Nuggets of Gold

The Alaskan cruise wasn't just about the places we visited, we had a great time while we were on the ship as well. Since the cruise was a 35th wedding celebration for both couples, one night our waiter surprised us each with a heart-shaped fudge treat which was too sweet for even my sweet tooth.  They made an announcement over the intercom about..... Well, I can't exactly say what they said because I wasn't paying attention (imagine that), but whatever they said lead me to believe the wait staff was going to sing or something. Imagine my surprise when our waiter reached over and took my hand. My eyes must have been as big as saucers when he gestured for Mike and me to dance to "That's Amore". I resisted at first.... I mean, I'm not one who enjoys being in front of a crowd unless it's my intention to do so, (like when I did a play with our local theater). But, even more surprising was my quiet husband's reaction. Mike is 10 times worse about wanting to keep a low profile and avoiding the limelight than I am. I was stunned when he didn't skip a beat and immediately took my hand and began to dance. When he saw my discomfort he tried to calm my nerves, and asked why I was frazzled.... "Because I wasn't expecting this" He laughed at my hesitation and asked..... "Do you know why it doesn't bother me to dance in front the entire dining room?" .... "Yes, I would love to know the reason for that!! You usually hate this kind of thing." He laughed and said.... "Because, see all of these people? I don't know any of them and I will never see them again, so Honey Badger just doesn't care." I had to laugh at that, because Honey Badger is our favorite YouTube video in spite it's irreverent language. I finally relaxed and enjoyed the moment. I was made more comfortable when another couple seated a few tables away were put on the spot. When they tried to resist the spontaneous dance, the waiter brought them over by us and instructed them.... "Just do what they are doing." Regardless of the amount of urging and encouraging, not everyone could be positively influenced into letting their hair down, metaphorically speaking. All I can say is those who didn't missed a great opportunity to create a moment to be remembered. Those little moments will be  forever treasured like nuggets of gold.

Sweet as Home Spun Honey

I am married to the greatest sport ever! Last weekend I was supposed to go to Fort Worth Texas to see Billy Currington in concert. I love me some Billy Currington and to my credit, I loved his music before I knew what he looked like. After that.... I REALLY love me some Billy Currington. The friend that was supposed to go with me got side tracked by a family issue so my beloved husband took her place. Initially I felt like he might "cramp my style". I certainly wouldn't like seeing my husband swoon over a gorgeous female, so I knew I would have to tamp down my "excitement". Unlike most concerts, this one was at Billy Bob's which is the world's largest Honky Tonk. I'm not a "Honky Tonk" kind of gal, but one does what one must do to see Billy Currington up close and personal. The concert sold out which meant they removed the tables and chairs from the showroom (there were a few in the back). We waited in line to get into the showroom for an hour or so. The young people who entered with us rushed to the front of the stage. It was only 7:30 and the concert didn't start until 10:30. I looked at my husband, and he looked at me.

Like most couple who have been married for over 34 years, we needed no words, the look said it all.... "We're too freaking old to stand here for hours on end." We meandered to the back where there were a few tables and chairs, along with other old fogies with arthritis, artificial joints, and no desire to impress the youngens..... "I don't need to smell his breath, I just want to see him" I told my husband as we sat down. We waited, and waited, and waited. Mike got up to get food while I read a book on my phone... How pathetic is that!? The lights dimmed, the music began and Billy stepped on stage. The older woman sitting behind Mike, leaned over to her daughter and yelled.... "I sure would like to run my fingers through that curly hair!" I thought to myself... "Wouldn't we both. As he finished his first song, I turned to Mike and whispered in his ear.... "Dang!!!!!" He grinned at me, then said.... "Go ahead, that's what you're here for" So I elbowed my way toward the front. I didn't get close enough to smell his breath, but l got close enough to  say..... He looked as sweet as home spun honey. Truly, if Mike ever felt that way about another woman, the green eyed monster would rear its ugly head in me and we would have a good old fashioned, come to Jesus meeting. Yes, even after 34 years that would be my reaction. Mike's reaction???? On the way back to the hotel he said.... "When he finished the first song and you looked at me and said Dang!!!, I'll have to admit, that was pretty cute." My man really is sweet as home spun honey.

First Day.....

