Hodge Podge Wednesday

You know how it works!  Answer the questions on your blog and link back to From This Side of the Pond.

1. When I look at the sky I feel________________________________________.

I can't get that number 1 to scoot back in line with the rest of the questions and it's driving my OCD self raving mad!  Anyhoo.  When I look at the sky, I feel very small.

2. If you had to run for political office, which one would you run for? Do you have any real desire to actually do this?
Of course, I would never run for political office because I don't like public speaking.  And due to a recent political scandal in our area, I'm just really turned off with politics in general right now.  But hey!  If I HAD to, I'd go big!  The President of the United States!  Why not?
3. What scent makes you think of home?
Gardenias and chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.
4. How often do you take a step back to think about where you're headed in life? Do you need more or less self-reflection?
I did alot more self-reflection when I was in high school and college.  These days, there simply isn't time.  And if there were, I'm perfectly content and happy with the stage of life that I'm in now.  I feel like I'm exactly where God wants me to be right now and there is a certain peace that comes from knowing that.  

5. July is National Ice Cream Month...besides a cone, what's your favorite food item to top with ice cream?
This question made me laugh.  We have a few ice cream/yogurt places here that have all these different toppings to choose from.  And we Horton's are just creatures of habit, I guess, because we always choose the same ones.  I always get M&Ms.  Always.  And maybe a few sprinkles.  Alise always gets cherries.  She's a cherry hog.  And Wayne always gets the marshmellow cream {Bleh!} and whipped topping out of a can.  I love me some hot fudge and caramel, too!

6. What might your autobiography be called?
Gosh, this is a hard question!  Is an autobiography one you write yourself of one someone else writes about you?  I always got those mixed up in school.  And so did Alise.  I destinctly remember her missing both of them on a test.  I'm a Southern Girl, so maybe that should be a part of the title.

7. Your least favorite mode of transportation? Why?
Car rides.  I hate them.  We drove 7 hours this past weekend (total) to meet our cousins so that Alise could spend the week with them and I actually thought I was going to die!  I actually did look at airline tickets for she and I to just fly to Birmingham or Huntsville, but of course, they were too expensive.  Fly me anywhere, but don't ask me to ride.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
I'm really dreading the month of August.  It's usually our hottest month where we live and school starts back on the 13th.  I'm not quite ready to resume a routine again.

Saying Good-bye

This past Saturday, we drove to Meredian, Mississippi {home of Sela Ward!}, to meet our Alabama cousins and drop off Baby Girl for the week!! To say this was a big deal for me would be an understatement.  The longest I've ever been away from her was five days for my 40th birthday cruise, so while I know she is in prefectly good hands with Doug and Mirya, I'm already missing her.  I started missing her when we crossed the Mississippi River Bridge in Vicksburg later Saturday evening on our way back home.  However, if you had asked me late Friday night as we were packing her up and all the drama and gnashing of teeth that was going on, I would have probably pushed her out the door!!  She was so excited about seeing Katie and Colton that she couldn't fall asleep Friday night!  I know she is going to have a BLAST in Alabama!!

Of course, Doug always chooses the restaurants for us.  He always knows where to eat.  So we met up at Weidmann's in Meredian.  It's the oldest restaurant in the state of Mississippi.  How he finds these places, I will never know but the food and atmosphere were wonderful!!  I loved the history of the building and their Chocolate Bottomless Pie did not disappoint!

We arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before the Mason's did so we went ahead and got a table.  We were just in time for brunch!  When Katie and Colton walked in, Alise's eyes just lit up and she and Katie hugged each other for a while!  I am so thankful and happy that our kids are so close!  Even quiet, little Colton started talking to us by the time our visit was over!

A pic of Me & Mi!  I'm not quite sure this lady knows what she's gotten herself into for the next few weeks, but she is AWESOME!!

After lunch, Alise got her ipad and hopped in the car with Katie and Colton!  We couldn't even get her to get out to give us a kiss and hug good-bye!  Mirya's been great about posting pictures on FB and IG, so we get to see what all they're doing.  They stopped in Tuscaloosa on the way home and went to the Children's Museum and made a quick stop of the UA campus!

Meanwhile, Wayne and I got home late Saturday evening.  We were in the bed before 10 o'clock and we didn't get up until 10 Sunday morning.  Can you say tired?  I can't remember when we've slept so long. We did absolutely nothing that day.  We even ordered a pizza and had it delivered.  The house is quiet.  No Disney channel.  So far, Alise has face timed us every night and she is having so much fun!!  And that makes being away from her a little easier.

Hello Monday!

It's Mondaaaaay!  Wake up, peeps!  Let's get this party started!



Last week, I was reading back over my blog for the month and realized that it's been a looooong time since I've posted pictures.  I guess that's because I've been posting them on IG.  And even though the old saying is, "A picture's worth a thousand words..." I like to use WORDS!  LOTS of WORDS!  I like to describe things and give ya all the details.  So having said that, I plan to do a better job of posting pics here on my blog.

