Hoo Are You: 4th of July

Here are my Hoo Are You answers!

1. How did you spend the 4th of July?

FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY!

I had a great time with the in-laws playing with their new baby chicks and just being lazy!!!

this is Nora sleeping in my lap
 It was really amazing. Like warm fuzzy amazing. To just be captivated by the essence of family. It was pretty crazy. It just kinda made me realize that the dishes can wait. The laundry can wait.The vacuuming can wait. When family calls... You go. I didn't get ANYTHING done this weekend.i love that.

2. What was a couple of your favorite things you ate for the 4th of July?

Oh yeah. Def steak and potato salad, thanks to the Popsicle :)

Homemade Ice Cream

Cobblerrrrr

Papaw's Hamburgers

Nom nom nom...

3. Did you watch fireworks?

We had some at our church... The highlight was them falling over and mis-firing.

4. What is your favorite firework?

Those kind that kinda crackle as they fall down?

You know what I'm talkin bout?

5. How hot was it where you were for the 4th?

100s... too hot for this girl.

Another highlight of the weekend 

was the fact that my mother in law GAVE [and taught me how to thread] me a 

sewing machine.

Yes, she gave it to me. How amazing is that? 

I've been praying about whether or not this whole thing was 

for me or not.  

I didn't have the money to invest in a sewing machine.  

I didn't have the money to invest in a whole stock pile of fabrics. So I just didn't know if the Lord was telling me to drop this and quit wasting my time... 

I was very confused. 

I came home from my MIL's house on Sunday with a 

new machine and stack at least 3.5 feet tall of her fabrics. 

I got some neat patchwork Granny squares, some placemats, several belt pieces, all kinds of scrap ribbon, some felt. I'm tellin you folks, I racked up. 

The Lord blessed me immensely through my mother in law :)

Gulf Shores with My Lover

The Hubs and I finally got away for a weekend! Our New Years Resolution is to go on an "adventure" once a month. This was certainly an adventure. We left at like 9 pm... To get there around 1am. We didn't get lost or anything, but we were very sleepy and did aerobics in order to keep ourselves awake. Ok, maybe hubby didnt, but I sure did. I'm so glad I didn't turn into a shrimp; I ate so much seafood and tried several new places. I'm going to share a few of the highlights with you guys :)

Hunny chillin... watchin de waves...

Lots and lots o kisses

 You didn't know I had dreds did ya?

 Yummy beach/poolside goodies

Lots and lots of textures from the shells!

Scary go cart rides...

Like I said, some really awesome textures!

New Earrings!

I said to hubby... Let's take some of those "sexy laying down pictures"... this was the result. Sexy huh?

Oh the faces of Megan

New Braided headband hair - dos

 Southern Menus

 "caught out in de gulf"

 Lots of driving

More really awesome colors and textures

Beached Whales ;)

[totally kidding, no whales were harmed]

 Thunder Thighs meet bloggy friends. Bloggy friends, meet Thunder Thighs.

You can now send each other cute messages on facebook.

Oh yeah, and crafting during the sunrise :)

The best ADVENTURE yet.

The Mr && Mrs' Weekend

Before I even get started... I know this post is a "little" late ;)

The Volnoff household had such a glorious weekend!

First of all, we were complete again when husband FINALLY made it home from his mission trip in Maryland. He didn’t arrive until Friday night after being gone for 6 long days!!

Saturday morning we slept in, and it felt so good! After working nearly 50 hours this previous week and losing oodles of sleep, it was certainly nice to take it easy!

After we slowly woke up {and i did some in-ta-neht stuffs} we got ourselves ready and headed to Birmingham, Al. We did this for several reasons:

1. To really celebrate my hubby’s birthday

2. To spend some quality time together after his absence

3. To fulfill the march edition of our New Year’s resolution

4. To spend the gift card that Wells Fargo sent my hubs for being such a good employee ;) {I think everyone got one}

We were heading up about 2:00pm just “fiddle fart” around and enjoy ourselves when the hubby informed me that we would be going to the galleria to do a bit of shopping. I was overwhelmed with excitement. I love shopping; but I have a hard time spending money. I’ve been spoiled by thrift store prices. This didn’t sit well with husband. He wanted to buy me something nice and new. We went in a few of my all time favorite stores {like forever21} and bought me some new {&&unused} stuffs. When all was said and done I felt bad that hubs spent so much money on me, but he enjoyed it so much. He was glowing while watching me try on little {actually L, and XL} pretties. In fact, he had to convince me several times to let him buy me things. One time, he convinced me to go back in the store to by some new skinny jeans after we walked out of the store. Weird, I know. That’s just the way I am. I am my mother’s child. My sweet hubby carried all the bags, and treated me like a queen. It felt so nice. I felt so special and appreciated. Please note that it was def not the money spent on me, or the cute clothes I acquired that made me feel appreciated. It was the fact that the hubby wanted to do something nice for me. He treated me like I was the queen of his world. He held my held, pulled me close as we walked, watched out for me in scary mall pedestrian traffic, made me laugh, and later held my hand across the table at Carrabba’s. This is nothing unusual for him, it was just extra special since he’d been deeply missed!

