Vegas 2.0

Vegas 2.0 Top Ten

We had a complete ball y'all.

I scribbled down a few of my favorites on the {acapalla-less} plane ride home last night and wanted to jot down them down here so that I will always remember the highlights of this trip. Because it was so stinkin' highlightable. Loved every second of it.

I scurried off post hissyfit, decided that God creates gaps in our lives for distinct purposes, searched for Him amongst people watching and fried pickles, and came back in a sweet, peaceful, resolute place.

Isn't that the craziest thing?

I had a come to Jesus meeting with myself and decided that I do not want to be defined [or defeated] by our struggle with infertility anymore. The struggle's not over for absolute certain, but I realized that I have missed the mark. I'm not even sure how I got here, but I know God is calling me to something greater than hissyfits thrown in the parking lot of Hobby Lobby. Remember when I recently posted that He calls us to run the race with perseverance but also with joy and humility? That thought has resonated within me for the past week and I just can't seem to shake it. What good is it to run the race {and win it}, if I don't do so with the very Grace {and gracefullness} that He has given me?

He has showered us with blessings that we once only hoped for and instead of wishing away these days, I'm going to marvel at His greatness, thank Him, and lean on Him. It's never too late to recognize all the good that He has done for us and while I guess I don't necessarily need Big Girl Panties for the occasion, I do need to take off my Control Freak under-drawers and remember that He is writing our story, not me.

Pen down. Deep breath.

So here goes, my top 10 favorite moments: 

1. Soaking in the bath...and watching tv. At the same time. Whaaat?? I did it. 3 times.

2. Plucking approximately 1589 eyebrows (that somehow do not exist in Georgia) under the glow of the 100x magnification and illumination vanity mirror. Yes. I took a picture of it. Better believe we will be Googling this for our bathroom counter at home.

3. Fried pickles at the Grand Lux.

4. Gap Curvy Jeans. Before hopping on the plane to Vegas, I had one pair of jeans. ONE. I discovered Gap's 1969 Curvy Sexy Jean, with the help of a local drag queen/Gap clerk, and haven't looked back. He also talked me into some sparkle lip gloss. Smack!

5. Speaking of all things pants, I dove head first and snatched up my very first pair of Jeggings. And only 6 years too late. No more fold-tuck-roll-stuff just to get into a pair of tall boots.

6. Frrrrozen hot chocolate. I wasn't being overly dramatic with my "r"s. They really spell it that way. I heart Serendipity's.

{We were so. stinkin. tired. this particular morning. Apparently 4am doesn't look so pretty the next day at 10am when your sippin' frohotchoc. Sigh}

7. Rock of Ages. 80's Big Hair meets Jazz Hands. Broadway's interpretation of all things spandex and Whitesnake. Love. Love. Love. I am still fist pumping and it's been 2 days.

8. Cupcake Collision. I prefer to call it Cupcake Tsunami. Holy chocolate. A close second to frrrrrozen hot choc at Serendipity's.

9. Remote control roman shades. I'm serious. How much fun are those bad boys and where on earth can I order them in Atlanta?!

10. Falling in love with my sweet husband all over again. Truly, this trip was amazing. Sneaking away for a few days and reconnecting was just what we needed. Vegas shenanigans and all...The fact that he watched Miss America with me (we still can't get over grown women tap dancing and twirling batons), let me practice my Broadway moves all hours of the night, and pretended not to notice when I bumped the heat up several times a day in his ice box hotel room, he's my bombdiggity.

Love him to pieces.

Remember last year when I texted my friend Jill to tell her that I saw nekkid girls dancing in the hotel lobby and smoked a faux cig only to accidentally send it to my mother-in-law? That my friends, is why I did not text anything about anything this weekend. You know what they say...

What happens in Vegas...

Aca-Awesome

A few weeks ago we had one of our super favorite date nights. We ate dinner at Ricos (shocker), rented a Red Box, and ate cake [in bed]. It was glorious. I was in charge of the Red Box, so I selflessly picked "Pitch Perfect". Because it was about baseball and C would love it.

Um. Turns out, notsomuch MLB (oopsiedaisies) but aca-awesome! An entire movie about acapella super nerds taking the pitch pipe by storm with Fat Amy, I mean, Patricia prancing around in all her fabulous sassiness.

Love.

Chris kept mumbling something about it being, aca-awful but belly laughed right along with me. Don't lie ChrisDavis.  You laughed. Especially when Fat Amy said she was horizontal running.

Totally reignited my love for all things acapella. So much that I sucked Super Coop into my YouTube searches for sing offs. He's so stinking cute and impressionable, he dove right in with me.

Ok so fast forward. It's Friday night and this mama is on board a flight to Las Vegas, surrounded by a group of ridiculous geeksters hitting the city for some sort of ill Hangover III attempt. One of them smells like a Krystal burger. They are so loud and aca-nnoying that I have to keep turning around and giving them the Mom Glare. Every 3-4 minutes one of them hollers out something that sounds like "SILAS". What on Gods green earth does that mean and why hasn't the plain clothed Air Marshall kicked them in the ball sacks yet?

