A Must Read (my Wednesday recommendation)

I am not a big read but after hearing everyone say how great these books are I finally gave in and started the first of the trilogy. I must say that the purchase was prompted by a long winter stay at my sister's house with no cable but now I am hooked. In fact I've become a little anti social reading my book. If you're looking for a good read you need to pick up this trilogy call The Hunger Games. The movie is coming out in a few months and for the first time ever I read the book before the movie and will probably be disappointed by the movie. (Thanks Jodi and Andrew)

yes please...

So we Thomas' may not always get along but there is one thing we know how to do well...EAT!! I always look forward to trips home because I always know there will be good food. Whether it's eating out or cooking in this is an art we have (fortunately and unfortunately) mastered.

My personal favorite when I come home is a chain found only in Alabama called Milo's...best burger, fries and sweet tea that money can buy. The special bar-b-que sauce with grilled onion, cheese and pickles is amazing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Thank you Milo's for making bad days better and good days out of this world with just one tasty bite.


And this next picture was my Christmas breakfast feast. We normally have grits, breakfast casserole, sausage balls and things of the sort. One year I made from scratch cinnamon rolls but had to get up before Santa even came to make them. That process made a huge mess in my sister's tiny little kitchen. Oh and I almost caught the oven on fire when the filling overflowed in the bottom of the oven. Needless to say I haven't made those again. This year we wanted something different so I decided to make french toast with real french bread. I added a little cream cheese/powered sugar mixture in between the slices with some fresh blueberries and topped with warm syrup and hello...it was divine. In fact we had round 2 for breakfast today.


Oh and how could I forget the trip home...the eating good started early. I carpooled with my friends Andrew and Victoria Hunter who were heading to Tuscaloosa. So we left Pineville on Wednesday morning with one destination in mind and it wasn't where we were each going in Alabama. It was to a little hole in the wall place called "The Donut Shop" in Natchez, MS. It was a place featured in Alton Brown's book "Feasting on Asphalt." I'll be the fisrt to admit that I was skeptical when Andrew said they were the best donuts ever. I mean seriously I didn't get this jolly by not eating hot and now Krispie Kreme donuts from early childhood until now. But I stand corrected because they truly were the best donuts I have ever put in my mouth. Praise the Lord I don't go through Natchez often or I wouldn't fit in my car.


The other little gem we feasted on the way home was a little establishment called Newk's. I've heard of the place but the only time I am ever near one is when I am traveling alone with Matti and it's not a fast food drive through kind of place. Since I was with company we made the stop and left Matti in the car. It's a good thing my white bar-b-que chicken sandwich was amazing and the company was great because Matti went crazy in the back of the car barking at people walking by and all my previously wrapped presents now had nice size peep holes where she tore the paper. You win some, you lose some. Newk's was definitely a win!



Happy eating friends!

a new series: Monday My Way

So after meeting my sister's friend Chuck who happens to be a follower of my blog...I decided it was time to start a series so that maybe I would be more faithful to my blogging. Truth is, I love to blog...I just forget to do it. So here is my first attempt and we shall call it Monday My Way. This series will be about how things would be if KB was making the calls on what was cool, socially acceptable,humanly possible, etc.

#1 stretchy pants and oversized hoodies would be appropriate to wear for ALL occassions

#2 farts would smell like fresh linen and would be no less acceptable than sneezing in public because just like a sneeze some of us can't hold it in (my mom always told me there is more room out than in)

#3 flip flops could be worn year round without your feet getting cold

#4 if it isn't suppose to have hair and thus requires plucking, shaving, waxing...well dang it then hair wouldn't grow there in the first place

And those are my initial thoughts for this Monday's addition of Monday My Way. Let me hear your feedback if you like the series or have other ideas for things I could do. I've seen people do "wordless Wednesdays" where they just post a picture for the day. I might jump on that bandwagon...who knows. Anywho...here's to stretchy pants!!

a month of thanksgiving overview

For those of you who aren't friends of mine on facebook I did a month of Thanksgiving in my statuses for the month of November. I wanted to take a minute to recap them here so I can come back to this list easily on days I need a reminder to be thankful for the blessings in my life.

Day 1: The inventor of/invention of the Neti pot...for all sinus sufferers you know how life changing this is!

Day 2: the blessing of living in a country of abundance and convenience. Today I had someone paint my toes for me, a machine is currently washing my clothes and dishes and I can put my trash outside for someone to pick up. Seriously, I am blessed and take these things for granted.

Day 3: thankful I get to live life with college students! Even on tough days I'm thankful for God's call on my life to minister to students.

