Our Sunday in Review

Here are a few quick highlights from our day ...


Off to church! It's fun to walk with Kate--and a little strange, too. It feels weird not carrying her or pushing her stroller. Today was the last Sunday she could wear her white sandals, seeing as how Labor Day is tomorrow. HAHAHAHA! Just kidding. That old-school rule doesn't still apply, does it? I still feel compelled to follow it anyway. (I don't have any white shoes, belts, pants, dresses or handbags, so it's pretty easy for me to abide by the old rule. Oh, wait! I do have some white tennis shoes. Hope those are OK. Oh yeah--and my wedding gown. But I'm not planning on donning it anytime soon, so I think I'm safe.) By the way, Kate does have two legs and two feet.


Tanna's Bible has been MIA for about a month! We have looked EVERYWHERE. I was afraid that he had left it somewhere on Jekyll Island. Thank the Lord--he just left it at church, and it actually turned up in the lost-and-found area. Tanna was SO HAPPY to get it back today! He's had it for many years, and he has lots of notes written in its margins. (Yes, that is duct tape on the spine.) It was a reminder to both of us how we take God's Word for granted.


Kate completed her first artwork in the nursery today! Look at that raw talent! We are so proud!


I went to the mall for a little bit this afternoon, and I got this Adirondack chair for Kate--isn't it so cute? It was only $25 at Pottery Barn Kids (regular price: $69)! I have been wanting to get her a little chair, and this one is just right. There is a long-running joke in our family about Adirondack chairs, so it fits in just fine--and the price was right!

Happy Labor Day tomorrow!

Celebrity Saturday--Georgia Tech's Buzz

This is a breaking-news kind of Celebrity Saturday! You heard it here first, folks--this story is hot off the presses! It's actually from this very day.

This afternoon, we met none other than Georgia Tech's very own Buzz!

Buzz made a special appearance today at the Peachtree Battle Limetree, and we were there to greet him in style! (We actually got there early and saw Buzz fly in!) We also met some friends there before getting some lunch together. It was a lot of fun!

It was kind of funny because there were some hard-core Georgia Tech fans there (well, definitely more hard-core than us). Someone asked us if we went to the game the other day. Tanna didn't even realize they had already played a game. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't seen some chatter about it on this here Internet.

Neither of us graduated from Tech. Tanna did actually start grad school there for mechanical engineering (he went to undergrad at Tulane). But he soon realized that he did not want to be a mechanical engineer for the rest of his life, so he didn't finish. While he was there, he did make some great friends--mostly through Georgia Tech's Christian Campus Fellowship. Two of those CCFers were Noah and Mariah, who met Buzz with us today along with daughter Sarah Kate. They are big Georgia Tech fans, by the way. Buzz was even on Sarah Kate's baby shower cake!

Before we left, we also saw Jennifer, Daniel, Evan, and Liam. The boys had on the cutest little Georgia Tech shirts, as did Sarah Kate. I did bring Kate's little yellow jacket costume--which she put on for a few quick photos. What? You thought it was a bumblebee? Well, think again. This costume is so versatile--today it was a yellow jacket!

Gooooooo Jackets! Sting 'em!

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Here are a few more photos from our Buzz encounter today:


"Dear Buzz, I would like an undefeated season this year."
Kate and Sarah Kate--they were so excited about meeting Buzz, they could not hold back the tears. Don't worry, girls. He doesn't bite ... just stings a little.

The deets


Don't you just love his Chucks?
You can read more about Buzz on this site--you just have to scroll down to the bottom of the page.


These stick-on yellow jackets were too cute. The kids loved them.


See?


Limetree had a cool front window display of Georgia Tech stuff. It was difficult to get a good photo from the sidewalk because of the glare, but you get the idea.

Speaking of ... Limetree is a very cute gift store here in Atlanta. The Peachtree Battle location was the first one, but now there are several stores in the metro area. I remember when the PB store had just opened. I used to get photos printed at the Wolf Camera next door, and I always loved to stop in and look at all the cool stuff at Limetree. I still love to look and shop, but it's more challenging to do that with a baby/toddler. By the way, did you know that Janet Jackson has shopped at the Roswell Road location? It's true--her photo was even in one of the Limetree newsletters! Too bad she wasn't there today; this could have been another two-for-one Celebrity Saturday. You just never know who you might run into at Limetree!