Having grown up beneath a church pew (Meaning back in the day before nursery services were provided), I remember the Pastor we had when I was little used to say. . . .  "Today is the first day of the rest of your life".  That's how I feel on this first empty nest Saturday.  I've had a weird surge of focus and energy this week, a therapist might say it could be indicative of being bipolar, I choose to see it as a mom reclaiming her nest. I do my best work when I'm alone. I've moved furniture, thrown stuff away, cleaned and organized my now empty nest. Surprisingly this first week wasn't bad, I was so busy, there wasn't any time to pout. My Hubby will come walking through the door any minute and I'm going to happily tell him. . . .  "Today is the first day of the rest of our lives!!?

Dreams Come True

31 years ago today I took the first step down the aisle to an amazing journey. December 1981 was a cold one. On the 19th the temperature was 3 degrees with the windchill dipping well below 0. While most people scurried around preparing for Christmas, I scurried around preparing for a wedding. After 6 months of long distance dating, my fiance' and I tired of driving back and forth between Tulsa and Duncan, paying enormous long distance phone charges and just not being able to spend time together. We had spent hours talking about our dreams and our future. Every second that ticked by, was a second we could have spent making those dreams come true. Shortly after parting at Thanksgiving, we decided not to wait until the new year to get married. The wedding was quickly moved to December 19th, which gave me 2 weeks to plan and put it all into action. Christmas is

a bad time to plan a wedding, and looking back I wish I would have taken Daddy's offer to elope. Like most girls, I dreamed of standing at an altar, veiled in white with the train of my gown flowing down the aisle behind me. Short of that vision, I just wanted the ceremony over, the photos taken, and the rice thrown, so we could begin our happily ever after. The journey has been amazing. Not every step has been easy. Not every twist and turn of the path was planned, but every step has been taken together, for better or worse, through thick and thin. Thanks to amazing grace, we are  31 years and Three kids into our happily ever after. we have seen many of our dreams realized and are in the process of dreaming new dreams for chapter 2 of our story.  I can't imagine the 2nd half being more amazing, but life has taught me not to put limits on dreams, because they really can come true.

I Wish I Knew

Tomorrow I leave on a wedding road trip.  My oldest son will be married by this time next week. After a day of "doing around", I'm finally getting a chance to settle down and realize.... The time has come. Oddly enough, my mind isn't focused on his life changing decision, it's focused on hers. I married at 18 and although I felt like I knew everything.... I knew nothing. What do I know now, that I wished I'd known then? For One, I didn't know that women aren't very honest people. Not only are we not honest with others, we aren't honest with ourselves.  Women are taught at a very early age, to hide our flaws because it's not okay to be imperfect. I honestly don't think men have the same pressure to be perfect like women do; that's why they scratch, belch and fart without shame... Because it's okay.  The Bloggess is one of my favorite writers for a variety of reasons. The main reason I love to read her stuff, is because she has taken her warped flaws, embraced them and put them out there for the world to see. In return, women have embraced her and all of her flaws because it makes them feel more normal. Women have a deep need, to know it's okay to be imperfect. Sometimes when I'm sitting with a group of women chatting about everyday normal stuff like housework, child rearing, money management, hygeine or whatever the hot topic of the day is... I'll think to myself.... "Gosh! I'm just a failure on every level!" I'm constently letting my housework slide because I'm into a good book, or a nap just sounds way more fun than mopping the floor. My most steadfast parenting rule is "Don't bring company home without warning". I'll blow a whole months budget on a really cute outfit and not even feel entirely bad about it, and yeah, at this very moment I'm comptemplating skipping giving myself a pedicure because I'm just so dang tired. I'm a mess! 100%, 79 shades of imperfect and only once in a while do I really feel terrible about being so. So, if I could give my daughter-in-law advice I wish I'd had when I was young it would be this.... Embrace yourself including the flaws and save the mask for Halloween. People around you need to know who you are, not who you wish you were. When the women in your life see you embracing the warped part of yourself, it makes them feel more normal. Sure, they will still judge you, talk about you when you're not around, and totally compare how their flaws aren't as bad as your flaws, but that's just because they aren't being honest with themselves, and because it's so dang hard to see looking through a mask that doesn't  fit them very well.  Be gentle with yourself, my son isn't marrying you because he thinks you are a perfect person.... He is marrying you because he knows you are the perfect person for him. Looking back on a life of trying to keep up with the perfect perception of who I should be, is a sham and something I wish I had known way back in the day. Now when I'm tempted to compare myself to the masks of others, I have to stop myself because, now I know they just haven't learned to embrace the flaws they hide behind their masks.... I wish all women knew the freedom of not living up to something that isn't really there to begin with. Our lives would be so much more enjoyable if we could simply have permission... To be.

