The Biker and The Baker

Cotton Bowl!

2012-01-07T01:40:00.001-06:00

For the second year in a row, my inlaws have gotten us tickets to the Razorback bowl game for Christmas. I'm perfectly okay with this becoming a tradition. This year our Hogs went to Dallas to the Cotton Bowl! And we won! Much better outcome than the Sugar Bowl last year. ;)

I'm sure at some point I will download photos from my camera, but wanted to post some of my favorite phone pictures.

Tailgating before the game. My inlaws belong to an organization called the Road Hogs. Basically they have a spot for Fayetteville games to park their RV, and get some perks. We decided to stay in the RV and ended up right next to our regular "neighbors." It was so fun!

Outside Cowboy Stadium!!! This was our first time to be at Jerry World. Tyler is usually working during the game we play there!

We were pretty dang high up! Truthfully, we couldn't have cared less where we were, it was just fun being there. And there isn't a bad seat in the house.

And the final score! Such a fun victory!

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Looking Forward to 2012

2011-12-31T22:05:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year, friends! This year was FULL of ups and down. I just wanted to post some photos so I can both remember and reflect on this past year.

{went to the Sugar bowl; celebrated Tyler's 26th birthday; met Pioneer Woman}

{Tyler's Meme went to be with Jesus}

{met some wonderful blog/twitter friends}

{my friend, Sarah, had sweet baby Charlie!}

{we went to Shreveport for the wedding of Greg and Carly}

{my friend, Rachel, had sweet Bella. And I was there the whole time. I was the 2nd person to hold Bella, she's got a special place in my heart}

{we went to the beach with our family}

{I told Tyler he was going to be a daddy; after we lost our sweet baby, my friend sent me a gorgeous memory pendant}

{we vacationed in Maryland}

{and Washington DC}

{our wonderful nieces were born!!}

{Lauren came to Arkansas!!}

{celebrated Halloween with some of my funniest friends}

{built a fort with my awesome class, I love my job!}

{worshipped together at the Hillsong Live concert, it was amazing}

{went to see the lights at Garvan Garden!}

{had coffee with Becky! Love this girl}

{decorated for Christmas with our little tree}

{celebrated Christmas Eve and morning with our awesome church, and Bella boo made an appearance}

{enjoyed Tyler having Christmas day off!}

Here's to a wonderful 2012! I truly can't wait to see what this year holds.

My verse this year is Lamentations 3:22-24
"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!"

Don't Judge Me, pretty please.

2011-12-29T19:19:00.001-06:00

For real, don't judge the before pictures of what I'm about to share. :)

A little backstory, I may have shared this when we moved in, but I can't remember. Our renters were filthy and quite destructive. But one of the worst spots was my kitchen stove. It was black. The problem? It's a white stove. We have SCRUBBED this thing with everything we could think of. We scrubbed for 2 straights hours when we moved in. Tyler has taken SOS pads and knives to this sucker. It's bad. I finally gave in, I knew it was sanitized and decided I was just going to have to live with it.

Until today. My friend Ashley posted on Facebook and on twitter this "miracle" cleaning helper. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it out. And I'm posting here in case someone else is as in the dark as I have been.

This miracle? Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Now for the stove, I used baking soda and water because I wasn't sure if HP was flammable, but decided not to risk it. Without further ado... Here is the result!

Now I know this is not exciting to everyone, but for us it's amazing!

I decided to also try it on my mixer, this yuck is not left over from a year. Ha! It's just been the last week. I baked A LOT recently and it got filthy.

I feel like my life has been changed!! My most important "job" is as a homemaker, and anything to make that job easier is such a blessing!

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12 Days of Christmas: Husband Style

2011-12-24T10:00:00.001-06:00

I wanted to do something special for Tyler for Christmas this year. I got the idea to do a year worth of date nights this summer and it transformed into the 12 days of Christmas. Tyler has loved it! I am so glad. Ive been searching for awhile for things that came in packages, but I knew a few things would be baked in my kitchen because this sweet Love of mine has a sweet tooth like no other. Here is the list of Tyler's 12 days of Christmas!

{a sweet tree under our tree- this was a truffle from a local boutique}

{2 bicycle socks}

{3 cookie dough bites- I found a package of Mrs. Fields cookie dough bites in the Target dollar spot and they just happened to be in a set of 3}

{4 Reeses trees}

{5 razors- the boy needed new razors, I usually put a pack in his stocking, but since I found a 5 pack I made it work}

{6 ice cold beers- here's where we made a detour into the redneck days of Christmas. Ha! Fresh Market let's you mix and match beer, so I got him 6 different beers I thought he would like}

{7 reasons I love you- goodness knows I had to be cheesy at least once}

{8 nerf gun darts- this day came with a bonus}

{day 8 was by far my favorite. He had the day off and pretty much all we did was have nerf gun wars, it was SO fun - and I won}

{9 gold coins-boring, but it was a 9 pack}

{10 snowflake cookies- I made rolled sugar cookies}

{11 chocolate chip cookies- his favorite}

{12 days of date nights- the big one! It took me so long to come up with 12 different and unique date nights. I printed up "coupons" with a little poem or joke to go with each date and then included a gift card for said date night}

He loved it all. He actually just said "I want to formally give you two thumbs up for the 12 days of Christmas." haha!

Tonight I'm excited to celebrate the birth of our Savior with my church family and tomorrow with our immediate family!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours! Remember what the season is all about!

Proud.

2011-12-16T23:07:00.001-06:00

We've had a tough year. This is no secret. We've tried our best to be above it all. And we've gotten through, barely. A lot of the year, I just kind of felt like we were being, not living. Does that make sense? We lived in the same house, yet rarely slept in the same bed at the same time. I can count on one hand the times we've had dinner together in our home in the last 3 months. Tyler has been working away from home at least 70 hours a week, most of it for school. His actual school work has taken up every other ounce of free time he's had. He's worked his booty off to do well and it has paid off. He's graduating. Finally.

I really can't tell you how good it feels to say he's done. I am so excited to have my husband back. I need him here with me. He needs me.

Proud isn't near strong enough a word to say how I feel about him today. He's pretty amazing. And I'm glad the Lord made him for me.

"Commit to the Lord, whatever you do and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3

Home.

2011-10-19T16:22:00.001-05:00

We arrived home late last night and are SO not ready to be home! We had such a good time being together for an extended period of time. It's been awhile. I'm going through the 1100 pictures we took to post a few, but wanted to share these from my phone!

We spent Saturday evening in Baltimore and went to the "date night" event that the aquarium put on. It was magnificent. No kids, no annoying parents trying to discipline their kids. Beer, wine and German food. And sharks. Divine.

Delicious mint mocha and pumpkin muffin from Ebeneezers!

We stayed a block and a half from The Capitol! It made for some lovely evening strolls.

Also, while we were gone our nieces were born! We are going to meet them tonight when Tyler gets out of school!! I love them already!

I also had this necklace from my friend Lindsay waiting on me when I got home. I adore it. Such a sweet reminder of our Bluebaby.

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October 15th

2011-10-14T11:33:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I wish I weren't someone with a story. But my story is so fresh. The loss is so new with me. With us.

I had a miscarriage Monday, October 3rd. I was 6 weeks, 5 days pregnant with our first child.

The loss is unimaginable. I know people who have lost babies, I have said "I am sorry, I'm praying for you." to all of them. And that is 100% the truth. But, I had NO idea how much they were actually hurting. No clue of the loss and heartache they were actually going through. I wish I were still oblivious.

I'm still hurting. I'm sure I will be hurting for a very long time. We were SO happy to be pregnant. I'm afraid I will never have that pure joy and excitement ever again. I've been told that I will. I'm not a place that I can share everything. I don't know if I ever will. And that's okay.

Tyler has been so strong. But I have had to remember that I am not the only one mourning. Tyler is sad, too. He doesn't know the physical pain, but he has emotional pain. I have to remind myself that I'm not the only one hurting in our home.

I am SO thankful for the friends and family I have. They have been absolutely amazing during the last 2 weeks. Amazing. I know I am not alone. We have felt so much love and support from everyone. I hope that you will never have to go through this, but if you do I pray that you have support all around you.

I'm also thankful for our Lord. I don't know how people get through so much pain without Him. I know we couldn't have. We have had so many amazing people praying for us and we know it's helped.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

One last thing, please know this wasn't posted to get sympathy. I merely want to share part of our story. Until I told a few people, I had no idea how common this was. It doesn't make it hurt any less, but it is good to know I'm not alone. Other people have been exactly where we are now. They've gotten through it. I will get through it. Other people after me will also get through it.

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More than 140 Characters

2011-10-13T15:33:00.001-05:00

We are in Washington, D.C. and we just left the George Washington Masonic Monument.

A little backstory: Tyler has cerebral palsy. He has had a lot of surgery in his short 26 years. The majority of his surgeries happened at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Shreveport. They wear hats.

As we are touring the Shriners room in the Memorial my sweet, dear, hilarious husband says "well that explains the damn hats. Those things scared me all my life."

Apparently no one explained the men in hats to Tyler. Ever.

He just thought there were creepy men in hats. He had no idea they were the wonderful men paying for his surgeries. Bless him.

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My Dirty Little Secret

2011-09-19T09:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, so its not dirty and its not a secret. But it does have adverse reactions from A LOT of people. It is something I feel very strongly about.

duh. duh. duh.

Car Seat Safety.

And since it is National Child Passenger Safety Week, I decided I should just man up and finish this post... that has been in my drafts for a month (or more).

I know. I'm not a mom. It's weird that I care, but I DO. Oh so much. I have a car seat I keep in my car full time in case I have to take kids anywhere. It is installed rear facing. All of the kids I watch are over 1, most over 2. See a trend? Extended rear facing. It's the way to go. The law says 1 year and 30 pounds. But that is not anywhere close to best practice. Your child is 500% safer rear facing until 2 years old. I rear face to the limits of a seat, because no matter what, they are always safer rear facing. The newest recommendation (that car seat people have known for a long time) is to rear face until 2 OR your child outgrows their convertible seat. Two years old is the new minimum.

(in case this isn't obvious, my seat does get turned if the child exceeds the RF limits of my TrueFit)

Car seat safety is a personal decision. But your children will be safer the longer they rear face. Period. I got some flack (actually, I didn't, someone just tweeted a link to my blog, but didn't have the guts to tag me in it) for RFing a three year old... who was SOUND ASLEEP, but looked uncomfortable. First of all, not uncomfortable at all. Second of all, I'll take uncomfortable legs over a broken neck any day.

Chest clip usage is an issue I see pretty often. It's a chest clip. I feel like that is self explanatory. But apparently some people (and advertisers - looking at you TARGET) seem to think it is a belly clip. It's not. It can cause internal damage in a crash. It needs to be over the chest. About nipple/arm pit line. Another issue I see frequently is loose harness straps. That car seat isn't going to do what it is supposed to do if the harness isn't tight. The child could go flying out of it.

One other thing I want to mention is expiration dates. Car seats do expire and you should not use a car seat after its expiration date. Check your seat for the date of manufacture and check your manual for the expiration time. It's usually around 6-8 years.

I read and talk about car seats all day. I am waiting on the CPST course to start. I care. I have experience. I know what I'm talking about. If I don't know an answer, I have some of the best CPSTs in the country that I can ask anything to and get that answer. Please get your car seats check by a CPST. They know what they are doing and will make your children as safe as possible.

Here are a few links that I would love for you to check out. Get informed. Know and do what is best for your child.

http://www.joelsjourney.org/

SafeKids.org

USA Today article

Extended Rear Facers

Older and taller Rear Facers

List of CPSTs on carseat.org

Failure. Of the temporary kind.

2011-09-05T13:37:00.003-05:00

alternate titles:

"The Devil is a Jerk"

"I want to Punch a Wall"

"The hate the *#&$^!&# Devil with Every Ounce of My Being"

"Thank God for Good Friends that say Yelling & Screaming is Okay"

You all know we are on the road to fostering, right? Well? That road has just hit a detour. I haven't posted much about it, because we just weren't sure, but after discussing with the director of the agency, we know that we don't have another option.

We live in an old house. We knew that certain things needed to be done before we could get certified. We've been working on getting these things done for a long time. Well, we were told last week that WAY more than expected has to be done. Like 10-20 grand more.

In the last 3 weeks we have found out that we aren't "updating" our roof, we are now replacing the entire thing. We aren't just putting new floors down, we are replacing the subfloor and fixing the foundation. We aren't hanging 2 new doors, we are ripping out the trim of 4 and replacing them all. The bathroom reno we've been doing? It's on hold until the floor is fixed.

After talking to the director and praying over the situation we have decided its best to wait until the next session to get certified. We can't pass certification without all of these things done.

Now I'm going to go cry some more.

Tyler's vlog

2011-09-02T13:05:00.001-05:00

I convinced him. Ha! A few things. You know I have to give a disclaimer! Haha!
First, he literally just woke up. As in, he popped out of bed and I said "you wanna do a vlog? Brad did it! You have to!" haha! Second, I don't think his accent shows very well. But it's still funny. Third, this is his second try. Because sometimes he has a potty mouth. And last, it's ridiculous.