Thanks, Limetree and Buzz! It was great seeing you today!

Eco Babies Wear Green

Our Urban Babies Wear Black collection was recently completed (for now) when my friend Kristi generously picked up Eco Babies Wear Green for Kate. It was such a great gift--and one that seemed appropriate from Kristi, who is pretty green herself. I have to say ... as many of you already know, I am not a very green person. (I am working on this, however.) Maybe Kate can teach me a few things after having read this book--which, by the way, is just as cute as the others in the series.

Earlier this week, we did a little photo shoot with some greeny things we had around--the reusable grocery bag and some organic baby food. Oh, Kate does turn out the dining-room light--so she does know how to conserve energy. It's a little trick Tanna taught her a while back. She loves to flick that switch!

Anyway, here are the pics--enjoy!

The Time I Paid $301 for Shipping ...

... and got my money back!

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WARNING: VERY LONG POST. INTENDED FOR FAMILY MEMBERS AND DIE-HARD FANS ONLY. THANK YOU. :o)
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Yes, you read correctly. Your eyes do not deceive. I once paid $301 to ship a package. And I got my money back.

It was Christmastime, after all, and delivery was guaranteed.

Let me explain with a little background: It was December of 2003. I was still pretty new to the Atlanta area and was working six days a week--and long hours at that. I still didn't know too many people outside of work. Of course I knew Tanna--but he lived a good 30 minutes away (without traffic), and he was in his second year of residency, so we didn't see each other as much as we would have liked. So ... despite the fact that I was engaged to be married and very excited about that, it was not the happiest time in my life. I really missed my old job and my friends and family in other places.

I tell you all of that so you know that perhaps I wasn't thinking completely clearly to begin with ... with all of the stress and life changes I had going on.

This was also the first year that my oldest sister and her family were spending in Spain. It was coming up on their first Christmas there, and I had been collecting gifts to send them. I enjoy selecting and sending gifts--and perhaps I wanted this to be a little more special than usual since it was their first Christmas away from our family.

Keep in mind that I had sent them some things since they had moved there, so I was prepared to pay a good bit for shipping.

Now, being so busy with work and such, I had let time get away from me. Not only that, but working six days a week makes it hard for a person to get to the post office when it is closed on your only day off. It was December 13 already, and my boss let me have the day off! Hallelujah! You would think that I would have slept in on this special occasion. NO WAY! I had way too much on my to-do list, including sending out my sister's package.

I got up really early and started gathering and packing. I soon realized that I did not have a box that was big enough to hold everything for this Christmas package. I may have had some things to send from other family members as well. Anyway, when it came down to it, I looked in the back bedroom of my apartment, which I was using for storage. (I didn't unpack everything when I moved because I figured I would be moving again in a matter of months (because of the wedding and all).) I found a big ol' box and started filling it. I actually filled it up pretty good--and had a little room to spare at the top. So I found a few random things around my place to take up that space.

Oh, how I wish I'd taken a picture.

Well, time was running out because the post office closed at noon. I needed to hightail it on over there to ensure a spot in line. I tell you the truth: I am not even sure if I brushed my teeth. I threw on a baseball cap and got ready to go. But I encountered a problem: I could not carry the stinking package. It was that heavy. I could pick it up and/or scoot it, but I could not carry it to my car. I ended up pulling my car around to my apartment door (which was on the side of a house--basement apartment) and putting the package on my rolling ottoman. I am not kidding.

I wasn't sure if it would fit in the car, but I managed to get it in the back seat--and the ottoman, too. I made it to the post office with some time to spare. I unload and roll the package in, ottoman and all. Oh, you should have seen the looks! I didn't care. I was sending my nieces and nephews some Christmas presents, by george, and people could stare all they wanted!

The line was pretty much to the door (and this isn't a small P.O.). I waited. When I was about halfway through the line, this postal worker who was checking to see if folks had all their paperwork, etc., came up to me and said I couldn't mail it. "Why not?" I asked. He said it was too big. I can't remember all the details now, but he ended up checking a chart of dimensions or something. Believe it or not, a lady next to me in line pulled out a tape measure and started measuring. Yes, it was too big to be mailed regularly, the man told me, but I could mail it Global Express Guaranteed. I told him I'd wait and see how much it was and what the front-counter people told me.

