Friday, May 24, 2013

From My Front Porch - May 24, 2013



from my front porch




Welcome back to my new blog series, From my Front Porch, where I share weekly updates from my home and family. My hope is that you'll fix yourself a cup of coffee or tea, or perhaps even a glass of lemonade, and imagine us sitting together on my front porch, chatting about life and catching up on the latest news!  I hope you'll join me each Friday on My Front Porch!  





Around the House

The house is coming together. We feel pretty settled now, but there are still a few boxes that need to be unpacked and some spaces that need to be better organized.  (Plus, I haven't yet tackled that bonus room!)  I'm trying to be patient, knowing it will all get done in time. 

 Are you ready to get back to the tour?  Last week we entered the front door and went to the right and took a quick tour of the "music room."  Today, I want to take you to the left into the dining room.

 Fortunately, our dining room is just long enough to accommodate my mahogany banquet table with one of its leaves in and 12 chairs around the table, which accommodates the base family!  ;) I have another leaf and four additional chairs that can be squeezed around the table for holidays or family gatherings. With all the leaves in, the table would have to come out into the foyer a bit to fit, but that's the nice thing about having those open, arched doorways!



On one wall, I centered my china cabinet and placed two of the extra chairs on either side.  As you've probably noticed, I like things to be symmetrical!  :)  Do you?




This is the opposite side of the dining room, where there are two windows that look out onto my front porch. Not sure what I'll do about window treatments -- but that is way down the road for sure.


This is actually the view you would see from the foyer looking through the dining room toward the kitchen.  I really want to buy some beautiful Word Art for that back wall!  I'm not sure what quote or verse I want to display there, but I'm thinking I will know the right thing when I see it!  Any suggestions?? 




I often sit at the dining room with Matt and Bethany while they do their school work and work on blog posts or respond to emails.  It is generally cool and quiet in that back corner, and close to any projects I have going in the kitchen!  :)

 Next week we will venture into the kitchen for the next stop on the tour of our new house!

Family News

Last Friday my hubby had to give a presentation in Atlanta, so he invited me to join him for the weekend.  I'm not exactly a big city kind of girl, so the ATL would not have been my first choice of destinations, but it worked! We managed to squeeze in a little anniversary getaway and enjoy some time together and get some much needed rest too.  It was a fun weekend!



Alan likes to spoil me when he can, and he treated me to lots of delicious food, such as this yummy Bison Burger Salad at Ted's Montana Grill.

We also walked to Ruth Chris Steakhouse one night, where he treated me to the best steak I've ever had in my life!  After dinner, we walked through Centennial Park, where the 1996 Olympics were held.



On Saturday my sweet husband took me shopping for a dress for the upcoming wedding.  We both expected it to be a long day of going from store to store and trying on dress after dress.  So, Alan settled himself on a bench with a pile of paperwork.  Would you believe I found not one but three dresses that fit well and looked good on me at the very first store??  When I had three finalists selected, I texted Alan and he came up to the dressing room in Dillard's and I modeled all three for him, saving my favorite for last. As soon as I tried on the last dress, he said, "That's the one!  It's perfect!"  Yay!  That is one dreaded chore accomplished!  :)

 Here I am modeling my second favorite dress.  This is not the dress I purchased -- you will have to wait until after the wedding to see it!  :)


Weekends away are fun while they last, but we were soon home and thrown into another busy week!  Many days this past week this was the view from my front porch:


That's a rather unusual view for this time of year, as May is usually hot and sunny in South Georgia, but we have had several cool, rainy days this May.  Fortunately, the rain cleared up and the sun came out in time for our homeschool co-op's end-of-the-year picnic at the beach, which was yesterday. It was a beautiful day!!  Enjoy these pictures of our fun in the sun!













It has been a fabulous week!!  How was your week?  Did you do anything special?
If you have time, please drop by my dear friend, Lori's blog.  She blogs from the front porch of her cozy little log cabin nestled in the woods of the South Carolina mountains.  You will enjoy her warm and witty writing style!  Tell her that Elizabeth sent you!  :)







Please join me again next Friday on my front porch!!



