14,000 things to be happy about.

Some of my friends have read this book & say it's the greatest.  Very simple - just 14,000 things to be happy about.  Randomly flip to any page and bam - instant happiness.  On the list: puppy noses, baby girl tights, melting ice cream cones, grandma kisses.  So, I decided to make a 14,000 things to be happy about (in the Fall) list.  Well, not 14,000.  More like 15.

Now, I should mention something not on the list: a bird flying in your house at 6 am.  Yes, I was getting ready for school this two weeks ago when a bird flies up the stairs, into our room & proceeds to go CRAY all over the place.  Enter hubs, in a shirt and tie, with a trash bag, trying to catch the dirty, winged creature.  Well, I guess it actually could be on the list because we both shared a good laugh.  And a gag reflex when the bird landed on our toothbrushes.

Back to the list.

1.  candy corn & peanuts.
2.  pumpkin anything.  And, I mean anything.
3.  old college sweatshirts.  & sweatpants.  basically the entire hanover football pride pack.
4.  breakfast dates with my boy.
5.  coffee & a good devotional.
6.  crockpot dinners.
7.  boots.  and more boots.
8.  messy buns.
9.  horror movies where the killer never dies.
10.  changing leaves.  doy.
11.  dark nail polish.
12.  getting your Christmas shopping done before Halloween.  be jealous.
13.  Starbucks.  always Starbucks.
14.  big sweaters & leggings.
15.  5 year olds dressed as pilgrims & Indians. 

What's on your list of happy things in the Fall?   

Coffee Date Friday (Sunday edition)

Hey readers (if you're still out there?!)

I'm back from a blogging hiatus!  I wish I could say I have been filling my time volunteering at the local animal shelter or catching up on politics, but no.  Really I have just had a case of writer's block, followed by daydreams of new pumpkin recipes & multiple trips to Starbucks.  Welcome, Fall.  If we were having coffee today (let's switch things up to Sunday this week!) I would tell you...

1//  It's time for the Fall Bucket List.
      Campfires, scary movies & carving pumpkins are on mine...what about you?

2//  Speaking of pumpkin...the pumpkin pie blizzard is back at DQ.
      Goodbye healthy eating; see ya after Christmas.

3//  One of my favorite sounds on the planet comes from children sounding out words.
      It's that time of year in kindergarten & I.love.it.

4//  Girls shopping trips are good for the soul.  Period.

5//  It's been 10 months since we said yes to His plan & decided to adopt.  This can make even the most   patient of patient people impatient, lie awake at night, & try to convince herself of things that are no where close to being true.  Shame on you, late nights.

What would you tell me if we had coffee?

Have a pumpkin-y kind of week!

When you wish upon a star...or a gold chain.

6:30 am...last Thursday.  My phone rings.  BFF on the other line.  Dream about to come true:

Abs: Hello?
BFF: What are you doing?
Abs: Driving to school.
BFF: What concert would we absolutely die to go to?!
Abs: Nelly. (doy)
BFF: BINGO!  He's going to be Indy this weekend & you and I are going!
Abs: (scream), OK!  Details?! When? Where? How? (trying to keep the car on the road)

Let's back up.  If you know me at all, then you know that I: don't ever put caps on water bottles, I could live off Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee & I was born a gangsta.

Nelly encompasses my college career.  Getting ready to go out Friday night?  Blast Ride Wit Me.  In the car with 10 girls to hit up the $1 tanning bed in town?  Crank up Country Grammar.    Shoe shopping?  Air Force Ones for motivation.  I love my St. Louis boy.

Saturday came fast, along with two VIP tickets (thanks, Adrienne), aviator sunglasses & the most ghetto hat I could find.  He, along with Chingy & Murphy Lee put on a GREAT show and both us may or may not have shed some tears when Nelly came on.  Front row.  Gold chains.  Diamond watch.  Otherwise known as paying cash, first class, sittin' next to Vanna White.

The evening shenanigans involved getting stern looks from his HUGE bodyguard, an autographed poster from our St. Louis boys, a 3 am diner breakfast with some drag queens & a 911 call.  Turns out white vans with no windows parked next to you can be a tad scary.

A - thanks for being my rapper wing man...there is no one else I would rather wear a bullet proof vest to a concert with than you (kidding.  Only crossed our minds once.)  And Nelly...thanks for the memories.  I got to cross that off my Life List. (#24)  I'll be blaring your tunes in the car now for the next 10 years days. 

Happy almost weekend...go holla at your friends & make one of your dreams come true!

 

 

Those girls.

I wish I had a lot of things.  Like the ability to snap my fingers & be anywhere in the world, an unlimited supply of Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee & Halle Berry's body.  Without working out or eating healthy, of course.

