Another Underwear Post

Okay, I couldn't find a decent pic to post of the new Victoria Secret BioFit bra (I didn't want grannie's panties in a wad) BUT! it is AMAZINGINGLY COMFORTABLE! I ordered it a size smaller than usual because it has lift in it and Lord knows I don't need anymore lift.

What is so great about it that is has MEMORY FOAM in it. MEMORY FOAM. Like your pillow. Well, like my pillow, I guess if you are still in to feather pillows like JP.

Anyhoo ~ I had to tell you about this because it's my duty as your friend and your sister and your grand daughter.

Gran, I know you hate "talkin' about under duds" but seriously, I love you.

So, until next time, may your shoulders not ache, your back feel good...and may your chest be cradled in memory foam. (There, I said 'chest' instead of boobs. Happy?)

:)

Natalie

Bucket List Update

Summer is coming to end and I did get a good start on my Bucket List. Here is the latest:

5. Visit the Statue of Liberty ~ Patti and I have planned a trip for November. We are going to do our Christmas Shopping, catch a Broadway show and head out to the Statue of Liberty. It's going to be an awesome birthday this year!

14. Go to MI with Jenny & Kattie ~ well, Kattie didn't quite make it, but I spent a week with Jenny in the Upper Peninsula, so I am counting this as completed.

43. Go to Gatlinburg w/ Grannie ~ we did this and it was amazing to spend 5 days with her and my family! AWWESOMENESS

44. Vacation in the Florida Keys ~ well, it just so happens that Jamie's cousin, Farrell, sent us an invitation to her Wedding in the Florida Keys on April 11! Woo hoo! It's on a Sunday so we will go from Friday to Monday I'm guessing.

That's it. Nothing overly exciting, but if I don't hold myself accountable I won't do all the things on the list.

Happy Monday...next week is the fair...which means more "heart attack waiting to happen" food. So I better accomplish more things on my list in case my heart gets all clogged up. LOL

Much love,
Natalie

To My Beautiful Daugther...

You are the greatest gift ever given to me. You give give give every second of every day. Your sweet voice gives me hope for a future generation of kind, compassionate and empathetic people.

Your child-like faith reminds me that when we see only one set of footprints ~ God is carrying us.

And when we are sitting in the sand, it's not because God dropped us...it's because we flopped out on our own. And we always have His warm, loving arms to crawl back in to.

You remind me that life is only life if it is lived for today...not yesterday or tomorrow...but NOW.

I need you to know that my lap and my arms will never be unavailable to you. I hope when you are 30 you still sit with me under a warm cozy blanket and watch movies.

The curls in your hair remind of me of my own...we have Brenda's eyes...we have her free spirit...we have her lovely voice...but you have inherited your best traits from your Daddy...your giving heart, your long eyelashes and your strong, intelligent mind.

I write these things because we never know when Jesus is going to call us home...and as long as it's written down somewhere, you can read it whenever you want to.

So, whatever you do...

Never stop...

...Reading your bible ~ it is the road map for your life.

...Singing ~ it will quench the ache of a thirsty soul.

...Appreciating your grandparents... they offer a deep love like no other.

...Encouraging others ~ you will make a positive difference in someone else's life.

...Giggling...your belly laugh brings me more joy than you will ever know.

...Writing Stories...it makes your creative mind think and empathize with others...

...Loving people...even when they are different from you ~ God created us all ~ and regardless of who or where we are in life, everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. Should they not return the favor to you, do not compromise your behavior but do not tolerate theirs...being respectful does not mean that you have to be friends with everyone.

...Investing your time and energy into those people who love you and care for you. Don't waste your time trying to change people...it's their responsibility. You are only responsible for you.

...Being nice to old people ~ you will be old some day too.

...Talking to me...I will be true to you and protect you the best I can...I am always on your side...and I will always be your biggest fan.

I love you!

Forever and ever.

Mama

If Underwear Embarrasess You, Do Not Read This Post.

Things may get a little personal on here today. If you know me, you know that I am sitting here laughing out loud at myself...Luther and I (my birdy) are having a great day. I needed to take a break from a HUGE GIGANTIC domestic case I've been devoting all of my time and energy to the last 48 hours.

So about the personal issues... Schwen, Remember when you used to come to Crop Night with your Victoria's Secret bag?? I wonder if Kerri and Gigi remember that??


