Hello Cupcake

Tues & Wed

2010-06-25T09:31:00.002-05:00

Every year, the City of Elkins has a 4th on the River celebration and this year I've been put in charge of a few things (including going to meetings to take minutes, calling press, getting donations, and the list goes onnnnnn!) So, I'm hoping it will be a fun event- and I know these next couple of weeks will be BUSY! (tues, 51)

My mom's friend Missy and her family opened up a sub shop this week in Elkins:) They are the sweetest family and I really hope they do well. We went down to support them for their grand opening and I got a tuna sandwich. It didn't photograph that well, but it was G-O-O-D!! (wed, 52)

Mish-Mash

2010-06-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

45Breakfast of Champions: Butterscotch Pudding
It's SOOOO hot, getting into the mid-90s for the past week :( 46

My mom's friend made these- super cute! (Mom got the turqouise one!) 47

aw, Mikey! my mom keeps sending me text pictures of him- he's SO CUTE! 48

I don't know if you can see all of them, but there they are: all 4 dogs, just hanging out! haha Love it!:) 49

Sweet Roommates 44

2010-06-17T10:32:00.001-05:00

I had a bad couple of days on Sunday & Monday...

my roomies surprised me with a balloon and a cupcake from Rick's Bakery

so sweet (and delicious!)

Cuppycake

2010-06-17T10:28:00.003-05:00

Low-key evening.

Movies and cupcakes:) 43

I've got a basketball jones 42

2010-06-14T13:21:00.004-05:00

Sunday made the second day that Sadie, Brandon & I went to the park to play basketball! And OMG- I'm soooo sore today (and yesterday!) hahaha. Sadie & I are on a team vs Brandon... so far we've lost both times, but I feel like when we go tonight- this is our day!!!

That tiny little thing just jumped right up there! haha
walker park! (we. are. dorks.

fun mural in the park
then we came home and snuggled all the babies:)
sweet sammy
well, he's kind of [slutty] he just goes from chair to chair, trying to get ALL of the lovin!! (and I don't think you can see but she has three dogs there!
42

Pool Party?

2010-06-13T17:57:00.002-05:00

I bought the dogs a pool, thinking it would be so cute to watch them splash and play around... it was a FLOP! We kept having to pick them up and put them in there, only for them to run away!! hahaha, maybe its just not hot enough, we'll have to try again! 41

80s Party

2010-06-12T14:43:00.001-05:00

40- Last night was our friend Nikki's 22 birthday and her party was 80s themed! Of course I put off finding anything to wear until last minute...so I'm googling "80s fashion" an hour before I'm supposed to leave- I don't think I'll ever learn!
Side ponytail, check. Neon tights, check. Headband, check...the rest kind of just threw on.

Britt and Julie- these girls looked SO CUTE!!! I love love love Julie's outfit!!

Birthday girl and her sister.

Mikey

2010-06-10T21:16:00.004-05:00

Chancer got a new best friend, meet Mikey!!!! He's about a year old and so CUTE! Chance is going to be such a great little dad to him, we took him to Kap's t-ball game and he was looking around the house for an umbrella to hold over him and took a little backpack full of water so he wouldn't get thirsty!! haha

But unfortunately, Sambo wasn't having yet ANOTHER dog into his house, so it just didn't work out. Chance came and got his stuff this afternoon and moved back in with my parents. We are all sad about it, even Eric said he liked having Chance around...but I'm glad for Mikey to not be picked on and have free reign of his house!! haha

See you soon Mikey!
39

Practically Famous

2010-06-10T21:09:00.003-05:00

At my job, we did an Elkins Community Night at Arvest Ballpark to watch the Naturals (our minor baseball league) team play. A dollar of every ticket we sold came back to the community, which we donated to our Senior Center. The mayor set it up and then I was in charge after that. I put up flyers, updated it on our city facebook (City of Elkins, Arkansas), took tickets to local businesses to sell and was the contact person with the Naturals rep. Well, it was not as big of a hit as we thought it would be- but we still did get to donate some money to the seniors. SO this is me with my boss and Sara, the Sr. Center director. And my picture will be in the paper next week:) Well, its the local paper....but I bet my mom will still buy a copy! ha-38

Terra Studios

2010-06-09T11:54:00.005-05:00

First, I think I forgot to explain that Eric's little sister, her boyfriend and their two dogs moved to Arkansas this week! They are going to go to school in the fall, so while they are getting settled in and looking for jobs and saving money...they are staying with us! SO- let me tell you, FULL HOUSE! They are living in our garage, which is way bigger than any room we could give them and has fans and a door to the backyard, Chance has the extra bedroom and there are dogs strewn all around the house. haha! Should be interesting:)

Yesterday, I took a 1/2 day at work and took everyone out to Terra Studios, home of the "Bluebirds of Happiness" Its this neat little park with cool sculptures, and they blow glass, arty walls... just a neat little place to get everybody out of the house for a while!

All four of us- 37Sadie and Brandon

Me and Eric inside of the blubird gazebo:)

This looked cooler in person because those rocks were glowing and kind of looked like lava(?)

Tiny little fairy door- haha!

All those knobs were sticking out and further down the wall they made flowers.

This was actually a little dark corner, and the stars and moon were glowing! Very neat

Little gremlin family

Brother and Sister

We had a fun time and looked around, but it was H-O-T!!! (Notice there aren't very many pictures of me...I was dripping!)

And one last note from yesterday, ChuChu got his manhood removed! :( We did it at the animal shelter and after I dropped him off, I just cried the whole way to work. He's never been in a kennel situation before and all the other dogs were barking..he was SO SCARED and I was afraid he would think I was leaving them there forever! But we got to pick him up around 3:30 and he was doing fine. He was alert and didn't seem in too much pain so we are thankful for that:)

Full House

2010-06-07T18:39:00.002-05:00

Tonight we barbequed hamburgers and hot dogs, the dogs are napping, the boys are playing Xbox 360 and its a pretty good night!

P.S. Did I mention there are FOUR dogs living here for now? Chaos! 36

Naturals Baseball

2010-06-07T18:28:00.005-05:00

We went to our first minor league baseball game last night, perfect because Eric & I had never been and it was Sadie & Brandon's first night in Arkansas:) We were super lucky and got seats in the SHADE (oh and on the3rd row on the 3rd baseline...) We watched some ball, saw a bat get broken and hit into the stands, and ate lots of ice cream!- 35

On our way
Damon Chance & Eric watching!

Giant ice cream! It took three people to finish this, haha
(This is Sadie, Eric's little sister who just moved here)

Kappy got a little bored so we walked up to the bouncy!

Our whole gang!

Summer's Coming!

2010-06-03T14:53:00.003-05:00

29- Nobody at our house is EVER more popular than when they have food!! haha, and I love that I caught Chuy licking his lips. Oh good grief!!!
I have been able to pick this little sweetie up from school for the past 2 days! Her last day of school is Friday and we've already been talking about how much swimming we're gonna do! She LIVES in the pool in the summer!!! - 30

27 & 28

2010-06-01T22:04:00.003-05:00

27(Sunday) Not technically a "picture" but I drew this for Eric :) hahah- it's me going to bed and him not...sooo he's crying and going to have to sleep on the couch. TA-DAAA, I have the skills of a third grader! But what I love the most is I left this up on the screen and when I was upload pictures yesterday, he had saved it as "I love kyla sooo much". Yes, we are silly!

28 Had a great Memorial Day!! This is my picture- because how could I NOT choose one of that cutie!! (Plus none of us older kids wanted our pictures in bathing suits..haha) We all went out to my parents for a BBQ and then swam our little hearts out! Except Eric, he stayed in with Dad & Grandpa...probably too talk about manly stuff. Then we came home and laid around and just relaxed with the children! Good weekend, but I did NOOOOT want to go back to work today. Blech!

Have a good week (already to hump day tomorrow!)

Weekends:)

2010-05-30T19:42:00.002-05:00

25- From Friday: The boys are so happy about their new roommate! Even though they have been indeterminately kicked out...one for shedding, one for chewing.. oh well, they can just meet in the living room for their love fest!

26-(Saturday) Was a good day!! I'm sad that this is the only picture I took... Sam looking at the birds! Sam & Chuy are always chasing them out of the yard, "stalking" them while they sit on the picnic table and watching them up in the trees! ha!

I did have to work, but got called off my night shift so Chancey and I decided to go swimming at moms! FUN and the water was soo nice (I was afraid it would be freezing!) Then we came home, got changed and went over to Julie's for a BBQ! Love her:)

I have yet to take my picture for today...hmmm & its already 8! I need something exciting to happen! ha

Roomie

2010-05-27T18:40:00.001-05:00

24
Little Chancer coming home from work! My little brother moved in with us on Tuesday night. He thought since he has graduated he was ready to "move out" from my mom & dads...but obviously not really ready to be on his own-own. So we gave him the extra bedroom & I helped him unpack all his stuff and told him I wouldn't pack his lunch for work like mom used to!! haha
We made tacos together on Tuesday and last night we got home at the same time and started cleaning the kitchen and bathroom...Mom would be so proud! And its nice for me to not have to be alone all the time while Eric's at work!

And a landlord update: FINALLY got a hold of him & Eric said he had been moving all week so he didn't really have a phone...hmmm. Well we told him about the leak on the roof and his suggestion was that Eric climb up on the roof and nail a tarp down until he can come look at it. OMG-GHETTO. Anyways, after all this I e-mailed him and said I have receipts totaling $185 and I would just less it off our rent when I mailed him. Then he emailed me back and just take off $250 for all the trouble. YES! We decided to go get my dad a gift card to somewhere for the help and hopefully thats the end of our house troubles for now!

23

2010-05-27T08:38:00.005-05:00

23- Had a sweet visitor last night!We went to the nature thing next door for a "photo shoot" but didn't last too long because it was hot and muggy! Isn't she adorable!

Oh Good Grief!

2010-05-25T12:16:00.005-05:00

22- I woke up this morning in a panic b/c I looked @ the clock and it was 7:40! And that's what time I have to leave my house by to get to work on time. So I threw on a dress and put my hair in a ponytail, brushed my teeth and ran out the door! Then I get to driving down the road and look at the clock.... it's only 6:50. DUHHHH!! I was a mix between laughing at myself, because I seriously sit up in a panic all the time thinking I'm late and mad because I missed 30 minutes of sleep! But at least I finally had the time to straighten my hair and put on some makeup:)

My new Ebay dress that I showed a few posts ago came in!

(And I know I owe pictures 20 and 21 but I'm at work and they on my laptop at home.)

Traitors!

2010-05-23T17:23:00.005-05:00

We had to put Sam up for a minute on Friday night while we all came in because he just HATES new people coming into the house. After they sit down...he's fine then...ugh. And even though he knows my brother, he hasn't seen him in a while so we put him up. And here they are by Saturday afternoon:

haha! little traitors! everytime i came in the room, one of them was on the couch with him! 19

Congratulations Brother!

2010-05-22T15:16:00.006-05:00

18My sweet little brother graduated from high school yesterday! Woo-hoo, go Chancey! :) We are soooo super proud of you and love you so much!!!

This one's kind of out of order, but we all went & ate at Outback afterwards:)

Me & my two sisters!

Eric put up his mohawk for the first time in....2 years?

