sipp'n on hot tea

...on gin and juice hot tea. Laid back. With my mind on my money and my money on my mind.

I bring you a little Snoop for your day! Taking it back...way back:

 I'm all about an award system and I totally take advantage of it when good things happen. Raise at work = a treat for me.

I've been loving decaf hot tea at night since I'm trying not to indulge myself in so much caffeine. I've found that the hot tea is the perfect little "snack" too.  I was at a meeting the other night and hot tea was offered to me and of course I obliged but I was more so fascinated with their tea kettle. Much more fun than my pot on the stove or microwave warm up. So...I got one of my own and I think mine is way cuter;)

I got THIS 3 qt size so I can make plenty of tea so come on over for a tea party! I got ours from Neiman because I found a free shipping promo code and it was tax free since there's not one in Oklahoma. Score! So excited to get this baby in the mail!

Remember, our kitchen is white but the breakfast nook is painted BM's jalapeno pepper green? This is going to be such a stink'n cute accent!

good day & bev dispensers

I remember listening to Paul Harvey in the car with my dad on the way to school every morning. I would mock his "Good Day" at the end every.single.time with a smirk thinking I was too cool. This post isn't about Paul Harvey but I think of those silly adolescent moments riding to school with my dad when I hear about someone having a good day. Random, I know.

Can you believe it, y'all? Today makes 300 days since Lee reported for duty for this dang deployment. I just want to take a moment and scream at the top of my lungs. Do you think my office mate would mind?

I shared with you the possibility of Lee coming home for Nana's funeral HERE yesterday but I didn't share what went through my mind in those 2 hours before I heard that his leave wasn't approved for the funeral.

I went 90 to nothing making calls and following procedure to get Lee home as soon as I received the call about Nana and after I talked to Lee. I took no time to process anything. It wasn't until Lee called to tell me about his denied leave and then me calling his momma to let her know Lee wouldn't be coming home for the funeral so she could proceed with setting a date for the service the next morning that I began to process what could have happened.

In those 2 hours I tidied up like a crazy person around the house. In my heart I was preparing for my hubby's welcome home the best way I could considering the circumstances. His mom and I had just made18 large red, white and blue bows made for mailboxes over the wknd and I had 92 American flags on standby in the closet to line our cul-de-sac for when he returned home but not everything always happens according to plan. And I was perfectly OK with that but I was nervous. I was excited. I was panic stricken to get everything and myself perfect. I had a heavy heart for Lee not being able to see Nana one last time like I did. I was anxious as all get out. Will he like what I have done to the house while he has been gone? Will he still be attracted to me? Will we still have that undeniable chemistry? Do I have time to run to the grocery store and stock up on his favorite foods? Which airport will he need to be picked up?! So many thoughts were going through my head a mile a minute.

When it was all said and done. When the verdict was in that he wasn't coming. With a little perspiration from running the vacuum cleaner, dusting, Windex'ing windows, sweeping the kitchen, folding laundry, making phone calls, etc in a 2 hr span...I finally just sat and stared at the wall in our bedroom after finishing my last call for the night with Lee. Then I did what any girl would do. I called my momma and daddy and cried. I cried for everything and everyone. And it felt good.

I can only imagine the emotion for Lee's actual Homecoming. Ha! I'm sure it will be much of the same but less so since I've been planning and preparing for months. I think that may have been a lot of my anxiety since I worry so much about making everything perfect and you could say last week totally threw me for a loop.

AND in preparation for his big homecoming party-I scored two stools on clearance at Hobby Lobby for a couple beverage dispensers I got for $20 each at Garden Ridge. Love them. I had been checking out a couple at Pottery Barn but strongly prefer the prices I scored yesterday for both much better.

red cross, army woes & baby

I had to take a break from blogging last week. I drove to Lee's hometown Patty's Day wknd for a visit with Lee's Nana. It was hard to turn and make my trek when it was time to head back home Sunday afternoon because I knew I was saying goodbye to Nana. That evening after I got back home I received a call that Lee's Nana passed away. It was an incredibly busy week.

The next morning, last Monday a couple of our best friend's welcomed baby #2.

Blake is so gosh darn cute. Gotta love those cheeks.

10 lbs 6 oz, 22 inches

I got them a basket of goodies to munch on while in the hospital. You can see the giant balloon in the background. Of course I took balloons. I heart balloons. I took Monday to celebrate Blake before driving back 3.5 hours to Lee's hometown on Tuesday to celebrate Nana's 95 years of life. Nana had a rich and wonderful life, her sweet heart just wore out. Taylor and Jacob stopped by the hospital to celebrate Blake too.

This is Blake not happy with my picture taking.

I got to Lee's family Tuesday afternoon. Much was said and done last week. I wish Lee could have been part of it all too. I tried. After telling Lee about Nana's passing, at Lee's request I sent a message through Red Cross to get an official message into Command to see if Lee could make it to the funeral because he and Nana were incredibly close but my request was denied. Apparently there had been 3 others requesting funeral leave recently within the unit and had been denied. You can't approve for one and not the others. Totally understandable but still sucked. However, my experience with Red Cross was better than I had expected it to be.

In the military, if there is an emergency and you need to get a message to your deployed loved one-you send a message through Red Cross. I had feared having a moment like this. I had prepared for a moment like this. I even made a note for myself on the refrigerator in case of emergency. Still, I googled "Red Cross Military Emergency" and easily accessed THIS page to get their number. I called the number and gave Red Cross my message. They asked for Lee's information and then said they needed to contact hospice to confirm Nana's death. After I called Lee's mom and got the contact information for Hospice, I called Red Cross back with the information they needed to complete my message. They said they would be calling Hospice and Lee's mom to confirm his permission to attend the funeral. I thought that was odd and even said so out loud but nothing much surprises me anymore with the military. Nonetheless, my Red Cross experience was pain free. Not much of a hold waiting to speak to a representative either. I think I found that most impressive. Also, the 3 individuals I spoke to were nothing but nice and understanding. I was told the message would be delivered within 48-72 hours but only 2 hours later I got a call from Lee with his answer from Command. Boo. Red Cross called me the next day to confirm my message had been delivered accordingly. Again, I was very impressed.

I was able to take off work all week so I spent much of the time with Lee's family helping out where I could. The week flew by and before I knew it, Monday was here again. I had a lot to catch up and do yesterday. I'm still wishing it were the weekend but who isn't, right?

This was the 6th funeral for Lee to miss attending with me since preparing for this deployment. That convo can be for a whole other blog post.

RIP

My Grandad

My sweet Uncle John

Great Uncle Ivan

Kenneth (Family Friend)

Dana (SIL's sister)

Nana

...another military spouse experience in our book of fairy tales.

fabric

I have been obsessing over this fabric I saw on Peppermint Bliss. I tried to buy it but it's discontinued. I found out she got hers by having a craftsman recreate it! What what? That's awesome. She used Paule Marrot's tulip fabric for inspiration.

I have some white curtains in hiding and I'm tossing around the idea of painting them to make my own look-alike but fear they may look more bogus in a bad way. Ha! I had a tulip print bedroom in almost the exact same pattern when I was a little girl. Same color palette too. Complete with a tulip painted wall border, sunshine yellow bed and tulip comforter. I'll search for a pic the next time I'm at my parent's home.

Hmmmm...possible project next weekend if I don't find something I like soon. This weekend  Coop and I are visiting Lee's Nana and momma. Have a great weekend, y'all!