A Couple of Collyge Kids

Living Room and Master

2012-02-17T09:00:00.000-06:00

The living room is what you walk into when you come into the house. It isn't exactly the way I want it yet. It still needs some curtains (maybe sheer olively green to pull the olive green from the rug, but keep it light and airy), pillows with some color, and another end table. Plus we still have to conceal the cords from the TV. And I've got the same light fixture dilemma in the living room. Embrace the historical aspect of the lighting or out with the old and in with the new?

Rudy is leading the way to the master loft.

New carpet was on the agenda, but may be postponed for awhile. I had something monotone, but with a design picked out.

If you're wondering where Duke was during all of this picture taking, this was the place.

The closet leads you into the little master bathroom.

It is small, but very cute. I love the color...

...and I absolutely love the shower!

That's it! The "new old house" home tour is complete!

Come visit us sometime! We'd love to have ya! :)

Basement and Storage Spaces

2012-02-16T09:00:00.001-06:00

This is a little nook on the way down to the basement.

Warning: Man Cave Ahead

This is going to be the office area. We need a rug and we left the chair at the parentals.

It flows into another living space.

We are going to paint these built-ins white to go with the rest of the trim in the house. This is a spring break project for me. There is built in surround sound, but we have to hook up the new receiver we got. That's on the honey-do list.

We finally have a place for all of that Razorback stuff!

I'm not sure what to do with that plain space above the fireplace. Ideas?

This is the "Get crunk and do crafts room." Dustin's shot glasses are in this basement closet, along with my crafty, wrapping stuff.

This little nook is a cedar closet that is in our guest bathroom. It is huge. Not quite sure what to do with it! Right now, I've got my wedding dress and the cat liter in there. Those are two things that should be stored together, right?

Our alarm system, and a close up of how well the curtains go with the wall...as promised!

This is the hall closet underneath the loft stairs. Our house is actually 3 levels, with the master bedroom being upstairs. The stairs you saw above were down to the basement. Again, this closet is pretty deep. I'm very impressed with the storage in this old house.

hallway shot

broom closet in the hallway, off the kitchen

I love how Rudy tries to get in every picture, kind of like his brother Duke.

In addition to all of these nooks and crannies, there is also a 2 car garage and 2 car carport, and the whole attic floor of the garage is floored. This kind of storage in an older home is just unheard of, and was definitely a selling point to this house.

As you can tell, we love our new, old house! Come back tomorrow for the final post of the house tour - the master bedroom and bathroom, and the living room.

Guest Bath and Bedrooms

2012-02-15T09:00:00.000-06:00

This guest bath was formerly a third guest bedroom in the house. That is why it is so huge. The previous owners had their own funky mirrors in this bathroom, and took them with them, so I tried to make due with what I had. The round mirror is something that was above our couch in our old house, and I repurposed it for the bathroom. I for the other mirror that is propped up from Kirkland's for a steal. I should've taken a close up of it, because it has some pretty detail.

The bathroom has some work to be done. I can't decide if I want to paint it or not. And I think I want to go more modern in here. Maybe a striped shower curtain, and definitely new towels - maybe a geometric pattern. And I am on the lookout for the perfect desk or hutch at a flea market to redo/paint. We shall see.

This was their baby girl's playroom. It was super cute. However, the color is not too awesome for a guest bedroom. For now, it must do. I would love to get a headboard for the bed, since it is just a mattress and box spring - I've got my eye on one from Pier One that is on sale right now. And I just need to decide whether to keep the bedding or not. It is the comforter we got when we registered. I L.O.V.E. the light fixture.

And this was their baby girl's nursery. Hence the pink chandelier. As you can see, it is now our baby boy's room...and crap room. We've got lots of paperwork strung about that we need to sort through. Everyone has a junk room, right? Just say yes.

I can't wait to transform this room into the room of our future little one.

All this talk about babies and y'all are going to think I'm keeping a secret from you!

Nope. Just got the fever.

Downstairs basement and storage spaces tour coming tomorrow.

I know you're excited. Ha!

Kitchen & Dinning Room Tour

2012-02-14T09:00:00.001-06:00

Our living room is one of my favorite spaces! It was already painted this chocolate brown, too. Bonus! The only new thing in this room is the rug, which I'm in love with.

Corky and Dustin hung the curtains yesterday, and if possible, I love them more than I did in our previous home. They needed a darker wall behind them, and the chocolate brown just ties in perfectly. I should've gotten a close up for you.

I'm not sure what to do about the light fixture. It is from the 1940s and is original to the home, but of course I can't help but picture a beautiful new pendant light or candle chandelier here. What do we think?

My favorite things about the kitchen are this cute chandelier, the cabinets - especially the glass one that displays my cutesy stuff, and the big stove.

Come back tomorrow to check our the living room, guest bedrooms, and guest bath.

Sooo....

2012-02-13T09:50:00.010-06:00

Been wondering where I've been?

Well for the last hour, I've been staring at this computer screen, wondering how to make up for lost time...and I've decided I'm just not going to. I'm just going to start fresh. I'm not going to post pictures from Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the little events in between. Let's just say it was great and move on, shall we? Mmmk.

I will tell you that life just simply caught up with me. Teaching first grade for the first time is very time consuming. Being the perfectionist that I am, I find myself drowning trying to keep up with it all. In the back of my mind, I keep thinking "Go ahead and get that organized, so you don't have to do it next year", you know...cause I wanna get preggers, and this big mama is not going to be up at school at all hours of the night and weekend like I have been as of late. Oh, and also in the back of my mind, the fact that I may not be teaching first grade next year, or even be at Parkview for that matter. Van Buren is reconfiguring the district and grade levels, and being the low man on the totem pole at Parkview, I may get cut. I should know an answer by Spring Break.

Hummph.

Other things taking up my time include...

completely addicted.

my guilty pleasure.

Don't even get me started on this girl...

Girl is cray cray and I think she is going to win. I'm just not feeling Ben this season. I liked him on Ashley's season, but I just get an ick feeling about him now. I will say that Courtney does have game and she knows how to get a man's attention. Ben just doesn't seem to have enough brain cells to know that if a girl can't get along with other girls, that girl has problems.

Family!

Moving home means being with family. Whether it's meeting for dinner, just visiting, or going to one of Drew's basketball games, life is just busier at home.

We did move, ya know?

Finally got our own house after living with the in-laws for 7 months (Thanks Cork and Deb!) Whenever anyone asked about our living situation, it was always with this, "Ohh...How's that going?" type of tone. And really (not just because they read the blog), it was not bad at all! Sure, not having all of your own things, having limited closet space, sharing a guest bathroom, and cooking in someone else's kitchen has its downfalls, but we are eternally grateful for them letting us invade their space! I mean we moved in like a whirlwind, huge dog and cat and all. It could not have been easy on them. And it was nice having company each night to talk to.

Mom and I have been working out 3 days a week, at 6am, with a personal trainer.

Why don't I look like a model then, you ask? Well...i. don't. know.

I am definitely stronger, and my clothes are fitting better, so I guess its the ole "muscle weights more than fat" excuse. I mean, it is amazing how much stronger Mom and I both are. We could whoop some booty. I definitely noticed my "hoss-ness" was out of control when we were moving. Not going to lie though. It sure would be nice to see the lbs drop off.

I think I need to up my cardio. I've got two races coming up, so that is a must.

Well I guess that is all that has been keeping me away from you, my loyal readers. Stay tuned for pictures of our new house...coming to you tomorrow. That's right - two posts in two days.

I'm baaacckkk!

Camping at Petit Jean

2011-11-06T20:19:00.012-06:00

This last weekend was full of campfires, grilling, hiking, and maybe a little beer drinking too! We took off Friday and met Matt and Jessica at Petit Jean for a three day weekend. We set up camp Friday around 2:00 and chillaxed by the campfire all night long.

We slept in Saturday morning and then went on a couple of trails. The fall colors and fresh air were a warm welcome this girl, who has seen nothing but brown leaves and the inside of a classroom lately.

The trail ended at this beautiful open area, for lack of the geological term, with a waterfall.

We stayed pretty warm between the campfire and space heater we kept in the tent. In fact, it was pretty hard to leave our temporary home and get back to reality. Although we do smell better. :)

You can survive this hill...

2011-10-23T21:23:00.006-05:00

Mom, Tiff, and I ran in Fort Smith's Survivor's Challenge benefiting the Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House on Saturday morning. Let's be honest here...I haven't been keeping up my running game. I've had good intentions, but I'm a working woman working a lot of overtime these days. I wish I forced myself to give myself more "me" time, but there just aren't enough hours in the day, am I right?

...sigh...

Add to the fact that I have been battling a horrible sinus infection for the last week, and I had pretty much admitted defeat before the race ever started. I was going to be happy if I could run 2 miles before walking. The race went up Hendrix, which is a pretty steep hill in FSM. I was not even going to attempt it...until I saw people with signs on the side of the road that said, "I've survived CANCER, you can survive this HILL!"

Well that'll light a fire in ya! I beat the hill, but my body did need a break after surviving that hill! I felt like it was my best time yet, but unfortunately it was not. But I guess if I feel stronger while I'm running, that's an accomplishment.

We've got another 5K for my brother's baseball team, the Van Buren Pointers, on November 19th. Hopefully I'll beat my best time then!

Here are some pics of race day!

Mom, Tiff, and I racing for Harry Robinson's team.

Our whole Harry Robinson team

Christie and Jeremy were there. They ran the 10K, cause they're real runners like that!

Jenny was there, too! Jenny's been a friend to the Collyge family since they were all kids, I worked with her at the Boys & Girls Club, she was around when Dustin and I met at the Boys and Girls Club, her mom helped throw our wedding shower, and now I work with her at Parkview. Kinda weird how we keep getting connected in life. She runs marathons, so of course she ran the 10K too. (Next on the list of running goals perhaps?)

Addi cheered us on at the finish line and even made us a sign! She's the best cheerleader!

Tiffany got third place in her age group! An amazing accomplishment and long deserved for her! She started running 2 years ago and got mom and I started.