Chancer and Grandpa (We were REALLLLY missing my Grandma tonight) :(

Mom, Chancey & Dad

Brother/Sister= Best Friends! Right? ha

Tana Banana

After graduation, Chance came home & spent the night with Eric and I. Told him I felt awful that he was spending his graduation night with us boring old people! I was in bed by 11:30- haha!

Kap's Video

2010-05-21T08:00:00.002-05:00

Here is a little video that Kap & I made :)

A little holdover until my picture of the day- and it should be good! My little baby brother is graduating high school tonight at 7!!!! Yay- I'm so proud of you Chancey :)

Stop Me!

2010-05-20T21:01:00.005-05:00

17- Step away from the mall. Hide the debit card. A monster has risen in me & CANNOT be stopped! Ha! I can't stop buying stuff! I got this shirt at Vanity- I LOVE it and its a cardigan and doesn't close in the front. Especially now since my hair is short-you can see the pretty in the back!

And I got this Old Navy dress on Ebay for $10 with shipping! Love it:)

But now...unless I seriously want to live on Ramen noodles with no cable or electricity- I have got to stop shopping!

14

2010-05-20T20:54:00.003-05:00

They are still intact! This is a world breaking record at our house!! (Also, that's Chuy's "chair" and Sam has his own chair- the leather seat we got at Goodwill- its so funny when we all go to our same seperate seats everynight! Also again: I need a life..!)

Oh my goodness... look at that hair girl!!! haha cute baby:)

Go Diggy!!!

2010-05-18T09:17:00.004-05:00

#13

This is my picture from yesterday, I was just too tired to post it when we got home! It was Kap's first softball game of the year! She's in coach pitch this year, no more tball!!! She hit it the first time but got out at second base when another girl hit it right over there!! Then she struck out the second time but that's OKAY!! She did awesome :) Go baby diggy!!

Before the game
Practicing her swing.. I love her ponytail in this one! ha

Eric came with me, which was a fun surprise! Even though I made us get there an hour early because I thought the game started at 5:45! Thanks for not being too mad!

Silly

cute baby!

Good game girls! I'm so glad I got to go:)

Me & Diggy

Bargain:)

2010-05-16T21:12:00.004-05:00

#12

I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart to pick up some shampoo & walked out with a few bags... it always happens! I got both of those CUTE cardigans for $5 each & the pink sweat pants for $3 (I love them so much, I already have them in black and blue!) And I finally got some new sandals since the dogs (CHUY) ate my last pair. Not a bad run!!

Why My Dad is the best

2010-05-15T22:20:00.004-05:00

#11
My dad showed up at 9:30 this morning and after much frustration, a trip to Lowe's, talking to a plumbing "specialist" (not), many trips in & out of the rain to turn the water off and on, a new faucet and a bribe of breakfast.... we now HAVE WATER! yay :) My dad is the best & I told him we would make him a bill and deduct it off our rent! haha... what's your rate, 100 an hour?!!?

The children (and me!) also got a fun surprise because this little lady decided to ride along with her PawPaw!!! :)

I walked out of the bedroom & caught Sam begging for belly rubs, haha!

Where My Water Handle Went...

2010-05-14T18:39:00.004-05:00

Number 10:Still frustrated. Still have no water. Still can't get a hold of our landlord. Still haven't showered.

STILL!

#9

2010-05-14T10:44:00.004-05:00

Our friend, Jon, played at 21st Amendment last night & a whole bunch of our Red Slobster friends came out to support him!! The bar was packed and he did so good!!! So this is my picture of the day:

& here's some more:

OMG- I love this picture!! Silly!!

End of the night, he had a whole crew up there dancing:)

my best friend, julie!! love!

And BEFORE that I was trying to take a shower to get ready, turned the cold water faucet and it fell COMPLETELY out of the wall!! Water was shooting across the tub hitting the wall so hard that it was just mainlining right onto the floor. I threw on some clothes and ran down the street to my neighbors (embarrasing) & he came and turned the water off at the street. By the time all that happened, the bathroom was flooded and water was running into the extra bedroom. Such a MESS! I haven't got a hold of our landlord yet, but I had to brush my teeth with a bottle of water this morning and come to work with no shower...NOT very happy!

#8

2010-05-12T15:13:00.003-05:00

We had a going away party this afternoon at my work, and a co-worker brought this beauty!!!
1.)I did half my piece with someone so I wouldn't eat the whole thing.... BUT 2.) I only did it so that I could get some banana pudding.
Oy Vey.

Picture Day Catch Up (3-7)

2010-05-10T17:22:00.006-05:00

Laptop is back in the game, thanks to my sweet boyfriend who went a bought me a new cord! Now for the picture roundup (I hope I don't have to do this again, I like looking @ them seperately!)

Day Seven- It's a Monday, and I love Mondays because thats when Eric is off :) Mostly we just sit around (I spy an Xbox controller in somebody's hand) and hang out- but it's my favorite night of the week and I get to spend it with my 3 favorite people!
Day 6- I have two pictures for this day! Oops. At the lot next door to our house is a nature place- with plants and trails and stuff. I saw this for the first time when I was taking pictures over there, it has a "doorway" from tree branches and when you walk under there is a sign that says "Fairyville." Then there all these little minituare houses and villages- its so precious!

Day 5- Saturday....I had to work all day and when I was getting ready, thought the dogs were being a little too quiet. They've pulled a few Houdini tricks lately and keep getting out of the backyard so I decided to go check on them. LUCKILY, my camera was sitting on the dining room table and I caught them just hanging out on the picnic table!! I love this picture- best friends!!

Day 4- This is one of about 40 pictures I tried to take with Chuy on our walk... and sadly, this is the best one! Ha!

Day 3- My Sam:) He's so photogenic and so sweet... I love those wrinkles by his mouth, I'm imagining they are from smiling so much.

Not Stopping At Two!

2010-05-10T09:13:00.002-05:00

Erhem.... I'm NOT stopping at two for those who asked (J!). I have been dutifully carrying around my little camera to and fro, just snapping away! My laptop is currently out of commission & I left my camera on the coffee table so I can't upload at work but tomorrow we will be back in business!

:)

Numero Dos

2010-05-05T15:00:00.004-05:00

Happy Cinco De Mayo! I'm on my work computer because I dropped the laptop last night and bent the plug for the charger. :(

And since I'm at work... my picture for Day 2:

My extremely messy desk!! I have been absolutely ALL over the place today! The phone is ringing off the hook & I can't seem to finish one thing before I need to move onto the next... Ah! But underneath all that mess- I have some fun pictures of my family, friends & dogs, Kap's Softball Schedule and some other little cute stuff!

I guess that should motivate me to get back to work & clear all this mess off! 1 hour and 21 minutes until 4:30. Come on clock :)

Day One

2010-05-04T19:54:00.003-05:00

The dogs got new toys and instead of ripping through his in .5 seconds, sweet Sam laid down by it and just relaxed. Oh, be still my heart! ha!

In our otherwise very exciting lives... we went to the Walker Park for the first time to walk around. Went down a trail to the little creek... Sam & I had fun walking around in the water but poor ol Chuy wasn't having it. After dodging all the little baseball players and sniffing every tree in the park we all loaded up and went on a ride to see Eric at work then to KFC to get some grilled chicken and green beans. Now we're just waiting for Glee and The Hills to come on so our Tuesday night can be complete! Yes, so exciting.

Project 365

2010-05-03T21:11:00.005-05:00

I saw this on my friend Kayla's blog and thought how perfect! I take pictures everyday & since I've been having the WORST writer's block, hopefully this can get me back in the groove of things!

Project 365: How to Take a Photo a Day and See Your Life in a Whole New Way
People will often say that their whole lives flashed before their eyes after they experienced a traumatic event. Perhaps it’s a bit morbid, but we think that sounds pretty incredible.

Project 365: How to Create a Daily Photographic History

Why do it?
Taking a photo a day is a big undertaking with big payoffs. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider doing it:

•Imagine being able to look back at any day of your year and recall what you did, who you met, what you learned… (Often we find it hard to remember what we did just yesterday or even last night, let alone a whole year ago!)

•Your year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document your travels and accomplishments, your haircuts and relationships. Time moves surprisingly fast.

•Taking a photo a day will make you a better photographer. Using your camera every day will help you learn its limits. You will get better at composing your shots, you’ll start to care about lighting, and you’ll become more creative with your photography when you’re forced to come up with something new every single day.

Tips on How to Do It
Here are six tips on how to create your own Project 365:

1.Bring Your Camera Everywhere
Yes, everywhere. Get in the habit. Grocery stores, restaurants, parties, work, and school. Going to a movie theatre? Snap a pic of the flick with your phone–there are photo-ops everywhere. If you have one of those tiny tiny cameras, you have no excuse not to have it in your pocket all the time. And if you don’t? Camera phones are a great substitute.

2.Make Posting Easy
You can install blog software like Movable Type or Wordpress on your own site and create an entry for each photo, but for true ease of use, try a photo sharing site. Flickr will let you post a week’s worth of photos in 2 minutes flat, and fotolog and Photoblog.com are geared toward a photo-a-day workflow. Making it fast and easy means you’re much more likely to do it.

3.Vary Your Themes
Try to capture the day’s events in a single photo. Perform photographic experiments. Take a photo of someone new you meet, something you ate for the first time, or something you just learned how to do. Take a photo of something that made you smile. And don’t forget to take a photo of yourself at least once a month so you can remember how you’ve changed, too.

4.Tell a Story
Use your blog entry, or your photo description, to explain what’s going on in each day’s photograph. How good did that dinner taste? What made you want to take a photo of that stranger? It’ll help you remember down the road, and it gives friends following along a better appreciation of why you took the photo you did. You don’t need to write a lot, just enough to add some color.

5.Don’t Stop, No Matter What
This is perhaps the most important tip of all. You will get tired of taking a photo every single day. Some days, you will consider giving up. Don’t. The end result is worth the effort. Remind yourself why you wanted to do it in first place.

There will be times you’ll think there’s nothing interesting left to take a photo of, and times you’ll think you didn’t do anything exciting enough to take a photo of. There’s always a great photo to be made.

Get out of the house and take a walk. Or stay inside and look around. Take a photo of something important to you. Take a photo of the inside of your house so you can see how your taste has changed over the years. Take a photo of anything, just don’t stop.

It helps if you’ve told your friends about the project and asked them to follow along. Their encouragement will keep you going!

6.Post early, post often
Plan on going through and posting your photos at least once a week so you don’t get backlogged and feel overwhelmed. Ideally, post every day or two. Again, spend the time up front to make sure it’s quick and easy to post. It’ll make all the difference.

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2010-03-24T09:00:00.002-05:00

I am on board the fit train and I’m not planning on getting off any time soon. Because it’s working!

I’ve had a great week from last Wednesday today. With a minor slip-up on Sunday night that included a chicken ceaser salad (I know, could I have picked a worse dressing? At least it was on the side) and pizza...and just for good measure, I threw in 2 of Eric's hot wings. I felt SO disappointed in myself for the rest of the night. But other than that, I’ve been counting points and haven’t gone over my points yet. I’m saving up my flex points for next Monday, so I can have a dinner out with Eric on his day off.

