05:00

A lot has gone on in our family over the last week and I ask that you keep us in our prayers and lift us up in this time. I promise to write more soon but for now enjoy the pics from this weekend.

Later...

Crafts

2008-10-16T12:43:00.008-05:00

Here is how I spent last night.

Making this:

and this:

If I did not have a few things to do tonight, I am sure I would be doing more of the above as well as another craft I have decided to do this holiday season. Stay tuned for more pics of my new crafts.

Oh and here are two more pictures from my birthday. This is the cake Cutler and Anthony bought for me. Cutler insisted on helping me blow out my candles.

Later,
L

Catching Up

2008-10-13T11:18:00.006-05:00

Well last week is finally over. Customer Service Week, Cutler's birthday, my birthday, and my second camping trip. So customer service week was wonderful and I have received a ton of compliments from it. Cutler had a wonderful birthday as did I. Our second camping trip was great, we actually relaxed the whole time and it was definitely needed in my book. Here are a few pics from camping.

Very relaxing weekend with great friends and great food. I planned to run all weekend but got lazy and decided to just give in and relax. Weighing in this morning made me hold my breath but believe it or not I stayed exactly the same (and that is impressive due to the amount of food I consumed this weekend). We are planning a winter camping trip at the end of December and I am super excited about it. Cold weather, hot chocolate, camp fires, no Internet, no cell phone, what else could I possibly want?

Oh and one more picture:

we had ice cream sundaes at work one day and I forgot to take my ice cream scoop out of my purse so Anthony took a picture of it since I have been carrying it around for a week.

Turning 30

2008-10-08T15:35:00.008-05:00

I finally did it, I turned 30. No idea what all the fuss is about either. I am fine with and really looking forward to what is ahead in life. I had a great 30th birthday, too! This week is customer service week nationwide and I am organizing the festivities within my office (well, I am the customer service manager so I guess it is part of my job description or something). We have played BINGO, had "happy hour", taken personality tests and worn items that reflected this. And on yesterday, my birthday, we had a decorate your cube contest. My cube (office) was "the destruction zone of my twenties," I had a blast doing it and everyone was so nice all day. I got home and Anthony had a new Ipod and cake for me. We went out to eat and started packing for our camping trip this weekend. The girls at work did let me take a few pictures of them so here they are.

Personality test...

Destruction Zone...

Everyone...

So, this thirty thing, I thought I was going to cry all day and absolutely flip out about being 30, but I didn't, I realized that I am in a great place in life and I can't wait to see what is in store for the next 30 years. People say your 30's are the best years of your life...if that is so these next few years are going to be awesome because I have already had some truly awesome years prior to now. I guess I am saying I worked myself up over nothing at all, I anticipated the worst and it was nothing more than a dud. Check out the pics on my Picasa web, the link is on the left hand side of the page, for more pics of Cutler's bday and soon to be pics of my bday as well.

Later,
L

3 Years Old!

2008-10-06T09:51:00.012-05:00

Cutler's third birthday party was this weekend at SportsBlast, and boy did he ever have a blast.

Most of his friends and family were there and he played soccer for an hour, what more could he want.

I have to say this birthday in a box idea is wonderful, no more birthday parties at my house! We arrived with very few items in hand, the party room was already set up, the instructor was ready for the kids, pizza ordered, cake on the table, and a super friendly staff.

Well Honey and Nanny are coming through town today on their way back from Texas and I plan to meet them for lunch. This week is also Customer Service week at work and the crew is playing match the baby picture, bingo, decorate your cube, personality profile and a few other fun games.

If they let me take their picture I will be sure to post some!