Well, I finally made it to the counter. A random man had to lift the package up for me. I was very fortunate to get a nice post office lady. I had seen her in there before and liked her. I think her name was Carol, but I could be making that up. She actually seemed quite excited about this very large and heavy package! My kind of gal!

It turns out that, indeed, my only option for sending this package as it was ... was Global Express Guaranteed. I thought, "OK. I understand. How much could it be? $100? $150?" I was prepared for a high bill already. I thought, "I am sending this today--I didn't spend all morning putting this together to rush over here for nothing."

The total? $301.

Three hundred and one dollars.

Ummmm ... that's a lot of money, people--almost a car payment for me at the time.

Well, I didn't know what to do. I could not afford that. Who can? I asked Carol if I had any other options. She told me where the closest DHL office was--but the USPS actually used DHL for its Global Express Guaranteed service. She also said I could break it down into smaller packages and ship it that way. She even did some math and figured out how much cheaper it would be if I shipped it in two or three packages. THEN ... she even went so far as to go into the back of the post office to find me some random boxes to use. By this time, the post office was ready to close--or maybe it was already closed. She told me that she would wait for me to repackage everything. See? I told you she was nice.

I kind of had an out-of-body experience at this point. I was on the verge of tears, no shower, probably bad breath, feeling very tired and stressed out. It was kind of like slow motion. I remember turning around, looking at the people still in line behind me (I think if you were already in line at closing time, you would be served). I decided to just spend the money--money I did not have.

Carol got even more excited. "This is the biggest package I have ever shipped!" she said. I handed over my credit card and signed on the dotted line. I didn't cry until I got out in the parking lot ... after I'd rolled my trusty ottoman back to my car.

Later, I called my sister in Spain to tell her what had happened. I wanted her to know that the package was coming--and that it was a BIG one. She also would see how much I paid to send it, so I wanted to prepare her for that total. She and my BIL offered to pay for half of the shipping, but I didn't want them to do that. It was my decision to ship it for $301, after all, and I was responsible for paying for it ... even though I could have put that money toward a plane ticket and delivered the gifts in person.

However, I was sure to tell my sister that it was GUARANTEED to get there in two days. If it failed to arrive on time, I'd get my money back. We only half-joked that we should pray for a delay. I gave her the tracking info, and we hoped for the best ... or the worst.

Two days later, I get an e-mail. My sister and BIL had waited at the destination address until LONG after the package should have been delivered. No package. My sister said they were giving each other high-fives in the van. Prayers were answered, truly!

My sister said she could imagine an angel in a warehouse somewhere, moving the package out of the way so it would miss its delivery deadline. This was one time I was sincerely excited that a parcel I sent did not arrive on time.

The package did finally get there. I can't remember exactly, but I want to say that it was about a week or so late. It did arrive in time for Christmas, though, so that was good. I want to say that the tracking information had been lost, and a new number had even been assigned to the package.

After a lot of e-mailing and phone calls with the U.S. Postal Service and DHL, I was able to file a claim and get my money back. I received a check in the mail in February. Three hundred and one dollars.

I was so excited at what God had done, I photocopied the check. I wanted to remember how he answered a prayer for a late delivery. Again, His timing was perfect.

We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. --Psalm 78:4

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P.S. Long after this, I actually encountered more shipping drama when sending things to the family in Spain. Now we just send money. :o)

Great Reminder

God will hold us responsible at the Judgment Seat of Christ for how well we fulfilled our responsibilities and took advantage of our opportunities. --Billy Graham

Last year when I was working on a freelance project, I read this quote from Billy Graham and wrote it down. I recently came across it again and wanted to share. It is a great reminder of how short our time is here on earth and how important it is to use that time wisely. As the old poem goes: "Only one life, 'twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. --Philippians 1:9-11

Busy Day Yesterday

Kate sure had a busy day yesterday! For lunch, we met Luann and Trey at Chick-fil-A (where else, right?). They had fun in the play area. It's hard to believe how much these two have grown. And soon Trey is going to be a big brother--his little sister Shelby is due in December! :o)

Look at Kate and Trey around this time last year:

And then back in December:

And yesterday:

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Later in the day, Kate and I headed over to Di and Jamie's to play. The girls love chasing each other around.

A rare moment--they are sitting still for a second and both looking. LOL!