I’ve also been doing my little exercise videos. I have done the Leslie Sansone, Walk Away the Pounds every night since Sunday. There is an option for one, two, or three miles. So far I've stuck with the one mile, which gets my heart rate up but I KNOW I could do more so tonight: 2 miles! I bought the 30 Day Shred and did it one time...Jillian Michaels scares me! I've haven't worked up the nerve to put that one back in, YET!

I want to share my meals with you and hopefully someone can give me some ideas!

For breakfast, I’ve been eating one of two things:

1) Weight Watchers Yogurt and an Apple (2 points)

2) Cereal with skim milk (3 points)

I really need some other ideas here!! It has to be something I can pack up and take with me because I eat at work. I saw another girl had WW bagels, I cant believe it's not butter spray and fruit strawberry preserves for 3 points! YUMMM:) And Kayla recommended that I boil an egg the night before and bring it with me (YUM again!)

For lunch, I eat a SmartOnes. I really do enjoy these- I already know the points, it's the correct portion and they (most of them) taste really good! I love the Chicken Carbonara and 3 Cheese Ziti Marinara.

For dinner, is where it gets hard for me. I mostly try to stick with the SmartOnes. I want to start cooking, but I dont really trust myself with portion sizes or anything. We did have grilled chicken and green beans the other night, but even then I think my chicken breast was too big. (Need to invest in a scale!) The next thing is I eat before Eric gets home from work, so then while he's eating- I feel like I need to eat again! MUST WORK ON THIS!

My challenge this week is to get into a groove on counting points. I hop it will be so much easier to resist something bad when I’ve spent four days being good and avoiding bad things. Why throw all of that away on french fries?

Little Letters

2010-03-23T09:21:00.000-05:00

dear cheese dip and chips,

i swear i'm having dreams about you.

dear spring break,

i wish you applied to me.

dear chicago,

why do your hotels have to be so expensive?

dear dave ramsey,

i'm still working on my baby step #1.

dear redbox,

thanks for the free movie code.

dear dogs,

thanks for trying to sneak through the gate every time i leave you outside.

dear apples with peanut butter,

your my favorite 2:00 snack.

dear brian,

i'm glad you moved out but i miss having a "dishwasher."

dear new haircut,

i'm still loving you! and the time you took off my get ready routine.

dear flip-flops,

it won't be long now!

WW and Girly Bits

2010-03-22T12:05:00.000-05:00

I've had several doctor appointments over the last few weeks for some "girly" problems... I've been skipping months (like 5 in a row!) and went to go see what was going on! I had to have an ultrasound that showed lots of little cysts on my ovaries and at my check up last Friday, she diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I'm starting birth control that will regulate my monthly visitor and hopefully clear up some of the cysts. I also had an abnormal pap-smear, so I go back on April 1 to get a "cryotherapy" treatment, where they will freeze part of my cervix and we'll go from there. (NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS!) She said it will be pretty uncomfortable but shouldn't be painful.

She also mentioned that losing weight would help tremendously... sooo.. my mom and I started Weight Watchers. It's been almost two weeks and as of my dr. appt Friday, I had lost 6 pounds. The first thing to go was my Mt. Dews!! :( Sad, sad day!! My mom is a great partner to do this with because she's supportive and sends me emails keeping me on track and reminding of my goals..but also keeps me accountable and isn't afraid to keep me in check if I complain about the pizza I might want! ha!

I make a weekly menu and keep it with me all the time. If I know what I'm going to eat then I'm not so "whats for dinner, lets just go get mexican!" haha.. I eat breakfast, a 10:00 snack, lunch, 2:00 snack and then dinner. I do an exercise video at night and drink LOTS of water.

I'll probably update more about this later... but for now I want to hear your suggestions, recipes, and stories!!

America's Next Top Model!

2010-03-21T12:00:00.001-05:00

That's my Kappy! She got picked to be on the back of the Boys and Girls Club bus in Fayetteville! She's also on their national poster that they use! WHAT A CUTIE:)

Go girl!

Haircut :)

2010-03-20T16:39:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I've blogged! I still read them everyday... I just feel like I have NOTHING to say!

It's snowing today... in MID-MARCH! Yesterday was beautiful and almost 70 degrees, today snow and freezing cold! Some first day of Spring... haha.

Here's my hair in January
And this was last week....

And this is today!

It was a kind of spur of the moment decision... I've been thinking about it a little, and when I mentioned it to my mom today, she said let's do it right now! (HUGE surprise because she loooves my hair long) So we did, and I LOVE IT!

Snow Day!

2010-01-29T17:22:00.000-06:00

(image from here)

This is the updated snow totals as of 5pm here...They said on Tuesday that " this storm could be one of the worst in a decade. A storm you will likely remember for a long time to come, but not quite as destructive in northwest Arkansas as the Ice Storm of 2009."
So far..I haven't heard of anyone losing electricity and I don't know how icy the roads are but my manager from Red Lobster called and said they were closing the restaurant at 4pm. So... we'll see what it does tonight!

But as for today, we had a great snow day! We slept in late, played outside with the dogs, took a walk in the woods behind our house, ate potato soup and read! And watched the snow... it's been coming down ALL day!

Behind our house

This was just stuck in the ground by this tree and we found it while walking!

Somebody hates the snow!

And this guy here... LOVES it! He scoops it up with his nose and catches it and then runs laps and laps as fast as he can around the yard. So funny!

Eric and the boys... nearly impossible to have all three looking at the same time!

Now we're waiting for 1 vs. 100 (trivia game) to come on the Xbox... We. are. hilarious. to watch when we play this.

"Ants" with pretty "hare"

2010-01-28T21:52:00.001-06:00

I picked up Kapriel from school the other day, and was going through her backpack when I found her "diary"! This girl had me CRACKING UP! She let me have the letter that she wrote about me and I put it on my desk at work to look at every day.

I have an ant named Kyla. She is verey pritey. I love her hare. I love her.

On the back it said: We are going to eat at Olipe Gardun. Yuk! I hate Olipe Gardun but I have to eat anyways.

There was another one that said: I love my Gigi (my mom) but she is being mean right now. Then she marked out the "being mean" part so that it would just say: I love my Gigi.

Hahahaha!!!

This girl....oh goodness! Every time I look at this letter, I die laughing. She is just so precious! Also, it doesn't hurt that she thinks I have pretty "hare"!! Haha

Little Letters

2010-01-27T19:00:00.000-06:00

dear victoria stilwell,

please make your way over to my house. asap.

dear boots,

quit being on backorder!

dear mom,

thanks for all the cute prizes you seem to pick up for me everywhere you go. :)

dear family vacation,

i'm saving my pennies.

dear ice storm,
oh no. not a repeat of last year.

dear little debbies,
quit staring at me.

dear kapriel,
cant wait to go to the gymnastics meet with you!

dear poppysnaps,
you make the cutest stuff! go check them out and enter their giveaway!

dear last night's olive garden leftovers:
you're MINE!

Scallywags.

2010-01-26T18:00:00.001-06:00

If I didn't have these dogs...

There wouldn't be muddy footprints in the bathtub. I wouldn't have hair on every single piece of furniture and clothing I own. I wouldn't have to fight for covers. or leg room in the bed. or space on the couch. I wouldn't be sweeping every day. There would be no chasing of anyone, trying to pry my underwear from their mouth as we race across the house. I wouldn't have a $139 vet bill for an ear infection. No picking up poop. I wouldn't have a wet nose trying to pry itself under my hand as I type. I wouldn't have to do a magic trick every time i come home: trying to unlock the door, holding mail/purse/groceries/phone, scramble in and do a head count to make sure nobodys escaped. There wouldn't be two beady little eyes watching every little morsel I put in my mouth. No standing in between dogs b/c one doesn't like the other one to sneeze. And he can't help it. I wouldn't worry about people coming over. Wouldn't hear clickety-clackety trailing behind me EVERYWHERE I go...It would be quiet.

But lonely.

Family Dinner & a Freebie!

2010-01-21T19:08:00.001-06:00

Last night was our weekly "family night" which was at my sister's. We watched Blind Side, helped Kap study for her Arkansas test, and some people...had a dance competition. ha! so fun!

my brother's boots! (had to take mine back b/c they were too small. :( wah) and in the background is my sister's "ab circle" hahahaha, i have a hilarious video of her on it, but I'm pretty sure I would get killed if it got put on here!
mom & diggy

me & addie

mom & dad

sister

I didn't take any pictures of the food, but we had enchiladas. So good :) Next week: Mom's house, and I heard through the grapevine that we are having homemade soup!

@ Shutterfly.com
You have to pay for S/H, but it came out to $1.08 total.

They are 5x7 folded cards and you insert pictures in. You can do any (Thank You, Xmas, Birthday, Holidays) but I made two Valentine's Day Cards and a birthday one- can't wait 'til they come in :)

Randoms

2010-01-20T18:00:00.000-06:00

how cute is this little baby!!! she's going to be 8 in April :( waaah getting so big!

Last day was my work BFF Sunny's last day :( So we had a good bye party breakfast for her! Everyone donated and then I went & got all the stuff... I was supposed to just get donuts and juice, but went a little crazy and got bagels, cream cheese, fruit, cute napkins and a pink tablecloth. haha! I miss her already!

her Hello Kitty bag... ohmygoodness, we have so much fun together!

Guess who ordered these!! They were ON SALE for $75 but I googled a coupon code and found one for 50% off that!! With shipping and handling the total came to $44!! They should be here no later than the 27th, I'm super excited :) :) (I got the brown ones!)

Love him.

Days Off = <3!

2010-01-17T22:50:00.000-06:00

I had the day off yesterday (and Eric always has Monday's off) so we had such a fun day together. Ran some errands and went to eat lunch at Jason's Deli. One of Eric's favorite (even though I wanted Olive Garden soup SOOO bad- I told him I was trying to be mature about it, ha)

My chicken pot pie soup (so good!) and turkey sandwich
The beefeater

we always tease eric because "he eats like a bird" so he had eaten about 1/2 of the sandwich and said I could eat 2 of these. When he got down to the last bites, he said... well not in a row. I mean I could eat one today and another tomorrow.

hahaha, i knew it. all talk. :)

we have a "nature preservatory:" next door to us and some woods so we took the dogs for a walk. it's going to be SO PRETTY in the spring!!!

<3.

kind ob obscene, but i love when chuy climbs under sam's legs.

haha

sam always has to be FIRST.

Then Eric had the boys over for a poker night, they are definately loving the insulated 2 car garage as their man cave!

It was so hard to get up this morning and go to work but it turned out to be such a pretty day (60 degrees!) Sam has another (UGH) ear infection so I have to call tomorrow and make another vet appt. and only 3 more days til the weekend! yayayay :)

Morgan's Baby Shower

2010-01-14T20:45:00.002-06:00

Last night was my sweet friend Morgan's baby shower. Our friend Jesse hosted it (and did such a good job!) I had promised Jesse that I would come over early and help her set up... of course I got up late that morning AND procrastinated on the gift so I barely made it over 30 minutes early to help. (And thankfully my sweet mom came through with the CUTEST picture frame and burp cloth that she made. Lifesaver! I'm so sad that I forgot to take a picture)

Food Table!