A boy after my own heart...and Kid's Market

2008-10-03T11:23:00.012-05:00

This week has been by far one of the most hectic weeks ever. Tuesday night Anthony, Cutler and I went to the Masonic Lodge in Alabaster for family night and dinner. We all met some of the people Anthony hangs with every week and had a good time. All week long we have been preparing for Cutler's 3rd birthday party which is tomorrow, OH MY GOSH! HE IS TURNING 3! OK I am better now. Last night Anthony took Cutler to his very first soccer fundamentals class ever and from the pictures and Cutler talking 100 miles per hour about it this morning, I take it he had the time of his life. See for yourself, and by the way, I think he is a natural athlete already. I couldn't be prouder.

And while Anthony and Cutler were playing soccer, I was...

With my buddy K!

Yep, you guessed it, I missed my sons very first soccer class to go to KIDS MARKET.
I told you guys it was a cult and there is no way I was losing a limb over soccer:)

Wish us luck tomorrow at the soccer birthday party.

L

Pre-Birthday Dinner and such

2008-09-29T07:40:00.022-05:00

Cutler went to Selma this weekend to stay with his G and PamPaw so Anthony and I took the opportunity to do some things we have been wanting to do. Jennifer came by Saturday around lunch so we could catch up and she could show me her ring...again, I am so excited she is engaged.We ate lunch at a fabulous little cafe on the Alabaster/Pelham line called The Red Geranium. I had a smoked turkey and mozzarella panini and oh my goodness! the mozzarella was fresh and it had tiny little pieces of tomato and basil on it and in my opinion it was a little slice of heaven. Later in the day, Anthony took me to McCormick and Schmick for dinner, kind of a pre-30th-birthday dinner of sorts.

I had BBQ Shrimp and Grits and A had a fillet, shrimp scampi and their signature vanilla creme brulee. All of this was absolutely wonderful. During dinner we decided we are going to start going to a different restaurant every 3 months or so for date night, we have not had date night in over a year and we rarely make time to do that anymore. We did have to talk to Cutler while we were there, no way we could go all night without talking to him!

Anthony on the phone with Cutler:

Lori's dinner:

Anthony's Dinner:The dessert tray:Anthony's choice for dessert:Since I did not order dessert, I ate the strawberry off Anthony's:After dinner Anthony and I went to Academy to purchase a few items for Cutler's room. Here is what it looks like now:

And finally, a picture of a very happy Cutler in his "new room" as he calls it.

Get ready for a new camping story soon...we are headed back out into the woods in two weeks!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.....oh and Wedding Bells too!

2008-09-26T11:45:00.009-05:00

A few of you have called over the past few days and I have not been available to answer so I think it is time for me to explain myself, but before I do I have BIG, WONDERFUL, GIGANTIC, SHOW STOPPING news......

My best friend in the whole wide world (Jennifer, for those of you who can not figure that out)
is ENGAGED, I am not sure who is happier, me or her....

You see, we have been best friends for about 20 years or so and I think I have helped her plan out a bazillion imaginary weddings over those twenty years. Well most of them were in the first 3 or 4 years. I think this is my next motivator to continue losing weight. I am still down my 44 pounds but this will encourage me to keep going, seeing as I have to wear a PINK bridesmaid dress with a BOW on my butt....

Now for this week:

Yesterday I was in Chicago for work, we started the day off with a 7 am flight out of the Ham, directly proceeded by an hour cab ride into "The City". We had a meeting, some lunch and walked a little and off to the train we went. After an hour and a half train ride, we walked about 2 miles to our next destination to meet some more. Now comes the hour and a half cab ride back to the airport followed directly by another two hour flight home. Note to self: you worked at least 16 hours on Thursday so why in the world are you even in your office today.

I took a few pics along the way for your enjoyment!

This is the view from the outdoor cafe we ate lunch at, and below is the menu.

I took this one while walking to the train station.

Sears Tower.

Random shot while riding train.

Shoes and Teeth!