YouTube Video

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Accent Vlog time, yo

2011-09-02T10:43:00.005-05:00

Hi y'all! Long time, no see! Ive got to get our vacation pictures up here, but am still sorting through them! We had a blast, though! For now, I'm going to do the accent vlog that is going around. Jenna has it all on her blog, so go over there to see everyone else's!

Word of warning. Ive got a cold and it's early. I look and sound rough! Also, I just recorded and uploaded, so Im acting a fool in part. Haha! No editing. Obviously. Please forgive me. :) And I say umm. a lot.

YouTube Video

The instructions are to say these words:
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

And answer these questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

What do you call gym shoes?

What do you say to address a group of people?

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

What do you call your grandparents?

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

And I totally just realized I forgot to say "sure" oops!

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My Baby Brother is 22.

2011-08-09T23:39:00.000-05:00

I honestly cannot believe we are adults. Real adults. Pay your own way, make your own decisions, adults. Scary.

We had Matthew's birthday lunch at my Mom's yesterday after church. Tyler had to leave straight from church and head to work, so he missed out on the fun! But I took him steak and cake, so he was a happy camper!

Mom, Matthew and I. This picture proves that I'm the "future soccer mom" of the group. She's in a shirt from the juniors department, he's wearing skinny jeans. I'm in printed shorts. ha!

Mimi, Matthew and Papaw

Matthew and Danielle

My mom is so funny and made Matthew do a scavenger hunt for his birthday gifts. His girlfriend and I were dying laughing. He wouldn't ever tell her what he wanted, so she got mad that she couldn't watch him open presents! So she went this route. Best decision ever.

Hint #1 Rhymes with Slant.

Hint #2 Check your email.

The poor kid had to check 3 computers before he realized there was a gift card IN mom's laptop. ha!

Hint #3 They tried to make her go to Rehab, but she said no, no, no.

This was the hardest. It was hidden in the People magazine about Amy Winehouse's death. (still sad about that)

Hint #4 I honestly can't remember this hint... it had something to do with popsicles. ha!

Hint #5 Queen of Hearts

It was fun watching my brother being forced to play Mom's silly games. I love silly games and I will SO be that mom!

I made his birthday cake because my mom was going to get a box cake and canned icing. I admit I am a snob. Not so much against boxed cake, but I HATE storebought icing! Especially when it's so easy to make fresh buttercream. Yum! I loved his cake, but thought it might be a little girly. He said he loved it, so I was happy!

he was proud that he got all of his candles at once.

Happy birthday, Matthew! You might make me want to pull my hair out, but I sure do love you!

Home Management Notebook

2011-08-04T10:29:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Erin posted a home organization notebook. I have seen a few of these floating around pinterest and have been planning to make something like this for awhile. The ideas I had really weren't near as productive as this one little notebook, though. It has really been such a life saver! I know that sounds silly, but it really is wonderful. And you should make one. I already had a few of my printables saved from when I first started to get organized, so I am not sure where they all came from. But a lot of them I found through good old fashioned googling. Then when Erin posted her notebook she had a TON of printable sites to go a long with it.

I'm cheap, so I didn't want to buy a new binder. And I couldn't find one I liked. I'm still on the lookout for something I love, but I did want to make it look pretty and not just like the rest of my binders from school!

My first page is a weekly planner. All I have on here is my cleaning schedule, simple to do lists and specific prayer requests I want to focus on for the week. I actually have had this printable on my fridge for awhile, but I have used it differently than I am in the notebook. I love it because of the verse along the bottom and the prayer spot. I believe I got this from Jones Design Company.

This page breaks down cleaning weekly by room and also has daily and monthly tasks on it. I love this page.

My first tab is the "Niki" tab. Last week my trainer wrote a blog post about needing to keep track of your workouts. So I found this printable and have just begun using it. This tab also has my Junior League info!

The next tab is my "Food" tab. I have used this particular meal planner for a few months, too. Megan wrote about meal planning months back and linked to this printable. I love this. Also, I didn't have a grocery list this week because my mom randomly called and said she wanted to take me grocery shopping and I hadn't had time to meal plan.Yea, that's an unexpected blessing. :)

This tab also has some of my favorite recipes printed off in it. I also have a recipe binder. I put just a few of the recipes I make frequently in here.

The next tab is the finance tab. I added our budget and the bill paying schedule.

My fourth tab is home/auto.

The last tab is our CALL tab. It is housing all of our foster information. Like our fingerprinting info. :) I don't think most people are excited to go get fingerprinted, but when I got this email I was so excited to have another step to move on to!

I've also got our CALL folder in the back full of our paperwork yet to be done. I have a separate file for everything already completed.

I can see that I will definitely be adding to this as the time goes on, but for now these 5 simple tabs are perfect for our family! I am going to get a few pocket tabs for coupons and bills. Now go make your own and link up over at Blue Eyed Bride!

The Most Boring Blog Post Ever

2011-08-02T16:35:00.000-05:00

Do you have a great cleaning schedule? I need it. This is possibly the most boring blog post you will ever read.

We spent the weekend in Oklahoma with family so I have been playing catch up the past two days. All I can think about is whether or not there is a more efficient way to get my cleaning done. I'd love to hear how you do it. Do you do all your dusting on one day or do a different room each day? I usually do Kitchen/Dining one day, living room and bathrooms one day and bedrooms one day. Do you do laundry all at once or a little each day? Split it up by people in the house or do everyone's together?

Also, I'd love to know your favorite cleaning supplies! I used to make my own laundry detergent until I started having allergic reactions to everything and switched to All Free and Clear. I use 7th generation or Mrs. Meyers sprays and soaps.

If you will, lovely blog readers, please let me know your secrets!

The First of Many

2011-08-01T12:53:00.000-05:00

I am not usually someone who freaks out over the small stuff. I really try not to worry about things that are out of my control. In other words. I am SO not Type A.

So this morning may have freaked T out just a bit when I panicked over not being able to find a folder. I have never in my life panicked like I did today. This particular folder is always in the same spot. But we are flip-flopping some things around and it apparently found a new home. This folder happens to have ALL of our C.A.L.L. and DHS stuff in it. I can't really explain the amount of paperwork I thought I had lost. Months of filling out forms. Our birth certificates. Insurance information and OUR MARRIAGE LICENSE.

At one point I ended up in the floor of our bedroom sitting in a meditation position breathing deeply, counting to ten and praying. I was praying over a folder. But after I got up from my self induced calm-down-you-are-legitimately-freaking-out-your-husband session, I got back up and began to look again. And I found it. Everything. It had just fallen behind something else.

Then I posted to twitter. ;) And my sweet friend Kim "reassured" me that this would be the first of many panic attacks I have during this process. Kim was one of the first to find out we were doing this. She has 2 adorable miracle boys. One by the blessing of adoption and one by the blessing of biology. Both equally and perfectly hers. She is seriously such a blessing to me. I have asked her multiple questions and she has been so wonderful and patient answering them all. I told Kim I needed to mark this day in the calendar as one of our "firsts" during this season. She suggested I start a journal. Pretty perfect since I just bought a new composition book last week. It has a new duty.

Now that I have gotten this first panic session out of the way, we'll wait for the many more to come. For today, I am going to organize and print off the rest of the forms we have. Hopefully not too many to give me carpal tunnel.

The first is always the hardest, right? :)

Shreveport Weekend

2011-07-24T21:17:00.002-05:00

I have tried to blog a few times, but blogger hates me and decides to not allow it! So I'm trying again! I have quite a few things to update, so hopefully the ol' blog with allow it! Also... warning... A LOT of pictures in this post!

A few weekends ago we went to Shreveport, LA for one of T's best friend's wedding. Greg was a groomsman in our wedding and married the sweetest girl ever, Carly! I'm going to be completely honest and let y'all know that I was NOT looking forward to this weekend. We were going to be gone 3 days and I really only knew Greg, Tyler and Matt another groomsman (who was also my senior prom date. haha!). I also had met a few other people, but for the most part, I was looking at a weekend of knowing no one and my husband being busy the whole time with wedding festivities. But what it ended up was SO much better! I had such a good time and got to make a few new friends and reconnect with a few old friends.

Greg and Carly's rehearsal dinner was at a steakhouse (umm yea, I'm a vegetarian, probably one of the reasons I wasn't looking forward to the weekend) and it ended up being really good! The folks at our table were super fun and we honestly laughed the entire time. The highlight of the night was most definitely when Greg's dad kissed the guy sitting next to me... on the lips... and it was caught on camera. I. About. Died. It was just ridiculously funny.

(T, Greg and Matt)

On Saturday all the boys had a get together for a cookout and all that means to me is that I got free time to shop! Ha! I actually didn't get a whole lot for me, but got quite a few things for our neices who are due this fall! I love outlet shopping :)

(I really didn't have a choice on whether or not to buy these. I told my SIL that I get the good twin. haha!)

Saturday night was wedding night and it was eventful from beginning to end. Seriously. I sat in the balcony and could see T fidgeting from the get go! At first it was driving me nuts, because everyone else was still, but I quickly realized he was the one making the good decision - locked knees are no bueno. Carly looked absolutely beautiful and they got married in a gorgeous building! I believe it is called the Scottish Rite Temple. But I could totally be wrong. haha! As they started the ceremony everyone in the balcony notices Mike (groom's dad, also best man) start to sway. The boys had been joking all day with the pastor that if he started to sway it was a sign to hurry on up! So the pastor kind of made a joke and Matt stood Mike back up. Unfortunately it totally wasn't a joke. After that first sway, he completely lost it and passed out! It was so scary! Greg, Matt and Tyler picked him up and took him out of the room and all I hear is Tyler yelling at everyone to lay him down. Apparently he had also stopped breathing. After they laid him down he started breathing again and they got the show back on the road. It was seriously bizarre and I was nervous for awhile!

The reception was in the same building as the ceremony which is quite convenient. ha! We were all dolled up and got to chat with some people that I haven't seen in years all night. My favorite was quite possibly Greg's grooms cake. So stinkin' cute! Greg went to Arkansas, but grew up in Shreveport.

Dr. and Mrs. Kintzing!

(I love these three!)

(groom's sister, Sidney)

(this is for real my favorite picture from the whole weekend. Hilarious. They really are best friends, Matt was the best man in our wedding. But this is totally my husband "punching" my prom date.)

(See... they love each other)

(Matt and Carly)

Just for kicks... this is apparently my "disapproving" face. :) I was telling T that he had to drink more water and he started snapping photos. And then Matt said. Oh wow, we have to take her home, now! haha! Needless to say, the sober girl went back to the hotel while the wedding party went to a bar around the corner from where we were staying. I'm not a night owl, anyway. ;)

And I am only sharing this super blurry picture so I can tell you how ridiculous the evening ended. This is one of the groom's friends from high school. He was at our table at the rehearsal dinner, so we got to chat quite a bit over the two days. He's hilarious and lives in China. See the random dude in the background? He's also one of Greg's friends from high school. We know him from college. We aren't fans. But shortly after Tyler took this picture of Chatham and I, Will sat down and chunked a FULL water bottle across the table at him.Out of nowhere. It almost hit me. And it did end up cutting a gash in Chatham's head!!! I was in disbelief and was pretty convinced all of the (~~slightly~~ umm very intoxicated) men at the table were about to jump Will. It was insane!! And we ended our night trying to convince him to leave the party without us calling the police on him.

All in all, we did have a great weekend! And are already planning a few more trips to visit.

Instagram

2011-06-27T11:22:00.001-05:00

Do you guys use instagram? I absolutely love it! It is definitely my second most used app, after twittelator, of course! Ha!

Here are a few of my favorites from the last few weeks!

{my youngest Godson sound asleep in my car. Love this boy}

{dinner straight from my Papaw's garden}

{cupcakes I took to the ER}

{my oldest Godson's bible, all bookmarked by him. Love.}

{dogs before bath day}

{veggies at the market!}

{welcomed us to Louisiana!}

{all dolled up for the Kintzing wedding}

{apparently this is one of my disapproving looks. Haha!}

{showing off his guns}

{I have a slight addiction}

{my other addiction}

The end. For now. ;)

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-21T22:50:00.000-05:00

We had such a wonderful Father's Day this year. We got to spend it with lots of people we love and felt so blessed! We started out the day with our church family, which was just perfect, as always. After church, we basically didn't say bye to anyone (I felt a little rude! Sorry, Jill!) but we had to get to a town about an hour from church and we had roughly 45 minutes to do so. Obviously we were a little late, but our family still forgave us! ha!

My great uncle passed away this week, so all of our family was in town for the funeral. My grandmother decided to have a Father's Day get together while everyone was still here. And just for the record, Uncle Roe was very sick. He had cancer all over and took himself off chemo and radiation about 2 months ago. We all knew this day was coming (still miss him) but we know he is in a much better place and are at peace about it.