The hostesses:) Jessie and her sweet baby Lydia. Funny story, Lydia's bday is Jan. 22nd so Jessie said that she saw all the presents and cake and thought it was her birthday!! haha, so cute!

Food table again

Is this not the cutest cake? Baby Jax's room will be decorated in monkeys and Jess made this cake by herself! She stacked two 9" cakes and made the ears out of brownies. The mouth is licorice with a little gumdrop. So adorable!

sweet Lydia...is it time for cake YEEEET? haha
cute little julie, love her!

she got some of the sweetest outfits
some of the attendees

here's the momma- she got THREE bathtubs! haha!
and daddy Shawn with the cutest Converse shoes :)

They are so cute! She is 8 1/2 months along and said she is SO ready for baby Jax to be here! haha.

little letters

2010-01-11T14:00:00.000-06:00

dear old navy,
thanks for the cute floral headband and scarf.

dear spring,
hurry up so i can wear my new headband and scarf.

dear Red Lobster,
you're sucking my soul dry. 10 hours in one day? REALLY?

dear new camera,
when i wake up in the morning, you need to have a memory card in you. got it?
dear mom,
thanks for bringing me lunch everyday. ;)

dear chuy,
please stop running straight from the back door and into the doggy door connected to the garage.

dear chicken cordon bleu appetizers,
i love you.

Kiddos

2010-01-10T20:23:00.000-06:00

it's silly how much we love these dogs...

It's a (new!) Family Tradition

2010-01-07T18:51:00.000-06:00

Every week on Wednesday, we will take turns going to someone's (me, my older sister, or my parents) house for dinner. The persons house you are going to does the cooking (ah!) and LAST NIGHT was my turn.

(I hardly cook at all, but when I do it's just for the two of us and suddenly there's going to be 6..7.. 8 people over!??!!! I was so nervous!We had a mexican chicken casserole and I got the recipe from Kelly's Korner recipe blog (then TRIPLED it!!!)

Dad in charge of the remote... whats new!

Mom and Kappy, playing dress up games online! (Kap is seriously ADDICTED to those games... she will play them from the time she gets here until she has to leave if I let her!)
Brian and Chance playing video games

My sister and diggy... I'm loving her new reading glasses:) SO CUTE!Getting the ingredients prepped.. instead of using tortillas I just got a bag of corn Doritos and crushed them up on the bottom :) Then mix the cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, rotel and broiled chicken.. pour over the top and cover with cheese:
oh the CHEESE!! best part of the whole dish! cook for about 30 minutes and voila! delicious!

And don't forget the cookies that Kap made for dessert! She decorated them all by herself, and did a fabulous job!

After that I was so into eating that I completely forgot to take any more pictures, haha! We just sat around, ate, talked and watched some t.v. I'm so happy to spend time with my family (and that they braved the weather when it was supposed to be getting down in the single digits here in NWA!) This is a tradition I hope sticks!

Plus my sister is supposed to be making enchiladas next week, so I really hope it sticks!

Freebie Alert

2010-01-05T17:52:00.000-06:00

Go to get a free carmel apple sample

here

Go here to get a free dog sleeping bag. (I already ordered you one, Mom! haha)

WE MOVED!!!

2010-01-04T18:37:00.001-06:00

We have been kind of half-heartedly looking for a new house closer to my work for the past couple of months since our lease was about to end. Nothing going... too small, too much carpet, too much rent, no pets, no garage (that was Eric's big thing..haha)

I just about gave up hope and figure we would just sign a new lease when I got an email about this 2 bedroom house with ALL hardwood floors ( I DIE!). So, that was Monday. By Friday night, we had just unloaded the last box into this new house and are getting settled.

4 days people. We packed Tues- Thurs and then Friday morning (with the GREAT help of my parents- we seriously could not have done it without ya'll!!!) loaded everything up and got moved into the new place!

Now: PICTURES!!!

Living Room, looking from extra bedroom

Living Room

Living Room looking from couch, into kitchen

Kitchen

Kitchen Part 2, the door leads to:
The dining room, which leads to the backyard. Here is a picture that our landlord sent us of the backyard when in the spring. It has a fence now, and he left all the patio furniture so we had that, the picnic table and two dog houses!

One side of our room... the closet (small :() has mirrors for doors and our dresser is on the other side where I was standing.

We have a two car garage now which the boys love. They are still working on getting it cleaned and organized so I didn't take many pictures of it. Also the door leads to the backyard and has a doggy door in it! LOVE!

This is in the garage as well, and has its own seperate little room. I'm not so sure about coming out into the freezing cold garage to put clothes in the dryer... but eh, what can you do?!

I love the new house and I'm imagining many fun times and great memories made here!

2009 in Review

2009-12-31T11:16:00.000-06:00

2009 Review: People, Places, Things

Me and my love= 3 years:

My sweet puppies, 2 and 1 1/2

Chewbacca Michael
Samuel Jackson

BFF!

Halloween with Amy Winehouse

My family :)

I turned 23!

Weiner Dog races in Bella Vista
Weiner takes all!!

Weekend Nights with my 2 favorite blondes:

My sweet grandma went to be an angel

Summer Vacation to St. Louis

Chuy turned 2!

Thanksgiving:

A fun year with people I love and I can't wait to see what 2010 brings...hopefully a beachy vacation, raise at my job, and Cesar Milan to come whisper in my dog's ears.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T12:00:00.000-06:00

We spent the night at my mom's on Christmas Eve, like every year. My parents made toasted sub sandwiches and soup. Then we seperate all the presents into piles (for quick openage on Christmas morning!)

It had been rainy and dreary all day long, then we looked out the window around 9 and saw SNOW falling!!! And not even just a few flakes, it was falling down hard. So exciting, I don't remember the last time we had a white Christmas!

My boys watching the snow falling!

I told my mom I was taking a picture of my pile so I would know if anyone messed with it! I got cowboy boots (my favorite present, but they were too small , boo ), placemats for the kitchen table (YES!), a beautiful ring that I had been eyeing, some cupcake stuff for the kitchen, shoes, and a new camera from Eric. Thanks mom for everything!

Sam frolicking in the snow. He LOVES it! Spent forever out there running around like a mad man!

Poor Chuy and his santa beard. It came up to his little chest and he was just shivering with every step. Plus the other dogs were leaving him in the dust, so he spent most of his day inside.. where it's WARM!

My little brother:)

Had to put him in my jacket to keep warm.

And I'll leave you with this sweet baby girl... isn't she so CUTE!!!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Edizzle!

2009-12-26T21:46:00.000-06:00

Today is Eric's birthday... 31 years OLD! haha! We took it easy... lounged around, ate Red Robin's for lunch, rented some movies, played 1 vs. 100 on the xbox (our favorite!)

Me and the birthday boy
I think they are laughing at....me? And my camera-happy ways.

I'm sorry to say that poor Eric had to make his own birthday dinner... haha! But trust me, I think it's better than me messing it up! I'm better as the documenter!

Steak, green bean casserole, and macaroni and cheese.

And those are my new placemats and napkins that my mom got us for Christmas! (THANKS!! Love them)

Happy Birthday Eric Michael!!!

Why I'm Checking the Mail

2009-12-06T18:12:00.000-06:00

About a week and a half ago, I was perusing the web at work and found these darling items on Etsy. After debating with myself if I should even be spending money, I decided I had to have them/couldn't live without!

When I got home and showed Eric, he offered to just pay me back for them since he had no idea what to buy me for my birthday. Obviously, I agreed. Thanks baby- best birthday presents ever! :) haha

Can't wait to wear these shoes with my green dress and black leggings! And that, my friends, i s why I have been checking the mail obsessively every day!

RIP Chi

2009-12-05T14:00:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Julie and I were at the mall walking into a store when one of those kiosk guys walk up and grabs part of my hair (which was in a ponytail and admittedly a little firzzy) and asks me what kind of hair straightener I use.

A Chi.

And he said ohhhh girl, no. NOT A CHI! Come over here and try this.

We just walked off and died of laughter. Oh no, not a Chi? Seriously?! Hahaha. A $140 dollar hair straightener doesn't cut it for you? Oh no he didn't!

But on a sad note, my beloved quit working this week. It was probably due, I've had her for four years- and she helped me get ready for so many fun nights and not so fun work mornings. We had a good run!

And for the record, I would never let you touch my hair in the middle of the mall with your little hair styler. You Chi-scoffer.

Oops!

2009-12-04T13:00:00.000-06:00

I'm AWFUL at keeping surprises... I get so excited that I want to tell them now! now! now! to see their reactions. So...unfortunately.. I started a little bit early with my Christmas shopping for Eric this year. I ordered it online and got it about 3 days later. So I go home, wrap it, and put it on the kitchen table.

Cue Eric coming in from work. I bounce up and start begging him to open everything! Haha! He didn't want to but I convinced him (read: kept begging).

He wanted Giants stuff, so when I found this sport shop where everything was really reasonable I got super excited. Some of the stuff went for this:

His new truck! Yay, we are both so excited (especially me since he's not driving around that little girly-man car anymore!)

So Merry Christmas Eric! Haha

Birthday Recap

2009-12-03T20:21:00.000-06:00

Saturday was my 23rd birthday! I took the day off and spent it with Eric. We had such a fun, relaxing day. I slept in then we went to eat Mexican food... which is a treat itself just because Eric hates mexican food, so we don't go to eat it very often :( wah wah!

I had fajita nachos and he had fajitas.

Then we met up with my work friend Sunny at the movie theatre and saw New Moon. (Another sweet move on Eric's part b/c girly movies are NOT his cup of tea :))

We met up with my sister and neice around 8 and took some pictures on the square. So pretty, looks even better than last year- there were more trees lit up and a cute little carousel to ride. Kap wanted to ride the camels, but we decided to save it for another day!

Me and diggy

Then I went to my friend Julie. She got me these cute cupcakes (and guarded the leftovers until I went back over yesterday..haha) Love her!

Baby bears <3

Jessie met up with us and we all headed to Dickson. I love our hair constrast in this picture. I had to say all night, "I'm with the blondes!"

We went all Captain Planet and wore these rings all night. I apparently had a meltdown at the end of the night when I discovered I went home with the green one instead of my original red.. Voicemails were left...wasn't pretty. ;)

We headed to Amendment 21 and got the best seats right in the front, where it is open cafe style and could watch all the people walk by. Plus the breeze was aweeesome.

I had such a fun birthday and I'm glad I got to spend it with such fun people who I love so much!

New Bed and Clean Closet :)

2009-11-20T17:57:00.000-06:00

I finally got around to fixin up the doll bed that I got for Chuy at the flea market! A can of spray paint and a rummage through my mom's linen closet and we went from this:

to this!:

I decided to just go with an old pillow and pillowcase so it could be washed more often!
Plus it's satiny and soft so all the ladies will love it ;)

Then it was time to go through Chuy's closet... he's putting on his "winter weight" and we can't even get some of them fastened! Fatty!s

Saying goodbye to everything that doesn't fit.

I don't care what Eric says... Chuy LOVES wearing his clothes! When he sees me going over to his closet, he gets so super excited and follows me around until I put something on him!

fun finds

2009-10-22T22:17:00.000-05:00

I popped into the flea market on my way from work today, and found this cute little "doll" bed that I'm going to make into a bed for Chuy!!! It's pink and missing a few boards, but for $12.... haha

I'm going to paint his name right there on the side and...

