Happy Happy Friday my friends!!!

Happy TGIF - can I hear an AMEN?! I don't know about you, but I am SO happy today is finally Friday! WHOOP WHOOP!!!! 

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What are your weekend plans? Anything special going on? Hubby and I are actually going to get away for a 3 day weekend and I can't wait! It will be nice to get out of town for a short time.  We have many home projects that need to be done, but we decided to do it another day.  LOL Thanks to my husband's schedule and my super busy work schedule we rarely get any time together, so this will be a nice little getaway together. :)

I can't wait to hear all about your weekend plans - thanks for stopping by to say hello!

XOXO,

Outlets of Little Rock - Blogger Event

Happy Thursday my sweets.  How are you? How has your week been so far? GREAT, I hope! I've been meaning to post this now since Sunday, but not haven't had a chance to do so.  I was invited to join 11 other bloggers last Saturday at the Outlets of Little Rock for an Arkansas Blogger Event.  I had always wanted to participate in one of these with other local bloggers but wasn't able to do so before now.  Here are some of the deets:

We started off at Starbucks where we were treated with cranberry/orange scones and blueberry scones as well as our coffee of choice and yummy cake pops.   

Next, we went to several different stores throughout the outlets.  We started off at Tommy Hilfiger where we were given a Tommy Hilfiger bag and some coupons, then we went to Le Creuset where they treated us to some DELICIOUS scallops and bread with olive oil and Chocolate covered strawberries

and where I fell in LOVE with these dishes:

Next, they took us around to Asics where we were given free socks, Corky's where they gave us Bright Pink nail polish and a few other items.  Next up was The Beef Jerky Outlet where we tried several different flavors of beef jerky

then the final place was Lindt chocolate store where we were given a demonstration and taste test of some of the BEST Chocolate I've ever put into my mouth!

After all that fun was had, we were taken to the corporate office where we were treated to a "swag filled bag" with awesome gifts.  Not only were we treated to the swag filled bag, all bloggers were given a $50 gift card to the outlets.  They also gave away 4 different $25 gift cards to various stores throughout the outlet, along with a $100 gift card to Restoration Hardware.  Unfortunately, I didn't win any of the extras but it was a great day and a fun day had by all! Here is all of my wonderful loot which also consisted of an AWESOME bag from the Outlets - I can't WAIT to use it!

Thanks so much to Outlets of Little Rock treating us to a wonderful and special VIP day! :)

XOXO,

What's Hap-"pinning" Wednesday

Happy Hump Day guys and dolls! I finally get to link back up with Jessie and Jenn in the What's Hap-"pinning" Wednesday and I'm SO excited!!!  It's been forever!!!

A few of my favorite things happening this week are Spring shoes! I'm SO ready for Spring and these are TOO cute not to share!  Funny enough, I didn't realize until I posted these photos that they were all the same color - LOL

Thanks for stopping by to say hello and be sure to check out both Jessie's and Jenn's blogs to see what everyone else is pinning.  Have a fab fab day!!!!

XOXO,

Happy Happy TGIF!!!!!

How are you doing sweet friends?! Hope you have been having a fabulous week! What are your weekend plans? Anything fun and exciting? I'm thrilled that it's finally Friday and the weekend is here. 

Tonight we are going to relax and watch movies.  Tomorrow I have to start my day off taking my babies to the vet for a check-up.  Then I get to go to Lowe's and pick up some paint and start painting my living room.  After that, I get to go to an Arkansas Blogger event at the outlet mall and I can't wait! I've always wanted to do this and get to meet other local bloggers, so yes, as you can see, I'm extremely excited! I have a very busy Saturday as you can see.  However, Sunday will be just as busy because I will spend the day finishing up painting our living room. I can't wait to get rid of the orange and peach walls that the previous owners left me. *BLAH*

So tell me - what are your weekend plans? I can't wait to hear all about them! 

Thanks for stopping by to say hello!

XOXO,

Life Update #2

Happy Thursday Guys and Dolls! Hope your week is going along painlessly! Now onto life update #2!

We moved me into my husband's brother's house that week and got me all settled in.  We spent the weekend together just trying to relax and spend some time together before my husband had to return to Texas.  After dh went back to Texas, I had a few days to get settled in before I began my new job on Wednesday, March 9th.  Moving back home meant I was back within an hour or less from my wonderful sweet mommy, so we spent the day shopping and getting me some new work clothes.