Back to Father's Day. There are a few people in this picture who I had only met once, briefly, until the Memorial on Friday morning. I really wish everyone lived closer because I have some hilarious family! We really did have a good time. My great grandmother was BEAMING having all of her grandkids and great grandkids (well, there's only 2 greats here, Matthew wasn't able to get off work. And momma worked too. So they were short a grandkid, too) all under one roof. She was obviously missing her son, but was so grateful to see everyone laughing, having fun and loving each other. She is 93 years old and has more spunk than you can imagine! My cousin (or 2nd cousin, I think) was able to fly home from Iraq for his dad's funeral. He is in special forces and pretty much has to go back immediately, but it was wonderful to get to see him face to face and let him know that we are praying for him. I'm used to just texting or facebooking the boy!

{The family minus Mom and Matthew}

{my second cousin and his daughter. They were smelling flowers she picked! So sweet!}

After we left this side of the family, we headed back towards home to see Tyler's dad, stepmom and our sisters in law. I love these people. I think I say that every time I post about them, but they are just wonderful. I don't really know what we would do without them! Amanda and Sarah are the ones expecting twins and found out last week that both are girls!! SO excited to have two nieces! I love them already! A brought fabric swatches from the nursery over to let us check it all out. It is going to be SO cute! And we all decided that Marsha and Tony will forever be known as Grum and Poppy. I like their grandparent names. :)

We also hadn't gotten together to celebrate my birthday yet and apparently they decided to do that the same day! ha! So I got to wear a fancy-schmancy "Birthday Princess" sash. Which I did with great honor. lol

{Amanda and Sarah, and the twins!}

{excited for cookie cake}

{my father in law, Tony... to be forever known as Poppy}

{Tyler playing a silly dollar store game.}

{yum!}

{Max got caught. He was helping.}

{my love and me}

The best granola bars ever.

2011-06-20T20:28:00.001-05:00

Tyler and I love granola bars. They are seriously one of our favorite snacks! I have a few recipes I use, but wanted to post our favorite. If I need to, I'll do a step by step picture post. ;)

{packaging time!}

I use the recipe from Make and Takes. If you haven't ever checked that site out, I highly recommend it! We've gotten some of our favorite recipes from there.

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

2 1/2 c. Oats – quick rolled oats
1/2 c. Rice Krispies
1/4 c. coconut
1/2 c. M&M minis
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Add all of the ingredients and mix together until combined. Press into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars. Let it set completely and then cut into bars.

Package in parchment paper rolled up and twisted on the ends or sealed with a sticker or in a Tupperware container if you don't have to take them anywhere!

I skip the coconut, use chocolate chips instead of m&ms and add a little bit of wheatgerm. I also use agave nectar sometimes if I have it on hand!

You should definitely try them! They are sooooo good!

{all packaged up for the week!}

Worst Manicure Ever.

2011-06-20T11:55:00.001-05:00

I had a groupon for a 90-minute spa manicure and pedicure. It was about 1/2 off so I thought it would be a great deal! Never in my life have I been more wrong. It expired on the 1st, I had called the salon 6 or 7 times in the weeks leading up to try and get an appointment. I never got an answer and I never got a call back. I should've just given up. I finally got them to answer the day before and thought I was lucky to get an appointment.

When I got there Tuesday, I was told that I was lucky to get an appointment because a girl had cancelled. Yay me! Or not. Right about the time I sat down a girl comes in saying her appointment was at that time. Apparently the morons who run the place cancelled the wrong appointment. They argued with the poor girl and she finally stormed out. I felt so bad! I know it wasn't my fault, but I had totally stolen homegirl's mani/pedi. She lucked out.

Okay so on to the REALLY awkward part of our story. I sat down and the woman doing my nails immediately says "well, I just need my husband to decide if we're having biological kids or adopting." What the heck?! Kids had never been mentioned! She then complimented my engagement ring, I said thank you and she straight up shoved her ring in my face and goes "look at mine! Isn't it beautiful?!" It wasn't. At this point she gets to talking about the girl who's appointment I had obviously stolen and isn't paying attention to her job. She CUT me. I reacted and all she said was oops. Then she continues talking and cuts me again! That time I said a dirty word and she told me it would be okay, it was because my cuticles were dry and she'd put more oil on them. Girl is a nutjob. But after that she started to pay attention to me a little better. I would've rather gotten 234 more cuts than listen to the rest of this girls story.

As she's continuing the "manicure" she tells me that she's 46, been married 2 years and already has 24 and 19 year old daughters. Her husband wants kids of his own and they are trying to decide between IVF and adoption. Then she proceeds to tell me she has endometriosis and doesn't know if her body could handle another pregnancy. THEN she tells me she's "cut, tied and burned." Also, she's on her "monthly" in case you were wondering.

Pedicure time. At this point I just want to hide from her and give myself a pedicure. Unfortunately, the pedicure chair is in a secluded area of the salon so it's just she and I. Obviously this means it's time to divulge her life story.

They are also looking into surrogacy or getting a donor egg (let's not forget she's cut, tied and burned. I was definitely reminded). They've found a potential match. At this point, a friend calls who I haven't talked to in about 4 months and against my better judgment, I told him I was busy and would have to call back. Big mistake because then I found out that the donor is red headed like her, but is a little chunky (ummm, sister, do you not see the chunk sitting in front of you??) but just because she's chunky doesn't mean the baby will be. No lie, she said those exact words. The surrogacy story goes on for entirely too long and then she tells me her husband gets pissed because she's on her "monthly" so often and can't have sex. She's been bleeding for 4 weeks. Yep. I know this now. You're welcome. THEN she tells me how cute her husband is. And that if I ever met him, I would never know he use to be addicted to speed because of how handsome he is. I'm pretty sure she took over the addiction in that family.

All of this goes on for the entire 90 minutes. I heard the phrase "cut, tied and burned" no less than 15 times and was informed about her "monthly" 7 times. I was ready to run out of there screaming at the end. But I held it all together. Even after she handed me business cards to give to my friends. Haha!

Fast forward to Wednesday night (ya know, the night after my mani/pedi). I'm sitting in the hospital delivery room with a friend waiting to have her baby and I picked up a bag and two fingernails were stripped of their polish. It literally peeled off. In one solid sheet. By the next morning 5 fingers were missing polish. I will never in my life go back!

Hope you enjoyed my misery! ;)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

FAQ's

2011-06-18T22:00:00.001-05:00

So many kind words on here and twitter. I can't thank you enough for your thoughts and prayers. They seriously mean the world to us.

I figured since I made this huge announcement, I should just go ahead and answer the most commonly asked questions. I am sure I will be asked them a million times once the shock wears off and might as well have it done! ;)

What age are you adopting?

We are signed up to foster up to age 5 and adopt up to age 3. We honestly don't feel like we can handle much older. We are 26 and feel like those are the ages we are comfortable with.

Does race matter?

Not. At. All.

How many?

One or two at a time. Most likely just one.

Where will they sleep?

We get this one most often from people we know in real life. We have a fairly small three bedroom house. One room is our master, one is my art room and one is the office. They will go in the office. In the next few months the office will be getting a nice renovation to make it a gender neutral nursery/child's bedroom. We were given a crib and will get a twin bed if we have older children placed. The office/art room will be downsized dramatically and will join in one room.

Are you going to make them be vegetarian?

This one tickles me. Of course not. I wouldn't force vegetarianism on anyone. It's a personal choice.

Are you having trouble getting pregnant?

This one is possibly the most annoying and its also the most frequently asked. The first few times it didn't bother me a bit, but then it just got old. So simply answered, no. More in depth and perhaps TMI answered, we've never "tried."

Are you going to have biological children?

Usually this one is worded "your own" children. It bugs me too. Any child that lives in my home will be mine. If they are permanently here or only here until their parents get straightened out, I will love them as my own. I have to. It wouldn't be fair otherwise.

As for the biological child part. Yes, if the Lord says so. We have always said we would start trying this summer. Those plans haven't changed. But, we know that it is completely in God's hands and we are fully trusting him. If we only have foster and adoptive children, then so be it. But if he chooses to bless us with biological children, we'd love that too. They all need the love. :)

Are you prepared? It won't be easy.

This one makes me laugh. Seriously. NO we aren't fully prepared! YES we know this will be the most difficult journey we have EVER been on! But, I firmly believe no one is ever fully prepared for parenthood. Really. You may think you are, but until you experience in your own little world, you won't know. And I know that with God's blessing we'll get through it. And will be better for it in the end!

What is your timeline?

We started this process on May 16th, 2011. We will have our training in September and will hopefully have a child placed in our home fairly soon after that. Then, its a waiting game. Totally and completely. In 70% of fostering situations the goal is reunification with the biological parents. So, we may get a child in that 70% or one in the other 30% that would more than likely be up for adoption faster. Again, it's all in God's hands.

You all would not believe the amount of paperwork we have done and still have to do. I swear this world would be a better place if all parents had to go through what foster/adoptive parents do!

Once last thing, this internet is one of the best creations ever. I have "met" the best foster and adoptive parents on twitter and blogs. I don't know what I would have done without them! I have asked SO many questions and I KNOW I will be asking so many more. They probably regret giving me their email! haha! They are always so open and honest. No sugar coating, but still so very supportive. You know who you are and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The rest of you internet friends are pretty darn awesome too. I have found the most wonderful support system and am so very grateful.

Love you all.

I'm back... with news.

2011-06-17T22:21:00.003-05:00

About a month ago, actually it was May 16th, the day before our 3 year anniversary, I asked all of my friends on twitter to pray for Tyler and I. We had a very important meeting. This meeting was going to help us decide which direction we were taking our lives. This meeting was about adoption. More importantly about the foster and adoption program in our state.

We have been praying and discussing for a long time about adoption. We have always planned to adopt. It was talked about before we were engaged. I've wanted to adopt since before we were even dating. Tyler is adopted and he has also always had the "tug" to do the same. But in the last year, specifically the last few months, the "tug" was no longer something we could ignore. I literally cry every single time I hear or read about an adoption. Every. Single. Time. I knew this was God telling me something. We had quite a few other "signs" during this time that confirmed that we were headed in the right direction. Then fostering was laid on our hearts. I don't know when, how or why, but it was definite. And all of a sudden.

I told a few friends what our meeting was about. I wanted specific prayers from a few close friends, but didn't want everyone to know in case we went in a different direction. I guess I didn't want to let people down. If that makes any sense? During our meeting I heard SO much that confirmed what we thought we knew. So much told us we were heading down the path the Lord had led us on. I stepped out during one of the breaks we had to text one of the girls who knew the whole story. I'm so glad I did because there is so much from that day I don't remember. I said "Just heard 'foster children need Jesus in skin.' and it brought me to tears. Most definitely in the right place for us. I want nothing more than to love a child in need and show them all of Jesus' love!" I am crying just reliving that moment and those words. It struck a chord and made us seriously consider fostering along with adoption. More proof that God had out of nowhere placed fostering on our hearts.

That whole long story to say... We have officially started the process to foster and (hopefully!) adopt children in need in our area. There are so many children who need someone to love them. They need a place to call home. We want to be that home.

Thank you all for your sweet prayers for our family, they are much appreciated and would love it if you would continue to pray for us. This is a long and emotional journey we've just begun.

“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” Matthew 18:5

Dallas Trip!

2011-05-03T20:18:00.001-05:00

I just got back from a fantastic weekend in Dallas with Whitney and Leah! We had a really good time hanging out together and getting to know each other more!

Leah and I drove to Whitney's Friday morning and went to meet Sarah for lunch. We ate a super yummy place in town and I was so excited! Sarah is very sweet and the food was delicious!

{Sarah, Leah, me and Whitney)

After lunch we headed to Dallas and seriously did not stop talking the entire time! I love these girls and it was so wonderful to hang out in person! It feels like I have known them both for years. And neither of them were crazy stalker middle aged men... always a plus. ha!

Friday night we went to dinner at a tex mex place. Honestly, it wasn't good food and the service wasn't great. I got avocado enchiladas and pretty much just ate the avocado out of the middle. Whitney said her food wasn't good either and had about three bites. Leah just got cheesedip... and we all shared that. We spent less than $25 there between the three of us that night! Since we all drank water, I'd say we did pretty good being three girls on a budget! Our hubby's will be proud! We did end up leaving a rather large tip, because we were asked to, but that was no big deal :)

(Whitney, Angie, me, Leah)

We left a little early because we decided we wanted to see a movie. And the cigarette smoke coming in was disgusting. The movie we saw was Soul Surfer. We went to a late show and maybe that was the issue, but none of us were just overly impressed with it! I was expecting so much more! Everyone had given it rave reviews! We still had fun though.

We woke up Saturday morning and Becky came to meet us at our hotel! Can I just say how much I love this girl?! She is adorable and oh so sweet. We went to brunch at Breadwinners Cafe. And oh my word... it was delicious! Whitney and I both got the Santa Fe scramble. Eggs, cheese, black beans, salsa, and sour cream... can you say a heaven?! And it came with brunch potatoes, delish!!

(Leah and Whitney)

(Becky and I)

After brunch we left to head to Sprinkles!! I am a girl who loves cupcakes... ya know I am the baker. ha!