If I Could

If I could I would...

Map the roads we've traveled together...

Bottle the days we've spent together....

Rewind the music we've made together...

Unlock the pain we've shared together...

Rehearse the dance we danced together...

Paint the stars that lead me to you...

And frame the moon you loved me under....










 If I could I would, so nothing would be forgotten...

Forever Valentine

Not just anyone could love me forever and ever. Even I'll admit I can be quite a handful and then some at times... But only in a good way. I am just blessed enough to have found that special one to love me through thick and thin, fat and slim, up and down and back again and through the most difficult two years of my life. How he manages, I'll never know, but I'm sure glad he does. He makes this girl very happy because he's my Forever Valentine.

Heaven Only Knows

The feng shui of my week has been all feng shui'd up (don't bother it's another of my made-up sayings... Say it 10 times real fast and you'll get the gist of it). TGIF!!!! As if I needed a reminder of why I married my husband, he sends me the following email this afternoon.

"At lunch I cleaned the kitchen, made the bed, turned the roast and checked for potato stuff... We have milk, butter and one box of creamery butter mashed potatoes so after work I'll stop by and get another box of potatoes and we should be set..."

And that my friend is true love in it's most excellent form.... Everyday living. How exactly did I get so lucky??? Heaven only knows.

It's Official and I couldn't Be More Excited

last night I spent the evening huddled in the most adorable little house in Bethany. My husband and I, along with about 50-75 close friends and family of my son and his fiance, gathered for a much awaited surprise engagement party. The question was being popped across town in a the little tea room of their first date. As soon as the deed was done, they were to go a friends house to break the good news. I stood there surrounded by a sea of twenty something adults, all beautiful and full of dreams and promise. I couldn't help but think to myself that my kids have been richly blessed and highly favored by being surrounded by wonderful friends. The big moment arrived as they walked in the door to oohs and awes, hugs and kisses and surprise visits from the parents of the happy couple.  To say it was heartwarming, touching and extremely sentimental is a gross understatement. And so a new chapter begins. I now have a whole new person to love, adore and spoil rotten in true Mother-in-law fashion. It was a blessed evening,  and a touching tribute to two people who have invested generously into the lives of others.

Luke 6:38
"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

The love that was shown in the house last night was nothing short of the results of living a life poured

out. I predict many blessings to follow, not only to the happy couple but to the friends and family who are fortunate enough to share in their lives. Congrats Kathleen and Seth, may your journey be full of laughter, many adventures and a love that not only last but continues to grow for eternity.

The Bitter Sweet Taste of Change

Seth catches the garter

One of our boys got married this week. Not one of My boys, but one of the boys that feels like mine (does that make any sense at all). I was doing just fine until the music started and then the tears took over and the chill bumps ran up and
down my arms. How could it be that they are all grown up adults now,taking wives and having children? It's absolutely what you're shooting for when you
become a parent, to see your children grow into functioning adults, but then watching it actually happen, rips a tiny bit of your heart out. I had this sudden urge to stand up and shout "Stop! Let's rewind back a few
years when you were just a wee one and let me pinch your cheeks again." Yeah, that wouldn't be inappropriate at all at a friends wedding, so I sat there biting my tongue until I was pretty sure a steady stream of crimson blood was running down my chin, but no, it was just tears. Sweet, bitter, happy and sad tears, all at the same time. Life is truly a complex mixture of

all of the above and it leaves a salty taste on your lips as you
kiss the past goodbye and smile hopefully into the eyes of forever.

