polka dots and diet mountain dew

Childbirth Class

2009-07-18T22:06:00.001-05:00

Today Buck and I attended a childbirth class. I felt it was very informative. I don't think Buck was as thrilled about attending but he was so good about it and I think he actually learned a thing or two! We couldn't do the weekly classes because they are only offered on Tuesday nights and because of the cattle sale on Tuesdays that is the one night a week Buck can't go so we decided to do the Saturday morning class. The class was from 9am until 12:30pm. It wasn't one of those classes where you learn breathing techniques and all that. It was more a "what is going to happen" class. They went through all the stages of labor and told us exactly what would happen and in what order. I am a planner so I loved learning exactly what would happen. I feel much more comfortable now. The only thing I am really freaked about is the epidural. That thing scares the hell out of me. I can handle the rest. Everyone has assured me though that I will not even care about that needle when I get to the point of needing it. I just hope they are right. We also got to tour the hospital and see all the different rooms and the well baby nursery and the NICU. At my hospital I will get one room for labor, delivery and recovery and then I will get moved to another room for the rest of the stay. I am very pleased with the hospital and all of the staff has been super nice. Today definitely made everything more real and I am getting so excited about finally having our baby!

30w1d

2009-07-08T19:53:00.002-05:00

Today was my 30 week appointment. From here on out I will be going every two weeks. Everything looked great today (blood, urine, etc). I had only gained a couple more pounds so I am still pleased with my overall weight. His heartbeat was 152. He was very active this morning and even kicked the doppler while the nurse was trying to get his heartbeat. They didn't tell me until half way through the appointment that I had to give blood again. Not just a prick either! Thank goodness my mom went with me today. This time the nurse listened and took it out of my hand the first time. I was still a baby about it but at least I didn't pass out this time. I go back in two weeks and I moved my appointments to Fridays instead of Wednesdays so that now every other week I can have a three day weekend. He also said that at week 36 he would start checking me for dilation. We asked him today about setting an induction date and he said that as long as he didn't think he needed to take him earlier that would he put in my chart that I wanted to be induced on September 9th. I really hope he holds out until then.

Happy 4th of July!!!

2009-07-04T20:55:00.003-05:00

A Baby Tea! (but not for me)

2009-06-29T11:08:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I helped host a baby tea for one of my best friends. She was one of my matrons of honor in my wedding (yes I had two matrons of honor and two maids of honor, no bridesmaids). I made the cake and my mom did the flower arrangements and made the corsage. There were several girls hosting and everything turned out really nice. Here are a few pictures:

Silas' bedding!

2009-06-26T13:09:00.006-05:00

I finally ordered my bedding from Polka Tot Designs and I love it. Most people won't like it because it is not "baby" looking but it fits Buck and I perfectly! Here is a picture of what it will look like.

I did not do his initials, instead I chose to put his name. I used a different font but still the same blue color that is in the picture. This picture is a little deceiving though because the white parts are actually more of an ecru. I am not using the sheet that comes with it because it is a little too white for me. I have already purchased two other sheets in chocolate and mocha that match the bedding perfectly. Now I just have to wait patiently for it to come in!

28w1d and 4D ultrasound

2009-06-25T20:09:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I had my 28w1d checkup and we also got to do our 4D ultrasound. I finally got to see my little man! Buck, my mom and his mom all went with me and it was such a fun appointment. We went straight back for the ultrasound first. Silas had his knees pulled up to his face and just balled up. He was determined we were not going to see his face. We took several pictures and of course I had to get a shot of his boy parts again just to make sure! We are definitely having a little boy! After a while the nurse told us that after my appointment with the doctor we could come back in and try to get some better pictures of his face.

My appointment went great. I had gained 5 more pounds. My blood pressure, urine and all that good stuff was great. They did check my iron again to see if it was coming up and it was. I was at 10.4 and my doctor was pleased it was coming up. He still wants me to take the iron pills so it looks like I will be on those until Silas gets here. He also moved me to coming every two weeks.

