what are we doing

I feel like over the last weeks it has been like a whirlwind. I dont feel as if I have taken a second to actually sit and think. With the holidays, work and non stop everything else it has been crazy.

THrough all of that I have one main thing on my side. GOD!!! He has been my rock which has kept me going and kept me strong. Everytime I turn around he is once again providing everything we need. One of the most prominent examples is the week before christmas we recieved a card from santa that included some gift cards to target in them to help through the season. We have no idea who santa is and know that is how they want it but we are struggling to pay are bills and were trying to decide which bills to not pay so we could get cadence some gifts. While I was praying for some help God was sending one of his people to help us out. So if anyone reading this knows our secret santa please tell them thankyou from the bottom of my heart.

So if you too are walking around in circles and feel like you need to take a break and need some help just remeber to give some time to God and he will help you with everything you need.

counting

so apparently I was so excited about finishing my list I did not realize that I did not actually finish my list. 100 just seemed like a natural stopping point. So here is my 101th thing on my list....thanks tommy for pointing out that I can not count...love you!

tomorrow we are working on shapes and colors:)

finally

so I have been working on this list for sometime now and it is finally finished....Thank the lord!!! so here it is:)

1. Take a photography class
2. Eat at one of the places on diners drive in and dives
3. Go to new York city
4. Not eat out for a month
5. Sky dive
6. Go horseback riding
7. Go camping with friends
8. Take cadence to Disney world
9. Get a passport
10. Use my passport
11. Learn how to cook something new
12. Take a dance class
13. Volunteer somewhere
14. Go on a mission trip
15. Get a new car
16. Think about having another child
17. Learn how to make homemade pasta
18. Learn another language
19. Read the whole bible
20. Go on a honeymoon
21. Buy a real piece of art work
22. Beat my best 5k time
23. Try to set a budget for one month and actually use it
24. Go on a picnic in a park
25. Go to the drive in movies
26. Throw cadence a birthday party where I do not stress out at all
27. Have an awesome Halloween party
28. Buy a house
29. Plant a vegetable garden
30. Pay off all of our credit cards
31. See the Ellen show live
32. Spend one whole week with no tv
33. Dye my hair brown
34. Eat healthier
35. Read and do all lessons in a bible study on my own
36. Run five days a week for a month straight
37. Start recycling at home
38. Go to the art museum
39. Go to the symphony
40. Go to a cooking class with the girls
41. Put away 10 for every goal completed
42. Paint cadences play room
43. Go on a weekend trip with my husband just the two of us
44. Blog about each thing I accomplish
45. Figure out what geocaching is and try it
46. Print out some of my pictures from the last few years and put them up around the hosue
47. Go somewhere that requires a ball gown
48. Reach my goal weight
49. Get season tickets to Alabama football games
50. Take Cadence to see a professional sports game
51. Take Cadence to see Disney on ice
52. Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day
53. Go to a concert of someone I have never seen before
54. Ride in a hot air balloon
55. Go to an away game
56. Try an all vegan meal
57. Get another pet
58. Let go of grudges
59. Wear more dresses
60. Take a Pilates class
61. Take a spontaneous trip (<24h notice)
62. Ask five friends for their favorite book and read all five of them(0/5)
63. Floss every night for a month
64. Print one of our wedding photos and have it framed
65. Have professional photos of our family taken
66. Do a random act of kindness for a stranger
67. Learn how to say I love you in five languages
68. Buy a new mattress
69. On the first of every month, write an entry updating my progress on this project
70. Pay for someone’s food behind me in a drive thru
71. For a month buy on random food item each week find out more about that food and figure out how to cook with it.
72. Leave a ridiculously huge tip
73. Do a cleanse
74. Take photos with Birmingham bombshell after # 48 is done
75. Buy a kitchen aid stand mixer
76. Have a bonfire on a beach
77. Put a bag of non perishable food in my car for people on the side of the road and extra clothing or blankets
78. Do 200 crunches and squats everyday for a month
79. Make a soufflé
80. Go through a corn maze
81. Go to a real haunted place
82. Learn how to French braid
83. Go see Clinton at one of his shows
84. Start a savings account
85. Own a nice pair of sunglasses
86. Get laser hair removal I hate shaving
87. Eat more fish
88. Learn how to make shrimp and grits like I had in Charleston
89. Build a sand castle with cadence
90. Think of 10 more things to put on this list
91. Don’t eat French fries for one whole month
92. Host a holiday lunch at my house
93. Build a large spider web for Halloween decorations
94. Teach cadence all of her letters
95. Get bicycles for the whole family
96. Take bike rides with the whole family
97. Go hiking
98. Put in the new stove
99. Build cadence a tree house ( or get tommy too)
100. Work on my organizational skills

