Isn't life great? One second you think you got it all figured out and then the next, God giggles and throws you for a loop! So since my last post I have had a mixture of emotions regarding a HUGE factor in my life....Huge factor that is financially and emotionally tied to me.

Without being too obvious, I know that I mentioned earlier that a certain someone left my work life to go on her own venture. I in no way meant to sound upset with her. I think jealousy is the word. I hope she does amazing things (b/c I know she has and will) with her own business. I was just overwhelmed by the thought of her guidence, support + friendship going along with her...so that took me to last week. Last week I thought it all out and prayed, and prayed...our poor Sunday school class barely knows us, and I feel like all I ever do is complain! And then I saw this message on a blog I read:

"…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances" Philippians 4:11b (NIV)

Paul learned that the fruit of contentment is developed when we are thankful for what God has provided whether we like it or not. That's because peace isn't the absence of pressure. It's the presence of God and our attitude toward His provision in the midst of our stress. By expressing gratitude, Paul experienced richness of being, not having.

I realize you may be in a hard place right now and you're longing for freedom. Maybe you're in a job that feels like a dead end; perhaps you have two of them! It may be that you live in a space too small for your family and you hate it. You're not where you planned or hoped to be and you certainly don't like it.The truth is, we don't have to like where we are or what we have, but if we will choose to thank God for His provisions regardless of our feelings toward them, we'll experience the same contentment Paul encountered.

We must understand that being thankful doesn't mean that God will eventually remove us from our situation. He may; He may not. Rather, being appreciative sets us free from the desire to have and lets us rest in the riches of contentment. And when we reach a place of contentment, we don't need earthly riches galore. God becomes our greatest treasure. In Him, we have everything we need.

So I took that as a sign to be thankful for the situation I am in because for whatever reason, God wants me to be here. And to be thankful, but pray for God's guidence and support...to be thankful for what I have learned and gained at this point in life.

BUT, would it be wrong if another opportunity presents itself, to take it?? :)

Some other musings:
- Sweetheats has changed their recipe for the Conversation Hearts for Valentine's Day...and I am pissed. Why don't you go ahead and declare it "Gross Candy Flavors, that only look like the delicious candy hearts you used to enjoy" Day. Seriously, couldn't they have slowly changed one flavor at a time? Why take away the only thing I really liked to eat at Valentine's Day?

-Got my hair cut today...trying for a Mandy Moore look, with bangs. I already am annoyed by them!

-My mom was in the hospital last week b/c they thought she could have a stroke. She did have 3 TIA's, but everything else looked ok and she's at home now vegging it up in her pjs (hopefully!). My favorite part of talking to her on the phone last week, was when she claimed the nurses spiked her water with bourbon and honey. I say, whatever works!

-B went to a gun class last Saturday, he's getting a gun and needed to take a class to get certified or whatever. Our friend Joe, who I lovingly refer to as our "personal gun dealer" is hooking him up with something. Not that we need anything, but B wants something for protection...Over Christmas Eve B took a nap in his parents home while I went to get groceried before the stores closed. When I came home I had more than one load. I was trying to be quiet and gently set my groceries down on the counter. On my second trip I come in the door to find B in his boxers holding a bowflex weight handle bar over his head. I didn't think of it until later, when I said "did you think I was breaking in?" And sure enough, that was his defense. Too bad he looked like he was sleep walking! Looks like a gun, might be a little more threatening.

-B and I went to a concert on Friday night. We instantly realized 2 things:
1) We are old; it was a small concert hall and we had standing room only. Only into 2 songs we were both giving dirty looks to the people who were smart and got their early to get actual tables/seats.
2) We are old; the concert lasted til midnight, and you'd have thought we had never stayed up that late in our lives! We were so tired!!!

So this year I wanted to do something different than just send out a Christmas card...this year I wanted to add a little treat. I found this link, sometime this summer about how to make hot cocoa and such for wedding favors...I decided I wanted to send all my friends some cocoa for Christmas! Now that we're in east Tennessee where we have already gotten snow and below freezing temps, it feels right to send out some warming Christmas treats...AND the best part, it was homemade, so of course B and I did a lot of taste testing before we sent out our final batch!
Here's how it came out:

I got all my ingredients at my favorite healthy grocery store Earthfare, and I think all the organic ingredients make the cocoa taste so much better! B would probably argue with that since he's still not on the organic train like I am.
I used some green and white baker's twine from Divine Twine and labels from Swoozie's. I already had bags from a long time ago, so I measured out each bag, attached the twine and label and...


Voila! Little packets of Haines' homemade Cocoa! Marshmallows included! yum!