After I met with the doctor, we went back into the ultrasound room. He had stretched out just a little but not much. We did get some really cute pictures of his face. His heart beat was 144 and he weighs 3lbs 1oz. We looked at baby pictures of me and Buck once we got home and Silas looks just like his daddy! They have the same chin, nose, eyes, lips, everything! After seeing these pictures now I am more ready than ever for him to be here!

The first picture is of him balled up. The others are just some cute shots we got. We ended up with over 40 pictures but I just posted a few.

Busy week and Father's Day weekend!

2009-06-22T16:05:00.004-05:00

This past week and weekend was kind of hectic. I went to eat supper with my hubby on Wednesday night and then had a Girls' Night Out with two of my best friends on Thursday night, Dana and Paula. Then Friday night I headed to Roebuck to camp with my mom and my mom's sister and all of her family (her husband, three daughters, three son-in-laws and six grandchildren!) and my grandmother. Buck couldn't go because it was horse sale weekend and he stays crazy busy at work when they have a sale going on. Mom and I came back to town Saturday morning because she had to work and then I had several things to get done including of course a very important hair appointment! Then we went back to Roebuck Saturday night. We got up Sunday morning and enjoyed breakfast with everyone and then had to pack and head back home. I enjoyed spending time with everyone but it was HOT!!!! Sunday for lunch Buck and I went to my mom's house and spent some time with my mom, stepdad, stepbrother, his wife and their son, Jackson. Then we left and went to Marion to spend some time with his grandmother. It was nice. We spent about two hours at her house just visiting and of course getting plenty advice on what to do and not to do once Silas gets here! Then we went to Buck's oldest sister's house and had supper with his dad and his sister's family. It was a nice weekend but I was exhausted by the time we got back home last night. I didn't get to see my dad this weekend because he went up to my brother's house. He probably enjoyed that more anyway because they got to play golf and hang out. I did call him for a while yesterday and he is coming down Wednesday to help me around the house some and to hang my two new ceiling fans in the office and in Silas' room. Buck and I had a great day yesterday and even though he is not quite a daddy yet, I got him a daddy-to-be card and a new shirt. I can't wait until next year when he gets to spend Father's Day with his son!

My bump!

2009-06-17T20:58:00.003-05:00

I have yet to post any pictures of me pregnant because I absolutely hate pictures of myself but some people were asking for photos so here goes....

This is me at 27w1d!

Newest cake...

2009-06-11T21:38:00.003-05:00

More baby preparation...

2009-06-06T18:14:00.002-05:00

As if I hadn't posted enough about Silas this week, I thought I would add one more! I ordered this the other day for my door at the hospital and also to use on the front door once we get home. I am going to take off the little sign at the bottom and make one myself that has his name on it. I am also going to add a big blue bow at the top for this to hang from. We have this meshy blue stuff at the flowershop. I can't really describe it right, but I will post pictures as soon as it comes in and I get it finished.

Show Us Where You Live

2009-06-05T19:23:00.006-05:00

This week is the home office on Kelly's tour. I just recently finished making this room my office in the whole turnover we did making room for the nursery. This room is very small and was once a sunroom off of the den (that is why there are floor to ceiling curtains because of all the windows). We have never used this room for anything more than storage and a plant room during the winter so this space was perfect for the office. Mom and I painted everything and I put down some vinyl tile for the floor (it was just concrete floor with awful indoor/outdoor carpet that was very smelly and stained). Most of my office furniture fit and I even was able to put an armoire in to house everything that once lived in our old office closet.

This is coming in the door from the den. Ignore the ugly ceiling fan. I have a new one put together and waiting along with the nursery fan to be put up when my dad comes back down.

This is the side of the door you see from inside the office. I keep the big family calendar here and also any notes for upcoming cakes I am doing or parties I am helping to host.

This is my desk. My dad helped me make this desk out of an old door. We put some trim molding around the edge and I painted it all black and then put it on two black filing cabinets. I use the side with the hole for the door handle in the back for all the wires to go down and hide behind the desk. I love my desk because I wanted a big workspace but could not afford to buy a desk this large. I ended up spending less than $100 for the trim, paint and filing cabinets. The door was free! There is a little black bookcase I keep under the desk to store all my spray paint and paints for big projects like painting furniture. I also keep samples of all the room colors of the house for any touch ups I need to do.

