Things I love about this cover up...very flattering fit, classy with a touch of sparkle. Perfect for lunch at the beach. Pair with some cute sandals and there ya go.

The South Beach Diet has been my go to since the 90’s and I’m so glad they nowoffer easy meal delivery. It makes your life easier when you can have everything set up and measured out and ready to go. Give yourself a jumpstart and enjoy 40% off, just click the link and get going on your journey to a healthy weight. I have 6 lbs to go, the last five always seems to be the hardest for me, but I’m determined!

To make things more interesting, I like to come up with little tricks and recipes. One of my favorites is my “Frosty Chocolate Almond” South Beach Shake. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Here’s to the new year and a new you!
​
Mama Karen

Add all the below ingredients to a blender and mix well. Poor in a pretty glass and use a straw cause it’s fancy.


1 chocolate South Beach Diet shake packet
1 cup of ice
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
¼ tsp. almond extract

​Hickam AFB                                                                                                                                            2008
 
…we arrived in Honolulu just a few short months ago. There are only a few boxes left to store under the house and a few to empty into my hope chest that is now stored in my son’s closet. We are in a home one-third the size of our last, but we knew what we were in for and it’s been well worth it. As I tear into one of the last five boxes that are stacked on the lanai, I see the folder with the emails I had given to Steve for our anniversary a few years back. I had forgotten I had done that. We are reassigned every two or three years and each time we unpack, everything has to find a new place. The good in that is rediscovering treasures, the not so good is sometimes there isn’t room. There may not be room for my hope chest in our bedroom, but there’s always room for the treasures it holds. My Maw Maw Mary gave  that hope chest to me when I was a teenager and it has traveled with me to every place I have lived. Each year new treasures are added so that one day when it is discovered by my children and grandchildren my treasures, my story will be there for them to discover.
I sit on the edge of the bed and open the folder to find an index of love letters from a decade ago. As our story unfolds in the series of messages I wonder how Steve and I ever found one another. I guess God’s Plan is God’s plan… 

Good morning y'all,
 
I’m sitting at my kitchen counter with a cup of coffee after our week long trip to Cabo to celebrate the wedding between Sydney and AB. It’s good to be home in Georgia but I miss everyone already. It truly was a fairytale wedding and dream come true for our girl and her prince. 
Thanks to everyone for the love and support including those who have written such beautiful and heartfelt comments. We see them.
I received lots of message asking about my dress so I decided to write a quick blog about it. The dress I wore for Sydney and AB’s wedding of course comes with a story… I bought it the evening before the evening before we left for Cabo.
 
It is difficult to find an age appropriate dress. I don’t know what designers are thinking when they forget to put sleeves on dresses. On my quest for a dress, which began, several months ago, I overheard another woman around my age asking a salesclerk for a dress with sleeves. The options were minimal. I have a tick about showing armpits and upper arms in general. I ended up ordering several dresses on line. Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus run great sales and have free shipping and returns.  The Jessicas (JJD and Jess Payne) told me they order lots of stuff, try it on and return what they don’t like.  I decided to give it a try, though knew it wouldn’t be as easy for me. They, like Sydney, could try on a paper sack and make it look good. I ordered a gorgeous Theia dress, same designer as I wore for Jessica and Eric’s wedding, and it was on sale.  I couldn’t believe it fit like a glove straight off the rack!  It was a dark navy however it almost looked black and we all know that is a "no no" for the MOB.
Steve loved it and said it fit the curves of my body so nicely. He is nicest most loving man. He tells me I’m beautiful when I least expect it. He gets me every time. I showed the dress to Jess and she loved it but thought it should come off the shoulders a bit and AB and Syd decided it was too matronly. I think they forget I’m almost 50.  We all decided I should get it altered to fit off the shoulders and to keep looking for a dress to beat it.  I kept looking and ordering and nothing worked. Here’s where the drama began. I had three attempts up until two days before we left to get this dress right. It was impossible to sew the way we had envisioned. I was so frustrated at the final fitting in the tiny little room at the drycleaners.  The seamstress, dry cleaning lady and I agreed it was all wrong so I asked her to undo all the alterations.  I was crying and in a panic upon leaving the drycleaners.
The second dress that was a contender was a green one-shoulder dress Jessica had ordered for me. It was beautiful, but the fabric was light corduroy, which really wasn’t right for Cabo, and of course I didn’t like my arms all out in the open like that. I had it altered anyway as a back up option and when I tried it on at home, the zipper broke and it was stuck on my body. So there I was with my original too dark dress unaltered and a dress that was broken and stuck to me. As mother of the bride in an already emotional state, I started crying again. I tried to avoid stressing Syd out, so I called Jess and she begged me to come to Nashville to look but there was no time, nor was there time to order any more dresses. My sweet husband, Mr. Banana hands felt so bad. He had tried to zip the dress when it broke. I cried and felt fat and sorry for myself then dried my tears and put on my big girl panties. My only option was to head out to another mall. I’m sure I was a sight to behold with my hair pulled back, no makeup and tear stained face. I tried on a few dresses at some department stores. Everything was either too matronly or too sexy. You don’t want sexy as MOB. The trick was it’s winter, but the wedding is in a tropical destination, its formal, but outdoors. You can’t wear black, white or red as MOB nor any really bright colors. The day is about your daughter, the bride. You want to compliment the colors of the wedding, look really nice because it is a big day for you as well, but not look like you are trying too hard. Slippery slope y’all.
I headed out of the department store and decide to stop in BCBG. The young girls working there were very nice and helpful. I asked a sweet girl if they had any formals and told her what I was looking for and she led me to the back of the store. I explained the no armpit, no red, black or white rule and we found two options. I was hopeful. I sent pics to Jess and Jess, Steve and Syd and we all agreed on the same dress as it was in perfect taste for MOB. The sales girl proclaimed as she rang up the dress… “And it’s on sale for 25 percent off,” I smiled, thanked her and walked out BCBG the day before the day before we left for Cabo with my MOB dress, The Cailean Floral Lace Gown.
Till next time,
Love and Blessings
Mama Karen