Miscellany Monday

 

1. Spending the night at Wyatt's... I was so excited that Wes finished what he had to do with work on Friday night so that we could go to North Carolina to see Emily, Levi and Wyatt. We got there around lunch time on Saturday and they cooked hamburgers on the grill...yum!  We just played with Wyatt and it was great.  The weather was awesome so we were able enjoy a nice walk and watch Wyatt ride around on his John Deere tractor.  The rest of the day was just playing with trucks and trains...such a boy :)

We then went out to dinner and rode around to see the big town of Norwood, NC.  Most people love the cities...I love tiny towns! :)  When we got back home...it was time for bath time and lounging on the couch watching a movie.  Look at my cute nephew!!

 We had a great time and I am excited that Wes is helping them do some updates in their kitchen so we will get to visit again soon!

2. A treat for myself.... When we got back in town on Sunday, Wes went to go trail ride with some friends so I was free for the afternoon.  I cleaned the kitchen and did a little grocery shopping to get us through the week.  It was 70 degrees and sunny so it was a wonderful day that reminded me of the spring weather that will be here for good soon!!  Well, I love fresh flowers so I had to buy some while I was out....aren't they pretty??

3. Pink Swap: I am so excited to be participating in the Pink Swap Hopsy is hosting over at Monograms and Manicures.My friend Heather told me about this and I am so excited!!  Wes and I never really do anything for Valentines, we will have dinner but we don't exchange gifts because we both just had birthdays and I really don't see the point of really celebrating Valentines Day.  I know some people may gasp when they read that...but aren't you supposed to show the people you love how much you love them all the time...why a special day??  Anyways...I am excited about the gift exchange in the blog world though :) 

 4. February Already.....it scares me how fast time really flies lately.  I always heard that time goes by faster when you get older and it is the truth.  I also heard that time goes by even faster once you have kids and that really scares me.  I know I always wish the week would go by fast so it can be weekend so my goal lately is to not wish days away!  Harder than it sounds!!  I'm not wishing days away when I say this...but my birthday is in 9 days yay! I absolutely love birthdays, whether it is mine or a loved ones!  I will be 28 which is really scary because I am fast approaching 30! wow

Hope everyone has a great Monday....don't forget it is also Mingle Monday too :)

Five Question Friday

1. If you had $1,000 to donate to a charity, which would you choose?

Well, I probably should say I would donate to Girl Scouts since I work there and it really is a great program but I have to pick something else.  If I had $1,000 to donate, I would donate to Alzheimer's Association.  I have had loved ones fight both cancer and Alzheimer.  Both of these diseases are horrible but from my experience having a loved one (my grandmother) have sever Alzheimer....that was so much harder on the family.  She wouldn't even realize her family was in the room....such a depressing disease and I really really hope there is a cure soon!

2. Snow days: Do you welcome them happily or are they a pain in your butt?

I love them!! Whenever it snows, we get the 4wheelers out and the sled and play all day!!  It is so much better than sitting in an office all day!! With that being said.....I am ready for warm weather though!  Here are a couple pictures from the last snow day(s).

3. What talent did you wish you had and why?

I'm not picky...I just wish I had one! haha  I would love to have a hobby such as sewing, knitting or just making something really cute! :)

4. Are you a news, politics or celebrity gossip junkie?
I think all of the above!  I am really starting to get in to politics...Wes and I both enjoy Fox News.  But I probably have to say I love my celebrity gossip the most.  People.com is probably one of my most visited websites!

5. What is your favorite "cocktail"? (Are you a beer person, a kiddie cocktail junkie, or perhaps your more the "Cosmo" kind?! Anything flies...doesn't hafta be alcoholic!)
Well, I used to be more of a beer girl but not these days.  If I drink anything (which I rarely do....if I do it is usually just one glass) I drink white wine.
I would take a sweet tea or diet dr. pepper or diet mt dew anytime!

Happy Friday!!

Well that defeats the purpose??