The Unknowable Things About Women, Men and Grills

 
I bebopped down the stairs this weekend with the burning question of the day for my husband... "Why do men find grilling manly?" Like any responsible and caring male would do, he promptly paused the T.V. and not only gave me the "Where the heck did this question come from?" look,but also asked where the heck the question came from... I love doing this to him. All I wanted him to do was answer the question and guess what? He got it wrong. He says they don't find it manly. My next question was.. "Then why do men who never cook or fiddle in the kitchen insist on doing the grilling?" I could tell he thought I was trying to stump him, but I wasn't... I really wanted to know why? His response... "They don't!" Beep! Wrong answer. In an effort to jog his memory I rattled off names of friends we both know and who the man always does the grilling when there is grilling to be done. This list included, as he remembered, his very own Father. Usually it involves big fancy (sometimes gleaming) machinery with fancy

barely been used grilling tools, sometimes it's as simple as a tiny charcoal grill you can only cook a couple of steaks on, but without exception most men do the grilling (our house being the exception). All I wanted to know was what part of grilling men find manly.His second answer and the one that was probably closer to the truth was... It must have something to do with cavemen and fire. That makes more sense than anything including the question itself. He wanted to know was why I was wanting to know such an abstract question in the middle of the day. Heh, because it came up in a book I was reading and I just realized that it seemed to be a man thing and I just wanted to know why. He didn't really have an answer (although I think the caveman answer is probably the best of all), but it certainly got him to thinking about something he never really thought about before. Apparently he doesn't look at it as manly, as he's never really looked at it at all. Which makes me wonder if men actually know why they do some of the things they do. I can almost guarantee you that if he asked me an abstract question about why women do some of the things we do, I could instantly explain the unexplainable in a way that would further confound and confuse him to the point that he wished he had never asked the question to begin with. The point being (now, not when I asked him the question) that women know women and what makes them tick more than men know men and what makes them tick. That my friend is the epiphany of the day, which is basically no epiphany at all since I, as a woman, as well as all women around the world, have always known the unknowable things about women.

Sunday Morning With Wee Ones

I got to play hall monitor this morning in the children's section of church. I watched as harried and tired parents hustled their wee ones to the children's area and with a sigh of relief (or reprieve) they headed to the sanctuary for a "Where the rubber meets the road" sermon that hopefully helped them make it through another week.  Young parents need all the help they can get as they work and try to to be super parents to the precious little bundles of joy God has given them. I watched as one Dad walked toward the area with his hands completely full of his wee one. She clasped on the floor in a heap with a little squeal. Finally he got her to use her two legs and they got in line behind other young parents checking their kids into class. As he stood in line we chatted as his wee one pretended he was a jungle gym, hanging from his pockets, climbing up his leg.  I couldn't help but chuckle as I told him that all too soon his frantic house would fall eerily silent due to the fact that wee ones grow up much faster than we anticipate.  Time certainly seems to fly when you're raising kids and having so much fun you can hardly stand it. I remember Sunday mornings with little ones. I remember being so flustered by the time I got to church, I felt like I needed to walk straight into the sanctuary and hit the alter to pray through before church started. For some reason (maybe it's because I was a bit of control freak where dressing the kids were concerned) my husband never grasped the idea that although boys shirts buttoned in the front, little girls dresses typically buttoned in the back. Nor did he understand the concept that little girls socks needed to be put on in what looked like an inside out fashion so when you turned the cuffs down the lacy side showed. He never did understand the need for a big glob of K-Y Jelly on the top of a bald head so a bow (which matched the dress that buttoned in the back) could be held in place. Yep, I raised my two oldest in the days before giant headbands for baby girls and nurseries with nursery attendants for all ages of children. Back in the day we had the task of keeping our babies and toddlers occupied during service, making sure they didn't disrupt the whole church.  We tried to glean nuggets out of the sermon between juggling our kids, but sometimes we were just proud that we made it there and back home in one piece. When service was over, I felt like I had been mauled by a couple of pit bulls (for some reason my husband never felt that way). Yeah, the sight of harried parents and squealing children brought back all of those delightful memories this morning and as I walked away I realized just thinking about them made me extremely tired.  I suppose that's why God lets you have kids when you are young.  Even with the mauling, the climbing and the projectile vomiting, I still wouldn't trade those memories for a room full of gold. I do so enjoy watching today's young parents fight the good fight and I especially enjoy watching grandparents pitching in, helping out and making the fight a little easier. One little guy passed by me this morning who was the spitting image of his papa and and I don't know.... It just makes me smile. Maybe some day I'll have a little one who is the spitting image of their Lolly.... Oh, won't that be fun!!!!!

