food for my soul

Y'all I just got back from Little Rock yesterday.  Get ready for the lonnnngesttt post ever 'cause I had about the best weekend I've had in a long time.  This past weekend fed my soul in a way I didn't know I was so hungry for.  I'm literally like crying over my keyboard thinking about it.  Sweet friends who have moved to unfamiliar and new places or who live away from dear friends know exactly what I'm talking about.  Girls just need time with girls that know them- like really know them- their life, story, soul, heart, drama.  It filled my tank this past weekend to spend time with some of these girls.  There were several that were sorely missed and many that I can't wait to have time with in Texas and other places but man, I can't adequately express how thankful I am to Karl for relinquishing me for this weekend and providing for me so that I could go enjoy myself and celebrate Maggie & Blake.  Anyway, hold onto your party pants because you are about to be on picture overload, even though looking at these pictures I am kicking myself for not taking more!

I know this sounds dramatic but it felt so surreal to be taking this picture!  Like, is this really happening?  I haven't been around these girls since my wedding.  I will never go that long again.  

TK- I need the picture from you that has Sus in it!!

always.

Sorry Priyanka & Francis.  Consider this your obligatory introduction to me, my friendship, & my camera.  Aaryn, you understand, right?

annnd begin The Leah Show.  I'll happily oblige.

just normal

Grandpa Mike enjoying his dinner in his recliner.  So demanding.

And obvi my camera focused on Chris.

Just the perfect picture to capture this weekend.  So many people loving on M&B all day Saturday.

annnnd I'll end with this gem.

I basically had 24/7 with friends I can't get enough of.  I landed Friday morning and was picked up by Charis to enjoy some incredible time on Friday morning and afternoon with her and Susanna then to enjoy Friday night dining at The Riggan's while watching the royal wedding amongst Pi Phis, my 'mate, and new friends and laughing until my (prosciutto-wrapped asparagus) stomach hurt.  I was hosted all weekend by Noel and her amazing family (can't leave out that I shared a bed with Susanna) and dined on homemade pancakes by Noel's dad.  Saturday was spent celebrating and blessing Maggie & Blake at two amazing events that just filled my heart to the brim while killing time in between with a lunch fit for a queen with the sweetest friends.  Saturday night was a joy- a drink in the pouring rain with a flash flood that I could've done without out in Little Rock while catching up with TKella and the rest of the girls.  And then Sunday, worshipping alongside The Riggans, Blake, Leah & her family, & Tay.  Nothing quite like it.  Lunch, perusing through Maggie's loot material blessings from the weekend and then a safe flight home back to my boo.  Can it go without saying that I was in tears pulling away from Maggie on Sunday?  I almost feel selfish for having such an awesome weekend on Maggie & Blake's almost-big weekend... almost.

The best weekend

Hannah K.C. Burton

Her majesty majestic queen highness of the royal court duchess of Sumter

So my alarm clock did ring at 3 am this morning but not for the reason some of my friend's did; I woke up to get to the airport that's an hour away for my 6 am flight to Little Rock for a LONNNNNGGG overdue visit with friends and celebration of my best pal, Maggie & her fiancé (whom I adore), Blake. more on that after this weekend Well, as I sit here getting a sneak peek of the royal wedding via twitter, I can't help but weigh a few thoughts...
A) can't wait to watch the actual video footage in Little Rock tonight
B) ok ok ok, do we really love her dress that much?! I mean there's so much gushing going on. I would venture to say it's actually fruitless sucking up... I know, I know, ridiculous but personally, in April of 2011 you couldn't pay me to wear a long sleeved ball gown, just being real. Yes, the girl is gorgeous and maybe I'm slightly jeal that I'm not a real live princess but whatever
C) I accidentally fell on the RW bandwagon. I was totally uninterested (which is shocking considering my love of all things wedding) until I realized I would coincidentally be awake for it
D) siblings are where it's at. Pippa- hot.bod. That dress steals the show. Look out, Maddie, I'm comin and imma rock your wedding. And Hello Harry! It's about time gingers got world recognition and favor bestowed upon us because of our elite good looks.
E) most importantly, Karl tells me I am a princess. And a queen. And I believe him. And sometimes I act like one. So there. And don't even tell me y'all weren't on the edge of your seat for months waiting to see who designed my dress and what it looked like. Pa leeeze, I know.

Her royal highness,
Hannah K.C. Burton

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no 3rd wheel here

Emma has recently become the only single Cuppett girl.  In honor of this week and Emma's single status, I thought I would make her feel a little better by playing matchmaker.  Look who's been spotted?
XOXO

Your Welcome, Emma,
XOXO Hannah K.C. Burton

not so wordless wednesday

I don't have any cutesy pictures today so I'll substitute Wordless Wednesday for Quoteworthy Wednesday...

"Whatcha lookin at?"- Karl
"Well, you're going to think this is morbid.  And weird.  Butttt it's the blog of a woman who lost her baby."- me
"That is weird."- Karl
"Well, I don't think many people realize how many people lose babies.  I think it's good people talk about it.  SOOO many babies die."- Me
"Well, more crocodile babies die than human babies."- Karl

Thank you, Karl, for enlightening me this Wednesday morning.

sweet success

Yesterday marked 8 months of marriage for Karl and I.  No, we won't continue to "celebrate" every month of marriage from now until the end of time BUT everyone so discouragingly and annoyingly told us how hard our first year of marriage would be so why not celebrate every month for our first year?  In that case, I'm not pregnant, I haven't given either of us food poisoning or burnt the house down, we're still married, and I've only ruined one load of laundry... so I would say that we have had an extremely successful 8 months of marriage.  Congratulations to us!  I love him more than I did 8 months ago and we find ourselves happier and happier every single day.  You know how pessimists (like myself) say things like "set really low expectations for yourself and you won't be disappointed."?  Well, along those same lines, I would say that such a ridiculously not fun, sucky, and down-right lame dating relationship definitely sets the tone for what cannot possibly be a worse marriage.  I mean, we never lived in the same city, never saw each other for more than 14 days in a row (and that only happened once), were separated by war & school & oceans & miles SOOOOO how on earth could it not only get better then that?  Enter our first year of marriage.  Golden.  Money.  Perfection.  Pure Joy.  Like, we could be living in a cardboard box together and it be easier than our dating relationship.  That being said, these past 8 months have been cake.  Piece of cake.  Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Mom & Dad (ahem, the "the first year will be really hard.")  mmmhmmm.  Now I'm certainly knocking on wood, I mean, we do still have 4 months to go that could really dish it out to Karl & I butttttt, I'll call it in advance that this entire first year of marriage will be amazeballs.

