Birthday Party Round 1

When I arrived at work this morning I was greeted with some fun birthday flowers. Since I'm not going to work tomorrow on my actual birthday my friend, Sharon, brought me flowers today. They are so pretty! Very unique. They are called "Crazy Daisies" so I have a feeling I know why she chose them for me.

Here's one side of the bouquet.

Here's the other. They are so fun and I love them.

Every month at work we have a birthday lunch. After a while we realized the same people were planning all the meals so we decided to put together teams and everyone would rotate. Well today was the May birthday lunch and Team 3 was in charge.

Kathy, Kim (& Jacob, Kim's 24 week old baby), and Jeff

Team 3 did a fabulous job! I shared the fun with Michelle at work because her birthday is May 29th. Michelle and I put in a few suggestions as to what we'd like to have. And by suggestions I mean that we told them exactly what we wanted...and they delivered!

Pizza from Shotgun Dan's. Delicious!!!

It's so heavy and I'm so mad at myself for eating 2 pieces!! I was full after one and should have stopped. :( We also had a really yummy salad but I forgot to upload the photo. It was great too. And of course, for dessert,

Lemon Icebox Pie

I could seriously eat this entire pie. I just had one piece but I'm not sure I can go the whole day without another taste. I'm praying hard about it. It's just so light and perfect. Surely it has zero calories in it. If you've never had it all it is is

• 
  
  graham cracker crust


• 
  
  lemonade concentrate


• 
  
  can of sweetened condensed milk


• 
  
  and cool whip

You mix the ingredients together, pour in pie crust, and freeze until set. So easy and so good.

So far these birthday celebrations are off to a great start! Tomorrow Josh and I are taking the day off from work to hang out and celebrate my big 3-0. I will share our day of fun soon.

SWEET!!!

About a week and a half ago I had really be struggling with getting back on the diet and to stop eating so much sugar. I really wanted to slow it down but kept thinking it was pointless to try it right then because the next week would be my birthday then Memorial Day weekend so wouldn't it be better to start after that?? I went back and forth about it but then it hit me. There is ALWAYS going to be SOMETHING to keep me from eating right. If it's not a birthday it will be another holiday, or a vacation, or dinner out with friends, whatever. If I wait until the time is right (which means when it will be the easiest for me) then I'll never lose this weight. It actually ended up being perfect timing...or so I thought. Josh would be out of town so I had in my mind I'd buy Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones meals and eat them all week for dinner and it would be simple. I should have known it never works quite like that. Monday morning (day one) I am greeted at work by a co-worker delivering TWO POUND CAKES I had ordered for my mother. I love pound cake especially if it has 5 flavors in it.

Normally this wouldn't be a big deal because I could just drop them off to my mom and not have to see them. Well, it just so happened that I would be staying there ALL WEEK LONG while Josh was away. I did lots of praying and I had many conversations with myself about how I really didn't want it and I certainly didn't need it. So, PTL, I didn't eat one bite. Not one. Not because one bite would have done me in but because I knew there would be more temptations in the week that I'd rather save my "bites" for.

Tuesday I made it through relatively easy except for the occasional glance at the cake. Nothing too tempting though because the hard part was over. It really helps when I have sewing class because I'm in such a rush to get changed, eat dinner, and get to class that I hardly have time to think about eating. And when I get home its bedtime so if I hurry and get in bed then I don't have to think about the fact that I'd really enjoy something sweet.

Wednesday came along and brought 6 new temptations with it. My grandmother sent my mom some ice cream for her birthday from Graeter's.

I had never heard of it before but apparently it's pretty popular. It's such a neat gift! When I got home I wanted to bust open every one of them to sample.

I had actually anticipated their arrival and saved a few points so I could treat myself. Most ice cream I eat (low sugar or not) has around 150ish calories per half cup. Some a little more some a little less. Oh no, not this ice cream. When I looked at the nutrition content I nearly choked.