Creme Brule vs. Jello

My husband and I are laying in bed. He is reading his Kindle which would mean he was reading a autobiography on some musician (boring!), and I was reading my futuristic murder mystery with just a touch of romance... not too much just enough. The following conversation (if you could really call it that) occurred.... I turn my head to stare at him while batting my eyes so fast you would have thought a wind storm was taking place in the bedroom (don't worry, this is sooo a rated G story). Nothing, I get nothing even though I know he knows I am staring at him. So.... I gently elbow him... Still nothing... I give a long deep sigh which was strong enough to blow him out of bed.... He glances over then returns to his Kindle.... Another elbow, this time not so gentle... Finally he asked.... "What?".... I say "I'm batting my eyes at you".... He glances over and acknowledges, that yes indeed

I am batting my eyes.... He goes back to the kindle.... Now my stare is getting intense, he can feel the heat but is trying to ignore it.... Finally I say... "Do I always bat my eyes at you?", to which he replies.... "Yes, in fact you do always bat your eyes at me".... Little more elbow with a tad more muscle in it..... He looks over... "What!?"... "Why won't you let me have a cat?"... He says, "I told you that you could have a cat".... I counter with.... "Yeah, but you don't want a cat".... He looks over and says... "Actually I do want a cat." Okay, now I have an admission, this may work.... "But you won't

let me have a Persian." He flatly says... "No, I want a small, female, short haired cat." (Houston here is our problem) "They are so... so... ordinary." I tell him.... "No they're not" he says, "they shed less." Try as I might my bottom lip begins to do the pout thing (used to work better than it does these days), "But they aren't special, they're ordinary, who wants just an ordinary ally cat? What's fun about that?"... "They make the best pets." he says... "How the heck do you know, all we've ever had are long haired pretty cats." I tell him.... "Douglas was a short haired and he was very special." He tells me.... "Douglas was

brain damaged!!! And totally ugly and weird!".... "No he wasn't, MK could hit his tail with a sledge hammer and he never felt it.... He was cool!" OMG, this was a stupid cat they used to have where he worked. They found it with a peanut butter jar stuck on it's head and it's tail had no feeling.... Of course, why would it with guys like that playing with it? "I had short haired when I was a kid." He said. Ugh!!!! "Get whatever you want, you usually do." he tells me. "No, dang it, I'm trying to be submissive and let you do the whole head of the family thing and I don't want a long haired cat unless you want one too." That should have totally brought him over to my side of the fence, I mean the whole being submissive thing and head of the family thing should have just had him jumping right over that fence, but NO! He goes right on reading, ignoring the batting of the eyes, the little pouty lip thing, just

ignoring it all. See this is why I usually just go out and do what I want to do without asking. It's so hard to engage in a Fox Network News "Fair and balanced" debate when the other person won't engage.... Dangit! Fine, just fine! So I need to talk, I'll talk to someone else... I'll text my friend.... "He says I can have a cat but he wants a short haired girl. ORDINARY!" Without hesitation she replies.... "LOL, at least you can have one. I have one for you. It's probably inbred... That's not ordinary... LOL" I text back "I don't just want any cat, I want a designer cat not a walmart cat, no offense. I could insist but I'm trying to be agreeable (trying a different approach). She replies "LMAO, non takin. You are creme brule... I'm jello. I'm happy being jello." Even my texting conversation isn't going as planned... She is suppose to be on my side, it's written in the by-laws of Girl World. "Yeah, I am a little Creme Brule." I really am trying to change. It sucks when you want things the way you want them but you're stuck in the frozen food section at Wal-Mart (on groundhog day no less).So, I go to the Humane Society (I go, I don't meander there because I'm not on vacation). They had a couple of pretty cats, but both were of course, long haired. I petted a few, waited for something to jump out at me and say "Take me to my forever home." Can't say one of them really did, especially given the "restrictions" I'm under.  They had a beautiful Maine Coon, which is no ordinary cat. A Maine Coon has the personality of a dog, not a cat and they are funny, funny, but also have very long hair. I guess since I'm a little like Sally (on when Harry Met Sally)....

"If not, then nothing at all"... "You mean no pie?".... "No, I'll take the pie but not heated.".... 

Unless a miracle of biblical proportion happens (like when Jesus turned the water into wine)and somehow this Creme Brule is turned to jello, I get no cat. When my two dogs pass away I'll just be a petless woman with an empty nest... Because if I can't be Creme Brele I'll just be nothing at all.

How was that? Was it pathetic enough, but not too pathetic? Just the perfect amount of pathetic to make him cave???? Probably not, the head of the house rules  DANGIT!

