I am THRILLED!!!

Way to go, McCain!!! I am SO excited about your choice for vice president!!!

You go, Sarah Palin!!!

Some info on Palin and her stance on big issues:

Palin for VP

More on Palin

WE'RE GOING!!!

We've got tickets and are going to THE game!!! YEA! The only unfortunate thing is that we can't leave until Saturday afternoon, but that's ok. We're going to see THE TIDE play!!! YEA!
Our boys are going to watch the Dawgs (actually, Tristan will watch the Dawgs, Asher will tailgate and then go back to the Center to hang out with Mimi).
I am SO excited!

Thursday's Random Thoughts

COLLEGE FOOTBALL EDITION

Last week, I shared some of my random thoughts. Today, I've got some more to share, specific to college football. Here they are:

It's here! It's finally here! I just can't believe that it's already time for college football. It almost doesn't even seem real. Tonight, I will be able to watch a college football game...live. It won't be a replay from 2005. Yippee!!!

The Tide plays on Saturday. I can't wait! I hope John Parker Wilson has a clear head. They say he's more focused. I hope so. When he's good, he's great, but when he's intimidated, it's all down hill from there. I trust that he'll be ready.

Clemson? I mean, what's all this talk about Clemson? We can take them. Yes, we can. We can, can't we? Yes we can. Don't waiver!

Julio Jones. Should I follow the hype? I mean, everyone's talking about him. I'm ready to see him play. I won't go on and on about him. I think he'll be great, but I also think that Clemson will have him covered. They've heard the hype too.

My brother has box seats. What are the chances? Box seats to one of the hardest games to get tickets for? How is that fair? I mean, I think I deserve a box seat; at this point, I would take a nose bleed seat. I want to see my Tide roll! UPDATE: WE HAVE TICKETS!!! WE'RE GOING TO THE GAME!!! WOO HOO!!! Hmmm...Wonder if my brother will trade tickets? Unlikely...

Do LSU fans really like their colors? I mean, in all honesty...really? How do the men feel about having to wear purple and yellow...oh, I mean gold. Oh, and do their fans really smell like corn dogs? I mean, that's what I hear. ;)

As for Auburn, Bama, PLEASE don't lose to Auburn again. Seriously, please.

Georgia Bulldogs...hmmm...So tough for me. They really used to be my second favorite team. Then I had to be taunted and aggravated continually by Channing's brother and dad...continually. When it comes to football, they can make me madder than fire (a nice southern phrase). They've kind of turned me against Georgia. Sad, but true. The past couple of years, I've struggled with my desire to be a good wife and support and root for them because it's so important to my hubby. I want to do it from my heart, though. Sometimes I'm successful, then a Georgia fan ruins it for me. This year, I'll have to try to gear myself up again to root for the Dawgs. HOWEVER, I really really really want Bama to beat them this year...really. If Alabama were to win only two games, I would want them to beat Auburn and beat Georgia (in no particular order). Oh, and I LOVE my father-in-law and brother-in-law. We just don't see eye to eye when it comes to football. They really push my buttons on this.

Georgia has a TOUGH schedule, not that you would hear it from them. HA! They like to remind us of that. It's true, though. If it weren't for their tough schedule, I think they would take the national title. Thing is, they do have a tough schedule. I don't think this year is their year. Love ya, Mark Richt!

Florida Gators...I pick them to take it this year. I think it's their year. I think they'll beat Georgia this year since they were embarrassed by them last year. Too, they have an amazing quarterback (I dare say the best).

I listen to A LOT of sports radio. I have been AMAZED that all they talk about is Alabama. Seriously. I'm sure that must get extremely annoying to the fans of other teams. I mean, it's annoying to me, and I am a Bama fan. EVERY time I turn on sports radio, they are talking about Nick Saban and/or Alabama. Seriously...every time. Often times, they're talking bad about Nick and my Tide, but they're talking about them nonetheless. Find something else to talk about, or get more supportive.

How can everyone not be a Tide fan? I just don't get it. How can you not feel that excitement well up inside when you see those crimson helmets run out onto the field? How can everyone not have that crimson pride??? Channing gets this question EVERY year. I just don't understand it...at all.