Done & Done
Hannah K.C. Burton

mo money, mo problems

Well well well, I have been absent from the blogosphere for far too long and my online journal is definitely suffering.  To catch up, I just got back to South Carolina after a whirlwind of a trip to Texas.  I used Emma's Cinderella Charity Ball as my excuse to go home- it was so fun and our little Cindy looked adorable.  Cinderella is a huge Davis Family tradition and Emma was the 12th member of our family to participate and was 1 of 20 candidates this year that helped to raise almost $500,000- remember that you Pi Phis... rush 2012.  Anyways, so glad I got to go be there for it!  Here is a little proof that I was there, although I took it off Emma's Facebook so I'm not sure how good the quality is.

The remainder of my time home was spent tapping into my Professional Organizer persona by helping my mom go room-by-room of my parents' house and seriously clean out.  We purged, organized, threw away, and went crazy with Spring Fever.  My parents' house always looks immaculate and my mom is absolutely not a hoarder so how we came up with at least 35 trash bags of garbage and an entire garage full of yard sale junk is beyond me.  But it was fun.  And my happy place.  We found the most hilarious things from our childhood (like hair from a random haircut my mom gave Maddie when she was 8 labeled in a ziplock bag, weird & funny & I guess something sentimental only a mom can appreciate?)  I seriously am so passionate about organization and enjoy it more than anything I have ever done.  I know that's crazy.  I also know I could make some cash money doing it.... hmmm... one day.  This whole cleaning spree was brought on by the not one, but two offers that were made on their house and then backed out on within 72 hours of each other.  Ridiculous.  Their home has been on the market for 2 1/2 years while my mom has had her dream home just floating around in her dreams, not quite tangible, but almost because they even own the land that it will be built on.  The Lord's timing is absolutely baffling to me.  I was cleaning out my mom's nightstand and found this old spiral of mine full of ABC's and easy words that I practiced writing- I couldn't have been older than 5?

A few days were also spent wedding planning with Maddie, the anti-bride.  No opinions, no dream wedding that she has had in the back of her mind since she was 10.  What does this mean for me?  Well, two things: 1) sometimes a pain in the rear because it's weird to make decisions for someone else's wedding 2) i get to fulfill my dream of planning a winter wedding how i want it.  because she doesn't care.  yessssss.  #2 is definitely panning out to be the more prevalent of the two points.  because let me remind you, my mom, Callie, & I are planning our dream winter wedding... with a few of Maddie's specifications

So, I was supposed to come back here two days ago, not yesterday.  Here's that story: I was scheduled for a 7am flight that I groggily showed up for only to hear, "This flight is overbooked, do we have someone that is willing to volunteer for a later flight for a $500 American Airlines voucher?"  Well, I had about .5 seconds to decide what to do because I saw a man walking towards the counter.  Well, I impulsively ran to the counter AND BEAT HIM THERE!  And agreed to take a later flight!  I mean, I'm a housewife, I would still get back before Karl gets off work, why not?  I was sooo excited!  I told Karl the good news and braced myself for sitting in the airport for 5 hours.  Well LUCKILY I have an awesome mom and she came and picked me up!  Welllllll, I showed up for my next flight and decided to be brave and just straight up ask if that one was overbooked too... and whadya know?  It was!!  ANOTHER $500!!!  I fly more than the average housewife so these vouchers are the biggest blessing to Karl & I.  WOO HOO!!  Karl was so excited and agreed that it would be best to just book the first flight for the next day so I did and here I am!  When I got to Columbia yesterday I went to get my bag that had been there for 24 hours and the man said, "are you Hannah Cuppett?"  I confirmed and he said, "I gotta shake yo hand!  We've been tracking your flights and you made a thousand dollas yesterday!  You worked tha system!" hahahaha.  Well, there is apparently totally a whole system out there that I just discovered.  I'm $1000 richer and infinitely wiser.  At one point Karl & weren't sure when the opportunity to accept vouchers would end and when I would get home.  I mean, how can you turn down $500?  To this predicament Karl reminded me that, "mo money, mo problems."  Not a mantra we often deal with, ha

Anyways, that sums up the past 10 days in my life.  annnnnd now I'm throwing together my first Easter away from home/with Karl/that I'm cooking/decorating for.  Oh and this is what I came home to yesterday.

... so thoughtful! He said it took him about 30 minutes to make that paper flower- I LOVE it!

And obviously a post about home wouldn't be complete without a pic of the queen of The Cuppett Home.

Happy Everything,

Hannah

yummy pasta & bragging rights

I do not like italian food, namely pasta, very much at all... like I hate it.  BUTTT  I like one dish at a restaurant Karl & I like to eat at in Texas- Johnny Carinos.  It's called like Bowtie Festival, or something.  AND it has bacon in it.  And creamy cheesy buttery sauce.  And I really really like it.  Anyways, I decided to abandon Emealz this week [remember this post??] and branch out on my own so I was meal hunting and came across this recipe that looked awfully (and by awfully, I mean deliciously) similar to Johnny Carino's version.  Done & done.  Totally on my menu for the week.  Anyways, it was AWESOME and totally getting put in my recipe box to repeat sometime next week in the near future.  I would totally recommend it.  AND my lesson as an amateur cook: next time I will double the sauce recipe because I prefer things extra saucy.  {Take that as you will}  Anyways, the sauce just kind of barely covers the 1 lb. of pasta that it calls for so... make and don't double at your own risk.

Secondly, but more importantly, I just have to publicly proclaim how great I think Karl is.  Today is Saturday and he is approaching hour 12 of working today after 5 12-hour work days this past week.  Not a complaint out of his sweet mouth, nope, not one.  He is just such a hard worker and I am 100% grateful for his work ethic and his attitude.  He will maybe work tomorrow, for maybe 12 hours.  He will most likely put in 12 hour days throughout next week, and he is most likely working through next weekend as well.  No extra pay, no pat on the back. Sometimes I have to remind myself how extra special the work that he is doing actually is- these aren't average 84 hour weeks, these are like super american 84 hour weeks.  So so infinitely and extravagantly proud of him.