This post is linked up with:
Missional Women





















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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

T-Tapp: Deep Discount Tuesday



I've had so much upheaval in my life over the past several months that I discontinued all attempts at exercising, except for some occasional walking in the neighborhood. I've decided it is time to get back to working out; however, so yesterday I dusted off one of my T-Tapp DVDs and pushed Play.  It was harder than I rememberd, and I didn't make it all the way through!  But, I will do it again today, and hope to do a little more everyday until I can complete the entire workout.
Would you like to join me?  I really need someone to keep me accountable, as I have trouble sticking with an exercise program, even one as awesome as T-Tapp! 
Now is a perfect time to get started with T-Tapp or to move up to a new workout, as TODAY ONLY (Tuesday) you can buy any workout DVD for 50% off!!  That is an unprecedented deal that you aren't likely to see again any time soon!
Perhaps you've never heard of T-Tapp and you are wondering what this strange sounding workout is all about!  First of all, it does not involve tap dancing or any other form of dancing!  :)  It is actually a deceptively simple, but actually very sophisticated, anti-aging workout that heals the body while building muscle.  Click here to discover the comprehensive answer to the question, "What is T-Tapp?"
Does T-Tapp work?  Read Charlotte's amazing transformation here!  (Don't forget to watch the videos!)  Or read any of the success stories feature on the Home Page.
Hate to invest money before you know what this workout is all about?  You can Try Before you Buy thanks to Teresa's generosity with the YouTube videos featured here. 
Below you will find the information you need to take advantage of this month's Deep Discount Tuesday!

DDT icon.png
This Deep Discount Tuesday enjoy 50% off all T-Tapp Workouts including all Starter Systems and Variety Workouts.  
Use coupon code DDT032113 at checkout to recieve this discount on your T-Tapp order.  
BONUS:  All orders over $100 receive their choice of either Digest+ (Retail $49.95), Pyruvyl-Glycine Spray (Retail $39.95) or HCG-PG Spray (Retail $43.95)

Click here for a full list OF T-TAPP WORKOUTS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE.

Check out the NEWEST Workout (not even announced yet) T-Tapp BROOM 2 NOW AVAILABLE!  

Need help?  
HOW TO PLACE YOUR ORDER ON DEEP DISCOUNT TUESDAY

1.  Select the products that you want to purchase and add them to your cart.
2.  When you are done selecting the items you want, click the "Proceed To Checkout" button. 
3.  In Step 4 of checkout, type the coupon code (DDT032113) in the box for "Redeem a Gift Certificate or Coupon".

ORDER OVER $100?  Type Digest+, Pyruvyl-Glycine Spray or HCG-PG Spray to select your bonus item in the "Order Instructions/Comments (Optional)" box.
5.  Proceed to payment and enter your payments details.
6.  Have a great day!  :)

THIS SPECIAL IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON DEEP DISCOUNT TUESDAY ON 5/21/13. 


Please leave me a comment and let me know if you will be joining me in my quest for fitness via the amazing T-Tapp workout!  I'd love to encourage each other to keep on keeping on!
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Monday, May 20, 2013

Marriage Monday: What to Do about those Warts! {Link up}


Marriage Mondays



Welcome back to Marriage Monday! Did you catch my post last week on What to Do When Your Prince Acts Like a Frog?  If not, you might want to click over and give it a quick read, because I'm going to continue with the frog analogy today!  :)

Here is an excerpt from last week's post:
As young brides we often expect our handsome, young husbands to be our "knights in shining armor," saving us from all of our problems!  Even if we notice a few "warts" during our dating or courtship, we expect those to all disappear when we say, "I do," because we fully expect that frog to become our Prince Charming!  In real life, our Prince may continue to exhibit a few frog-like characteristics for the rest of his life!  The real test of our commitment and love is whether we are willing to treat him like a Prince even if he sometimes acts like a frog!
photo credit
Today I want to talk about those warts!  :)  Every frog prince has some!  ;)

 Have you ever had a wart??  They are not serious or life-threatening, just ugly and irritating. We are usually embarrassed by them and try to hide them from others.  We are also likely to try all kinds of medicated creams or crazy natural remedies to make them disappear.  (Ever tried getting rid of warts with duct tape??)