im trying

so I am working on my 101 things to do in 1001 days list and you know what...it is hard to come up with 101 things...Im on 73 and dont want to overload it with stupid things. I never thought it would be a difficult thing to accomplish but try it. WWW.dayzeroproject.com I will post my list as soon as I finish it im hoping that is in the next few days.

paths

It is so weird how things change all the time. If you look over your life and think about how you acted/looked/thought when you were five, fifteen, twenty and now. Im sure that you are still recognizable as you but think about how many paths were placed in front of you and how the ones you choose have shaped you.

I think about my decision to move into my moms house when I was fourteen and change schools. What if I had not done that? What if I would have gone to Hoover High? Would it have changed anything? I do know that I would have missed out on knowing alot of incredible people. I know that I would have been a very small fish in a very big pond at Hoover. I know that I may not be as close to my mom as I am now and that would have not been a good thing.

Then I think about my decision to go to Alabama over Auburn. Most of my good friends at homewood...including my semi boyfriend at the time...were going to Auburn but I choose to go to Alabama for a few different reasons. So if I had chosen the other option what would my life be like right now? Would I have gotten a different degree? Would I have married my then boyfriend? Or would I still have met Tommy some way some how?

Don't get me wrong I love how my life has turned out and im glad that all my decisions have gotten me here an made me the person that I am today. I dont regret any of the paths I have chosen. I just think it is human nature to think about all the different decisions we make over time from something as small as what to wear today to big huge life changing decisions and how they all effect us and effect everyone around us.

LOOK!!!

so this weekend we got a chance to go to Tuscaloosa and cheer on our team....Roll Tide!! We were offered free tickets by a friend and although Tommy is not a huge fan of going to games(he would rather watch them on tv) he knows that I love it so we got my parents to take Cadence to the lake and then we started to try to figure out our weekend. After trying to find a place to say and realizing that everyone had already loaned out all there beds and floor space we decided to just drive down sat morning and come home after the game...This was also a good strategy to spend less money....so we thought!

We get up Sat morning and head down...we park at his parents house who live on seventh street so its only a block or two away from everything. We decide to go to the strip to see if I can find something red to wear. I have a few tshirts and then lots of red winter wear but nothing much for summer. So we run into a shop on the strip and while I did not find anything I was really in love with for a shirt to wear I did find these....




They are so cute i just could not resist....And of course Brooke you can borrow them:).... We then went on to purchase me a shirt Tommy a shirt and Cadence a dress. So our whole spending less money plan went out the window!!! But we had a blast Roll Tide!!!!

trying to find a place

have you ever sat and thought about what you would do with your life if you had more money? Im sure each and everyone of you have thought about what you would do if you won the lottery. Im sure that getting out of debt, houses cars an travel have all passed your mind...mine too. Although lately i have been thinking about all of these things due to the fact that I recently bought my self some lotto tickets and could possibly ( in a million to one chance) win over 30 million dollars.

So besides paying off all debt and putting money aside for Cadence and any future kids, giving money to family and friends what else do I want to do? I really want to go some where and make a difference. Whether that be to Haiti or Africa and help/mission for six months or so. How humbling would it be to live somewhere where they have nothing but there family and there faith. Also, I would love to help out kids here in our country in any way possible. Set up some kind of local place for the underprivileged youth of Birmingham to get classes in the arts.