Then it happened.

They broke out into the 12 Days of Christmas. On January 11th no less. Acapella style. For serious.

I quietly put my Mom Glare back in my Vera Bradley tote and my tolerance for their potty mouths and foul smelling cheeseburger cologne increased ten fold.

I have to tell you, getting mad and pitching my hissyfit has prove to be one of the most therapeutic and beautiful things that's ever happened to me. It's made me seek Him though I wanted to scream and shout. To draw near to Him when I wanted to run away. To thank Him when I wanted to beg and plead with Him.

 I realized that we have to not only run the race with endurance [even when we want to whine and kick over small store displays], but we also have to run the race with joy. No matter the circumstances.

Vegas better watch out, this Sugar Britches is about to drink boatloads of Frozen Hot Chocolate, shop every single floor of H&M five times over, and soak up all the good God has given us.

Thank you all for loving us, in spite of us, and for encouraging us every step of the way.

If you need me, I'll be at the slot machines. Or maybe on the gondola.

Ok who'm I kidding? I'll be at the Gap.

Hissyfit

I have spent the past few weeks throwing the biggest hissyfit fit.

I've been rotten.

Stinky.

Down right ugly.

We got the news over Christmas that Chris needed to start some new injections over at the Cancer Answer. The kudzu is NOT back, hear me, praises praises praises unending for that absolute miracle. I mean it. My gratitude for that is unwavering. Always will be.

And my gratitude that these treatments will restore my sweet hubs spirit and strength is abundant. It truly truly is.

Without saying a whole whole lot, I'm just tired. Isn't that the whiniest thing on the planet for me to say? I have to fight the urge to lay in the floor and wallow and cry out that nothing ever seems to come easy for us.

The beauty of that is that God never said it would be easy. I am forever grateful that He is our "constant" and somehow manages to reign over every little thing that we interpret as a "bump" in the road. And the best part is that He is in the middle of making something mighty and grand out of what we consider "trials" *insert overly dramatic sigh and slightly annoyed eye roll*.

But I still got mad.

Sugar Britches gone cranky tank.

Not at God. Even though I shouted at Him twice when he woke me up INVOLUNTARILY to call out to Him at five o'clock in the morning. I told Him I would give up sweet tea for 31 days to be still and stop crunching ice long enough to hear Him out. The third day He woke me up with silly praise songs streaming through my head, I decided I would take my sweet tea right back.

You can't have my sweet tea and my sleep.

My friend Amy said I should rename Sugar Britches "Sweet Tea and Devil Eyes". Cause those were the eyes I shot at the Target clerk right after I almost kicked over an entire display of family planning products.

Right after I screamed and pounded my fists in the parking lot of Hob Lob.

In the midst of my bitter chaos I can hear God whispering over me that He's not done with us yet and that He's going to make all things new and beautiful.

Isn't that the craziest thing?!

I'm being ugly, God. I'm shouting and acting like a crazed beau font Toddler and Tiaras baby when she learned she didn't win grand supreme.

My spirit of gracefulness is so far from me right now. I've decided until I get it back, it's ok to scream. And shout. And get my panties in a wad. And cry. And holler. And knock over (small) displays if I need to. I have a God who has promised to love me through it.

And that's what faith is to me, seeing the mighty hand of God in the midst of our own human uncertainty and ugliness. Knocks the sweet tea right out of my cup every time I think about it.

With love and smooches,
Scarlet
Founder and CEO of Sweet Tea and Devil Eyes Whimsical Gifts

(PS did I seriously come down with Scarlet Fever in the midst of all of this? Why yes, thank you, I did.)

2012 ReMix

I have about a gazillion things I could blog about but I haven't had sweet tea in 23 hours and I'm already Jonesin, so this'll be interesting.

My bet is that I'll be screeching into the Chickfila drive thru at 7am tomorrow ordering a medium (with extra ice).

Lots of sweet blessings in 2012. We are counting them one by one and recounting them again and again for good measure.

In 2012, we sipped frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity’s in Las Vegas, discovered the beauty of lollipops in the bathtub, celebrated our little man, Super Coop, turning TWO with a ‘stache bash to remember, carried Ella Grace for a little bit and learned how to walk with Grace even when we wanted to fall apart, discovered Target Food Court Nachos, ate at Rico’s 57 times (that’s once a week plus a few), celebrated TWO years of hubs kickin’ kudzu to the curb (God is mighty!), got hooked on Honey Boo Boo and Duck Dynasty and lost a few too many hours watching both, scooted off to Gulf Shores and Litchfield by the Sea to soak up the sun and sea, hit our knees in prayer for two particular sweet miracle babies, Baby Parker and Baby Emma, started up Sugar Britches and discovered the beauty of all things monogrammed, celebrated yet another fabulous Thanksmas with our sweet family in the mountains, and soaked up the JOY of Christmas under the glow of the twinkle lights.

This 2013, we rejoice in the fact that God makes all things new. Isn't that a mighty beautiful thing!?

Happy New Years sweet friends! May this year bring you abundant blessings and unending joy.