She was very proud of her medal! :) I think it's the first of many to come.

family photo

Everyone had a sticker on of who they were running in memory of. It is crazy how we all know someone who's life has been affected by this horrible disease.

Three girls in my life, who I would consider my best of best friends, have had to fight cancer alongside their fathers.

Hayley's father, Dan, battled prostate cancer just this last year, and is cancer free!

Jessica's father, Rodney, just found out he has throat cancer and will begin treatment soon.

Christie's father, Mike, lost his battle with melanoma in October of 2006.

I love you three girls so much. You are each so strong. I hope you know that you are not alone, and that others are committed to walking this journey with you!

You can and will survive this hill!

Mount Magazine Wedding Weekend

2011-10-09T22:26:00.005-05:00

We spent this weekend at the beautiful Mount Magazine resort in Paris, AR. If you haven't been, you must go! It is such a great place for a fall weekend getaway. We had been once before for Dustin's grandparents' wedding anniversary, so we were looking forward to revisiting.

This weekend, Dustin's good friend Kevin got married. Kevin and Lauren are great peeps, so we were happy to celebrate with them. They are moving to Wisconsin in about a month for Kevin's job, so we may not see them again for awhile, which made it all the more important that we made it to have a good time before they leave.

I wish I had pictures of the ceremony because it was so breathtaking....sorry to disappoint.

Here's Lauren in her precious dress. Loved it!

Us with the bride + groom

me + my groom

Drew, Matt, Kevin, and Dustin

The Maverick Men

All in all, it was a great weekend getaway. Having some alone time and some good ole fun with the hubs and friends is good for the soul!

Weekend Getaway

2011-10-05T20:50:00.005-05:00

We went to Lake Ouachita last weekend with our friends Hayley and Andy. Between the four wheeling adventures, Hogs win, and dinner at Cajun Boiler in Hot Springs, I'd call this weekend a success!

Hayley and I visiting on the deck Friday night.

This little boy loves the lake...and sticks!

We went for an early ride before the game on Saturday.

We rode to the lookout spot.

After the game, we went for another ride. This time we got stuck, though. :/

It was definitely debatable whether we would get unstuck, but with Dustin and Andy ankle deep in mud pushing, Hayley pulling, and me on our four wheeler giving it gas, we finally got her out!

I attempted to take my picture with Duke....didn't turn out so well.

But Hayley and I got a cute pic! We could be sisters...we know....definitely heard it a time or two!

We have another busy weekend coming up. Our friends Kevin and Lauren are getting married this weekend at Mount Magazine. I'm ready for a weekend away with just me and my love, at a gorgeous place to boot!

...delayed pictures

2011-10-05T20:41:00.004-05:00

Nicole emailed me some pics of when we went to watch the game with them at Derek's house. Thought I'd post them and share!

Drew's 6th!

2011-10-05T20:30:00.004-05:00

Our big 6 year old nephew's birthday was Sept. 14th! We went to dinner with him on his birthday, but celebrated with the whole family later. We can't believe he's geting so old. That means we're getting older too, huh? Ehh....

Here's Drew with his "I'm a dork" grin.

Getting ready to blow out his candles....

Drew with the Cardinals picture his Nana had painted for him to go in his room.

There's a better grin!

You know you teach first grade when...

2011-09-20T22:26:00.003-05:00

1. ...you stay up way past your school night bedtime searching first grade teaching blogs for excellent ideas and cutesy anchor charts.

2. ...you dream of "snappy" words.

3. ...you bring the teacher talk home and tell your husband things like...

You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!

I'll be ready to talk when you look ready to listen!

Now was that a good choice, or did you make a mistake?

Awww....shucks! or Whoopsie Daisy!

I like the way you're eyes and body are showing me that you're listening!

You're so cute! I just want to take you home and put you on my shelf!

4. ...everything in your life becomes color coded!

5. ...you can turn anything into a song or game.

6. ...you spend more time squatting, sitting "criss cross applesauce", or sitting in a tiny chairs than you do sitting in a normal sized chair.

7. ...you wear crowns or witch fingers, or use princess wands during your work day...just to read!

8. ...you repeat yourself a million times a day!

9. ...you're absolutely amazed at the amount of growth a child can make in a matter of two weeks!!!

I miss sleep...going to bed now! It's going to be another long day tomorrow...but I wouldn't trade it for the world! LOVE my job!

Portraits of 9/11 Rescue Dogs

2011-09-15T16:00:00.002-05:00

A book released on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Retrieved, tells the story of the remaining search and rescue dogs that are living out their retired days after spending days at Ground Zero searching for survivors after the attacks. These are the lucky few who are still alive 10 years later.

Gosh, I wish animals could talk. I would love to hear these dogs' stories.

Their presence brought hope and comfort to those enduring hours of depressing labor during rescue and clean up efforts.

All dogs go to heaven.

May these heroic souls never be forgotten.

Birthdaypalooza

2011-09-14T20:46:00.005-05:00

It's been birthday season around these parts.

The birthday season kicks off with Amber's birthday on August 30.

Mine on Sept. 6

Drew's on Sept. 14

Dustin's on Sept. 19

Johnny's on Sept. 28

I guess people get cozy around the Holidays. :)

Here are some iPhone pics of birthdaypalooza thus far.

The hubs did good and got me this gorgeous John Wind Initial Cotton Pearl bracelet from the Secret Nook. I was just bragging on how we don't get each other gifts and he goes and ruins our streak. ;)

Corky and Debbie got me two pairs of shoes. These cute TOMS wedges and some Nicole wedges too! And a cute little Razorback ring. The card was pretty awesome as well. It said "You're still a knockout."

I'm a sucker for kitty and puppy cards.

Mom and Johnny got me the gift that never fails - $$$ - so I got myself some much needed new jeans for winter. These jeans to be exact...although mine seem darker.

The Brasuell's sent me flowers to school. They were sooo pretty...

Dustin had sent me flowers to school a couple weeks earlier. The note said, "Thanks for all of your hard work." It was quite unexpected and sweet. Don't know what's gotten in to him lately, but I'm likin' it!

Dustin and I on our way to the Brasuell's to watch the Hogs! Christie and Jeremy went with us...good times!

And tonight we went to La Huerta for Drew's 6th birthday! He loves him a Stephen's Special and some cheese dip. For his birthday, we took him to Toys R Us and let him pick out something. We saw Marilyn and Jerry at La Huerta, some of the Collyge's best friends, and they came over and gave him $20! Ha! He was on cloud nine!

More of birthdaypalooza to come.

I've pretty much decided after writing this post that I'm pretty dang spoiled and well taken care of. Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes!

Now I've got to decide what to get Dustin for his birthday on Monday. See! He's started something here and I don't like it. He says he doesn't want anything, but is he just saying that? Will he be disappointed if I don't return the gift giving favor? Ugh! This is why I don't like gifts!

{ Still love the bracelet though. :) }

Lake Times in Full Effect

2011-09-05T20:53:00.007-05:00

I've been MIA (the action being school!) for the last couple of weeks. Sorry! So we're gonna play a lil bit of catch up here!

Some of my mom's family from MO came down to the lake this Labor Day weekend - Aunt Debbie, my cousins Ryan, Ali, and Danny, and Ali's boyfriend. My Aunt Pat flew in my CA too!

They didn't make it down until late Saturday afternoon, so it was just our fam on the lake Saturday - which was a beautiful day.

Sunday ended up being a not so usual summer day on the lake. It was SOOO windy, and temps in the 80s made for some chilly swimming weather. It was pretty cloudy too, so ....

...Dustin built us a fire!

It was Mom and Johnny's 10th wedding anniversary!

Duke giving his mama some lovin'.

My cousin, Danny, and my Aunt Debbie playing some Baggo.

Aunt Pat modeling a foot foul. We'll let that slide since she's not a regular southern Baggo player/tailgater. She obviously has the number one rule down - drink in hand makes for better tosses. It balances ya out!

Then the dance par-tay ensued!

Yeah, baby!

And we'll end on this note: I'll be 27 tomorrow!

For real?! I'm officially approaching 30.

Tenkiller

2011-09-05T20:32:00.002-05:00

Dustin and I went to Tenkiller the weekend before school started. We got down there Friday night and took a dinner cruise after boating over the Six Shooter Marina for some grub. That's one of my favorite things to do! Mom and Johnny get to do it on weeknights whenever they want. Lucky them!

Mom, Duke, Me, and Dustin

The marina at Six Shooter is always full of turtles and catfish. They get fed lots of French Fries each day. :)

Duke and Papa Johnny

Time...

2011-08-18T21:53:00.003-05:00

...how sweet it is.

Celebrate we will...for life is short, but sweet for certain.

-DMB

Dustin and his Papa, Bob. He's a cool cat.

He and Mary cooked us a steak and baked potato dinner the other night. :)

Before & After...Classroom Edition

2011-08-05T16:00:00.001-05:00

I was going for the dramatic before and after effect, but I just couldn't get these pictures in order and didn't really take similar before and after shots...so...hopefully you still get the effect. The effect being, "Omigosh! Carly must've spent FOREVER in that room. It looks amazing!"

Here are some random afters...

{I know they don't traditionally come first. Sorry. Scroll up and down for effect.}

My desk area with math manipulatives in front of it.

Sink area outside of restrooms

Center Charts and Classroom Expectations

Nonfiction reading corner

I wish I had a before and after of this chair. It was oak wood with a blue back and legs. I spray painted it red and got this seat cushion at Pier One on clearance for $11!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Things accomplished:

Painted the non-brick walls green.

Painted the salmon colored cubbies and cabinets black.

{The paint alone made a huge difference. Thanks to Dustin, Nicole, Jerry, Debbie, and Corky for helping me paint!)

Did some serious rearranging and organizing.

Put polka dot decals and feather boa by sink area.

Created 3 bulletin boards.

Arranged classroom library into leveled fiction and nonfiction.

Made center charts for math and literacy.

Made A LOT of things!

Labeled A LOT of things!

I still have a lot to do! Like figure out what I'm doing in first grade?!?!