I have been trying to cook healthy meals for supper lately and reading everyone's blogs really does help me find great recipes.  Last night I cooked pork chops on the grill, broccoli (I had to add cheese) and sweet potato fries.  I used another recipe from Kit and they were so yummy!  Wes tired one first and I asked him if he wanted them crunchier..if he did I would just bake them longer.  His answer was, "Why didn't you just put them in the fry daddy?"  I was like...well, that defeats the purpose of healthy meals doesn't it!?! :)  He ended up getting three helpings of them..so I think he liked the healthy version...I know I did!  Here are some pictures of our supper...

After about 10 minutes in the oven

On a different topic....I wrote about the free Cuisinart from the Piggly Wiggly yesterday.  Well, I went to trade in my stickers and this is what I got!!

That is over $100 worth of appliances and pots for free! :)

And finally...look who is feeling better.

 

Callie is almost 100% better!  She only hops for about a minute after she wakes up now.  Her shoulder is much better! 

So excited about the Valentine Gift Swap...sign up by Feb. 1st!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It is my favorite post of the week!  Go see what other people are writing about over at Jamie's!!!!

 I'm Loving that my Clemson Tigers had a great comeback last night and won.  They were down by 19 points at one point and they ended up winning by 10.  I love football and basketball season!!

I'm Loving that I have been collecting stamps from Piggly Wiggly since September and I can turn those in for free Cuisinart.  (For every $10 spent they gave you a sticker)  Click here to see all the goodies I can pick from!    

All 168 of my stickers!  (I had a little help from my mom:)

I'm Loving that I found that I found some great recipes yesterday from Kit and tried the vegetables last night.  They were so good, but I changed her recipe a little. Instead of fennel, I used red onions and then I added garlic powder.  I also made salmon....my attempt to make a great healthy dinner and it was great!  (Even Wes loved it)

Im' Loving that my Callie isnt hurting as bad anymore.  She is walking on her leg again and only hops every once in awhile.  She is back to being her playful self.  We think that she hops around for attention now...:)

I'm Loving my hubby and puppies of course.  I love going home to them every day!

Miscellany Monday

It is already Monday, so visit Carissa and read more Miscellany Monday posts :)

 

1.  Callie's hurt:(

 Yesterday morning, Wes went out side to bring Callie in for a little while.  Sometimes on weekend morning he likes to bring Callie in the bed so she can cuddle up with us some.  (Gracie has no desire to cuddle up, she just wants to come inside and lay near me...so no advantages towards Callie :) )

Anyways, we noticed Callie was limping a little bit.  If anyone has ever been around Callie, you know that she doesn't get hurt.  She is the toughest dog I have ever seen.  Wes went to move her on the bed and she even cried.  Callie didn't even cry when she was a tiny puppy...so this was alarming!  Well the day went on and Callie wouldn't put any weight on her leg.  So of course we babied her all evening, which may be why she didn't put any weight on her leg).  I hate when one of my puppies are hurt....I cant imagine how I will fill when we actually have kids!!

Callie just slept all afternoon and evening...which isn't like her.  Here are a couple pictures....

  Wes found a bump on her shoulder, so we think she pulled something?  Not sure...but she was walking a little better this morning :)

2. Mondays...

I am not real sure how I feel about working on a Monday...I haven't had to work on a Monday in three weeks!  Guess it is back to reality...

3. One last celebration

Wes and I are going to my parents tonight for one last birthday celebration for Wes.  I cant wait to see his reaction when he sees what my parents are giving him for his gift...I just love birthdays! 

4. North Carolina

We are talking about going to stay with Wes's sister this weekend in North Carolina.  We haven't been to their house since last November..I really want to go see them!  I just love any excuse to spend time with my cute nephew!  Emily wants some house renovations so of course Wes is the perfect guy to do that...so that's the real reason we are going.  But while he is working...we can play!

5.  Jodi

I have to praise my sister for a bit.  She is currently working on her weight loss.  She started March of 2010 and she has currently lost 120 pounds!! She still has some more she want to lose..but she is looking great!! I am so proud of her and her motivation!