I don't have to wish for great friendships though, because I have those.  And I am forever blessed.  In college, I joined a sorority freshman year.  LIOB to my Phi Mu sistas.  Sorority life was fab-u-lous, and I know there are a lot of haters out there.  Haters can hate...but who doesn't love sharing closets with 30+ girls, having your BFF on call 24/7 & getting your meals cooked for you every day?  But in between the weekly chapter meetings, fraternity pranks & karaoke on Friday nights, true friendships were formed.  And since my college days, I have formed other true friendships through work, church, my neighborhood & even from this little blog.  What can I say, friends rule.

True friendship requires time.  And, I am the first to admit I am not always up to putting in the leg work. Calls don't get returned, birthdays are missed, emails are lost.  But still, those girls.  Those girls are always there for me.  Stepping out of work to call when bad news was given.  Sending weekly cards while I wait to join them in motherhood.  Meeting for drinks to just talk, laugh & reminisce.   Texting a funny picture or leaving a favorite treat at my classroom door.  It's the little things that make big friendships last.  

So, thank you to those girls who put in the time to make our friendship last.  I know you'll always be there....even if I'm not.

What do you do to make your friendships last?

And, Halle if you're reading this...I'm coming after ya.  ;)

Coffee Date Friday

If we were having coffee this week, I would tell you...

* I am have a girls dinner tonight with 4 of my sorority besties.  I know sororities get a bad rap.  

More on that topic next week.  

* This week's obsessions have included watermelon & mango. 

 Never had a mango until about 3 weeks ago.  Big mistake.  Huge.

* I had brunch with my mama this week.  

The combination of a victorian house, iced tea with lemon & a window seat is good for the soul.

* School is drawing me back in.  So, I recruited 4 previous Carter kids to help with classroom prepping.     Otherwise known as the best idea ever.

* DC got a new job as an administrator & I am over the moon proud of him.  

I am also over the moon excited that I will get to call him Mr. Belding for the rest of his life.

What 5 things would you share if we had coffee?

Happy weekend to you!  Hope your to-do list is as full as this one. 

33rd

Happy 33rd to this super special guy.

In honor of his birthday, here are 10 things you might not know about him: 

(**please note that whenever I mention him on the blog, he mumbles something about having not signed a waiver to have his information/stories, etc. on the web.  Once a teacher, always a teacher.  And no, he has not signed a waiver for this post either.**)

In no particular order...

• His favorite Friends character is Ross.  Yes, I said Ross.
• He always does our laundry on Sundays & gets very bent out of shape if something interferes with this routine. 
• He is not a picky eater, except for jelly & hot fruit.  So, keep the cobbler FAR away.
• If he was stranded on an island with only one food & one drink, it would be steak with A1 & diet mountain dew.
• Going to a World Series game & being in a car chase are on his Bucket List.
• He knows more sports trivia than any other person on the planet.  So, if you are being asked to walk the plank over shark infested waters & you have to answer a sports-related question in order to save yourself...you want him nearby.  Trust me.
• He tore his ACL in college & feels nauseous if anyone touches the scar.
• He falls asleep by 7:30 every night during the week.  
• His favorite movie is Dumb & Dumber.  
• He's one of The Good Guys.  And, I snatched him up.  

We celebrated with a quick trip to Cedar Point.  A Sandusky date night, roller coaster screams & sweating off 20 pounds in the heat were the highlights of the trip.  

Happy, happy DC.  

Details

Well wishes & big hugs from family & friends.
Mounds of tissue paper.
Buttery soft onesies & fuzzy blankets.
Frosted cupcakes & chocolate dipped Oreos.
Advice from seasoned mamas.
Smiles.  Love.
These details have filled my time the last two weekends.

My Step-Mom & future sister-in-law threw my first baby shower two weeks ago & it was perfect.  These amazing ladies went all out from trail mix-filled baby food jars, to a decorated diaper station.  The house was laced with baby pictures of my family growing up & included a very special of DC & I on the day we officially started the adoption process.  It's the little details that mean so much.  I came home with a car load of baby gifts & feelings of love for this little one who I haven't even met yet.

This past weekend I was once again blessed with another shower thrown by two of my closest college girlfriends.  Almost ten years since graduation (ugh, that is literally painful to type), and as we quoted through texts on Sunday, WE are each other's details.  Forget about fancy clothes, custom-made curtains or the newest electronic device....friendship trumps all of that.  I walked into a house & was surrounded with the smells of fresh coffee & blueberry muffins, gazed at brightly colored decor & peeked inside a Pack N' Play overflowing with gifts.  For my baby.  

Below are the highlights from these wonderful weekends of celebration.

Thank you to Tisha, Jenna, Jennifer & Blair for everything.  If I know anything, it is this.  

This baby is unbelievably loved by so many.  And, the rest...are the details.