Lunch Date

2011-08-04T23:18:00.003-05:00

I met my mom, Luke, Tiff, and Addi downtown today for lunch. We ate at the Nickel and Dime restaurant (Is that what it's called? Or is it Boomerang's?) and Addi loved that we got to eat in a train and that her kid's meal came in a train shaped basket. However, she was a little upset that the merry-go-round wasn't open. What's a princess to do when she can't get what she wants? Find a way to get it!

Insert daddy into the picture.

Nothing like some manual labor to make your daughter happy in these crazy temps. What a good daddy!

Then we headed down the street to Nana's office. Nana just so happened to have a hula hoop in her office, so Addi showed off her skills to the office ladies.

The girl can hula.

After some chocolate covered popcorn, a cookie, and some special water out of the office water dispenser, we wrapped this fun lunch date with the promise of at least one more before school officially starts.

Eeek! Inservice starts Monday and the kids start next Monday! I'm skeered.

One Last Hoorah!

2011-08-02T22:10:00.005-05:00

We went to Benton this last weekend to move all of our things from our house. Did I mention we sold our house in 4 months! We cannot be thankful enough for that! This is our fifth move as a couple. All five moves have been in the dead of summer, and as well all know, these Arkansas summer temps have been ridonkulous! It was definitely a scorcher out there.

Our good buddies (and former neighbors), Matt and Jessica helped us pack our things in the U-Haul on Saturday, then we had a little cook out and drinky-drinky for our last hoorah as neighbors! It was too much fun. Embarrassingly fun...so I can't show all of the pics, but this picture pretty much sums up the night....

Yep...

The Good, Good Life

2011-07-24T21:02:00.005-05:00

Oh me, Oh my....I've been uploading pictures to Kodak and to this here little bloggy for 3 hours now. No offense, but I don't care to write for ya at this point!

So, as occasionally happens on mi blog, I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Two of our nieces, Morgan and Braelyn

Braelyn and her mommy, Amber

Me, Mo, Brae, and Amber

Morgan and her Nana

Brae and her mommy, again

My cute hubs...chillaxin'

Amber and Brae

Amber and Morgan

Morgan and I

Life at the lake...the good, good life!

HOME-ies

2011-07-22T07:00:00.001-05:00

One of the pros of moving back to the Fort - hanging with old pals.

We headed downtown this last Saturday night to hear our buddy Jeremy's band, Wingnut, play at MoJo's. Christie, one of my bestie's since first grade, married Jeremy a little over a year ago, and we've been to a few shows since. I have a feeling we might become official groupies now that we live in town.

We made a pretty early night of it, since I had to get up early and drive to KC the next morning for the Weatherford family gathering, but I wanted to hear them play my favorite - Wagon Wheel. Since it is one of their most popular crowd pleasers, they usually play it later in the night, but I was surprised to see them fulfill my request to play it so I could head out early.

Success!

Shopping Spree!

2011-07-21T00:00:00.004-05:00

You cannot fathom the excitement written all over my face when Dustin's sis, Nicole, asked me to help her spend all of these giftcards on an all day shopping spree for work attire at the Promenade in NWA. We didn't get to Red Lobster, Olive Garden, or even Sonic, but we spent the heck out of some giftcards at Banana and Gap, and dropped some dough at Anne Taylor and Francesca's to boot!

So the girl hoards giftcards. Is this not ridiculous? She's a school secretary and gets them often from parents and teachers. I don't know about you, but my giftcards burn a whole in my pocket. Nicole even had a paper store credit from 2008!! Wha?!?!?! We used about $500 in store credit to Banana and Gap, ya'll.

*cue the angels*

I felt like Stacy on What Not to Wear with the power I had. Nicole let me pick out things for her to try on, and she had enough in giftcards that I didn't have to shop on the sale racks! We did hit some great sales though. Everything at Banana was 25% off, all knit tops at The Loft were 50% off, and anything on sale at GAP was an extra 40% off.

The Loot:

13 tops/blouses

6 cardigans - various colors, lengths

5 pair of dress pants/capris

4 pair of shoes - 3 sandals and 1 pair of city flats from GAP

3 pair of earrings

1 necklace

1 purse

...and here's the brand new woman in her favorite ensemble of the day. Nicole could look beautiful in anything. She's got a great figure and clothes just look all the more lovely on her...and she's had two kids and doesn't work out and eats anything she wants. Lucky, b**** - I mean, girl!

I'm telling you...clothes can change a woman's life. It sounds materialistic, but they can. Confidence definitely comes from within, but a little help from great clothes really helps boost the 'ole self esteem.

Take care of yourselves, ladies!!

Anniversary Dinner Date

2011-07-11T08:00:00.001-05:00

We were a tad late celebrating our anniversary, but we did celebrate with a dinner date Saturday night at Doe's Eat Place. Yummo! I was so freaking full when we left. I definitely had a food baby.

Dustin and I don't do gifts. We really don't get each other anything for anniversaries, birthdays, or holidays. Some people find that weird, but I like it just fine! We sometimes will buy something for our house, or get something we've been wanting for ourselves, but no gifts! We'd rather save for a vacation or make an extra car payment. What can I say...gifts are not our love language! We do get each other cards, if that counts! :)

Here we are on our way to dinner. I got this dress on sale at GAP for $24! I must say that the pics don't do it justice. It is super cute. It's hard to see the diagonal ruffle it has going on. It definitely needs a necklace or something, I am seriously lacking in the jewelry department. So much of my jewelry has broken lately. I need some new pieces. My buddy Jessica got me a gift certificate to Francesca's as a going away present, I need to make a trip there and see what I can find!

Are you asleep yet??? Probably lost most of ya'll with this post. Maybe I'll have something more riveting to talk about next time.

Happy Monday!

Naturals Game

2011-07-09T23:05:00.002-05:00

Catchy title, huh? Yeah, I'm slacking on the creativity these days.

Our buddies, Hayley and Andy, invited us to a Naturals baseball game this last Tuesday. Her mom had box seats from Tyson with great good and all, so we didn't spend a dime. Nice!

The hubs and myself

Lindsey, Hayley, and me

Some of Hayley's friends and family with Strike

Thanks for the invite, Pruitts! Good times!

Four Years Ago Today...7/7/07

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

Four years ago today, I vowed to my best friend...

Dustin...I love you for your friendship, your strength, your kind heart, and for the way you always make me feel so special. I love you completely, not just for who you are, but for who I am when I am with you. So on this day, our wedding day, I vow to be there for you always, to live and laugh with you, to struggle with you, to always bring our the best in you, and to live out the rest of my days with you...side by side."

Dustin, we have lived, laughed, and struggled together in these four years of marriage, and I still can't wait to live the rest of my days with you...side by side. I love you, baby!

July 4th Fun

2011-07-06T09:00:00.001-05:00

Dustin and I got back in town from the Tenkiller on Monday afternoon about the same time Dustin's family was coming back from a weekend at Lake Ouachita. We spent the day at Dustin's parent's (our new residence while we try to sell the house in Benton!) swimming with Nicole, Jerry, Drew, and Emilee. We had a quick dinner, went to Goody's for some ice cream, then came back to shoot some fireworks in the driveway.

Dustoni swimming in the pool

Drew and Jerry lighting some fireworks

Emilee running from the fireworks!

Nicole and Drew playing with their sparkers

Drewski and I

It was the perfect way to wind down at the end of a long, relaxing weekend!

I Stopped for a Dog this Morning...

2011-07-05T19:00:00.000-05:00

If you know anything about me, or halfway pay attention to this blog, you know I'm a definite animal lover.

So when Mom, Tiff, and I left the house Sunday morning to go for a run...imagine the beat my heart skipped when I saw this little guy laying limp in the road on the hot pavement...scared to death.

In the first moments of seeing him, I wasn't sure if he was a wild coyote or what. With his coloring and those ears standing straight up, it sure alarmed me. But we quickly realized this was a little injured doggy, in need of some immediate help. Tiff ran back to the house to get some water and a towel, and to tell my step-dad, Johnny, about the situation. Mom attempted to get close to him, wary that he might be aggressive considering his condition. She slowly gained his trust and our little friend allowed Mom to pet him. I met Tiff to get the water, and when the little guy saw H2O, he mustered whatever energy he had to hydrate.

Mom slowly gained his trust, and knowing his back end had more than likely been run over from the way he was limping and the obvious open wounds, she carefully lifted his front end into the car. We should've left him in the car, but we got him out when we drove back to our driveway - just not thinking ahead about what we were going to have to do with him.

After debating whether to wait until vets offices were open on Tuesday (remember - this is Sunday morning), and thinking about what emergency vets were available and closest, we decided it was in his best interest to get him to the emergency vet as soon as we could. Fort Smith had an emergency clinic open, but our little friend decided he wasn't going to let us pick him up again. You could tell he had a good temperament and probably wouldn't bite, but he was snarling his teeth if you even looked like you were going to touch his back end, and it was quite intimidating!

So we had to get creative. We eventually used our Baggo game to build a ramp into the back of my mom's car, then corralled him using window screens and tables. This totally freaked him out, of course, but we were able to lift the blanket he was on in the section we corralled him into, and lifted him into the car. He was pretty darn comfortable on the ride to Fort Smith, but it was another battle getting him muzzled and out of the car once we were at the vet.

Anywho - let's jump to the happy ending of this here little animal rescue. Our newfound friend, whom we named Uncle Sam, had been limping around in our neighborhood for 2-3 days, in the sweltering heat, with open wounds that were infected. He had been run over by a car and had bad road rash. Amazingly, x-rays showed he escaped having any broken bones! The vet said he probably "pancaked" on the road right before he was hit, and that the inside of both back legs took a lot of the impact. His back right leg was severely swollen and pretty infected. I don't think he could've made it another day with the infection and dehydration.

We were able to take him home Sunday night with pain meds, anti-inflammatories, and antibiotics. He woke up Monday morning with a new attitude! He scarfed down some food, drank some water, and even came running to Mom and I with his tail wagging! He still has a long road to recovery, both physically and emotionally, but he's going to be just fine!

Here are some pics of Sam...

