Slow Down....

I was in a tizzy!

My son was one of the hundreds that were stuck on highway 280 in Birmingham.

I was so mad at my husband.

You know how men are....

Me:  Don't you think we need to change Bucky's (our dog) appointment

with the vet for Tuesday in Birmingham?  They say the weather is going to be bad

and I don't want Tanner (our son) to be out in it.

Hubby (or as I call him Mr. Know It All):  Oh my goodness no! They are barely

going to get a light dusting of snow.  Plus the appointment is for 9 a.m. and

he will be back in Tuscaloosa by 10:30 a.m. so you have nothing to worry about.

Three hours go by....

I call my son....

he is stuck in traffic because of icy roads...

hasn't moved 5 feet in hours....

Five hours go by....

call my son....

may have moved 10 feet.

His phone is going dead...

He has a 100 pound dog with him that can't walk...

he has half a tank of gas....

Momma is freaking out!

Dad is hunting!! (can you believe it!)

Many hours later and phone calls....

 he realized that he was going to have to do something drastic to get out

so as he said ..he did some Dukes of Hazzard driving (thank goodness he had 4 wheel drive)

he jumped the median, drove through a red light on the wrong side of the road,

zig zagged between cars, went up a hill that most people had slid off, made it to

a gas station and filled up his truck and finally reached a road that was moving.

Made it back to Tuscaloosa at 10 p.m. (it is usually a 1 hour drive)

So yesterday I was to meet him halfway to pick up Bucky (our dog).

I'm driving along still stressed from Tuesday, watching for ice patches in the road, still mad at hubby....... when I passed this...

I thought as I drove past "what in the world was that?"

I felt like someone said "turn around."

So I did.

Ducks!!!

Hundreds of them!

There were catfish ponds all around this area and they were all empty

except this one.

Aren't they beautiful?!

I drove on a little ways and these ducks were just breaking through the ice on this pond.

For some reason...

I felt much more at peace.

Slow down.....

Calm down.....

God is in control.

 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Matthew 6:25-26

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Ice, Ice Baby!

We are in south Alabama...

we are not prepared for such as this....

most of this is ice.....

schools are closed....

businesses are closed....

roads are closed....

I just wish my mouth was closed....

I have eaten everything in the house...

I would have taken a pic of the food but...

I ate it too fast...

It's a good thing I don't live where there is a lot of snow...

I would weigh 600 pounds!

I hope each of you are warm and cozy and 

do me a favor....

eat something!!

(guilt loves company)

Lisa Goes Hunting....

Some days I think "am I a boring person?"

My husband is like the Tasmanian Devil....

he always has something to do....

somewhere to go....

he can't sit still....

he's always working on something....

or hunting...

or fishing...

and I feel more like Eeyore...

just plodding along....

My hubby always asks me if I want to go where ever he is going and

I usually say (in a slow Eeyore voice) nooo.....

I think I'll just stay here....

So I start thinking I better get off my hiney and start

living a little and being a little more interesting.

So this is the last weekend of hunting season.

I decide I will go hunting with the hubby.

First problem is finding his hunting clothes that are not

too (gulp) small for me. (tear)

And yes I did find some pants and I didn't let him know that they were not buttoned

or zipped all the way up (so sad).

And you know you have this idea in your head about 

how cute you will look in his camo....

ummmm...

not so much....

(objects appear larger than they really are)

(I'm hoping)

On the way down the bumpy dirt roads I'm giving him all the qualifications

of the deer stand I need to be put in...

like....

I don't want to walk very far to get in the hunting house...

the house must have a chair....preferably two so I can put my stuff on the other one...

I don't want to climb up into a tall stand....

I can't see well so it needs to be a small patch....

(I don't know why my hubby doesn't get me to go more often...do you?)

So the hubby drops me off in a hunting house and tells me to be perfectly quiet and still

and he will pick me up at dark.

Okay!

I can do this!

