Firstly, thanks for all of your input on M's picture. It seems #1 and #3 are the most popular, although quite a few liked #2 as well. I'll have to decide shortly and send something in. I think I'm leaning toward #1 for the smile and how it shows her goofy personality at the same time.

Also, I have a few questions that I will be answering in a post tomorrow. I have about 5 questions to answer and would love to have more 🙂 I was informed my link wasn't working properly before, so if you tried to click it and it didn't work you can give it a shot now. Click here to ask anything 🙂

This weekend has been quite the enjoyable one. Yesterday afternoon we headed out to drive down to Atlanta to my parents' place for some family time. We did have to make a pit stop for a shopping excursion on the way though. We hit up the mecca of baby stuff (Babies R Us) to pick up our gifts for my good friend's baby shower which is coming up fast.

Babies R Us

Oh, Can we buy that?!

After that, we quickly made our way through a ton of Atlanta traffic to a fun afternoon with my family. The afternoon hours were spent laughing at all of M's attention hogging ways...

playing with a giant duck

laughing with Papa

...playing some cards....

...laughing...

we are a goofy trio...this is a traditional photo we do...don't ask! LOL!

with my awesome bro

...and getting a good family picture.

I love them!!! Although I can never get over the fact that I am the oldest of the siblings by quite a few years and look younger than my sister. I know I'll appreciate it more about 10 years from now. Right now it's no fun to be in your mid-upper 20s and people to think you're a teen mom.

Onto dinner though. We went to my all time favorite Mexican restaurant. Tijuana Garage.

This place serves great Mexican food. And what I love about it is that it's not the same old stuff you find in other Mexican restaurants. There is a lot more variety and I love the various sauces, slaws, and toppings for all their food.

We enjoyed dining on the patio with some chips and salsa and margaritas...my 2nd favorite thing to drink. Surprisingly though, I didn't have any. I try not to drink when working on the baby. I know it probably does nothing for or against our chances of conceiving, but I prefer to play it safe for my own peace of mind.

patio seating

chips & salsa

I ate lighter in the day since I was fully planning on indulging here. I ordered a trio taco plate for my dinner. My choices - 2 fish tacos + 1 BBQ pork taco. Sounds odd, but oh so very good! The fish tacos had a chipotle jicama slaw and the BBQ had a pickled jalapeno slaw. Fun, interesting flavors and delicious.

may not be healthy but sure was YUMMY!

Today has been a bit of a pain. I woke up feeling AWFUL again. Not stomach sick this time, but with a severe headache and that deep to the bone type of bodyaches and a sore throat and foggy head. (sigh) Maybe it will be a one day thing. It hasn't gotten any better though. So, I went and just taught Sunday school and then went home to curl up on the couch.

And that brings us to our Good Life Sunday lesson. The lesson today was about the prophet Elijah and how he lived a life that demonstrated his faith in God's power. Elijah was a prophet who testified to King Ahab about a drought that was a consequence to King Ahab's actions of worshiping other gods in detestable ways (like sacrificing people's children detestable ways). Ahab refused to believe Elijah and sought counsel from 850 prophets of the other gods in the region.

Eventually, Elijah was distraught with the King seeking advice from these other prophets and the fact that all of the people weren't being faithful to God. So God sent Elijah to Mount Carmel to basically challenge the other prophets in a test of which God had the true power. The 850 Baal prophets brought a sacrifice to the mountain and called to Baal to accept the sacrifice by fire but the fire wouldn't come to their sacrifice, despite their calls. Elijah's sacrifice, however, did carry through with the fire and was so strong the other prophets finally claimed their belief in God.

The lesson from this is that we are to live as examples of trusting God, following Him, and expressing our faith and commitment to God. It won't be easy and there will be numerous people against us, but if we stand up and proclaim our faith then God will be on our side and carry us through. It is easy to get confused in our culture and turn to other things that seem to have the answers for a fulfilling life. We have to work hard to continue to be a living testament to trusting God and not follow other paths that may seem easy, right, or justifiable.