This definitely was not how we planned on spending our Sunday, but Mom and I are sure glad we stopped for a dog this morning. Our new Blue Heeler friend, Sam, deserves the same humane treatment we would be sure to give any of our own pets. I just don't understand how people could pass him by and disregard his conditions. Saving a dog in a condition like this is not easy for sure - it takes time, patience, earning trust, and money, but I would gladly give up my plans on any given day and surrender my credit card to help an animal in need (in this case - my Mom did, and Sam and I are thankful for that!).

God forbid Duke ever gets loose and something like this happens, but if it did, I sure hope someone would stop for my baby. Maybe this makes me weird, but most days I'd rather spend time with my furry friends than any human. I'm going to have to be committed when I loose my babies!

I'll keep you updated on Sam. Mom and Johnny haven't decided if they are going to keep him. That breed is very active and needs lots of exercise and room to roam, so they are looking into finding someone who might want him after they get him on the men and get him neutered and vaccinated. In the meantime, say a prayer for our Sam boy and love on your puppies and kitties!

alamode: Giveaway- 2 Chevron Mini Lumbar Pillows!

2011-07-05T01:36:00.001-05:00

alamode: Giveaway- 2 Chevron Mini Lumbar Pillows!:

Lisa from idari makes the cutest pillows! She does a great job and they are made so well! You can find her on ETSY, but Kate over at a la mode is sponsoring a giveaway! I want these pillows, ya'll!

Lake Weekend

2011-07-04T23:11:00.004-05:00

What a refreshing weekend! Two full days on the boat (three for some...we'll get to that in another blog post...long story). It was so nice to spend the weekend completely relaxed and soaking up time with family. I loved every minute of it, and frankly, I'm kinda depressed about waking up tomorrow morning and thinking about school stuff I need to get done. Bummer. The good news is we have lots of fun stuff planned this week, including our four year anniversary! Four years ago today we were on a catamaran in Barbados going swimming with the sea turtles and having the time of our lives. Ahh...great memories!

Anywho..I could reminisce forever...back to this last weekend. My Uncle David, his wife Chris, my cousins Jake and Jack, and Jake's friend, Sam, all came to town from Missouri. We had a full boat, full coolers, and were definitely full of good grub each day.

some of the crew

Addi and her daddy

Me, Addi, and Luke

My parent's neighbors at the lake, have a son our age who plays in a band and they had a gig down at the Snake Creek condos, so we went down to hear them play a few songs on Friday night.

Tiff, Luke, and Dustin

Addi and her mommy getting their groove on

Nana and Addi watching some stray fireworks

My cousin, Jack, driving the boat

some of the crew, again

Dustin and my cousin, Jake

Addi taking a break on the boat

Addi and her crazy Aunt Carl

Our cute Mary Addilyn in her Fourth of July outfit - check out those shoes - HA! Love!

I'll have a post tomorrow and why mom and I didn't have our third day on the lake...with some more Fourth of July pics of our night here at Dustin's parents to follow.

I really hope everyone had a safe and happy fourth. As I get older, I get to be more and more of a chicken about things - like fireworks and boat safety. It really worries me when I see or hear about people being careless. Life is definitely too short and sweet to take for granted, and while it is meant to be lived to the fullest - it is meant to be lived! I hope everyone stayed safe out there.

HB2U, Jerry!

2011-06-30T23:45:00.004-05:00

Tonight was our brother-in-law, Jerry's, 31st birthday. We celebrated with a cookout, swimming, and fireworks. It was a good recipe for good times!

I'm going to let the pictures do the talking...because its midnight, I'm going to work out in the morning with my workout inspirer (is that a word???), Tiffany, and I still have to pack for the lake...and my head is bobbing I'm so tired!

Me and Jerry - the mohawk was temporary - just for the party. He's aware he looks like an idiot because I told him he did.

Jerry and Corky

playing some Baggo

Debbie and Corky getting their grub on

Debbie, Emilee, and Nicole

Peachy

Look at this hunk-a-botty!

Everybody have a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend!

Catch-Up

2011-06-30T23:33:00.005-05:00

So...we've been kinda busy! This was actually my first full week of summer. I finished my two week 8am-8pm class last Saturday, and we officially moved to Fort Smith on Sunday. Since we've been in town, I've been working a bit on my classroom, we've eaten dinner with Dustin's grandparents, and we've just been getting settled into our new life here.

But before my two week class, I did get a little taste of summer. Here are some pics of our trip to Tenkiller from a couple of weekends ago. We are headed to Tenkiller again this weekend for the fourth of July. I'm super excited, because it's the first time we'll be there with Luke, Tiff, and Addi. Can you believe that?! And it's July?! Where has the summer gone?! Plus, we have some family coming for the weekend. Yea!

Mr. Easton John

Somebody should've taken her sunglasses off!...or worn some sunscreen!

Mom and I on a mule ride

I Hate My Teenage Daughter

2011-06-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

So my Aunt Pat the Editor is working on a new show for FOX called I Hate My Teenage Daughter. You can check out a trailer for the pilot here!

Most of you know that my Aunt Pat was the editor for Everybody Loves Raymond for the life of the show, and my mom, uncle, and cousin all got to be extras on the show too!

Aunt Pat, Mom, Raymond, me, and Tiffany back in 2000

Well, Pat's latest show, Better With You, on ABC, was just cancelled :(, but we got to watch the trailer for her newest show when we were in California and I laughed my booty off! Jaime Pressly from My Name is Earl is one of the main characters, and the other main character, Katie Finneran, who is known for Broadway, is a TONY award winner. And of course you recognize Kevin Rahm from Desperate Housewives, don't ya?

I think it will begin airing with the fall 2011 lineup (hopefully before or after Raising Hope - love that show). I'll be sure to post it on here when I know for sure so you can set your DVRs!! Watch the trailer and spread the word!

Zzzzz...

2011-06-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

photo via TMZ.com

I'm beginning a class this morning that lasts from 8 in the morning until 8 at night....for 13 days straight...Saturdays and Sundays included. I have a feeling I'm gonna be looking like James Franco does here.

shoot.me.now.

Why in the world would I subject myself to such torture?

I get 12 college credit hours in 13 days, which means a bump on the pay scale.

I hope my bum makes it through.

Girls Trip to Cali: Cookout at Ron and Mea's

2011-06-12T00:03:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, my last day in Cali (everyine else flew back Monday instead of Sunday, but I was already being docked 2 days of pay from school - BOO!), we headed over to my Aunt Pat's bestie's house. Mia and Ron both work on Wizards of Waverly Place and have the cutest little fourth grader named Joey. They have a beautiful home in the Pacific Palisades and invited us over for the afternoon. We got to watch the Wizards gag reel, but we didn't get to see the yet-to-be broadcast series finale! That is apparently under lock and key.

addi + ryan

addi + ronnie...chillaxin by the fire

We attempted to get a picture of all the girls...which was near impossible with Mea's cousin cracking us up. I'm telling ya...we laughed a lot.

The whole reason for the trip, or the reason the trip was even thought of...

My Aunt Debbie and her 3 beautiful girls. The oldest, Sara, moved to northern California after college for her job in social work. Sara hadn't seen her family since Christmas, so we wanted to bring family to her.

Another attempt at a group pic...

This will truly be a trip I remember for a lifetime, and one I hope we can recreate again before everyone's families expand too much and get too busy. I am so proud to come from a family of strong women. My grandma, mother and her two sisters haven't always had the easiest hands dealt to them, and they aren't perfect, but they are good people. They are the epitome of independent, courageous, selfless women.

Girls Trip to Cali: Santa Monica Pier + House Fun

2011-06-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

Our first full day in Cali, we went to the beach in Santa Monica. We walked along the Pier, ate lunch at Mexican restaurant, and soaked up a few rays.

ryan + addi

addi + nana + aunt carly + ryan

addi with a bird she isn't so sure about

When we got back to Pat's house, the Addi and Ryan were tracing each other on the driveway. I decided to join in on the fun and let them trace me. Then the jokes ensued...

...and everyone else joined in on the fun.

Pat has a hot tub that was definitely used while we were there.

Aunt Carly + Addi

Come back tomorrow for pictures of my last day in Cali. We had a cookout and swim get together at Pat's friends' house. It was ahh-mazing!

Girls Trip to Cali: The Invasion

2011-06-09T16:11:00.005-05:00

Eleven women from my family were on this trip, plus my mom's best friend from high school, Cheryl, came to visit and her daughter, Amy, who also lives in LA at the same time, so they were with us each day. My grandma was suppose to come, but my grandpa was in the hospital with some complication the day before we were scheduled to leave, so of course she didn't want to leave him. So...a lot of sassy, witty, smart-mouthed Barnett women in one small area = hilariousness + good times. My cheeks hurt from laughing so much on this trip!

We rolled into Pat's neighborhood in Studio City (right down the street from Universal Studios) around 1ish Thursday afternoon. We just visited and took it pretty easy due to our time change and long day of travel. Here is Pat's pretty little neighborhood. It is amazing to me how quaint it is for being in such a busy place.

This is her adorable little house.

Later Thursday night, we headed to her friend George's house. He has a little bar set up in his house he calls "Ricky's Room". George was a writer's assistant on Everybody Love's Raymond, the popular show my Aunt Pat edited.

My cousin Misty, my Aunt Pat, and my momma.

My Aunt Debbie and I

The next day, we headed to Santa Monica Pier....come back for more pics of our girls trip to Cali tomorrow!

I'm going back to Cali...

2011-06-02T07:30:00.000-05:00

When? TODAY! In flight as we speak.

Who? All the Barnett women (mom's side of the fam)

Agenda? Sip a cocktail by the pool. Girl talk. Frolic on the beach. Run into Jessica Simpson.

I'm wearing my JSimp shoes just in case! You have to look put together if your flying into LAX, right? No pajama pants and t-shirt for me today. I'm gonna rock the big shades, big purse, and wedges.

Watch out, Hollywood!

Too big!

2011-06-01T20:12:00.003-05:00

MoMo's 6th birthday is Saturday (yes, sixth! As in going into first grade!), but we celebrated last weekend at the lake on Memorial Day since we were all together. It was a good ole homemade birthday with family, just like the ones I remember being a kid.