The next step was the tricky (and expensive part) I ordered small A2 mailer boxes from Paper Source back in October, added the cocoa packets and our Christmas cards, then attached a long label that wrapped around, in order to keep the box shut (sorry post office, no cocoa for you!). Slapped 4 stamps on each and sent them on their merry way! Lets hope they make it to everyone!
And here's our Christmas card!

So I'm out for the holidays. B's family has been here since Friday. They're staying in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, which is about 40 mins from us. And let me tell you, I will definitely be back there for 2 reasons:
1. the mountains! I really didn't realize that the mountains were so close to us...I guess I knew they were there when we went to the lake near that area this summer, but when we were driving to their place last night the mountains were snow capped and sooo big! I felt like I was looking at the Grand Tetons or something! I cant wait to start hiking (when it gets warmer) and water fall searching this summer!
2. the outlets. Um, why did it take me almost a year to discover these outlets, fully equipped with a Banana, Jcrew, Coach + Gap! Cant wait to find an excuse to go back!

B and I are travelling back to Memphis Christmas Eve day. We're going to spend the Eve with my parents eating dinner + opening gifts (b/c that's our Christmas tradition at my house), then Christmas day we're going to go see Sherlock Holmes and maybe another movie to fill the day.
Then we'll be back home for good on Sunday (like we're not moving, leaving or budging from Knoxville for at least 2 months kind of good).

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
-e.n.h.

1. Visit with friends - We have some friends that are already home (aka Oak Ridge) for Thanksgiving and some that are driving through on their way to home this week (aka Columbia,SC), so we're hoping to get to have dinner/hang out a lil with them before everyone goes on their merry way.

2. Drive to Memphis - I think we're set. I went to the pet store Sunday and loaded up on Puppy pills to hopefully knock Jackson out while we're on our way. He hasn't been in the car this long, since we moved from Memphis to Knoxville. I hope now that we know he gets car sick/anxiety we can keep him calm/passed out the whole trip! And with B's ankle in a boot and trying to stop it from swelling, looks like I'll be driving the whole 6 hours...yuck!

3. Sleep in and Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade - Although I'm never really one to care about it, it sort of is a tradition to have it in the background during the Thanksgiving morning. I would have been glued to the set anxiously awaiting to see the Glee cast perform, but since they're not going to, looks like background noise you'll be!

4. Eat lots of Turkey, less mashed potatoes! - I got off my "diet" this past weekend for our last home tailgate, so I need to make sure I try to focus on not over eating this week! Of course I picked the hardest week to do that! Also need to pick up on my half marathon training. So far its been sparse. I just need to get into the habit!

5. Go see the Blind Side - I hear its the best movie. I have not heard one single negative thing from anyone who's seen it or from the media. Sounds like something to do Thanksgiving afternoon!

6. Join the ranks of the crazy's and wake up early to shop Black Friday - Normally I am waking up early to go to the store to work and wait for all the crazy's to show up. Sadly, I will be joining them this year. B and I plan to get up early to shop for ourselves (isn't that awful!). He needs a new watch and I need a jacket to keep me warm in the mountains of TN...I am still going to go visit my hometown store to help out at 8, but if most stores open at 5, that leaves us 3 hours of shopping!!!! Cant believe I'm going to be one of those people!

7. Work at the Collierville store - Its my favorite time of the year and the day after thanksgiving is by far my favorite day to work in retail. I think its just how crazy busy everyone is, but everyone is generally happy and hopped up on turkey! It usually flys by too!

8. Watch some Auburn football! - After working at the store I'm headed home to watch my Auburn Tigers take on the Alabama Crimson tide...We have nothing to lose, and they're undefeated. I would love love love it, if the Tigers could pull off the upset. And I really think we have the talent and spirit to do so. BUT we'll see! War Eagle!

9. Visit with family! My cousin, her husband and her son are coming to my parents to watch football and eat some Memphis BBQ (we're getting 3 different kinds just to have a sampling!). It will be good to see them and hang out with the rents too!

10. Rockettes- B's parents are taking us to go see the "Girls who kick the air" (as I like to call them). I'm really excited...more for the fact that we were going to go see the show in Nashville with friends next week, but decided it was too expensive. So this will be a nice treat!

11. Drive back to Knoxville - by far the worst part of the week! Here's hoping we can get out of town early enough to get home before dark. We always have a tendency to leave late and get home late which screws us up for the next week!

Can you believe its already Thanksgiving???? Crazy! That means Christmas is right around the corner!

