Frequently Fridays

Good morning Bloggers!  It's a wonderful, cool, crisp Autumn day in Houston, TX.  It's amazing.  Today is also the day the winner of the Scentsy giveaway is announced.  But before we go there (hehe! I know the suspense is killing you) I am going to begin a new regular post called Frequently Fridays.

On Frequently Fridays I will post other bloggers posts I've read throughout the week that I found interesting, stuck a chord with me, or I just thought were really cool.  So here we go!

• Nester's 31 Days to a Less Messy Nest.  Don't we all need a little help in this department.  These posts are full of great, simple tricks o' the trade so to speak.  Very helpful.
• BooMama cracks me up on a consistent basis.  So in the same vein as Nester but with some pretty funny anecdotes you can get some Less Messy Nest ideas in the Little Bitty Mini-Makeover.
• Pioneer Woman.  I could not have a list of my fav posts from the week without PW.  I read her religiously.  She cracks me up, plus, she cooks and is a super talented photog.  This week she wrote about her sweet Charlie, the Basset Hound and George the Lab (there are obvious reasons why I love this one).  I also have to suggest Bakugan - anyone with a young child in their life (my nephew) will love this.
• Centsational Girl has some awesome tips on getting ready for the (gulp!) holidays.

Please visit these ladies and comment, comment, comment.  Let them know I sent ya.  Let's share the bloggy love.

Ok, ok, I know you are just sitting on the edge of your seat to find out who is the winner.  Sooooooooooooo, here it is......

(drumroll please)

It's Lindsey at Louisiana Livin'!  Thanks Lindsey and everyone for participating, this was so much fun! Lil Sis thanks you very much as well.  And if you have any product you'd like to promote let me know and we can do a giveaway (free of charge).

Lindsey send me your mailing address to grumpypantskelly (at) gmail (dot) com.  I know we used to live in the same city but I hear you are moving or have moved or are thinking about moving.  Whateve, I'm terrible and do not have your address.  Or lil sis and you can meet up if that would be easier since she lives there too.  Just let me know girl.

I will leave you guys with my memory verse from this week.

Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Colossians 3:12-14  

May we all strive to live this way.  Have a wonderful Friday ya'll!

Crafty Project

**Don't forget about my Scentsy Giveway!! You have until 11:59pm tonight, don't wait!


I have been inspired ya'll!  I am putting together my fav posts from fellow bloggers from this week for my new Frequently Friday's (I'll explain more in my post tomorrow).  But I came upon The Hand Me Down House and her post about recreating her Target bookshelves.  (Squeel!)  I absolutely love what she did and better yet I know I can do it too.

We move into the new house in 2 weeks and this is my first big project (after all the painting).  I am sooooo excited!  I know that one of my H-town people's has to have a jig saw I can borrow.  It's the perfect opportunity to prove to the Hubs how useful it is and that I to have it for Christmas.  Well maybe our January anniversary since I have already asked for a sewing machine for Christmas. 

Ok so give me about 2-3 months (Christmas is coming ya'll - I have some shopping and home made gifts to create) and I will post my before and after.  Yipee!  My friend Erin would be so proud of my craftiness.

Go check out HMD's post and tell her I sent ya!

It's King-Sized Baby!

**Don't forget about my Scentsy Giveway!! You have until 11:59pm tomorrow, don't wait!

So the Hubs and I splurged this past weekend and bought a brand new bedroom suite to go with our brand new house.  Well, no, we did not buy it just because we are buying a brand new house.  It's because our queen sized mattress has reached the end of her days.  There are two Grumpypants and Hubs-sized indention's on either side of our bed with a big ridge down the middle.  And the other night I started to feel springs poking me in the side.  It. was. time. for. the. KING!

Let me tell you, sharing a queen bed with a 6'5", 220ish lbs man is challenging.  He has actually bounced me out of the bed before.  Really.

We went to Star Furniture in Katy, TX and had the most incredible sales person, Martha Rafferty. She rocked.  We looked at every single bedroom suite in the place.  Then we started testing out the mattresses.  Is it just me, or does anyone else feel really weird running around a furniture store and laying down on every mattress?  I know you have to in order to find the right one, but it's just creepy.  People walk by and look at you funny.

Anyway, after much deliberation we decided to go with......drum roll please....the Simmons Beautyrest Anniversary Mirella Plush.  Oh it. is. so. plush baby!  It's that bed where you can't feel your partner move.  I think their commercial is the one with the bowling ball.

This should be the Hubs and me.

It's so big! I love it!  They look so happy...ah, blissful sleep.

Look at all the different layers of stuff.  I feel like it just hugs me when I lay down.  No more back problems.

Here's the bedroom suite. It's the Kensington from Aspen Home.  I love the extra storage in the foot board.  Oh what I can do with that!  And I love how the top drawer of the nightstand is a charging station for all your electronic thingies.  You just plug up the night stand and all the other plugs feed into the back.  One cord!  No more surge protectors. And best of all...there is a nightlight built into the nightstand.  You just touch a little button on the side and it turns on underneath and makes a lighted pathway for you.  SWEET!  No more tripping over the furniture in the middle of the night.