I spent the next couple of days relaxing and then was super excited for my first day at the Bank. I went to work in the Corporate Finance Department working with the Mergers and Acquisitions group and was in love with the company from Day 1.  Everyone was super nice and very helpful and it was a wonderful transition.  The only issue I had was that I was bored for some time just trying to learn the new job and taking all of the tests that every employee has to take along the way for compliance reasons.  I worked in that position for roughly about a month or so when my immediate supervisor came to me and said that the big boss wanted to know if because of my legal background, if I would be willing to start taking the minutes for the Board of Director meetings starting in May. It would also mean that we would travel out of state to different places twice a year for extended board meetings. I agreed to do so and was very excited to start getting more responsibility.

In June we finally found a house to purchase and were able to move in the second week and that's when the real work began!  You know... all of those "Fun" house projects.  I've watched entirely too many HGTV shows, that much I can tell you! Between HGTV and Pinterest, my idea list has grown SUPER LONG - LOL

Fast forward to August when we had our first meeting out of state (technically it was the 2nd meeting as I had already missed the one in February) and we traveled to San Francisco. I had never been to California, much less San Francisco, and was super excited to travel.  The board meetings are 2 days long and even though we have nice dinners, the meetings are definitely all work and no play, so we don't actually get to see any of the city that we travel to. However, it's still very nice to be able to travel for work.  It was something my husband always got to enjoy doing as part of his time working with the airport and got to see many new places, so I'm really enjoying it.  While at the meeting in San Francisco, one of my immediate supervisors got promoted.  When we got back I learned that the big boss's assistant was retiring and they wanted me to take her place.  I was truly excited for the opportunity as it meant even more responsibility.  I moved to their side of the floor and began training with her in September.  She officially retired the 3rd week of February, so I've taken it over full time now and I am truly loving it.  I knew when I interviewed with my original two bosses, that this was the right place for me to finish my career and the place I plan to retire.

Anyway, I know I am a couple of days behind on blogging, but with a promotion comes more responsibility and longer hours. So when I get home at night I'm even more exhausted and want to do nothing but lay in bed next to my hubby and watch tv and relax.

Thanks for stopping by to say hello and reading.  I will post Day 3 tomorrow!  :)  Please let me know that you were here so I can stop by and say hello on your blogs too.

Have an awesome day and Happy Friday Eve friends!!!

XOXO,

Weekend Update and Life Update #1

Happy Happy Monday Ya'll! I hope you had a fab fab weekend - we sure did! 2 of my 3 grandsons and my son-in-law and daughter came to visit again this weekend and we went to the wedding of my best friend's son and then relaxed at home the rest of the time, which was wonderful! I got a lot of time with my grandbabies and daughter and son-in-law, which is always wonderful in my book! :)

Okay, so on to life Update. #1 from this past year.  Since my last post was in March of last year when I began my new job, I'm not going to go back to January and start over.  However, I will start here in February where everything changed and we will go from there.

February 12th - The bank I worked for in Kingwood, Texas decided after a year and a half, that they were doing away with my position completely, therefor leaving me without a job  However, out of the "kindness" of their hearts and because everyone loved me so much that they were going to give me 6 weeks to find a job (mighty nice of them, right?! - BLAH) Anyway, that gave me the excuse I needed to start searching for a job back home in Arkansas because both hubby and I wanted to move back to Arkansas anyway.  Needless to say, it was still a kick in the gut and I felt like I got screwed, but it was absolutely the best thing that could have ever happened.  That same weekend of the 12th, hubby and I already were leaving that day for a weekend back home anyway, so we left early that day and headed home for a fun relaxing time with my mommy and our friends.  Once we got back to Texas is when the job search started happening in full force.  Luckily, I had NO luck in Texas and ALL kinds of luck in Arkansas.  Everything that seemed to be happening at that time included 2 promotions that would take us to Oregon and even San Antonio, Texas that fell through for my husband, as did 2 different houses that we were looking to buy at that same time.  I told my husband that everything which continued happening just meant we were no longer meant to be in Texas but were meant to be back home in Arkansas and that's exactly how it played out.