 The "warts" we find on our husbands are about the same -- not really serious issues that threaten the life of our marriage, just little irritating or embarrassing habits or eccentricities that become increasingly annoying over time.  

 Here are a few "home remedies" to try if you have a "wart" problem:
1. Overlook them.

 If possible, just try to ignore or overlook those little irritations, remembering that Proverbs 19:11 says that it is a glory to overlook a transgression.  Since men love to solve problems with duct tape, and since there is actual evidence that duct tape really is effective in removing warts, I suggest using the duct tape method in your marriage. When your husband does something to irritate or annoy you, just imagine covering up that fault with duct tape! After all, 1 Peter 4:8 says that love (duct tape?!) covers a multitude of sins!!!  :)
2. Communicate Clearly.

 Many times as wives we are guilty of sulking, storming around the house, and using the silent treatment and/or the cold shoulder technique when we are irritated with or offended by our husbands.  Our men may actually find relief by our use of the silent treatment, but probably not so much by the cold shoulder!  ;)  None of these strategies is a mature or effective way to resolve conflict, however!  Instead, we need to communicate clearly with our husbands and let them know what they are doing that irritates us and what they can do differently.  (Next week I plan to address effective communication tips.)
3. Change our Attitudes.

 When we have to live with small irritations that never seem to change, these little things can grow into huge mountains of frustration in our minds. We can very easily blow them out of proportion!  It is at this point that we need to thank God for those irritating habits, because God can use them to build character in our lives! Also, we need to simply step back and be thankful for our husbands, "warts" and all! Many wives whose husbands have been taken suddenly through heart attacks, strokes, car accidents, etc. would gladly go back to cleaning toothpaste off the mirror, putting the seat down on the toilet, picking up dirty socks off the floor, or cleaning up muddy boot tracks just to have their husbands back. Perspective is everything!
4. Swallow the pride.

 Many times we put up with our husbands little irritating or annoying habits on a day-to-day basis, but then we over-react when these are displayed in front of others. Ever wonder why? It's because of the age-old problem - Pride! In other words, they embarrass us in front of our friends or family, and suddenly some little issue is blown way out of proportion! Yes, your husband may humiliate you at times, but just remember that God has promised to give grace to the humble!  :) We all need His grace and a dose of humility is usually a good thing!  

5.  Recognize your own faults.

 One way to ditch the pride and be clothed with humility is to examine ourselves and discover our own "warts."  The truth is that we wives have plenty of habits that our husbands find irritating, frustrating, or embarrassing, too.  Perhaps, always making him late is one of them?  Or over-reacting to little things??  ;) If after careful examination, we don't find any "warts" on ourselves, we should ask our husbands to point out a few!  If our husbands are extremely brave men, I'm sure they will be glad to oblige!  :)

Your Turn to Share:

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.  How do you deal with your husband's "warts?" What does he do about yours?  And just out of curiosity, have you ever gotten rid of a wart using duct tape??  ;)  Please share your experiences by leaving a comment here or over on my Facebook page, so we might all be encouraged and built up as wives!


If you were blessed or encouraged by this post, please consider sharing it with your friends on Facebook or other social media sites.  Thank you!


Link up:

I'd love to have you link up your blog to mine!  Please link up any past or present posts related to Christian marriage.  Don't forget to link back to my blog!  Thanks!







marriage mondays








Blogs I link up with from week to week:

Happy Wives Club





Photobucket

The Alabaster Jar






















Marriage Moment


What Joy Is Mine





Growing Home














Courtship Connection









































Wise-Woman-Builds







Missional Women







Please link up your blog post on marriage below. Where it says "Your Name" enter the title of your blog post, not your personal name! Thanks! :)
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