15K Shipt Goal Achieved!!

 I did it!!  I finally hit my goal of 15,000 orders with Shipt.  So much has changed over the course of 6 years, but I'm beyond grateful for the opportunities this flexible job offers and the friends I've made along the way.  Although this is the last official milestone they acknowledge, I plan to continue to shop for my favorites.  I posted this on facebook . . . 

I did it!!! It *only* took me 6 years, 5 months, and a week to hit my goal of delivering 15,000 orders with Shipt. What started as a fun adventure has now become not only my full-time job (on good days) but my outlet and connection to so many wonderful people!

I've literally delivered through a tornado with power poles falling in front of me and called 911 when an elderly customer passed out while I was in her house (waited for the ambulance and then cared for her cats while she was in the hospital). I've shopped in Target without power and once while on vacation in Hilton Head too. I’ve helped when people were sick or had sick kids, been there when they lost a spouse, parent, or child, helped with parties, birthing doggies and kittens, and with newborns too. I've made so many amazing friends and truly count it as an honor that so many strangers are now people who trust me to pick out their produce

I may have mixed up items a few times, busted eggs and pasta sauce on a driveway or two, and perhaps picked a sauce that was expired, but these are rare cases and ones that I've been given so much grace for messing up. So to those of you who let me help, thank you for trusting me and for treating me so very well!!!

*Working* From Home as an Intern?

Savannah's job is going quite well . . . She is often gifted with leaving early to "work" from home, in addition to the work-from-home Wednesdays that the entire office has.  Today I captured her actually doing work from the comfort of the kitchen island.

Poor Pearl, Hello Bullet & Smoky

I was pulling into the garage from doing a delivery this week, and all of a sudden all of my check engine lights came on . . with warnings not to put it in reverse, battery this and that, etc.   I was panicked, but thankfully I was safely at home.  I called Toyota, and they recommended that I have my car towed in to check out what was going on.  So early Wednesday, I had poor Pearl towed.  It was quite the event trying to get her out of the garage, but the tow truck driver was super careful and patient to get her all set.

They called me that afternoon and said it was something electrical that just needed to be reset, but she was good to go.  Suspicious, but okay.  Long story short, 24 hours later, the SAME thing happened, only I was not safely at home.  I braved the highway traffic and drove the car straight to the dealership after hours and left the car.  They called the next day saying it was a hybrid battery problem (I'll save you the details of me literally yelling when they tried to say it was probably because a kid spilled water on the battery and I needed to pay $400 for them to figure out if it was a warranty issue).  Once the manager got involved, they tore the car apart to discover that the hybrid battery did need to be replaced, only the batteries were out of stock and no one had a battery for an undetermined amount of time. 

So, Toyota graciously put me in a rental that was painfully low to get in and out of and literally had a bullet hole in the side of the passenger door.  I drove that for a week before I could take it no longer and traded it for Smoky, which reeked of disinfectant spray to cover the smoke smell.  Two weeks later, I finally got my beloved Pearl back!  What a mess!

Who knew the hybrid batteries were under the rear passenger seats!  This was Pearl waiting for a battery to be located . . . 

Landscape Project

For months we have talked about getting our backyard landscaping fixed . . . the huge trees killed the Bermuda grass, which caused all the dirt to erode into the French drain and also washed out the neighbor's yard every time a large storm comes.  I've received many quotes and spoken to numerous landscapers before settling on a company to do the job.  Part of the discussion was over Preston's treehouse, which has caused some of the problems with the rain draining off the top and washing out the dirt below.  We had talked with Preston many times about potentially getting rid of the treehouse, but he was not willing to bend, even though he really wasn't using it anymore.  

BUT, this week as the landscapers were in full action, he was home when I was out talking to the owner and finally agreed that "if it could go to a good family with a kid who would love it," he would part with it.  SO, the next morning at 7am I listed it on Facebook.  There was tons of interest, but when a lady messaged me saying her son was a contractor, could come today, and had the equipment necessary to get it out, I was like come on!!

 This man showed up with a huge bobcat and worked tirelessly for over an hour to single-handedly, successfully remove this treehouse from our backyard and load it onto his trailer.  It is going to a good family with not one kid, but THREE, who have been begging for a treehouse . . . so I think it will be in good company and be well loved. :)  Now if we can just finish out this huge project!

Track Awards Night

We had no clue what to expect at our first ever sports awards night . . . the e-mail said it would be a time to honor the seniors and those that ran at states, so we had NO idea that Preston would be among those honored (clearly we were unaware, look at his outfit).  He actually received a PHS letter for running at the varsity level, which means he should be able to be a 4-year varsity athlete.  In addition, he was recognized by his coach as the freshman male athlete of the year and got a plaque!  The coach commented on his hard work ethic and how he never missed a practice, always giving his best.  Oh my goodness! We were so so proud!!!!  So even as much as I hate track meets, I don't think I'm getting out of them for the next three years.