     This is is actually her picture at 110 pounds lost and then obviously her before picture!

Isn't that amazing...I think she should be in people magazine issue of real people and their weight loss!! 

 

 

Weekend of Celebrations!

We have had lots of celebrating this weekend with Wes's birthday and a bridal shower for a relative.  Friday night we went out for Mexican with some friends and then we all decided we wanted to go bowling!  It has been years since we did this.  It was a lot of fun...here are some pictures of our friends in action...

            Jon Boy

 Jeff and Katherine

 Look at Wes's form haha

Very blurry but I was trying to catch Katherine "granny bowling"

Saturday, I helped my mother in law and sister in law help throw a bridal shower for one of their cousin's fiance.  Tommie's dining room looked so pretty so of course I had to take pictures of all the food and presents!!

 I love this one of Wyatt reading with Annie Claire and Evelyn!

Hard to tell but these are little tiny potatoes with cheese and broccoli in it..yummy!

Finally on Sunday, we went out to the Japanese Restaurant with with the Bowling's and Crawford's to officially celebrate Wes's birthday.  It was so yummy!  Then we went back to Tommie's and had Bruster's ice cream cake and presents.  In one of my earlier posts, I was talking about how I was stressed about what to get Wes for his birthday because he wanted something "useful".  Well that could be anything.   We build a fire in our fire place about every night and he says the poker (not sure the correct term for the fire place utensils) we had was cheap.  So I went and got him a really nice new set...I never knew how expensive they can get.  Here is a picture of it.

I also got him a new garden hose and sprayer since our wonderful puppy chewed one of his up the other night.  Finally I got him some seasonings for the food dehydrator I gave him for Christmas.  He said all of his presents were useful...yay! :)   We have one final birthday dinner tomorrow night with my parents...then we have a two week break from birthdays!



We had a great weekend with wonderful family and friends!!!

Five Question Friday

Another first!  So I'm playing around with Five Question Friday and here it goes..

1. Where did you meet your spouse and did you instantly know it was love?

I am always a little embarrassed to say this, but we met in a bar!  A was with a friend of mine Jamie and she wanted to go to this random little bar in Greenwood to meet up with her friend Jonathan.  Well we got there and Jonathan was with Wes.  Even though Wes was very intoxicated, I feel for him that night.  He and Jonathan were regulars at this bar, so Wes even had a shot named after him.  He bought us all a round of "bowling balls"...don't really remember who its taste, but it was green.  We hung out (the 4 of us) all weekend, which if you knew the relationship between Wes and Jamie (they hate each other...) the fact that they tolerated each other was awesome! :)

I even called my mom the next day telling her that I met someone and I could tell it was going to be something special!! :)   

2. What is your favorite room in your house?

I already talked about this room in another blog entry..see the pictures here.  I absolutely love my dining room! Even though we never really have chances to use it, I look forward to the days when I can use it all the time :)

3. Can you wiggle your ears?

Nope, I sure cant. 

4. What is your evening ritual?

Well, since we are an old married couple now...we don't do too much on week nights.  I usually cook supper, clean the kitchen and then bring our puppies in for a few hours.  Then we usually watch T.V. or right now we are playing Monopoly Streets.  If Wes is watching something I don't care for, then I read some.  I usually take showers at night to save time in the mornings.  Usually in bed about 11ish  I know wild and crazy nights!

5. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?

Man, I love my bed and I love to sleep! :)  I really don't function well without 8 hours.  I don't see how people can function with only 5 or 6 hours...I would be struggling all day!!

Random note..I am working on my About Me and Wedding Page...so when they are complete make sure to check them out :)

Happy Friday!!

 

Kitchen Aid Mixer!!!

So like I said yesterday in my blog, I was going to use my mixer for the first time last night.  IT WAS WONDERFUL!! It is so convenient...my batter can be mixing while I do something else.  I know this may be lame for some, but I was smiling for ear to ear while baking last night!  Since I am now in the world of blogging...I had to document it all with pictures.  I really need to start using my real camera instead of my phone because these are in the best quality.

