No Sweets for a month! What am I thinking?

Tomorrow is the day I will start. I will resist every urge in my body to eat something sweet. All to often, I give in to that urge, and that is how I have come to depend on my dear friend, Sugar!

The idea came to me about a week ago. I realized that I eat/drink way too much sweet stuff during the day. So, I decided to see if I could go a whole month, 30 days, without eating or drinking anything sweet. This includes all candy, cookies, brownies, chocolate, cake, diet-soda, flavored drinks, etc... Just because something is diet, doesn't mean that it is good for you. Also, I will only be drinking water. I know this sounds crazy, but I think I need to do this. I will be eating a lot of fresh fruit. I guess that is my way of getting something sweet, but it is something that is good for me. I'm not doing this as a diet, or as a way to lose weight. I am simply doing this because I need a change in my life. Wish me luck!

So much to blog...So little time...

I have wanted to blog about so much this week, but I just haven't had time. Here are some pictures from last Saturday. Jennifer is officially home from Germany, so we all had to get together to "celebrate." It started out with breakfast with her Mom and Brother and Nieces. The rest of the day was spent at Car Dealerships (Jennifer needed a car, now that she is home), The Mall, Barnes and Noble, Babies R' Us, Target, and Downtown Greenville. It was so much fun hanging out with these girls. I love them all dearly and I have said it before, but I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Tonight, Jennifer, Jessica and I will be attending the Beth Moore Simulcast. Beth Moore will be live in Green Bay, WI, but thousands of churches across America, will be doing a live Simulcast. This is the first one I have ever done, but I know it will be great. The topic is "The heart of our Desires" from Psalm 37. I am really looking forward to it. I will give you a full report on Sunday - Hopefully. Ta Ta for Now.

You're invited...

Three times a year, the ancient Israelites traveled to the temple in Jerusalem. Now it's your turn. Tuesday evenings @ 6:20 PM beginning September 1 (no class on 9/8/09, resuming 9/15/09) West End Baptist Church - 400 Overbrook Drive, Gaffney, SC $13 per person (covers the cost of the book) Stepping Up: A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent by Beth Moore, is an in-depth look at 15 psalms. Just as a song or poem can express feelings of fear, doubt, hope, and joy, these 15 psalms model how study participants can voice their own petitions and praises to our God, who is always available and ready to hear us. Explore the major feasts of Israel and journey through Psalms 120-134 in this 8-session study. Themes such as unity, joy and gratitude, redemption, repentance, the power of blessings, facing ridicule, and more are explored in detail. Modern-day believers can learn much from these treasured Psalms in their journey toward greater intimacy with God. Contact the church office (864-489-3123) by noon on Aug. 31 to insure materials will be available for the introductory session on Sept. 1. I am very excited about starting this Bible Study. I love going through Ester, so I'm sure I will love this one just as much. Leave me a comment if you would like more information.

Happy Birthday to my "Son"

The year was 2000 and I was a freshman at North Greenville College. During our weekly chapel service, we had a speaker talk about Compassion International, and how for only $32 a month you could change the life of a child. I couldn't resist the face of a precious 4 year old little boy. So, for the past 9 years, I have sponsored Solomon Prabhu Tamil Arasu, from India.
I just got this picture in the mail today of the now 13 year old Solomon. I hope he has a wonderful birthday! I have sent money for a birthday gift, since I am not able to send an actual gift. I know I will probably never meet him in person, but one day, I will see him in Heaven, and that is a joyous thought! Happy Birthday Solomon!

Show Us your Life - Favorite Vacation Spots

Today's Show us Your Life with Kelly's Korner is all about favorite vacation spots. Andrew and I have gone on many wonderful vacations, and to pick one would be very difficult. On the right hand side of my blog, you can see pictures from all the places we've been. I think my favorite place I went was Europe. This past March, I had the opportunity to visit my friend Jennifer in Hamburg, Germany. I was there for 9 days. And it was the most fun I've ever had on vacation. It wasn't one of the most "relaxing" vacations I ever had. We were go...go...go... the whole time. We also took a 3 day trip to London! We were able to hit all the major tourist spots, but would have loved to stay for much longer. You can read about my trip to Germany Here and London Here.
As far as my favorite relaxing vacation spot, that would be Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Andrew and I celebrated 4 years of marriage in PV in May, 2008. The entire week was full of relaxation. What a great way to spend a vacation. Lots of time at the pool and on the beach. We also were able to go to a secluded island called Las Caletas, for "Rhythms of the Night." "An exhilarating spectacle, where stories of an ancient civilization are told through live music and modern dance as one of Mexico's most innovative contemporary dance troupes transport you on a magical and mystical journey through time" (Taken from the web-site) There is also a dinner buffet where you actually eat on the beach. It was a great experience.
Another excursion we were able to do while in Mexico was the Canopy Tour. What a great way to see the Sierra Madre Mountains. It was an exhilarating journey as we were able to explore high above the jungle floor via zip lines, suspended walkways and platforms, by scaling the Crazy Ladder and descending via rappels. The whole experience was so much fun!

We ended the week with a couples massage. What a way to end a perfect week!

Don't we look relaxed?
I am in the process of planning next years vacation. I wonder where we will go...Hopefully I will get a lot of ideas from others during the "Show us your Life - Favorite Vacation Spots." Thanks for looking, and come back again.