After our shopping excursion we did go on to eat some of my favorite cuisine: Italian food, courtesy of Wells Fargo. We had such a great dinner in our cute little booth for two. The service was immaculate. The food was mediocre. We had a great time regardless of the somewhat sub par food. It was good; we will probably eat there again, but we do prefer some Olive Garden!

The following day I was so excited to have RJ back with me during our services at church. We got to hear from the mission team about their experiences in Maryland! It’s so amazing what the Lord can do with willing hearts. They were able to help a partner church prepare and repair a new community center for their poverty stricken community. There is a lot of work to be done, but our crew offered some encouragement and was able to uproot some of the potential this building has. I can’t wait for the Maryland crew to come down to Millbrook in July to help us with a project for our community!

I also got to spend some time with my sister on her afternoon photo shoot. I really enjoy going with her and helping her. It was a blazing 88 degrees, though. Gotta love our two seasons here in the south: winter & summer. You better believe I sported my side-pony-braid. We didn’t really get to “catch up” but just being with her was fun! I love my sister so much!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend!

Me and the Hubs stuck in traffic...

a hilarious result of my boredom in the traffic

Yay!! Open rodes && Toms!

...at the galleria; gotta love that frizzy/dreddd head

This is the outfit that we bought for me :)
I wore it the following day to church!
Top: Wet Seal
Belt: Wet Seal
Skirt: F21
Shoes that you can't see: old

I couldn't help but share this picture...
check out the attitude I am giving husband!!! But I just love this antique-ish lace skirt!!! the top and belt; well they look awful in the picture. I'm begining to think i should have paired it differently, but oh well :)

We also bought me this darling navy cover up from F21
The same belt, and a shirt I pulled out of a "to go in yard sale" pile i made

Linking up to

A Festive Weekend

This weekend was amazing! It was very busy, but very fun filled.

Friday night RJ and I got to have dinner with his parents & siblings. We ate wings, cut up, and just had a good ‘ole time.  

Saturday was great! Early that morning my hubs got up and cooked me breakfast! That was so much fun, and we had a good time together! We then walked to the church in our sweats lookin’ a hot mess to practice our parts as Mary and Joseph (again). At this point, we were very excited and honored to portray the couple in our choir’s Christmas Cantata. It was such an emotional time for Mary and Joseph as they learned the impact their life was going to have, even though they did not even comprehend the capacity of their decisions to obey and be faithful. Mary was actually scared. She was scared that Joseph would reject her and have her killed, but he accepted her, embraced her, and aided her.  In the cantata I was also very proud to portray the Mary who followed her son to Calvary as he hung on the cross. It was such an emotional role that I had to force back tears the entire time. Everyone said that the message from our human video was great, but I really hope they got it. I pray that everyone is focusing on our Lord and Savior more than ever this season. I have so much to be thankful for. I have so much to live for. My Lord has come, died, and risen. What more could I ask for? My Jesus is alive and real! Amen? This season my prayer for all my friends and family is that they focus on why we celebrate. It is so easy to get off track with the schedules and gifts that we forget the whole reason why we should be joyous! Ok… I’m off my soap box… back to my weekend…