Now.

I've been blogging since 2006 and it's been neat to see how the blogging world has changed.  What started out as girls my age blogging about their family life and what their babies were doing has gone from home furnishing and decorating to cooking and recipes to NOW, fashion!  Of all things!  And I've done a little bit of it all - except the fashion part.  Like I've told you before, this is our family scrapbook first and foremost.  When I'm 80 years old, I sure hope the internet still exists because the only way I'm ever going to be able to show my grandchildren what their mother looked like at age 5 is via computer {I'm bad about taking pictures and not printing them!}. When we bought our house, I had a little decorating theme going for a while and then I got on the menu planning/cooking/recipes wagon - which I fully intend to get back on when school starts next month.  But this fashion thing has really stumped me.  Let me tell ya though, I LOVE the fashion blogs for women over 40!  Love, love, love them and I have my friend, Leigh, to thank for that because I really didn't know they existed until she told me about them.  Last summer - after my six month blogging hiatus - I posted some outfits, but I'm not wild about selfies and for some reason, the lighting in our home and my cellphone both suck when you try to use them at the same time, so my "fashion pics" - if you will - never turned out right {and I really, really hate to use that word and I don't normally say it, but it's the darn truth!!}.  I think what's lacking, though, with the fashion blogs are outfits for working women.  Hey!  We bring home the bacon!  So I guess my point with this really long paragraph is that I think I might start sharing some of my "over 40 working outfits" here on my blog!

What do you think?

Maybe I'll name it Fashion Friday like everybody else and just have one post dedicated to what I wore to work all week?

You have to understand.  I'm not a "look at me" kind of person.  I'm an introvert.  I like to stay behind the scenes, so posting pics of myself, even on my blog, is a beg step for me.  I guess what I'm trying to say is, look at the OUTFIT, not me!

I hope you have a GREAT Monday!

Summer Slump

So I've been kinda MIA lately with blogging but it's not because I've actually been anywhere or that I'm busy doing something special.  We're just enjoying the long, lazy days of summer before school starts.  In approximately 3 weeks, 3 days, 14 hours, 19 minutes, and 2 seconds.  I kid.  I think.

I stand corrected!  We DID go to New Orleans last week and we took Baby Girl with us!  While I was in a seminar on Friday, Wayne and Alise got to pal around the city for the day.  They visited a friend that's doing missionary work this summer in downtown NOLA, went to the Children's Museum, and Alise got to go to Cafe Du Monde for the first time!  She's hooked on the sugary, sweet beignets!!  On the way home, we stopped and had dinner at Mindendorf's, which is a landmark seafood restaurant in Manchac, Louisiana, about fifteen miles from New Orleans.  I posted some pictures from the whirl wind trip on my Instagram account.  You can find me there as LauraHorton0120.

In other news, I'm really beginning to get concerned about these parents who are leaving their children unattended in hot cars while they get hair cuts, grocery shop, or even - Heaven help me - gamble!!  It's gotten so far as people taking one of their shoes off and putting it in the back seat as a "reminder" when they get out of the car that they need to take their kid with them!  Excuse me, but if you need to use your shoe to remind you that you have a kid in the back seat, then you don't need to be having kids!!  Good grief!  I've also heard about some of the videos that are going viral with people documenting staying in their cars to show how fast and high the temperatures get.  This is not news, people.  It's summer!

And what's with the movies this summer?  No good movies.  I'm over comic book capers. Give me a romantic comedy or a serious drama!  Anything to give me an excuse to chow down on popcorn and M&Ms, please!!

As I've said countless times over the last few weeks, I'm over summer.  No more summer clothes shopping or buying for me.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you may have noticed that I've already started pinning for Fall.  It can't get here fast enough!  I'm ready for boots and leggings!!

I see there are rumors regarding a second pregnancy for Kate Middleton.

I wish I had planned better this summer!  Next Friday, July 25th would be the PERFECT day to have a "Christmas In July Party"!!  Dang it!

I'm reading Mary Kay Andrews' new book, "Save The Date."  Why doesn't someone turn one of her books into a movie?

I need to do some research, but I've been hearing about this app called, "My Fitness Pal" or something like that.  I think it's a calorie counter and an activity counter as well.  I promise not to jump back on the weight wagon - only because I'm tired of talking about it and I know you're tired of hearing it - but I weighed less last week than I have all summer.  It just took me 4 months, 15 days, 2 hours, and 10 seconds to get there.

Peace out to my homies!  I mean, readers!

Just Call Me Middle Aged

I was right {I think!}.  It's my metabolism.

And I feel like someone has just hit me upside the head with a brick because I was totally oblivious.  It's disappointing when your own body knows it's getting older and yet amazing, too, because it knows exactly when to "flip the switch."

I am officially "middle aged."

If you need me, I will "officially" be in the fetal position with a pint of chocolate chip ice cream for the rest of the day.

HERE is a great article about a woman's metabolism over the age of 40.