(this picture cracks me up.. we were getting some funny looks! But a bloggers gotta do what a bloggers gotta do! Haha!)

From Sprinkles we headed to Northpark Mall. In other words... we went to spend money. :) Northpark has my absolute favorite store ever. The Paper Source is seriously my version of heaven. I have quite the ridiculous obsession! I got some really cute cards, paper, and a few little gifts. I seriously could have spent every penny I had in that store. I love it!!

(Becky in my version of Heaven!)

We split up from the big group Saturday night to go have dinner with a few other DFW locals. We went to a delicious place called MoMo's. It was SO good! We had the best time laughing and chatting with these ladies!

{Britni and Jenn are in front and Leah, Whitney, Ashley and I are in back)

On the way home Sunday, we stopped in Allen to check out the outlet malls. The three of us ended up having to step into the Columbia store to buy jackets! It was so very cold and all we had was light cardigans. We found a fleece on clearance for $15! And its red, so it is great for Razorback games! We did look silly all walking around the mall in matching jackets! ha!

Brad, Whitney's husband, had offered to feed Leah and I before we headed back to central Arkansas, but got news of some really bad flooding. I was actually told the street heading into my neighborhood was closed! We got worried and decided to skip dinner and head straight home! We got home safe and sound, but were very worried for awhile!

On that note, please keep all of the south in your prayers, with the tornadoes, storms and now flooding, we are just devastated. We have to get a new roof, but feel so very blessed that is the only thing we are dealing with!!

** I borrowed a good number of these pictures from Whitney's blog! I somehow did not take any during dinner either day! Crazy, considering I had my camera the entire time.**

Prayer

2011-04-28T06:48:00.000-05:00

I've prayed my entire life, but I never feel like I am good at prayer. Does that make sense? I always feel like there is a super secret way to pray that I don't know about. Don't get me wrong, I still pray, continuously, but half the time I just feel silly. I mean, do I pray out loud, on my knees, hands folded, quietly to myself? I know God listens no matter what, but its still probably one of the only things in my life that I am overly critical. I think we all struggle to be the perfect Christian/wife/woman/sister/friend/mom and this is (for now) my biggest struggle. I know as I work to fulfill all of those roles I will have many more struggles come along. I think the reason I am self critical is because we did not really pray out loud when I was young. We prayed at dinner, but I can't remember praying before bed, etc. I really hope once we have kids, we teach them otherwise. Perhaps this is why I battle this now, so that I will hopefully pray the best way that I am comfortable with when my children get here.

That being said, I have been in prayer constantly for the past few weeks. First about a major change that may happen in our lives and now about the entire south. Have you seen the videos and pictures coming out of Alabama last night? It's horrifying and heartbreaking. I prayed all night long. I woke up praying. If you haven't seen or heard the devastation, first of all you are probably living under a rock, but second of all you really need to look it up and immediately start praying, no matter how, about the people in the south, particularly Alabama, they've lost 58 lives as of now.

As for the change, please keep us in your prayers as we navigate new waters and try our best to listen to where the Lord is leading us. I'll share more as we know more. Thank you.

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you." Psalm 5:11

Wordless Wednesday {well, almost}

2011-04-27T10:36:00.001-05:00

He's going to kill me for posting this ;)

Also, please pray for our state....

(Romance, AR)

(Vilonia, AR)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Come Awake, Come Awake!

2011-04-23T21:47:00.000-05:00

I have been singing this song all day. I think it is my my new favorite Easter song! Listen to the chorus, it's such truth and it is wonderful!!

And this is Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill singing at the AMC Girl's Night Out. I had tears, chills and was praising Jesus watching this. It's beautiful.

Happy Easter, friends!!

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 30 - something you've learned}

2011-04-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

I'm almost 26 years old. There is a lot that I have learned. I know there is a lot more for me to learn, and I am always open to learn new things. But I think the most important thing I have learned is to love. I have learned that it is important to love everything and everyone. It's probably why I don't eat meat because I see a chicken and think how much I love that little chicken and couldn't bare to eat it. ;)

These are some of my favorite verses. I got a few of these from Meme's funeral. She taught Tyler and the rest of his family to love, also. And she loved unconditionally. She loved me from the moment we met. And I knew it.

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

"Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people" Philemon 7 (this was on our wedding invitations)

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18

"My beloved is mine and I am his" Song of Solomon 2:16

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." John 15:13

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Weekend Recap

2011-04-18T07:50:00.002-05:00

This past week we had some pretty terrible storms in our town. Our house is okay, we have some roof damage and a few limbs down, but other than that, nothing major. We lost power for about 4 hours. Saturday before we headed to England for Meme's funeral, I asked Tyler to drive around our neighborhood to see some damage my mom had told me about. I was in awe of what "straight line winds" could do to our little area.

We spent the rest of the day celebrating Meme's life on this earth with family. It was a beautiful service and we felt very blessed to have the love and support of so many people. We were very worried that it was going to be a difficult day with the family, but they all behaved pretty well. After the funeral, we went to help Tyler's uncle unload the flowers at his house then went with him to see T's great aunt Hazel. She is in her 90's, blind, almost deaf, with the best sense of humor ever. I have no doubt in my mind why she and Meme were such great friends.

When we left the family for the day, we headed home to take a little nap then went to our sisters-in-laws birthday party. Amanda is 31 and Sarah is 30 and they share a birthday! How fun! When we pulled up to the restuarant I realized one of my best friends, who I haven't seen in about 4 months was working! Even better, she was working the party room. So I got to not only see my family, but got to have a great talk with Laura. I may have done a happy dance when I saw her car parked outside. :)

Today we went to church and were so very blessed. The man who preached this morning happened to make it to the funeral to support us yesterday. He preached on being welcome and being loved. He read the back of Meme's memorial service program to the entire church and said that he could tell she was a wonderful, loving, fun woman. He never met her and I am so glad he got a sense of who she was just by being there yesterday.

After church we had lunch with some friends at El Chico. Yum! Then we went to Wildwood Park's "Bloom" festival. Ashley tweeted about it this morning and I am so glad she did because we loved it. And I even got to meet her and her sweet family in person!

We participated in a cupcake walk... But Tyler made it a cupcake dance. ;)

He's got mad skillz.

We ended the weekend by going to see my grandparents and check out their garden progress. :)

I am really hoping this coming week is way less eventful than this past one!

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 29 - a picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life lately}

2011-04-17T22:15:00.000-05:00

So many options. But, because this has the word "recently," I'm going with the most recent change in my life.

Last fall we started the hunt for a new church. The church we were going to was just too big and too far from home. Tyler works a lot of Sundays and I just wasn't enjoying or going on a regular basis. I was uncomfortable going to a large church by myself. That church had about 6000 members. Journey has about 20. I found Journey doing a google search of churches in my area and realized that I thought I knew the pastor's wife through blogging. I guess I didn't know her, but I had read her blog! I emailed and asked a lot of questions and Jill was great answering every. single. one. We visited multiple churches last fall and kept being pulled back to JC. I now know why. They are a family. And now we are part of that family. I love seeing these people twice a week. I love that we are a small church. I love that SO much of our study is biblically based. I love that I have been challenged to growing closer to the Lord. But most of all, I love that I have grown closer to my husband. Don't get me wrong, we've always been close. But forcing us both to grow closer to God has made us pull closer together. I love Journey Church and they have impacted my life more than I could've ever imagined.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 28 - someone that inspires you}

2011-04-16T23:30:00.000-05:00

I have so many people who inspire me, but I'm sticking with three, otherwise this post could get pretty wordy.

My Mama

She is a fantastic mother. She is a very strong woman and has raised me to be the same. I appreciate her more than words can express and really am inspired to be as strong as she is.

My Mimi

She is my mom's mom and I'm her favorite grandkid. She'll tell you that too. :) She is also a very strong woman and has helped to guide me through life and make me the woman I am today.

Tyler's MeMe

This is Tyler's Meme. She inspires me because of who Tyler is. She really helped make him the wonderful man that he is. She was a classic southern woman. She was an amazing, crazy (in a good way), super fun little old lady. I am so very blessed to have known her. And I am so blessed that she raised the man I love. Thank you all for praying for us during this time. We love you and miss you, Meme.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 27 - Something you would like to do before you die}

2011-04-15T08:00:00.007-05:00

This is a hard post to write... because I feel like there is a lot I'd like to do before I die. I want to be a momma, I want to graduate college, I want to live outside the state of Arkansas. Recently, I decided I want to skydive. Don't know why, it terrifies me! I want to learn to surf. And I want to spend as much time with the people I love as I can.

Tyler and I recently made an "age 30" bucket list. It really isn't much, but we want to visit all 50 states by the time we're 30. We are pretty close!

And sorry I don't a picture for this post... I don't really know what kind of photo I would put!

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 26 - Favorite Books}

2011-04-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

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Same as yesterday, I know there are sooo many more! I love reading, but these are books I can read over and over!

Wordless Wednesday...

2011-04-13T07:23:00.000-05:00

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 25 - your favorite movies}

2011-04-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

I don't even know how to start naming my favorite movies. Seriously... I 'm going in no particular order!

I know there are lots more... but I can't think of them right now!

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 24 - A picture of your favorite band or artist}

2011-04-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

I don't think it is a surprise to anyone who's ever read my blog that I love Hanson. Old and new. I know (and sing frequently) every word to Mmmbop and I am not afraid to admit it!

Old School:

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New school

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Well Livin' Hell

2011-04-11T23:25:00.001-05:00

I want to thank you for praying for Tyler's Meme the past few days. She went to be with Jesus about 10:30 tonight. It has been a very difficult time for us. Meme is the woman who basically raised Tyler, especially after his mom got sick. He was her favorite. And she would've told you that. Everybody knows it.

There is no doubt in my mind that Heaven threw a party welcoming her in. Also, I guarantee she is telling Jesus dirty jokes. For real, y'all. The woman told jokes I wouldn't even repeat to my mama! I hope that she is up there having a dance party with Jesus, because that is absolutely what she would want!

We miss her so very much already. She was an amazing woman and I truly am blessed to have known her.

I can't thank you enough or tell you how much all of your comments/tweets/texts/emails have meant to us over the last few days. Tyler hasn't even complained when my phone went off because he knew more than likely it was another person telling us they were thinking about and praying for us. We truly have felt covered in prayer. It's a wonderful feeling.

PS Livin' Hell was "her phrase." Pretty sure its the first thing I ever heard her say and it was imprinted on her 80th birthday napkins. It means Meme to us.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 23 - a picture of your biggest insecurity}

2011-04-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

I despise my arms. Hate them. I can't seem to ever work them out enough! Ignore the goofiness of this picture, its the only one I could find that I hadn't cut my arms out of! ha!

Black Heels and Plenty of Tears

2011-04-10T20:14:00.000-05:00

Saturday started out as a great day, Tyler was actually of work, which is very rare for a Saturday. His birthday was the last Saturday he had off and I can't remember the last time before that.

I found out late last week that The Pioneer Woman was going to be in town doing a session for the Arkansas Literary Festival and I was SO excited to get to see her in person. And I even got to meet her and have her sign my copy of Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. Yay!

See how excited he is! Bless him. He's such a wonderful man to go with me!

Yep, that's PW and me!

(and I can't get this turned right, it is fine on my computer, but refuses to be right in the blog!)

But this is PDub's signature in my book!!

After we left the library, we walked around our beautiful downtown and then headed to Tyler's favorite place to lunch. Then it was time for some frozen yogurt at the new place in town! It was good, but I've had better. :)

After the frozen yogurt festivities we headed to Home Depot to look at wood and decide what we needed for Tyler to make me a coffee table. And this is where our day went down hill and never went back up.

Tyler's cousin called and told us his grandmother had a heart attack and we needed to get up to the hospital, needless to say we dropped everything and headed up there.We spent hours at the hospital visiting her and trying to tame the family. I know that sounds awful, but that truly is what it seems like to me sometimes. It was an incredibly emotional day and we were at the hospital from about 4-10. We went out to the {gorgeous} garden area our hospital has and talked and prayed on our own for about an hour or 2. As sad as we were, it was wonderful time to get to work through our thoughts and emotions together.

We went to church this morning and I am really glad we did. About 1/2 way through the sermon we got a text telling us that Meme had an EEG done and had significant brain damage which probably means she also had a stroke sometime yesterday. I was okay for a little while, but I eventually completely lost it. I broke down. I tried so hard to be strong for Tyler yesterday and didn't cry much and apparently that caught up with me when I found out about the brain issues. As soon as Tyler saw me tearing up, tears ran down his face, too. I'm telling you all of this to tell you how amazing our church family really is. They all hugged us, offered to help in any way they can and prayed over us before we left. And they assured us that they loved us and we could call them for anything. I cannot put into words how much this means to both of us. This afternoon when we were in Meme's room loving on her and talking to each other, Tyler looked at me and said "I really love our church people." I've said this for a long time, but this is the first time I realized how much they mean to both of us.

JC - if any of you are reading this, please know how much we love you and how much we appreciate each of you. You all mean the world to us. We are so blessed to have found you.