I think I'm going to paint it black with a leopard print cushion/pillow to lay on! To match:

the other find I got!! A fun little papasan chair!

So tonight starts my weekend... and it should be a fun one. Tomorrow I'm gonna go hang out with my mom tomorrow, hopefully use my "paint your own pottery" gift card that Eric gave me for Christmas LAST YEAR and then I'm going with friends to Tulsa to a haunted house. Saturday I'm sleeping in (!), going to a baby shower and then working at night.

Right now... pizza and a movie with my mister!

Holy Stephanie Pratt

2009-10-01T16:02:00.000-05:00

Before 1:

Before 2:After 1:

After 2:
I think she looks really similiar to Heidi right here....

But seriously. OMG.

It's Fall Ya'll!

2009-09-23T10:42:00.001-05:00

Life Update:

- Got a new set of bangs.

- Eric's mom is coming to stay with us for a week from Nevada on Oct 3rd.

- Only 3 more months of my court job and then I will be a full-time "Administrative Assistant." Woo-hoo- vacation days and sick hours included! :)

- Got these sweet new flats for $13 at Target!

(couldn't rotate...boo)

- Tried to win Taylor Swift tickets on the radio this morning... didn't.

- Been working with Sam on "down" and "roll"... slow and steady wins the race, haha!

- I've been making dinner at home a lot more lately, and I like to take pictures of it and text them to my mom. So she will believe me.

taco lasagna

-Have been hanging out with Jew and had a reunion with Jess. Love these girls so much!

- IT'S FALL!!! Bring on the cardigans and tights and long sleeve shirts! YES :)

Future Baby?

2009-08-29T23:35:00.000-05:00

So I saw this on Little Woman Little Home's site and had to do it!!! I used this picture:

and this picture:

annnnnd.... here is our futue child???

Oh good lord.

hahaha. yikes.

Hat Party!

2009-07-08T17:39:00.001-05:00

My friend Brittany had a hat party on Monday at her new apartment and it was so much fun! We took lots of silly pictures and she had crazy hats set up all through the house so we could switch every hour or so... so much fun!

me and my jewrie before we went on our adventure!

you know thats where I was postin up ;)

ohhh no!! not the paparazzi!! haha

ashley, britt, jew, me, and dylan
my car almost got towed ahhhhhh

i had to go home early :( but it's hard enough getting up at 7 w/o staying out all night! ha

It was a fun night with fun girls!

Update :)

2009-06-25T13:34:00.001-05:00

Hi friends! It's been a while so I thought I would post my montage of pictures to catch everyone up :) They aren't in ANY kind of order though!

My big girl playing t-ball!

Me and Julie at Brandon's birthday party

Kapriel's cheering section at her t-ball games- LOVE IT!

my mister getting the grill ready to make s'mores!

work it girl!

me, my sister and neice

chewbacca decided to go for a dip ;)

(note his frightened eyes...he's not much of a swimmer!)

getting ready to go to the pool

me and big booty judy out at Grub's

Sam and his new friend Talen :)

Riley, Addie, and me on our way back from the bluegrass festival

(sooo hot)

My mom and I with our "Turkey Trot" buttons...hahaa

Me and Britt- getting ready to go out :)

down the slide

sunday nights at mickey finns!

me and jew at stir

jew, me and jessie

JULIE!! BETCHA!

what are you talking about?!? hahaa

so... I've been having lots of fun and taking lots of pictures!

I have a fun Saturday planned, so more pictures next week. :) :)

Volunteer Debut!

2009-06-04T14:44:00.000-05:00

Tonight is my first night to volunteer for the Fayetteville animal shelter, and I honestly couldn't be more excited!!

A local (Gulley on Township) park does a Summer Concert series and this will be the second year for the shelter to take some dogs down and try to get them to their forever homes! Jill, the vol coordinator told us a story about how they took a basset hound last year and it just laid on a blanket with the couple the WHOLE entire night... and then they called a couple weeks later and said they just couldn't stop thinking about him and had to have him :) Awww!

So if you're in Northwest Arkansas- stop by Gulley Park (concert starts at 7:00) and say hi! Nathan Hamilton is playing and the website says this about him:

Out of Austin, Texas Nathan Hamilton first came to musical notoriety by winning the New Folk Category at the nationally-renowned Kerrville Folk Festival. Hamilton’s original music moves easily between the realms of folk, texas roots country, and indie rock, and his band No Deal has received rave reviews. His latest release Six Black Birds was selected as a top 3 finalist in the Indie Acoustic Project's "Best CDs of 2007" awards in the Alt Country category. With five award-winning albums to his credit, along with multiple tours of Europe including the Netherlands and the UK, you won't want to miss Nathan Hamilton's first appearance at Gulley Park.

It should be a fun night- and I'll have pictures later!!!!

Best Friend PhotoBooth :)

2009-06-01T18:19:00.000-05:00

We had a girls night last weekend... just sitting around outside on Jessie's patio- enjoying the weather and each other! And maybe a margarita ;) While the other girls were into getting into deeeeep discussions, me and Beneda decided to have a photobooth shoot :)

Kayla and Kyla

oh my.... i was having the hardest time not looking "too excited"

i ruv you kayruh

that's how we communicate!

rrrrrrrribbit :)

you wanna hear my favorite song from fourth grade?

i love you silly best friend!! come home from dc soon!

8 Things...

2009-05-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

I was recently tagged by The Watermelon Tree!

8 Things I Look Forward To...

#1.) Watching Heros with Eric (every night... for the past two weeks. Thanks Netflix)
#2.) Pay Day/No Work Days
#3.) Going to my mom's house!
#4.) Park Days
#5.) Bedtime with all four of us piled in the bed, fighting for covers!
#6.) Taking pictures
#7.) My wedding! Ha. Or engagement.
#8.) Dessert at Chili's.

8 Things I Did Yesterday
#1.) Came home from work early because we got shut down since we had no working restrooms
#2.) Ate cinnamon toast at 2 in the morning with Eric and Brian
#3.) Watched 4 episodes of Heros
#4.) The Dishes. By hand. booo.
#5.) Gave Sam his medicine for the yeast infection in his ear.
#6.) Looked up Hiro on YouTube (muhaha- you give me ride-o?)
#7.) Went to a meeting at KFC at seven. in. the. morning.
#8.) Talked to Haley on Facebook! (Move back to me Richey!)

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
#1.)Travel!!
#2.) Hire a personal trainer. To live with me.
#3.) Re-do college from my first time around.
#4.) Buy a Canon Rebel SLR
#5.) Not stress out over money.
#6.) Go to California this summer!
#7.) Adopt another dog (muhaha. but alas, I cannot afford the vet bills!)
#8.) Find the perfect pair of jeans. Which I would then wear everyday.

8 Shows I watch:
#1.) The Hills
#2.) The Office
#3.) Heros
#4.) Weeds
#5.) Anything trashy on VH1
#6.) CSI
#7.) America's Next Top Model
#8.) True Life

Those are my 8's. My turn to tag....YOU!
Come on, you know you want to!Here's the rules, just in case you want to follow them:1) Mention the name of the person who tagged you.2) Do the lists of 8.3) Tag 8 bloggers of your choice.4) Let them know that they have been tagged!

I tag:
Teresa - Kayla - Jacquie - Kara - Tamela - Jody - Jessica - Just Playing Pretend

Our House (Is a very very very fine house)

2009-04-29T23:44:00.001-05:00

In celebration of my best friend moving into the coolest apartment ever (go look and see!) I thought I would put up some pictures of my house! I don't have an elevator or a three section pool...but we have a hammock! (ha)

The front of my hizzy... I've been messing around with the software editing that my camera came with, and it's really confusing to me. You can see on the bottom left where I tried to edit out the bumper of Eric's car but it didn't quite work out. Guess it's a good indicator that I would be completly and utterly lost with Photoshop! (Plus I have to disguise the color so Kayla won't see it on the road and "pop in" without me cleaning first- muhaha)

View of the fireplace and into the kitchen. You can see some of our kitchen table... it seats like 10 people. There are two of us here. Sigh.

View from the front door... don't mind the dirty couch, it's Chuy's favorite place to guard/hang out. Eh, might as well let him- it's the only place where he can think he's a normal size.
The fun bathroom! Just funny random pictures and a couple chinese lanterns- but I love it :) The top one says "Let's Shop" and the little one says "Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize" There's a couple more on the other side that you can't see- and I def. know how lucky I am to have Eric let me do cupcakes in the kitchen and a silly bathroom too!
The bedroom with our pretty new furniture. Plus a Chewbacca. Oh and my model friend.
The children's "area" I tried to move them out of the way into the extra bedroom- but it turned out quite tragic... so they are once again smack dab of the dining room.
The man-cave. I can't be held accountable for how messy it is.. I had to sneak in just to get a picture! But they have all their tacky posters, dart board, poker table, tv, and 3 cast off couches in which to lounge- so I guess they're doing all right.

Hanging out in the backyard.

And some of the yard... I don't actually keep the rocking chair in the middle of the yard.. Um, just trying to break it up a little!

So that's about it... it's usually pretty messy and sometimes I feel like I'm 42 instead of 22 with how much I worry over bills and everything, but it's still ours (kind of) and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Happy Birthday BFF!!!

2009-04-27T18:08:00.000-05:00

Today my sweet best friend is turning the big 22!!

Eric and I popped over to give her some delicious treats:

Rick's Bakery thumbprint cookies and a chocolate covered strawberry cupcake, mmmm!

And since she's moving to a new apartment (right by my house, woo-hoo!) with no tanning, I got a month unlimited tanning at TLC!

Two parts of the KKK.

Love you Kayla- Happy birthday! Pop over and give her some love!

Hello Again

2009-04-23T20:23:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved her children sooo much, that she wanted to help other orphaned children find loving forever homes too! So the girl goes to the animal shelter (you did know what I meant by children, right? Um, okay don't make this awkward.) to fill out a volunteer application.
Walk dogs? Can do.
Feed/water? Sure.
Clean up shadoobies? Eh, okay.

Walking into the kennel... a bit of a problem. All those dogs in cages with sad, sad eyes b-e-g-g-i-n-g her (okay, me) to take them home and feed them my leftover french fries and share my pillow at night and dress them up for photo shoots. Unbearable. Tears start pooling, then falling. And I made a beeline out of there as fast I could.

But NOW Fayetteville Animal Shelter is one of my Myspace friends (yeah, that's right- we'relikethis) and they sent out a bulletin for volunteer opportunities that I can totally do- sans tears.

They take the dogs to the Farmers Market every Saturday morning from 9-12 and since I don't have to work until 2- I signed up! It works out because I feel like I'm helping but I don't have to be in the kennel, making up scenarios about the dogs lives and suicidal thoughts.

Yay me.

Anyways, I'm back from my little hiatus. Working three jobs sucks. It makes me tired. And cranky. (I know, I hardly believed it myself, but apparently. I. Was. A. B.)

Off to catch up :)

Hello!

2009-04-22T12:53:00.000-05:00

Hey :)

Just wanted to do a quick update: Not dead, just busy!!

Will do a real one soon!!

Tuuuurtle, Tuuuurtle.