I put this little table in here to have space to spread out for any art projects or scrapbooking so that I don't have to clear off the desk every time I need to work. It usually houses whatever project I am currently working on.

This is my armoire that used to live in the guest bedroom. I decided to use it in here when we moved everything around because I didn't have a closet and needed somewhere for all my office and art supplies to live.

Here is the inside and yes I am a little OCD about my closets and cabinets being organized and labeled!

This is my baby, Kurdt, and this is where he stays when I am in the office. He loves to look out the windows. The only thing is now I have to clean those windows weekly to wipe all the nose prints off!

More baby stuff...

2009-06-04T20:11:00.004-05:00

It is funny how once you become pregnant your life becomes consumed by everything baby. I am constantly talking about him, or shopping for him or planning for him. I sometimes wonder what I did with my free time before I became pregnant! This past weekend when we went to my brother's we did some shopping. I got Silas the very first Alabama outfit he will wear. Since he is due at the beginning of football season, we have to be prepared with plenty of Bama gear! Also I got him his first pair of Converse. They are so stinking cute! It is the smallest pair I have ever been able to find.

Look what came in today!!!!

2009-06-04T17:32:00.000-05:00

Silas' bedding samples!

25w appt and the bedding hunt continues....

2009-06-03T14:55:00.011-05:00

Yesterday was my regular OB checkup and it was also the visit where I had to have my glucose test done. I was so nervous about it but I passed...barely! I had to drink some orange stuff that tasted just like a very sweet orange soda and then wait for a hour and have my finger pricked. I had to score a 139 or lower to pass. I scored a 139! I am so glad I do not have to go back and have the 3 hour test done and get stuck a bunch of times. I was actually more nervous about getting stuck than I was about the test results. I had gained just two pounds since my last visit. I am actually very happy with the weight I have put on. I was worried that I would blow up and just gain like crazy but so far so good. Silas measured at 25 cm which is right on track with me being 25 weeks along. His heartbeat was 147. My blood pressure and urine and all of that was normal and the doctor was happy with everything. The only problem was my iron. It is a little low. It was at 9.9 and the nurse said they like it to be around 11 or higher so she gave me some iron pills to take until I come back for my next appointment to see if that helps get it up around where they want it. Apparently right now my prenatal vitamins just aren't enough. He wants me to start coming every three weeks now and my next visit will be June 24th. We are also having the 4D ultrasound done that day. I can not wait to see him!

After we left the doctor, mom and I ran some errands and our first stop was Baby Bundles. I ordered the furniture and looked at bedding AGAIN! (We went to so many stores this past weekend and I still didn't find bedding I liked!) I settled on two patterns and decided that when Buck got home last night I was just going to let him look at them and pick the one he liked the best and just order that one. They were still not what I wanted but I was getting so tired of looking and worrying over it. After we ran errands and went to mom's eye doctor appointment that afternoon we headed home. We went to eat Mexican when we got back into town and then I finally headed home to get on the couch. It was a long day and I was so tired. After I got home, I got on the computer and mom sent me a message with a website. I started looking and they had my bedding!!!!! It is the exact colors I want and the great thing is I can totally customize it and pick what fabrics go where! The funny thing is, after looking at every store we could find and looking at website after website, this place is in Mobile, Alabama! They are called Polka Tot Designs and you can click here to go the the website. I could not be happier now that I finally have the perfect bedding. I am posting some pictures of the fabric samples that are coming this week. I already have the style of the bumper and skirt picked out but I just have to decide what fabrics are going where.

Show Us Where You Live

2009-05-29T13:43:00.008-05:00

This week Kelly is doing children's rooms and nurseries. Since I don't have Silas' room finished I thought I would just post some pictures of the items that I know for sure will be going into the room. I posted about his closet and painting his room here. You can see the wall color in some of the pictures. I will post better pictures of the walls once his furniture comes in. I have been on the search for bedding and I am getting beyond frustrated because I have in mind certain colors I want to use and pretty much have the whole bedroom planned out but I can not find any bedding with those colors. I am pretty stubborn once I have my mind set on something so I hope I can find something I want and not have to settle. We are going to my brother's house this weekend and Monday on our way home we are going to Babies-R-Us for me to register and I am hoping to find something there or either some pieces and I can put together to make a set. We will see!

