Totally Random Pics of me

I am usually the one taking all the pictures so there are rarely any of me unless I take them myself... and we all know how those turn out :) I normally do not enjoy sharing those because the either show a double chin(s), a wild nose hair or the flab under my arms.... lol... ( I take great shots of myself!) Well.... these are NOT much better. But hey, what am I supposed to do with all those "bad shots"? You know, the blurry ones, the red eyes, the half open eyes, the morning ones... ... all the ones that you want to press delete..but you keep them anyways. lol Well... I figured I should do SOMETHING with them...why not blog them! Me, Madie and Hayden were playing Jenga and seeing if we could beat 32 rows. We did!! we made it to 34!!! woohoo!!! It made me a little anxious and nervous... as you will be able to see. Hayden makes me so nervous! He pokes and pulls and makes the tower wiggle and move all over....just about gives me a panic attack...lol

>It is fun playing with Madie and Hayden. They always make me laugh.

In Mississippi at the Camp. My daddy was teaching me how to drive the 4wheeler. It was a little different than the other ones. Had to shift it with your foot...real fun though!!!! It is so pretty there!

WHO KNOWS!!! I was obviously doing what I do best....lol!!!! On the computer! Looks like I just showered. Me in my "natural beauty".. ha!! no makeup. I love, love, LOVE my robe. Treated myself to Victoria's Secret~ It is my all time favorite robe...i even sleep in it sometimes. It is that comfortable. Hayden was showing me something and Madie was obviously taking pics.. thanks! See.. this is one picture I would have never shown anyone.

Oh my....This is a funny picture! Me, my dad and in front of my dad was my little sister Katie. Three of us on that 4wheeler! My dad wanted to take us on a ride. It lasted for a good 30 minutes. Going fast, over bumps, making it quite exciting..especially for katie who was sitting in the front with her feet up top and no way to truly hold on good. She thought she peed on herself. (which she did NOT) We were laughing so hard.

Christmas day... yeah, it is a shot i took of myself. But hey... I think it was only 1 of maybe 6 pictures that I had of me on Christmas day. lol. I just showered..in my robe again. See... I really like my robe! I was taking pics of the kids and trying to get video too.

Another "self photography" :) Christmas morning. It was 6am. We had been up since 5am. I was crawling back into bed! Cute huh? and uhh..yeah, I slept with my makeup on. "They say" (whoever they is) that when you sleep with makeup on it ages you. gasp!!!! Also..if you sleep with mascara on little bugs get in your lashes and feed on it at night. grosssss!!!!!! I normally take my makeup off... It was a late night! :)

I/s320/Christmas+Day+093.JPG" border=0> Oh, this is a really lovely picture! I was opening my christmas gift that keith got me. A really really cool decorative box. I love that kind of stuff :) It was HEAVY!! I think I was even saying "ohhh, it's heavy". :)

Yeah, a gift for me. I like gifts, especially when they are a surprise! That is one of those half open eye pictures that you would never share with anyone... but hey..whatever!

.JPG" border=0> After hours of cooking...we finally eat! At first i thought there was something interfering with Madie's picture...but I realize it is just the steam coming off of her food! :) Yeah, that is 2 rolls on my plate!

" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTM37KtX689xP6dqKt2l_fS1uP0R0TKXQ1QeCAEeKWh2mt06eGoo1b0h_Wsv20vl-y51FlFjMk4UNn-tgv8cwsTJRTARPnrdcUfc_LewROKZwOZ-OaP1jdefEiZqBjONrT36IoNJmUlozn/s320/100_0040.jpg" border=0> Madie caught me!

I didn't say take a picture of the paper towels! I said come and GET them!!! I hate when my counters get cluttered with stuff when i am cooking. It drives me crazy. BUT...it WAS Christmas and I just had to accept the fact that my entire house was destroyed in a matter of hours. Breathe!!!!!

Oh yeah, this is a really good one. Back profile! See how i normally wear my hair at home? Why even grow it out if it is going to sit on top of my head? geez!!

St6g7zg/s320/100_0010.jpg" border=0> And last of all.... the "Side-Profile" picture that we all love so much! Thanks Madie! This picture is not as obvious as some others....however, I will still explain the prominant bump on my nose. I have a "nose hump" LOL...

When i was 3 years old I pulled a table down on myself and it landed on my nose.. and broke it. OHHH..(lightbulb moment)....so that means my nose will be PERFECT one day... yeah! :) lol. It is not a big deal to me though... it is just a nose. At least I can still smell with it. I am not obsessed with it.. Just thought i would share a little tidbit of information with ya...