It felt so good to be back on the water. I have been so excited about lake season for quite awhile now! This summer is packed full of professional development for me, taking up two of my weekends in June, so I am going to savor every minute of lake time.

Drew, Amber, Morgan, and me

The lake was still pretty high from all of the rain. I don't remember ever seeing the marina look like this!

Duke can always be found bumming a seat.

Morgan, Braelyn, and Drew (Emilee had a fever and didn't make it until Sunday)

Birthday Girl!

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY, MORGAN!!

Holly Belle...a dog like no other.

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

It's a sad day in the world, but a great day in doggy heaven. The best dog I've ever known, my parents' beloved black lab, Holly Belle, is being put to rest. She has been a loyal friend and has brought joy to all of our lives. There's not much to say other than if you knew her, you know how much she was a part of our family. She will forever be loved and missed.

Holly, I'm so happy that your pain is gone and that are in a place where you can play fetch, swim in the lake, and jump up on the bed again.

I love you, girl.

Bittersweet

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

Some of my Hurricane Creek family took me out to dinner at Juanita's downtown last week. As my days with these sweet folks begin slipping away, I realize more than ever how much they are a part of my life, and how much I will miss them dearly. They've all made a special mark on my heart and will always be with me.

"Even though we all change and find our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or a smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not still friends."

A man after my heart

2011-05-21T17:33:00.003-05:00

I had an awful day yesterday. It was just one of those days where anything that could go wrong, did. I woke up late, my schedule was off at school, and things didn't go as planned (which irritates my perfectionist personality). On top of that, we also had our school carnival after school, and I wasn't happy with my booth (there goes the perfectionist personality again).

I decided to run up the street to Sonic, to get a junior burger with ketchup only and a large cherry Sprite, before the carnival, knowing I was going to be working my booth most of the night and not have moment to eat. I was going to call Dustin on the way, until I realized I didn't have my phone (left it setting on the hamper since I was in a rush from being late that morning). You know when you just are having a bad day and you can't wait to tell your mama or husband about it? Ugh! So frustrating when you can't!

I got back to school, finished setting up my booth, and was so happy to finally sit down and satisfy my growling tummy. The burger I found with chili smothered over it really ticked me off, and the receipt showing my debit card was charged for the chili burger (who eats that?!?!), large fry, and Route 44 sent me over the edge.

I go downstairs to borrow my buddy's phone to call Dustin and ask him what time he'll be at the carnival...and he says he doesn't want to come. (SCREAM!) That was the one thing that was going to make this 13 hour work day better....seeing my husband and venting about my awful day. Of coarse, he didn't know I had an awful day, but I'm sure he inferred that with the speech I gave him when he said he wasn't coming. :)

Anyways, I was pretty ticked at him for backing out. There was a tornado warning during the carnival and my parent volunteers got spooked and left....leaving me to work my booth even longer...on my own. Let me tell ya, Ping Pong Ball Toss requires a lot of fetching balls and bending over, and trying to be encouraging and cheerful for the kids was torturous due to my foul mood. Needless to say, I got the heck outta dodge as soon as the carnival was ending and headed home...

...to this.

Dustin had gone grocery shopping for me and while he was there, picked me up a 72 pack of Air Heads (my fav!) along with a sweet card. See the pic on the card? I'm the dog...he's the cat. Kinda perfect since I was biting his head off earlier.

So the night ended peacefully with me eating Air Heads (quantity unknown) in a bubble bath.

Smart man, that Dustoni.

BTW - Air Heads are not a good substitute for dinner. Despite eating a granola bar and sipping some OJ before my 5K this morning, I started cramping, got tunnel vision for a few seconds, and had to stop running and stretch my muscles until my vision returned. Needless to say, my time wasn't my best. I just maintained my previous 32:change time.

Well....

2011-05-19T19:24:00.003-05:00

The principal has called. The offer has been made. But the details shall remain secretive until the board approves the hire. Duh. I ain't stoopid y'all.

I was pretty worried about this here little interview, let me tell ya. My interview was at 2:00 and I arrived in Fort Smith at approximately 10:30. I was suppose to pick Dustin's sister, Nicole, who's the secretary at another elementary in the district, at 11:30...so I just sat in the parking lot until then. I have this phobia of being late, so throw a big important event in there and I just become certifiably anal.

I took her back to work at 12:30...she gave me a little tour of her school (thanks for helping me kill time and calming my nerves, Nicole), and then drove straight to the school I was interviewing at and had a little panic attack there before I went in.

The interview lasted about 30 minutes, although it seemed to last about 2 minutes in my head. I rambled...a lot. It's what I do. I talked with my shaky hands. And I think I even let my silly little giggle go a couple of times.

Ah well. I guess it worked!! So glad the job search is over with and that is one less thing we have to worry about.

Now on to getting the house sold!

Why would I wear a turtleneck on May 17th???

2011-05-17T07:00:00.001-05:00

Because I have a job interview today!!

Those of you that know me best know that I get hives...major hives...due to any sort of anxiousness, anger, or sadness. I'm wearing my interviewing uniform today - my go to 3/4 length black turtleneck, of course!

Why a turtleneck you ask? Why not a high cut blouse of some sort? Because my hives will not only cover my chest and upper arms, but my neck and cheeks as well. I'd just wear a bag over my head, but that might send the wrong message (pssyyycho).

I'm trying to make this my mantra for today, but my subconscience keeps wiggin' out and saying, "What the $%*@ ever!"

Wish me luck, friends.

FINALLY!

2011-05-16T17:42:00.007-05:00

You know that saying, "To the world, you are just one person...but to one person, you just might be the world?" Well these shutters might be just shutters to you, but to me...they are the world. I've been wanting to put some board and batten shutters on our front windows since last summer. The timeline of my begging, pleading, demanding went a little something like this...

June-September 2010

Me begging for Dustin to build shutters. Dustin saying we can just buy some already made. Me arguing how cheap you could build them (and get such a dramatic change) and giving Dustin the "you can do it!"

October -December 2010

Me hinting around to how good shutters would look on the house. Me telling Dustin I could do it myself, and getting the look.

January-March 2011

Me whining to telling Dustin's dad, Corky, that I reeeeaaaaly want some shutters (he has this saying "Whatever Carly wants, Carly gets..." He's a good man that Corky.), and hinting that maybe they could build them together! You know...father/son bonding time and whatnot.

March 2011

Dustin hangs out with his Dad one Saturday afternoon while I am at a shower and BAM!

The shutters were BUILT! HALLELUJAH! They were tangible and everything!

But they were in Ft. Smith...and they wouldn't fit in the Yukon with the humongo dog we have, all of his humongo crap, and all of our crap.

April 2011

Still can't get the shutters home. Every time we are in town, we have the humongo dog with us who takes up the whole humongo Yukon.

May 2011

We finally get smart, suck it up, and drive separate cars to the Fort to pick get the shutters....but they still need to be stained. So they sit...in the garage.

We make the decision that we are moving to Fort Smith.

Hmm...a tid bit ironic, don't ya think????

Weekend of May14-15

The shutters are stained and put on the house! ...and there is a for sale sign in the yard.

Ah, well....at least I get to enjoy them another 3 weeks!

Thanks, honey!

(for nothing)

Just kidding...love you!! :)

Poor guy has to listen to me moan and groan a lot. It can't be easy.

Faytown

2011-05-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

D and I headed to NWAR last weekend. I left right after school to make it to Fort Smith on Friday night in time to take my mom out to eat at Fuji's Japanese steakhouse with Tiffany and Addi for Mother's Day. The food was delicious and I stuffed myself big time.

Then, Saturday morning we headed to Fayetteville to hang out with our buddies Hayley and Andy. The boys hung out and drank beer at Felton's while Hayley and I shopped around a bit. Then we headed to the Razorback baseball game. They had already beaten FL twice, so we were hoping for a sweep, but we brought no such luck.

Hayley and I....we did not plan the matching shirts, sunglasses, and hair - promise.

We are just dorks like that.

Me and my hottie hubs

Andy and Hayley

Oh...and we stopped at Slim Chicken's on the way to the game. MmMmMmMm!!!

We had a good time hanging out with good friends and seeing how much Fayetteville has changed since we've lived there. Every time I go up there, it just amazes me how much that area is still growing! Going to the baseball game also made me miss going to watch my brother play when he was up there. It sure makes me wish I hadn't taken those days for granted.

$5K for the 5K - Dash for a Difference

2011-05-15T11:04:00.004-05:00

Sorry it has been awhile since my last post. In addition to beginning to pack, job hunting, and constantly cleaning house just in case it shows (it hasn't), something weird was going on with blogger. So, you see, I have excuses.

I've ran my 2nd 5K since I last was on here. It was a race my school district put on to benefit the Rotary Kid's Kloset. They raised over $5,000! Like I've said, I am no runner, so you won't be impressed with my time, but I was impressed with myself. I just wanted to be my time from my first 5K, which was 33:54. This time I ran 32:18, which is a little over a 10 minute mile average! I so thought I was going to get it in under 31 minutes, but there was a hill that was for.e.ver long!! No joke. I did successfully run up the whole thing, but I had to walk a minute after I did...I was feeling a wee bit faint.

I've signed up for my next race. The Dino Dash, benefiting Little Rock's Discovery Museum, is next weekend and I'm running in it with my literacy specialist, Paula, who ran with me in this last one. I just want to get my time under 31 minutes this time. We shall see!

The hubs met me at the end of the race and took a few pictures.

Crawfish Benefit

2011-05-03T17:00:00.000-05:00

I forgot to blog about this, but last Saturday, Dustin and I headed downtown to the Rivermarket to a crawfish boil sponsored by The Hat Club benefiting Big Brothers and Big Sisters. There was a really good turnout and it was good to get out of the house and have a fun date night.

My honey and I

crawfish races

Each crawfish had a fun name, like Kim Crawdashian, Kurt Crawbain, Night Crawler, etc.

Me and a crawfish I named "Crawly"

Carly <3s Crawly

Bark in the Park!

2011-05-02T17:00:00.000-05:00

Of course we headed out to Dickey Stephens Field for Bark in the Park last week. Duke loved it so much last year, how could we have neglected to go?!