After lots of praying and soul-searching I decided that I would try it but only a few small bites. And PTL again I only had 3 small bites. I figure just with those 3 small bites I had 150 calories so that was my limit. It was worth it though because ice cream was really good!

Next up, Thursday. Ahhhh...Thursday. I actually knew Thursday was coming and had time to prepare mentally and spiritually for the day. Earlier in the week my mom suggested we go eat at Macaroni Grill. I happen to LOVE that place. One reason I LOVE that place is because they have my favorite dessert of all time, Lemon Passion. I had actually planned to have it for my birthday. So I started thinking about it. I really wanted that dessert and I knew if she and I went while I was staying with them Josh and I probably wouldn't go the next week. So I decided to go for it. I had a plan in mind. I had picked out my entree ahead of time, only 360 calories, and mom and I would split the dessert. Well things worked out beautifully. And the best part is that the piece they brought us was VERY small compared to what it normally is so I ate even less than planned. It was so good but I forgot to take a picture.

Next up, Friday. Some already know this but it has become a tradition at work that on Friday my boss buys us cupcakes from my favorite place. I was thrilled though because my boss was actually out of town on Friday so I thought we'd get away without getting any. No such luck. I get a phone call at my desk and it is my boss, on vacation, calling me and letting me know he still wants to buy us cupcakes. Oh dear. I wanted one so bad! The problem was, I CHOSE lemon passion to be a dessert that week. And to make it worse I was the one going to pick up the cupcakes. It's so hard to say no when you go in and smell their deliciousness. Well I went and picked them up and as always they looked wonderful.

And another Praise is in order because I. Did. Not. Get. One. Oh my word! I still can't believe it. Not only that...do you see the one in the middle with the Reese's cup on top? That's the one I got Josh. Well Josh didn't get home until 10:00pm so I had to look at it ALL DAY LONG. God was good though and gave me the strength to refrain. I'm serious. Without the Lord I'd have no self-control.

Saturday morning came along and I was going to meet Jill for breakfast at Mimi's...home of my favorite muffin. Again I knew this ahead of time and prepared for it. I ordered my breakfast and ate half of everything including the muffin.

I wanted the whole thing but I made myself stop. Normally if I had saved it I would have eaten it later that afternoon. Instead, praise Him, I gave it to my mom. Glory. I felt so proud of myself.

In all seriousness last week was a HUGE victory for me. My biggest battles with food have to do with me not watching my portions and eating whatever I want when "I'm off my diet." I can do really well and follow my diet to a "t" and then when I get a meal off or a day off I just eat without any thought to it. I eat what I want because it's my "cheat" day. That is so opposite of how it should be. It shouldn't matter if its a special occasion, holiday, vacation, meal out with friends, there's never a good reason to indulge so much that our fleshly desires are quenched and we;re left feeling gross and guilty. I say all this not because I've perfected it but because this is something the Lord is teaching me. I'm still working on it and I'll be working on it for the rest of my life. This week is going to be a struggle too. Wednesday is lemon ice box pie at work and Thursday is red velvet cookies and chocolate souffle. Lord, please help!

Weekend Recap

I'm a bad blogger. I didn't take hardly any pictures of my weekend. So sad. I hope you forgive me. I had a great weekend though so here's a recap.

Friday after work I was LAZY and it was great. After hanging out with my parents I went to my place where I stayed on the couch watching Dateline most of the night. It was great. In fact it's one of my favorite things to do on a Friday night. I know, I'm old. I was anxiously waiting for Josh to come home since he had been gone ALL week for a seminary class in Ft. Worth.

Saturday morning Josh and I both got up and ready for the day. He and I both had busy days planned doing very different things. He headed to our church where he would spend the rest of the day on the roof working. I headed to meet my friend Jill for breakfast. When I sat down I told her I could not forget to get our picture since I did the last time. Well wouldn't ya know, after a great breakfast and great conversation we said our goodbyes and I forgot to get a picture. Luckily I remembered as I was getting into my car so I ran over to her (scared her actually) and took a picture.

