I apologize to my readers.  I’m still here; just really busy, and blogging has not been my priority.  Sorry.  I will try to be better . . . maybe next week.

Some recent good news

• We found out that my dad doesn’t have cancer . . . after doing several tests for the past 3 months. Praise the Lord.  His lesion seems to have “disappeared”.
• Also, we bought Abigail a cute outfit for Halloween; her Daddy picked it out.  Maybe she’ll win another contest like she did last year.
• I went to the orthodontist, and he was talking about scheduling my next appointments.  He said, “Make one for six weeks and four weeks, and they’re off.”  I said, “Wait, in 10 weeks, they’ll be off?!”  He said, “Well, that would only put you at having braces for 10 months, so maybe we better slow down.”  So, I said, “But you think I’ll have them off by March (Abigail’s bday).”  He said, “Before Christmas.”  What what!  Awesomeness.  They had originally estimated 20 months, and it looks like I’ll be getting them off before 1 year.  Yea!
• Braves have won 7 in a row!!  This weekend, we’re taking on the first place team in our division, so if we sweep them, and other teams do poorly, we’ll have a shot of getting into the playoffs.  I never used to have to worry about that; it was always a given that they’d be in the playoffs, but in the last few years, they have disappointed me!

Head on over to Chick-fil-A for their Labor Day promotion.  Wear your favorite sports team apparel, and get a FREE Chicken Sandwich. This promotion starts at 10:30 am and ends at closing.

We’re going to meet Jonathan at the one in the mall by his work for lunch.  And we might even go to another one for dinner, too!  Abigail and I will be wearing Atlanta Braves shirts; Jonathan will be sporting a team that is less awesome.

I saw this video on Allison S’s blog, and thought it was too fun not to share.

About the video:

The 2009 big east baseball tournament Dance off between USF and UCONN which took place at bright house field May 21st, 2009. . . .  This dance off was a result of the two teams waiting though a 5 hour rain delay.

Baby & Kids

• Parent’s Choice Formula
• Pull Ups

Finances

• Watch Town Hall for Hope for free, by Dave Ramsey on Hulu

Food & Drink

• Free single size bag of Mars chocolate to the first 250,000 people to go here. They’ll mail you a coupon.  (This is on FRIDAYS only!)  Limit is 4 coupons per household
• Buy a 31 degree below dessert, get one free from Baskin Robbins.  Expires 6/21
• Coupon for a Free Fling Candy Bar.  Only for 3 States.

Health & Beauty

• Men’s Aveda Pure Performance Shampoo.  Coupon for free bottle.
• Arm & Hammer Advanced White Toothpaste: http://armandhammertrial.com

Photo

• Free 5×7 Personalized Card w/ $0.99 s&h.  Use code: CARD4U
• Free 8×10 portrait collage at Sears.   Expires 6/2
  

Other

• Free Ticket to Baltimore Orioles Game for your Birthday
• $10 Swimsuit from Land’s End.  Use code: MEMORIALDAY and pin: 2958 for free shipping.
• Kids 12 yr and under can get $3 worth of books from Half Price Books for every week that they read 15 minutes a day
• Free Gallon of Napa Washer Fluid.  You get a coupon.  Only available for 7 States
• Wildflower Seeds
• Free Tote
• Glue Dots
• Coupon for $10 off a $25 single item purchase at JC Penney Expires 6/2. Use code 10GIFT for online shopping
  

Some tips about requesting samples or buying anything online.  I’ve never had any problems; these are just me being extra careful.

1. I always put Mrs in the “first name” column– not my first name.
2. I type in a fake number if they ask for a phone number.
3. I have set up an email account that I only use for requesting samples.  Be sure to do this, so you don’t fill up your personal email account with newsletters.
   
4. I don’t give my correct birth date; I type the same year I was born, but I mix up the month and day.
   

Be patient for your samples, some of them take up to 8-12 weeks to come.  Check out the past weeks’ samples, as many of them are still good.

Right now, Abigail is in her bed . . . not sleeping.  I think it’s because she is anxious like I am.  I cannot wait another 2 hours to *possibly* watch the Atlanta Braves opening game. We don’t have cable anymore, but my parents do, so I might head over there later.

For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, shame on you.  Baseball has brought so much joy (and honestly, grief, too.  I won’t lie.) in my life, and I want you to share that awesomeness, too.  So, if you need to pick a new team to love, go with the Braves.

We’ll be playing the defending World Series Champions, the Phillies at their stadium.  A new pitcher, Derek Lowe, will be starting.  This will be his 4th career opening day start.  Hopefully today will end better than his previous three starts, which he went 0-3 with an 8.44 ERA.  But, this is his first career start for the Braves though, so maybe, fourth time’s a charm.

After being a Braves fan for 13 years, I got to go to my first game!

Jonathan took me for our one year wedding anniversary!

And I got to meet my favorite player, Chipper Jones, and he signed my bat!