Here are some pictures of his furniture. I hope to have it ordered by next week. It is made by Bonavita and it is the Metro style. I first saw it several months ago in Baby Bundles in Northport and fell in love. I am going to order the set in Chocolate which is a really dark brown (some pieces in the pictures look black but it is not that dark in person). I think it will look perfect against the green walls. We are also going ahead and ordering the rails to make it a full size bed for when he gets bigger. I ordered the nightstand to use by my glider for now and it will later on be used by his bed when we convert the crib. My mom gave me a glider and I am painting it a dark brown and recovering it in a tan material. I am hoping to start on that project this next weekend. I am using the dresser as my changing table. I am a little weird I guess in the fact that I don't like baby furniture to look like baby furniture so I didn't want a separate changing table. Over the dresser I have a pair of Buck's overalls that he wore as a child that I am having framed and then will have floating shelves to hold pictures and other small items. All in all I have the complete room pictured in my head and now I just have to get it done!

Where does the time go???

2009-05-27T20:36:00.008-05:00

I missed Kelly's house tour this past week. It was the dining room and right now our dining room and the den attached are where all my projects and things I need to go through are stored so those rooms are a mess! This past weekend mom and I painted the nursery (yes it was well ventilated and I didn't inhale anything I wasn't supposed too!) and started working on getting the room ready for when the furniture comes in. I got the closet completely cleaned out and mom and I went to Lowe's on Sunday to buy a whole new system for the nursery closet. I wanted more than just a shelf and one rod so I bought a system where I could put three shelves total and a rod and they are all adjustable. We got all of that installed and I even bought all the canvas baskets for the shelves. I also got a new ceiling fan for the room and it is put together and just waiting on my daddy to come down and install. I posted some pics below of the room and closet before and after.

I promise I don't dress like this but these are my paint clothes! My momma made me take a picture of me working on Silas' room!

These pictures don't really do justice to the wall color. The color is beautiful and exactly what I wanted. This weekend mom and I are going to visit my brother and on our way home we are spending the day in Birmingham. We plan on going to a couple of baby stores and then to a fabric store to pick out the fabric for his bedding. I will post pictures when I get something picked out!

Psycho Preggo Lady!

2009-05-25T21:15:00.005-05:00

I am almost embarrassed to post this but it is stuff like this that I know once I am no longer pregnant I will look back on and laugh about!

Last night, Buck and I were getting ready to go to his mom's to eat supper. I had been working on Silas' room all day and was tired to begin with and then had to get a shower and get ready to go over there. Well I had gotten hot while in the shower and then even hotter as I was drying my hair. By the time I got to getting my clothes on I was ill and hot! That does not make for a nice pregnant lady. I had my jeans on and I was looking for a shirt I wanted to wear. I knew it was clean because I had just washed it. After I looked through my closet, the laundry room, the dryer and the basket of clothes waiting to get folded and still couldn't find it, I started yelling for Buck. He came running (because I was kind of yelling like a crazy woman but I would never dare tell him that I admitted that) and wanted to know what was wrong. I put him to finding my black shirt and NO not the one that was laying on top of the basket. I wasn't blind. That is the other black shirt. Why can't men understand that just because they are both black shirts that they are not the same? After digging for a minute he held up a white and black striped shirt. Did he not hear me? Did I say black and white???? NO! Finally he found my shirt and asked very quietly if that was it and I said yes and walked calmly to the ironing board and finished getting dressed like nothing had happened. The crazy thing is I knew the whole time that I was acting crazy but I didn't care and couldn't stop! Poor Buck!

Another Graduation Cake

2009-05-22T23:28:00.001-05:00

My girly graduation cake!

Graduation Cake

2009-05-19T15:52:00.000-05:00

My latest cake...

