Friday, September 30, 2011

Thoughts on Paper

Here's some of my recent (kinda) poetry. I remember the days pre-baby that I used to write for hours when I really felt it, and write until I was done. Now...it's more that I have to start something and then finish it sometimes months later, but hey, I'm just happy when I'm able to write at all, considering it's never something I've been able to force.


Do You See Me

When you picture me in that small head of downy-soft blonde curls
What is it that you see?
Onyx-framed glasses and splotchy skin, disheveled morning hair all day long
A giant tyrant who sharply says “NO!” every time you just want to chase the cat
Or draw crayon hieroglyphics on the wallpaper or pour the dog food into the sink.
Or do you see dreams in my dark eyes, devotion in my irises
Do you recognize the uncertainty that bends my step
And see my fear when it climbs up my back and beats at my shoulders.
When you see a glimpse of my carefree side as I do a stupid dance while your macaroni cooks
do you sense how much I’ve changed, see the girl I once was
Can you see right through me
When I’m torn and threadbare inside, does your miniature heart feel for me
Do you want me to bronze my eyelids and blacken my lashes
 and feel like a powerful woman
Do you watch my hopes dance and lick the wall like a blue-burning flame
Do you yearn for my happiness as the first waves of sleep wash you away from shore at night
Your tiny fingers curled in fists of determination
A warrior for those you love,
Just like me, your mother.


A Goodbye

On the day that I die
I’ll look up at the golden-edged clouds
In the new evening’s sky
Taste the notes of ending on my tongue that mix with the breeze
Fear and relief wax and wane with the sway of the trees 
I grasp at a million thoughts, but most tumble away
I’m sad about leaving, but still don’t want to stay.


Challenge


This world clashed us together from the beginning.
I measure and weigh the times that we fall and the times that we rise up again.
They say the first year is the hardest
For two fledgling parents who ambled so long down their own razor-edged paths
every year is the hardest.
Before you, I crumbled before the rust-colored cliffs,
without anything to climb for I drank the gray water of the weary
Now I flex my muscles and stretch my tendons
 while the knowledge of what a challenge really is
beats with the blood in my temples and sets my brow
Now I look to the sky with the fierce eye of MUST
and for all the years to come you can see the ruts my fingernails left in the rocks.





Faith



I will beat on the doors of prayer until my heart bleeds and my fists feel numb and tingling
Your education shrieks ‘IGNORANT!’ at me and
Some days I almost wish I could agree
but my very soul knows my God can hear me
We cry to God ‘why’ when we are swept away by fire, and wind, and water.
We face death in the most horrifying and heartbreaking ways.
Heartbreak.
Oh, we know heartbreak.
But I read your Word, and you told me there’d be discipline, you said there would be suffering.
You told us of those dark places, the places the sheep should never wander to but find themselves lost in nevertheless.
The heartbreak we have caused you,
Oh, you know heartbreak.
Ask me as many times as you want about the contradictions of the bible. We can argue about it all and I will never have all the answers.
But there is only one answer in me and it's that I can’t divorce myself from the knowledge in my heart. The comfort.
The peace I have found in the darkest tempest, in the unsteady earth of my very. own. life.


Thursday, September 29, 2011

Thrifty Thursday


Forever21-$34.80

Image of Layne Zigzag Top
Shopkempt-$28

Women's One-Shoulder Dress
Wal-mart-$15

Juniors French Terry Tie Waist Jacket
This military jacket is not only cute, surprise-it's a knit. So it will be super comfy.
Wal-mart-$18

Billie Jean Jacket
Peacock Plume-$42


Old Navy-$30 (Plus extra 20% off today)


Old Navy-$24.50 (Plus extra 20% off today)


Piperlime-$49

Geneva Asymmetrical One Shoulder Dress
Threadsence-$42

Little Miss Naughty Mug
Threadsence-$10

05aaf648251c21b3be871228892fe1c0
Modcloth-$47.99


forever21-$24.80

Happy Shopping!

xoxo,

L

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I kind of want a paper cut...

How freaking adorable are these bandages? I had to share them. I want to buy some, but I SWEAR I haven't had a single need for a bandaid since I bought some really cute Peanuts band-aids a year and a half ago. And I'm not going to lie...I'm a little disappointed. Who goes that long without cutting themselves while shaving their legs? Geez.

Cry About It Bandages
Urban Outfitters-$7

Boo Boo Kisses Bandages - 15 per tin
First Aid Products.com-$4.95

Crazy and Zany Band Aids
Amazon-$6.55

BLING BANDAGES
Perpetual Kid-$3.99

ERIC CARLE BANDAGES
These are probably my favorite.
Perpetual Kid-$3.99

PAC-MAN BANDAGES
Perpetual Kid-$3.99


Mustache Bandages












Urban Outfitters-$7


Alright you guys...it's okay to buy these. It's NOT okay to purposely injure yourself so you can use them. Just be patient.

XoXo,

L

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Yippee!!!

I finally bought some new clothes. Thank you Target. It's funny, because a lot of times I ask myself why I continue to buy so many clothes from Target even though I would rather support privately-owned small boutiques more often, since I find the initiative in going for your dreams and opening one so inspiring. But when it comes down to it...I am never disappointed in my Target purchases. Sure, sometimes I go in there and see literally nothing that I want to buy, but a lot of my favorite pieces of clothing are little gems that I have scored from the retail giant. So...here's to you, Target!