I also would love to adopt a child. I have always wanted to do this whether that be a baby or a grown child that needs a home and someone to love them. Adoption is something that due to money has always seemed unreachable for me since I sometimes have trouble paying the bills I have now.

So even though im still holding out for that Lottery I started to think about what I can do now to make a difference even though I have no money. Im going to start volunteering at Children's Hospital. They do have a process that i have to go through to get ok'd. So as long as every thing goes well one step to doing more. Every little bit counts. Everyone can make a difference.

planning a party

so i love to plan partys!!! surprises are my specialty but I have also come to love planning cadences partys. From location to gift bags for the attendees. The one thing i usually never plan for is budget....i seem to run on some weird mind issue that there is no budget. Untill someone steps in and says barrett where the hell are you going to get the money for all of this and tell me to dial it back a bit.

This year I have decided against a zoo party since they want too much money for the zoo too be under construction...i have also decided against mcwayne center since she is a bit young for that. So we have settled on just a fun filled water themed back yard party. While we will be pulling out all the stops from blowups to slip in slides etc. The point im getting too has to do with the planning side of it. I was sitting down yesterday making a list for invitations and head count to help decide cake and food route, when I happend to relize that my child is more popular than I am. She has friends of all ages and they all want to be at her party. Its not an issue of me padding the guest list to make her feel good or for her to get more gifts, it just boils down to that she is loved.

This makes me smile! so for those of you that are coming just know that my house is little and will be super packed if everyone shows up....but we will have tons of fun and Cadence will love every minute of it!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADENCE!!!

P.S. no goats or livestock please:)

looking at the good side...

over the past few years it has been a whirlwind of the good mixed with the bad. as most of you know it is sometimes hard to see the good through the bad. As humans we tend to concentrate and hold on to the bad things that chase us around on a daily basis. This Achilles heal of ours is some times the greatest factor in our downfall. When you wake up in the morning what is the first thing you think? Is it that your happy you woke up? Or is it look how great the sun looks coming through the trees or how blessed you are to have a bed to wake up in? Or is that you have fifty things to do, not enough time or money to get them all done? Or how you don't like how you look or how you clothes or car or whatever isn't enough? I have learned alot about myself over the last few years and the biggest thing is how much my outlook on life has changed the more I have embraced God in my life. I have always believed in God, I have gone to church over the years but not until the past few years have I really given it all over to him. Since I have done this I have noticed how much happier I have become and how much easier it is to get through the rough times. Although my life has gotten progressively more stressful in the past few years I have gotten progressively more optimistic and happier. I know that you cant just sit by and hope that things will get better, I know that you have to get up and do things but I do know that God will take care of me. He will provide me with everything that I need. So what I'm trying to say is that I hope that anyone who is reading this will try to look towards the light and try to replace all the bad with the good. He will prevail and He will take care of us if we let him.

hello world

so i know the last time i wrote it was kinda a cliff hanger and im sorry too all the four people that read this:) ( thank you loyal readers) I havn't written again because as some of you know on that subject there is nothing new to talk about. The potential buyer has yet to contact us so we do not have to make a decision yet. as for the rest of my life it is like a typsy turvy. We are in the process of looking for a place to live. we have looked at a few rental houses and have found a few potentials. We are waiting to here from a the ABC board on a potential job for Tommy that would bring him closer to home and more money. So just a whole lot of up in the airs. So I will write again soon with the outcomes:) sorry not a great post I know

so...

i know it has been awhile since i have written and im sorry. There have been a few day that I have started to write but after pouring way too much personal crap out to the world I have erased it all.

So today I got an email that provoked some though and emotions that I felt I could share. The email was from the previous owner of Ever After. She stated that she had a friend approach her about possibly buying Ever After. She was wondering if I was interested in talking with them and possibly selling. The reason she asks is that she still holds the loan we have for the business. At the time of purchase two and half years ago We were not able to get funding from the banks so the agreed to owner finance. We have still been unable to get funding else were so they still hold the loan. While this is great for us this is not as good for them since they are wanting a lump some and want to be out from under all of it. So when her friend approached im sure she thought this would be the best way to handle this. We could sell and make a small profit and they would have there lump sum pymt and no longer have to worry about it.