Five minutes in and I'm taking selfies with my camera.

do you see the plexiglass window that is open well it may or may not have slammed back down while I was reading and made a terrible noise..(don't tell hubby)

and then I get my book out of my leopard print bag (it was as close to camo as I had)

I'm SURE I was not making noise doing any of this (clears throat).

At least it was a beautiful, sunny day!

I enjoyed taking pics of the changing sky as the sun was setting.

Can you believe I didn't see a single thing! haha...

So hubby picks me up and asked if I saw anything

and I (in my serious hunter voice) say I didn't see anything..

I don't know why.

He is sweet and says he is so happy that I went with him and I say me too.

And then I couldn't help myself...

I asked him....

"what sort of noises does a deer make when he comes in the patch?"

and hubby is serious and says 

"well you know....he can snort some but really doesn't make a lot of noise."

And then I couldn't help myself...

I say....

well.....

"what does a fox say?"

And he is serious once again and says

"well.....he kind of makes a barking noi....

wait.....that's that stupid song!!!"

I'm not sure I will be asked to go on many more hunting trips.

And I'm still not sure if I make it into the 

"interesting person" category...

but I sure had fun.

:)

Just So You Know...

Did you know that the fatter you get the deeper your belly button gets?

And  I can't find my purse....

hmmmm....

I better check....

#fatgirlproblems

The "Orange" Story...

My husband and I have been together for a very long time...

in fact..

he is the only guy I have ever dated....

my one and only true love...

I fell in love when I was in the sixth grade...

he noticed me when I was in the eighth grade...

so needless to say we have many great memories....

this is one of them...

 (maybe not so great for him)

heehee...

The "Orange" story.....

don't tell Shannon I told y'all...

He was playing baseball in the State Tournament his senior year.....

I can't remember where we were.....

I think it was the State tournament.....

he remembers this story way better.....

.in fact he won't let it drop......

.but anyway.....

he had played the best game of his life.....

I think he batted 1000 or close to it and he said he was so happy and people were congratulating

him after the game and shaking his hand and don't ask me why I did this....

but I was standing up on a hill and I guess I was trying to get his attention

 and for some crazy reason I had an orange in my hand and well......

I threw it......

surely I wouldn't actually hit him.....

but no.......

I hit him right upside his head.......

he said it almost knocked him out.....

you want to talk about one mad baseball player.....

well he was.....

I heard about it all the way home.....

it probably didn't help that I told him that if he didn't have the "big" head then I would have never been able to hit him......

and still.....

32 years later........

I can't have an orange in the house or I will have to hear him fuss all over again.....

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http://www.sunnysimplelife.com/2014/01/from-farm-blog-hop-and-crock-pot.html

BE STILL....

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

PSALM 46:10

2014 Here I Come!

I know......I haven't been here in a while.

After FINALLY getting over the flu it felt good to feel good!

So I have been working really hard at cleaning and organizing this house.

The week that I was in the bed sick put me really far behind.

I just got all the Christmas stuff up!

And now the sun has been shining and it's not so very cold and

this has really energized me.

Now don't go crazy and think that I have enough done to actually show you....

haha.....no!

Not yet....

but I'm determined to get rid of some of this stuff and clutter!

I have reached a point in my life where I think "why did I buy all of this stuff?"

I truly don't want or need very much.

I am learning not to hold on to every little thing....for that "just in case" moment.

I've already told someone they can have the "stuff" that I am cleaning out for their yard sale.

And I told them to pick a load up Friday......see.....

I'm making myself accountable and giving me a deadline!

Another motivation point for me is that as soon as Spring starts to arrive I want to be outside.

So I need to take care of this inside organization now!

And I'm really hoping that if I can accomplish this goal then it will help me with

starting a whole new way of life.

I can concentrate on eating in a healthier way and exercising more.

I want to try to write a book!

I want to finally take steps to a more "homestead" way of life.

