Happy Summer...

......AND HAPPY EATING! I love to eat, so of course I'm not going to let the first week of summer go by without writing a post about some of my favorite summery foods right now. Yum, yum, yum!

1. Thomas Bagel Things "Everything": I had these for the first time on Father's Day weekend at my in-laws, and they are great. I'm not even a big bagel eater, but I love these. I just bought some yesterday and have already eaten a sandwich for dinner and for lunch today. I mean, look at the picture below--does that sandwich not look delicious or what?!



2. Simply Lemonade with Raspberry: First of all, if you haven't tried any of the "Simply" products, shame on you! I'm already a big fan of the Simply Lemonade, Limeade, and Apple Juice, but this is my new favorite. It doesn't taste fake or too sweet like most store bought lemonades. It goes great with the sandwich above, too.
3. Dancing Iguana Spicy Guacamole: Chad requested that I buy some guacamole on my next trip to the grocery store. I love guacamole, but I'm a little picky. Some that I have tried are too smooth, not salty or seasoned enough, or just plain gross. Lucky for me (and for Chad), I found some delicious guacamole on my first try! I know that it says "spicy," but it's really not that spicy at all--BUT if you don't like things with a hint of spice to it, this brand also makes a plain guacamole.


4. WarHeads Extreme Sour Popsicles: What kind of list of summery foods would this be without some kind of popsicles? I owe this fabulous find to our Aunt Debbie. She found these at the store and bought some for us. Let's just say all 10 popsicles were gone the next day. I wouldn't say they are "extremely" sour, but they are extremely tasty, especially the black cherry and watermelon flavors. Y-U-M. Oh, and the next time we went to the store, we bought 10 boxes (or I should say Chad thought it necessary to buy 10 boxes). Luckily, they are only a $1 a box.5. Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop (Butter) Mini Bags: Let me begin by saying that I used to eat the "Movie Theater Butter large bags every day pretty much and all by myself. I decided I needed to start trying to be a little healthier, so here is my solution to still being able to eat popcorn a couple of times a week. They still have a little flavor--not like the "light" butter or 94% fat free stuff. Also, Chad thinks I'm crazy and gross, but if you add a little sprinkle of lemon pepper and garlic salt, it really makes this popcorn tasty!

I wanna grow old with you...

Now for all of you that enjoy hearing/reading "love" stories, this one is for you. This is my personal "love" story....probably won't be the best you've ever read, but it still gives me the "giddy" feeling just thinking back to how it all began......

Back in the 8th grade a group of my friends and I went to watch Saving Private Ryan...why we picked that movie, I have no idea. I couldn't tell you anything about it to this day, and I obviously don't recall it being very interesting, at least not enough to watch it again; however, I will never forget that was the movie we chose to see at that particular time on that particular night. Why you might ask? Well, that was the night, that I first saw the "boy" that I would later fall in love with and marry. I remember telling my best friend Jill that night, "He's sooooooo cute! I want to marry him someday!" I found out all that I could about him besides the obvious--his gorgeous green eyes and dark brown hair--he played baseball and attended Ada High School, and was a year older than me. I (probably) bugged my friend that night at the slumber party, constantly bringing him up, wondering if I would ever run into him again, wondering if there was a way to find his number, and if we did, if either of us would have enough guts to call it. The next night, I went home and even wrote about it in my diary....yes, I was one of those girls (and yes, I still have it!). Eventually, I stopped obsessing about it so much; if it was "meant to be" it would be....I secretly kept wondering if I would see him again and if I did, would I even recognize him? Once again, I had only seen him one night at the movies for approximately 5-10 minutes--and we didn't even talk...he had no idea that I even existed!

A few months (maybe?) later, I was at a Junior High cheerleader sleepover at my friend April's house...it just so happened that one of the girls knew Chad and had his number...I'm not sure how much persuading I had to do, but I got Jill to make the phone call. Unfortunately, his dad answered, and said he was at the movies. I was thinking, "Man, this boy likes the movies!" and "Bummer" that I made the attempt and it didn't work. Once again, I thought, "Well, if it was meant to be, then it would happen."