Day 4: so thankful for fun traditions that give me something to look forward to: mom's weekend, carving pumpkins, new pjs on christmas eve, etc. Mom's Weekend 2011 has been a blast so far!!

Day 5: as I sit here eating a home cooked meal and watching Alabama football I'm reminded how thankful I am for my family. I grew up learning the importance of dinner around the kitchen table and the value of SEC football. We may put the fun in dysfunctional but my family has made me who I am today and I love them!

Day 6: thankful to have amazing friends that are family especially since my family is so far away. No one has filled that role better since I came to Pineville than the Chandlers. From feeding me, to catching rodents in my apartment, to vacations, to home improvement projects, to just living life in true community. I love you guy and am so thankful for the three (soon to be four) of you!

Day 7: I'm incredibly thankful for my spiritual mentors in all seasons of my life. I'm still processing and trying to live out the things they have taught me through their words and their lives.

Day 8: I'm thankful for all my "kids" over the years of doing student ministry that have kept in touch and are truly my family. Blessed to be having dinner with one of my LSU boys tonight as he passes through town. (Chris Carter)

Day 9: I'm thankful for my job for the first time in a long time. I get paid to plan events and trips for college students. Seriously?!?! Who gets to do that? This girl! And I'm loving it.

Day 10: I'm thankful for laughter and for people who make me laugh daily. Laugther really is good medicine.

Day 11: so thankful for the freedom I enjoy and take for granted. Thanks to all our men and women who give their lives protecting our country. Especially thankful for the veterans in my life, my dad and pappy!

Day 12: still holding out hope I will get to be a mom one day but until then I'm so thankful for all the precious babies of my friends that I get to be Aunt Kabes to.

Day 13: even though I am so stinking sore from laying laminate floor I am thankful my parents instilled in me the ability to do things around the house for myself. AND I'm incredibly thankful for Cory's help!

Day 14: after a really frustrating day at work I'm thankful for two things...#1 the red beans and rice and cornbread that are currently cooking that will redeem this evening and #2 that the Lord's grace and patience with me isn't equal to the grace and patience that I've bestowed on others.

Day 15: I am so thankful today for my girl, Matti. She's been a great companion during some lonely days of depression and a daily source of unconditional love and entertainment. She's more than a pet (judge if you must)..she's family. We are going on five years together and I can't imagine life without her.

Day 16: I'm thankful for the genius who came up with pre-lit Christmas trees, wreaths and garland. It's not a spiritual or mooshy thanks giving today but as someone who decorates half our college campus I assure you it's sincere gratitude.

Day 17: I'm thankful for my friend Alana Pate! She has been my right hand lady for going on 6 years and my personal hair stylists who outdid herself last night on my new do.

Day 18: I'm thankful my dad is coming for a whole week to help me with home improvement projects around my apartment. Hopefully today was the last time I have to rig up my dishwasher to the sink faucet.

Day 19: I'm thankful our bodies are resilient and can recover quickly. After laying floors and moving furniture all day I am so sore but will be back to normal in a few days.

Day 20: Thankful for the peace of God that He intends to dwell in me daily. "Therefore since you have been justified by faith you have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1

Day 21: thankful that 2/3rds of my family will be here in just a few short hours to spend Thanksgiving week with me in Pineville. Unfortunately divorce is a reality for so many families...mine included...so I won't get to see mom until Christmas but I love you and look forward to our New Year's trip!

Day 22: thankful Brayden Samuel Chandler arrived safely today and that he and Amy are healthy. I love my Chandler family of four!

Day 23: I'm thankful for my dad is a "handy man"...this week I'm reaping the benefits of his labor!

Day 24: I'm thankful for the opportunity to travel to Uganda three times in the last year. That place, the people (two in particular) and the experience have forever changed my life. I've realized how blessed and fortunate I am. I've also learned the importance of sacrificing to help meet the needs of others...that is when we are truly the body of Christ. Missions isn't just an opportunity for some, it's a glorious obligation for believers.

Day 25: I'm thankful that #1 all the apartments projects are complete except the floors in the last bedroom #2 I got some great deals today on stuff I didn't even know I needed #3 I've been able to just hang out with my dad and sister watching Storage Wars for the last three hours. Life is good!

Day 26: I'm going to bed for the last time with my family in my apartment. I'm so thankful they came and for all my dad's hard work. It may be a long time before he willingly comes back.

Day 27: I'm thankful that I can sit in my apartment (newly remodeled and decorated for Christmas) listening to Christmas music, drinking a cup of coffee and looking at the treel all alone but certainly not lonely! (that hasn't always been the case) #blessed

Day 28: I'm thankful today that I received y last car note in the mail!! The explorer is officially paid in full!!!