Hope you have a particularly patriotic weekend, as I apparently am?
Hannah K.C. Burton

Wordless Wednesday

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Empty pantry, 10 more hours, & Lawrys

So, one of the joys of Karl's work plans changing and the both of us waking up last week and finding ourselves in our bed in South Carolina instead of Vegas (for Karl) and Texas (for me) is that our budget was royally screwed.  Dave Ramsey says that "if you're spending more than 15 minutes a week on your budget, you're doing it wrong."  Well, I'm clearly doing something wrong because I pour over our monthly budget for, like, hours.  Literally.  Anyways, all of these plan changes happened during the middle of the month/middle of a pay period which obvi is what made the situation worse.  ANNND since I had already spent hours figuring out our budget to accommodate him in Vegas, me in Texas, and nobody at our house using our utilities, my mind was too numb to fix it once plans changed... not to mention that our bank (USAA) doesn't have an actual physical establishment ANNND the Dave Ramsey plan uses primarily cash ANNND I had gotten like oooodles and ooodles of cold hard cash money out for mine and Karl's time away so here I am sitting with like handfuls of twenties AND electronically paid utility bills that are now bigger than I anticipated... ugh.  The joy.  I hadn't planned on writing any of that.

Needless to say, here we are at the end of the month and we are des.per.ate for groceries.  Yes, I could definitely go get groceries and we wouldn't suffer financially.  BUT  [have I mentioned that I am kind of an extreme person?? I am] I am bound & determined to not spend a dime over what we budgeted for groceries... even though we only budgeted for two weeks worth of groceries for this month... because we only thought we would be here for two weeks of this month.  Our pantry looks like my shelf of the pantry in college.  You know, when I studied so much I would only grocery shop once a month?  Or when I would hold out for the 6-week-away Dad's Weekend so my dad would take me to WalMart?  Empty pantry, empty fridge.  No milk, no OJ, no cereal, no breakfast food, no lunchmeat, no hotdogs, no frozen waffles, no baked beans.  I just googled "meal with only ground beef, chicken broth, ritz crackers, & a red bell pepper."  Poor Karl.  I thought of 3 good things about this situation: 1) it is forcing me to use the stuff in the pantry that has been in there for a while and that I will know to not buy again as a married person because it only gets eaten when we're in dire straits- like the ramen I had for lunch 2) I clearly have what it takes to stick to the budget 3) Lawry's seasoned salt will redeem anything, anything. Including the half-cup of 4-month-old frozen veggies I had as part of my lunch.

10 more hours until the start of a new pay period!!  I've had my grocery list made since last Sunday.  And will be shopping early enough to eat breakfast when I get home... with breakfast food.
Hannah K.C. Burton

14 Layer Cake, I'm not in Kansas anymore, and Maggie Riggan

Topic A) Karl and I had a couple over the other night to celebrate the husbands birthday.  I've been eyeing this recipe on Bakerella for a few weeks- its a 14 Layer Cake!  Like literally, you bake 14 layers... as in, 14 cake pans.  My desire to make this gem stemmed from how beautiful the picture of the cake looked!  So, what better occasion than a birthday to pull out all the stops and make this cake?!  Well, in the interest of full disclosure I would add that I wouldn't make this recipe again.  It was indeed a beautiful cake and very moist.  AND it was fun to make [if you have, ya know, 4ish hours to play & toil in the kitchen].  The flavor just wasn't there for all the effort it took.  I would revamp this recipe- maybe incorporate the 14-layer idea by doubling a cake batter + ganache recipe that I know are hits, even use a couple boxes of cake mix.  Because who wouldn't love a staggeringly tall cake??
Amateur cook lesson: don't bake something just because it looks pretty.  And, be patient if your ganache doesn't look thick enough.  A thin ganache will not cut it.

B) A few friends and most of my family knew that I was supposed to be in Texas now/for the past week/for the next couple of weeks while Karl was supposed to be working in Las Vegas.  Well, long story short, I'm not in Texas and Karl isn't in Vegas.  We're both back in SC as I was after a short 3 days after arriving in Texas.  It's stinky because a) I love to be in control b) I'm such a planner- long term, short term-- all of it c) I had been mentally preparing to be away from Karl and be with my family for months and then in like less than 12 hours I found myself on a plane back to SC.  I want to be in Texas enjoying some much needed Cuppett & friend time but I feel grateful to be getting days with Karl that I didn't think I would have.  I had also planned a trip to Arkansas to visit with friends that I have been missing so much it hurts.  Anyways, needless to say, here we are facing another lesson in "I am not in control, my plan isn't necessarily The Lord's."
C) "B" brings me to this... last night I booked a flight to Little Rock for a weekend trip for one of my very best friend's weekend wedding shower extravaganza.  I knew there was a slim chance that I would be able to get to Arkansas for this, especially with the time Karl & I were facing away from each other with Vegas + my planned trip to AR during my time home in Texas.  Well, since all of that was flushed down the toilet, getting to LR for her bridal shower became like so super important to me.  So, Karl & I talked about it and (in Oprah voice) I'M GOOOOOOINNNNNGGGGGGG!!  It [seems] to be working out perfectly.  It's a short amount away from Karl that both of us are comfortable with!  I know the weekend will feel like the shortest/biggest tease/whirlwind ever but I cannot wait.  I have been looking forward to the Riggan/Chism nuptials for months.  MONTHS.  Come July, wedded bliss for two of my favorite people + reunion with some of my favorite people + Karl will be joining me (praying this doesn't change, PRAYING.  Please please, Jesus)!  WOOOOO HOOOOO

Who wouldn't be excited to see this face?

Reminding myself that this "plan" isn't really anything but a joke... and a way to keep plane tickets from costing me a fortune by "planning" more than a couple weeks in advance. For anyone who knows me, I'm sure you are just reading this and laughing at the lack of "planning" this major Type A girl is facing during this season of life.  Well laugh away, because if I don't, I'll certainly cry.
Hannah K.C. Burton

My little sister is ENGAGED!!

