22 - Thankfulness

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!

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

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

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!

18 - Thankful Thursday

Whitney over at The Glamorous Life of a Housewife has been hosting a blog carnival each Thursday in November leading up to Thanksgiving. I decided that I should jump on the bandwagon and link up today! Head on over to her blog to see what everyone else is thankful for!

This man. He's perfect, and he's mine.

This dog. He is a sweet boy and we finally have some answers Praise the Lord!

This one is pretty great too. He doesn't get as much blog attention because he's perfectly healthy, but I still love him!

My mama. She's great

My grandmother, she's pretty great, too.

My brother. He can be a pain in the rear, but he sure is one good kid, who's had a lot of tough breaks.

My pops. He's a good one. He has taught me a lot about life and he's taught my husband a lot about beer. Great combo.

Our house, and also that we get to move back in it in a little over a month! So stinkin' excited.

Our current house... I am thankful that I have a place to live and people who love me to share it with.

Study Groups. 3 50 point quizzes to do over Thanksgiving break? No thank you. Split it up between 4 people? Yes, please!

This yumminess that is baking in my oven. At least I hope it's yummy. We are having a potluck at work tomorrow and I am supposed to bring vegetarian enchiladas (yay for being the token vegetarian!) but I ran out of time, and I am lazy sometimes, so we are having vegetarian enchilada casserole instead. Hope it turns out alright!

Super, fantastical, wonderous friends.  They're just grrrrrreat (paging Tony the Tiger)

A car that runs and the blessing of my MILs car for T.

Brussles Sprouts. Had them for dinner last night with some sweet potatoes. And man are they the way to this girls heart.

My super cute purple shoes, with ruffle. They're my fave. If only they came in red...

Health. It's kinda cool.

I could seriously go on forever, but I figure no one really wants to read that much! But I do encourage you to go make your own list of things you are thankful for this season. It wall make your heart feel good.

17 - I think I had a Heart Attack today

Okay, so not really, but this is what I came home to...

Umm, yea, that would be a firetruck, ambulance and two police cars in front of my house. I couldn't get into our driveway, so I immediately called my mom to figure out what happened, because quite honestly, I was thinking the worst!

So, what had actually happened was that my mom came from chasing one of our insane dogs who had escaped. As she was pulling up our driveway, she saw the neighbor raise both his hands and assumed that he was waving to her. Then in an instant, she saw him fall, head first off of their brick wall and hit the ground. He was having a seizure. It was awful. My mom is a nurse so she knew what to do right away. It was super scary, but he is ok now. They took him to the hospital and he's hopefully getting his needs met!

Now, this little lovey...

We finally heard back from the vet specialist today. He was super nice and really helped us make what we think is a good decision. He said based on all of this newest lab testing, it could be one of two things... leukemia or a bowel disorder. Both are treated with Steroids. He said the only way to know for sure was to have a $600 bone biopsy done on him. We opted not to do the testing. Essentially it is doing a test to find out for certain whether or not he has cancer, but honestly, it isn't necessary. Since both ailments are treated the same, it makes sense to save the money from the test and keep it in his own little fund. From now on, he won't be able to be around puppies, stay in kennels or really do anything that could compromise his immune system. Steroids suppress the immune system, so we will just have to be careful and watchful of all things that go on with him! We are so relieved to just have a bit more of an answer!

Also, I found out 2 more friends are pregnant today... what is going on?! ha!

16 - Crazy, busy day!

Holy cow! It is 8:32 and I am just now sitting down! I honestly had planned to write this around 5. oops. We had a fantastic day together today! I am so excited when T gets to have a Sunday off work. It makes me happy! We started out the day in my most favorite way... Yum! 

 Starbucks Peppermint White Mocha. Delish. 

After experiencing the wonderfulness that is Starbucks on a Sunday morning, we headed to That Church. 