2009-04-06T22:15:00.000-05:00

Tonight Eric and I were sitting on the couch, and I was looking through the Craigslist pet ads when I came across a picture of this:

He looks over and says see I told you that you should have gotten a turtle. You would have gotten it instead of him (Chuy) and taken such good care of him that we when we saw Sam, I would have said, "Good job, now you're ready for a dog."

Ohhhh really? We would have taken our pet turtle to the fundraiser for the Humane Society and walked him around the park on a leash- where we would then see Sam and frantically fill out the adoption papers?

Muhahahahaa

Yes, honey, that's exactly how it would have happened.

Money, money, money

2009-04-02T23:03:00.000-05:00

Somebody emailed me, asking why I have so many jobs and don't just choose one to do full-time... so I thought I would outline it and give you the (very interesting, ha) play by play.

Job #1- Red Lobster. 25ish hours a week. I've been here for two years, and this is where I make the majority of my money. I'm totally burnt out on waiting tables, but when it's good- it's great. Still, it's totally unreliable and sometimes slow, which brings me to:

Job #2- KFC. I only work about 15 hours a week here, and it is so I have the security of knowing that I'm going to get a check every two weeks, even if it is "slow." Takes some of the stress off, and plus I get to work with my sister :)

Job #3- Court House. 17 hours a week, and this is mostly just a "foot in the door" kind of thing. I'm totally an office job kind of person(I have my own office AND a lunch break, how fun!), so we'll see how this pans out towards the end of the year (they will have an opening for FULL-TIME in about 6 months!) All of this money will be going into a savings account, which I'm so excited about.

So that is why I have so many jobs. I don't really care for the first two so being at either full-time is a no go. And number three will hopefully pay off shortly. Plus, I love money. Duh.

And this is for Kayla:

(see, I love Chewbacca!)

I ♥ Faces- Pets

2009-03-31T01:14:00.000-05:00

On my break from work, I spend the whole time reading my camera's manual and on Google. I love taking pictures (I'm the family paparazzi) and I've been looking at so many fun pictures (Hello Courtney) lately, that I'm really eager to LEARN about some of the technical stuff to take better pictures :) I've been driving the boys crazy all afternoon...

And then I saw this on The Watermelon Tree:

The theme this week is pets, and while I'm not entering (or have any good enough to enter) I thought I would put some from today on mine!

Peeking through Chuy's legs :)

Digging

I like to think he was trying to play hide and seek under the bed. The reality is he was probably just playing hide. forget the seek part.
I love this picture, look at those ears. I just need to edit those eyes... crrreepy

And last, the dead carcass of Chuy's favorite toy.. they last all of about two minutes around here, but he still loves to chew on the lifeless body. Who am I to judge?!

I realize that everybody doesn't love looking at picture after picture of my dogs, but they are the most willing participant at my house (mostly because they just lay around and act bored), and duh, they're the only kids I have!

Shogun's

2009-03-30T00:25:00.001-05:00

I went to eat with Kayla for her mister's pre-birthday dinner...we went to Shoguns (yummm) and had some delicious steak and shrimp. I made the worst faux pas when I tried to order steamed rice instead of fried (all four of them almost broke their necks to gasp at me). Uh, never mind, I'll have the fried rice, please.

Well she did not tell me we were going to make faces. I'm quite put out by that.

Our cook was hispanic, not Asian. And he didn't yell, like the cook behind us.

I'm trying to remember why we were laughing so hard?
Don't let the smile fool you. I'm still so full I won't have to eat for weeks. (read: 10am tomorrow)(with his other girlfriend, Lolita)

Happy (early) Birthday Kalo. Note to you: I was the spelling bee champion in 3rd grade. Don't be surprised I can spell words like "exasperated." And I say "IDK" in real life situations, don't judge me.

Vanity Train

2009-03-29T00:03:00.000-05:00

I found this on another girl's blog (I stumbled across, but can't remember who now?) and loved looking at her pictures... so I thought I would do it too :)

1. A picture of you in your room

2. A picture of you posing with someone you don't really like.

3. A picture with a former crush.

4. A picture of you very drunk

5. A picture of you with a parent or two.

6. A picture of you on your birthday, or your favorite holiday.

The Big 2-1

7.The youngest picture you can find of yourself in digital form.

8. A picture of you in one of your favorite outfits.

9. A picture of you making a goofy face at the camera.

10. A picture you miiiiiight have edited to make yourself look better.

11. A picture of you and a team or club you're in.

12. A picture of a night you regret.

13. A picture of you showing off a new haircut (even if it's an old haircut now).

14. A picture of you truly being yourself.

15. The most recent picture of you.

16. A picture of you being absolutely ridiculous

17. A picture of you with no makeup on.

18. A picture of a time in your life that's over but you wish it wasn't.

19. A picture of a time in your life that's over and you couldn't be more thankful that it is.

me and will. gah, shoot me.

20. A picture with your best friend.

21. A picture with an old friend

22. A picture of you when you were happy :)

23. A picture of you you had no idea was being taken.

24. A picture of you when you were a different person than you are now.

25. A picture of you in a fashion "DON'T"

26. A picture of you with a sibling

27. A picture of you taking a shot/chugging a beer/dowing some sort of mixed drink

28. A picture of yourself that you hate
29. A picture of you with someone you love

30. A picture of how you'd like the world to see you.

31. A picture that describes how you'd like to spend every day.

32. A picture when everything was changing.

33. A picture that makes your heart hurt.

34. A picture that makes your heart smile

35. A picture of one of the best nights of your life (or day).

The Best is Yet to Come :)

You say Goodbye, I say Hello

2009-03-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

My mom [go say hello!] just wrote this post saying goodbye to all her bedroom furniture, and now I'm writing one saying hello to it! She is always buying the cutest furniture, and I'm always trying to beat my sister on calling dibs because we know she will be "making over" that part of the house again in six months and will need someone to give her "old" stuff too!! Winner winner, chicken dinner- I got the bedroom stuff.
We have been sleeping on just the box spring and mattress for over eight months (sheesh...) and Sam has a developed a strange infatuation with the mattress resulting in 3 big holes with some springs sticking out. (I was going to take a picture, but was too embarrassed, ha!)

Now I just need a cute comforter and I'll be on my way... here's a few that I'm loving:

(maybe too girly?)

What do you ladies think?

Now you'll have to excuse me because I have a date with the RugDoctor- and it could possibly get quite steamy ;)

The Babysitters Club

2009-03-25T23:14:00.000-05:00

I baby-sat this sweet girl today for a friend at work... oh my goodness, she is too precious!! The ONLY words I heard out of her mouth for the first two hours were: puuuuupy doooog. and ball. She was in love with my children, and I was so proud that they were so sweet and gentle with her! And they LOVED her because she threw those tennis balls nonstop for them.

I looked over at one point and she had crawled up on "Chuy's" bench and he was just sitting there beside her, so cute!

And Sam peering down, trying to make sense of this little creature!

That's pretty much my day... Kayla and I had leg day this mornin, and then I worked tonight... Sheesh, I'm boring!

E + K = LOVE!

2009-03-24T14:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had so much fun :) We didn't do some of the stuff that I had planned but still had a great day spending time together!

We ate lunch at AQ... after driving all around trying to find something that sounded delicious to both of us. I was so hungry at this point, I would have settled for a romantic meal at McDonalds. Seriously.

Then we went home and got the dogs because Eric had found a new "park" that he wanted to try. It was just a trail in the woods but the good thing about it was you could look to your left and see only trees but look to your right and you could see the road and houses. A perfect balance for me because I've seen waaay to many horror movies to want to be tramping around the woods!

I wanted to get a picture of the four of us but hadn't quite used that feature on my camera yet, so I chose it where it would take 16 consecutive shots and it turned out like this:

Ha!

Finally got it right and here's our new family portrait: (actually, probably not because Sam is sniffing somewhere he probably shouldn't be. Sigh.)

Oh Sam. What am I going to do with you.

We just spend the rest of the day at home- watching movies and relaxing. Great way to start off the week!

I'm babysitting for a friend at work tomorrow morning, so I need to get busy putting some Dora or something on my Netflix queue. Orrr sweeping up some of the dog hair that is taking over my house :)

Sunday Best

2009-03-23T10:10:00.000-05:00

I had such a great day yesterday!!

First was work. Ehh. But I got off early and went to pick up my sweet little niece from my parents. We were driving down the road and saw these people from "PartyTime ponies" offering pony rides and just had to stop!!

Isn't she too cute! After that we headed to my house to scoop up my children, and then we were off to the park. I (sadly) didn't get any pictures because my hands were full with two dogs and a six year old, but we had a great time! Walked around the trail a little, and then she saw some kids from her school and played with them while the dogs and I relaxed on the grass. It was such a beautiful day!

Then we came home and she watched a movie (Thank God for instant Netflix movies, because I have NO children appropriate movies :)) and I finished up the third book of Twilight.

And later that night I went to my friend Becca's house to eat dinner and watch Twilight the movie. Of course the movie didn't live up to the books. At all. It was actually pretty horrible, and the people I imagined in my head were sooo much better than the actors (especially Alice)!! Did anyone else think that Jacob looked like an alien?

Okay I better go shower and wake up my mister, we have a fun day planned and I can't wait to get started!! Have a good Monday ladies :)

Went to the Park, Be Back Soon

2009-03-20T15:19:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I took both dogs to Wilson park, by myself. I was a little nervous because even though I usually walk them alone around the neighborhood, we don't really pass a lot of other dogs or people along the way. But they were on their best behavior and made their momma proud :) We walked around the trail (which is .9 miles. I think?) almost three times. I was hoping to get them good and tired so when we got home I could have some peace and quiet!!

Sam was so excited about this that when I got home, he gave me lots of these:

(Don't mind my face.. I just have to be careful to avoid being tounged by my dog. Not appropriate at all.)

Today and tomorrow and Sunday= work.

And Monday, Eric and I both have the whole day off! I'm trying to think of some fun things for us to do because it seems like these days are far and few between :) Have a good weekend friends!

P.S. This girl went home to visit her family and I miss her terribly!!!

Baby come back! You can blame it all on me- baaaabeee coooome baaack! Ha

Today I...

2009-03-17T23:03:00.000-05:00

Ran 20 minutes on the treadmill with Kayla
Borrowed the second book in the Twilight series from a friend (so excited!)
Worked 2 jobs (and closed at the second one)
Did really well on my healthy eating... until that pesky macaroni at work started staring at me. Ugh.
Took the dogs on a walk
Did some laundry

Doesn't really sound all that eventful when I bulletin it out, but it has been a long day for sure!!

Thanks to all you ladies on your workout advice... I read over them and realized what a huge baby I was being- and of course I'm going to stick it out and keep working out in the morning with my sweet friend. and just try to get to bed a little earlier (you're right J.- what a novel idea;)) so when 7:30 rolls around, it won't be murderous torture to wake up!!

Oh and p.s.: I got the job!! Yay me:) I knew I had some mad interview skills.. ha. I start April 1st and am super excited. Tomorrow I'll go sign my contract and then hopefully find some nice dress shirts to cover up these tattoos of mine. Yikes!

Alright- off to start some more laundry, read a few chapters of this book, and then BED- have a great night!