Along those lines, how can people not love college football? I mean, really?! Do you know that there are people out there who would rather shop than watch ESPN's College Game Day??? These same people totally miss all the games each Saturday. Craziness! There's no sport as great as college football. It's the best!!! Come on, people! You gotta love it!

I hope my mom doesn't trash talk this year. Every year, she trash talks Auburn fans and fans of other teams. When they have a bad week and we have a good one, they don't hear the end of it. Thing is, she doesn't even watch football! She's one of those "Saturday Shoppers". If you DON'T watch football and don't have a passion for your team, keep your trash talking to yourself. I mean, that just makes sense, dontcha think? You make the rest of us look bad.

It aggravates me when some Christians who don't like football assume that those of us who are passionate about it are not passionate about Christ. That is true for some but not for all. It is possible to get excited about multiple things. :)

There is no conference in the nation as tough as the SEC. They deserve respect!

One final thought....ROLLLLLLLLLLL TIDE! Bama, I can't wait to watch you play!!!

For those who don't know me, this was all said very tongue in cheek. I'm a super sarcastic person. I'm not trying to be ugly. :)

Confessions of a Messy Mom

Ok, I admit it...I'm coming clean...I am messy. Actually, messy is an understatement. I am a walking tornado. Yes, that sounds about right. A walking tornado. I leave a path of destruction everywhere I go...at home, at work...everywhere. Ok, well I guess not everywhere, just at my places. I'm not proud of this. It's pretty embarrassing, actually. I'm just incredibly messy.

Problem is, my husband is incredibly messy too. If I'm a walking tornado, he's the massive hurricane. He blows through the house and leaves destruction as well. This is a problem. You see, in most marriages, there is one or the other in the relationship. You may have one messy, and the other is a total clean freak (btw, clean freaks...I SO admire you). They kind of balance each other out.

Not Channing and me. We both leave destruction (our poor kids!). I can have the house totally clean, and in like 30 minutes, it's a complete disaster. I mean, how does that happen? I've tried all kinds of things to get better: I've attended an organization seminar (I left with more clutter), I joined flylady (yet another thing to keep up with. Who has the time? Plus, she says, "Don't expect it to happen overnight. Things didn't get a mess overnight, and it can't be fixed overnight." I beg to differ. As I said earlier, we do make messes VERY quickly), I've prayed about, I've quizzed the clean freaks. So far, my inspiration always wears off.

Just three months ago, God led me to Proverbs 31 and showed me the error of my ways (as He lovingly tends to do). I was also reminded of 1 Corinthians 14:33 of the NIV : "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." It was the inspiration I needed. I was on fire. My home looked great (we're not counting closets and drawers here, ok?). I felt great. Then things went back to normal. I got super busy, and my house got super messy. I'm now back where I started. In a pit of messiness, trying to claw my way out.

How about you? Are you a clean freak, or are you messy? Clean freaks, let me in on your secrets. What is it that drives you to insanity if you see a piece of lint on the floor? What is it about crayons on the floor that makes you twitch? Can you pass that on to me? Believe me, I would take it. I want it. I need some of that.
You see, it bothers me to have a mess, but I get so overwhelmed that I don't know where to begin.
Realistically, I don't think I'll ever be a clean freak (although my mom wasn't either until a few years ago, now she's a super clean freak like my grandmother. It kind of gives me hope). I would like to be somewhat orderly, though.

If you're messy, let me know, why is it that you're messy? What are your challenges? Am I alone in this?

As for my opening sentence, I just read it and found it kind of ironic, "Ok, I admit it...I'm coming clean... IF ONLY I were coming clean. Ha! :) Oh! That's not a personal picture of one of my messes, but it sure does come close!