Sweet Jill

Jill is hilarious and I really enjoy getting to spend time with her. If it weren't for Twitter, Blogs, and Beth Moore we might never have met. Next time we get together I'm going to BE SURE to get our picture.

After breakfast I ran a ton of errands and got lots of things done. I went to Lifeway, Hobby Lobby, Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kohls, back to Bed, Bath & Beyond, Charming Charlie, and then I headed home. It was great! I bought birthday gifts, wedding shower gifts, and spent some more gift card money Josh and I received when we got married. We were so blessed to get SO MANY gift cards that we're still using them. Our plan is to have them all used by this summer. When I got home I took a little nap and waited for my hubby to get home so we could go out.

Eventually we made our way out to eat Greek food at Taziki's. It was really good!

The picture coloring isn't that great because sometimes I get embarrassed taking pictures of my food in restaurants so I turn off the flash. :) My dinner was so yummy! And I confess, I had a little piece of Baklava for dessert. Delicious.

And no evening out is complete without a trip to Wal-mart. After dinner Josh and I did our weekend grocery shopping then headed home.

Sunday was a busy day as well. First we had church. It was my week to keep the bed babies in the nursery. I love keeping the nursery especially when there's a baby in there who will let me hold them and love on them. It was great! After church we had a short afternoon break until it was time to be back at church for a wedding shower. Our children's minister is getting married this summer so it was important that BOTH Josh and I attend the shower. Josh was one of 5 guys that were there.

I'm surprised he was able to get his big fingers in the punch cup. Doesn't he look dainty? :)

Over all we had a great weekend!! I'm really looking forward to next weekend because it's a long one. No work next Monday. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Bullets Are Back

• Apparently when constructing a garment that is reversible you can't use your sewing machine to sew on the buttons. You must sew them on yourself, by hand. Had I known this I would have picked something that didn't require 8 buttons. I wasn't good at sewing on buttons before but I'm pretty good at it now.
• If you go to www.daveramsey.com you can enter to win a $1000 drawing that takes place every day. There's a grand prize drawing of $10,000 on May 27th. I'm praying I win it on my 30th birthday. If you enter and win its only right that you share some with me since without me you might not have heard of it. Just sayin.
• I started a Bible study about Ruth by Kelly Minter a while ago and I'm still doing it. It is sooooo good. I love it! I just read that Beth Moore is going to use it for her online blog Bible study this summer. You should so get involved. For details go here. You will be blessed by it.
• Lately I've REALLY been craving diet cokes and diet dr peppers. I haven't had a diet beverage since January. At first it didn't bother me but lately I just want to buy a two liter and never come up for air. I know if I take one sip I'll want another sip and another sip and another sip. It just isn't worth it to me...at this point.
• I'm really into buying my sewing patters on Etsy. I find myself searching through them all the time. I just love all the cute things I find. And most of them are really affordable. I have a few I'm eyeing right now so as soon as I get some extra moola I'm going to snag them.
• I'm really sad about all the oil in the Gulf. I've been so looking foward to our family vacation this summer and it sickens me to think we might not be able to go. Please Lord, clear the oil! I love going to Orange Beach. It's like a second home to me. There's no other place on the planet that soothes my soul like it does.
• Allergies, PLEASE GO AWAY!!! You are no longer welcome! I thought you would have gotten bored with me by now and left but you keep hanging around. You're rather annoying and I don't do annoying.
• Why does money have to stress me out SO MUCH?? With crazy dentist bills, and seminary, and car payments I'm just stressing all the time. It's ridiculous. Sure money might be tight but there's real poverty out there and I need to get a grip. I hate thinking about it all.the.time. God will provide. HE ALWAYS DOES!
• I'm really trying to cut back on all the "crime scene" shows I watch. Since we don't have cable the only channels we get are local ones and we all know those are full of the crime scenes. I love to watch them but they scare me. Especially Criminal Minds. I refused to watch it last night. Serial killer gets his targets from Facebook and Twitter. No thank you!
• It's going to be warm and sunny next week. That's great but I guess that means we're going to have to get our AC cranking. As of now I think we've only turned it on a couple of days. Summer is here so I need to get used to it.