Bad Bad Workout Partner

2009-03-16T11:22:00.001-05:00

I've been writing about all the "fun workouts" that Kayla and I have been doing... but what I've been hiding from you all... makes me shake my head in shame. I keep "skipping" workouts so that I can be with my other lover, Sleep. See, I started off so well and then my grandma passed and I pretty much took the entire week off to be with my family. And then this morning, I was supposed to be there at 7... and let's just say I was looking like this:

Until about 10:00. Crap. It's not the working out part that makes me want to cry, it's the getting up early. I know, I know about a million other people get up super early to go to work or work out- but for some reason I seriously cannot drag my butt out of bed.

I would be fine with working out in the afternoon/at night- but then BFF wouldn't be able to be my workout partner. Sad, for sure, but at then at least I wouldn't be skipping or sleeping in. I don't know- I don't want to fall off the fitness bandwagon already or let Kayla down... but something has got to change!

So my question to you:

Suck it up (7:30am workouts) or On My Own (afternoon/night workout)

[P.S. Sorry this is such a whiny post, ha:)]

Up in the Gym, Just Workin' On My Fitness

2009-03-15T22:52:00.001-05:00

To Whom It May Concern,

(a recap of one fateful morning)

It was early Friday morning and the alarm clock was screaming at me to get out of my warm, cozy bed to go get hot, sweaty, and extremly out of breath. The first few times, I soothed him by saying, "just five more minutes..." Soon enough, he got tired of it and began incessantly insisting that I rise out of said bed and get moving. I dragged myself out, glancing back fornlornly at the sleeping boyfriend and two sweet puppies, who quickly occupied my still warm spot... and put on sweats and tennis shoes.

I headed over to K's apartment, pumping my self up all the way... slim and trim (that's my mantra?). We proceeded to the gym, and I proceeded to get my butt kicked up one side and down the other. Lunges, windmills,planks and pushups galore, oh my. Before I could even get the chance to catch my breath from one, it was on to the next. OH MY. See, this wasn't just a regular "work-out" day, this was the day when our own personal Jillian Micheals had come to town. And this lady wasn't messing around.

She had hair like Curly Sue and a southern accent to boot. Tried to lure me in with a sweet smile, but I knew. When she took off her jacket, and I got a good look at those biceps, I knew. This was the lady who was going to have me for breakfast... and in the end I lost mine.

For the next day and a half, every time I laughed, walked, sat, or moved I thought of her. And the scary part... I can't wait to see her again!

Still sore,

Kyla

P.S. Thanks, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. (Remind me I said that next time you come to town!) Love ya :)

Ring-a-bling-bling

2009-03-13T17:28:00.000-05:00

My interview went pretty well... it was super short and she said she would call me on Monday to let me know either way (I'm crossing my fingers!).

I ended up going shopping [never mind the fact that my bank account is horribly depressed and will not speak to me] and one of my stops was Hobby Lobby to get a shadow box. I wanted something to put pictures of my grandma, some cards with her handwriting, and the rose from her funeral in and thought this would be the perfect way to display them:) Now I just have to figure out where to hang it!

I also got these two signs for Eric's poker room/man-cave:

The best part? They were 80% off!!! 20 each originally and I got them for $4 a piece. Yay :)

Then my BFF Kayla texted and said she was going on her break an I needed to get my booty up there because we had something fun planned! We have been talking about going to "look at rings'' for a hot minute... not to pressure our boys, but a girl's gotta know what she likes, right?! So we made a trip to the mall and hit up all four stores to have a go at it :)

So excited :)

And a couple of our favorites:

The last store we went into, the sales lady was CRAAAAZY. She was asian and had funny broken english [her words, not mine!] and kept telling us all these silly stories. She is engaged to a man that she met six months ago, but he lives 4 hours away so they only get to see each other once a week...he wants to visit more, but she thinks that's enough. And she told us she wanted to get married but not move there...just keep commuting. WHAAAT? omg, no. And her fiancee "hurts" himself if he doesn't get to talk to her[she said a couple of weeks ago he tried to call her but she was in a meeting so he burned himself ]... he's in the FBI so personally I feel like he should me a little more stable? Hmmm..

We were there for a while listening to her stories, and she was definetly good for a laugh [or raised eyebrow]:)

One last thing: Amanda over at 20 Times a Lady is having a giveaway for a Martha Stewart Living magazine subscription. She's super sweet, so go check it out! She will pick the winner on Monday.

So I have the night off and am about to run to Harp's and rent a RugDoctor. Have any of you ever used one? We only have two rooms of carpet so I was thinking it might be a little cheaper than having someone come do it for me. I don't know... we'll see how it goes!!

Interview Time:)

2009-03-12T08:06:00.000-05:00

Alright friends, I'm off to interview for the job that I told you about here!! I'm super excited and super nervous:) I had to wake up at seven and run to my sister's house to borrow a cute shirt... she wears it as a dress but the height difference between us is six inches, so I can wear it as a long shirt with my dress pants! ha.

Send some happy thoughts my way because this job would mean a lot...to my bank account, who has been very sad lately!! This would definetly cheer her up!

I'm Baaaack!

2009-03-10T18:27:00.000-05:00

I'm back! This has been a super hard week for my family, but we are just trying to keep in mind that she's better off now :) Thanks to ya'll for all the sweet words and encouragment!

My sister and I got matching tattoos of our grandma's intials with a little heart.. I LOVE it, and I think my grandma would too. When I got my first tattoo (the sparrow) and showed her, she said I should have gotten her name instead:) Well, now I have it Granny!

Thelma Lue Hutchins

The place we went [Knight Times] was HORRIBLE and I will never ever go there again. We went Friday night, and they said about 40 dollars but they were busy so to come back at 12 on Saturday. We get there at 12:10 Sat., they tell us 65 dollars. Boo. But we really wanted it right then so we said okay. The guy makes us pay, and doesn't even draw it up first...ooookay, but then he's like you guys are going to have to come back in about 45 minutes because he had to set up and eat lunch. WHAT? If you open at 12, shouldn't you eat lunch BEFORE you open. We were so irritated. Finally around 1:45, they bring us back and the guy who did our tattoos was really off. He said the N word [my sister's baby is mixed], talked about smoking weed, told us how he judges people and if he doesn't like the way they look- he ups the price, had his girlfriend,who didn't work there, sitting by him the whole time and kept saying how he loved the shirt she was wearing. So innappropriate. But we ended up getting what we wanted, and now we know for next time to wait and get a appointment somewhere else.

Me and my grandpa after the funeral

And my whole family... I included names because there are so many of us! Ha! Yes. My mom did dress all the little kids alike. She's funny like that :)

Well... I'm off to catch up on everyone's blogs. Please keep sending prayers and thoughts for my sweet grandpa :)

2009-03-06T11:27:00.000-06:00

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:25-30

She told us to just hold her hands, stay beside her, and she wouldn't be afraid. Now she's in Heaven- please pray for my family, and especially my mom and grandpa.

Lookin' Good Sister

2009-03-04T14:54:00.000-06:00

Today was a GOOD workout day! The best part is we both had the morning off so we didn't get get started until around 10! We started off with a ten minute run(.77mile), did all of our arm workout, and then walked the trail at Kayla's apartment that is 1.6 miles. It is a beautiful day so I'm glad that we took it outside! The bad part... it took us like 2 hours because at one point while we were resting inbetween push ups, we both were laying on the floor with our hands under our chins just talking away. Kayla started laughing because how ridiculous are we for chatting it up in the gym! Oh yes, this is my serious face. And sumo ponytail... enjoy :)

Keep going K!!

This is at the end- you can tell how hard we worked because we look so buff!

Ha!

My favorite work out partner!

After that we went and ate Subway and then I went to the flea market to look around since I had a few extra minutes before I had to get back here to get ready for work. OMG- I found some really cute stuff!! I got: a Lilly Pulitzer pillow, tall cake container, 2 books, set of four photo coasters, a pink Razorback wallet, a metallic checkbook, and this huge book/folder about baking cakes (from scratch!). It was all 22.17 at the end, so I only went over my budget by $2! Yay me:)

Well I have 26 minutes to get in the shower, dry my hair, and leave for work... I have a feeling that it's not quite going to happen!! Have a good day :)

Taco Lasagna Tidbits

2009-03-02T21:10:00.000-06:00

I made dinner! Yay :) I almost NEVER cook, Eric is the master chef at our house! But when I happened upon this Taco Lasagna at her blog, I KNEW what I was making for dinner tonight. Plus, it didn't hurt that it was poker night and it was pretty much a guarantee that none would be left over for me to snack on! Here's how it came out:

Mmm...cheese!

My layers didn't turn out as well in the pictures, but it was still delllllicous!

Don't believe me, look at this fella:

Keeping identities anonymous so his wife doesn't get mad at how much he was enjoying my food! Ha!
And another suprise, Eric's poker buddy Aaron brought over his dog, Kaylee!! She's so super cute and I think she would be the perfect girlfriend for Sam. But so far, they have not really been getting along- he's so hyper and excited to have a new friend that he's kind of scaring her and she's a little defensive. I'm crossing my fingers that they will warm up to each other!

And one last note (I know, I'm all over the place!), Eric's little sister Mercedes got engaged! I'm so excited for her. She called me tonight and told me all about how he proposed, and it sounds so sweet. She didn't take her camera (we can tell she's not a blogger, ha!) but sounded super cute!

The cute couple :)

Sadie and I last summer in Reno.

Off to bed... 7:30 comes SOOO early [tomorrow is cardio] plus I have to work both jobs, I have a feeling it might be a looong day!! You ladies have a good one :)

Puppy Tails and Funfetti

2009-03-01T22:29:00.000-06:00

Weekend Recap:

Friday night, I went to my parent's house so Chuy and Sam could meet this little fella: Oh my goodness, I just can't get over how cute he is :) He's a little bit fiesty, and was growling (if you can call it that) and pawing at poor Sam. He was probably scared out of his mind at how big Sam is compared to him! Ha. It went very well, and I know that they are all going to be BFF in no time!

Then tonight, I went over to my favorite girl's house: KAYLA!! It's our "free day" so she made homemade pizza... oooomg, so good! She also made some cupcakes- (double mmmm) but tomorrow is back to buisness!

All arrows point to Kayla's belly!!!

I didn't get the memo that it was pajama night..so I dressed up.

Icing cupcakes in some cute aprons, love it!

Many thanks to our photographer, Mr. Kale Wallace. He was so thrilled to be taking millllions of pictures of us all night! :)

I guess those are pretty much the highlights of my weekend... the rest of the time I was working. It snowed Saturday so that ruined my plans of taking the dogs for a walk to try and get a little cardio in. I heard through the "grapevine" that by next week I'm going to meet this lovely lady!! I'm so excited, yet super nervous because she has gym plans for all of us and I'm more scared of working out with this lady than I am of Jillian Micheals!! Yikes!

Have a great week!!

It's Too Early!

2009-02-27T10:29:00.000-06:00

The conversation between Eric and I as we got into bed last night:

Me: Set the alarm for 7:30, I'm supposed to go work out with Kayla in the morning.

Eric: Looks at me and laughs.

Me: I'm SERIOUS, set the alarm- I really am getting up.

Eric: Laughs some more. I'm not setting the alarm because you won't get up, then I will have to hit the snooze button for two hours.

