Randomness. Confidence. & Bravery.

Let me just start off by saying thank you. Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post. It's comments like those that make me realize why I continue to blog...because I'm not alone and there are other people out there who can relate to me or that care enough to take the time out of their day to tell me everything will be okay. 

Today, I'm showing you guys my confidence. 

It's a rare thing. But lately, I've been feeling much better about myself, my life, my future. Everything.

Oh, and this dress? $12 on jcp.com from a gift card from Christmas.

The boots? Also a Christmas gift (that I picked out myself haha).

The necklace was also a gift from the best friend.

See? You CAN look cute while poor!! (As long as you have awesome, gift-giving family/friends! haha!)

These pictures were taken by my fabulous four year old photographer, who also had to get in on the action.

She's a future blogger for sure. 

And she's also a fearless little daredevil.....

Yes, that's a zip-line. She did it like 12 times. She loved it. I tried it and fell on my ars. And I'm still hurting. Damn you gravity.

Oh and here's some pics from Friday night. I went out with JUST my girls. It was fun and strange, being that I've been married for almost 5 years and go everywhere with Doug. But we had a blast. How can you not with free draft beer all night?

Go ahead, judge me.

I thought about not posting this, but then I thought, maybe I should let people see what goes on behind the blog and not just the usual fun, quirky stuff. I'll let ya'll see the REAL LIFE me. And I might lose followers, or even friends over this. But I'm speaking my mind today and I really don't care.

Here's the thing. I'm poor. My husband hates for me to say that because he says we aren't. But I have to disagree.
Do you know the last time I filled my tank up with gas? Me either.
Do you know the last time I cried about late bills? Today.
Do you know how ghetto I feel because we have to rely on taxes just to buy things we usually can't afford (like appliances, computers, lawn mowers, etc.) and then turn right back around and be poor again when it's all gone? Very ghetto.
Do you know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck? Or have to borrow money from family to pay for a tire or water bill? I do.

I've never put new tires on a vehicle before. Ever. If one goes flat, we buy a used tire that lasts about 6 months.
I don't know what it's like to be able to buy what I want, when I want it. This includes makeup, hair stuff, home decor, shoes, clothes, fingernail polish. You name it, I have to save up for it. Or wait until we have a little extra pocket change.
What we do depends on how much gas we can afford to get anywhere.

Do you know what it's liked to be JUDGED because you get financial assistance from the government???? I sure as hell hope not, but you know...there are some very judgmental assholes in this world. And I would just like to give a big middle finger in the air to you.
You think because I have an iPhone, tattoos, and (sometimes) nice looking clothes that I shouldn't be using food stamps? Let me explain something. My clothes come from my best friend, my family, or Wal-Mart. I literally can't remember the last time I bought any article of clothing for myself with my own money. My tattoos are usually from people I know who will give me a discount and I've saved up for them. PS-My most expensive tattoo was $50. Whooptydoo. Want to know why we have iPhones? Because we WANT iPhones. I didn't realize that since we are on Government assistance, I needed a dinosaur phone to prove how poor I am.
 You know what else? Sometimes, I buy wine or beer! *gasp!* I know....it should be so illegal that I get to enjoy things like that once in a blue moon just because I'm poor.
I don't think people understand what they are saying when they say things like "You shouldn't get that much taxes back" or "I'm so glad I work so YOU can stay at home" or "How's that insurance and food I'm working for so you can enjoy?". It's rude and hurtful. So just stop. 

So there you have it friends. I'm a poor blogger. But you know what else? Most of the time, I'm pretty happy. Because I know I'M doing what I need for my family by going to school to better our future. I know (hopefully) our life won't always be a struggle and we will be able to provide better things for our children. And I will praise the Lord the day we are able to get off Government assistance. But I will NEVER EVER EVER judge anyone who is. Because I've been in their shoes and know what's it's like. Those of you who don't have to worry about money, can kiss it. YOU don't know what struggle is, therefore YOU do not have the right to judge those are ARE struggling.

Behind Tennessee Honey.

Come sit down and have a cup of coffee with me and let me re-introduce myself.

Since I've gotten some newbies around here (thank you, thank you, thank you!), I decided ya'll might want to know more about me.

I could be wrong.

Regardless, today you will learn who is behind Tennessee Honey. 

I'll start with the basics.

My name is Lauren. I'm 24 years old. I've been married for 4.5 years. I have a 4.5 year old daughter, Kenzie Lane, and a 2.5 year old son, Tucker James.

I also have a Doxie, named Dobby. He's special.

I'm a full time student, going for my Associates degree in Early Childhood Education.

I'm also a stay-at-home-mom.

Born and raised in West Tennessee.

I love my friends, and those who are there for me.

I drink coffee at least twice a day.

I prefer tequila.

I love anything that glitters.

I'm obsessed with owls and anything vintage.

I'm constantly struggling with my self image and especially my weight.

I'm scared of the dark.