Weekend Fun

Josh and I had a great weekend!! We started it off by meeting some of our favorite friends, Todd and Jenny, at PF Chang's. We were there to start celebrating Jenny's 30th birthday a day early. We had a great time. Josh and I always like hanging out with these two. Since Todd is a minister and Jenny is a minister's wife Josh and I have lots in common with them. Not to mention Jenny and I have been friends since I moved to Little Rock in 1995 (probably really became friends in 1996 but who's counting) so I enjoy hanging out with her regardless.

Todd and Josh. Jenny and I sure have handsome husbands. Thank you, Lord!

Jenny and I. Our husbands sure do have lovely wives. :)

After our delicious dinner and good conversation Josh and I headed home by way of Maggie Moos. Yes, I fell of the diet wagon this weekend. I had a feeling this might happen. BUT tomorrow is a new day and so far all of my clothes still fit. Ha. It's frozen entrees all week for me. Glory. Anyway, we eventually made it home and went to bed early. We were both exhausted and we had lots to accomplish the next day.

Saturday morning we woke up early (like 7am), went to breakfast, then grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and then I met up with Jenny again to REALLY celebrate her birthday. In honor of her b-day we went to a hair bow making class. It was a lot of fun!

Jenny wasn't thrilled about having her photo taken, especially at 10:30 in the morning. But I insisted and helped her understand "it's for the blog."

Here's the ribbon I chose. I had two very specific things in mind I needed to make bows for so it helped narrow down the options. The hair bow making process is very easy. Mine are still a little rusty but the more I do it the easier they are and the better they look. My first two creations are a little rough.

I wish I had taken pictures of Jenny's bows because they were so cute!

After class I went to Hobby Lobby, did a few other random errands and then it was home to nap. I guess the bows wore me out. After my nap was over I got in the car and headed for a little treat...

Frappuccino Happy Hour. Yum-O! I LOVE fraps. Normally I get "light" but I didn't this time. I got the caramel with extra coffee. Fabulous. I knew I'd need some extra caffeine for the rest of the evening. After my snack I got out the sewing/embroider machine and went to town on a few things. I can't show you what I made just yet but here's a little of what I had to work with.

I'm pleased with how my items turned out and they were a lot of fun to make. I ended up staying until after midnight, which is sooooo unlike me, just to get them finished. I will show you the finished product as soon as I can.

This morning Josh and I got up, went to church, helped with our Graduate recognition luncheon, and then headed to the apartment. We had a full weekend but a wonderful one. Now it's back to work tomorrow. Sad times. Oh well, at least I have a job. For that, I'm thankful! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

Family and Flowers

Yesterday after work I headed to my parents house because my aunt and uncle from Kansas City were in town. When I arrived everyone was outside. Apparently my mom thought that since she had some free labor sheds use it i.e. them for yard work. They had gone and bought lots of flowers and dirt and they were all hard at work.

What a mess!

Dad was supervising! And getting his game face on for the grilling he was about to do.

My mom, the instigator of this whole thing.

Some flowers...

Trees and more flowers....

Look, more flowers, although not sure what these are...

And last but not least, flowers.

They aren't finished with all the planting and of course they have more flowers than the ones shown. My mother sure is happy to have all these blooming things. Let's just hope they cooperate and live a long time. And thanks for visiting, Aunt Vicki and Uncle Danny. I hate that you'll never want to come back and stay again.