This is a better view of the full suite.  We bought what is circled in red.  We decided not to go with the bureau mirror, trading it for a second nightstand.

Can ya tell I love my new bedroom.  Too bad I have to wait 2 weeks to sleep on it.  We decided to have the store deliver it to our new house and we don't move for another 2 weeks.  I feel like a little kid dreaming about Christmas morning.  It's ridiculous, but it's exciting!

InTALLerance!

**Don't forget about my Scentsy Giveway!! There are now 2 additional ways to enter.  3 chances to win until 10/14/10**

Ok, so I have just discovered another reason why the world is not fair for tall people.  I need some new blue jeans.  I have 2 pair right now but one is too big and one is too small. So, since Fall is finally here in Houston – it’s time for some new Fall jeans.
Old Navy is having an awesome sale today with jeans for $16  - SWEET!  I was all about that.  I mean, I am working very hard to loose some weight and I don’t need to spend beau coup dinero on jeans I may only wear for a few months.  
I was feeling good as I walked into the store.  Every woman knows that feeling of joy you feel when you know you are about to get a great deal.  It’s almost like that Christmas morning feeling you had as a kid.  Imagine my disappointment that after 15 minutes of digging looking for my size in Long’s, I found none.  Then when I asked for help in finding some I was told that Old Navy does not carry Long’s in the store.  I have to go online and buy them.  What the what?  Did I just walk into an alternate dimension?
Oh yes ma’am.  So I went to a few more stores and was told the exact same thing.  I’d almost given up hope and then I found The Limited.  I found a pair of Long’s, oh sweet Hallelujah.  I asked for another size in Long as well.  The sales lady couldn’t believe I’d found a Long because she said what all the other store’s said – you have to buy Long’s online.  The pair I found were bought online but the person returned them to the store.  God was with me.  He knows how much I need a nice fitting pair of jeans. 
I left the mall with a feeling of such accomplishment.  But, I spent way more than I wanted.  It’s discrimination – Discrimination Against the Vertically Gifted.  It’s InTALLerance! 
And let me tell you, I’m not a freak.  It’s not like I play for the WNBA.  I am 5’9”.  Shorter than the average model.  It’s not the money, it’s principle of it people.  I should be able to walk into a store and find my length and buy it at the same price as every other person under 5’6”.
If you feel my pain let me know, I’d like to know I’m not alone.  Let’s lift each other up.  Maybe if enough of us raise a stink, they’ll start carrying Long/Tall in the actual store.  It’s not just a world of short people – I deserve to be able to buy quality, well-priced clothes IN THE STORE!
I’m done.  Peace out!

Scentsy Give Away!!!!

Now 2 additional chances to win!!!! Post about this contact on Facebook, make sure you put the link in your post, then leave a comment telling me you did it.  And post about it on your blog.  Again make sure to put the link to this post in it and then leave another comment to tell me you did it.  Make sure you leave one comment for the Facebook post and another for the blog post.  Good Luck! 

If you have read my blog at all you know I have a little sis, Katie.  I love my baby sis with all my heart and I am so proud of her.  She is only 25, married and is a big shot Public Relations person for Chesapeake Energy.  And now, she is pursuing her Masters in Business Administration.  So to help pay for the additional cost of school she decided to become a Scentsy representative.

I had no idea what Scentsy was when she told me about it, but, of course, I was like, "You can sell anything, go for it."  Then things got busy and I never had a chance to visit her website to check out Scentsy.  A few weeks ago Don and I visited some family and the hostess gave all the ladies the Scentsy Nightlight in Vanilla Cream.  It was so cute!  I put it in my office and it's a hit!  All my office mates come by just to smell it.  They love it.  The great thing about Scentsy is that they are not candles, so you can have them in your office or your home unattended.  The wax feels like lukewarm water to the touch and does not scorch or burn skin.  It's awesome for homes with children.

To give you a better idea of what all the hub bub is about, here are a few of the newest Scentsy's:

The Safari Collection

The Full size Victorian Warmer

The Plug-In Roma Warmer

The Enchanted Mid-size Plug In

The Taro Plug-In

The Brand New Zebra Plug-In

So, to celebrate my new love of Scentsy and Katie's MBA dream, we are giving away a free Scentsy plug in of your choice and a Scentsy bar.

To enter just go to Katie'sScentsySite, browse all the products and let us know which is your fav in the comments.  It does not have to be just the Plug Ins, just which products you really like. And if you find something you really like you are more than welcome to purchase as well :).

And to help you out even more, Katie sent me some specific links to some awesome products:

FULL SIZE WARMERS

MIDSIZE WARMERS

PLUG-IN WARMERS

NEW SCENTSY BUDDY (perfect for baby gifts!)

NEW NURSERY COLLECTION

NEW SCENTSY PAKS

NEW FRAGRANCE FOAM (hand sanitizer)

As you can see, the smelly goodness and gift giving opportunities are endless.  Happy Browsing and good luck!