My trip to the Dollar Tree

Clara and Lindy took me to the Dollar Tree tonight, to let me pick out my birthday presents. Here we are back at my house.

They bought me an iPod arm band and two boxes of candy. I have such sweet nieces. Thanks
Clara and Lindy for taking me shopping! I love you guys so much!

Pictures from Lindy's Toot-Toot Date

Here are some pictures I took last week, while Lindy and I were out on our date.

She wanted to go to McDonald's, so that is where we went. After dinner, we went to the Dollar Tree and she picked out all kinds of goodies. I think she really enjoyed her night out.

On a side note, Kelly asked Clara and Lindy what they wanted to get Toot-Toot for her birthday and they responded that they wanted to take me to the Dollar Tree and let me pick out whatever I wanted. I thought that was so cute. So, tomorrow night, I get to go to the Dollar Tree and they will buy me presents.

Birthday Weekend Extravaganza!

This past weekend I celebrated my 27th Birthday! Andrew had Saturday off, so we decided to spend the day celebrating my birthday! OK, I decided, and he went along with it. So, we got up and headed to Greenville. First on our agenda was lunch. One of Andrew's favorite places to eat in Greenville is Taco Casa. (Think Taco Bell, only better and local) Lunch was yummy. Then we went to his parents house to visit. We were there for a few hours and then it was time to go get my iPhone!! I have been wanting one since Andrew got his in March, but I had to wait until my current contract with Sprint was up. So, to the AT&T store we went. After we got my phone we went to the movies to see Julie & Julia.

The movie was very good. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was still good.

After the movie we went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants - Portofino's. Some of the best Italian food ever! My Dear Friend Jessica and her husband joined us for dinner. That was about it for Saturday. It was a pretty full day.

Sunday was church and then Andrew's parents took us to MiMi's Cafe for lunch. After lunch we went to their house so I could open my birthday presents! I had asked for Money from both his parents and my parents so I could get a new digital camera; and that is exactly what I got. I also got this cute flag for in front of my house.

Sunday evening was spent at home, just me and Andrew.

Monday was my actual Birthday, but I still had to go to work. My boss did let me leave early though, which was very nice of him. When I got home from work, Andrew asked me if I wanted to open my present. A few weeks ago, I picked out and bought my birthday present from him. Did you follow that? Instead of him shopping and getting the wrong thing. I tell him what I want, and then he tells me to go get it. So, this is what I got a few weeks ago. A Cricut Jukebox that holds 6 cartridges at one time;

and two new cartridges. A friend of mine, that I scrapbook with, was getting rid of her Cricut and all the accessories, so that is where I bought them, and so I got a great deal. I got all three items for the price of one Cartridge.

So when Andrew asked if I wanted to open my present, I had no idea what it could be.

A Digital Picture Frame! I have wanted one of these for a while, and he remembered! He also got me not one, but two cards!

Our plans for dinner were to go to Kanpai Japanese steakhouse with my parents. Before dinner, we went to Sam's to look at digital cameras, and I bought one! I got a Nikon CoolPix s560! My old camera is a Nikon, and I really like it, so I figured I would just stick with what works.

We left Sam's and went to meet my parents at the restaurant. They are babysitting Leilani while Becky and Jeff are at the beach celebrating their anniversary, so she was there too.

Dinner was a lot of fun, and very good.

Here are some pictures from Dinner:

Me and Andrew

Me and Leilani

My Parents

So, 3 days of celebrating, 4 restaurants, lots of love, & 1 year older. I'm looking forward to what my 27th year will bring. Thank you to everyone who made my birthday so enjoyable.

I Love you all!

It's My Birthday!

Today is my birthday!

I am 27 years old!
Why do I feel so old?

I know I'm not really that old,

But I just feel like I am.

Go check out my Mom' Blog - I Love Her!

My new toy

Yesterday I got my iPhone! Woo Hoo!

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - Wedding Reception & Honeymoon

Today on Kelly's Korner is Show us your life - Wedding Reception & Honeymoon!
Andrew and I had our reception at Furman University in the room that overlooks the rose garden. We got married in May, so the roses were in full bloom.

Here we are in the rose garden, waiting to go up the reception. We had a dinner buffet and it was so yummy. My Mom made my wedding cake, and it was absolutely beautiful.

(The only thing about where we had our reception was that we couldn't have dancing. I would have loved to have dancing, but it wasn't that big of a deal to us. The tables were decorated with a simple vase with a Gerber Daisy, a rose, and some filler. We did all the flowers ourselves, which is a huge cost saving idea. My sister did all the flowers for her wedding, so we had some experience. As wedding favors, we gave out clear boxes full of purple/white or pink/white M&M's. So we had a box sitting at each place setting on the tables.

For our Honeymoon, we went on a Royal Caribbean Cruise to the Bahamas.

Talk about excited...

Sunset on our first nightOn Coco Cay - Royal Caribbean's private island

Our Ship in Nassau

Before Dinner one night
Parasailing

Our honeymoon was wonderful. The food was so great, and the service was unlike anything I have ever experienced. That is where I fell in love with Cruising, and have been on 2 more cruises since.