I went home last week in preparation for Maddie's engagement- I have been so excited for this!  My other two sister's and I have been scheming with Maddie's fiance for months planning for this big weekend so we have all just been so excited!  I flew in on a Thursday and hid out at Callie's house because I knew that if Maddie knew I was in town she would know the proposal was coming, that plan totally worked!  She was completely blindsighted and the whole thing went off without a hitch!  Matt knew he wanted to propose on the top level of the Sundance Square parking deck because it has special significance to he and Maddie so Callie, Emma, and I went to work on how to put a girly/Maddie touch to it.  We got there after he and Maddie had parked and left for dinner downtown and set up.  Emma and I captured some images that we hope are special to Matt & Maddie for years to come.  The whole weekend was so fun & special, I have had so much fun playing "wedding" again!  It's WAYYY more fun when it isn't mine to stress over.  Not 12 hours after they were engaged I was already going thru my folder of pictures I have had saved for "Maddie's Future Wedding" with her.  EEEEEKKK!!!  Matt & Maddie have already referred to their big day as "Hannah's 2nd Wedding."  That may or may not end up being the case...
I will no doubt be blogging throughout the planning of Cuppett Girl #3's nuptials as my love of all things pretty comes to fruition, once again.  We are so excited for Matt & Maddie!

Part of "the plan" was to leave a camera on a tripod for M&M to use after they got engaged so these are pics that they took of themselves, so cute!

another self portrait

last self-portrait

I cannot believe they didn't see me here and below

For being hidden & frazzled, I'm really happy with how mine & Emma's shots came out!  Cannot wait for Maddie to join Callie & I in the "B" club- she'll be a "Bowen!"  Wahoo!

Love this season of life... or at least most of it
Hannah K.C. Burton

Wordless Wednesday

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Complainer and whiner

I'm writing this from my pedicure chair... The most uncomfortable pedicure chair I've ever sat in. I was tweeting about this experience but decided that I have more than 140 characters to share. I'm getting a pedi for the first time in Sumter... Here is a list of why it does not measure up to 1st Nails in Arlington
1. It smells like sick nasty feet
2. The chair is uncomfortable and swivels from side-to-side so everything they do to my feet involves my whole body
3. It's $10 more
4. They massaged my legs/feet for less than 15 seconds each, no joke
5. The language barrier won't allow for me to explaining dissatisfaction
6. They had about 30 color choices, all of which sucked
7. There aren't a bunch of girls I recognize from high school coming in and out that I can stare at and make myself feel better by thinking about how many hours they have spent in a tanning bed since we graduated.
8. "hero" by Enrique Iglesias is playing
9. The woman in the chair next to me is giving me the stink eye for asking my lady to fix her whack job of a pedi.

Worst.pedi.ever. And don't tell me I'm so lucky and blessed to be able to get a pedi because there are children in Africa that don't even have toes. I don't want to hear it.

A woman just came in asking for a pedi. I'm thinking about telling her to run for the hills.


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25 things

I was thinking in the car today about how weird it is that Karl didn't know me before high school, as didn't 80% of my current friends so I started thinking about weird parts of my history that really help make up who I am... enter one of my favorite things: a list.  A list of 25 things about me you may or may not know.  Enjoy.  Or fall asleep.
1. I've never broken a bone or had stitches
2. I didn't think I suffered from claustrophobia until I got married and Karl started cuddling me a lot... now I think I do.
3. When it comes to food, I am extreme and a little obsessive.  See this post
4. I spent 1st-3rd grades living in Atlanta, Georgia and 4th grade in St. Louis, Missouri.
5. I loved Georgia and hated Missouri... everyone called me Ginger Spice in Missouri.
6. In 6th grade I was the tiniest girl in the grade
7. because of #6, at a friends birthday party, a bully picked me up by my overalls and punched me.  Yep.
8. I remember the first time my mom said a bad word.  I was 8, she said "crap" and I cried.  Damaged goods, this girl.
9. I credit my mom for teaching me how to hold my own when interacting with stubborn store managers
10. I've talked my way out of an U of A parking ticket- I think this is worthy of listing.
11. My mom wouldn't let my sister's and I start to shave our legs until we had "the talk" with her
12. "the talk" would happen when you stayed home from school sick
13. I had perfect attendance until 7th grade... that was no accident.
14. I now have a love/hate relationship with bribery and leverage so Karl & I have a "no bribery" policy
15. Me & my older sister, Callie, kept a basket full of junk in our rooms as "prizes" to get our little sisters to do our chores for us and to not tattle on us when we hurt them
16. I H-A-T-E dancing shows and I have no idea why- so you think you can dance, dancing with the stars... they all make me want to rip my eyes out
17. I'm obsessed with babies
18. I'm a makeup snob/label holder
19. Since weaning from my daily wedding blog reads, I've moved on to interior design blogs
20. When my family moved back to Texas when I was 10, we lived with my cousins while we looked for a house... that means there were 8 girls between the ages of 4 & 14 under 1 roof.
21. #20 comprised the most fun months of my life; I don't think our dads can say the same.
22. When I was in nursing school, sometimes I ignored the call lights during clinicals... shameful
23. Karl & I eat hot dogs for dinner at least once a week
24. I rarely eat dessert- not much of a sweet tooth at all.  Chips, on the other hand...
25. My favorite thing to purchase- pillows.  I LOVE pillows.

Hannah K.C. Burton

today...

Has been a very rotten day.
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour"- 1 Peter 5:8
I'm confident that today I'm an easy target and the devil is certainly prowling.  Woof on today.  