Hope you have a great one! (Be sure to eat those extra mashed potatoes for me!)
-e.n.h

Been crazy busy since my last Jamaican post which was, what like a month ago? Jeez,I'm a slacker!
Ok here's the rundown:
-Jamaica was awesome, way to short and my tan is already gone. :(

-After the Jamaican week I flew to Baton Rouge to visit one of my BFF's Emily for the weekend and to go to the Auburn/LSU game (yuck!). She has a new house, a new job and a new husband. And they are all great! So glad I got to visit, besides the actual game I had a blast. All the girls are old married people now, and we live in 4 different states ( Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina + Tennessee---can I get a shout out for the south! whoop whoop!) Its really funny because this past year we've seen each other almost every other month with weddings, showers, bach. parties and such so hopefully we can keep that tradition alive and see each other more than once a year from now on!

-When I got back it was the 4th anniversary of my 25th birthday...B got me flowers and took me to a delicious Italian dinner and when we got home I opened my bday present: Season 1 of True Blood. We just finished the whole season yesterday and I think its safe to say we're both hooked! What is it with vampires these days? I'm a total groopy!

-That next Saturday was a rainy game day, but with our yummy catered BBQ and our tent rigging it turned out to be a great night with both Auburn and TN winning!

-Next week I went to Atlanta for a meeting and back...6 hours of driving is no fun. Especially when you stick a stressful meeting in the middle of it!

- Went to a Vols bball game with B. He proceeded to inhale a hot dog the size of his arm. They won, and it was a nice middle of the week break!

-Went to Nashville to host a Welcome Back to Mox and Donna (the lucky Jamaican wedding couple). Had a great time, the food and company were awesome! The highlights were when me, B, Mox and Donna were picked up in an 1998 limo to drive us to the party...prom 2009!!! Unfortunately the sun roof did not open so we didn't get to have as much prom fun as we wanted! But still fun. Then once we got home after the party, B and Mox decided to play "chase Jackson" and spent at least 45 mins falling all over them self's as Jackson owned them with his quick speed. It was hilarious. Poor Bobby landed on his face a couple times and totally stained up his clothes...But they did catch him once, and it was a mighty victory!

-The following week my rent's came for a visit. We had a great time hanging out especially on Saturday and watch fball (even though neither Haines' teams won) and eat some Tbones! They just left yesterday, but I'll get to see them next week for Thanksgiving!

- Oh, I almost forgot!!! B busted his ankle playing bball last week. So bad I had to take him to the doctor and he's getting an MRI today. Its not broken, but torn ligaments and maybe some bone chips floating around. Might even have to have surgery. Poor guy, I think he is more pissed off about the whole thing (since he's so high-adventure) than anything. It will get better B!!!

And I think that catches us up. For the rest of the week:
- Going to see New moon Friday morning at 12:04 am! And I am soooo excited!!
- Fball on Saturday, its the last TN home game so our last tailgating experience for the year.
- Then there's Thanksgiving in Memphis...super pumped about all the good food. Traditional Thanksgiving on Thursday, then Memphis BBQ on Friday...I plan to splurge a lil even though I'm on a diet (thanks C-line! Lost 4 lbs so far!).

Hopefully I'll be back before another month rolls by!
-E

Yesterday B and I went to Sundown in the City in downtown Knoxville. Pretty much its a free concert(s) with lots of beer and food in the middle of the Market Square area (lots of cute shops and amazing restaurants). We got there about 30 mins after they opened the gates and it was so nice! I had a really good time. The weather was perfect, the food was yummy (see Bob showing off our foot long corndogs we had for dinner) and I really really enjoyed getting to watch Cowboy Mouth. It's really funny because B and I remember back in high school going to a radio concert with a big group of friends and listening to Cowboy Mouth then. And that was like 10 years ago, and they still played some of the same songs! The whole evening was very relaxing, except we forgot the most important ingredient to sundown in the city....chairs! Oh well by the time the band came on we we're jumping up and down anways!

Here is a shot of the stage from way far back. We eventually moved up closer and away from that guys butt:

Our very healthy dinner (ha!), corndogs, beer and kettle corn!:

Here's a shot of the band. The lead singer is awesome, he is also the drummer and kept throwing his drum sticks into the audience. B said he had a whole stack of them, so at least he came prepared!

Here's a shot of us right before we left. B looks sleepy! Guess its because he was at work at 5:45 a.m. that morning!:
B's parents are coming in today for the weekend. Should be a nice weekend outside. I don't really know what we're going to do, but I guess we'll figure something out!
Have a good weekend,
-e.n.h

P.S. - What in the world is wrong with teen girls these days! I know events like this usually attract all the hoochie teenagers in the world, but I swear when I was 14-16 I would never have dressed like some of those girls did, EVEN if I was allowed to! Dear Lord, if children are in my future, please bless me with a boy!