Kate loves Jamie's play area and her cool table and chairs. Yesterday, she was really into this puzzle as well as carrying around that purple wipes box you see there. Isn't it funny the things they choose to play with sometimes?

Looking Ahead to Cow Appreciation Day 2009 & Chick-fil-A's Labor Day Giveaway

Since last month's Cow Appreciation Day, I seem to have developed an eye for spotting (pun intended) cow attire. There are some really cute cow things out there, and we are entering Halloween season--which means cow costumes will be in abundance. Be sure to hit those after-Halloween sales to stock up for next year's CAD. Although, I do believe some of the homemade costumes are the best!

Anyway, I wanted to show you a couple of things I saw at Belk yesterday. I was a bit disappointed that these do not come in Kate's size--she's already too big for both. Or at least they didn't have her size available yesterday. Look how cute:

Speaking of free Chick-fil-A, don't forget about the big Labor Day promotion! You've probably herrrd about it by now, but basically you get a free three-count of the new chicken strips for wearing football team attire or even just a logo. This is on Labor Day--which is early this year, folks! Don't get caught off guard! Read all about it here. Or here.

Believe it or not, I still haven't had the new strips yet, but I hear they are awesome--and the sauce, too! I'm not a sauce person myself, but I am tempted to try it based on all the rave reviews. Tanna and I don't have any football apparel that we could remember, so we may have to look in the back corners of our closets or come up with something creative. LOL!

Gymboree's Labor Day Sale & Hanna Andersson Info

Gymboree's Labor Day Sale has started. Take an extra 20% off of marked-down merchandise. This CAN be combined with a coupon for even more savings. Plus, you can earn Gymbucks. Learn more here.

Also ... this is big news for Hanna Andersson fans. Yesterday a little birdie told me that this weekend, Hanna will be holding its first rewards-type promotion (very similar to Gymbucks). Hanna shoppers realize the significance of this because coupons and deep discounts at HA are very hard to come by--with the exception of the end-of-season sales, which happen twice a year.

Basically, what I heard is that for every $50 you spend, you'll get a $25 reward coupon to use at a later date. I don't know the details, but the birdie said that those on the HA e-mail list should get an e-mail Thursday (tomorrow). I also was told that it "officially" starts on Saturday, but the stores would be starting this on Friday.

The downside to this is that it appears that this promo will only take place in stores. This hasn't been officially confirmed, but HA has been running a lot of in-store-only specials, which is making a lot of catalog and Internet shoppers fuming mad. Just FYI, Hanna, in case you are reading this.

Anyway, that's the latest. Happy Shopping! Hope you get some good deals!

Amelia's 1st Birthday Party

Amelia's birthday party was a blast! Everyone had such a great time at the park. The adults ate lots of barbecue and all the fixings--and the kids loved running around and playing ... on the playground ... in the grass ... and on the ballfield. Amelia loved her birthday cake! What a great day!


Amelia's party had a bunny theme--don't you just love these cool balloons?


Ready to par-ttaaaaaayyyy!


Amelia had her own smash cake.
She really got into it, literally. So cute!


The party was during Kate's naptime, so this is how she spent a good part of the festivities. I guess she partied a little too hard.


But she was soon back up and ready to go again!


Party Pals!


Swing Time!


I think the birthday girl needs to relinquish her keys.
Looks like she's had one too many.

Great Birthday!

I had a wonderful day on Friday--my 34th birthday. THANK YOU for all of the nice birthday wishes! :o) Here's a quick recap of the day ...


I woke to the sounds of something going on in the kitchen. This--the breakfast of champions--is what Tanna was up to. He even remembered the special celebration plate.


That morning, Kate and I hit the zoo with Jane, Jasper, Allison and Blake. We had a great time, and the weather was fantastic. It wasn't very crowded, either. Perfect.


We rode the train. Choooo! Chooooooooo!


The lion cubs were out, too. Yay!


This was my one birthday request--I wanted to test drive a Smart Car. Check out the lady in the car next to me--you may have to click on the photo to see. LOL! My hair is a mess because we had the convertible model. (The drive was fun--more on that in an upcoming post!)


He still has it after all these years. ;o)


While we were in Buckhead, we hit the Buckhead Diner for dinner.

Oh, and Tanna brought home a Godiva cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. Yum.

Thanks again! Here's to another fun-filled year!