Fabulous Friday -- Derby Day Fabulous

Happy Friday Everyone! It's here - another edition of Fabulous Friday! A highlight of all things fabulous that I've stumbled across over the course of this week (in no particular order, of course!) or even fond memories I have stored in my brain.

For one thing it is FABULOUS because I'm going home today!!

It promises to be a Fabulous/Interesting weekend with Mr. Potts and me hosting a Derby Day Bar Crawl. Complete with prizes for best hat (hope I win!), best dressed - Male/Female, dollar bets winner take all & lots of racing!!

Hey Trish, how is THAT for a Pink Hat?? Wish it were mine.
image via

Color me pink, I'm so excited I can't wait!!

We'll be kicking off at our home & instead of a Mint Julep, we'll be serving the Oaks Lily. Now, I know, the Oaks are Friday. Which is the day we usually go. Since we're not going to KY this year (which will be the first time we haven't gone since Mr. Potts and I have been together), I'm choosing to serve something yummy instead yucky.

Because, let's be honest y'all, Mint Juleps are NASTY!

For those of you that watch the races, a good way to pick your horse is by the rider. Yep, check out Calvin Borel, Kent Desormeaux, Edgar Prado & Julien Leparoux. Check your rider & then compare the horse's record on the turf they're running on.

Or you could just pick one cause you like the name. That's fun too!

Speaking of Trish, her Wordless Wednesday post this week just took my breath away. With cold weather in New England, this was a breath of fresh air.

I'm leaving you on that super high note. Have a wonderful weekend!

I'm often "That Girl"

I have quirks, just like everyone does, and sometimes I think to myself, "Oh my God. I'm THAT girl!"

What might bring this on?

I'm that girl that is on a treadmill sweating it out & sees someone new come into the hotel gym. I hand off the remote (because while I like to watch Paula Dean, Giada & the Neeleys while working out I'm sure most men have no interest in them) and then tell them that there were little kids in here just a few minutes ago & they didn't wipe anything down. The wipes are over there.

I'm the girl that on the treadmill in the hotel gym is secretly happy that no one is in the room because her tummy may be aching a little & she may need to relieve it. And then someone walks in. Which is where I try to disguise it by telling them about the kids (see above).

Yep, I'm THAT girl. But not often, thankfully!!

I'm the girl who tries to go to the grocery store at lunch to grab what she may need for dinner. The same one who makes an eyebrow appointment (which I'm typically rushing like a mad man to make on time) and remembers I forgot a few things.

I'm the girl who turns into a tomato when her eyebrows are waxed (super sensitive skin & not much that will soothe it without giving me little red bumps) who then has to go into the grocery store & pick up the things she forgot. WEARING HER SUNGLASSES - with absolutely no intent of taking them off.

Yep, again, I'm THAT girl. I mean, I usually joke about people who wear their sunglasses inside - like they're too cool for school. Which is what Mr. Potts now says when I wear said sunglasses.

I'm also the girl who in the grocery store manages to find the chunk of banana that some mother fed their kid & didn't pick up when they dropped it (and let's be honest, I know they may have missed the dropping, so I'll give them that) and slip on it.

Falling in all my glory & spilling my basket.

Mr. Potts was behind me & missed me slipping.

He told me later (after we finished laughing) that, "One moment you were there & then *POOF* you were gone!" Yeah, he found me when he looked down & saw me in tears (both from laughter & pain) on the ground.

I was THAT girl that slipped & fell on a piece of banana.

I'm the girl that makes awkward jokes about fire hands - all in an effort to make it better.

When I see Fire girl again, I keep repeating: "Don't look at the hands. Don't look at the hands. Don't talk about the hands. Don't talk about the hands."

So when Fire girl brings it up & tells me that I hurt her feelings, I'm the girl that apologizes & tries to laugh about how I make awkward jokes, but all in an effort to make things better & put people more at ease. I don't think she bought it. But that was ok, she was already canned.

So even when I was trying to avoid being that girl, I was THAT girl.

Help me out - tell me I'm not the only one who is sometimes THAT girl.

A pure class act

I have one word for Jesse James - and it isn't appropriate coming out of my Southern Mouth. So we'll just leave it at that.

Sandra, on the other hand, I only have words of praise for.

image via

Congrats to her on adding to her family. What makes this truly a class act for me is that she adopted from New Orleans. Not from Haiti, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zaire, but from New Orleans. A city that I love (and I'll admit, that may make me a bit more inspired by this), but a city that is ours.

How many children are in the US who need loving homes & families?

I applaud all efforts to end childhood poverty & unite these little ones with people who will love and cherish them, but I commend her for looking within before going abroad.

Kudos Sandra, KUDOS!!!