I'm a nerd at heart.
Without music, my life would be so drab.
I'm obsessed with anything Superhero related, but my favorite is Wolverine.

I love books. I read mostly Young Adult dystopian/paranormal-romance stuff.

I love anything Disney, Harry Potter, and Walking Dead.

I dream of going to Ireland.

I love road trips//mini vacations.
I love tattoos, but finding places to hide them is getting hard. (Darn you uptight people who don't like tattoos on teachers!!)
I play video games.
I prefer action movies over romance movies.
Sometimes I bust into random song and dance.
My husband says I should be more girly. I say I like to keep my awesomeness they way it is.

I love to take pictures and act like I'm a photographer. ha, I'm not.

Did you learn anything new or interesting?

Doubt it.

;)

Mini Turtle Brownie Bites

These bad boys are just flat out delish.

Actually, anything with dark chocolate and caramel will rock my socks off.

Are you drooling yet?

What if I told you that the recipe was super simple, too?

Oh yes. Get out your baking apron and get in the kitchen ladies (and gentleman, if any....).

What You'll Need:
*1 box dark chocolate brownie mix, plus ingredients to prepare mix
*1/2 cup chopped pecans
*dark chocolate frosting
*1/2 coarsely chopped pecans (for turtles)
*12 caramels
*1-2 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 36 mini (1.5 inch) muffin cups with paper cups.
2) Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Stir in chopped pecans.
3) Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling 2/3 way full. Bake 18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool.
4) Frost cupcakes and place roasted pecans on top.
5) Cook and stir caramels and 1 tbsp cream in small saucepan over low heat until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth. Add additional cream if necessary to thin mixture. Spoon caramel evenly over cupcakes.
5) ENJOY!!!

Let me know if you tried these! I would love to hear your opinions!
 

Music is my life.

All the times when I'm alone, which is VERY rare, I'm usually driving. And what do most people do while driving?

They mostly likely are listening to music.

And that's what I do.
There's just something about driving down a lonely highway while listening to the songs that take you away.

I honestly believe without music, my life would be a total wreck and I would be sitting pretty like Mona in the looney bin.

You know....Cray cray Mona from Pretty Little Liars...

Music gets me. 

Music is my poetry.
 

It's the way I see things. It's the way I bring back memories.

Sometimes I find songs that are just so perfect.

I listen to them and forget about everything; pretend I'm somewhere else.

And sometimes I find the songs that tell the story of my life and past.

Those are the songs that make me remember all the bad.

Music is a huge part of my life.

And I love to sing. And play piano.

If you love listening to beautiful music, I've made a list of some you should listen to.

Note: These are NOT popular songs, nor will they make you want to shake ya bootay. 

These songs have powerful melodies and meaning. Well, to me anyways...

Headphones are my escape.
Music is my life.

How about you? Have any great songs that you want to share? I'm always looking for new ones!

Well....

Well I was going to have an awesome post today but I got lazy (go figure) and I couldn't figure out how to add gifs (because I'm slow).

So I'm typing this on my iPhone in my bed. (See......lazy).

But I am giving away some ad space over at The Chronicles of Chaos! I won some ad space for Mia's blog this month and I'm so glad I did. She's such a lovely ladybug. (Ps-I'm also sleepy and the word ladybug just made me giggle).

So go check her out! And win some ad space so I can get my name out there and eventually get people to pay me so I can go to a blog conference! That's all any blogger really wants right?! ;)

Oh, her link is www.thechroniclesofchaos.com

PS- my best friend got an iPhone. We can now FaceTime. This probably isn't the best thing for those who know us in real life.

PSS- I love you betches.

We should by stock in the hospital.

It was a loooooooooong weekend this past week.

Wednesday Tucker had an EEG done at LeBonheur. It was horrible. He didn't want to go to sleep (they have to monitor his brain waves while he's asleep AND awake), so I had to literally force him to go to sleep. He screamed himself to sleep for 20 minutes. I felt like the worst mother in the world.

Then Thursday I took him for a checkup at his normal doctor because he's been wheezing.

Well, his oxygen levels were pretty low, even after a breathing treatment.

So she sent us to the hospital.

I swear, we should just have a room reserved for us here.

My poor baby.

He was fine when we got there. He got to play in the playroom.

But we couldn't get his oxygen to go up.

Especially when he slept. It would drop down to 82.

So he had to wear the oxygen tubes in his nose.

THAT was not fun at all.

But he took it like a champ. 

I was so proud of him!

We thought we were going to get to go home Friday night, but they wanted to watch him sleep one more night.

He didn't need the oxygen that night so we got to go home Saturday morning.

I was SO glad to see my bed. 

"I got tons of sleep at the hospital!" - said no one ever.

I wanted to thank everyone for the sweet tweets, thoughts, prayers, and texts! 

Tucker's doing fine now. 

He was diagnosed with asthma so we just have to be careful from now on.