I've also been updating on twitter and need to thank all of my twitter people. You all have been a wonderful support system. I can't imagine going through this without you. And anyone who doesn't tweet probably thinks I am crazy for talking about you all like this, but its for real. You guys are great.

We would appreciate any spare prayers you can send our way. Thank you so very much.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 22 - a picture of your pets}

2011-04-10T18:39:00.000-05:00

This isn't the best picture, but they are both looking at the camera and that's what counts! ha! Sampson is the little guy and Bear is the big guy. They are both rescues and we love them so much!

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 21- A picture of your family}

2011-04-09T18:30:00.000-05:00

Tyler and me. This is my family. Of course we have immediate and extended family, but we are each other's family. I love this man. Today more than ever.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 20 - a picture of yourself}

2011-04-08T08:59:00.000-05:00

I'm disobeying the rules again. I'm not going to post a picture of just me... because I have a better one.

Yesterday I got to meet this adorable lady.

Yep, that's the Pioneer Woman. I'm next to her. For real. Not an optical allusion.

I'll write a real post on this soon, but this is all ya get for now!

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 19 - a picture of your typical day}

2011-04-07T08:42:00.000-05:00

So I'm a little behind and I am going to play catch up this morning. Sorry if I totally invade your reader!

I don't really have a "typical" day. Some days I nanny, some days I teach at the preschool and some days I am home cleaning and cooking, it all just depends, but I took a few pics with my phone at the preschool this week, so it's what I'm gonna show!

These are my kiddos sitting patiently for circle time to start while Ms. Niki tells them to sit still while she takes a picture. ha! Bless their hearts.

This is one of the things we do during circle time. They are called our "hellos" and we learn to say hello in all of these languages. And yes, they know them all and what language most of them are. They still get a little tripped up every once in awhile. And because I always get asked, yes, I know them too. haha!

And this is one place we go for playtime. There is also a playground and a gym inside, but when they desperately need to run some energy out, they get to come to this big open field and run. You see the little guy in the red shirt close to the front. He loves me and rarely leaves my side. When he does, he always comes back to tell me where he's been. It's adorable.

And this is my favorite time of the day. Naptime. Enough said.

Things you should know about me if we were going to be BFFs

2011-04-07T07:22:00.002-05:00

** This post is my get to know you for the Dallas Blogger Meetup, go here to check everyone else out.**

I love sweet tea and hate okra.

I am married to a hilarious man.

I have 2 very sweet dogs who are my kids children... for now.

I love Hanson and New Kids on the Block.

I'm a part time nanny, part time preschool teacher and part time housewife.

I love Jesus.

I love TOMS shoes and yellowbox flipflops.

I paint and sew.

I have an addiction to painting my nails.

I love Anthropolgie, Banana Republic and Lilly Pulitzer.

I am also fond of wine, but don't drink often.

I'm a student working towards getting my degree in early education.

I'm allergic to chocolate. But will still torture myself every once in awhile.

I have really bad motion sickness. I got sick in water when I was in high school on a snorkeling trip.

I'm a vegetarian.

I procrastinate... which is why I am typing this at 7:17 am when I should really be getting ready for work.

I can't wait to meet all of you!

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 18 - a picture of something you miss}

2011-04-06T23:01:00.000-05:00

This is such a shallow post. I suppose I could put certain people, relationships, etc. But I'm not gonna. Because its my blog and I don't have to :) Of course I miss certain people, but right this second, the thing that is on my mind is how much I miss this place...

{source}

Seaside, Florida.

We really love Seaside, but in reality, I just miss Florida beaches in general. We haven't had a beach vacation since our honeymoon and that is a long time for someone like me who is used to going every year! And our honeymoon was a cruise, so not really even much of a beach vacation. Oregon beaches so don't count. They are nothing like the beaches I love!

Hopefully we will be taking a beach trip this summer! Fingers crossed that all of our plans work out!

Barefoot in the Preschool

2011-04-06T08:26:00.001-05:00

Surely everyone knows what TOMS shoes are. They are the most wonderfully comfortable shoes in the world and for every pair purchased, a pair is sent to a child who doesn't have shoes. I've sent just a few pairs out. :) I love them. I pretty much wear them every day. I think I've shared this picture on here before, but why not post again, all in the spirit of TOMS. ha! It's my favorite.

(aaand I can't get it to rotate. Sorry.)

Yesterday was their One Day Without Shoes to raise awareness. It was quite the challenge, but I did it most of the day. I wasn't allowed to while on campus, which was kind of ok with me... I don't want ringworm ;) But my favorite part of the day was having the kids in my class go without shoes, too. They thought it was very special! I did explain to them why we were going without shoes and why Ms. Niki didn't have shoes on... I doubt they got it, but I tried. Start awareness early! But here is my class and I going one day without shoes.

Next year you should try it if you have the opportunity.

** 30 day photo challenge will be up this afternoon :) **

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 17 - a picture that makes you laugh}

2011-04-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

I couldn't decide on one... here are three and why.

I have roughly 120,239,291,298 pictures of Tyler doing this. But what makes this one hysterical is my SIL in the background. Click on the pic and zoom if you can't see her. She is totally posing behind him! ha!

I had no idea Tyler was making this face as we were taking pictures. Umm hilarious. And this made it onto our Christmas card because I found it so funny :)

If this doesn't make you laugh, I'm not sure what will. We were in Seaside, Oregon trying to take pictures on the beach. Yea... the wake came up farther than expected and surprised me. IT WAS FREEZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Definitely not the warm Florida beaches I'm used to.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 16 - something you hate}

2011-04-04T10:44:00.001-05:00

I have a feeling I am going to get my Southern girl card revoked for posting this for world to see. ha!

My dad actually used to scold me every time I used the word hate. He always said I wasn't allowed to hate things, I could strongly dislike them. I'm blaming him for making this post difficult. There really is only one thing I can think of that I just absolutely hate.

And that is this:

{photo credit}

Okra. Gross.

Yes, I am a southern vegetarian and I hate okra. It is disgusting. Ironically, this is one of the only vegetables my husband will eat. If I come to your house and this is for dinner, I will not be polite and eat it. Even if yours is the best in the world. It won't happen. For the record, I have tried okra many times, many ways, and every time I gag and spit it out. I'm so pleasant. Okay, I'm done talking about okra now because I am for real grossed out.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 15 - something you are looking forward to}

2011-04-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

We have quite a few things that we are looking forward to this spring and summer. It's going to be super busy, but should be fun! I am going to post about what is coming first!

At the end of April I am heading to Dallas for the Dallas Blogger Meetup! I am so excited about it! I am going to get to meet some fun girls that I chat with all the time on twitter! I'm also driving down with Whitney and Leah and cannot wait for the hilarity that is sure to ensue!!

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 14 - favorite bible verse}

2011-04-02T08:00:00.004-05:00

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

This has been my verse for a very long time. I just love it.

{My recipe card holder was custom made to match my kitchen by Misty! She's wonderful and I have a quite a few of her pieces. She does great work, is super fast and is just so very sweet. Check her out! She has a show this weekend, so her shop may look bare, but she will list more next week.}

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 13 - a photo you love}

2011-04-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

So, I'm a little late today getting this up! Sorry, I know you all are on the edge of your seats waiting to read. ha!

This is my favorite picture of us from our wedding. I just love it. I have it on a canvas in our bedroom. :)

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 12 - your most treasured item}

2011-03-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

My most treasured item is my engagement/wedding ring. Not at all because of monetary value, but because of what they mean and symbolize. My sweet husband searched high and low to find the perfect ring to express his love for me. He didn't let me see my band until our wedding day and I loved the surprise and that he got to see my face before anyone else. I was so surprised and impressed. I am so glad I gave him zero guidance and let him do his thing. I love wearing these rings to look at every day to remind myself of the vow we made and the life we live together. It's pretty fantastic to do life with him.

PS I need to write about the proposal one day... his goal was to surprise me. He did.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 11 - what you believe}

2011-03-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

"He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'" Luke 10:27

Jesus died on the cross to wash away my sins. I have been cleansed of my sin because of His sacrifice. I am saved by grace. I love Jesus and am so glad he is in my life!

These two songs are my favorite worship songs. And both bring me to tears.

Revelation song, sung by Kari Jobe.**.

Glorious Day sung by Todd Agnew. It's my favorite version!

**What is really funny is I wrote this post last week before 3 or 4 of my blog friends posted about it. It is seriously a wonderfully moving song!! It blesses me in a new way every time I listen.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 10 - favorite TV shows/casts}

2011-03-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

First of all, I don't really watch a lot of TV, but when I do, these are my faves!

Modern Family - umm hilarious. that is all

{photo credit}

Bones - LOVE this show!

{photo credit}

Friends - always a favorite

{photo credit}

NCIS - I'm required to like this, it's Tyler's favorite. We have "Tyler TV Tuesday" in our house. ha!

{photo credit}

The Big Bang Theory - Bazinga!

{photo credit}

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 9 - something you're scared of}

2011-03-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

Bridges.

I hate them.

I contemplate how long it would take me to roll down my window and unbuckle my seatbelt every single time I cross one over water. I usually drive with one hand on the window button. Just in case.

I hate all bridges, but one in particular puts me in tears. Not even kidding. I despise this bridge:

{photo credit}

{photo credit}

Beautiful bridge, right? It's the Astoria bridge in Astoria, Oregon. The first time I went over it, 1/2 was covered by fog. I pretty much thought the bridge was broken and we wouldn't be able to get across and therefore we would be dying. I'm a little irrational sometimes. This summer when we went to Astoria, I purposely drove the longer way so that I wouldn't have to cross the bridge. I knew I wouldn't be able to without breaking down and I was the one driving! Tyler had never been to Astoria and had no clue there was a shorter way... I'm sneaky like that. I did tell him once we got to town though!

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 8 - A picture of your friends}

2011-03-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm really running short on recent pictures. This is another post with pictures taken entirely from facebook. I really need my computer to get to workin' stat! Here are a few of my very sweet friends!!

{Sarah and I out to dinner around Christmas 2010}

{me, Meredith, Kelsey: NKOTB Concert, Dallas 2008}

{Jessica and Laura and Jess' wedding 2010}

{Lauren, Jessie, Meredith, Kelsey, me, Jodie, Amy: my bachelorette party}

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 7 - A Place You've Traveled to}

2011-03-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

We've been all over, but I'm going to post a few from our recent trip to the Pacific Northwest. I love it up there!

{Mt. Saint Helens}

{Seaside, Oregon}

{Seattle, Washington: Space Needle}

{Seattle, Washington: Public Market}

{Kalama, Washington: view from my Dad's deck}

{Astoria, Oregon: Astoria Tower}

{Astoria, Oregon: view from the top of the tower}

{Bend, Oregon: Deschutes Brewery Pub}

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 6 - A picture of something that makes you happy}

2011-03-25T08:30:00.029-05:00

I'm not good at following directions, so I'm doing more than one thing that makes me happy.

1. Fresh flowers on my bedside table.

2. My Grandmother's cookbook.

{she got it for her wedding in 1963}

3. The color yellow.

{especially when it's my newly painted chalkboard frame!}

4. This guy.

{he kidnapped the camera. see me dying in the background?)

5. Sampson and Bear.

{this was yesterday while I was recording the vlog. They were concerned for me!}

6. Sweet tea with Sonic ice in a Lilly tumbler.

7. Herbs growing on the porch.

8. Fingernail Polish.

9. Razorback games.

{Arkansas vs. LSU 2010 - the game that took us to the Sugar Bowl!}

10. Hanson.

{Photo Credit}

3 Questions - Vlog Style

2011-03-25T00:05:00.000-05:00

I don't really know what convinced me to do a vlog, but I sure did jump on the bandwagon. ha! Feel free to join in over at Kodi's blog and answer the questions!

Also, I wish I was brave enough to show you the outtakes. They are hilarious. Roll on the floor hilarious. I'm special. ;)

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 5 - A picture of your siblings}

2011-03-24T08:00:00.002-05:00

I have a huge family. My mom has been married a couple times and with those marriages came some awesome brothers and sisters. I have 1 actual 1/2 brother, but the rest are just steps. My dad and stepmom also have a daughter, she's a step, too, but my dad did adopt her, so she's legally mine. ha! The easiest way to do this is by age! ha! This might get a little confusing,

This is Taylor with my mama at my wedding. He got married this fall in Vegas! We didn't go, but got to watch live online. It was pretty awesome.

This is Katie (and Jeni and I in the background). Her husband Mike is the biggest Hog fan I know :)

{Mike and Tyler after our Hogs beat LSU!!}

This is Matthew, he's my real brother. He's an awesome kid.

{taken at Katie's wedding reception}

This is Jeni. She's Katie's real sister. She's an amazing violinist and I made her mad at my wedding because I wouldn't let her be a bridesmaid because I wanted her to play. We made a compromise and she got to wear a bridesmaid's dress. ha!

This is Averie and I at my wedding. She's my dad and stepmom's daughter. She goes to the high school that is in Twilight. (interesting fact... the high school shown isn't actually in Forks. Because Forks high school is yuck.). Also. I hate Twilight.