It was way back when you were saving money to buy a Creative Memories tote. I think I had an Old Navy bag for awhile. I am still giggling...

Anyhoo...awhile back, Victoria was having a big brassiere sale so I stocked up but now that I've lost some weight...what a wonderful reason to shop more!! I had a $15 off coupon and the internet store didn't give me my coupon credit at the check out. Makes me crazy ~ they try to gyp me out of the darn coupon every month and it is making me mad. The people at customer service probably all fight over who has to answer my disgruntled emails.

But darnit, times are tough, and bras are expensive and $15 is a lot of money to me.

In my mind, (and this is how Jamie says "they get ya") I think, Okay, I was going to spend the whole amount BEFORE the coupon, so I might as well get some matching underwear! You know, the underwear they charge $15 a pair for that only costs them .50 cents because they pay some poor puerto ricans a whopping .10 cents an hour. But! They put the panties on SALE for 3 for $30. That's more savings! I can't pass up a sale!

Did I get the most out of my $15 coupon???? Well...no, because I spent $30 more dollars on under duds!!!

Expected delivery date is Sept. 12. Jamie and I just talked last night how broke I am but he mistakenly made a snide remark: "Hey, your bra and your underwear don't match today" Ha!Magic words! I'll show him! I decided to make my under-roos match and spent $63.00 on undergarments! I am so spiteful. Well, actually, it is $78 because the idiots forgot to take off my coupon AGAIN. Which brings us back to my original gripe that started this rant.

Thank you for listening to me obsessively rage about my underwear problems. I appreciate it.
After all...that's what friends are for...right?

xoxo
Nat.

P.S. Sorry Grandma, I know you are dying of humiliaton, but seriously, it's going to be okay. Only 3 people read this anyways (if I'm lucky) and all three of them have seen my underwear. And hopefully when they did...I matched...

Oh, and P.S.S. I just got a text from Gee Gee ~ she just finished her first round of chemo. She feels pretty good so far...but they told her that she would be out of hair in ten days....below is her "new" hair and I truly LOVE it! I love the high lights and it looks really real. When she came home from shopping, the kids didn't even know it was fake! So keep praying for our girl. She is tough, she'll do fine I'm sure. xoxo

Friday...Finally!

I am pretty sure I feel a cold comin' on. I am still recovering from the RockStar Weekend. Bae had a great party ~ she ended up with a real stage, a sound board (good 'ol dad, the sound man) a stage, a guitar, $70 and a hand full of gift cards! She is elated!

I will have to post some pics of the stage after we get it painted. Of course, the paint is purple and pink!

Jenny starts Chemo on Tuesday. Please keep her lifted in prayer.

Lisa is doing extremely well. She is up and around and starting to drive...even though she's not supposed to!

Steph is coming up for a visit on Saturday and we are going to make some Wall Words with my Cri-cut machine.

Wendy Lou is starting her new job as a 1st grade teacher on Sept. 1. I am excited for her and envious all at the same time ~ I've always wanted to teach primary age.

Mackenize Mae made it off to college in Pennsylvania. I am so crazy proud of that kid! She is amazingly beautiful, smart, talented, all those awesome things. I can't wait to hear all of her stories when she comes back at Thanksgiving time.

I will get to see Amber next weekend as we travel to Mary Miller's wedding in Lynchburg, Va. Bae is the flower girl. Amber sent me a text this morning ~ she is excited about having company in her new apartment! I think she is past the point of getting homesick.

I am silly crazy insanely busy at work. The boss just flipped me a crisp $20 for "doing a great job". They are awesome here. I love this place!

I am off to lunch with Jenny ~ we are doing Panera today. I'm jones'n a chai latte!

Other than that, I have no further comments at this time.

Love,
Natalie

Ching ching ching ching ching ching ching ching ching

I love the sound of a slot machine...especially when I'm hitting the jackpot! Woo hoo! I was a vacation crasher last week. Jenny's family has been going to Michigan ever since she was a child. The whole fam damily goes and all I've heard about my entire life of knowing her is how great wonderful and fun it is up North. Well...she wasn't lying!


I got invited along this year and Bae and I had a BLAST! Jenny's parents have a home up there now, so besides us, Ty and Madi and Gage was her sister Julie and her husband Bryon, their daughter Brittany and her bf Sam, and then her brother Mike and his wife Kara, stayed at a different resort close by, with their two kids Jillian and Max. Six miles away, Jenny's mom, Patty, took us on a field trip to the Casino on an Indian Reservation. CASINOS ROCK!!!