I rolled over in a huff and set my phone alarm instead.

The joke is on Eric, because I did get up. At 7:30. In the morning. To work out. Yikes!! I'm not a morning person, by ANY means, so poor Eric took the brunt of that by trying to talk to me so early in the day. Where are am I going? Where do you THINK I'm going... Gaahhhh.

So we get to the gym, and I immediately ask her do we have to walk up the stairs today? Ha! No I'll just bring the gym down to us :) I only ask because I seriously am not sure if my legs bend anymore, and if I sit down- will I be able to get back up?!! Today was arm day and as I'm getting in my car and putting my seat belt on, I already feel it... can't wait for tomorrow when the soreness will be in full effect! Oh P.S., Kayla is totally in love with my manly arm muscles- almost made me blush, ha. It's great working out with your best friend, because we can be silly and laugh, but she will also crack her whip if I'm not doing something right. Oh yeah, she already had to crack that whip... on the second day. Sheesh, what are you going to do with me!

And I just wanted to tell you ladies: Thanks for all the support and encouragement in my comments and emails. I really appreciate it! Now... off to work, then going out to my mom's to meet her sweet new puppy and let my dogs ruuuun around and get super tired. Tired dogs are the best dogs! Have a great Friday!

Now Work It Out...

2009-02-26T21:17:00.000-06:00

Today Kayla texted me to come over on my break so we could "go for a walk" around the trail... I was excited to kick off my exercise game plan and said yes, but little did I know what this girl had in store for me! We did a ten minute run {i haven't RAN anywhere in a long time... except to the dinner table!!} on the treadmill, some leg exercises, squats, lunges... my legs felt like a bowl of spaghetti noodles!! She mentioned that we only did 'half' of what we were supposed to, but tell that to my thighs, sister! They are saying otherwise.

We ate Subway for lunch and I totally had a mini-meltdown when I found out that I couldn't have cheese OR ranch on my ham/turkey sub. Ha- I settled for vinegar and lettuce and it was quite delicious :)

I feel like this is a great start to getting back in shape, and since I was too winded to say it earlier (ha!) thanks K for kicking my butt this afternoon! See you in the morning, bright and early [ugghhh, early, my least favorite word] for some arm time :)

Okay and to play catch up on a few other things:

Sam and Chuy got a new cousin today!! His name is Talen, and you should all go here and tell my mom how cute her new baby is:) I can't wait to go over to her house tomorrow and play with him!

And second, I have been tagged for some awards by some very lovely ladies:)

Both Erin at Texan Couture and Ruggy at Adorably Distracted left me this:

Thank you ladies so much :) I tag:

Jessica at Called to Serve

Mrs. Nurse at P.S. I Love You

Kara at Today's Cupcake Is...

Mrs. Ruby at Ruby Red Slippers

Laura at Under The Sheets

Everyone have a great night, I'm off to shower and sleep :)

Hello Diet, It's Me Kyla!

2009-02-26T00:10:00.000-06:00

I was sitting here looking through some of my pictures on Facebook, and they are kind of in time order from high school, first year at college, first year back up until now. OH MY GOSH-- I know that I have gained weight (my current pant size is proof of that) but looking at these pictures, I can just see myself e-x-p-a-n-d-i-n-g. Ladies, I need to get back in the gym asap. I always relied on basketball to keep me in shape and fitting into my clothes, but that's gone and done and now I need to rely in myself. I've loved reading all the blogs and keeping up with everyone's progress, and I just really feel that it's time for me to start my own! I thought I would put up some pictures, so I can just pop over here and remind myself WHY I need to get back in shape, when I want to blog instead of walking the dogs, or eat fast food instead of making something healthy.

Let's see...

9th grade

10th grade prom... tiny!

11th grade... I was trying to hide my "belly". I've always had the mind-set of "I'm fat", but looking back now...ahhh, I had no idea! ha

12th grade colors day (oh basketball practices, how i miss you!)

just getting to college... still in lookin' good

Not quite half-way through the year... I can see my face starting to fill out

Yikes! The end of the year... this is where my high school pants didn't quite fit anymore, and you can see I was trying to hide my belly with my books. No quotation marks needed on belly this time.

About 2 years from graduation

I feel like I look like a completely different person...

Nooot cute!

This is from last summer. Love the bangs, the hamhock arms- not so much!

It was waaay easier to pick out the ones from high school :) I alwaaaays try to only post pictures where I don't look as big, or I have my head turned at the right angle, so it was kind of hard to pick out ones that show me what I hate looking at.

So there I have it... it's time for a change!

Off to make a game plan :) You ladies have any advice for someone who's been out of the exercising game for the last 4 years?

Cross Your Fingers

2009-02-24T21:52:00.000-06:00

I got up super early this morning and went to fill out an application for a temp job at the city court office. It will be two days a week from 8-4:30 from April to December. My mom knows the ladies who work there (lucky me) and she said she'll call me before next Friday for an interview, so I'm pretty excited. If I get it, it will definetly be a "foot in the door" to an office job and out of the restaurant buisness. The bad news... I already have two jobs!! But this will total $5000.00 and I'm hoping to just put it in my savings account [gotta start saving for that wedding, ha-- this is my(our,Kayla) year right?!] Plus it will give me a chance to wear something other than my Red Lobster outfit every day of my life!

So you ladies cross your fingers for me!

Humane Society Fundraiser

2009-02-23T17:34:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to tell everybody that I just opened a site where I am fundraising for the Dogwood Walk for the Humane Society of Ozarks. Eric and I went for the first time last year, and it's where we met the (second) love of our life: Sam. We walked around, saw this sweet puppy, heard his story, and fell head over heels! :)

Someone abandoned poor Sam and his seven littermates in a cemetary, and only two survived. When he was found he had mange, a belly full of worms, fleas, and was malnourished. Somebody sure didn't know what they were missing out on :) We scooped him up real quick, and have been in love ever since!

The Dogwood Walk is in a couple of months and this year I want to do my part in raising money to help these animals out with the shelter and care they need! You can go to this site, donate {safe and secure}, and the money will go directly to the Humane Society. Any amount will help, $1, $5, or whatever you are comfortable donating :) This is a great cause, and I'm looking forward to helping these sweet dogs and cats out!

Help me give these animals a second chance at life!! And if you really can't help out right now, at least stop and tell me how cute my baby is! Ha!

Also, tomorrow is "A Day to Spay"... a day to celebrate pets and spay/neuter them! {If you are in the NWA area- the Fayetteville Animal Shelter has a low income spay program where you can get it done for $10... and I have an email address from the Rogers H.S. and they will send you a voucher in the mail to get your animal spay/neutered at any of the vets on their list for $50. It's a great deal... when we took Sam, I didn't know about any of these and his cost upwards of $200!!} Sadly, between 3 and 4 million pets are euthanized each year in the United States simply because too many people give up their pets and too few people adopt from shelters. Everybody go out and be responsible pet owners!!

Nothing Too Catchy

2009-02-21T23:11:00.001-06:00

I saw this on Seaside Smitten's blog.. and thought that I would do one for Eric and myself :) You girls should play along too!

What are your middle names? Nicole and Michael
♥ How long have you been together? It's been 2 years and 3 months

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? About a year
♥ Who asked who out? Hmmm... we can't even remember our "first date" so I'll say it was mutual? (we worked together)

♥ Whose siblings do you see the most? Mine. His family is in Nevada.
♥ Do you have any children? No, not for a while :)
♥ What about pets? Yes. A dachshund (Chewbacca Micheal) and a Blue Heeler Mix (Samuel Jackson) who we LOVE like our children!
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Money... we wish there was more of it!
♥ Did you go to the same school? Nope.
♥ Are you from the same home town? Nope, he's from Cali and I'm from Arkansas.
♥ Who is the smartest? I think Eric. For sure.
♥ Who is the most sensitive? Oh my gosh, ME!

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Chili's, TGIFridays, Olive Garden, Village Inn (classy, huh!?)
♥ Who has the craziest ex? Neither.
♥ Who has the worst temper? Me. Eric is so laid back, he hardly ever gets angry.

♥ Who does the cooking? Eric, for sure. I've been trying to be more domestic... I like looking up stuff to make, but I never quite make it there!
♥ Who is the neat-freak? Neither. I wish one of us could claim this, so our house wouldn't get so messy!
♥ Who is the more stubborn? Me.
♥ Who hogs the bed? We both say the other. But the dogs probably win.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? It depends who has to work that morning.
♥ Where was your first date? We can't remember!!! He just said, have we ever been on a date? Ha, nice.
♥ Who has the bigger family? I do for sure. I have 7 siblings :)
♥ Do you get flowers often? No, but that's okay... I'd rather have chocolate. Ha!

♥ How do you spend the holidays? With my family. His lives too far away!
♥ Who is more jealous? Not sure, we are both pretty laid back in that area.

♥ How long did it take to get serious? Not long...
♥ Who eats more? Eric.
♥ Who does/did the laundry? We take turns. But he NEVER folds/puts away. Uggghh :)
♥ Who’s better with the computer? Me, fo sho
♥ Who drives when you are together? I hate driving, so he does

[I'm smiling about this shirt on the outside, but crying on the inside!! Ha]

On another note: When I got to job #2 this morning, my sister tells me that I'm in trouble... Whaaat? It's too early for this! Well, my friends, here's how it all went down. I work at a place where there is a buffet, and they have had problems with people trying to take stuff home or share one buffet so the managers put up a sign saying that "this is stealing... blah blah". Fine, except they spelled words wrong, had stuff marked out with a Sharpie, and some was typed and some hand-written. Coustemers instead of customers? Takeing instead of taking? Come on, I know not everyone was the spelling bee champion like me [ha!] but this makes us look pretty silly! So last Wednesday, I went into the office, typed up a new one, and replaced the old one. I'm not actually supposed to get on the computer, but it was an emergency! I couldn't work another shift staring at all those words spelled wrong and chicken scratch handwriting. AHHH! Trouble? They should thank me, not write me up!!!

Off to clean my house [seriously, it's messy!], walk the dogs, wait for the trashy reality tv to commence (Tool Academy, anyone?) and enjoy the rest of my night off!!

Workin for the weekend?

2009-02-21T15:16:00.001-06:00

Last night I worked with my sweet BFF, and we closed the place down together. The night went by so fast, and it was 11:00 before I even knew it! Since she doesn't do weekend/nights very often, I had to let her know what's up: IT'S A RACE. We have to beat the kitchen people and host out of here, or one of us has to sit with the manager while they do the paperwork. We definetly kicked it into high gear and got out quick :)

We are busy girls... we have blogging and sleeping to do, no time to wait!!

Then back again this morning, and while I'm getting ready I head Chuy yipping from outside. I run out there and see Sam dragging him around the backyard by his neck and ears. Sam, didn't we just have a talk about this? Chuy is not a squeaky toy. Sheesh. After tending to some bruised egos I headed back to work and I got out of there pretty quick, met up with my mister to have lunch{hello chili's!)... and now I'm trying to decide between napping or taking the dogs out for a little walk before I go back. Their sad little puppy dog eyes are begging me to go outside :)

P.S., I'm having way too much fun with picnik. {Kayla: Blonde? Hmmm! It's something to think about!!}

Hope you guys are having a good Saturday :)