One of the only times this little boy sat down.

Duke made friends with this English Mastiff. She was a big ole baby.

This was the puppy parade that took place before the game. We got there right as it was starting. I was bummed we missed walking in it, but I don't think Dustin was too disappointed. ;)

Lots of passerby's got a kick out of this.

Look at that teeny tiny dog!!

Another Dane sat by us. His name was Bruce Wayne, he was Duke's age, and he liked to sit on laps too.

Duke and his daddy

Duke and his mommy

As you can see, we had a tail wagging time.

Family Easter

2011-05-01T21:06:00.004-05:00

We had Easter linner (lunch-dinner) at Amber and John's on Easter Sunday. Other than a few sprinkles, the rain held off for us to be outdoors. The kiddos had a great time hunting Easter eggs and we had a great time visiting with the whole family together. That seems to happen less and less these days as our families keep growing and getting busier and busier. We really do cherish these times.

Here's a few pics of our nieces, Morgan, Emilee, and Braelyn, and our nephew, Drew, hunting Easter eggs. By the way, D and I had way too much fun hiding Easter eggs....and the Easter loot was out of control!

Easter Buddies

2011-04-27T16:00:00.000-05:00

Not to be confused with Easter bunnies.

Matt and Jessica invited us to their church on Sunday, The Church at Rock Creek, and we stopped for a quick lil photo. We're collecting all of the memories we can with these good friends. Why, you ask? Well most of you have heard the "big news", but in case you live under a rock, we are moving to Fort Smith. Dustin got a job offer there through his company, and it is just too good of an opportunity to pass up. While we are definitely looking forward to living closer to family and the great things living in Fort Smith brings, we will miss this area so much!

Did I mention Matt and Jessica just bought the house right behind us? Yeah...bummer. We will only get to officially be their neighbors for one month. Double bummer.

But we plan on coming for many weekend stays and coming back to the Rock every chance we get...along with rendezvouses at the lake!

Love ya, friends.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-26T18:47:00.001-05:00

{photo obviously taken pre-postapocolyptic torrential severe weather}

Addi's 4th Birthday

2011-04-25T18:33:00.003-05:00

Mary Addilyn turned 4 years old on April 10th. This was her first party with her school friends. It was cute watching her play with all of her buddies, and it was especially cute watching her crush on her new boyfffrrrriiieeennndd!

I'll let the pictures do the talkin'....

A birthday party must...the princess bounce around.

opening gifts...

Maddox....cute as he can be!

Addi sitting next to her two boyfriends. There's a serious love triangle going on here that I can foresee lasting into the future. Boyfriend #1 on the right, was trying to talk her out of sitting next to boyfriend #2 on the left. At one point, Addi wanted mustard on her hotdog like boyfriend #2. Aunt Carly quickly told her that Weatherford girls change for no man. We might as well learn that lesson right now.

crush at first sight.

the goodies.

...and THAT was Addi's 4th birthday bash.

Miles for Mutts Weekend (My first 5K!)

2011-04-06T19:42:00.002-05:00

Dustin and I headed to Fort Smith last weekend for my first 5K race, which was Saturday morning. I headed down early to catch Addi's t-ball practice. That was entertaining to say the least...

Look at her. She's a natural.

Duke came, of course. He was a hit with the kiddos. And of course several adults made comments like, "That's not a dog....that's a horse," or "You could ride that thing," or my favorite, "Does that thing come with a saddle?" I get it. He's big. Hearing these things gets a little redundant though. Hang around long enough and all the other dogs just look like midgets.

Addi loves her Dukers....and Dukers loves his Addikins.

So Saturday morning Mom, Tiff, and I headed downtown for the Miles for Mutts 5K. Dustin brought Addi down a bit later to hug on some puppies....errr.....Pit Bulls....and watch us girls run.

Here's Mom finishing strong. She says she isn't finishing strong...she's just finishing, but truth is, we all went in with the goal of simply finishing, but we all did finish strong. Tiff ran this 5K, her first, last year. Her goal was to just beat her time. She finished in 29:something and was only 4 seconds away from earning a medal in her age group! I finished in 33:54 and Mom finished in 34:55. We were all very happy with our times!

After the race...just pumped we're still standing!

No, really. I know it's not a huge accomplishment to run 3.2 miles for a lot of people, but I am NOT a runner...never have been. Running a mile used to seem impossible. Now I run 3 miles at least 3 days a week. It isn't always easy, but it feels awesome to reach this accomplishment. Thanks to Tiff for challenging me and getting me in shape!

After the race, we headed over to the lake to spend the day at Mom and Johnny's. They smoked a pork butt and invited some of the neighbor friends over for dinner. It was good times! Here is me and Dukers enjoying the beautiful day.

So I think I'm addicted to 5Ks now...not a bad addiction I guess. I'm running in another April 30th that our school district is putting on, and see several more this summer I want to sign up for, but think I'll probably opt for making the most of my weekends at the lake. I think to keep myself motivated, I'm going to have to keep signing up for more! I've gotta be held accountable or I'll start slipping.

Well...that's all I've got.

I may have some big news to announce soon, but want to wait a bit before announcing it....if it even does happen. I'm such a tease...I know....

No, I'm not preggers.

Our Last Night

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

On our last night in Destin, we decided to hit up another recommended restaurant, The Back Porch Seafood and Oyster House. Matt and Jessica liked this restaurant even better than Louisana Laginappe, and we figured out that both restaurants are owned by the same people, so they're good at what they do!

It was sad to know it was our last night. The time absolutely FLEW by. It was unreal to me that we had been there for 7 full days. Why does that happen when you're on vacation? Nonetheless, I know Jessica and I were very thankful that our two hubbies put this vacation together for the four of us. The secret planning was all worth it, and I know we made memories that will last a lifetime! That's what vacation is all about. Steeles, it was a great trip with ya, friends! Until next time (when we'll probably have babies on board)!

Beach Days

2011-03-30T08:00:00.002-05:00

So this is pretty much what we did while we were in Destin. We hit the beach, then hit the pool. I didn't get any pictures of us in the pool except for t

his one of the guys grilling out before we swam, but we were able to get in and stay in since we had a heated pool. In fact, it was too hot most days because we were trying to keep it hot enough at night so we wouldn't get cold while it was in the 60s at night.

I miss it already.

Louisana Laginappe

2011-03-29T08:00:00.002-05:00

My favorite restaurant we went to was Louisiana Laginappe. It sat on a bay and made for a beautiful sunset dinner on the patio. I had crab cakes stuffed with jumbo gulf shrimp and a twice baked potato, and it was SO SUPER YUM! One of the best meals I've ever had hands down. Yessica and I decided to wear our hoochie mama dresses on this night so watch out!

If you're going to Destin...try out the Laginappe. Good stuff!

Scooter Ridin'

2011-03-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

It was Matt's idea. The first day we were there and walked past the scooter rental place, he started talking about wanting to rent scooters. Pretty soon Dustin was talking about it too. I honestly thought the idea would never materialize, but it did. And I ended up being pretty pumped about it too when we decided we were actually going to follow through with the idea. We rode them up and down Old Hwy 98, along the different beaches of Destin and drove them to the Outlet Mall. We paid for 4 hours and used it over 4 days. Any longer and it would get boring and your butt would definitely go numb. I was a little scared at first without a helmet and a (ahhem) unexperienced scooter driver, but lots of people use them down there and Dustin ended up knowing what he was doing after all, so I felt safe.

It's no Harley Davidson, but it worked just fine.

We stopped in different areas to look at the different beaches and views...

I felt very Top Gunish in this picture.

Night and Morning Beach Walks

2011-03-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

Our first evening in Destin, we laid down for a nap around 4 and didn't wake up til about 8:30 (the boys were really exhausted after the all nighter). So we woke up, ate some brisket sandwiches, and we went for a walk on the beach to see the moon that was suppose to be closer that it's been for 20 years. To tell ya the truth, besides being a full moon, it didn't look especially big to me. Was I missing something? Anywho...we didn't have flashlights, so we couldn't look for crabs, but I don't know that I would've wanted to with all of the jellyfish that washed up on the beach while we were there!

On our morning walk, we saw so many stinkin' jellyfish! I had never seen one before and was surprised they were blue looking. There was a yellow flag warning, which I guess is a medium ocean life risk the whole time we were down there, but the lifeguards said they aren't the kind that their sting is deadly or hurts really bad. Good to know! And these kind floated on top of the water, so you could see them easily, too. Anyone else thinking about that episode of Friends when Joey has to pee on Monica when she got stung by a jellyfish in Barbados? Hehe. I told Dustin I would if I had to, and he said he'd rather feel the pain. :)

It's hard to tell from this picture, but these tracks were pretty huge. We saw lots of birds on the beach during the morning and during the day, and none had feet this big.

I L-O-V-E, love this picture of Dustin. Aren't the colors and the cloudy sky so pretty? It's a framer, for sure.

This one...not so much a framer. We woke up really early and I didn't even brush my saltly, dry, humidity induced, nappy hair.

Notice this bird's breakfast?

Count them. Four jellyfish...just in this picture.

More of our vacay - scooter riding, beach bumming, and good grubbing - to come. Stay tuned.

Destin: The First Few Days

2011-03-26T22:12:00.004-05:00

Well we just got back from our an awesome week-long Spring Break vacation to Destin! Despite being nervous that it wasn't going to be warm enough to go to the beach or swim and fear that we would be missing Arkansas' 80 degree weather, we could not have lucked out better on warm temps and NO rain! *happy dance!*

Besides our wedding and honeymoon, it was our first big trip as a married couple. If you keep up with the ole blog or me regularly, then you know we went with our good buddies Matt and Jessica. We left last Friday around 9pm and the boys drove through the night while us girls slept in the back. The ride went by pretty fast, let me tell ya! ;)

We hit the beach our very first day there, and the poor boys got BURNT! Dustin especially....He was blistered and swollen. I should've taken better care of him, but let's face it...I forget to put on sunblock myself. The only reason I didn't burn is because I had tanned. So, needless to say, the next day he did not want to see the sun, so we went ahead and hit up the outlet malls. Oh la la! We found some good deals at JCrew and Banana, Dustin got himself some new Maui Jims, and I treated myself to a little glittery Coach clutch. I also got Miss Mary Addilyn a couple of cute things of CrewCuts.