After going home and sprucing up I had the joy of going with my sister to Best Buy. She bought her very first professional camera. I’m so excited for her! She has dreamed of this day for so long! Morgan is hoping to start taking pictures for people and eventually turn it into a paying hobby. She got a Nikon d3000, and it is a beauty!  She took it with us to Callaway Gardens and got to learn about taking moving pictures at night. The Fantasy in Lights show was beautiful! It was pretty much the same as last year, but it took me back. First it took me back to last year, before RJ and I were engaged, when we decided to make this our family tradition. Second, it took me back to a simpler day. I reminisced of cold Christmas nights with my mom, dad, and sister driving around and looking at light displays. I remembered a time when everyone came to Mamaw and Papaw’s house on Christmas (no questions asked). I remember shopping with Mamaw on base and looking at all the beautiful dolls. I remember helping her wrap hundreds of presents.  I thought of days out in the country at Granny and Pop’s house putting up the Christmas tree and the long line of stockings that hung across the room. I remember joking with Uncle Carey because he always had the video camera. I remember ignoring the cold to play in the tree house Pop built me one year.  I remember thinking my Pop was Santa, because he sounded just like him when he chuckled. I wish things were simple like when I was a child, but Christmas allows me to be nostalgic and feel like a child again. It also makes me look forward to providing wonderful Christmas memories for my own children in years to come.  So, if you are bogged down with the hustle and bustle of Christmas, do things that you enjoyed when you were a child. Fill up the car, pop in a Christmas CD, drive around and look at the beautiful decorations! Ya know what else helps? Singing those Christmas songs! On the Jolly Trolley at Callaway that takes you through the Light show, they play music and encourage you to sing the carols. Singing those carols simply makes everything go away, and for a short minute, you can feel like a kid again. Yes, it’s out of your comfort zone, but you should just do it! It works, I promise! I had such a good time singing carols with my husband, sister, and Garrett.

Sunday morning was our Christmas Cantata. The choir did such a great job, and I enjoyed so much getting to play a part in it! I was able to fight back the tears and worship my Lord during it. I really thought about Mary and how she must‘ve felt. Then I thanked God for sending His precious son to the earth for us. We then had a great lunch with RJ’s family, and continued on to take an updated Volnoff Family Picture!  That night at church we had a local bluegrass group, The Kempters, come and do a Christmas show for us. They are so talented and spiritual. If you ever get a chance to see them, even if you don’t like bluegrass, you should go. They are very entertaining!

This weekend was superb! I couldn’t have asked for anything more… ok maybe another day or two ;)

Peter the Penguin

RJ and I at the aquarium

All of my life I've loved penguins! I've never seen any in real life. I've been trying to get to the Georgia Aquarium for the longest time. Well, the Tennessee Aquarium has a large penguin exhibit. You have to drive right past the Tennessee Aquarium to get to Gatlinburg, and I wanted to stop there on our way to our cabin. Well, it sounded great in theory, but in reality we were both too tired. So I thus gave up on my dream of gazing at this darling creature - even if it is through glass.
Well, there is a great aquarium in Gatlinburg. It is owned by the Ripley's corporation. They did a great job on their aquarium, but the penguin exhibit was superb. The exhibit was full of tunnels, crawl spaces, and glass floors. I was simply in heaven! These birds were so adorable gliding through the water and playing with each other. I crawled through the tunnel (conquering my fears of tight enclosed spaces) in order to be up close and personal with these graceful birds! RJ had to coax me out of there, I did not want to leave.

The button!

This exhibit was the last one, and we exited through the gift shop. RJ told me to continue shopping and he would be right back. Of course I didn't second guess or become suspicious because RJ is always looking for ways to get out of shopping. Well after he disappeared for a while I went to look for him. Low and behold he was outside the gate with a pin on his shirt that read "Penguin Playhouse Participant." Fighting back tears, I asked him what it was. Just as I thought, he bought tickets that enabled us to meet a penguin up close and personal! I was so excited!

waiting patiently..

After we waited for what seemed like FOREVER, we went inside and waited some more. Eventually we were given the signal to follow and were lead downstairs with about 7 other penguin enthusiasts. I envied the trainer so much. Not only did she get to spend EVERYDAY with penguins she got paid for it! This lady had a good relationship with all the penguins and knew each of their personalities. Can we say DREAM JOB? We all got to learn about penguins and their life cycles. I am so excited to be so much more informed about my favorite animal.

Getting to pet Peter was really cool. The first time around the trainer held him and let us pet him. What did he feel like? AWESOME! Exactly what you'd think a penguin would feel like. His thousands of feathers created a sleek and soft coat that felt almost like skin. After we all got to pet him, she let him just walk around. It was at this point that I fell deeper in love with the animal. He was inquisitive like a cat, but he was very clumsy in stature. He waddled across the room in search of something. The trainer informed us that he was looking for his girlfriend. Penguins are "colony" animals. They enjoy the company of each other much more than solitude. They bond with a mate for life, and stay within the same colony for their entire life, too. This was one of the most memorable aquarium experiences, ever. It will be hard to beat! Check out this video of Peter...

Day Vaca

to see the rest of the pictures check out my album on facebook: "a life without love is like a year without SUMMER!"