2008-09-24T10:35:00.008-05:00

Cutler is officially signed up for soccer and he starts next Thursday. I realized yesterday that my child has NO tennis shoes and they need those to play indoor soccer. Now most of you know that my son LOVES shoes with all his heart. he is the only 2 year old boy I know that has at least 5 pair of shoes in his closet at all times. He not only loves shoes but he is very particular about them and has to pick them out himself. Now when I take him shoe shopping it usually takes at least 30 45 minuts for him to pick out a pair of shoes and last night was no exception. he started out with 14 pair of shoes lined up on the floor, I told him some of them were not soccer shoes so he put those back. We finally narrowed it down to three pair, he tried those same three pair on THREE different times. I swear, it has to be like having a girl! Here is the result of our shopping trip:

For the record, these shoes are actually blue and orange, not pink and black...sorry that is what you get with a crackberry camera.

Nice kicks huh???

Now for the teeth part. Cutler had his first dentist appointment this morning and it went wonderful. Now last night during our hour long shoe shopping trip we discussed what was going to happen at the dentist in great detail and by the time he went to bed last night he was excited about going. He woke up this morning ready to go.

That's it for today!

Oh my my what a beautiful bride...

2008-09-22T08:32:00.010-05:00

So this weekend was Cutler's first wedding, my younger cousin from Prattville was married at 6pm Saturday night and Cutler was the ring bearer. He did a fabulous job! We headed down to Prattville Friday night for the rehearsal and dinner and ended up back at my cousin Tiffany's house around 9 or so. After everyone was comfortable in their pajamas, we decided to play Rock Band. This was my first Rock Band experience and man oh man it was awesome. I rocked the drums to some Bon Jovi and loved it! Saturday was the wedding itself and besides a few family drama situations, it all went well. Here are some pics for you to enjoy.

and here are a few of our family

Mom, Charlie, and Cutler
Dad, Dena, and Cutler

The Playground

2008-09-17T09:10:00.010-05:00

So yesterday I had to bribe Cutler to get out of bed and go to school, the bribe was that I would take him to the playground after dinner while Daddy goes to his meeting. We ate dinner and then left for the park and here is what happened:

Peace Out!

Cult Members...sign up here!

2008-09-15T11:06:00.009-05:00

OK so I promised pics and more info on Kid's Market but I have no pics, so info will have to do. Kid's Market is a consignment sale that happens twice a year. A friend, who we will nickname K, and I attend this event every year. So here goes how it works:

Sign your life away as a kids market cult member(virtually) forever
Sign up at http://www.kidsmarketandmom.com/ to get a contributor number
Find all gently worn clothing and shoes as well as any toys that are in working order that your child no longer needs and put them in one place
Decide what you want to price all said items (not yard sale prices but not department store)
Print tags online and follow instructions on the website to get your items ready
Once all items are hung, pinned, taped, bagged, stuffed and pinned again, you can relax
Go to bed really early the night before Receiving Day
Drive to the drop off location and try to arrive prior to 3:30 am (no I am not kidding)
Go to the front and sign in to get your contributor number (this number could be considered gold in some eyes)
Sleep in the car with buddy (it seems normal if you have a buddy)
Wake up in time to line up according to above mentioned number to take your items in
Sign the "REAL" cult contract
Go home and sleep most of the day away

All of the above was done for this:

You are now a contributor and get to shop prior to the public
If you are in the first 200 (which I am, thank you very much) you will shop first and get dibs on the good stuff, aka... a big power wheels four-wheeler for $50 last year!
We shop on October 2 from 4pm-midnight
I end up buying most of C's clothes and shoes for the fall and winter here
I usually spend about $150 and when I receive my check for the items I sell it is very close to the same amount
After my initial investment of $150, the first time I shopped, I am basically breaking even time and time again and getting great name brand clothes for $1 a piece

Here are a few pics from a prevoius kids market:

Now there are some of you out there that think I have lost my mind for doing this but it has become something I actually enjoy. I have never been a bargain shopper in my life, but since I had a child I have taken it on as a hobby. I love a good hunt for a bargain!