320/100_0006.jpg" border=0> There are some of my "reject" pictures! The ones that take up space on my computer because I dont want to delete them and yet, I would never actually think of sharing them with other people... But hey... that is what blogs are for right???

Mardi Gras

I'm a Southern girl...Born and raised in Louisiana.

Louisiana is known for many things:

The City of New Orleans~ The French Quarter

JAZZ

Food~ Crawfish, Jambalaya, Gumbo, Red Beans & Rice, Po'Boys, Beignets, Pralines, Seafood, Grits, Hot Sauce~ Tabasco, King Cakes!

Popeye's, Copeland's, Quaint Restaurants

Hurricanes, Swamps, Humidity

LSU~SAINTS

and

MARDI GRAS!!! Parades, beads, throws, floats, crews, parties & balls.

Growing up I loved going to the parades. Being a child I can remember running up to the long 18 wheeler floats that were decorated to whatever theme they had for that year. Men, Women and children would be hanging over the edges of the floats throwing gobs and gobs of beads, toys, cups (my favorite), candy, underwear, spears, stuffed animals, roses....etc....etc...etc....

Oh, and the crazy things people would do for plastic beads!

Push, shove, argue, flash...yes, boobs!!

I don't know how more children were not run over by those big 18 wheeler trucks.

100's and 100's of floats. All day long.

Through the years... it just gets old. (at least for me!)

The ONLY thing I look forward to now with Mardi Gras season is my all time favorite

BLUE BELL ~MARDI GRAS~ ICECREAM!!!

Yes... this is about my favorite Ice cream!

Blue Bell is a Southern Ice Cream company.

from http://www.bluebell.com/

And although Blue Bell is only available in about 20% of the nation’s supermarkets, it ranks as one of the top three best selling ice creams in the country. Our products are sold in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. No matter how much the market grows, quality standards never change and are never diluted or compromised. That's why, people who are lucky enough to live where they can buy Blue Bell Ice Cream, say it's "the best ice cream in the country."

And..I must agree! It is "the best ice cream in the country!"

A few years ago they came out with a New, limited Ice cream just in time for Mardi Gras season.. It is called "Mardi Gras".

I LOVE trying new flavors so I bought it and tried it and LOVED IT! Since it is seasonal I had to make sure I always had a tub in my freezer!

Mardi Gras passed, the Ice Cream was no longer made.. and I was sad.

Last year...it was Mardi Gras time again!!! Woohooo....My icecream!!!

I looked and looked and looked for that ice cream and could not find it anywhere! :(

A week ago I was at wal-mart (shock) and walked passed the freezer section and there at the end of the isle, behind the fogged up freezer doors... In all its beautiful PURPLE AND GREEN COLORS...It was calling my name!!!!! :)

I got just a little excited as you can probably imagine.

IT WAS BACK!!

I bought one. And before than one ran out... I bought another one. I just ate the last cup of my second container. (GASP) ~somehow I still fit into my jeans.

Here it is:

Mardi Gras Ice Cream

Almond Flavored Ice Cream with

Amaretto Sauce and Candy Sprinkles

mmmmmmmmmm...

Back Yard Burning

I finally got around to my "Paper Situation"! You know, all the paper that piles up for years.. receipts, bill stubs, carbon copy checks, medical bills, etc... Boxes and boxes of Paper!!

I had my shredder out and I was determined to purge!

Well, I got tired of going through and sorting what I needed to shred and what could just be thrown into the garbage, so we had a backyard bonfire and burned it!

The kids had fun!!

Keith getting the flame going. The kids gathered pine straw and twigs from the yard.

WooHoo!! FIRE!!! We got it going and the Burning begins!

Stacks and stacks of old bills and shreds. Who said we had to keep that stuff???

Hayden, Keith and Madie

Madie behind the smoke screen.

Hayden enjoyed reading what he was burning. Lol!

The only pictures of me are the ones I take of myself.

We were watching the kids have fun.

BURN PILE!!

Time to put the fire out! Why is it that we keep paper? Paper, paper, paper!! It piles up and then we don't know what to do with it so it ends up in a box..the box ends up in a closet until the closet is too full. Then it ends up in the garage .. until it finally ends up in the attic.. taking up space..just sitting and sitting for years! Who needs the receipt from a water bill from 5 years ago?