Tomorrow I will consider putting today into perspective... but not today.  Today, today sucks.
Hannah K.C. Burton

unacceptable behavior

The home Karl & I live in is managed by Century 21 here in Sumter, when we need anything related to the house, we call them.  Let me tell ya, this is the most unprofessional and frustrating company to deal with.  I know, I have ridiculously high expectations when it comes to, well, every single person in this world and their job.  Here's what I'm saying: you choose your job, you are trained for your job.  Do your job and do it well.  Raise your children to be polite, professional people who follow social norms and do socially acceptable things while saying and performing in an outstanding manner in society.  That's all I'm asking for.  In what lifetime did it become acceptable to act otherwise?  To talk about your personal life to customers and clients, to not be punctual, to not work extra super crazy hard to make every customer extremely happy?  I'm sorry, is my being here an inconvenience to you?  Oh, you don't know how to place a special order?  Well then allow me to take my business elsewhere, to somewhere that does know how to place a special order because when you want to make a $400 sale you will learn how to place a special order.  Yes, I'm talking to YOU Crate & Barrel 4 stores that I had to call before I found the 1 that could help me.  I digress.  Back to what started this plea for a revolution in customer service... this Century 21 branch that I speak of is ridiculous.  They send repairmen and maintenance people to our home without calling first- can I interject my own monologue here to add that I have asked these people AT LEAST 5 times to CALL BEFORE THEY COME!!  Ever heard of scheduling an appointment?  Huh?  No?  Foreign concept to ya?  Can I get an amen from my old 'mates?  I feel like I'm in some sort of Groundhog Day experiment or show.  Never have I ever lived in a day where renters were treated with an ounce of common courtesy.  Chew on this Century 21 and landlords I'm paying your mortgage AND giving you a hearty little bolus on top of that every month.  Respect that.  So, today a man called and said that he would be at my home in less than 5 minutes to repair the electrical problems that are going on in our house and the following transpired...

"Hello, my name is Hank and Crap 21 sent me to repair the electrical problems and I'll be there in 4 minutes"
in my head I'm thinking, well, you say you're Hank and that Crap 21 sent you but for all I know, you're a rapist and thief who didn't call ahead and schedule an appointment... and I'm busy [not]
"Well, Hank, I see nobody bothered to call and make an appointment to come fix the electrical problems, this 4 minute warning certainly does not count and I find that unacceptable.  If you would like to schedule something for a later time and date that would be fine but 4 minutes from now is totally ridiculous to anyone, especially me.  Please enlighten me, what exactly was your plan had you shown up to find no answer when you knocked on the door because that is a likely scenario considering your scare tactic?
Hank didn't have much to say.

After giving similar... lessons to various stores, companies, professors, and offices over the years I have found that I do often get the result I'm looking for.  I've also found that I'm asked to leave and never return.  I always, always try very hard to maintain respect toward the person I'm talking to but obviously, despite my polite tone and respectful attitude, my message is not always well received.  I've found that offices on Karl's Air Force base particularly don't like these messages...

Now don't cross me or I'll educate you
Hannah K.C. Burton

Pillow Cookies & Black Eyed Pea

Last night was our night to take snacks to life group and my snacks were a hit.  The first time I took snacks I felt like a total dud.  We were 30 minutes late, it was only our 2nd time to life group and around these new friends of ours, and the food was a miss.  Woof.  Well last night I actually prepared the snacks prior to an hour before leaving and 2 cups of vegetable oil weren't involved so I thought I would share the recipe successes.
I found a wonderful hot black eyed pea dip recipe from The Pioneer woman

It was realllly delicious... so delicious that I made a second batch when I got home because it was inhaled at life group.  Story- I didn't eat any at small group because I envisioned myself coming home and sitting down with the platter of leftovers.  Well, that would've been great if there had been leftovers.  I was so fixed on eating this dip that I made Karl take me to the grocery store on our way home to buy a can of black eyed peas so I could make more.  Well, in this recipe The Pioneer Woman notes that if you can buy BEP with jalepenos already in the can, do it.  It will save you having to buy jalepenos separately.  The second time I made the dip that wasn't available so I added the jalepenos from a seperate can- bad idea.  amateur cook lesson learned: use can of BEP with jalepenos in them.  if that isn't available, forget the jalepenos.


For something sweet I made the Pillow Cookies I found on Bakerella.

Yes, you see correctly.  That is a brownie inside of a chocolate chip cookie.  These were really really good and I would totally make them again, very easy.  They made GIANT cookies, like 7 inches wide.  The brownie is from a boxed mix and the cookie dough is homemade.  I would absolutely make plain chocolate chip cookies with this dough again- to die for, and I don't even have a very demanding sweet tooth!

Both times that I have taken snacks I brought this last fruit dip and it is such a hit.  It is so basic and I thought everyone and their dog made this on a regular basis but it is apparently a foreign recipe to some.

A whole block of cream cheese (must be Philadelphia!), a whole jar of Jet Puffed marshmallow fluff, and a teaspoon of vanilla- all blended to sugary perfection and served with fruit... I could eat it by the spoonful.

Happy cooking, or drooling.
Hannah K.C. Burton

Wordless Wednesday

Pay attention to where the pencil is being stored. Gross. This is marriage.


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My sheep know My voice and follow Me wherever I lead

Twice in the past 24 hours loopholes have come up for Karl to explore in order to escape Korea. We feel lost. Do we try to jump thru these? Why are they in front of us? What is His plan? Korea or to follow a loophole and try get out if it? We are ready and prepared to surrender to His will- no matter what the cost or where it leads. Today in Jesus Calling I read this most fitting and perfect passage
"I love you for who you are, not for what you do. Many voices vie for control of your mind, especially when you sit in silence. You must learn to discern what is My voice and what is not. Ask My spirit to give you the discernment. Many of my children run around in circles, trying to obey the various voices directing their lives. This results in fragmented, frustrating patterns of living. Do not fall into this trap. Walk closely with Me, each moment, listening for My directives and enjoying My Companionship. Refuse to let other voices tie you up in knots. My sheep know My voice and follow Me wherever I lead."
Praying for discernment to hear His voice and His alone.

Hannah K.C. Burton


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Trials & Tribulations, 안녕히가세요, and Prayer without ceasing

What is 안녕히가세요 you ask?  Well that would be "goodbye" in Korean because Karl and I found out last night that he will be moving to Korea and working there for 12 months starting in November.  And the worst part?  I can't go with him.  I'm heart broken and fighting tears as I type this.  Our emotions are so, so raw right now but it's important to me to continue to document our lives, this chapter included.  Let me back track... 


Yesterday my time with The Lord was about the peace that only He can give.  I read Isaiah 26 and my attention was really drawn to verse 3- "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you."  Obviously this was no accident because about 6 hours later Karl and I were sitting in Chick-Fil-A and he hands me his phone and says, "so I just got an interesting email."  On his phone read, "Congratulations!  Sra Karl Burton, you have been assigned a new Permanent Duty Station.  Please log on to .... "(at this point, everything went blurry.  I swear.).  Basically, the rest of the email said that Karl had to log on to this website that he only has access to on the base in order to see where he would be going.  How cruel is that?  