Nothing, nothing at all

2008-09-08T11:08:00.009-05:00

Do you ever remember times of boredom, when you just had absolutely nothing to do? I remember those times but they are starting to become part of my long-term memory now instead of the short-term. Lately I have been dreaming of such times in hopes that sooner rather than later I again will have such a peaceful day. OK, enough with the sappy, I WANT A DAY TO DO NOTHING!

OK I am over that now, so this weekend we did not do a lot but we did something. We went over to a couple friend's house Saturday to watch some football and eat but we ended up talking too much, watching no football and eating. Cutler had a great time and his buddy Heather bought him a monkey pillow and blanket that he is completely in love with. He took it to daycare this morning and I should have taken a pic, I promise to insert a pic soon.
We went to church yesterday morning and met our small group at Cracker Barrel for brunch. A couple in our small group has not been able to attend lately due to being on bed rest and in the hospital (she is pregnant) and I received the most wonderful text last night saying that their beautiful daughter had been born at 8:20 pm. we have prayed over this family for so long and are ecstatic about this arrival.

So we had a fairly non-eventful weekend but have a very eventful week ahead. Thursday after work I will be assisting with preparations for the SBA second annual health conference. Friday I will be working the conference mentioned above, and Saturday is drop off for Kids Market.

I am pretty sure there are some of you who have no idea what kids Market is so check back in tomorrow and I will inform you all about it. I might even include some pictures.

Here is a pic of Cutler and I goofing off last night, grainy but it is from the crackberry so what do you expect?

Later!

So I survived!

2008-09-02T08:11:00.013-05:00

The Turner's first camping trip!

So camping ended up being a truly wonderful experience. I had so many reservations that stemmed from a fear of the unknown but I am over them. We camped at a location on the Ocoee called "River Rats" and there was a pretty large group of us. The group aged from 2-late 50's and had a great time. We rafted the Hiwassee on Saturday, Cutler thought it was awesome to go down the waterfalls, and then the men kayaked and rafted the Nantahala on Sunday. We grilled,ate, slept, ate, talked, ate, played and then made S'Mores! YUM!!! I weighed in this morning and gained a little weight from the excursion but nothing a disciplined week won't take care of. I forgot to take pics until Sunday when the boys went down the Nantahala and yesterday as we were packing up camp but at least there are few for Proof!This was Anthony's first trip down the river alone and I think he is totally hooked now, and I am sure there are many more camping/rafting trips to come. Enjoy!

Anthony on the Nantahala.

Group on Nantahala.

Jason.

George.

Campsite.

Group getting ready to leave...(no showers prior to this pic)

And I can not leave this one out. We had about 8 tents set up and one guy came in an RV, Cutler and his buddy GA decided to drive the RV before we left yesterday (I think they worked on a plan all weekend for this one).

We bought Cutler a T-Shirt from the Hiwassi Outdoor store to show off at school since he went white water rafting this weekend. here is a pic from this morning about to go in to school.

Anthony took some pics with the waterproof camera on the water so as soon as those are loaded I will post more.

Later,
L

Camping for the first time

2008-08-28T07:31:00.007-05:00

This week has been one of the craziest weeks ever. The beginning of the week was used to prepare for a publisher visit on Wednesday and Thursday, followed directly by sitting in a conference room all day Wednesday with said publisher and not feeling like a damn thing was accomplished. Wednesday night my grandparents from Palm beach came into town to spend the night on their way back home. My grandmother is a nurse and signs a contract every summer in some random state where they spend a few months. This time it was Washington State and it seems like they had a great time. We had a good visit last night but back to work early this morning we go. Today said publisher is still in town and will surely make us endure another day like yesterday. I have plans to take a different client to dinner tonight and they asked for something hip and edgy. Now you all know that I am not the "hip and edgy" type, I am more low key and relaxed so this has become a challenge. Looks like I am taking them to Sol Y Luna or Fire and Ice, the decision has yet to be made. So after a long night of dinner and drinks tonight I must go home and finish packing for my very first camping trip.