Show Us Where You Live

2009-05-15T01:16:00.005-05:00

Today is the guest bedroom. I will have to wait until after this weekend to post pictures because our guest bedroom is currently empty and being painted. We have two extra bedrooms in addition to our master bedroom. One of the rooms was being used as an office and one as an extra bedroom. We moved our office into the small room off of the den that was a sun room and our guest bedroom is currently being moved into the room that was our office. Confused???? The larger room was our guest bedroom and I wanted to use it for the nursery so we had to play fruit basket turn over with our rooms in order for that to happen. We have already painted one coat of paint and hopefully will be finishing up this weekend. I will link to Kelly's page when we are finished and I can put up pictures of the room completed!

UPDATED: We finished painting and got the bed moved in. I still have to get some pillows for this bed because I want to do several extra pillows to make the bed feel plush. Also, I ordered a luggage rack to go on the empty wall for guest to put their luggage on. I hung the big oval mirror behind the door because it didn't feel very sturdy on the door. I didn't want it to get broken. I also put a hook on the closet door for guest to hang their clothes because the inside of the closet is full of Buck's winter shirts. (Notice I did not say any of MY clothes were in there!) So for now it is finished...

My active little man...

2009-05-13T11:48:00.003-05:00

Last night was one of my best nights pregnant yet! I was finished up folding laundry and washing dishes and got on the couch to settle in to watch DWTS. I had gotten my feet propped up and finally gotten comfortable when around 7:45pm I could feel Silas moving. This time was different from most though. I have been feeling him move for around 5 or 6 weeks now, but this time he was more active and the kicks and movements were harder. So I laid my hands on my belly and got really still and I felt him. From the outside. It was so wonderful! Then when he really got to moving I could see my belly moving. It was the most incredible thing I have ever felt or seen! I love it when he moves around and reminds me that he is in there and doing great. I can not wait for my little man to get here!

Mother's Day Weekend - Photos!

2009-05-12T22:15:00.003-05:00

Here are some random photos of our Mother's Day gathering/crawfish eating. We had so much fun watching the kids play and eat crawfish!

This last picture is of my Aunt Darlene, my mom (in the middle) and my Grandmother!

We actually took tons of pictures but I just posted a few of the kids. Eating crawfish is a dirty job but it sure is yummy!

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-11T12:58:00.004-05:00

All I can say is today I am completely exhausted! We had quite a busy weekend. Starting with Thursday night, Buck woke up in the middle of the night with some kind of flu virus/stomach bug. Friday was an extra long day because I didn't get much sleep. Buck stayed in the bed all day Friday so when I got home from work I had to start nursing him with medicine, powerade and chicken noodle soup. Laramie came home Friday night so I got to visit with him for a little while before I finally crashed Friday night. Saturday was just as long because I had to go to the flower shop at 7am and start working on presentation bouquets for the ballet recital at Southern Academy. I worked all day at the shop and then went home around 3pm to start cleaning house. I had to go back to shop with mom around 5:30pm and make a few more deliveries then we went off to the grocery store to get all of the food for our Mother's Day gathering on Sunday. Buck still didn't get out of the bed all day Saturday so I had to take care of him and get the house and yard ready for about 24 people coming on Sunday.

Yesterday was so much fun. I got up early to make a butterfinger cake and finish up cleaning the house and yard. Family starting arriving around 2:30pm or so and we starting cooking the crawfish and playing with the kids. The weather turned out perfect because it was a little overcast which kept it from being too hot. We all sat outside and just enjoyed being together. I can not wait until Silas gets here and is big enough to play with all of his cousins! I hope to get the camera from mom tonight and post a few pictures.

I also got my first Mother's Day cards. My mother-in-law sent me a sweet card in the mail. My brother gave me a gift card to Babys-R-Us and had a sweet note with it. It made me cry. Yesterday afternoon, even though Buck has been sick for the past three days, he got me a card that was really sweet too! I can't wait to celebrate Mother's Day next year when Silas is actually here!