Top 2 Tuesday

Taylor's Top 2 Tuesday this week is Top 2 Favorite Things About Summer.
Are we really here already? What happened to my Spring? I was in New England for two weeks straight & I completely missed the tulips!

They were popping up through the ground when I left & then when I came back they had all bloomed & the petals had dropped.

Even though it is nearly May, I wish I could have enjoyed a bit more of my Southern Spring.

Looking forward to Summer...

1. Weekends on the boat. Floating around on the lake. Dropping anchor, throwing our float (& floating cooler) out & relaxing the day away.

2. Beach Time
Wrightsville Beach, NC. Where I grew up going to the beach & where Mr. Potts & I still like to get away to.

I'm heading to New England today. I'm leaving behind 70's & 80's & heading to 50's. Brr!!

Desperately in Need of...

My version of a wordless Wednesday - Shouts to Lisa and her Wordless Wednesday. Although most of you know there is no way I could ever be called wordless (Mr. Potts would wholeheartedly agree!).

I want to be here with Mr. Potts.

Not until July, but a girl can dream, right?

Dinner Tonight?

Mr. Potts and I just enjoyed a wonderful dinner tonight, courtesy of my newest Cooking Light magazine.

Seriously, Cooking Light is something I look forward to in my mailbox each month. And you know, I'm not paid to say that. It's just true.

Flipping through it last night, a beef recipe caught my eye - Chile-Rubbed Flat-Iron Steak. I knew I'd have to try it & tonight was definitely the night for it.


I added red pepper slices & onion slices to it for some crunch & mixed up a little more of the rub to season them. I also had to substitute lean sirloin since my little grocery store didn't have Flat Iron Steak.

Side note: Don't you just LOVE the red of a red bell pepper?image via
So, our dinner tonight:

Chile-Rubbed Steak

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 (1-pound) flat-iron steak, trimmed
• Cooking spray
• 4 lime wedges
• 4 (6-inch) corn tortillas, warmed
• Cilantro leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. NOTE: I cooked ours in the cast iron & heated to medium.

2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub sugar mixture evenly over steak; let stand 10 minutes.

3. Place steak on a grill rack (or cast iron, in our case) coated with cooking spray (since my cast iron is seasoned, I just made sure it was well heated & the meat wouldn't stick).

4. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

5. Let stand 10 minutes; cut diagonally across grain into thin slices. Serve with lime wedges and tortillas. Garnish each serving with cilantro leaves, if desired.

For those interested in calories, fat, etc. you can find it here. Just keep in mind that I updated mine with red pepper, onion & a little more of the mix.

Y'all - this was so yummy! We served it with some black beans & whoa! Definite re-do soon!!!

You Women With Kids....

I salute you. I honestly don't know how you do it!

Yesterday I took care of my mom and the munchkins. It was exhausting. Not to mention our pilot light was out yesterday morning, so I took an ice cold shower. Eek!!

Why did I spend the day taking care of everyone, you may ask. My mom had an early morning appointment to go in & have all of her upper teeth pulled so that she could begin wearing a full denture.

Remember when I told you about how vigilant I am about my teeth? There are a ton of reasons why I am, but this is also one. I would like to avoid this fate if at all possible.

So yesterday, I took care of my mother after her two appointments and I took care of my precious nephew while she was in those appointments. Keeping a three year old entertained in a dentist's office while his nana is getting her new dentures put in for the first time is hard.

Once my mom was settled in & resting with her pain medicine in effect, we ran to get the things she would need for the remainder of the week.

We ran and we ran.

And then we ran some more.

All the time keeping an eye on the clock to make sure we were home in time to meet that sweet niece when the school bus pulled up.

We did homework, we read, we made sure Nana had taken the pain medicine.

We made brownies, we made dinner, we ate dinner & then we cleaned up.

We read some more, we did more homework, we took our baths, we checked on Nana.

By the end of the day I could barely keep my eyes open.

I made sure they were tucked in tight with prayers said & special ones for Nana's mouth.

I made it home to Mr. Potts. I crawled onto the couch and looked at him.

"I don't know how people do this."

"I'm tired."

To which he replied, "You look tired."

Isn't he wonderful?

I'm still exhausted this morning, but at least I was able to take a hot shower!

Happy Thursday everyone & remember to brush, floss & rinse!

Top 2 Tuesday

Taylor over at The Undomestic Momma hosts Top 2 Tuesday. This week's topic is is Top 2 Beauty Secrets. Now, I don't know that I truly have many beauty secrets that I haven't already shared, but here goes:

Top 2 Beauty Secrets

1. After cleaning my cast iron skillets I "season" them with oil. When I do this, I use a little of the extra oil & rub it into my cuticles. This is a great way to keep them moisturized & from cracking.