Day 29: It's been a busy day and it's going to be a late night getting all the decorations up for Gala and Christmas on the Hill...so I'm thankful today for coffee, especially the peppermint mocha variety!!

Day 30: I'm thankful for pharmacies and over the country meds on weeks like this when you don't have time to go to the doctor.

I recently read someone's post on facebook that said what if you woke up tomorrow with only what you thanked God for today? I'm so glad God doesn't operate that way but this month of giving thanks was a great reminder to be thankful for all that I've been blessed with.

Christmas on the lake (1st of many)

We are celebrating our first Christmas on the lake this year so as I wait for the yummy food to cook I snapped a few shots tonight. Enjoy and Merry Christmas everyone!



and finally...

Me and Matti girl posing for our 2011 picture.
Merry Christmas from "my family" to yours!

the makeovers continue...

For those of you who know me well or have been through multiple season you know how much I love change...the kind I can control. The two things that get changed the most are the arrangment of my apartment and my hair (cut and/or color). Well in the last month I've done both.

Here is my new haircut and color...with bangs. I never get bangs but I've actually enjoyed them so far. The picture at the top of my blog was just taken recently with the new do. This picture was the night I got my hair cut. I am not sure what I am going to do without Alana when she graduates. She has cut my hair for 6 years now and always does my hair and make up for big events.


I'm not the only one who got a makeover. My dad and sister came up/over to Pineville for the week of Thanksgiving to help me with some projects around the house. It was great having help and company and REALLY nice not having to make the 8 hours drive to Alabama. While they were here my sister, Teri, got a makeover of her own. I come from an accident prone family but usually my dad and I are the ones who get hurt. Considering we were the only ones doing manual labor that week it really is shocking that Teri got hurt but well....


on Thanksgiving morning she fell in the shower and hit her face on the sink. By the end of the night she had a pretty good shiner. The crazy thing is my dad and I were busy working on projects that morning so we were coming in and out of the apartment and never heard her fall or call for help. Needless to say she wasn't very chipper the rest of the day and we got strange and even dirty looks from people the next day when we were out and about. I guess everyone assummed my dad was beating us.

Teri and I weren't the only ones getting new looks. My apartment has pretty much been flipped in the last month. New kitchen remodel, new bathroom tile floors, new laminate floors...my apartment has never looked so good. Here are some pics of the new features in the 403.

the bathrooms



the kitchen



we actually painted the countertops to look like marble/granite and it turned out so well for so cheap! The cabinets got a fresh coat of paint and some new hardware to dress it up a little. I love the new baskets that we added under the cabinet to hold my spices which freed up a shelf for coffee mugs and then we added another shelf to hold the rest of my mugs. It's crazy how just adding a piece of crown molding around the cabinets made a world of difference.

AND MY FAVORITE PROJECT SO FAR....
My dad hooked up my portable dishwasher permanently to the water under the sink so I don't have to hook it to the kitchen sink. I love my pops! He's a handy man and so is Cory...I got a whole new apartment for ZERO $ in labor charges. Thank you both!!

a pleasant interruption

So in all honesty Cory and I were both worn out from laying flooring but the real reason we stopped is because it was time to welcome Baby Chandler #2 to the world.
Now introducing Brayden Samuel Chandler born on November 22, 2011 weighing in at 8lbs 30z and 20inches long. I couldn't be happier to stop laying floors to hold this little bundle of joy. Welcome to our crazy world Brayden!


This is the outfit I bought for his big brother, Noah, that he never wore because he had outgrown it before he was even born.

And this is the pose we have affectionately called "Surrender" because he doesn't stand a chance against his rowdy older brother.


Because of the busyness of life right now with the holidays and events I've had going on I have only gotten to see this sweet boy twice but I look forward to lots of cuddle time in the near future. Congrats Amy and Cory on your family of four!

the elves have been busy

So I've been a busy little elf around my apartment the last month or so doing a complete makeover of my apartment. After taking my new position at Louisiana College I decided it was time to plant roots and make some improvements to my home of going on 6 years. I totally forgot to take before pictures of all our projects but oh well...you can still appreciate the work that was done.

FIRST PROJECT--pulling up all the carpet and laying laminate flooring throughout the upstairs! Wish I had done this years ago for the sake of my allergies. I can tell such a huge difference with all the carpet being gone.
This was after we pulled up the carpet in my bedroom....who knew there was tile under there this entire time? And that would be Cory Chandler hard at work. I owe that guy my life for all his free labor.

This picture was the start of the floor being put down...

And this picture was after almost all of it was laid...

We only have one more room to lay down, the stairs and all the molding. For now the elves needed a break.