Why?

Paper clutter is so unnecessary!

Butterflies

"Without butterflies the world would soon have few flowers."

I LOVE butterflies!

There is something about a Butterfly that brings me happiness. I am not sure if it is the symbolism it represents or the miracle of the caterpillar's transformation into something so exquisitely beautiful. Every time I see a butterfly I think about this beautiful world Heavenly Father has given me to enjoy and the small and simple pleasures he has given me to lift my spirit.

When I see a butterfly fluttering about I am reminded of my own personal journey through this life. I sometimes feel like the little fuzzy worm trying to figure it all out.....

"Butterfly-- that word," she thought. "Tell me, sir, what is a butterfly?" "It's what you are meant to become. It flies with beautiful wings and joins the earth to heaven. It drinks only nectar from the flowers and carries the seeds of love from one flower to another."

"Without butterflies the world would soon have few flowers."

"It can't be true!" gasped Yellow. "How can I believe there's a butterfly inside you or me when all I see is a fuzzy worm?"

I sometimes feel like that fuzzy little worm. So unsure, so afraid...feeling so unworthy of the beauty that I know I am inside.

There have been a few times in my life that I have spun a cocoon around myself. Closed myself into a dark little space, away from the world..feeling so alone, so desperate for a way out..yet quite comfortable wrapped up in the dark. Time passes slowly at first.. then....hours turn into days, which turn into weeks and then months...and then a year passes by... life passes by!

The miracle comes when I am able to look back and see the change... see the transformation. Witness the beauty of the butterfly within my own life.

I have spent the last few years wrapped up in my own little cocoon.. protecting myself the only way I know how. While inside...during very dark times I have felt the pain of growth. I have felt myself being stretched to my limit. Yet, I have felt myself wrapped in something comforting. Like being wrapped in my father's protective arms.

I know of the pain and growth that occurs inside the caterpillar's cocoon. I know the strength and the work it takes for the caterpillar to finally let go and become the beautiful butterfly it was created to be.

I have not fully emerged from my cocoon ... But I AM learning to let go!

And through the mercy and love of God I hope to become what He created me to be.. His Beautiful Butterfly!!

(((::::::Now you can see some of my butterflies::::::)))

This book, Hope for the Flowers, is one of my favorites!

The quotes I used above are from this book.

I have this Butterfly on the front of my scriptures. I received this Book of Mormon from my parents when I was in high school. They had my name engraved upon its cover. This book, more than any other book I have read in my life, has brought me so much comfort, peace, guidance, assurance, and a testimony of my Savior, Jesus Christ, and the miracle of His atonement.

The Miracle of Change!

My husband, Keith... knowing how much I love butterflies AND really cool boxes..got me this for christmas. It is now one of my favorite boxes.

Madie knows me well! She bought this little key chain for me last year at school, using the tickets she had earned throughout the school year. When she saw it she thought of me.

It makes me happy. :)

Hayden made this little magnet for me last year at school. He was so happy to give me the picture he drew with the butterfly because he knows I love butterflies!

Out of the blue, my little sister Carrie gave this to me as a gift. For no special occasion at all.. just because she loves me. She saw it and knew that I would love it. It hangs on the wall.. I still have not found the perfect place for it yet. But I will!!

My kids got ~Bendaroos~ for Christmas. Madie made me a butterfly. I stuck it to the inside of my closet door so I can see it every day.

I keep this little butterfly by my kitchen sink. It comes in handy when I need to take off jewelry to wash dishes. :) Plus it is pretty.

I found this lamp at an Antique Shop! When I saw it I loved it and I had to have it. It is such a beautiful, small, colorful lamp. The base of it is a butterfly too. Kinda cool!

I had someone suggest that I keep a little notepad on me at all times for when I have thoughts or ideas or if someone says something that I want to remember. I can then go back later and reflect on those things.. and remember the things that would have been forgotten throughout the day. When I saw this little notepad I thought it was perfect. It is small and fits in my purse and of course... it has butterflies!!

I run across little things like this and have to have it. I love to go to Antique shops and Flea Markets. I am always on the lookout for Butterflies. I love this one especially because I also have a thing for blue and white!

If you haven't noticed yet, I am a collector of many things! I also LOVE little jars, small boxes and trinkets you can hide things in. This one is really cool. It is purple glass with little carvings on the bottom that look like butterflies.

I have more....but I will stop now. So there ya go....you just learned a little something about me. :)

I LOVE Butterflies!