You have until 12AM on 10/14/10.  We will announce the winner an 10/15/10.  Good luck!

Everyday Blessings

Wow, what a whirlwind the last 2 months have been!  So much has happened, times full of Everyday Blessings.  These two months have been a time to reflect on and receive more of the blessings of God.  So to keep it all straight, I think I will join the "Bullet List Bloggers."

• D started his new job (a dream job) at our church last month.  What a blessing and an answer to months of prayer.  God is so good!  When we moved to Houston, D left his job for me.  He began looking for a new job in Houston a month before we moved.  We thought that he would find a job quickly since we were moving to a big city.  Boy, were we wrong.  D is a graphic designer and well, with the economy, no one was hiring in the creative department.  But, the 10 months he was unemployed were really a blessing.  First, this was one of those trials that brought us closer together and really strengthened our married.  Second, we both learned to truly trust God with our life.  Not just say we trust Him, but really live it out. For example, not living in a constant state of anxiety and worry.  For those of you who know me, you know that is totally out of character for me.  I was transformed through this experience.  I can't say I did not have my moments, because I had just a few.  But we gave it up to God and trusted he would take care of us, and he did.  It was so freeing, a feeling I had never experienced before.  Even though we are already frugal, Dave Ramsey people - we learned how to live on what we have and enjoy it.  So much of what we thought we had to have to live was "fluff."  Plus, when this job opportunity finally presented itself, it was more than we even hoped.  The world may look at it and not think so, but it meets all our needs plus more than money can buy.  My man loves his work - he tells me he's excited to go to work in the AM and just as excited when he comes home, he works in ministry, he loves his team, and it's at our church - so many work/life balance issues resolved there.  We are truly blessed!
• We are buying a home!  We thought we would have to wait another year to buy a house since D had been out of work for so long and with the new mortgage laws, but God came through again.  We found a house way within our budget, newly redone (it's like moving into new construction), in a well-established neighborhood, lots of old trees, 4 bedrooms (for kiddo's and visiting fam/friends), 10-15 minute commute to work and church, on and on and on.  The blessings don't stop there.  When the home was inspected it was found that it needed a new roof - the sellers replaced it! New legislation went into effect Oct 1 which would have significantly raised our monthly mortgage, but we were grandfathered in (missed it by just days).  It's been incredible.  Plus, the biggest blessing is our realtor, Patty Cwalinski with Houston Heritage.  If you live in the Houston area and need a realtor you must call Patty.  She was awesome!  Plus through her referral we found our mortgage lender, Jamie, who has been a miracle worker.  I was fearful this would be a very stressful and difficult process and they have made it so easy.  So, I'll post pics of the new digs as soon as we close, which should be Oct 15 - crossies!
• D's car is dead.  Ok, I know what you are saying, "How is that a blessing?"  Well, because, again, God is showing us how we can be completely content and happy with what the world sees as inadequate.  Sure, we have had to make some adjustments with only having one car, but I've never felt like it is a problem.  We will have to buy another car once we start having children, but for the short term it's fine.  Plus, when we do go buy a new car, we won't feel like we have to buy something extravagant.  A car is just a mode of transportation, not a symbol of who I am.
• Veritas/Small Group.  Veritas is the name of our Sunday School class and the people there, and in our Small Group, have been the biggest blessing of them all.  I don't know if we would have taken all these issues that have come our say so well if it were not for our Veritas people's.  They welcomed us with open arms from the moment we stepped into that classroom and have not let us go yet.  They allow God to move through them and we have reaped the benefits.  We love them all so much and look forward to continuing to Do Life Together with them all. 
• My Accountability Partner.  K is my accountability partner.  We have only been meeting for about 2 months now, but that relationship has changed me.  God brought us together at the exact right time for us both. We are both dealing with some discontent in areas of our lives, as well as change.  Also, she is just about my baby sister's age, so she's helping to fill that void.  I miss my sister so much!  Our talks have helped me to truly put some things in the right perspective, to accept the challenges that God has put before me, and to confront them without a whining or resentful spirit.  I love that girl and can't wait to see what God will do through our lives.  K, if you're reading, you are constantly in my prayers!

There are so many smaller (for lack of a better word) blessings which we have experienced in these 12 months since we moved.  If I listed them all I would have the longest blog post ever.   But I felt, since we are moving to a new chapter in our Houston life, it was time to truly reflect upon and write out all God has done for us.  It was a big leap of faith to move to Houston and God has been faithful.  My prayer is that our life, this particular chapter especially, can be used to bring others to a saving knowledge and relationship with my God and Savior. 

So on that note, here are the verses which sum up my life and faith at this time:

Philippians 4:4-9, 11b-12

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

...11for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

K and I are reading this book, Calm My Anxious Heart, I highly recommend it for anyone.  We will all face circumstances which bring us discontent and anxiety. 

What verses are you clinging to right now?  How is God working in your life?  Let me know, I'd love to hear it and it will be an encouragement to others.  If you have a blog, post about it and then link up below at my Mr. McLinky.  If you don't have a blog, just leave a comment.

Look for those everyday blessings!