In other news I'm looking forward to a fun but busy weekend. Josh and I are having dinner with friends tonight, I have my hair bow making class tomorrow, I need to work on a few projects (pictures to come) and do some laundry. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

There's Enough Room

As most of you know last summer Josh and I decided that it was best to rent an apartment for a a while instead of try to buy a house. We had really been working hard on our finances and didn't want to mess things up by taking on more than we could or should handle. So at that time the apartment search began. Our list of wants wasn't too big because we were all about some place reasonable and in a good location. We looked at several places but only one felt right. We made our decision and moved into our "love nest" (as Katie refers to it) last September. At the time we moved in I had yet to start my new hobby of sewing. Because of that I was more concerned with storage for all my dishes and other wedding gifts than I was anything else.

In November of last year I took my first sewing lesson. I had signed up for 4 and thought that's all I'd be interested in taking. Boy was I wrong. Once I started I realized I had lots to learn. I'll save all of these details for another post. Anyway, since sewing had now become a hobby of mine how on earth was I going to make it work in a 650 square foot apartment?!? Well thank goodness the Lord knew my want (not a need) before I even wanted it. Our cute little apartment had plenty of room for living and sewing.

This little built in desk off the kitchen has become my sewing spot. I'm so thankful to have it and so thankful Josh lets me keep my sewing things there. It is perfect! It's just the right height so I'm not straining to sew. It has lots of storage room underneath for sewing items and plenty of counter space for me to work with. I'd love to tell you the cabinets are filled with great patterns, fabric, ribbon, and notions but its actually full of...dishes! :) My great patters, fabric, ribbon, and notions are in the bin drawers underneath the desk.

Looks really organized, huh? It's actually pretty orderly. The top drawer has all of my thread, ribbons, notions, patterns, and other necessary items. The middle drawer has large pieces of fabric or at least bigger sections that can actually be used to construct something. The bottom drawer has all of my scraps it and other items I might need such as duck cloth, burp cloths, onesies, etc. I love my 3 drawers! I am getting close to busting out of them but Lord willing, when that time comes, Josh and I will be able to move to some place bigger (not better).

I'm sure you're wondering, or at least the seamstresses out there might be, where I have room to cut out pattern pieces. Well, the Lord worked that out too. Josh and I weren't looking for an apartment with a dining area but the one we chose has one.

(please ignore the centerpiece. I set these things here so they wouldn't get broken and have yet to figure out what to do with it)

My dining table is right next to my sewing spot so I have all the room to cut and trace and anything else that I want to. It's wonderful! I should take a picture sometime of how things looks when a sewing project is underway. Every inch of the kitchen, dining area, and sewing spot are covered. It's a mess. But it all cleans up nicely.

One day I dream of having my own sewing room with lots of neat things in it to make the whole process easier. Until then though, I love our little apartment because there's enough room to sew!

Watch It

For any of you who have read my blog for a while now it's no surprise to you that my weight always has been an "issue" for me. I've talked about it on here some and I've even vowed to be accountable on here, etc. It always seemed like I'd be so motivated then I'd post about it here and Satan would send his army after me to make me fail. That's one reason I'm a little reluctant to say anything about it at all. But since Satan is not my boss I decided I'd post about it anyway. I actually seriously started back on my weight loss journey last August after looking at my friend Kelly's blog. I had been in town spending time with another friend but took a break to meet up with some other NWA friends. As we were leaving lunch Kelly took our picture, of course.

I thought after looking at the first one that I had clearly packed back on the pounds.

Then I saw this one...YIKES...how'd did I get back to this place. Perhaps it wouldn't have been such a shock if the post right before this one on Kelly's blog didn't include pictures from our NYC trip...when I was at my smallest.