Now I have never camped in a tent, camper, RV or anything less than a cabin at summer camp so this should be very interesting. I love the outdoors and you all know I have no problems getting dirty but I seem to still have reservations about this whole camping thing. We are going to Tennessee and camping in tents on the Ocoee, we plan to raft the Hiwassee on Saturday and the men are rafting the Nantahala on Sunday. I promise to take lots of pictures and post them no matter how embarrassing they may be. Cutler seems to be very excited about this trip, I mean, why not, he is going to be outside all day and night for four days and be dirty the whole time. What's not to love in a two year olds eyes.

So I think I have everything in order and am ready for my first big adventure in a tent, wish us luck. I will most likely not post again until Monday.

Lori

These boots are made for dancing...

2008-08-27T07:56:00.009-05:00

We all know I absolutely hate to get my feet wet, I mean hate, hate, hate it!
It has been raining for the last few days around here and on Monday I was running late and forgot to put on my trusty rain shoes, therefore my feet were soaked all day. That made for a not so happy Lori and in case you do not know what that looks like I will post a pic later. So yesterday I had to take Cutler to the doctor because he has been super snotty for the last week or so and he woke up and told me he needed to go to the doctor and get a shot. Now we all know an almost 3 year old is not going to ask for a shot unless he feels horrible. Luckily he came out with no shot and a prescription for Singulair (allergies). I had to run to Academy to pick up a gift card that was donated to the SBA golf tournament (yes I know it has come and gone but we will use it next year) and I picked up a pair of rain boots so now I have a pair of rain shoes at home and will keep the rain boots in my truck for those rainy days when my brain forgets to function.

Last night I took the boots off and this is what happened:

you gotta love pics like this!

So wish me luck and say a prayer for me today and tomorrow, we have some publishers in town that are not very happy and I pray things turn out well.

Lori

The Golf Tournament is OVER!

2008-08-24T08:42:00.011-05:00

Yesterday was the second annual golf tournament for the SBA of Alabama and it was a huge success. 63 golfers showed up in the rain to play a round of golf for our wonderful charity. There were over 100 people there total including the volunteers, family members and golfers.

Steven Horne is the father of two sons with Spina Bifida and his family is the one who decided last year to start hosting an annual golf tournament. We arrived at the golf course at 5:45am and of course it was RAINING! As soon as we had things set up the golfers started arriving and did not even seem to notice that the sky was crying and looked as if it were going to be inconsolable all day long. Well the golfers golfed and the volunteers volunteered and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time despite the fact that we were soaking wet the entire day. We even raised about $7,000 which is double that of last years event. Next year it should be bigger and better. Thank you to the Horne's for this wonderful event and all of their hard work!

Here is a pic of The Horne's and myself at the very end, very, very wet!

and here is the winning team.

the beautiful Horne family...Heather,Steven,Seth and Heath

Almost time for Birthdays

2008-08-20T08:27:00.008-05:00

So most of you know I will be turning 30 in a little over a month and I have yet to decide how I will take it. In April I set a goal for myself to lose 60 lbs by October 7, 2008 and now I only have 7 weeks to succeed.

I started out on weight watchers but those meetings were just not for me, we all know I have a short attention span and sitting in a room with a lot of other hungry women for an hour a week is just not for me. I am absolutely not knocking the program, I know it works I lost about 14 lbs in 6 weeks on it and I have many friends who have seen dramatic weigh loss with the assitance of weight watchers. So after I decided I could not bear one more hour of talking about the things I should NOT eat, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Come on, we all know I have a degree in Kinesiology and took more health, wellness, and fitness classes than any one person should so I know exactly what to do, doing it is the problem.

Mid-May I started what I call an On My Own program, I started counting calories and going to the gym for cardio at least 4 times a week and adding a little strength training in here and there. It is now August 20 and I have lost a total of......
get ready for the number......

are you sure you are ready?.........

ok then..........