And can I just vent for a second?  WHO ARE YOU KIDDING- CONGRATULATIONS SRA BURTON??  CONGRATULATIONS????  What exactly are you congratulating him on???  A year apart from his new bride?  Missing 365 days of their new life together?  Not being together for their second Christmas and anniversary and her 24th birthday and his 25th?  Forcing him back into dorm life as a 24 year old in a foreign country?  Well thank you, Uncle Sam, thank you for the congrats.  Actually no, thank you for the major slap in the face.  What a ridiculous email.  I would REALLY appreciate if someone would just get real and revise that email.  "We are so sorry to report that you have been assigned a new PDS."  That would make a world of difference... maybe. 


Back to last night... So obviously both of us had lost our appetites and we left Chick-Fil-A to go to the base to find out his new station.  So many thoughts were going thru my head- the options for where Karl can be stationed are actually pretty limited.  He can only go where F-16s are, such as Alaska, Vegas, Florida, Oklahoma (middle of NOWHERE in Oklahoma, not like Tulsa), Italy, Korea, and Germany.  I was convinced it wasn't overseas.  I thought it was going to be Alaska.  I am allergic to the cold.  Literally.  It's called cold urticaria and it's no joke.  I would rather it have been Alaska where I could go with him.  On the way to the base I couldn't find any words to pray except, "I trust you, I trust you, you know our hearts." Karl just kept sweetly reminding me that The Lord is in control.  I waited in the car while he went in to find out.  He got back in the car and just said, "it's Korea."  I lost it.  That is the one place that I can't go with him to.  I'm trying so hard to just suck it up for Karl, he is the one that has to go, not me.  


I am baffled, BAFFLED, by The Lord's plan.  Really.  Our 3 year dating relationship was 100% long distance... like, plane-style long distance, as in, across the country.  Apparently it isn't over.  Karl quickly reminded me how much worse our situation could be.  We could have much less time until he leaves.  He could be entering a war zone and fighting on the front line.  He could be sick with a much more uncertain future.  But he isn't.  Karl mentioned that my Pa went to Korea, fought, and he and Gammy "made it just fine."  Ha, that made me laugh because he and Gammy did quite a bit more than "made it just fine."  I woke up at 5:30 this morning and as I rolled over to go back to sleep it hit me.  I remembered that Karl is going to Korea.  For a year.  Without me.  This year.  In 8 months.  I heard Karl rolling around and he couldn't sleep either.


I have a lot of praying to do, as does Karl.  We can't spend the next 8 months awake at all hours of the early morning, restless and peace-less.  My prayer- that we would live presently and peacefully and without anxiousness.  Oh my, The Lord is at work and sometimes it scares me.


Hannah K.C. Burton

21 days

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. Well, we're going on week 3 of Karl selling things he finds around our home on Amazon. I'm not complaining, with his hard work he has boosted our bank account by hundreds, BUT it does make me slightly nervous when I ask him what he's doing and he responds with, "just browsing," as he rummages thru our closets, cabinets, and garage. He has sold our old iPods, phones, speakers, etc. Approaching day 21 of this, I've come to accept this as a new habit, of sorts, of Karl's. All I know is that I can't turn my back for long or he may ship off my pots & pans and laptop. Tonight I heard, "so uh, what in this pantry do you not want?" and "you don't even have to have all the pieces, you can sell anything!" and "how's the battery life on this?" Oh he makes me laugh.

Hannah K.C. Burton


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help!

So, I worked on the html code for the font of my blog a few weeks ago... i totally wasn't happy with how it ended up looking (er, impossible to read) but resigned to not care about it and live with it.  Well, obviously here I am, a total perfectionist, and still annoyed with blogger and html.  I'm totally over it.  I gave the old blog a little make under to simplify and get rid of that ridiculous font.  So there's only one thing I cannot get over- making my header stretch out evenly across the top of the blog.  Can anyone help me?  I'm too irritated to keep trying to work on it and figure it out!!  I swear, no more make overs OR unders for a long time... this is far too time consuming.

Hannah K. C. Burton

catching up with the burtons: our weekend in review

Well, I'm never a fan of these lemme-list-what-i-did-this-weekend posts, mostly because we rarely do anything worth listing or discussing via Dynasty Living BUT I do love lists and I haven't indulged in one recently soooo, listen here people...

-Friday Karl & I went to our favorite Japanese place... it's Sumter's equivalent of Shogun (shout out to Fayetteville). There are a few differences between Shogun and Osaka, the first being that it costs Karl & I a combined $10.00 to eat at Osaka vs. the $50 ish to eat at Shogun. The 2nd difference? Well, I could easily eat at Osaka in my pajamas and not feel out of place- not necessarily a good thing. Karl & I noticed a recent addition to the interior of Osaka- plastic wrap on all the windows... questionable for sure. Why not indulge in a Friday night date closer resembling Shogun, you ask? Well that would be because I live in Sumter and there isn't a place where I can't wear my Pink sweatpants that say "sexy" on the butt of them.
-Saturday Karl & I ventured to the big city- Columbia- to spend a few hours at the zoo in the gorgeous weather that has decided to visit South Carolina. Apparently every single person in Columbia that has at least 3 children had the same idea. It was so super packed.




-I am enjoying our church here more an
d more- each week I walk away feeling so challenged- not just encouraged, but like actually challenged. We took communion this week and they played a song that we used to listen to a lot when I was in Shane's youth group in Arlington. It totally brought this flood of memories and thoughts and ideas from the past 10 years. I'm so, so, so thankful for the church that I was raised in and the pastor that was and is still shepherding both young people AND the whole congregation. Shane had this like token list of songs that always seemed to make their way through the speakers during quiet times at camp or on retreats and then again when I asked him to make me a worship CD in high school which is what I listened to during both trips to Africa... anyways, good church time, as always.

-Monday Karl & I tried to enjoy some much needed time outside. We absolutely do not spend enough time outside, well, I don't spend enough time outside and I think it effects my mood and attitude more than I may know. SOOOO, we took a super long walk, enjoyed big huge Sonic drinks, watched a Redbox movie, and I cleaned cleaned cleaned and did laundry laundry laundry with the windows wide open all day long. It was a wonderful day. I should note that it ended with Karl eating a Bison burger- gross. I was reluctant to kiss him for the rest of the evening. My family has been going hippie back home and eating like all organic food so when my mom was here, she insisted we find a natural food store and stock up on grass-fed, organic, and natural meat... so we did. Anyways, Karl wanted to try Bison so he grilled it up last night and he liked it. I obviously refused to try it.

