Please Welcome Anna Kate

Bobby's sister Aimee had her second daughter this weekend and we became an aunt and uncle again! Woohoo!! Or shall I say future Aunt Sam! But, Hope just calls me Ms.Sam. Either way we were super excited and spent most of Saturday at the hospital and were so excited to meet her and be with Bobby's family. He just loves Hope and will love Miss. Anna Kate as well. The picture below is her just after she was born Saturday night. They put some lotion on her face after she was cleaned up so she looks a little greasy but she's adorable. So sweet!! Another one to spoil!

Pampered

Last night our neighbor Jennifer had a Pampered Chef party. Originally I had decided not to go because of my budget, then we talked about it and I decided that it would be money well spent for the amount of time I spend in the kitchen and because I do enjoy cooking. So away I went to my first Pampered Chef party. I think my mom has mad one before and maybe even my grandmother, but I have never been in attendance. We do have a few items however because they have been passed down to us and Bobby purchased a few grilling items from someone at work. Needless to say my opinion going into it was that it was over priced and not really the basics. But... I was turned into a believer and purchased a few items. Plus, I even signed up to host a party!! (In May) We'll see how that goes. The item I am most excited about is the micro cooker. It is basically a microwave steamer. I'm pumped because we steam a lot of veggies and this will make it so much easier!! I love how they come up with new things that make home cooking great!

Grooming Visit For Not

The puppies were groomed Saturday and they looked great! It was a wonderful birthday gift to have clean pups... but that only lasted about 24 hours because then it rained like crazy Sunday. AWESOME!

They look like sad pups, but they aren't. They are very happy pups, but those darn Beagle eyes make them look sad.

You Only Turn 27 Once

This weekend was officially birthday weekend for me and I couldn't have asked for more. Bobby and my mom (more Bobby) planned a great bowling party with my best friends and family. It was really a great time. I enjoy bowling and we wanted something that was fun and would cross the ages as we had my grandparents, Bobby's niece and our friends. It really worked out. We even made awards, "Princess Bowler," "MVP," "King Pin," and "Real American Bowler." Hope was given the Princess Bowler, Teddy MVP, Brandy King Pin and Robyn Real American Bowler. I got killed in all 3 games we played, but it was fun and great to have everyone there to celebrate me getting older (blah!) Pictures below:

Office Re-Model

Over the last week or so we've been re-modeling our office. We have gone from stark white walls and navy carpet to cream walls and a patterned carpet. What a difference. You walk in our office now and it feels more "homey" and a lot more inviting. Additionally, the office is a lot more presentable for new and prospective clients. As long as we can keep the clutter to a minimum we'll be good. They even redid the kitchen. My office feels very "comfy" these days and it really does help with productivity in my opinion. Office view below, but it doesn't look like you can really see the color in these. Nonetheless, you can see where I spend the majority of my day...

St. Patrick's Day - AKA March 17th

St. Patrick's Day has several important meanings, one of which is one of my favorite people's birthdays. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jackie! I hope you enjoy it and live it up! The other meaning has something to do with Ireland, Green Beer and pots of gold at the end of rainbows. All of which are OK with me. We had the honor of being invited to the Pizza household last night for their traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner. It was great and my first time to eat corn beef and cabbage. And what a dinner it was. Johnny spent the entire day cooking and preparing. We had the best corn beef, which I was a little scared of at first and great cabbage. I'm not sure that I have ever been somewhere on St.Pat's day that actually serves corn beef and cabbage. It was a great treat and something that has inspired me to make this dish next year and join in the celebration. I hope you all had a great St. Patrick's Day.

Picture Session

These are our cute babies. We couldn't ask for much more!

Passing The Time

Every morning and every evening I have the pleasure of sitting in traffic. I am sure if you read this blog you are aware of how much traffic and I do not get along. But, we have developed a love/hate relationship. If I can get some good tunes and maybe a call or two on my phone I'm good to go. But, yesterday the radio was not on my side and the rain made my commute home a good 2+ hours. AWESOME! I started to play games with myself while sitting in the parking lot knows as 285 West. I made up stories about the people in the cars to my left and right and the trucker behind me. Then I noticed the license plate on the little red convertible Lexus in front of me. I notice plates a lot lately because sometimes there isn't anything else to focus on. This plate said MRSBJ. At first I read it as Mr. SBJ, then I realized it could be MRS. BJ. WHY would anyone want Mrs. BJ on their license plate?? So I had to know who was driving the car and I really wanted to pull over and ask them what they were thinking. So, I merged to the left and tried to get around a few cars to pass the Lexus. Come to find out there was a very attractive woman driving this cute little car with the terrible plate on the back. She looked normal and well dressed, which from my car passing by is a good assessment in my opinion and about all I knew/know about her. I started to think about the scenarios to how that plate was designed. Did she decide she would be Mrs. BJ or did her husband/significant other. Was she really Mrs. Brain Jones or Brett Jordan... or OMG Mrs. Bobby Johnson! I would be Mrs. BJ!! I quickly decided I would go with Bobby's "real" name in all references to Mrs. anything. I would have to be Mrs. Robert Johnson in the effort to avoid being Mrs.BJ.