Show Us Where You Live

2009-05-08T22:52:00.004-05:00

Today is the living room. We actually have two living rooms in our house but one of them is just a big empty room right now. We have ideas for how we want to decorate the other room but we just don't have the funds to do it right now. For now, this is the living room we use as our main family room. It is small but super cozy!

This is the view coming from the kitchen. The door way you see leads to the hallway that leads to the rest of the house.

This fireplace is probably one of my favorite parts of our house. I am posting some pictures of this room from when we bought the house at the end of this post and you can see this fireplace has come a long way. I love the painted brick and my screen from Southern Living at Home. It has gas logs and I love, love, love being able to come home in the winter and just turning it on!

Going on around the room is the armoire that holds our TV. This is with the doors open. Of course the Golden Girls are on! I have a chair to fill the space to the left of the entertainment center but I haven't painted it or recovered the cushion. That is one of my next projects.

Here is a shot with the armoire doors closed. I love to be able to shut those doors when we have guest over and hide all the clutter that goes with having a TV.

This is standing in the corner between the fireplace and the armoire. Notice the cowboy hat...just one of the perks of living with a cattleman! The ottoman is one of my projects. It was an ugly old table I bought at a yard sale for $15. I added some paint and covered the top with batting and foam and some fabric and made a custom ottoman that fits our couch perfectly. The door on the left leads into our home office. It is one of the rooms that just got completed to make room for the baby nursery. The door on the right leads back into the kitchen.

This is the view standing in front of the door leading to the office and looking towards the entry into the kitchen.

Our recliner is absolutely the ugliest piece of furniture we own but my husband loves that thing. I want to get a new one but it is on the bottom of my priority list right now. The big white door leads into the laundry room. That whole wall with the door was not there when we bought the house. I hated the washer and dryer being in that small hole in the kitchen so we put up this wall and took a few feet away from the den to make a laundry room.

There are still a few things I would like to do in here. I want a new recliner of course and would love to have new curtains. One of the main things I want to do before the baby gets here is get a rug for our den. I have been searching and just haven't found one that I love yet.

Here are a few shots of the den before we moved in. It still amazes me what paint can do for a room!

21w1d Checkup

2009-05-06T17:37:00.004-05:00

Today was my checkup at the OB. Buck went with me today so it was nice to have a day with him. I don't get to see him much these days because of work. Silas' heartbeat was 165. I just love to hear that sound! Everything else, blood pressure, urine, etc., was great. The doctor started measuring my belly this week and it measured right at 21cm which means Silas is growing right on track. I had a jump in my weight gain this time which the doctor said is perfectly normal for someone who was as sick as I was the first trimester. I am a little over half way and have only gained about half of the recommended weight gain. The only complaint I have these days is the swelling! My feet and hands swell so bad some days and I know the heat will only make it worse, but it will all be worth it once he gets here!

Update

2009-05-04T13:57:00.008-05:00

I haven't posted anything in a while so I thought I would try and play catch up. I have been super busy these past couple of weeks working on the house. Mom helped me paint the old sunroom/new office and I layed tile and hung new curtains and finally got all the furniture moved and set up. On Saturday I got the old office/new guest bedroom cleaned out and the walls prepped for paint. Sunday morning Mom and I went to Lowes and got the new paint and got one good coat put on the walls in there. Hopefully we will be finishing that room up tonight so I can get the furniture moved in the next day or so. I also got new plants for all of my planters for the porches and back yard and worked on those Sunday afternoon while Buck cut the grass. We got all the backyard furniture washed and put out and got our yards back to summer time condition. It looks so great out there now. This coming up Sunday, for Mother's Day, we are going to cook crawfish for our families and just have a casual afternoon to hang out back there. I am really looking forward to it so I hope the weather cooperates.

The pregnancy has been going great. I have had so much energy lately. I have to make myself take a break sometimes and remember that I am pregnant! I get hungry a lot more these days but still not just going crazy with food. My next OB appointment is Wednesday but it is just a check up. Hopefully I will get to hear his heartbeat again. I am anxious to see how much weight I have gained because my belly has really popped on out a little. I actually look pregnant now and not just chubby! We decided that his full name will be William Silas Washburn. We are going to call him Silas. The William is after Buck and the Silas we just liked. Plus he will have one initial after Buck and one after me.