2. When out on the lake in the summer I keep a tube of deep conditioner in my bag. After jumping in & cooling off, I comb out my hair & apply the deep conditioner all over. Rolling it into a bun, I cover it with a hat. Easy way to deep condition & protect my hair.

This tends to be my favorite!

Can you tell I'm all about the multi-tasking?

What are your beauty secrets? Any new ones out there for me? I'll usually carry a small jar of Vaseline with me when I travel & use it around my eyes at night to keep them from drying out.

See, now who loves you? Three tips on a Two-For-Tuesday!

Talk about how well product placement works

Mr. Potts and I watch The Biggest Loser - sidenote: who here won't raise their hand & agree that they're happy Melissa is gone? We cheered when she was the one to leave this past week!

We DVR the show since I'm usually out of town & we've both gotten so involved in it. We always laugh and fast forward through the product placement that inevitably is there.

I mean, chewing gum to make sure you don't overeat? Not gonna happen.

One show, however, had a product placement that stuck with me.

The Yoplait Frozen Smoothies were shown as a great alternative to snacks & high calorie/fat treats.

Photo via

I'll admit, I was a bit interested.

I used to love the smoothies from Smoothie King. That was until I checked out calorie count. Most of their small smoothies constitute a full meal & for me, that wasn't the case. They were good, but I never looked at them as just lunch.

Sunday while we were doing a bit of early grocery shopping I thought about the Yoplait frozen smoothies & decided to pick up a package so that Mr. Potts & I could try them.

Note: None of my thoughts of doing this or writing about this were due to sponsorship or payment.

I made the smoothies for us after a long afternoon walk with Hayden.

And you know what? We both liked them!

So, if you like smoothies & are looking for an alternative to super size/super calorie ones, I'd recommend these.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Inappropriate Ring Tone?

One Saturday, Mr. Potts and I were at a local diner having a totally healthy breakfast.

I know, diner & totally healthy don't belong in the same sentence. Let's start over, shall we?

One Saturday, Mr. Potts and I were at a local diner having a totally unhealthy, artery clogging, YUMMY breakfast.

Better? Ok then.

There I was shoveling a bit of French Toast sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar and smothered with butter & syrup (see - TOTALLY HEALTHY!) into my mouth when the man sitting in a booth next to us gets a phone call.

I looked up in surprise. Mouth mid-chew I whipped my head over to the sound of Bump n' Grind.

Yep, you read that right. Saturday morning, eating French Toast (Mr. Potts had the American breakfast with eggs over easy, bacon, hashbrowns & a gravy biscuit - again, totally healthy!), chatting with Mr. Potts when all of a sudden I head R. Kelly.

Sing along. You know you want to.

"I don't see nothin wronngggggg, with a little bump n' grinnndddd!"

Thank goodness we were almost done & could leave before he got any more phone calls. I don't think I could have taken it.

Plus, I don't think he was quite impressed with the fact that I was snickering over an early 90's R. Kelly song as someone's ring tone.

Anyone else cringing out there over an R. Kelly ringtone?

Where I've been

A few of you have emailed to see if I'm still alive.

I love the fact that I've begun to create those types of relationships through this that people will reach out to check on me.

I've traveled for two weeks straight - Monday - Friday & Tuesday - Friday.

I'm finally home, loving the weather. And following a yellow brick road.

That would be POLLEN for all you non-Southern folks.

I was walking to my car on Friday and thought, "Wow. That car's paint job is pretty. Such a pretty black with a hint of sparkle. Wait. Not sparkle...POLLEN!"

And with that, my allergies smacked me upside the head & decided to show me Who's the Boss. Obviously, it isn't me.

In addition to being gone, we've had some sad things going on that have tugged at my heart.

A mastiff here in CLT attached a small terrier/poodle mix at a dog park that Hayden loves and the small dog ended up dying.

I was heartbroken, thinking of how awful it must be to lose a beloved pet in this manner. How absolutely horrifying.

One of our good friend's father died unexpectedly on Tuesday & the funeral was today. I think this tugged at me especially since we (Mr. Potts, our friends & myself) are getting to the point where things like this start happening to our parents.

One of my father's closest friends passed this week unexpectedly as well.

While in New Hampshire this week I saw a girl sitting outside with her Great Dane. I had to stop & see her. Such a pretty fawn girl named Honey.

Walking away from petting her, I teared up & almost began crying. I was walking down a sidewalk paved in brick in my 4 inch heels - does a Southern Girl where much else? So no tears were allowed. I'm good in heels, but not that good!

I miss my Maddy every day & it has been almost two years now. Does the hurt and pain ever lessen? Will I ever miss her any less?

So a heart tugging last few weeks - missing home, thinking of mortality & missing my Mads. I've been reading, but not commenting as often.

A dis-jointed post, I know, but this is where I've been.

But I'm back.

Can't promise better than ever - but hey, who ever can?