Other plates I noticed last night were a few that started with BVI, to me that means British Virgin Islands. Probably not planned or intended to make you think that, but those made me smile. Then there was a T ROD 8. I wanted to ask him in his little Geo, why 8 and what happened to 1-7. My favor was MSTHNG and H8THIS. I really will notice plates a lot more now and might even try to get mine customized the next time I renew!

I did a search for a few pictures online since in the rain last night my camera would not have made out any of the plates really well and those are to the above right. Enjoy and take notice of the "vanity" plates (as they call them) around you. It might give you a little glimpse into the type of person that is driving the car.

Love Like Crazy

This morning on my way into work in the rain, I turned my radio to XM 11, the country station. If I am just not in the mood for morning talk radio on our local stations I can always find some good tunes on XM. The song that was playing when I hit 285 (the worst road in my morning commute) was Lee Brice's song "Love Like Crazy." I have heard this song many times before but never really listened to the lyrics well enough. Today I cranked it up and realized that it was an amazing song about Love and really embodies everything I feel about the four letter word that makes and brakes people L O V E! The chorus is the best part and how I aspire to love:
be a best friend
tell the truth
over use i love you
go to work
do your best
dont out smart your common sense
never let your prayin knees get lazy
and love like crazy

I think Love is sometimes a mystery to people who have really never felt it. But, once you do and you know its real and reciprocated then life is good and you couldn't ask for me. This song is really a great work of country music and even though I wasn't feeling well this morning it really put me into a great mood. I found it on YouTube and have it below, its not his official video, but it makes the point and the song is great. Enjoy and remember LOVE LIKE CRAZY!!!!

Spring Table

This weekend I was inspired to make my own table arrangement. I'm not really sure what got me going, but I had an idea and wanted to just do it. So, I did! I took a bowl my sister gave us for Christmas and filled it with the floral foam, Oasis, and then added flowers. I picked up new Spring place mats and napkins as well. We were all set for the dinner we had Saturday night and I think it looked great!

Our Babies Love The Snow

It's amazing to me how they like to play in the snow but hate the rain. Hines has no problems rolling around in the freezing snow and getting covered in the fluff, but he won't go outside when its raining. Go figure!

Blog

In a conversation earlier this morning I started thinking about what a blog really is. What it means to me and how other people see them. For those who don't blog and are more private people they don't understand and its hard to explain. But, I thought I would try. A blog as defined by the all mighty Wikipedia : A blog (a contraction of the term "web log")[1] is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (Art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (Video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts

I like this definition as it really defines a blog and I view it as a personal way of expression. Much like some people write, or play music, I blog to express myself. Wikipedia goes on to say: The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life, or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following. One type of personal blog, referred to as a microblog, is extremely detailed and seeks to capture a moment in time. Some sites, such as Twitter, allow bloggers to share thoughts and feelings instantaneously with friends and family, and are much faster than emailing or writing.

I personally strive to capture the moments in my life and share them with people who care of matter, even if "those people" only consists of me, myself and I. With that I blog on and hope everyone will understand a little more now, WHY I blog. Self expression in my opinion is one of the best things a person can do to contribute to their lives and the lives of others.

March Madness Family Style

So March is a busy month in the Phillips Family. We have 4 birthdays and there is always a lot going on. We start the month off with Jamie on March 3rd, then Randy on March 10th, I'm the 22nd and Chris is the 28th. We just love to celebrate birthdays so its a busy and fun month.

This weekend we celebrated Jamie's Birthday with family dinner at P F Chang out at the Mall of Georgia. It was really a great dinner and my sister hopefully had a great time. I had some really cute pictures of her blowing out the candles but she didn't like them, so I won't post them at her request. But, we got to see little Jolie and Bobby and I just love her! Bobby really is great with kids which makes me ecstatic.