Blog Crush

The beloved Erin from Living in Yellow, is inviting one and all to share their current "blog crushes" and I'm pretty darn pumped to brag on some of my favorites.  Join the party over HERE and link up your blog crush!

Alright- in no particular order, here are some amazing blogs that make me go

And yes, if you're wondering when I'll stop using this incriminating picture of myself, the answer is never.

Flower Patch Farmgirl: Good gosh this girl knows how to write. Not only is she clever and funny and deliciously awesome with words, she has an incredible story to tell... including adoption, jail, and moving from her beloved home in the country to a place in the city. Also, she introduced me to Jen Hatmaker, and for that I'm forever grateful. 

Jen Hatmaker: If this woman's not on your radar I'm upset.  Between her hilarious tweets, her incredible blog,  her many books, or her fierce advocacy for the "least of these" this Christian speaker/writer is the woman you want to be best friends with. She's got serious moxy, folks ;)

Living in Yellow: Duh.  She's hilarious, fun, honest, smart, bizzzzz-savvvyyy and as kind as she is cool.  I wait for her posts every day like I do the mailman. (Now that I'm at home more I seriously wait on the mailman. I guess I always think he's bringing me a magazine or something.  Instead I get bills from the children's hospital.  Fooled every time! Regardless, looking out the window when I hear the truck feels so 1950's. Should I be in a dress and heels too? Alas, I'm in sweats with no mascara. Oh 2013, how I love you.) Anyhow, Erin's the best of the best and knows how to make this blogging biz a platform for good, funny, and all things awesome... I just wish she lived closer to Nashvegas...

Thriftary: Girl's my sista but that's not why she's on this list.  She's as hilarious as she is inventive and beyond her marketing, graphic design, cooking, home decor genius- she's got the heart of a thousand nuns and the spirit of a million lawyers. Does that make sense? She's a fighter.  For herself, for her family, for her business, and for her gifts.  I learn a lot from her everyday.  Also, she's the reason I started this here blog. Mrs. Thriftary is the gateway drug to this blogging culture I've grown to love so much.

Gung Ho Heart:  To say I reeallly love this girl is an understatement.  The truth is I can hear her at this very moment singing upstairs in my husband's studio and it's making my week. She's a brilliant musician, a loyal friend, and a partner in many previous crimes... She's also on this adoption journey with me, but that's not how we met. We were friends way before the word "kids" ever came out of our mouths. Oh and I recently woke up to a text from her saying something to the effect of, "Just got married on the beach in Africa.  Can't wait to tell you about it. See you in 72 hours." Saywhaaa?? Girl's got passion, guts, boldness, a spirit like no other and now an incredible family... husband and 4 kiddos included.

BOOM There you go. Some seriously killer blogs that I give a resounding TWO THUMBS UP. Well done, ladies.

There are so, so many more blogs that I love and wish I had time to gush about but alas, I'm sure your eyes are growing weary and my time is limited.  Baby girl's got 30 minutes left on her nap and I've got some taxes to do.  Try not to be jealous.

Who is your blog crush? 

Go link up HERE.

Testosterone Fail: Robbery Style

I drove past my my local K-mart the other day and thought, "I can't believe I haven't posted about the robbery I witnessed there last year." I've witnessed 3 robberies in the past year (robbery might be too harsh a word... just your average guy or gal trying to steal some stuff while being chased by store security. Regardless, they were robbing the store so I suppose the word holds true.) Anyhow, thankfully, in all 3 instances there were no weapons used and I never felt threatened. But the middle instance, the robbery at k-mart, is one of those "in the right place at the right time" miracles that I will forever be thankful for. It was actually something between Gloriously Epic and Monumentally Awesome.  Let me explain...

It was early afternoon and I had decided to make a quick run to K-mart to restock my office supplies.  I walked in, grabbed my binders and envelopes, and headed to the registers. But as I was making my way to the checkout line, I miraculously stopped in the women’s department to take a quick look at a few blouses. Suddenly, a young, tall, lanky man bolted passed the clothes section, and ran towards the doors at top speed. It was obvious he was stealing something. (I'm no thief, but if I was, I wouldn't suggest running when there's nobody chasing you... seems like a sure-fire way to get noticed...)

Unfortunate for him (and very fortunate for me) the door he chose to exit was a "pull" and not a "push." He, however, did not know this and chose to dramatically slam himself into the glass, believing it would swing wide open. But, since it was a "pull", it stayed stationary and he immediately crumbled to the floor. It caused such a scene that two employees quickly realized what was going on and ran after him. When the thief saw them coming, he somehow managed to get his bearings, scramble to his feet, try another door, and escape.  The two employees ran outside after him.  (I can’t imagine what the people in the garden section thought.)

It took me two seconds to assess the fact that YES, that had just happened and NO, nobody was hurt... and then I lost all composure in a display of complete unreserved-belly aching laughter.  If you know me IRL (this is the new acronym I just discovered for "In Real Life") my greatest joy is seeing people fall.  There's something about the look on people's faces when they realize they're totally out of control that is hilarious.  (Sidenote: If they get hurt or people are making fun of them (unless you're a thief) I don't enjoy it.)  But anyone who can fall and then laugh at themselves is a friend of mine.

Eventually the clerks that had run after the man came back... they were winded, empty handed, and laughing hysterically. Although they didn't catch the guy, they were laughing so hard they were crying.  The entire front half of the store erupted in intense, hold-your-side-and-pray-for-mercy laughter.  We had all witnessed one of the most humbling displays of a major testosterone fail. Running top-speed through a store, clearly certain you'd be the "big-man" who got away with stealing, only to run face first into a glass door, is well... beyond priceless.  No matter what that man got away with, it couldn't possibly equal the amount of pride he left sitting on that cold-tile floor.

Thank you K-mart for your strikingly good deals, your surprisingly good selection of women's apparel (if your standards are well... similar to mine), and for the honor of witnessing one of the most hilarious moments of my life.  I owe you one.  Oh... and for the love of all that is good, please put that security tape on YouTube.

Mae Mae 

*This is an archived but edited post*

It's Monday!

Happy Monday Y'all!

source

See what I did there? I added balloons like Monday is a good thing... it's all about perspective... maybe?

Anyhow, I hope you had a good weekend.  I had a good one.  My husband was sick so he laid low Saturday morning, while I had coffee and girl time with my friends across the street.  Everyone had kids.  It was snowing. There were cinnamon rolls.  It was fun.

Saturday night we stayed in while Abi tried her new stander and we had a little jam session.  Girl loves her some guitar.

 

(She also LOVES the stander. I think she may even love it more than her chair or her swing...) 

Somehow in the crevices of unclaimed time, I got officially addicted to the show Extreme Couponing. After 11 episodes, (sue me- they're 20 minutes a piece) I was on fire.  Paper towels and tooth paste for free??? Heck yes, I'd buy 200.  I'm not interested in buying anything we don't already eat (which at this point is basically just produce), but shampoos, detergents, and yadayadayada? Count me in.  All that to say, I may or may not have been clipping coupons at 11pm on my living room floor last night. When I found my first manufacture's coupon that matched with my local stores sale... I about had a heart attack.  It's true! You REALLY CAN get things for pennies. Unbelievable.

At 1:30 am, I was finally asleep and now it's Monday.  We got up and made two days worth of juice (juicing is kind of rocking our worlds...) I've got carrot juice in hand and coffee by my side (no way I'm giving that up).  The dishwasher isn't working.  My house is a crazy (organized?) mess, and I'm about to hop off of here and go get Monday on it's way.

How was your weekend???

mae