Fun Fact Friday! Ready to learn another interesting thing about me? Well, here ya go...

1. I once "borrowed" an old research paper from a friend who went to a different school to use as my essay in a Political Science class.
2. I cheated on one of my ex boyfriends for over a year and to this day he has no clue.

So I have not always been so virtuous. But where does my dishonesty happen? In the classroom? Or the bedroom? Hmmmm....What do you think? Can't wait to read your answers! 😀

Speaking of answers, I'm still open to answering your questions. Ask me anything! I'm still waiting for some more Q's to add to future posts. Click me. 🙂

Now...all about 'da ATL! Today I hit up downtown Atlanta, more specifically the Atlanta Airport, to have lunch with Lindsey before her flight to see her family, friends, and man in Ohio. Lindsey is one cool chick who shares a similar mindset about healthy eating and fitness. We actually met through an online fitness forum last year and enjoyed talking so much that we just had to meet in person when we got the chance. This is our second time getting together outside of screen time and it was great. 🙂

We ate at Atlanta Bread Company in the airport to make it easy for her traveling time. I got the half and half combo with the balsamic bleu salad and half a chicken salad sandwich. I love that combo. Mmm mmmm! And I JUST realized that I did not get any pictures while we were out. 🙁 I get distracted too easily, what can I say? We shared some good conversation and laughs over Makenzie and her antics. I can't wait to get together again...although I look forward to not having to bring the little monkey along for that one since she takes up too much attention with her I-need-a-nap-now antics.

So, since no post is complete without at least SOME pictures, I thought I would include some things that I saw on my drive through the city that reminded me of various things I experienced here growing up.

The Georgia Dome

In high school, when the Superbowl was played in Atlanta, a local news station had a competition for cheerleading teams to make up a routine about the Superbowl. The top 5 routines sent in were shown on Good Day Atlanta and were then asked to perform at the Dome for the Atlanta Falcons. Our cheerleading team was one of those recognized and it was a really cool experience to be down in the Dome.

The Fox Theatre

I love the Fox! I have had quite a few fun memories here. From going to see my first ballet and play with school fieldtrips or with the fam, to my first prom with my first love (even if it wasn't love until later in our 7 year on again off again madness relationship).

Centennial Olympic Park

I passed by the Olympic Torch of Atlanta on my drive today and it reminded me of all the excitement I felt in 1996 when the Olympics were held here. I was in middle school and we went down to where the Olympics were held a few times and it was so much fun. I LOVED the Olympics then. Funny how now I haven't been as into them. I think I've always been more into the summer sports though.

The Georgia Acquarium

I think this one speaks for itself. So cool to see all the different sea creatures up close! And it was even more special when we went this past year with our good friends Mandy and Jerry & Makenzie's best friend Bella during their visit from out of town. The little girls were so cute looking at all the fishies!

Little Five Points

Lots of cool restaurants and shops. We will be going here to eat tomorrow at the restaurant where my sister works. So cannot wait!

The Westin Hotel & Restaurant

This is a classy hotel with a restaurant at the top that spins to give diners a view of the city. I had my 16th birthday party here. We ate at the restaurant and then stayed overnight in one of the rooms. It was fun having a sleepover in a swanky place without the parentals.

Those are just SOME of the fun things to do in Atlanta. I mainly focused on things I saw while driving through and the memories they brought up for me. After all, I had lots of time to look around with another thing Atlanta is known for...

TRAFFIC

I WISH I had pictures of all of the old times. I'll have to see about getting old pictures from my parents' and getting my scanner to work to show you all some old photos. It would be interesting to say the least. 😉

• What are some places or things you love about where you're from or that bring back fun memories?
• Anyone out there from the Atlanta area? It's so much fun to find people of similar interests and meet them in person after knowing them through the online world. In a non creeper way of course.
• What is your favorite type of sandwich to get from a deli? I'm a southern gal so chicken salad is usually my fave. It has to be chunky though and more savory than just a bunch of mayo blended with chicken. Blech!