-Yesterday I shopped at the Commissary- that is the grocery store on the base. There is nothing more annoying than people talking in military code and acting like anyone who doesn't understand it is a fool... So, there you go. Commissary=grocery store. Well, there groceries are apparently infinitely cheaper than walmart or anywhere else so I bit the bullet and went and shopped there. I'm always reluctant to try new things on base, especially without Karl. It seems as though everybody is so confident and knowledgeable about do's and don'ts and boy, there are a lot of do's and don'ts. Anyways, my grocery trip went great! I loved the size of the store- not too big but they had everything I needed (except fresh fish). Y'all, get this, I compared my receipt to a walmart receipt with almost identical purchases and I saved.... $40 bringing my budgeted $100 a week on groceries down to $60!! I couldn't believe it. No coupons, no gimmicks... straight up savings. Each of their items are anywhere from $.75-$2.00 less than walmart. A big box of honey nut cheerios cost me $1.29. Woo hoo! I 100% hate to boast about these savings because 99.9% of my loyal and faithful readers can't follow suit and shop on a military base. BUT, when Karl & I move and live close to you all, I will take you grocery shopping on base, promise, and you too can save serious cash money.

Hope you enjoyed this rousing weekend update.
Hannah K.C. Burton

Ames

I know everyone has really been missing my posts the past few days, so sorry for my absence but MY MOM WAS HERE! I had the best time with her! She found a great deal on a flight literally less than a week ago so I only had a few days to anticipate her arrival and prepare this palace of a house for her stay. It was actually really great that she didn't give me much warning because the days leading up to her coming were soooo long- I was so excited for her to get here! Karl & I LOVE to have company (hint hint) and just soaked up every second of her stay. She got here last Sunday and stayed until Wednesday- not long enough! While she was here we toured Sumter, shopped (and found the adorable garden blingies)



, baked, celebrated Valentines Day



, got Bieber fever (in 3-D)



, cooked, relaxed, walked around the base, visited Karl at work, and she took Karl & I grocery shopping- twice (I felt like I was in college again and it felt gooooood). She spoiled Karl & I like Santa Clause. It was so so so so nice to have her here. I can't wait to have more guests and to have the rest of my family come visit us (wink). I think she got a fun peek into the life that Karl & I have here- our quiet, strange, new life. Her being here also made me realize the weird things that Karl & I have to do to give ourselves a highlight to our day... like Karl announcing he sprayed his cologne right on his chest to spice it up a little. Well, come visit us and I will treat you like a queen.

Hannah K.C. Burton

MOPS

Last fall I started working at a local Mothers of Preschoolers meeting that meets every other Thursday.  I knew it would be a great way to continue to be around kids like I always have been, mostly because I knew there was no telling how long it would be before Karl & I made friends with anyone... let alone people with children.  I have such a soft spot in my heart for kids- I LOVE them all and just die everytime I get to spend time with them (especially babies & toddlers).  Anyways, I was initially placed in the 16-24 month room- such a fun age!  Sweet babies, some a little unsteady on their feet, exploring their voices and learning to put words together, starting to share or maybe be selfish... anyways, it was so fun... except for Deb.  I think Deb (slightly changing name for the sake of her dignity) walked right off the SNL set.  I legitimately laughed out loud during my first interaction with her but then had to recover it when I realized she wasn't joking... I actually don't even know how to put Deb's behavior into words.  She walks around the classroom with Lysol wipes in her hands, won't allow the other workers to use waterless hand sanitizer because the children "may touch our hands and then put their hands in their mouths and get alcohol poisoning," and hypervigilantly watches to ensure that not a second goes by that a child's wet diaper sits unchanged... as in, some children will have their diapers changed 4 or 5 times during the less than 3 hour meeting and most of the time they are dry.  waste.ful.  I typically sit back and watch in awe.  I never considered myself super laid back, until now.  I literally prayed that either Deb or I would be moved to another room- she was not tolerable.  I know, that is so super ridiculous.  Well, after about 5 weeks of Deb-suffrage I was moved to the infant room!  YAYYY!!!  I'm in there with 2 grandmothers who know best, oh lord.  It is infinitely better being in that room and who doesn't love teeny tiny babies?!  And I know that these two women have more experience with babies and kids than most of the mommas that bring in their little ones combined but if they take one more headband off of a baby girl because "that mom doesn't know she is changing her head growth and development" I might scream.  I finally got so irritated last week that I said, "well my mom put headbands on me and my sisters and we've all made it just fine." Ha.  I'm not even sure that we wore headbands but I couldn't handle the wiser than thou comments anymore.  Thennnnnnn, a woman comes in to lend an extra hand that isn't normally in the infant room with us and sees a fussy baby.  I know that this baby has horrible reflux issues and I know that this baby is a thumb sucker.  This woman, we'll call her Pat, immediately and dramatically sweeps this baby up and says, "OH MY GOSH this baby is HUN.GRY. she needs to be fed now!  I had this baby one week and I told the mom that she wasn't feeding this baby enough ounces often enough.  Oh this baby is ready for rice cereal.  Yes, yes she is.  Oh poor baby, you're just starving."  Well, actually this baby is on a strict schedule, she just ate and she is suffering from reflux and gas pain.  "OMG look, she's so hungry she is EATING HER HAND."  Are you kidding me??  She sucks her thumb, similarly to half the world's population under the age of 5.  So, Pat proceeds to make a bottle and begin to feel the baby but she is feeding the baby sitting up so the baby is having issues sucking and swallowing.  Well Pat then proceeds with the following, "OH baby, you are just so hungry you are just inhaling this!!"  Well actually, she is sort of choking because she is eating in an unfamiliar position.  "Well I'm going to have to take this bottle away from you if you're going to suck it down this fast!!"  Well that's smart.  Punish the 4 month old for taking her bottle in a way you see unsuitable.  That'll fix the situation.  THEN it was time to change said baby's diaper.  Oh lord.  Pat did the changing, "OH MY GOSH, Momma needs to air this baby out at home!!  These cloth diapers are just HORRIBLE!  All these 'green' people..."  Seriously?  Because I was under the impression that until about 20 years ago, cloth was all that existed and all of our booties turned out just fine.  Needless to say, that was the longest 3 hours of my life... well, since I was in a classroom with Deb.  I'm hoping Pat decides to NOT make an appearance in the infant room for a looonnnggg time.  And her shenanigans carried on like this with pretty much every single baby, "How about Mom worries more about putting socks on her than a headband?"  Were you not listening when the mom said the baby will not keep socks on? And "Nobody wears smocking anymore.  Why can't more moms dress their babies that way?"  Where I come from, smocking still exists and I see it all the time.  Open.your.eyes.  Pat made matter-of-fact statements for 3 hours straight about everything from autism to reflux to headbands and teenagers.  I wanted to die.  She didn't know that I am a nurse and could literally see full paragraphs in my head out of my med/surg textbook stating the exact opposite of what she was saying.  Get outta here, Pat.