Soccer Season Has Begun

Tristan's 2008 soccer season started with practice last week. This is his second year playing. He played last fall but wasn't crazy about it. He played t-ball in the spring and LOVED it, but our city doesn't have a 4 year old t-ball league for the fall season. Some of our t-ball teammates opted to play anyway, they just have to play up. So they play with ages 4-6 and use machine pitch. We have confidence that Tristan could handle the machine pitch; however, the older the kids get, the more competitive the parents get. We got a taste of that during our t-ball tournament when score was actually kept. Some of the parents and coaches go CRAZY. In my opinion, they take it WAY too seriously. This fall, we kind of wanted to keep things mellow. So we went for soccer.

Tristan is on the team with one of his very best friends, so that brought a little more excitement to the sport for him. Another fun thing is that everyone from his last year's soccer team is playing again this year. All through the season, we'll get to see them. YEA! They were a super sweet group.

Here are some pictures from Tristan's first practice:

Aren't they precious?! I just love watching little kids play sports!
Getting his ball set for the big kick:Coach Steven:
Tristan and his buddy, T:
Running for the kick!
In our family, we really all like baseball better, but soccer will be a nice change of pace. It's so fun to watch all the kids run all over the field, and it's fun to catch up with all the soccer moms and dads. Too, it's very rare to find a "do or die" soccer dad out there. For the most part, everyone's out there to have a good time and to watch their kids have fun. AND, one of the greatest things about soccer is that the kids run through a "parent tunnel" at the end. T-ball is really missing that super important part. There's no parent tunnel.

Tristan's First Day in 4K

The day has finally come, the day Tristan has been waiting for. Today was his first day in four year old kindergarten. Tristan lovingly refers to four year old kindergarten as "four and a half year old kindergarten" because he is four and a half. He corrects me every time I say the other.

Since this is such a milestone, I, of course, had to take LOTS of pictures! I wish I could spare you! ;)

Here is he is with his folder. He had not been given his bag yet, so we just had to pose with his homework folder.Here he is in the car getting buckled up. Excited about seeing his friends!
Daddy and Tristan
Tristan and me
He was SO patient with me this morning! I really did take A LOT of pictures.
Here is Tristan at his classroom. I had to get a shot of him in front of his class sign.
This is when he actually started to look a little nervous. He assured me that he wasn't, though.On Friday, when we met his teacher, she told him that each day he came to school, he would need to drop his snack in the left bucket and his folder in the right. Here he is following directions.Snapshot of Tristan and his new teacher, Mrs. Ashley. She is super sweet. Channing and I have a lot of confidence in her.
Settling in at his table. He was assigned a choice seat with the pretty ladies!This is the first year that I've dropped Tristan off and didn't leave in tears. I guess because I had Channing there for support. Channing, however, had a more difficult time letting go. He didn't cry, but I worried he might.

Three hours after we dropped him off, it was time to pick him up. Here he was waiting in the car line. We were SO excited to see him and to hear all about his school day.
As usual, he was much less interested in giving us play by play details of his day and much more interested in being silly. While I was quizzing him about everything school, he decided to take a break from answering and put his school bag on his head. My silly boy!This was Tristan's very last first day of 4K. He is growing up! It's exciting to see but a little (ok, a lot) sad too. I just kind of wish I could freeze time. I'm not ready to lose my baby!
This year, 4K. Next year KINDERGARTEN. Where has the time gone?!

The Publix Corporate Coupon Policy

I am currently preparing to lead a church small group based on frugal shopping and giving. Among many other things, my preparations include getting all the local stores' corporate coupon policies in writing (safest bet). Sweetwater Savings has Publix's corporate policy via email. One down, several to go!

To see the Publix corporate coupon policy, check out the post on Sweetwater Savings:

Publix Coupon Policy

Also, I had a friend who talked to Publix corporate and was told that they do not consider CVS to be one of their competitors. Therefore, the corporate office does not accept their coupons. My personal Publix store always accepted them when I used them there, but since their corporate office disapproves, I am no longer using drug store coupons at Publix. Just a little FYI.

Sarah at Fiddledeedee has more info on Publix. It seems my favorite store is starting to crack down on the coupons they accept.

For those of you who are just here to see my kiddos' pictures...SORRY to bore you! :) I'm just in major preparation for my small group, and I want to make sure I teach the right things. I want to make my Savior proud!