Well, about 2 years later, who walks into our church with a mutual guy friend? Yep. Chad. After that, it wasn't long before he started attending regularly with his girlfriend at the time. I kept thinking, "Okay, this was the guy that I "knew" I wanted to marry in 8th grade....so God why are you bringing him back into my life when he's with someone else?" WELL, as you all should know, God has his plan and his timing for everything. I'm not sure exactly when Chad finally realized I existed, but I'm sure glad he did....even if it took him a lot longer to realize than it did me. :)

We started dating when I was 16, got engaged when I was 17, and we married when I was 19. Yes, I know, I know. I was so young; I've heard that more times than I can count. But when you know, you know, and that's all I can tell you. After graduating college, getting big boy/girl jobs, and being married for almost 5 years, we were blessed with a sweet handsome little boy, Chalin Cale. Today, June 14, we are celebrating our 7th Wedding Anniversary. Where has the time gone? I love you Chad, more today than when I first saw you at the movies in the 8th grade. More today than when you asked me to marry you after Cheerleading State when I was seventeen. More today than our wedding day. More today than EVER, and I can't wait to grow old with you. "Grow old with me. The best is yet to be."

And now for a few verses from one of "our" songs....

Let's Stay Together--Al Green

I'm, I'm so in love with you
Whatever you want to do
Is alright with me
'Cause you make me feel, so brand new
And I want to spend my life with you

Let's, let's stay together
Loving you whether, whether
Times are good or bad, happy or sad

A few of my favorite love songs:

1. Let's Stay Together--Al Green
2. Grow Old With You--Adam Sandler
3. You are the Best Thing--Ray Lamontagne
4. A Page is Turned--Bebo Norman
5. When You Say Nothing At All--Keith Whitley

p.s. I'm in search for old pictures to scan from when we first started dating and our wedding day. As soon as I can scan them, I'll post them!

a few of my favorite things...

"These are a few of my favorite things".....at least at this moment :) I got this idea from a friend of a friend's blog, home sweet home.

1. Tropical Mojito Essence Hemp Body Lotion: Ahhh, the sweet smells of summer. My mom had some of this lotion, I tried it, and fell in love. This stuff smells sooooo good--like really good suntan lotion, which I already love the smell of, but I don't like how it makes your hands all oily and the fact that you can only smell like it when you are suntanning! I can now have that awesome smell and moisturize my skin at the same time. Two more pluses: it's cheaper than Bath and Body Works lotion, and it makes my skin super soft.



2. L & B Yarn Co:...and along with that I would like to add knitting! A friend from church introduced me to this lovely knitting store in Norman. If you are a knitter and live close by, you HAVE to check this store out. It has any knitting supplies you could possibly even think of wanting, AND to make it even better, the women that work there are SUPER nice and helpful. I'm already looking forward to my next visit!




3. Great Value Smoked Almonds: If you know me at all, you know that I couldn't make a list of a few of my favorite things and not include some kind of food. I usually would not consider almonds on my favorites list, but these are pretty tasty. I started eating these after I saw on the Today show that almonds are considered a type of mufa (research it people!). I now try to grab a handful of these after some of my meals and for a snack, rather than junk food all the time.




4. I-pod Shuffle: It makes it even better that it's hot pink! My sweet hubby bought this for me when I started training for a 1/2 marathon last year, and I LOVE it. It is super small/light weight and makes running so much better. Thank you, April, for introducing me to this great product. If you are a runner or even thinking about it, the Shuffle is a must--well, not a must, but I highly recommend it!



5. Amazon Kindle: Once again, this was a gift from my hubby--he spoils me :) I really don't know how to describe this other than awesome. You can buy books for a lot cheaper than at the bookstore, and you always have them right in one place. I also LOVE my new Kindle skin cover--full of bright colored books. If you are book lover, you need a Kindle. It's that simple. :)



Those were a few of my favorite things at the moment. What are some of yours?