Here is a recent picture of everyone on my Mama's side :) We are missing Taylor's wife Allisa and we added in Matthew's girlfriend Danielle.

{family dinner at Mom's house - everyone's looking a little rough}

{Tyler, Me, Mike, Katie, Mom and Matthew at Mike and Katie's wedding}

And here are my sisters in law! Amanda and Sarah. Love them! I am so glad they were part of the package when I married T! And they are going to be parents to twins this fall! I'm still so stinkin' excited.

I seriously adore all of my siblings. They are hysterical and I can't imagine life without them!

{confession, I stole a good 1/2 of these from Facebook. ha! My computer is still on the fritz so I'm using Tyler's netbook and don't have any pictures stored on here!}

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 4 - A picture of your parents}

2011-03-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have awesome parents. They are the friendliest divorced couple I've ever met. ha!

This is my Mama. She is an Emergency Room RN and is a great mama. I happen to think she did a great job raising us and made me the woman I am today. I am forever grateful. She was a single mom and worked very hard to make sure we still got the best out of life.

{I think I look just like her here}

This is my Daddy. He lives in another state and is the coolest dad ever. He's always been very honest about his mistakes in life and I think that seriously helped me make decisions about where my life was going, especially when I was young.

{Dad's face cracks me up in this picture!}

{Dad and stepmom, Mel}

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 3 - A picture of someone you love}

2011-03-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

I could put pictures of so many people up here! But, I'm going with the one I love. He is my love.

This is one of my favorite pictures of him ever. I love his smile in it. He was so happy that day!! I know the lighting is bad and it's "technically" a bad picture, but I just love it. This was in Seaside, Oregon this summer on our vacation to visit my dad.

I have to include this one...

I have roughly 180,679,298 pictures of him doing this. He knows it drives me crazy ;)

And yes, in case you were wondering that is his favorite shirt.

I love this man.

30 Day Photo Challenge {Day 2 - Meaning behind your blog name} and a recipe

2011-03-21T08:00:00.003-05:00

My blog name isn't a super top secret, no one can figure it out kind of a name. It's pretty self explanatory.

The Biker:

Tyler's favorite hobby is riding his bike. Every time I tell someone this, they assume I mean a motorcycle. Nope, not so much. Motorcycles aren't allowed in our house. ;) We're talking mountain bikes.

{my new favorite picture. taken right after he got back from his first ride of the spring. it was successful}

Go in the woods, pedal yourself, get absolutely filthy mountain biking. I am not so much into the biking. This is a hobby he shares with my dad and I am grateful they have something in common. My dad and stepmom are very into biking and every time we go visit, Tyler gets to have a great ride with them (usually while I go shopping). I've tried biking with him on a few occasions, but I'd much rather just run.

The Baker:

I LOVE to bake. I don't really like to eat what I bake, but that's what I have a husband and friends for.

I just love to be in the kitchen no matter what, but making cakes, cookies, pies and anything else I can think of just makes me almost giddy. Today is a good day for this post because I actually got to bake something yesterday and not feel guilty! We celebrated Tyler's birthday (oh, only a month late) with his family so I made his favorite cake! Yay!

And here is that recipe:

I got it from Sophistimom and I love her. Go check out her site, not only does she take beautiful photos, but I have made a lot of her recipes and have never had a bad one!!

vanilla bean cupcakes

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
seeds scraped from one vanilla bean (these can always be left out, and the cupcakes will still be delicious)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners. Combine all ingredients in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Fill cupcake liners slightly more then halfway full.

2. Bake for 15 minutes, or until center cupcakes bounce back when touched. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

I also add 1/4-1/2 tbsp of {dry} vanilla pudding mix. And she makes these with strawberry icing, but Tyler likes chocolate buttercream, so that is what I make for him!

Tyler's {very} belated birthday dinner

2011-03-21T07:59:00.000-05:00

Last night we had Tyler's Dad, stepmom, and our sisters in law over for dinner and to see our house. We didn't get to celebrate his birthday on his birthday since I was so sick, so this was his birthday dinner, too!

We grilled barbecue chicken, parmesan potato wedges and a salad. It was all so good! I'm taking everyone's word for the chicken being good. I also made Tyler's new favorite cake. It was a disaster. I almost cried. I have never in my life made a cake as ugly as this one turned out! It completely fell apart and just looked ridiculous. But, it tasted delicious, so I guess that's what really counts. And I was going to show you a picture of the disaster, but apparently I deleted it! ha! Tyler said "Well, just tell everyone I did it." It. Was. Bad.

Amanda and Sarah brought some silly hats and games with them to play with. It was hysterical watching 6 adults try to figure out cheap kids toys. Tony and Marsha got Tyler a great new tool bag and a few tools to go in it. He definitely needed this and he was really excited. Amanda and Sarah got him a home depot card... I'm super excited about this one.

We also got the fantastic news that Amanda and Sarah are expecting twins!! So super happy for them. They will be such wonderful parents and I can't wait to be an aunt. And hopefully we will have kids soon so the cousins can be close in age!

So yesterday was quite the fabulous day! We are so blessed to have wonderful families that we actually enjoy hanging out with!

30 Day Photo Challenge {Intro and Day 1}

2011-03-20T08:00:00.005-05:00

I have a few friends that have passed this little 30-day photo challenge around on facebook and blogs. There have been a few different variations. So I’m picking my favorites from all of them and going with it!

I will be doing this, hopefully, for the next thirty days! I’m really hoping that this will be a way to make me blog and to get into the swing of regularly writing. I really enjoy it and really like having our lives documented, I just need to do it! I’ll also throw in other posts here and there.

Here is the list I’m going to follow:

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture, 15 facts
Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name

Day 3: A Picture of someone you love
Day 4: A Picture of your parents
Day 5: A Picture of your siblings
Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7: A place you've traveled to
Day 8: A picture of your friends
Day 9: Something you're afraid of
Day 10: Favorite tv shows/cast of favorite shows
Day 11: What you believe
Day 12: A picture of your most treasured item
Day 13: A picture you love
Day 14: Your favorite Bible verse
Day 15: Something you're looking forward to
Day 16: A picture of something you hate
Day 17: A picture that makes you laugh
Day 18: A picture of something you miss
Day 19: A picture of your typical day
Day 20: A picture of yourself
Day 21: A picture of your family
Day 22: A picture of your Pets
Day 23: A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 24: A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 25: Favorite Movies
Day 26: Favorite books
Day 27: Something you would like to do before you die
Day 28: A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 29: A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life lately
Day 30: Something you've learned

So, Day 1. Ready. Set. Go.

{taken in NOLA-Sugar Bowl week}

I'm Niki. I'm a 20-something part time housewife, part time teacher and part time nanny. I love my husband, Jesus, my family, my friends, our dogs, baking, Razorback Football, and Hanson. Tyler and I have been together 7 years and married for almost three. He's awesome and is the funniest person I've ever met. I love that God chose him for me.

Now onto 15 random facts about me!

1. I'm a vegetarian. I eat seafood on very rare occasions and usually just when I'm on the coast visiting my Dad. But for 99% of my life, I eat nothing with a face.

2. I hate stairs. I will use them, but I hate them. I fell down an entire flight of stairs in high school and had a bruise on my bum for 2 years. I am not exaggerating at all.

3. I can't wait to be a mom.

4. You know that song Secret Agent Man? Up until about 5 years ago, I thought they were singing Secret Asian Man. Yup. I'm that girl.

5. I love {with all my heart}Hanson. Old and new. I'm not ashamed. I listen daily. I love New Kids on the Block, too. But Hanson wins.

6.I have an addiction to fingernail polish. I change the color on my nails at least twice a week.

7. I had a boyfriend in college from Ozark who raised cattle. I had a knockdown drag out fight with him over the fact that the red stuff in packaged meat was not blood, it was meat juice, just as my mother had always told me. I ended up calling her to verify and she still told me it was meat juice. Its a wonder I'm a vegetarian. {shocked that relationship didn't work out! ha!}

8. I paint, sew, knit, design stationery, make bows... and anything else I can think of. I have too many hobbies.

9. I very rarely remember my dreams, and when I do it is because I have woken up to something horrible. The dream I have the most often is of my brother getting kidnapped and me chasing after him to no avail. I hate this dream and I have had it for years.

10. I cry over everything. My feelings don't really get hurt all that often, but I'm talking about ridiculous things... commercials? Yep. Sweet things my class say? You betcha. Lifetime movies? Well, of course. Pretty sure I even cried during the Oscars this year. The worst is kLove radio station. 3 seconds in and I will be in tears. Guaranteed.

11. I have no shame over the fact that I watch {and enjoy} shows on Disney and Nickelodeon. None.

12. I have 3 favorite colors. Yellow, green and turquoise. Used to be pink, I still like pink, but I don't own much pink anymore!

13. I love to read. When we go on vacation, I usually take 4 or 5 books with me and 9 times out of 10 will end up having to buy more while we are there.

14. I am a blond at heart and mind. I once asked where the yellow line was on the football field at a Razorback game. Sad, I know. I also thought that water polo actually involved horses. I had a HUGE a

argument with Tyler during the olympics when we were dating. It was sad. He still married me.

15. I love Anthropologie. If I had an unlimited income I would own everything in the store.

It's been quite the boring week... :)

2011-03-18T22:52:00.000-05:00

We are sitting here on the couch watching the Social Network. I'm on Facebook, twitter and blogger all at the same time. Do all people do that when they watch this movie?

We haven't had a whole lot going on this week. Tyler has worked or been at school almost every day this week, so just sitting on the couch is great! We did have homegroup Thursday and it was HUGE I think there were 22 people there (kids and adults) and we had a great time. I so enjoy the church and the people God led us to and feel incredibly blessed to have found them.

This Sunday we are having Tyler's dad, stepmom and our sisters-in-law over for his very belated birthday dinner. We are very excited to have them come over! It has been way too long since we all got to hang out. And this means T actually gets a day off. Kinda great.

The only other exciting thing happening in our lives is that Tyler is changing up his work schedule, at least for this month. We will see how it works out, but for the time being he will be off Thursdays and Sundays!! Which means he can go to church and homegroup all month! Also, he's changed his time at work from 11am-11pm to 1pm-1am. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this yet, but Tyler seems to really want the change. We shall see!

Have a fantastic weekend!!!

Heifer International and Clinton Library

2011-03-11T19:19:00.000-06:00

Tyler and I joined a gym Tuesday. I've gone every day. I'm also on Day 2 of Jillian's 30 Day Shred. I think I'm dying.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way...

Mom, my little brother Matthew, his adorable girlfriend Danielle and I went to lunch at the Heifer International Global Village Cafe. I am sure there is a better name for that, but I don't know it, so that's what I'm going with. I LOVE Heifer International. I think it's a great organization and I love what they do around the world and in my city. We didn't do much touring today, but will go back and look around sometime. I did take this picture of my little brother and I love it. He's a really interesting kid (he's 21, yes he'll always be a kid to me) and he finds beauty in so many things. He really appreciates the world. He's been through a lot in his 21 years and I feel like he's overcome a lot of that.

And this is my mama, she's going to kill me for posting this. Please don't tell her. ;)

You don't get a picture of me, I'm not allowed to use hair products or wear make up until next week. I had an allergic reaction to something, not a clue what, and the doctor said I can't use anything! Boo. So I was looking hot today. ha! It really helped my self esteem that my brother's girlfriend is a make up artist and was dressed to the nines and even had false eyelashes on!

When we left lunch, I had to go to the Clinton Library for an assignment and Mom was gracious enough to tag along. I've been before, so was really only interested in the Dr. Seuss exhibit and the requirement for my assignment - photographic evidence, 2nd floor or higher. ha! I guess somebody has tried to cheat my teacher before and just took photos in the lobby. No good, folks. But the Seuss exhibit was great!

I'll be spending my weekend cleaning and trying to finish up the art room. It just has to get done! I've procrastinated enough! Have a great weekend.

By the way, aren't you proud of me blogging twice this week? It's a miracle.

Memphis Trip - Tyler's birthday.

2011-03-09T10:26:00.000-06:00

I'm blogging out of order. Sorry y'all. I suppose I should actually do NOLA/Sugar Bowl first, but that was 2 months ago. And 3 days long. It's gonna take awhile. ha! Just be happy I'm here, dangit!

I was REALLY sick on T's actual birthday weekend. I had 102+ fever for 5 days. It was miserable. And I'm pretty sure Tyler was not too happy about it either. So to make up for me being on my death bed, I decided we should take a day trip. We headed up to Memphis last Monday and had so much fun just hanging out together. We didn't really plan much, other than the Pottery Barn Outlet and the zoo.

The weather channel told us it was supposed to be in the 60s all day. They failed. I was in a flimsy short sleeve blouse and Tyler was in short sleeves and shorts! When we walked into Pottery Barn it was close to 60. When we walked out it was 48. No lie. And of course neither of us had jackets. Oops. But we were determined to enjoy our day anyway!