Love.that.store. Must.make.millions.soicanbuymyfuturekidsclothesthere.

I'll let ya enjoy a few pictures of our first few days now and bore you with the rest of our travels later this week....

Me and the hubsy at Crystal Beach.

This was right after Dustin finished splashing me with the freezing cold ocean water. Although, after a few beers and when you needed to pee real bad, it wasn't so freezing. Go figure.

Yessica and I

(she has been Yessica since one of our first times we ate together a mariachi band serenaded her with "Feliz Cumpleanos, Yessica!"

The boys weren't skeerrrddd.

Beautiful Crystal Beach

The husbands playing Baggo in front of the house

This was Matt and Yessica's one-year anniversary, so dropped the kids off to go eat on their own on this night.

My cute hubsy driving us to dinner at The Crab Trap. Ever had buffalo shrimp? Pretty good....

Notice the shirt. Our third day there and he was still burnt to a crisp. You can't really tell in this picture at all, but his legs were really burnt. Every part of his body that was showing the sun peeled. Even the inside of his ears.

Playing some Baggo on the beach.

Check back tomorrow for some more of our trip!

Braelyn's 1st Birthday Bash!

2011-03-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

As promised...here are some pictures of Braelyn's first birthday party. She has gotten so big since we saw her last, and is getting cuter every time we see her too! It was the first time since Christmas we've seen all of Dustin's side of the family at once. With three nieces and one nephew running around, things have gotten busy, busy with this family!

Amber sent Dustin and I home with some baby goods - a boppy, swing, a baby Bjorn (spelling?), and a really pretty carseat cover and a few of Braelyn's cutest clothes...in case we have a baby girl. :) Dustin was a bit in shock that we were taking baby stuff home with us. Ha! I should've warned him on the way down it was going to happen to warm him up a little bit, but I didn't think of it! I know it's silly, but I got this warm, fuzzy, yet out-of-body experience feeling when Amber was showing me these things and we were loading them in the car, then unloading them later. I'm getting more and more ready to have a baby, and I think Dustin's slowly warming up to the idea of our lives changing! Ha!

Anywho- back to the main event! And what a beautiful day for a outside party!

Miss Brae sitting in her chair.

Cousins!

The older cousins, Drew and Morgan, wrestling!

Amber, Braelyn, Mogan, John

We attempted to get a picture of all four of them. Easier said than done.

Opening presents. Her big cousins helped a lot!

Sweet Emilee

Braelyn with her Papa

Getting ready to dig in!

I had to get a picture of the boys in their hats. They were standing around having a serious conversation and it was impossible to take them seriously!

Brae didn't want me in this picture I guess!

Uncle Jerry and Emilee helping Brae with her smash cake

Last Weekend...This Weekend...This Coming Weekend

2011-03-13T12:15:00.004-05:00

LAST weekend we headed to Ouachita to meet up with Dustin's parents, Corky and Debbie. We just wanted to get away for the weekend and we hadn't seen them since Christmas. That may be normal for some families, but we just don't go without seeing our families for over a month or two very often. So our visit was long overdue!

Saturday morning, with no plans made, we decided we would head into Hot Springs for the day and go to the races. We stopped at Cajun Boiler (YUM-O!) for some fried shrimp first! None of us won big, although there were several people who did win real big off very small bets. There was a horse who had never raced before and came in first. I think the odds came out where if you bet $2 to win you won $352 or something. It was ridiculous! I was wishing I had bet on that horse! We had just talked to our family friends Michael and Mary Kate a few minutes earlier, and when we were leaving, she and her husband had both won! After the races, Debbie and I dragged the husbands over to TJ Maxx and Pier One for some shopping, then we headed to the Purple Cow for a quick dinner before heading home.

I had forgotten my camera at the trailer, so we didn't get any pics of our day. Just a couple of Duke! I don't think I've ever talked about or taken a picture to show how he sits on people's laps all of the time. This pic is blurry, but you get the gist. He thinks he is a lap dog.

Corky and Debbie brought Gabby, so of course Duke bugged her all weekend. This is pretty much how it went down. Gabby hid under the table and Duke waited for her to come out.

This weekend was our niece, Braelyn's, 1st birthday! She turned one on March 12th and had a princess party. We drove to Danville Saturday morning for a day of birthday fun with the fam. More pics of Braelyn's birthday to come...

And this coming Friday, we will be leaving for Destin!!! When the boys surprised Jessica and I with this trip in October, it seemed like forever away! I knew it would be here before we knew it though, and I can't wait to go! I'm looking forward to everything. I'm looking forward to watching movies and eating candy on the drive down. I'm looking forward to staying at our own house and cooking dinner. I'm looking forward to seeing the ocean! I'm looking forward to shopping. I'm looking forward to some Vitamin D!

And I'll leave you with this...our little bungalow!

Tell me friends...where are you doing on Spring Break???

I've Got Skills...and They're Multiplying!

2011-02-27T17:56:00.009-06:00

Kitchen skills that is.

My usual rotation of spaghetti, chicken spaghetti, meatballs, cheesy chicken noodles, fajitas, and taco salad was getting a little old. So I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and try some new recipes. And surprisingly, I loved all of the 5 new recipes I made! That never happens. I usually find a recipe that looks good, follow the directions to a T, and once Dustin and I try the meal I just think to myself, "Well that definitely isn't worth the trouble of making again."

I got my recipes from two places that I will definitely be looking into again - Pioneer Woman's blog and Real Simple magazine, which my mom got me a subscription to for Christmas. Thanks, mom!

Three Cheese Stuffed Shells with Meaty Tomato Sauce

Parmesan Chicken, Whole Green Beans, and Cheddar Stuffed Potatoes

Spinach Lasagna

Beef Quesadillas

Mushroom and Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

Oh, and let's not forget the heart shaped pancakes I made for Dustin on Valentine's morning. How good of a wife am I? :)

Best.Cuddler.Ever

2011-02-22T08:00:00.001-06:00

Rudy hardly ever gets face time on the blog anymore, and I wanted to give him some love since his love is just unconditional. As I sit and write this post, he is sprawled out halfway on my lap, halfway on the laptop. Is his hair everywhere? Yes. Is it harder to type? Yes. But he's worth it. He's our "first born" and still needs his mommy and daddy! :)

Here is what it is like to sleep in our bed. I know this pic is awful. I took it with my iPhone and it was dark in the room, but you can make out Duke on the right, Rudy on the left, and in the middle is my legs. I'm sleeping as straight as I can to not take up much room. And even if I want to move, I won't, because I don't want to disturb my babies.

Here's big brother and little brother cuddling on the couch.

Rudy taking a cat nap with his mama on one of our many snow days.

When he rolls over into what we call "upside down kitties", he is at his most comfortable place and his motor is on full blast. :) And Rudy isn't like most cats, he will let you rub his tummy. Like any cat though, you better stop when his tail starts whipping back and forth.

As you could probably figure out by now, I am an animal lover. When I was upset as a child, I would talk to my animals and they would make me feel better. Ha! I've always had a connection and soft place in my heart for all animals. I have an animal radar when we drive. I can see animals from a mile away and freak Dustin out when I squeal and yell at him to swerve. I'm surprised I'm a meat eater with how much I hate the idea of any animal enduring pain or suffering. Animals are a calming force in my life. They've taught me how to love and helped me through the tough times I've endured. They are always there and love you no matter what. May everyone know the unconditional love of having a pet...and the joy of cuddling with them.

Ouachita Weekend

2011-02-20T12:18:00.004-06:00

Dustin and I were wanting to get away this weekend to enjoy the warm weather, so we headed to Lake Ouachita and stayed at his parents trailer there. We went for a hike on the Vista trails and took Duke along. We stopped for a picnic at a pretty little lookout spot. The weather was perfect, we got in a good workout, and Duke thoroughly enjoyed himself! He was a very good guide dog. We let him off of his leash, and he stayed right on the trail the whole time and would turn around every now and then to make sure we were still behind him. I don't know what I think he's so smart for knowing how to stay on the trail...I mean...I guess as humans we can sense where the trail is headed even though its covered with leaves and hard to see...so I guess they have that same sense, but I like to think he is extremely intelligent! :)

Did I tell you he learned to get the paper in ONE day? I pointed to the paper in front of the door, saying, "Get the paper!" and he barked and pounced around it like, "Really, mom? Can I? This isn't a trick?" and when he got it in his mouth, I praised and praised him and bought him in to get a treat. The next day...took him out...said, "Get the paper!" one time, he got it, I praised him, we checked the mail (new step in the routine here), and I brought him in to get a treat. Third day...took him out... said, "Get the paper!" one time, he got it, I praised him, he ran to the mailbox, then we came in to get a treat. Every day since then...he knows the routine! It is so funny and I look forward to praising him everyday for being such a smart boy! We are still working on letting go of the paper easily...that-he doesn't like to do.

Hope everyone had a chance to get out and enjoy some of the warm weather! Wasn't it beautiful?!

Oaklawn Family Weekend

2011-02-13T16:36:00.003-06:00

We had a good ole time with the fam this weekend for Mom's late birthday celebration. Mom, Johnny, Luke, and Tiff got into town Friday night around 7:30. We just sat around the house visiting and ordered pizza. The next morning, we ate breakfast and were off to the races! At Oaklawn, we stayed for all 10 races with some big wins, big loses and everything in between. Most of all, we just enjoyed ourselves and it was a great day!

Dustin and I went in with $100 and didn't want to spend anymore. That was for gambling on 10 races, food, and beer. It was a pretty tight budget considering the cost of food, beer, and gambling all 10 races. We left with $40! Big winnas! I was hot the first 4 races and won each bet I made, even though they were only $2 bets :), but Dustin wasn't having very much luck. After the 8th race, I was done betting, but Dustin won $47 and $38 on the last two races. If he hadn't done that, we wouldn't have walked out with any stash. Luke and Tiff faired well I think, kind of ending up like we did. Johnny won around $180 on a Trifecta for the first race, and he won about $230 on the second race, but then he made what he called a stupid bet and I think pretty much lost what he had going. He should've gone with his instincts...right after he placed that bet he said it was stupid and he was going to lose...and he did!