We had absolutely ZERO expectations here. We really had never heard anything about it, we've just driven by  and decided to check it out. Honestly, this is so not the place for us. Everyone was super nice and we did enjoy the message, but it just didn't feel right. Does that make sense? We walked in and immediately met about 20 people. Seriously, all of them were friendly. But it might be a requirement to be nice to new people. The first thing that was said to us was "We are all about the Holy Spirit working." While I agree with that statement, it was kind of the first red flag. I like a few "rules" at church, or it can get to be a little, eh, iffy. I honestly expected to see people running around and speaking in tongues after we were told that. I think probably because the only other time that has been an opening line is when I had a Pentecostal friend in college. Nothing against that, but her church is very much a speak in tongues and get the evil out by doing so kind of a place. Now, That Church isn't like what my first impression was, but still isn't going to be our permanent home. The pastor had about a 3 minute schpeal on why we should give financially. Personally, I believe we should give because it has been placed on our hearts by God. Period. I don't need someone to tell me otherwise... I do believe in tithing, but I also think that you should do as God asks you personally. It was just odd. And then his sermon was about how God is not there to make everything all lovey dovey (true, to an extent, He really does want it to be perfect, but we have sin. and that sucks); that he wants to show us suffering (false-that'd be the devil); and that the TV pastors are all wrong in asking for money (had some good points-money doesn't buy health- but over all, was a little off point). And, there were A LOT of Amens and that's rights during the sermon. A little too southern baptist for this Lutheran girl and Episcopal boy. 

After that interesting experience, we headed to the Summit Church. I know a few people who go there and have heard some good things about it. Figured we might as well try it.

 And right off the bat, we felt welcome. We really enjoyed the music and the service here. I don't know if this is for sure the right place, but it was a nice place to be. Both of us got chills during the worship time, which is always a plus. We really felt the Lord's presence in this place. And the pastor's sermon had a lot to do with helping the less fortunate. As a fighter for homeless folks and immigrants, he had me from hello. There was one guy who was really into it. He must've been filled with the Holy Spirit or something. He praised like nothing I have ever seen before. I told Tyler I thought he might need a nap after church. I'm not trying to poke fun, just stating something that seriously stuck out to me at this particular church. 

So far, Summit and Journey are the top 2 on our list. Now, we just have to pray. We desperately need the Lord to lead us to where we should be and we need to step way out of the picture and follow Him.

After our double dose of Jesus, we headed for lunch! We haven't eaten at Senor Ts in quite some time, so I was pretty darn excited! 

 It was delicious, as always...

 I totally only took a picture of this chip and salsa because it looked like a shark fin. haha! I'm a nerd.

 My handsome man :)

After lunch, we ran a few errands, T got a haircut and I got a tshirt to make a birthday present for a special little guy! Last night I realized I didn't have a gift for my cousin's 3rd birthday party that was today at 3:30. Oops! So, I just whipped up an adorable cape (if I do say so myself), he had a superhero/spiderman party and I thought this would be perfect! It was so fun and quick to make! I hope he LOVES it! 

{love!}

I also decided I wanted to make him a little matching tshirt (hence the after lunch trip to WM). 

I am so glad I did. It looked so good together!

 And this is what I came home to after the party... 

 haha! He had been napping the whole time! The only reason I didn't have him go was because he was supposed to go up to school to study. Yea, he didn't get that done. 

Once I got home, we decided it was way past time to head to dinner.

 T took this pic of me, he is getting really good with the camera!

And, we went to Jason's. For one thing and one thing only... 

This man loves him some ice cream :) Actually, its soft-serve, if I don't get it right I might get in trouble! ha! 

15 - My New Toy

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! My husband got me my Christmas present early! Yay! It is stinkin' amazing and I am so blessed. Ya know what it is?? My Canon! Woohoo! I've already taken about a million photos with it! Here are a whole bunch of randomocities from the past 2 days:

this was right when we got home from getting the camera. he was sleepy. See his little blood draw spot on his leg? Bless his heart.

these are some candle sticks I painted a few months back. The color doesn't show up great in these pictures. They are a pretty lime green and I love them!

 And holy moly! Look at my rings! The camera took such a good picture of them!

The tree in our front yard.

 Dog Yoga :) And yes, he is really that skinny right now... hence the need for a billion vet visits. Hopefully we will know more Monday when the newest lab work comes back

And because I am a nerd, I whipped up a cute camera strap cove this afternoon. I need ruffles in my life. It is quite a sickness.

And last but not least, Tyler is off work tomorrow, so we are going to try 2 new churches. Summit and That Church in Sherwood. We will see how it goes! I'll post about it tomorrow!