When we left PB (which, by the way, I spent under $20! I told T it was his birthday present. ha!) we headed around the corner to Huey's. Neither of us had been there and it definitely did not disappoint. I didn't take my camera in, so no photographic evidence, but trust me, it was GOOD! After we filled our bellies, we decided to brave the zoo. I'm not really sure if it was an intelligent decision (remember we're in the 40's now) but we still had a great time. Tyler desperately wanted to see the Panda bears, bless him. The Memphis Zoo is a great zoo and we love having it so close by. And here is where I invade your computer with Zoo pictures. Enjoy

Please ignore my flat hair. It had been a long day. :)

He's kind of special.

Entrance to the Panda Exhibit!

Check out the Panda smiling with Tyler. ha! I died when I saw this.

Please ignore the fact that I'm awkwardly pulling my shirt down. I am eternally worried that my shirt will come up and my belly will show. ha!

I don't honestly know what this place was, but it it right in front of the bears, wolves and some birds. And it was heated. And had a fire. We may have spent a good bit of time warming up in here!

And this is where Tyler got a snap happy... Although, this is better than the 17 pictures of my booty he apparently took instead of taking pictures of the animals. ha! Bless him.

This is a view of the outside of that wonderfully warm lodge. And of course my husband.

This bear was my favorite. He sits the same way our dog, Bear, sits. ha!

And onto another heated building! The amphibians. Yikes.

How creepy is this? I may have

This guy's head looks just like a leaf. CREEPY!

On our way out we got to see the Cats. I am always so amazed at the creatures God put on this earth. They are so stinkin' beautiful. Scary. But, still beautiful

After the zoo, I decided we had to visit Sun Studio. You see, my lovely husband had never been and I happen to love Sun. they have a great tour and I love the history. Sun is where Elvis was discovered, in case you didn't know. And here is where I invade your computer with Sun Studio pictures. Enjoy these, too.

Our Tour guide. He was a hoot and absolutely loved his job!

Tyler with a bunch of Elvis' things.

Since Sun is still a working recording studio, all of the instruments in the room are used and you aren't supposed to touch them. Tyler doesn't listen well. But, interesting fact, this drum kit was used by U2 on their latest album when they came to record a few songs here.

However, this was allowed to be touched. This mic is original to the room. Which means famous folks back in the day probably recorded on it. So fun. And Tyler's quite the rock star, eh? ha!

When we were done with all the touristy stuff, we went downtown to grab a bite to eat before we headed home. I didn't take a single picture, but we ate at B.B. Kings on Beale. Can we talk about the fried pickles? Probably not, I should keep them a secret. But holy moly, they are tasty.

On another note... I have got some SERIOUS baby fever. I always have a hint of the fever, but this week it has been hardcore. Out. Of. Control. And quite honestly, posting these photos doesn't make it better. I cannot wait for the day we get to take our kids with us. Tyler is so joyous and I can't wait to see our kids' faces light up the way his does when they see new and exciting things. It makes my heart so very happy.

30 - Long time, no see...

2011-03-03T07:41:00.000-06:00

I'm the Worlds Worst Blogger. Seriously, I need a trophy. I have no excuse except that life got busy and I chose to waste time doing other things. ha!

So, since I haven't touched this thing since December 16th, I suppose its time for some catch up.

Christmas was wonderful. We spent time with Tyler's dad's family and my family. I surprised him with an iPad and I was SO excited that I kept it a secret. That is for real a feat for me.

After the holidays were over, we got to go to New Orleans with Tyler's dad and stepmom for the Sugar Bowl! We were so excited that our Razorbacks got there and we had an absolute blast. Even if the Hogs lost. I kept telling people that the folks watching at home were way more upset about the loss than those of us there. We had Bourbon Street to go to afterward :)

As soon as we came back from New Orleans, we got right into moving. The renters had seriously destroyed our house in the 3 months prior to them moving out. But that is such a ridiculous story that it needs its own blog post. But the good news is, we are moved in and slowly but surely getting everything put away. Its really just my studio that is left, but it takes forever! ha! The month of January and early February really were all moving days. It took that long. Maybe that's why I didn't blog.

Tyler's birthday was last weekend. He took off the entire weekend, which is SO rare. Ya know what we did? Nothing. Nada. I was sick the ENTIRE time. From Friday until Tuesday I was in bed with the flu and bronchitis. Fun times. So to make up for being on my death bed the weekend of his actual birthday, we decided to take a day trip Monday to Memphis and just hang out. We had a really good time. It was supposed to be gorgeous weather all day in the 60s. And it was, until about 11:30. The Weather Channel failed us and we were so cold by the afternoon! We toughed it out anyway and went to the zoo. I am so glad we did because we were pretty much the only ones there and had so much fun! Zoo's have a magical power of turning adults into children. And its wonderful.

I suppose this is it for now. Hopefully I will not ignore my little blog anymore! I have a couple of great recipes I need to get posted! Motivation, folks!

Also, I'll add pictures this afternoon, but its time to go to work!

29 - Kelly Moore Bag

2010-12-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

Ya know how I got a fancy schmancy new camera as an early Christmas present? And how much I love it? Well, I did and I do. It's awesome and I am so grateful for it. But... it needs a home. A permanent home in a pretty bag. I have LOVED Kelly Moore bags, ummm, well, forever. The first time I saw one, I honestly debated just getting it as a purse! But now that I have a valid reason to buy one, I've been looking again. Just look at this awesomeness.

Arent they all fabulous?! I would love any of them, but the one I've really had my eye on is this one...

Can you say lovely? This is just such a beautiful and understated bag! I adore the gray color and the hobo style is my absolute favorite. I also really like the mustard color in this style!

You should totally hop on over to the Kelly Moore website and check them out for yourself! I will definitely be buying one just as soon as Christmas is over!

28 - Christmas Cards!

2010-12-15T08:06:00.000-06:00

*** Updated with the back of the card!!***

Today, Faith is having a Christmas Card Carousel and I decided to join along! I have a small stationary business, so I make my own Christmas cards. This is the third year I've done them and I love them. I used pictures from different things we've done throughout the year and they are so fun! I always want to include our dogs, but couldn't get them to sit still, so they aren't on the card this time around. But they still wish you a Merry Christmas!

I desperately need to get these in the mail! They are all addressed and stamped, I just need to go to the post office. Which I will be doing tomorrow, because I have about 20 ornaments to mail!

I've kept you waiting long enough...here is our 2010 Christmas Card!

{click to enlarge}

And here's the back! Typical Tyler. It had to be included.

{click to enlarge, again}

Merry Christmas!

27 - Hot Pockets!

2010-12-13T09:55:00.000-06:00

I am blogging backwards. But I don't care. Last Thursday we had homegroup game night with the folks at JC. The "theme" was finger foods. I have a cookbook called Any Blonde can Cook (I know, I know) and some of Tyler's favorite recipes come from there. I can cook up a storm and he will still wan the simple food from it. He's such a man. Anyway, something I hadn't made in a long time was homemade hot pockets. They are his favorite! Since it was finger foods, I thought those would be great. And lets talk about an excited man! He tends to make up names for the food I make, instead of calling them hot pockets, he refers to these as "yummy goodness." He's special. Anyway, I wanted to share the recipe because they are SO easy to make and make a whole bunch. I also made a veg option.

Chicken Hot Pockets

1/2 cup sour cream

16 oz. mozzarella cheese

Rotisserie chicken

green onions - to taste, I used 2 stalks

splash of lemon juice

3 cans of crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350. Take the chicken off the bone (and if you are a vegetarian and can't stand to do this, you have to make your husband do it) and chop it up. For one batch you will only need 1/2 of this, but feel free to use more. Stir together the sour cream, cheese, chicken and green onions. Add a splash of lemon juice.

Lay the crescents into triangles and put the mixture in bottom of the triangles, like so...

(these are the spinach ones, but I didn't take pics of the others in process)

Then roll them up and seal the ends well.

I bake mine on parchment so it is easy to remove. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a cooling rack and you're done.

Spinach and Feta Hot Pockets

(otherwise known as the one I made up and don't have measurements for)

a few handfuls of baby spinach

1 6 oz tub of feta

1/2 cup sour cream

green onions

some mozzarella - I probably used 8 or so ounces.

Follow the exact same directions as above, except the making your husband deal with the chicken. Just mix everything together and wrap it up!

Then you go work it all off with some dancing on the wii.

Funny story... I called my grandmother to see if they still had green onions in their garden, so that I could save a few bucks. She laughed at me and said of course. I got to their house and realized why she found my question funny...

ummmm, yea, I'd say she had just a few to spare. ha!

Tyler has now requested I make some breakfast ones... I think I am going to do ham and cheese first!

26 - Garvan Woodland Gardens

2010-12-13T09:29:00.000-06:00

I love Christmas time. I love all of the traditions we have. I love being able to see family and friends. I love celebrating Jesus' birth. I love Christmas songs. I love looking at lights. I love laughing at tacky lights. I love wrapping gifts. I love it all!

One of the traditions we have started in the last few years is to go to Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs and see the Lights on the Landscape. My grandparents live in Hot Springs Village and the last few years, we have gone to spend the weekend with them and we've all gone together. I have some pretty hysterical grandparents and we have a blast hanging out with them!

Here are some Garvan Gardens photos. I didn't take many of the weekend, just at the garden!

These are gigantic chandeliers hanging from the trees.

The newest addition to the Lights, a train! The wheels look like they are moving and you can get up there and walk through it! So cool.

Entering Kiddie Land.

T is glowing. ha!

I married a five year old. He is trying to poke the toy soldier.

Again, he's five. I walked out of the gingerbread house and he was high fiving a ginger bread man. Special.

Do any of you watch NCIS? Here, he is getting "Gibbsed" by the gingerbread guy. He was apparently jealous of the high five the other guy got.

I love this hummingbird so much!

This might be my favorite part...

The only thing I would change is for them to add Christmas music throughout the park. I think it would add to the experience.

We had such a good time with the grandparents and can't wait to see them again. I see them a lot throughout the year, but nothing quite seals the "You're our favorite" deal more than spending the weekend with them! And, just for the record, I am absolutely the favorite. You can ask anyone. Except my aunt, she will lie. ;)

25 - Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-13T08:31:00.000-06:00

We just put our Christmas tree up. Well, actually, we had the tree up last Sunday, but got all of the decorations put up Saturday night. I feel so much better with it up! Last year, we had a Christmas Ficus because we didn't own a fake and didn't want to put up the cash for a real like we had always done before. But this year, my wonderful sisters in law blessed us with the gift of their old tree! It is such a pretty tree and I am so thankful! And I just couldn't handle a second year of the Christmas Ficus, I had some serious issues with that! ha!

Here is our beautiful tree with some of the gifts under it.

My favorite ornament from childhood. These were my great grandmothers and I love them.

I just like this wreath, it is a real boxwood wreath.

And my favorite newer ornament.

I have lots of other favorite ornaments, but decided not to photograph every ornament on the tree!

And here are my gifts! I love them. I love giving presents and it makes me happy to see them under the tree!

We really haven't decorated the rest of the house, and probably won't. There isn't much time to Christmas anyway, and we are moving the day we get back from the SUGAR BOWL. Yep, we're going. And I can't wait. I have the most awesome in laws ever!

24 - No Internet is No Fun

2010-12-05T13:59:00.001-06:00

Our cable/internet has been out for 2 weeks. I'm going to scream. I have screamed. At the Comcast people.

The best way to catch up is in list form. It won't be in order, because I'm special like that.

1. Tyler has been going 15 hours a day for the last 7 days. He will be gone 15 hours a day for the next 4. I miss him. And he is working Christmas day. Boo.

2. I went to home group with the lovely folks at JC. I really like them.

3. My Bunko group had our Christmas party Friday night. It was so much fun! My friend Randy brought this cake... and I was sent home with it.

4. Randi's son, Caleb, who I have watched since he was 4 months old and who was the ring bearer in our wedding is turning 7 today. I'm refusing to accept this. Kind of like I refuse to accept that I'm 25. Ew.

5. I'm at Barnes and Noble because of the internet situation. There is a girl who I can only assume is talking to herself and has been for 30 minutes. I don't have headphones with me. Bad idea.

6. I saw this driving home yesterday and pulled into our driveway and immediately went up to the ridge by our house, where we watch the fireworks each year, and took a million pictures. I think it is so beautiful.

7. I got my things back from the Painted Pig. I'm not super happy with the lettering on my chip and dip bowl, but I will live. It ran pretty bad. Oh well.

8. Christmas cards are almost done. Most are in envelopes and labels are on them! Woohoo! Here's a sneakpeek. They will be in the mail this week!

9. A gal on twitter was talking about searching for an ornament to commemorate her pregnancy and about all she could find was odd clay embryos and fetuses. I told her to go to Painted Pig and do her own, she liked the idea and found out I painted and asked if I would paint one for her. I did. She posted on her well read blog. I have sold 10. She's my new favorite. Here is her ornament... its darling isn't it? I love them, now to get painting on the rest of them!