It wasn't easy looking at the two posts right next to each other and seeing how I had failed and let myself get back to a place I swore I'd never be. It was that moment that I decided I was done. I was realizing that my struggle was not just a physical one but a mental and spiritual one as well. I was with my friend Jenny at the time and she and I both decided to make a change. We knew that we'd fail if we didn't have support so that's when we put our heads together and came up with a plan that would help us both lose weight. We had both done Weight Watchers before and knew it worked but neither of us had the desire or money to commit to the meetings again. So we thought we'd just keep track of our food and our points and at the end of each day we'd e-mail each other all that we'd eaten, how much water we drank, and if we did any activity. I will say that this was the best thing, in regards to weight loss, that I have EVER done. She and I were very successful. I lost about 25 pounds and she lost about 20 (she has less to lose than I do). We both really stayed motivated and did great until the holidays. Since the holidays I would do really well a few weeks then have a few off days. This cycle would repeat and in the end I was just maintaining. I ended up making some other changes such as cutting out sugar, eating only good carbs, not drinking diet cokes, and not having any artificial sweeteners. Not to mention I started working out more. The scales didn't really change but my body did. Plus I felt so much better! Of course as I began to get ready for my upcoming travels and as life got busy I got lazy. This brings us to today. Today is my DAY back at it. I had lost 25 pounds and unfortunately I found a few of those over the last month. I refuse to let all of my hard work last fall go to waste and gain it all back. Plus I still have another 20 to 25 pounds to lose. So as of this morning I started my food tracking again. I'm a true believer in the Weight Watcher program. It's the only realistic way to lose weight and keep it off. If you struggle with your weight like I do I encourage you to try it. I also encourage you to find a partner to communicate with daily. It's one thing to go to a meeting once a week but when you KNOW that there is a person who is going to know every bite you take every single day you tend to stop and really think about your choices.

The only thing I'm really dreading about counting points again is that I get in a rut with the foods I eat. I tend to eat the same thing for breakfast every morning as well as the same lunches and snacks. I try to cook some for dinner but for the next couple of weeks I'm sticking to frozen meals just to get my body used to the right portion sizes. Here's where you come in. I would love any kind of suggestions as far as foods you like to snack on or recipes you like to cook. I'd actually be open to any kinds of suggestions in regards to weight loss. If you don't want to leave it in a comment my e-mail address is on my profile page.

I'm so glad to be back on it today. I'm ready to get this weight off once and for all. Throughout this whole process I'm constantly praying that God will give me strength and self-control because I don't ever want to be back to the first two pictures seen above.

From time to time I'll report on how things are going but only when I feel like I'm strong enough to stand up against Satan's attacks. He knows how big of an issue this is for me and I don't want to give him any kind of foothold to get at me. My God is bigger though so victory is mine!

Weekend Recap

This has been a really great weekend! Even though I didn't get everything crossed off of my to-do list I still was able to get a lot of things done.

Friday night Josh and I went with some of our youth and adult helpers to eat at Chili's and then bowling. I'm not a big bowler so I just sat around and cheered.

Josh, however, did bowl. He's very serious and competitive in anything he does so it was no surprise that he took his time and was patient before his release of the ball.

Getting his mind and body ready...

...and away it goes.

He did pretty well but I'm ashamed to admit I don't remember his score. The point is that we all had a great time of "fellowship" as any southern baptist would say. I look forward to when we can fellowship again.

Saturday I had planned to finish unpacking from my recent trips, work on some sewing projects, and then make my mom her Mother's Day gift. It became apparent that our apartment need a little more of my time and TLC. We've lived there almost 7 months and I've yet to get things settled. I spent most of Saturday trying to do just that. I hate that my sewing projects are still lingering but it feels so good to have some things cleaned out and organized. Hopefully it will make me feel less guilty when I sit down at my machine this week to sew and embroider.

After my hard work I took an hour nap then went to Wal-mart for a few things I needed to make my mom her gift. There is a sugar cookie recipe that my mom LOVES! The recipe actually came from a Tri Delt house mom of a lady my mom used to work with. Since I was a Tri Delt myself I consider them "sister" cookies. :) My mom could seriously eat the entire batch. She's always asking me to make them for her and I never do. Cookies are not my favorite thing to make from scratch because it seems like they keep reproducing and you end up baking for hours. Well since Josh and I have a small budget and since my mom doesn't need or want a thing I decided cookies were a brilliant idea. Plus I actually like the cookies myself so I figured it'd be nice to have a few before my diet starts back. I thought I'd include the recipe in case anyone else would like to try them. These sugar cookies are not the super soft kind but they have a great flavor and I imagine they'd be wonderful with icing.