Addendum: My daughter called last night and like most Daddy's girls can do, completely changed his way of thinking about cats:-) So maybe I can be a generic version of Creme Brule. I am a little offended that his sudden turn around didn't have anything to do with my eye lashes, how fast I batted them, or my renown pout... I still get points for being submissive too, because if all goes well, I'll bring the cat home today when I could have brought it home yesterday before he had seen the light....

The Hands That Holds My Heart

To love is to willingly place your heart in the hands of another. To love is to risk all happiness, all joy, all pain and all failure. To love is to understand that love may not be returned... Yet you love without regard. To love is to know the greatest joy on earth and to feel the greatest pain possible often at the same time. The greatest gift in life is to love until it hurts.....  29 years ago today, I placed my heart in the hands of a man that would love me forever and in return he placed his heart in my hands.There is no doubt that we complete

each other. We are two halves that make a whole.I can't tell you how much these 29 years have meant to me... The world. I know that the next 29 years will be just as great as long as our hearts are in each others hands. There is no safer place for our hearts to be... Together Forever

The Jerk - are you awake - You've Made Me Very Happy

I love this clip from the Jerk!!! The 19th of this month I will have been married (to the same man) for 29 great years.... But it seems more like 33 years and 7 months....  In a good way. A sense of humor is a key ingredient in a good marriage.... At least if you're married to me it is! I'm pretty sure this last year has probably seemed like 7 years and 4 months to him... Not in a good way. I know he's probably aged more this year than any other. LOL! He's a trooper and I can honestly say I'd do it all again.... "If that's okay, then just don't say anything...... You've made me very happy."

Let The Budget Begin

$$$$$$

After being the official "Bill Payer" at our house for 20 some odd years, I decided to turn the reigns over to my husband. We've been married now for almost 29 years. There have been times.... Very short periods of time, where we attempted to do the bills together. Let's just say that we decided that we would live longer and happier if we didn't do that any more and yours truly somehow ended up with it. I remember the day "I Quit" like it was yesterday. I worried and juggled and still nothing came out with us on the winning end, so I gathered all of the bills, all of our check stubs and all of my ledger stuff in one big arm full and headed up the stairs. My husband lay on the bed reading a book as I dumped the load of bills (I really want to use another word there but won't since this is a family friendly blog)on the bed and in the sweetest tone I could muster up told him..... "I'm not doing this any more!" It was one of those rare moments where he just had to take one look at my face and he instinctively knew.... "Just don't ask any questions, remain calm and give her whatever it is she is asking for." I had big crocodile tears rolling down my cheeks and I was in a full fledged meltdown. He sweetly said he would be happy to do it from now on, I turned around, walked down the stairs and went along my merry little way. From that point forward every Monday has been his hell day. Every Monday I would come home for lunch to find him hunkered over the breakfast table with the bills and checks laid out neatly in rows on the table. He didn't talk about it and I didn't ask. Truly I felt like I had paid my dues and it didn't bother me a bit to watch him pay his. I know that sounds harsh, but that's how I felt. So last month he read a Dave Ramsey book and a couple of weeks ago informed me that "We are going on a budget." I think I was turning the bed down as he began to tell me how The Budget would work (I thought I'd wait and hear him out before I turned his side of the bed down since I wasn't so sure he'd be sleeping in it that night). He explained there would be an envelope for different things (such as hair care and stuff) and if there was any money left in each envelope at the end of the month it didn't carry over (like my roll-over cell phone minutes) but it went directly into the savings. My response was A)My hair care and shoe and shopping envelope needs to be LEGAL size, not some little note card size envelope. B)Since he only needed two pairs of shoes,hence I should be allotted a portion of his shoe allowance. C)Who the heck doesn't allow roll-overs? Some months my hair needs a little care, some months my hair may need a lot of care and I'm just thinking this whole envelope budget thing should pertain mainly to low maintenance gendered people such as males. He ever so gently assured me that.... and these are his exact words...."This is going to be fun!" I kid you not, those words actually came out of his mouth. He made the mistake of telling me we had to wait and start it at the beginning of September. Yes!!! Sunday the 29th of August, was my all day shopping trip to the City! With cash in hand (because we are starting out debt free and will no longer use credit cards, LOL), I hit every store I could Sunday. Bought clothes for the fat side of the closet, the skinny side of the closet and the transitional side of the closet. I am now officially ready for the fun to begin!!! Bring it on.