We made sure to support the Kawedian community by visiting every day for at least two hours...sometimes three! The fun thing about it was...I hit a jackpot! Well, several, but only one that is worth mentioning. It was a quarter slot for Triple Diamonds. I hit a seven and two triple diamonds, for a total of 1800 quarters! Thank you Lord that I placed a max bet or I would have only gotton half that! It totaled up to $450.00! I was stoked! All together I won around $1,000.00 but only brought home $400.00. I started with $20 so that's not bad! But I kept winning and giving Gigi money and she kept losing! My favorite slot was Wheel of Fortune. I ran $50 through and got nothing. I told Gigi to hang tough, that I was going to put in another $20 and whatever I won, she would get half. Well, she got nervous and said "I'm going back to my nickel machine!" So she left me. And I hit a bar jackpot of $130.00! She shoulda stuck around!!! Other highlights of the week were the guys catching huge-gigantic pike. Gage was the PIKE SLAYER! His fish was about 32 inches. It was the ugliest fish I've ever seen! And when they cut the head off the mouth kept moving! DISGUSTING!! Bae loved playing on the beach. Our favorite thing to do was sit on the dock and listen to my ipod and watch the sail boats go by. It was amazingly beautiful. Every night we had a campfire, thanks to Bryon. Well, I actually got it going one night...but! We were up late laughing and hoopin' it up and enjoying our Yellow Tail Reisling. Jenny and Julie and I talked and until our faces hurt. It's hard to be home when mentally, I am still on vacation. I learned a few things and I am going to hold to these things until I get to detox next year (I am totally going again next year and I already have a cabin booked!)


1. A week without internet did me good. I am going to not get it at home. I can survive.

2. A week with bad cell service did me good as well ~ I called home a few times to check-in; called Steph and that was it! and it was nice not to have drama and problems and issues and all the stuff that comes with phones and texting.

3. Breathing good air: I am going to make it a point to be outside more. I live in forest for Lord's sake, I don't have any excuses whatsoever!

4. My favorite times were when Geege and I were lying on the beach, with our bed head hair and glasses of wine. I want to spend more time with my friends and not waste time on people and things that don't matter.

5. My daugther was so much fun ~ she is growing up incredibily fast. I am going to make a point to spend time with just her and me. She told me that I was her best friend ~ those days are numbered!

6. I realized that I have the best friends in the world ~ remembering all the good times in my life throughout the years made me realize that I need to make important people a priority. And loser, non-important people ~ I need to steer clear of them completely in my life.

On the weighloss subject ~ I only gained a coupla pounds on vacation. So I am back on the healthy eating plan as of noon o'clock today.

Until next time ~ drink your Reisling ~ it's good for the heart, mind and soul.

xxx
N.

**Big Sigh**

Just got back from lunch at Red Lobster with Steph and Ronnie and Allie, for Steph's birthday. We were nice and didn't make them come out and sing to her! We had a good time. With Steph, it would be impossible to NOT have a good time.

My personal trainer left for vacation today...he is going to Myrtle Beach for a week which means...I GET THE WHOLE WEEK OFF! Woo hoo.

We are seriously insanely busy at work so I have to make this short and sweet ~ but Wendy Lou, I love you and I'm thinking about you.

I have to get back to negotiating a settlement for a credit card (interest rates for credit cards suck. seriously, it's insanity).

I have another client on their way to sign papers...another on their way to fill out forms...and I can't remember what I was going to say in this blog...

OH! I wanted to tell a couple crazy things that Baeleigh said yesterday! I brought a big cucumber home from work from Dave & Amber's garden. It was sitting on the counter and she asked Jamie "Are you going to open that cucumber any time soon?" We laughed. "Open it ~ you mean peel it?" "No," she said, I want you to open it so I can try it."

Then 8:00 p.m. rolled around and I fell asleep in our bedroom. Jamie fell asleep on the couch. At 10:30 p.m. Bae comes in my room and says "I am sleeping in here" and I said, "Go to your own bed please. And why are you still up at 10:30 at night??"

"I'm still on vacation." She says and then proceeded to crawl into bed with me.

I love this age. It is hilarious!

xoxo

N. Powers