Best Ever Sugar Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup salad oil

2 beaten eggs

2 tsp vanilla

5 cups sifted flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

Cream together the sugar and butter or margarine. Combine the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Roll dough into balls and cover with sugar.

Using the bottom of a glass, press the dough flat.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until lightly brown.

These cookies need to set a little before you eat or they will crumble.

A Happy Mother's Day, indeed!

Today is Mother's Day and I have yet to see my mom or give her the cookies. I was able to spend part of the day with Josh's mom and sister. They drove to Little Rock this morning and met us for church. After church we took them to eat at Whole Hog BBQ. It's one of our favorite places to go. I hope his mom was OK with BBQ on Mother's Day. It sure was delicious. After lunch we all came back to our apartment and Josh's mom and sister were able to take the 30 second tour.

Josh and I were so glad to have a visit from his mom and sister. He and I are blessed beyond words with wonderful mothers who love us unconditionally. Josh loves his mom dearly just as I love mine.

If it weren't for my mom I don't know where I'd be. She's always sacrificed for herself in order to give to my sister and I. When I'm a mom I want to be just like her! I love you, Mom! You're the best! And thanks for always doing our laundry! :)

For me this Mother's Day is a happy time. A time to celebrate and honor my mom and other mothers I know. Today has also been a sad time as I think about one of my best friends who feels the loss of her daughter today, and as I think about friends who feel the loss of not yet being able to be called "mom", and as I think about friends who feel the loss of their own mothers. I'm just so thankful that in all of these feelings, God knows. He binds up the broken hearted and He heals all wounds. Praying that God gives each of you HOPE on this Mother's Day!

Last Day in NYC

Sunday morning we woke up and got ready for our last hours in NYC. The first thing we did was turn on the news which is when we learned how serious the "bomb" was. Obviously we were all very thankful that God intervened and everyone was safe. We got ready and headed for our breakfast reservations at Norma's. On our way there we saw a bike race about to take place. There were TONS of bike riders.

We arrived at Norma's and were seated right away.

The lighting was not good for pictures but the food made up for it.

When we sat down our waiter brought us a free sample of their smoothie. It reminded me of my honeymoon because they brought us smoothie samples every morning too. It made me so happy. The food also made me happy. There were so many choices.

My sister got these banana macadamia nut pancakes and I am glad she did. I ended up eating some of them and they are fabulous.

These are my breakfast quesadillas. So good! Yes, I shared mine too!

Our plan for after breakfast was to head to finish up any last minutes shopping. We went back to H & M, of course, and then headed to Times Square for some souvenir shopping. Times Square was a lot different than it had been in days prior.

People were all around taking pictures of the "spot" where the card and bomb were.

Here's a picture of the street vendors with American Flags on their product stands. It appears they were the ones who spotted the smoking car. This would make sense because they both border 45th street.

There were police cars and policemen EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

There were also news crews and cameras everywhere too. I had a picture up but accidentally deleted and it am too tired to upload it again. :)

After we finished our shopping it was time for our New York cheesecake that we tried to get the night before. We decided to pick some place close so we chose Maxie's.

We were so HOT we were just thrilled to be sitting somewhere we could cool off.

After we ate we still had a little while before our ride came to pick us up to take us to the airport. We were too tired to shop so we headed over to our favorite spot in Rockefeller Center to sit and people watch. It's fitting that the place we sat for a while was across the street from my favorite place.

I thought I'd leave you with a few pictures of things that are very common in NYC...

We had a great time in NYC and I can't wait to go again. If you've never been then you should go. It's so worth it!