February 29th - I had 2 separate interviews with 2 different companies.  One was a law firm and one was a bank.  That Friday before I spoke to my supervisor and informed her that I had several interviews lined up for that day and needed the entire day off and she readily agreed (after all, they told me to interview as often as I could) but I didn't inform her that it just happened to be in Arkansas - it was none of their business as far as I was concerned.  Anywho, I had the two interviews, had lunch with my besties and then headed back to Texas.  During both interviews, I was basically told they weren't really looking to hire anytime soon but wanted to meet me because of my wonderful resume. As you can imagine, the wind was knocked out of my sails, but I kept a positive attitude and just kept on moving.  I knew if it was meant to be for us to move back to Arkansas that it would happen eventually. Well, 3 days later, I not only received ONE offer but TWO! One from each of the places that I had interviewed the few days before.

I said yes to the first offer because I hadn't heard back from the 2nd interviewer yet.  But, deep down I really wanted the job with the bank and not the law firm - it just felt right.  Well, 2 hours later, the bank called and offered me the job and paid the same amount the first company was going to do, so I jumped on it and then had to call and decline the first offer.  The next exciting part was that they BOTH wanted me the very next week - March 9th!  Now mind you, this was the Thursday before. However, I wasn't worried because I was told by the bank I was currently working for that I didn't have to give any type of notice. But let me tell you this - the boss man's mouth completely dropped open when I told him I had to be there the next week and was giving my notice that day because I had to go home and start packing and moving back home to Arkansas that very weekend.  HA! It.was.priceless!!!!!

Next, I called my husband and then turned in all of my stuff and hightailed it home to start packing. Talk about a whirlwind! Luckily for us I have a wonderful brother-in-law who owns a home in the Little Rock area and had plenty of room for me to come stay until hubby could get a job in Arkansas so we could buy a house. So the next day, we loaded up the trailer and truck and we headed to Arkansas.

Okay, that's enough for now. I will finish the month of February tomorrow and maybe start on March as well.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by to say hello!

XOXO,

Happy TGIF and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Happy Friday and Happy St. Patty's Day my friends! What do you have on your weekend plans? Anything special? Maybe a green beer this weekend, or maybe watching pro basketball or having a big St. Patrick's Day party? Well, whatever it is, hopefully, the weather will be perfect wherever you are. :)

Hubby and I have a wedding to go to on Saturday afternoon out of town.  It is my best friend's son, who is getting married.  Our daughter and he grew up together and have remained close all this time, so my daughter and her hubby are coming back to town tonight with not 1 but 2 of our grandsons and we couldn't be more excited.  Luckily, they only live about 3 hours away now so that makes it nice for all of us. 

Here is me and the lucky groom to be.  I can't believe he's so grown up already and getting married! Look how much taller than me he is - LOL

And here is our daughter and Kramer at their Senior Prom.  Not only is it weird that he is grown and getting married, but my daughter is 4 months younger than him and already married with a family of her own - that is TOO weird to me! I can't believe out fast these kids have grown up already:

Speaking of grandsons - this little stinker turned one last November! Talk about time passing fast!

Here is grandson number 2, Toby who is now 4 years old:

And while we are on the subject of grandson's - meet our third grandson, EJ. He is now 5! My daughter's husband was previously married, hence the other 2 boys. :)

Well, this post wasn't supposed to turn into a post about my 3 grandsons, but somehow it did anyway - sorry about that! LOL  Like I said, I have a lot to fill you in on to catch up with all of you.  I truly cannot believe it has literally been a year since my last blog post. 

Whatever your plans are for the weekend ahead, I hope you have a fantastic one with your family and/or friends and can't wait to see how you spent it! Thanks so much for stopping by to say hello and please let me know you were here so I can stop by to say hi on your blog as well. :)

And because it IS finally Friday AND St. Patrick's Day, here's one last picture to send you into a fun weekend ahead! :)

XOXO,

Hey, Hey Hey!!!!

Hey there my long lost friends! How have you been? I can NOT believe for a second that it has literally been a year since my last post.  SO many things have taken place over the past year and I have SO much to tell you! First things first, however, I have changed the name of my blog from Welcome to our World to Back to my Roots.  As you know, we moved back home to Arkansas a year ago the first week of March, and this has been on my mind for a while to change the name of my blog and it seemed like the perfect name for a fresh bloggy start. :)

I'm not sure yet if I am going to do a "year" recap or a "month" recap but will start in a new post tomorrow.  The main thing I wanted to do was to say HEY and that I'm back in the bloggy world and can't wait to catch up with all of you and update you on the past year for me and my hubby and family.

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know you were here! I've missed you all!!! :)

xoxo
Trac~