I absolutely love to read blogs about this way of life!

The "designer" blogs are pretty and show beautiful homes but

what makes my heart soar is the blogs about canning, and cooking,

and cleaning and chores.

These homes don't have to have one cute thing in them and you show me a counter

with rows of canned tomatoes and a chair with knitting needles and yarn

and I am in heaven!

One of my favorites is http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/!!!

The problem is that I can't get my chores done because I am so caught

up in reading these blogs...lol.

I guess my point is.....

that even though I didn't make any resolutions this year...

2014 IS GOING TO BE A GREAT YEAR FOR ME!

I'm going to make changes in my life and stop coasting!

I have a great marriage, great kids and  a personal relationship with Jesus!

There is no reason that I can't make my dreams a reality!

Can you tell I'm giving myself a pep talk?

Consistency is a real problem of mine.

BUT NOT THIS YEAR!!!

So actually writing this out is another motivational

and accountability strategy for me.

Did I tell you that I will be 50 this year?

FIT AND FIFTY NOT FAT AND FIFTY!

Now I'm really dreaming.....hahaha!

Can you see the angel and devil sitting on each of my shoulders?..lol

But my saying this year is this...

Amen and Amen!

A "Sweet" Husband.....

Dear Shannon.....

I had to borrow your truck today and I happened to have noticed a package of swiss cake rolls on your console.

 Well the rolls said to me (didn't know they could talk did you)

 they said "you know that you have a wonderful husband?"

 And I said "yes I do know that"

 and they said "I know you want me and I'm sure since your husband knows that I am your favorite that he bought these just for you."

 And I said "you know I think you are right!

 It would probably hurt his feelings if I DIDN'T eat these."

 So in order to not hurt your feelings I ate the swiss cake rolls.....

you are welcome...:)

Chicken Coop Wars!

Lisa: "Shannon we need to insulate the chicken coop so they won't freeze to death!!!!

 Shannon: "the chickens will be fine"

 Lisa: "they need a heater and blankets and a door!!!"

 Shannon: "the chickens will be fine...you better NOT go buy anything for the chickens!"

 Lisa: (to herself) "hmmm....how can I insulate the coop?......I know....I'll use all of Shannon's sweat pants and push them into the holes in the coop....heeheeee.....

 Shannon: "You didn't go out and buy anything for that chicken coop did you? I told you the chickens will be fine."

 Lisa: "No I sure didn't sweetie...." 

Later on that night...... Shannon: "Brrrr....it's cold....have you seen any of my sweatpants?"

 Lisa: "Ummm...don't worry about your sweatpants.....I'm sure you will be fine....."

Happy New Year........Atchooooo!

Well my last post I was filling you in on me pretending to be sick in order

to get out of going to my class reunion.

Well....

don't do that.....

ever....

The Monday after the reunion I started feeling bad.

For real.

I had a full blown case of the flu!

Which I have never had in my life!

Me and my big mouth....ugggg.

Tomorrow will be one full week of it.

I am finally feeling better....not well....better.

It has settled into my chest and I still have a cough.

But at least I can sit upright on the couch and watch t.v......yea!

And now look what us deep south southerners have coming our way.

And I know that this is short wearing weather to you Northern folks but not to us!

And tomorrow night..........12 degrees!!

Never in my entire life have I known it to get that cold here!

So I have a heat lamp on my chickens and all the dogs and cats will be inside the house....

oh joy....

and I have a female dog in heat and two male dogs...

oh joy....

and the house is already overflowing...

have I felt like doing laundry....

no....

is college kid  here with all of his stuff....

yes...

have I put up Christmas decorations yet....

no....

don't you want to live with us...

no?....

Since I wasn't awake or coherent to ring in the New Year

do I get a do over?

Okay...so happy day after Christmas!!

What are your plans for New Years Eve?

(just go with this okay?)

Did I tell you I am still heavily medicated?

so...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

I just know 2014 is going to be great!!