Preston with coach

This is one of the seniors he loved running with

 

First Day of Savannah's Internship

This was one happy "grown-up feeling" girl today!!  She officially started her full-time internship in HR at Sonic Automotive.  She is oh so grown up with her car and business casual attire, heading to the office today!  Crazy enough, she actually has her own office with a name plate too!

It's going to be an interesting summer as she adjusts to working 9-6 every day, all week, but hopefully she will learn a lot and have some fun too!

Savannah's New Car!

We have been talking about the need to get Savannah a car for weeks.  Dave and I really wanted to surprise her with one, but ended up deciding to let her be involved in the process, with the understanding she was paying half the cost.  After much research and deliberation, and with a little help from Dave's controller friend in  Greenville, SC we made it happen today!  She is SO excited to have her very own car; and we were able to surprise her with the fact that she wasn't going to have to pay any for it . . . but will take over paying for her gasoline. ;)  So this is Savannah's new, currently unnamed ride!!

Preston's First AP Exam

This kid is headed to take his first AP exam today.  No clue why he's not smiling in the picture (other than he's a teenage boy), but he does have his #2 pencils ready ;)  Unfortunately, I had to work this afternoon, but his faithful sister was able to drive him and pick him up from CPCC today.  They got up extra early to hit the bin store before getting doughnuts and finally making their way to the exam.  He is very well prepared and ready to bring home his first college credit with a score of 5!!  

Mother's Day 2025

So many days I take being a mom and the amazing blessing of these two kiddos for granted.  On the hard and frustrating days, I forget that not every woman is as lucky as I am.  So today I celebrate WITH Dave and the kids . . . I'm not one to enjoy lavish gifts and spend the day with my feet propped up, but my day was perfect.  I was able to do some Shipt orders, we went to church and for a long walk on the greenway, and the kids made my favorite dessert for me.  And let me not forget the amazing card Dave made and the umbrella gift that I desperately needed.  All in all, it was a wonderful day (despite the rainy, dreary day) spent with the ones I love most.  Man, I'm so blessed and thankful.  

It will always be a harder day as I miss my mom more and more with each passing year, but I know she would be proud.  I also know she is cheering us on and that the day is coming when we will celebrate with her again.  So to the woman who taught me how to do this mom thing, I love you!!

 

UNC Move Out!!!

I can't believe it's time to move this beauty out of her dorm and that her first year of college is DONE!!  She persevered through a lot of drama with her roommate but survived, and I'd like to think she came out stronger. :)  We had planned to move her out on Thursday after her last final (and when Dave had the month already closed), but she decided to skip the final and come home today instead.  Unfortunately, that meant only the two of us were available for move out.  I was like this is going to be so easy . . but boy was I wrong!  When I arrived, her room was not packed and a total disaster.  

It took us two solid hours to pack the car, and there were times I knew it wasn't all going to fit.  I was between wanting to cry and scream most of the morning, but thankfully, I avoided both. LOL

We used every inch of the 92" length available in my car and somehow crammed it all in.  The last step was to unloft her bed.  I accidentally dropped it on her head, and when it fell, the metal piece bent and wouldn't go back into the frame.  This meant we had to go back to the car and dig out the hammer from her toolkit so I could pound it back in and avoid any damage charges.  Whew!

She turned in her keys, found an expo marker from the lounge to sign the sheet, and we were off to plus swipe one last CFA meal and pick up her free Cane's before heading home for the summer.

We did it!!!!

And arrived home safe and sound!! This mama is SO thankful to have my girl home for the summer and to have family dinner together tonight!

 

Track Conference Champs!!!

Preston was invited to run in the track conference championship meet today at Independence High School.  His event was the 4x200, and he was thrilled to be running with the fast seniors!  Dave was able to slide away from work (during month-end) to see him run, and then he headed back to work.  I was waiting for Preston to get his official time before we could leave and head home . . . and then he realized that they actually placed, and he wanted to stay to get his medal.  At first, I was like, can't someone just bring it to you at school?!  LOL  That was a hard no, so I agreed to wait.  While we were waiting, a kid who was supposed to run the 4x100 relay was injured, so Preston was asked to fill in for that relay as well.   And that team also placed so this freshman kid walked away with TWO medals at the conference track meet!!  Not only that, the PHS team placed first overall, so that meant that Preston wanted to wait until the VERY end for the trophy presentation.  Dave and I tag-teamed it, and he came back to the meet after he left work so I could get home (after 3+ hours at a track meet) to get dinner pulled together.  It was a very, very long afternoon, but in the end, it was worth it for this kid to be so proud and to be able to have this chance to celebrate with his team.