10. I'm currently having a twitter discussion on mustaches and how they creep me out. With a pastor.

11. Have I mentioned Tyler works Christmas Day? Have I also mentioned my mom works Christmas day? This makes me sad.

12. The bowl game announcements are tonight. I can't wait!

13. Please go to this site and vote for couple #1. It's Faith's sister, Grace. I don't know if you read her blog, but you should :)

14. My New Year's resolution is going to be to take one picture a day and post about it for 365 days. I created another blog to do this on so I don't invade your google reader or blogger dashboard. I just decided that since I got this fancy new camera, I need to learn to use it. And because I am the laziest scrapbooker ever (I just printed our wedding photos last week-thats lazy) I needed a way to document like I used to :)

15. The End. See you when our internet comes back, because I can't stand coming back to barnes and noble for fear of this chick being here again.

23 - Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-12-01T21:16:00.000-06:00

** First of all, our internet has been out for 4 days now, so I am in Barnes and Noble using theirs. This post is a little late! Second of all, this post has A LOT of pictures. Sorry ;) **

I hope Thanksgiving was wonderful for everyone! Tyler had Thursday, Friday and Saturday off, which never happens, so we were so happy to get to spend time together! This was probably the best weekend we've had in quite some time!

On Thursday, we had two Thanksgivings, started at my grandmother's house for lunch and it was yummy! I like eating Holiday meals with my family because they take into account that I don't eat meat and have plenty of veggie options. A lot of other people freak out and just make potatoes. ha! It has always made me laugh! I got to have mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, green peas, dressing, deviled eggs and pie. Win for me! Ha! Of course everyone else added turkey and giblet gravy to their plates :)

And this little girl, she used to be ours... until my grandparents dognapped her. Funny Story.

After we left my family, we went to Thanksgiving dinner with Tyler's Dad's family. This was our first time to spend a holiday with them and we are so glad we did! They are a fun group of people and I adore hanging out with them!

This is the party I made the pumpkin bread pudding for. Holy Moly. I will post the recipe tomorrow, you have to make it! It was seriously the best dessert I've ever made!!

I thought all of the decorations were SO fun! I adored everything they made!

Tyler and his Daddy

My mother in law and sister in law! love them!

Its such a blessing to be with family this time of year!

On Friday, we did a little of nothing until that afternoon. I went out and kind of looked around, but didn't find any good deals. Tyler worked that night, so I went to hang out with my bff and have a movie marathon. I left her house crazy early in the morning and went to Walmart to try to get the TV Tyler wanted. I got there around 2:30 and the sale wasn't supposed to start until 6. Honestly, I thought I'd be there until then. But the folks at Walmart were in a great mood and sold it to me then! They said they had one pallet of TVs that they would sell before 6! Woohoo! I was so excited to go home and get to sleep before the big game!

We slept in until around 10 and then went to tailgate with the family. I found out late Friday evening that the people I nanny for had 3 extra tickets! I was sooo excited to get them! Considering they were going for upwards of $300 online, we feel pretty blessed! And we got to call my brother in law and tell him we had a ticket! He is a DIEHARD Hog fan, so he was SUPER excited. Here are lots of pictures from Saturday... sorry. :)

Tyler with his cooler from college. That is my sorority, but I wasn't his lady when he got this! ha! He was dating one of my sorority sisters at Winter Formal and we started dating in June. I promise, I didn't steal him. :)

Marsha and Papaw

Granny and Amanda

Tony (my father in law) and I

Amanda and Sarah (sisters in law)

my love and I

I have a million pictures of T doing this exact post, but none quite this special... check out Sarah in the bg.

Our Tickets! yay!

Tailgating

Woo Pig Sooie!!

I just love this shot.

I love our stadium!

Hehe. I'm a child and this shot makes me giggle. No Shame.

Calling those hogs!!

Tyler and our brother in law Mike at the end of the game! If you can't tell, we kicked LSU's tail! Woohoo! Now we are praying that Auburn stomps South Carolina so we can go to the Sugar Bowl! Fingers Crossed!

And... I want you all to go read this post. And help if you can! Its an easy way to be prepared for what can sometimes be an awkward encounter with a homeless person. Be prepared. I always keep granola bars and juice in my car to give out, but I will be making some of these, too! I'm also giving these out with Christmas presents this year to a few people. Also, my friend, Rik, reminded me last night... its cold out there, go clean out your closet and give something warm to someone who needs it way more than you do!

And last but not least, I have other posts to get up, I just wanted this up! I feel behind...

22 - Thankfulness

2010-11-25T08:51:00.000-06:00

I know I have already written a what I am thankful for post, but I wanted to write a new one for actual Thanksgiving. So these are some more things I am thankful for, in no particular order.

The smell of laundry fresh off clothesline, dried from the sun. It doesn't get any better than that.

Anthropologie. Yes, I know.

My husband who loves my friend enough to not think twice when I tell him to go up and pay for her dinner, too.

That I have enough to share with other people.

The homeless people down by the river. I am not thankful they are homeless, I would do anything to get them all safe, but I am thankful for the perspective they give me. We take our Thanksgiving leftovers to whoever is down there and it is something I am looking forward too! Last year, a girl looked at me and told me she prayed for milk that morning and was so grateful we came with milk. The milk, y'all. She PRAYED for milk! I drink milk like its going out of style and have never once had to worry about whether or not I could get it that day! We took turkey, dressing, cokes, veggies and dessert. And she was thankful for milk.

My clients. They are great, particularly when they challenge me with something new to try!

My in-laws and sisters-in-law. I love them all. I am so happy to be spending Thanksgiving with them this year!! They are a fun group!

My husband's Mom's side of the family.

Tailgating this weekend with the family and possibly going to the game. I love the Hogs.

My hubby's Christmas present. It's awesome.

My Dad's side of the family. They are a hilarious bunch!

Meredith. She's the funniest person I know and gave me a headache and stomach ache Tuesday night making me laugh so hard! And she loves me.

Randoms Starbucks gift cards in the mail (you know who you are)

Jesus, he's pretty cool.

My awesome red polka dot wrapping paper from Hobby Lobby.

My new camera. I am soooo happy we took the plunge and bought it!

People who teach me things. Various people. Various things.

My Mimi. She is the best Mimi a girl could ask her. When I told her my only goal in life was to be the favored grandchild, she told me that as long as I don't have heathen kids, I'm good. ha!

ALL of my siblings. There are quite a few.

Finding new friends who like Brussels Sprouts. No one in my family will eat them. I am debating having a Brussels Sprouts dinner party. I love them that much.

Good deals! I love a good deal, even though I wouldn't step out on Black Friday for anything! No deal is worth that! Although, it could be good people watching!

That I got all my wedding pictures printed... 2 1/2 years later. But, I got them printed for CRAZY cheap, so I'm thankful for that too. We had a good time going through them all. That was a great freaking time! My wedding was fun! Now to print the honeymoon pictures...

And of course, friends, family, my home, my health, my husband and all the other wonderful gifts God has given us!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope it is wonderful and free from drama!

And I am so not a Black Friday kind of a girl. There is nothing I need bad enough to stand in line at 4 am. But, to those of you are, good luck tomorrow!

21 - It's Nuts out There!

2010-11-23T23:27:00.000-06:00

So, today marked the end of me going to a store until Christmas time! It is freaking crazy!!! I went to the grocery store today (I know crazy, but I was in desperate need of vanilla beans!) and I seriously almost got run over FOUR times! What is so important that you have to speed through the Kroger parking lot? Need some bread that bad? I also refuse to fight for parking spots. I take the first one I see and get out and walk. So today, I parked at the back of the parking lot, which was the first place to almost get hit. Then, as I got out of my car, another car whipped into the space next to me, almost taking off my door. And again as I was walking into the store, someone driving the wrong way down the aisle (lets talk about a pet peeve!) tried to park and almost hit me pulling into the spot! So, I go through 3 near death experiences on the way in, go straight to where I hope it would be and nope. No vanilla beans. So I turn my rear end back around and march on out. As I am crossing the pedestrian area, where I stopped and looked both ways, a chick on a cell phone eating a cheeseburger pulls out of one of the aisles and comes about 2 feet from running me over!

I really love the holidays, but I hate this business when people stop caring what is going on around them. It drives me crazy! Shouldn't this time of year be about stopping and smelling the roses? Shouldn't you take your time and check out your surroundings, if for no other reason than to be thankful for them?

I am thankful for SO much. Our Lord has blessed us beyond all reason. I am so grateful that I was born in this country and not the banks of Africa. We, as a community, have so much to stop and thank God for. I really hope I do my best to see how great my life really is, even when people almost kill me!

After I escaped, I went to fresh market and got my vanilla beans, came home and my best friend was waiting for me! Yay! We decided to go out to dinner at US Pizza and it was tasty! Then I somehow managed to talk them into running to Walmart with me. hehe. It wasn't a problem at all compared to earlier in the day! Then we came home and sat on the porch with my Mama and her best friend! Tyler's BF is also in town, so he came over to chill with him for awhile. All in all, it was a really good night!

20 - A wedding, a date, and a close call

2010-11-21T01:50:00.000-06:00

Today has been a super busy, but its been a good day! I guess my weekends just seem crazy busy recently. Not sure why, but Its been fun.

Today was wedding day for one of my nursing school friends! She looked so beautiful and I am just so happy for them! I went with Laura, another nursing school friend! Oh how I miss being in class with these ladies! They make life fun.

Laura and I!

Isn't she beautiful? Love it!

Jess and Laura

Mr. and Mrs. feeding each other cake. They were so nice :)

After the wedding, I made a quick run home for an outfit change and to pick up T. You know I can't be wearing purple during a Razorback game. It is against my religion. :)

We went to Bravo! Cucina Italiana for dinner and it was soooo good. It is definitely added to the top of our list. We requested to sit in the bar because we knew the game would start while we were still there. We had so much fun just the two of us and talked so much! Its pretty rare these days to get a face to face chat. We need more nights like tonight!

he was excited to try something new

My Penne Mediterranean. I highly suggest it. Spinach, roasted red peppers, pine nuts, feta, olive oil, penne. What's not to love? I really like that Bravo had a bunch of vegetarian options! I don't go many places that I can find that. I usually have to order something with no meat and deal with the funny looks I get!

T's Penne BRAVO! 5 words. Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce.

Oh my gosh. I had a bite of his and it was just great! I will be trying to recreate that sauce!

And the cheesecake. Words cannot describe this cheesecake. Just go to bravo, order the cheesecake and thank me later.

When we were done with dinner, we decided to walk around the shopping center (and by we - I mean me) and hit up my own little version of heaven.

do you hear the angels singing? I LOVE Anthro... my wallet, not so much! ha! But I got a really cute pair of earrings on sale and some Christmas tags, so it was a good trip.

When we were done wandering, we went to pick up Ts best friend Matt, who is in town for Thanksgiving. Also, who happened to be my prom date! I'll save that story for another day. It's a good one. After we got Matt, we headed to Applebees to watch the game. We really wanted a place with no cover and it fit the bill! They have a ton of TVs in their bar area. Let me tell you... I am pretty sure I got an ulcer from that game! It was CRAZY! Twitter was going nuts over it!

Tyler and Matt

Can you see the fear in my eyes? It's real. We fumbled. And I'm sure any Hog fan who watched the game knows exactly when this pic was taken.

But in the end, we won and a win is a win, right? I keep telling myself that. It was a hard game to watch and honestly, had I been home, I would've turned it off. It was that bad.

And when that ended we came home and I hopped in bed! Which is where I am now. So goodnight, blogland! I think I am going to Journey Church in the morning (if I wake up in time! ha!) to see how it feels to go by myself. After all, that is the goal, right?

19

2010-11-20T11:03:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I went to a paint your own pottery place with a good friend of mine and her little man! It was so much fun and we had a blast. I saw a super cute chip and dip platter on someone's blog a few weeks ago (I can't remember for the life of me who's it was - if you know, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!) and knew I had to make it. I changed mine up a little bit from theirs, I think the other one had footballs or something, but I used the same concept - a serving platter for game day! I am in love with it and can't wait to see when it is done! And this really is the ugliest razorback I've ever painted! Seriously, but it was not easy to paint one on that curved surface!

I also painted our boys some ornaments of their very own!

(yes, I know I spell Sampson weird... but it is how I pronounce it!)

The place we went (the Painted Pig for you you locals) was decorated so cute for Christmas. It almost got me in the Christmas mood, but not quite! We usually go to Firefly, but will probably start heading back here, their selection seemed to be so much bigger!

I don't think these are Christmas decorations, I just really liked them! Particularly the zebra print one!

When we left Painted Pig, I had a much over due hair appointment with my hair goddess, Angie. Seriously, the girl works miracles. I have the thickest hair in the world and that girl makes it look great! I will post a picture of my new 'do when I have a chance.

After I left Angie, I ran some errands, then came home and went to bed. I have been dizzy for about a week and it finally caught up with me at about 5 yesterday. I had the worlds worst headache and decided I should just rest. So I got caught up on all my shows and vegged the rest of the day!

And today, I have one of my sweet friends weddings to go to!!! I am so excited to be there. She is such a good girl and I know they are going to be a great married couple!