So where does that leave me? Im really not sure. I dont think that I want to sell the business. Yes it has been a hard stressful two years running it and some days I wish I could do anything else....but on the other hand I love it. I set my own hours and answer to no one. I am able to raise my child and still bring home a decent living. I do not feel that I would be able to find anything that would pay well enough to sustain us and put Cadence in full time care. On the other hand depending on the offer from the buyers we could be looking at enough money to pay off all of our credit cards and possibly put down a down pymt on the house. Needless to say this email has put me on an emotional roller coaster this afternoon and Im still not sure of what I want. Do I go with the quick fix and figure out my next step or do I go with the longer harder road that should pay out in the end?

thanks for being in my life

so this is for all of you....I have been thinking a lot lately about way back in the day. What I did who I hung out with, what I wish I would have done differently so on and so on. The one thing that I have noticed is that I am way happier now than I ever was then. Don't get me wrong I had a lot of fun in highschool and college but I wasn't at peace. I wasn't as happy as I could have been. I had good friends and a few good boyfriends but I never had great. Now I have a great church, great friends a great husband and a great little girl . I have everything I could ever need. So I want to say thank you to you for making my life complete and better:)

my two year old figured out she is two

so apparently some one told my child about the terrible twos.... up until a month or two ago she was doing really well. She was not showing any signs of the bad behavior that I see from other children. But it has reared its ugly head and im not a big fan. She is not as bad as she could be but she is throwing fits(small ones), saying no with an attitude and whining every time i turn around. Its like she is begging me to send her to time out all day. I try to use the whole if you dont stop whining we will not go (fill in something she is looking forward too) or you wont get a piece of candy. But then she just turns around and says I dont want to go or I dont want candy. Then she says she likes time out. what kid likes time out? and is that working as punishment if she likes it?

going stir crazy

I am going absolutely stir crazy in this tiny apartment. Im talking absolutely insane.

Im not a neat person and for the most part Im not huge on cleaning. Laundry in a pile doesn't bother me, or dishes in the sink after dinner. But because we have so much stuff crammed into this little place everything is driving me crazy. I feel like I clean up one thing and it never gets any cleaner. the walls are lined with stuff. Im not kidding Im looking at the living room and there is the tv, the stand with all ther electronics and then there is a small shelf with books and toys. Moving on there are two baby strollers and a four wheeler, then there is the door to the porch. Then we get to the love seat and a corner filled with stuff next to the couch. Then there is cadences small char and we are now out of the living room. So anywhere in there did you here me say wall? Thats because I didn't. It is like that in every room and this is just because we have way too much stuff for this little place. Then we move onto the fact that I have two dogs who have been used to having there own yard there whole life. Now they are stuck inside a box and they cant go out without a collar. Needless to say they hate this.

Then we go to the fact that Tommy and I love to entertain. We would have people over for dinner every night if we could. But how do you cram people into a small place? How do you entertain with no room to entertain?

I know that we will one day get a house and im not unhappy here im just going a bit stir crazy thats all.

something to look forward too

I need something to look forward too!!! Do you ever feel that way? like it would be so much easier to make it untill this date if I know there is something fun then? Well that is how im feeling right now. I want the warm weather to come and I want something fun to do. So what are your thoughts? I am thinking a beach trip girls or the whole gang....or a lake trip...or both? Also Brookie you mentioned something about going to Nashville...that sounded fun:) I just know that right now im in a slump and I need to get out of it so im thinking this is the way to go. To give myself something to look forward too:)

mex and margarita fun

so its been awhile but i have been busy with getting ready for our cruise, going on our cruise and then recouping from the cruise. So quick recap...I joined a new gym Hoover Fitness so I could get ready for the new cruise....then we went to mobile to get on a cruise ship...got stranded in mobile waiting on the ship...got on the ship....had a blast...won some money in the casino....drank the best margaritas ever....and made some new friends....since being back my new machine has finally arrived...now we are trying to get everything rolling again so it may be a week or so untill my next post but here are some photos of the trip to make you jealous:)