this yellow ribbon

After our son deployed to Iraq last May, we put this yellow ribbon on our front porch. A really sweet friend had it made for us. When our son returned from his deployment in November we thought we would take it down...Then we remembered his best friend Kevin was still in Afghanistan. Kevin returned from his deployment this spring. Around that time, a good friend from high school found out her husband would be deploying to Afghanistan within weeks. Our son is due to deploy again before the end of the year. So, as I've looked at this ribbon that has been on my front porch since last May...I'm not sure when I can take it down.

As I was thinking about that yellow ribbon Friday evening (crazy how things work out) we had a  surprise visitor...

Our son Nick has block leave right now and surprised us with a visit! 

Happy Memorial Day! Enjoy time off, family, BBQ's and all that long weekends bring! I'm so thankful for our freedom! It's often overlooked at how much our soldiers sacrifice for our freedom. If you get the chance, thank a soldier for their service! It means the world to them.

playing catch up

I had hoped to get a post up over the weekend but my son had boy scout camp with daddy and I was at home with the dog. It was not a restful weekend for me. Our new puppy "Scout" is a handful. I nearly lost my mind. I think I would rather have been left home alone with toddler twins than that puppy...not kidding either.

So...this is what I have been up to lately. The Saturday before Mother's Day I got my hair done (color and trim). Then I curled it and this is how I wore it for Mother's Day lunch with my mom and brother and my in-laws.

My husband picked up a new wine for me to try for Mother's Day and I really liked it! Have you tried Middle Sister? This one is "goodie two shoes"...my husband said it was very fitting for me because that's how he thinks of me...haha.

I bought myself and new purse for Mother's Day at TJ Maxx. I'm usually so indecisive with handbags but I went right to this one and I'm so happy with it.

Later in the week, after all the fun/pampering from Mother's Day... I decided a "wine and mani/pedi" night was a good idea!

I'm loving this Essie color "a crewed interest"...isn't it a lovely peach color?

I finally found a yellow cardi at Gap after looking for months. I love it!

Hope you have a fabulous week!

my week in photos

Finally a pair of aviators that are not completely stupid looking on me.

My manicure this week...Essie Tart Deco...super fun color! 

 I'm in love with this greek yogurt. I've been eating a different flavor everyday for breakfast with a little Cascadia Farms Organic Granola mixed in...so good!

A little mid-week treat from Dunkin Donuts...iced coffee with caramel and cream (no sugar). I always let LC have the last few sips....99 cents during happy hour!

After all the drama in NC this week, I sat on our patio one afternoon and just enjoyed beautiful weather (and tried to forget all the negativity).

New tribal print shirt from Forever 21.

How was your week?

two years

two years ago...

 one year ago...

last week...

I've been growing my hair out for two years. My hair grows extremely slow and it's making me crazy. I have been getting a trim (very tiny trim) when I get my color done so I'm sure that has slowed the progress. I'm so hoping for super long hair again before I turn forty. I've got a year and four months...

It's fun to look back through old photos though and see the changes. 

Happy Weekend ;)

MIA...

I've totally been MIA lately. No excuse other than life has been so busy! In February we had a house fire...and then in March I started a new job. I was retained with the sale of the bank I worked for but have an entirely new and challenging role. Two weeks ago our daughter got married. So yeah...life is super busy. I'm still around reading blogs and commenting...when I find a few extra minutes.

the best vacation ever

I'm not even going to apologize for my long hiatus from blogging...instead I'm just going to jump in...

We are back in our house! It's not finished yet but almost there. I hope to have some before and after pics soon. We almost have a brand new house. Not the way we wanted it to happen but I believe this all happened for a reason.

I'll start here. We just returned from the best vacation ever. We really couldn't afford this vacation but it was given to us by my generous in-laws. They bought us a cruise to the western Caribbean. We were very grateful for the vacation and worked it out so we could go. We had promised our son a trip to Disney this year so we worked that in also. Here are a few pics from our trip.

This was the best vacation we have ever had. My in-laws went with us. It was very nice because my husbands parents are getting older and this vacation created a lot of nice memories for us. It was also nice for my son to spend time with his grandparents. I don't talk about my family much but we are not close. The only grandparents that are active in my son's life are my in-laws. They are getting up in their late 70's and I am just so blessed that they are still in fairly good health. Families have their issues but I have to say they have been a huge support system for us our entire marriage and excellent grandparents for all the children. What a blessing!

Something that has weighed on my mind before, during and after the vacation is how much I worry about money. We are definitely not wealthy. We do not always spend our money wisely. But we are ok. This was such an amazing vacation. My son kept saying how much he loved everything and how much fun he had. My husband and I had "date nights" because of the amazing kids program on the ship. It was a total win-win for everyone. Did I mention the amazing beaches??? It was all very healing for us. Still I worried about money...a lot. Lately I have been thinking about what very wise woman said to me once...

A co-worker of mine (Dee) was days from retiring. I loved this woman like a 2nd mother. I was taking over her duties after her retirement and we had spent a lot of time together. Not to mention I sat across from her for 2 years. We had become very close. I was complaining about spending money on traveling. My husband loves to travel and visit. Dee looked at me and said, "honey, I have worked all my life and saved...and now my health is so bad I can't do anything. You need to go and do what you can when you can and enjoy your family. My husband and I can't do anything now." That really stuck with me.

I know women who are fighting for their lives right now. I've known women who have lost their lives. Children who miss their moms. A lot has happened in the last few years. Five women that I went to school with have faced serious illnesses...some did not make it...some still continue to fight. The only thing I can think about lately is making memories with my family. I need for my son to have memories with us as a family. I need for him to have that. It's more important to me right now than saving money. Some may say it's foolish but I know we have made the right decisions.

It was the best vacation ever and my son is still talking about mama screaming all the way down Space Mountain and dancing with him on the ship.

updates: hair, life and running

Eventually, I am going to upload some photos of all the damage to our home (and now our yard) from hurricane Irene. If the hurricane wasn't bad enough all the heavy equipment necessary to remove the trees has destroyed our yard. I think we have about 30 blades of grass left in front of the house...no grass in the back...but lots and lots of mud! Ugh.

So, anyway, on to some fun stuff! My blog friend Natalia is having a link up over on her blog! She has been trying new hair styles and sharing them. So, she decided to just have a link up so everyone can share. Check it out! Ma Nouvelle Mode. 

Here's what I tried recently! It's called the "half-up elegant"...

I found a tutorial for this hairstyle here:

The Small Things

She is a hairstylist and has some really greats styles and tips on her blog!

Also, in other news, I started running. I have really wanted to try this for a while. I think I needed an outlet for some stress relief and I've heard running is great for mental stress as well. Wish me luck! Right now all I can do is run, walk, run, walk...with more walking than running...but hey its a start, right?