Despite what the previous may seem, MOPS is so fun for me and I really look forward to it all week!  ANND I protect the babies AND moms from people like Pat.  Not only that but I suppose Pat (and Deb) mean well and despite what they say, they take very good care of the kids so nobody is in harm or suffering at all.  But, obviously, I know everything and am the ultimate babysitter.

Hannah K.C. Burton

lemons, drama, and pity parties

I hope I can be forgiven for my ridiculous pity party. I was gently urged by the lord yesterday to wipe my tears and knock it off so enjoy the lemonade I made out of Sumter style lemons. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please review my previous 2 posts and try not to judge me, and grab a Kleenex because it.is.ra diculous.
Happy VDay Weekend,
Hannah K.C. Burton

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Meltdown moment

Sitting in my car outside the Sumter "mall" having a meltdown worth documenting. All I want is fresh flowers. Is that really so much to ask for? Shockingly, there are multiple florists in this town but I've called 4 so far to ask what they have in stock and have received the following response, "roses & carnations." Really? REALLY??? Or they pause, take a deep breath and sigh loudly like i am asking them to spell Zsa Zsa Gabor's name correctly and process to slowly and meticulously list off 5 different variations of awful. Now I knew better than to order an arrangement; I was going to buy a bunch or two of something and put them together myself... But can't we get a little creative here, people? Roses and carnations. Where I come from, florists keep peonies and garden roses in stock and they have more filler flowers than just baby's breath. I know, I know, peonies are grown in Cali and have to be flown in blah blah blah...SO DO IT! FLY IN THE PEONIES. I've been brutally reminded several times this week that I don't live in a convenient city anymore. It's challenging me this week. I refuse to back down- I will not, will not be filling my house with roses or carnations.


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Todo, we're not in Kansas anymore

I was so excited to decorate for Valentines Day.  I scoured the internet looking for inspiration and found several fun DIY things that I wanted to make to decorate with.  I think I was so looking forward to decorating because it's one holiday that I felt like I could go all out for our dining room table and maybe a wreath and then be done with it, as opposed to Christmas where I am genetically obligated to throw up Christmas on every flat surface in this house.  Anyways, I was harshly reminded that I no longer live in a city of convenience when I went to our ONE craft store (the smallest Michaels I have ever, e-v-e-r seen) and totally struck out on the bulk of my DIY shopping list... So I totally quit.  Our house has no hint of love in the air.  Or pink or red.  Or hearts.  Or fabric scrap bags filled with candy and homemade cookies for me to force Karl to take to work tied with raffia.  It makes me feel inadequate, I know that is TOTALLY ridiculous but like, this week I had this one homemaking goal and it didn't happen.  blah.  Whatever.  Bite me, Hallmark.
I'll leave you with this inspiration I gathered and am not using so, have at it.

Sincerely,

mail-order child

Karl and I have ordered our first baby.  We are the proud new parents of a Kitchenaid!!  I am super super excited to add this charmer to our kitchen and can't wait until she comes... in 4-6 weeks- woof.  This was one of the first things I registered for but because of how pricey it is, I was pretty sure this would be a Christmas/birthday gift or something we splurged on for ourselves post-wedding.  Then, my sister got engaged and was gifted the exact same mixer I registered for- hello green eyed monster!  Well, thanks to basically everyone Karl & I know, thanks to our friends and our friend's friends, our family and our family's family, we won 3rd place in the Crate & Barrel Ultimate Wedding Contest and scored ourselves a $2500 shop card to C&B so here I am, 6 months post wedding, with a solid chunk of our C&B card left, still pining for a mixer.  Well well well, time to purge some of that shop card on my pistachio green Kitchenaid stand mixer.  Yes yes yes.  I'm not exactly sure why this colored is referred to as 'pistachio' as these nuts are clearly not the same color as the mixer... whatever.  I am so excited to get it and have fun with it!!  Reminds me how thankful Karl & I are for friends, family, and strangers alike and how fun that contest was for us during our engagement.  Well, I will definitely report back once the new member of our family comes.  Have any great recipes I should try once the kid gets here??  Desserts?  Pastries?  Sauces?  Breads?

Please & Thank You,

eggy egg eggs

i have a love/hate relationship with eggs. love/hate in that sometimes i love them and sometimes i hate them, not that i love to hate them- that would be weird. i recently bought cage free, organic, vegetarian fed, brown eggs... i have never eaten/bought an egg with any, let alone all of those characteristics and let me tell you, you get what you pay for with eggs! man! i'm on the fence with organic stuff and going with trial and error on what to splurge on and buy organic and not. for what my opinion is worth, i would say that eggs are totally worth it! normally, i will crave a fried egg or omelette about once or twice a month but about halfway thru my plate, i want to throw up. not this time ladies and gentlemen! these eggs are so so good- i would say "mellow" is the perfect word to describe them! so, fork over the extra $2.00 and go buy your dozen eggs in the fancy plastic container. you won't regret it. not only are they delicious, but i picture very happy chickens roaming about in a sunny field eating vegetarian stuff. if any of you are aware of my last semester of nursing school, you know it was spent in the confines of tyson chicken plant in springdale, arkansas aka hell on earth. i thoroughly enjoy thinking of happy chickens.

enjoying my 63 degree weather here in SC while my friends and family brave single digits
happy snow day,