Is there such thing as instincts when gambling though? Or do you just think it was good instincts when you win? And how in the world do people research all of those stats and racing forms and put all of that information together to make an informed bet? My head was spinning thinking about it. Us girls each had our own silly strategy. Mom just turned 53, and since we were celebrating her birthday, she picked the #5 and #3 horse just about every race. Tiffany was going off of the horse's past winnings and did pretty good for herself. Luke thought she had the magic picks anyways after she won a few bets in a row. I always picked #7 to place and another horse that stood out to me for some reason...the name, the jockey's name...I don't know. But we all had kept each other entertained making bets and cheering on our horses each race. It was fun times!

That night we went to eat at Porterhouse Steak and Seafood. They were way understaffed and we didn't eat until after 9:00 with 7:30 reservations, but our waiter was the funniest.gay.man.ever., and we told him as long as he kept us hydrated, drink in hand, and bread on the table, we'd be alright. I had swordfish stuffed with crabmeat with a side of lobster mashed potatoes and it was delish! Dustin had a filet and loved it too. We ordered a smorgasbord of deserts to top it off and make ourselves miserable.

After dinner we headed back to our hotel, The Arlington, and chilled in the bar listening to a live band. It was a great day with great company, and I think mom wants to make this her new annual birthday celebration! We're definitely cool with that!

I hope everyone enjoys their sun-shiney week!

Randomness....or is it multi-tasking? Anwho...it's a long post.

2011-02-11T09:38:00.007-06:00

So I haven't blogged in so long because I have nothing to blog about....but I also have lots of tiny ideas swirling around in my head today. In fact, as I sit here writing this blog post, I'm also writing lesson plans, texting two different people, uploading pictures, and thinking of all the things I need to get done today. So welcome to my ADHD brain. I hope you can handle it.

School Valentine Project:

These are the pictures I'm currently editing, then uploading to Walgreens. Our Valentine Party is Monday, which really snuck up on me since we've been out of school Wednesday-Friday with Snowmageddon. I took each students picture with each sign I made and we're going to make these into tri-fold cards. It's hard to find a V-day craft to do with fourth graders. They generally are over it, but I thought this one was grade appropriate and it will be a fun keepsake. We were SUPPOSE to make them on Friday, but I guess we'll be making them during the V-day Party now...in front of the parents that they are giving them to....grrreeeaaaatttt.

Speaking of Snowmageddon...this has been our lives the past two days. Dustin has worked from home, Duke has been completely lazy per usual, and I have been bored out of my mind I tell ya!!! Dustin is covering his face here because he hadn't showered in over 48 hours at this point, and his hair was grea-sy. Having D work from home is sNOw fun. He doesn't ever take breaks, he yells curse words when he gets off the phone with someone which completely stresses me out, and he refuses to talk to moi, who is bored and wants to talk. The satelite had gone out and I had graded all of my 200 papers I brought home, I deep cleaned the bathrooms...showers...toilets...the whole shebang, completed loads of laundry...I couldn't think of what else to do. Oh, and he had the aircard plugged in on his laptop, which is our internet USB thing we have to use to get internet since we are outside of city limits, so I could even get on my laptop. I spent most of my time on my iPhone....fun times.

The definition of lazy....barely opened his eyes for two days...

...besides to romp in the snow for about 30 minutes each day.

I put Rudy on the back patio for a minute because he was jealous of his little brother for getting to go outside and wouldn't.stop.meowing. It wasn't long before he was rubbing against the door wanting back in. Here are big brother and little brother's footprints. So sweet.

Our weather forecasters were right on target. They said we would get 4-6 inches and we did. Not near the 2 feet NWA got, but I was fine with that!

Working Out - I've been a work-out-a-holic since after Christmas. I really have been. Its been fun and not fun. Not fun in the sense that I didn't loose ANY weight for the first month. Not.one.pound. I quit weighing myself for awhile, deciding I was happy enough that the back of my legs were looking much better and that I was gaining endurance on the treadmill. Then I weighed myself last week and I had lost 4 pounds since Christmas! Yay for me! It's a small victory, but I'll take it! I haven't been eating the best I could be, so I think I could've lost more. Dinner gets me. I am good at breakfast (Activia and protein bar...about 200 calories), good at lunch (salad or turkey sandwich, usually with applesauce and a stick of Sargento cheese...about 450 calories), but when I eat dinner WITH DUSTIN, I do horrible! Lately, I've told him that I'm just not going to cook dinner near as much as I usually do. I just cook myself a grilled cheese, or eat another salad, and leave him to fend for himself. He's been a pretty good sport about it.
On a side note...I've been reading this new blog that I won't mention the name of. I really liked it because it had a lot to do with fashion and working out, which motivated me to be a better me, but then I read something she wrote that pissed me off. She works at a nice retail store and was talking about her pet-peeves at work, and she said she didn't like it "when a 140 pound girl wanted to try on a small". WHOA! I wanted to cry and punch her in the face at the same time. Who are you to make me feel bad about my weight? Who are you to say that I can't wear a small? It happens...occassionally, not saying that I think I AM small, I usually do go for the Medium or Large, but seriously?!?! That got the ghetto girl in me to come out a little bit, and I felt horrible about myself for the rest of the night. D noticed it and when he asked me what was wrong, I completely had a break down. Shame on her for making me feel that way, and shame on me for letting her. Ugh!

Mom's Birthday / Oaklawn Weekend - Mom's official birthday was January 30. Last year, we planned for my mom, Johnny, Luke, and Tiff to come down to our neck of the woods for the weekend and go to the races. Well, last year it snowed on that weekend and cancelled our plans. We couldn't reschedule with all of the wedding showers, bachelorette parties, etc. I had around that time last year. So this year, we planned it for THIS weekend. And...Snowmageddon happened. I've been so scared that it would cancel our plans again, but then we decided that the worse case scenario would be that they just come down Saturday morning and we'll meet them at the races....BUT I just got a text from mom saying they were going to head down tonight! Super YAY!!!! That just made my day. I'm so excited!!!

Last but not least, we are headed to Crystal Beach in Destin for our Spring Break trip in T-minus 6 weeks! I am one happy girl. I've been trying to get my body beach ready, in hopes that maybe I could wear a bikini again this year, but I don't know. I love my friend Jessica that I'm going with, but I don't want to wear a bikini next to her skinny ass. She is beautiful and although she never makes me feel bad about myself, I make myself feel bad about myself when I'm around her. Envy. It's a baadddd thing. A sin in fact! I just can't shake it sometimes. Anywho...we have never been to Destin and neither have Matt and Jessica, so if anyone has good shopping/restaurant suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Hope y'alls heads aren't spinning. I feel better for getting all of that out of my system. I'm going to venture into the world of the outdoors today and actually run some errands in Little Rock. Wish me luck. Have a great weekend, folks!!!

Sicky-Icky

2011-01-28T07:54:00.002-06:00

Today is day 2 off work for me. Wednesday I had a sinus headache, but didn't think much of it, but when I went to the gym that night and sweated my arse off, I came home with an immediate fever and aches all over. By Thursday morning, my temperature was 102.9 accompanied by a congested head, ears, and swollen throat. No fun.

The doctor couldn't get me in until today at 10:30, and I can't wait to get some antibiotics and start feeling like part of the living again. I have done nothing but sleep, whine, sweat, shiver, and mope for the past 36 hours. I'm not very good at being sick.

I woke up last night at midnight soaking wet with sweat. My shirt, underwear, hair, the sheets...like I had taken a bath. But I hadn't and I felt so gross that I took a quick shower, let the sheets dry out (eww...I know, but Dustin was asleep, it wasn't like I could start washing them) and then went back to bed.

Then Duke got up at about 3:30am and went to my bedside table and started licking, I stuck my hand over there to stop him, not consciously thinking about why he would be licking since I was half asleep, and I ended up sticking my hand right into Rudy the cat's vomit.

Nice...

Not to mention my drawer was half open, so he puked in my underwear/bra drawer as well.

So that's how my night went. Hope you got some better sleep than I.

I'm off to do a load of laundry....you got it...sheets, underwear, and bras.

Two New Additions

2011-01-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

We bought 2 matching chairs to go in our living room with our Christmas money. We weren't in desperate need of extra seating, although the extra seating won't hurt...we just have a large living room that needed more furniture in it!

I love them and think they look great with the curtains...but I think everything would look better with a little color on those walls! Dustin wishes I would just be happy with the way things are, and I am, it's just that I can't help but think of ways to make things perfect, ya know? I'm not the only one who always has something else in mind after you check something off on the wish list, right?! It's a woman thing!

And other shots of the living room, since I don't know if I've ever shown any....

Yes, Duke is sitting on the back cushion of the couch, and yes, the couch is torn from his chewing. We did have him trained from getting on the couch, but then he got sick for weeks, and we felt sorry for him...yada, yada, yada....we're bad parents. Don't judge.

Leftover Snow Pics

2011-01-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

I came across a few more snow pictures from our big blizzard a couple of weeks ago....thought I'd share...maybe we'll get more tonight?!?!

A New Car!!! (Cue the 'Price Is Right' Voice)

2011-01-22T18:29:00.003-06:00

That's right! We got a new ride this last Monday. We've been talking about getting a new car for quite awhile because Dustin's Escape had 140,000 miles on it, and it just doesn't make sense that he drives an SUV to work. As much as we wanted to wait until his was paid off until we got a new car, we knew that eventually I was going to need a bigger car. When Dustin's car broke down last week on his way to work....we got serious about looking. Paying a mechanic bill is no fun. Dustin's is now driving my Altima to work and we're saving some money on gas. Not to mention our rides with Duke, his crate, and our luggage will be much roomier now!

This car may be used, but it looks brand new. I absolutely love it and can't believe it's ours!