(Sorry again for the picture quality. I had the camera set on the wrong settings and didn't know until I was finished, and exhausted. Even posing for pics is a little much for this pregnant lady at the moment.)
 Tee Dress-Target (buy here)
Tights-Express
Booties-Target (buy here)
Scarf-Dollar General
Watch-Guess
Bracelets-Gifted



Side note: My husband hates these shoes. If you buy leopard platforms, the man in your life is more than likely going to hate them. But I know that men don't know balls about style, so I say...suck it, husband!

XoXo,

L

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Toddler Tuesday: Your 3-year-old Might Be a Redneck If...

Somehow, I always knew I would have to write this post. The following is all true about my toddler. Believe me, I wish some of this was made up.


Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...


Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...The first words out of his mouth when your husband calls him outside to show him a black snake that's wandered into your yard are: "That's a big ole' snake right there boy!!" and the second thing out of his mouth is: "OOOooo-WEEEEE!"


Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...His summer uniform is a pair of tighty-whities. And that's all.


Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...his most prized possession is the family lawnmower (even if you have to pump air in the tires every time you use it), and often compares 'his' lawnmower to everyone else's.

Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...he gets most excited when he sees a combine, second most excited when he sees a large tractor.

Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...he doesn't just pee outside, rather he goes outside to pee. If he pees off of the second-story porch, it's a special day.

Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...stopping on the side of the road and picking him a stalk of cotton is the highlight of his week.

Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...he'd be clean enough to skip his bath for the night, if it weren't for the black soles of his feet.



Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...he declines a sippy cup and opts to drink straight from the hose.

Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...he's already missing a few of his front teeth.


Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...he prefers to bathe in a bucket.

And...Your three-year-old might be a redneck if...spitting is a sport, and he is the champion.



Hope you enjoyed these as much as I enjoyed writing and experiencing them!

xoxo,

L

Friday, September 23, 2011

Strong Shoulder+Surprise!

This hasn't been the best couple of days. The camera that I use to take all my pictures has finally bit the dust (it is literally one of the first digitals that came out on the market and a hand-me-down from my Ma...it's about 11 years old. I knew this day was coming) and I cannot forsee in the near future me being able to replace it with anything decent. Hence the not-so-great quality of the pictures below.



 Knit Moto Jacket-Converse @ Target
Knit Skirt-Express
Puff-sleeve embellished tee-Belk
Tights-Express
Booties-Target
Necklace-Wal-mart
Braclets-both Wal-mart


             I love the detailing on the shoulder of this top. This is also one of the necklaces that I wear the most-it was so cheap! Wal-mart is carrying more and more awesome costume jewelry.

And now for the surprise...if you follow my blog closely, you might have noticed I've hinted around some. But here it is.........

Yep!! The G baby is going to be a BIG BROTHER!! This Spring! This is my teeny tiny baby bump, which has appeared much much sooner than last time. I still had to arch my back a bit for effect, otherwise it kinda just looks like I ate too many waffles for breakfast this morning, hehe. My husband and I are very excited and it's been a whole different experience this time being an experienced wife and mother rather than a college student/model. Last time I literally had to cancel plans to move into a model apartment in Miami...talk about where life (God) takes you! So there's my news.

Hope everyone has an amazing weekend!!!

XoXo,

L


Momma Go Round

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Thrifty Thursday


Suedette eyelet cardigan
Forever21-$22.80


Hallelu-$35

Neon and Beyond Poncho
Strut-$45

Café capri
Capri (comes in more colors)
J.Crew-$19.99

anastasia floral t-strap heels
Ruche-$33.99


Peacock Plume-$42

Mossimo® Women's Ultrasoft Rouched Sweater Dress - Assorted Colors
Okay, this awesome ruched sweaterdress from Target comes in-get ready...11 different fall colors!
Target-$29.99


Go Jane-$27.10

This little polka dot dress would look too cute with black leggings, booties, and a black scarf tied in a bow.

Forever21-$22.90

Happy Shopping!!
XoXo,

L

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Mama Beamon's Homemade Banana Pudding

There are probably a zillion recipes out there for banana pudding. After reviewing some of them, this is what I came up with when my grandfather-in-law requested banana pudding for his birthday last year. When his birthday rolled around again this September...of course he wanted a repeat.

Ingredients:

1 large box instant vanilla pudding
Three ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups cold milk (sorry forgot to include it in the picture)
3/4 box mini nilla wafers
2 cups heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk (do not look at the nutrition information...I repeat, do NOT look at the nutrition information)
1/2 cup lemon juice

Okay, first and foremost, you are going to want to put a metal/glass/ceramic (whatever ya got) bowl in the freezer to chill. You are later going to use this to whip your heavy cream, and a chilled bowl helps.


Slice your bananas and soak them in lemon juice while you prepare the rest of the pudding. This helps stop the bananas from turning a nasty brown color. I find it doesn't stop them completely...but it helps.


Now you are going to mix your milk, condensed milk, and pudding mix in a large bowl. 

Now get your chilled bowl out of the freezer and whip those 2 cups of heavy cream until it's thick and fluffy. Just make sure if your peaks start getting really firm that you stop-or it will turn into a butter-like consistency which is not good for mixing.

                                 This is my cream after I stopped whipping it.
Now fold the cream into the pudding mixture.
When you get it all mixed together, put about 1/3 of the mixture in the bottom of a large bowl and top with a layer of mini wafers and then bananas.
                                                                     (This is my first layer)

Now put more pudding/cream mix on top of this repeat. Repeat one more time until you are finished!
I like this recipe because it's easy, pretty quick, and makes thick and delicious banana pudding that's not overpoweringly banana-y. 

Enjoy!

XoXo,

L




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