I have lost a total of 42 lbs and I am so excited because I am doing it slow and the right way. That means I have 7 weeks to get rid of 18 more pounds, seems impossible but I am determined to get it done. If I am a few lbs shy it will not get me down because I am so proud of what I have acocmplished so far. My clothing size has now dropped by three sizes and I am on the verge of moving from the plus size department back to the misses department. I have not worn misses cloths since I was in high school and I can not wait to get back in them........

Now moving on to Cutler

Cutler turns 3 on October 5 and that may be harder to swallow than me turning 30. Last year when he turned 2, I cried all day long, nothing could make me stop crying. I went to work, sat at my desk and worked without talking to a sole and cried ALL DAY LONG! Maybe turning three will not do this to me again. Reservations have been made for his birthday party on October 4 from 11-1 at SportsBlast on Hwy 280 in Birmingham. Cutler has been asking me for the last 6 months when he can start playing soccer, so I decided to enroll him in SportsBlast for his third birthday and let his party be held there with one of their instructors. He has no idea about it and I am not telling him until that day. I can only imagine the look on his face when he finally get to start playing soccer....

The Oh So Busy Spina Bifida Association!

2008-08-19T08:11:00.003-05:00

Background info...
Most of you who are reading this blog already know I was born with a birth defect called Spina Bifida, this does not define be but may help you understand some later posts. About a year ago I felt some emptiness in my life and prayed to God to help me determine what was missing. I mean, I have a great husband, a beautiful son, house, dogs, great family, wonderful job, what else can you ask for...well he led me to The Spina Bifida Association of Alabama where I began volunteering a little of my time when possible. The events I attended and assisted in helped my life feel whole, as if God put me here to help other people understand that a birth defect does not have to define who you are. Anyway, moving on, present day I am now the president of this association and am impacting lives on a weekly basis. There are times throughout the year where this association takes up a tremendous amount of time and patience and sometimes I get really pissed off about that, but then I realize this is making my life WHOLE!

So right now is that said busy time and there have been and will be many more events before this is over. Here are a few...

· Birmingham Bowl A Thon, Saturday, Aug 16
o Done, raised over $8000
o More than 25 adults and children with SB attended
o More than 250 people in total attended
o So many families were able to socialize together and meet others who really understand them

· Birmingham, Golf Tournament, Saturday, Aug 23
o This coming weekend and it is not looking good
o We have at least 16 teams coming but looks like a tropical storm could ruin our plans
o Let’s all pray about this event as we would love for it to have a good turnout

· Bowel and Bladder Conference, Bradley Lecture Hall, Friday, Sept 12
o This one may do us all in
o Betsy, the VP, is completely overwhelmed by this and I think the rest of us are close
o There are an expected 250 people who will attend including but not limited to healthcare professionals, parents and teachers
o I usually have to head up the lunch time round table event at this and allow the attendees to ask me questions as an adult with SB so wish me luck

· The month of October is Adopt-A-Ghost
o This is just like the Children’s Hospital Miracle Network hot air balloons you have surely seen posted in businesses over the years
o Basically we need some businesses to take this on and sell the little ghosts at $1 a piece
o This is more about awareness not raising money
o This is our first year to do this so let’s see how it goes

So if you think I am neglecting you right now as a friend, family member, or support please remember by allowing me time to do this, I am helping so many families who have so many unknown challenges in front of them…thank you for allowing me the time to do this!

**If any of you want to jump on the volunteer band wagon let me know, we have some committees that need more people and it does not matter where you live as most things are handled via phone and email. I appreciate the support you all have given me over the years and now I need more support than ever, not for me but for the entire Spina Bifida community.

A day in the life of a blogger

2008-08-18T07:57:00.004-05:00

A few of my friends have been blogging for a while and I enjoy checking their blogs on Monday morning and learning something new about their lives. I think it is time I jump on the band wagon. My family should appreciate this as there never seems to be enough time to update everyone on the events of the Turner family. So here goes nothing...