 

And the finished product.....

This is one of my favorite things to bake...Chocolate Chip Pound Cake.  It is so yummy and a huge hit with our friends.

While I was baking this cake for Reynolds, I looked over at my dogs babies (hey I dont have real babies yet, so I treat my dogs like they are my babies and they are spoiled rotten!!) and they were cuddling.  Well close enough to cuddling and I loved it.  Wes laughs at me because he says the only pictures I have on my phone are of Gracie and Callie....sad thing is....he is right!!

Happy Thursday Everyone :)

Need Help!

Ok...I have become obsessed with this now but I need help!  I am trying to page my page layout better but I am having some issues.  How do I make a better header?  I love everyones top of their page but I just cant get mine right!  Also, how do you get tabs across the top...like wedding day info, recipe pages, that sort of thing?

I have got to get off the computer now and head over to see my Dad for his Birthday :)

What Im Loving Wednesday

 

This is my first Wednesday with a blog so I of course will do what I see Heather do every Wednesday.  I guess I will also link up with Jamie, to tell you about some of the things I am loving today!!


I'm loving  that I finally caved in and started a blog.  It may be struggling right now, but I will get the hang of it! :)

 

I'm loving  that my wonderful mother in law gave me a Kindle for Christmas.  I try to read a little every day.  I didn't think I would like it this much but it is so much easier to read than I thought it would be!!  I just finished "Water for Elephants" and I just started "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" which I heard was supposed to be great! 

 

I'm loving that my friend Katherine is arranging all of our friends to give her Birthday cards, baked goods and other surprises for our friend Reynolds that has been fighting overseas since July.  His birthday is January 24th, even though our package will be a few days late, I know he will be so excited and that makes my day!!

I'm loving that I finally get to use my brand new Kitchen-Aid mixer that my parents got me for Christmas tonight to make a Chocolate Chip pound cake to send to Reynolds!  I have been really really wanting to use it since Christmas Eve but I didn't want to have a cake or sweets in the house...we were overloaded with junk from Christmas.  I finally have a reason to use it and it wont tempt me to eat it!! Yay

 

 

I'm loving January is filled with Birthdays!  It makes if hard on the wallet since it is so close to Christmas, but I just love birthdays.  I already talked about Reynolds.   But January is also the birthday month of my favorite two men..my dad and husband!! Dad's birthday was yesterday and he celebrated turning 61 in San Francisco...cant get better than that I guess.  My parents come home tonight and cant wait to take him his present!  My husband, Wes, has a birthday on Sunday.  I am stressing out for his birthday.  I went overboard with presents for him for Christmas and I have no idea what to do.  I am usually the person that shops way in advance so I don't have to worry about what to get people.  I asked him what he wants, he said something useful?? What does that mean.  Oh well, guess I will come up with something...it is very hard to buy for someone who just goes to get whatever he wants whenever he wants.  Oh well, birthdays are wonderful so happy birthday to some of my favorite people! 

OK this is a picture of my family.  I tried to find one of just Wes and Dad, but couldn't find any!  I think its great that Dad is standing on  a step and still about a head shorter than Wes :)

 

 

I'm loving that my good friend Sarah is getting married soon and I am her Matron of Honor...so that means I get to throw a shower.  Most people dread that, but I am actually very excited.  It gives me an excuse to use all of my wedding gifts in my pretty dinning room!!

These were both taken with my phone...the first one isn't the best but it shows my buffet table, the second was from a Christmas party we had!

 I'm loving my hubby.  I am going to copy that from Heather too! :)  Even if we get aggravated with each other, which is just going to happen once in a while, I know he will always be there for me.

 Wes and I had a rocky first couple years in our relationship, but this was a picture from one of our first dates when he was finally serious about wanting a relationship.  This was one of my favorite days with Wesley :)