This past weekend my sister took our guys down to FOLEY for the day! We got to do some shopping and just hang out! We had a blast! I love to shop! We spent some money, and paid NO TAXES, then headed on southward. We intended on eating at Lambert's, but it was super busy. Seafood was the taste on our tongues, so  we went to The Original Oyster House in Gulf Shores! I had shrimp; it was delicious! 


We continued on to the public beach where they were so kind to waive the parking fees. Obviously, they don't want to deter anyone from visiting. The clean up crews have done such a wonderful job! Alabama's white beaches were still white, and we saw NO OIL! It was a beautiful site to see the beach filled with vacationers! That's kind of cheesy, but my heart was heavy for the economy of the Alabama Beaches. Of course, they have still taken a hit, but tourists are still doing what they can to support local businesses. 

A break from reality...

This past weekend I got to partake in a peaceful vacation with my wonderful family. I was so grateful to take a break from the misery of unemployment. It started out on such a great note when RJ got off of work an hour early and we were able to make great time to Florida. We had a great time with a specially created play list full of my “hippy” favorites and a few sing alongs. After a few complications with a very confused TomTom (it told us that the Target we were looking for was in the middle of a neighborhood, which, indeed, it was not), we soon arrived to our Condo where my Mom, Dad, Sis, and Garrett were relaxing. Because RJ and I were tired from a full day of work, errands, cleaning and packing, we just wanted to see the beach for a minute and relax for a fun weekend.

Our first day got off to a wonderful start. RJ and myself woke up and watched the sunrise and did our devotionals together on the beach. We were able to see some dolphins pretty close to the shore and make a crane friend. I am so grateful for RJ, and that morning is one of my fondest memories we have together.

One of my goals for the weekend was to read a book while I was there. Many of you know that I am NOT a casual reader. I do not enjoy reading anything but educational books. I ended up choosing The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. I thoroughly enjoyed it and finished it in one day. It was a good, easy read, and I did have a hard time putting it down. On the other hand, it is not often that I have time to just sit back and read leisurely. Therefore, I have not discovered a new hobby. That first day we made a mile and a half trip down the beach (on foot) to discover our favorite place of the beach. There were some great Jetties that made some really great photos (see the slide show at the end :D ). After a long day on the beach and by the pool, the lobsters decided to stay in and relax that night.

The following day we went back to the area of the jetties after some small amount of confusion. The water there was simply intoxicating. It was as if you were in a different world, though there was a somewhat sad discovery made here. Thousands of dead jelly fish had washed up on the shore. I’m not sure if it was a result of the oil spill or the recent storm; it was very sad nonetheless considering the effect of massive deaths of any species in the ecosystem. Though these pesky little creatures aren’t very popular amongst the human population, they do serve their purpose throughout the marine ecosystem. Sea turtles, sun fish, and even crabs munch on these delicate creatures. Jellyfish also serve as shelter for some guppies that are immune to their sting (such as Nemo).

We got to see the Chapman and Watson family and ate some delicious fresh seafood at Gilligan‘s. Though the food was good, it was not an experience I would recommend to anyone looking for exceptional facilities and service. That very same night we went out to the Marina and listened to some of the live music resonating across the water from some happening bar. My darling sweet fiancé also took his guitar and played some for me. I surely do love to listen to the gentle strums of the acoustic guitar, especially when it’s a cutie like my RJ making the music!

Our last day was slow and bittersweet, but RJ and I spent some time by the pool and soon decided to head out to lunch just the two of us. We ate at place called the Fisherman’s Wharf; if you are ever in the Destin area, I suggest you eat there if you are looking for a reasonably priced lunch menu for a hefty portion of food for delicious food. I tasted Mahi Mahi for the first time, and it was delicious! We took a few pictures after that and headed home.

I am so glad that I had the chance to see the famous white sand beaches. I had a revelation on the drive home and realized how blessed I am to live in such a beautiful part of the country. It is not an insurmountable task to drive to the beach or even to the mountains in less than a day. We are a short drive from beautiful vacation points, and I will get to see the mountains in November. If you have not been to the beach in a while, I suggest you get south and support the businesses of the Gulf of Mexico while they still have products, goods, and services to offer. These people’s worlds are about to be turned upside down as the oil sneaks closer and closer by the minute. You are doing yourself a large disservice if you do not visit one of God’s beautiful blessings upon this part of the country. See the famous white sands whilst they are still white.

Oil is seen along the shoreline of Port Fourchon, La., Monday, May 31, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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