I also have my cousin's birthday party tomorrow... which is why I should get offline and go sew his super hero cape!

14 - A List.

1. I love US Pizza. It's my favorite. We had it twice this week.
2. I have 16 days until I get my new camera. SIXTEEN. Tyler is making me wait until Black Friday to see if the one I'm getting goes on sale. hmmmph
3. Tyler's dreams of Google TV were dashed earlier this week when he found out he can't watch HULU on it. It was sad day in Tyler's World (similar to Elmo's World)
4. My sweet dog has a doctor's appointment on Friday. I'd appreciate all the prayers we can get. We are really hoping for an easy fix and for him not to be too sick.
5. I bought a sparkly pink lunchbox today, I intend to embroider it. I sometimes pretend I am 5.
6. When both sides of your family have divorces, planning Holidays is stressful. Already.
7. I made lingerie invites today. It was weird, but they are gorgeous!
8. Sonic Vanilla Diet Coke.
9. I need a sofa table/entertainment center/something for our TV to sit on in our house. I gave the one we had to my best friend when we moved in to mom's basement. I want a tall one, shockingly difficult to find. Unless of course I plan to spend $5000. Not happening.
10. I love the Pioneer Woman. She's my favorite. I have a gagillion of her recipes printed, even though I won't make 1/2 of them because they have lots of meat, and I don't eat meat, therefore I stink at preparing it. Tyler gets to take care of that on his own.
11. I desperately want a cookie cake. I don't even like cookie cakes, but everyone on Twitter has been abuzz about them for 2 days. Darn them.
12. Does anyone else think its crazy that the Duggar's don't have a single ugly kid? They make crazy pretty babies. Also, they are very blessed to have had so many healthy children. Even their preemie is healthy, at least as much to be expected for someone born so early! I noticed this earlier today when I caught up with quite a few 19 Kids and Counting. A lot of people can't stand them, but I have some serious respect and admiration for that woman. I don't necessarily agree with having that many, I just don't think it is healthy for her. But, she is doing a fantastic job raising Godly, respectful children.
13. Nothing else, that is all.

13 - My job. I love it.

Seriously. Love. There is no other word to describe it.

When we got married, I quit my job at the preschool and went to work full time at a place that offered benefits. It was miserable. Horrible. Hated it. For the first time in my life, I felt like I didn't fit in. I did not get along with anyone, it was awful. I was depressed. I would come home and sit on the couch, eat and watch TV until it was time for bed. I gained about 40 pounds. In a year. I will never be doing something like that again!

But, when I decided to become a full time student, we made the decision that I would quit working and we would move in to my Mother's basement. While that was fun for awhile, it got old. We are moving back in to our rent house in January and honestly can't wait! But with this moving back out, I definitely had to be working. So I put my name back out there as available to babysit and started looking for jobs. I got a ton of new babysitting clients, which eventually led to me nannying one day a week. And I also found out that a Mother's Day Out had an opening for a 2's teacher. What?! Yay! ha! I went to my interview and was hired on the spot. God is good. I only had to apply 1 place!

Now, why do I love my job so much? It's the little things. Of course I love my kids. I teach 6, much better than 12-16 I had at the other place. But that's a big thing. I am in love with it because of the people and environment. We start each morning with a bible study. We read a verse and ask prayer requests and pray for each other. It truly is THE best way to start your day. Knowing that my boss cares enough to pray for me each and every day is fantastic. Also, my bosses are just great. That's all there is to that.

The biggest reason I love my job, however, is that I truly feel appreciated. The parents, the bosses, other teachers. Everyone seems to be genuinely glad I am there. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that. I teach my kids a lot in my class. I really do expect quite a bit from them and it is good to know that what I am doing in my room matters to the others around me. They will ooohhh and ahhh over art work I've done or thank me for counting. Every little thing, they are gracious for. (that last sentence was a little Yoda-esque- oh well, I'm leaving it)

I really can't put into words how wonderful it is to have a place that I want to go to each and every day! God knew what he was doing when he gave me this job!

12 - Christmas Cards 2010

Here are a few of my Christmas card designs for this year. I'll also take custom orders if you have something in mind! If there is one you would like, let me know and I will get you pricing info!