Well I guess that is all for now!

Show Us Where You Live

2009-05-01T21:32:00.010-05:00

One of my favorite blogs is Kelly's Korner. Kelly has started home tours and on Friday she picks a room to tour. This week is the kitchen so I thought I would join in...

This is the door that we come in and out of everyday. This door leads to a small porch and then our carport. It is also where I hang my purse and keys everyday. The small wooden bowl is for Buck's keys, wallet, etc.

This is the start of my kitchen and working around to the left. The kitchen is long and it is hard to take a picture of all of the kitchen at one time so I have to take several shots around the room.

The door you see there leads into the den. Before Buck and I bought this house we lived in a trailer. I have to say the one thing I truly miss about that trailer was the den being open to the kitchen.

The curtain you see there leads to a small opening before you get to the door that leads to the backyard. The owners before had their washer and dryer in that small hole but I had a laundry room put in elsewhere in the house. It is currently used to house a second fridge and our pantry.

Do you see all of those invites on the fridge?!?! Four high school graduations, two weddings and two wedding showers! All in the next couple of weeks!

Finally we have made it all the way around the kitchen. There are two closets in my kitchen, which I love! The one on the left holds all my serving dishes and cake decorating items. The one on the right holds all my paper goods, small coolers, dog food and treats and the hot water heater. To the left of the mirror with the hooks and the shoe tray is the door where we started. Notice the cowboy boots! Always a pair by the door. Might be clean, might be muddy and just might have spurs on them!

I have so many things I want to do to this kitchen but it has been one of the last rooms on the remodel list. I have done a few things like painting and changing out hardware on the cabinets and putting up all new light fixtures but I still have a long ways to go in this kitchen. Just to show how far it has come here are a couple of pictures from when we first bought the house.

Easter Cake

2009-04-28T11:45:00.006-05:00

A little late in posting this but this is the cake I did for Easter.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T19:05:00.001-05:00

It's a boy!!!!

2009-04-09T13:02:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was an extremely long day! I was too tired to even get on the computer much once I got home. We started out by going to the OB at 10:00 am for the ultrasound. This was the big one where we got to see gender, organs and everything. I do believe it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. We found out we are having a boy, which is exactly what I wanted and I have said since day one it was a boy. The doctor said he was measuring perfect and that all organs and everything looked great. He is definitely an active little boy. He wiggled and moved the whole time we were watching him. Last week I started feeling him move around and now I know why! I have a feeling my hands are definitely going to be full once he arrives. Here are a few pictures from the ultrasound.

After we left the doctor's office we went to lunch with my mom and Buck's mom. They both went with us yesterday to see the baby. After lunch, of course we did some shopping! I had to buy something. I have been holding back because I didn't really want to buy too much until I found out what I was having. I got a couple of cute outfits and some little shoes. The grandmothers went shopping too and sent us home with lots of goodies. After shopping I had an appointment with the cardiologist for a heart echo at 2:30 pm. It went by pretty quick and I haven't heard back from the doctor yet so I am not sure what the results are from that. My OB wanted it done just as a precaution because sometimes I have had a hard time catching my breath and I can get winded really easily. My OB said he feels that it is just the baby and everything is all scrunched up and that my lungs can't fully expand because there is no room in there but he wanted to make sure.

After all of that we ended up having to go back to the hospital because Buck's grandmother was on her way to the ER. She is not doing good at all and I am glad we were up there and were able to go by and see her. I don't know how much longer we will have with her so please pray for her and Buck's family.

After we left the hospital, we ran a few more errands and then came home around 6:30 pm or so. We pretty much crashed when we got home! We have a name picked out but have not fully committed to it yet but I am hoping by the end of the week we will have it definitely set. Now I really have to get busy on the house and get it ready so I can start working on the nursery!

2009-04-07T23:37:00.002-05:00

I am too excited to sleep! Tomorrow morning we find out if we are having a boy or a girl!

More Cakes!

2009-04-05T21:35:00.001-05:00

A couple more cakes I did last week.

This was for an 18th birthday. It is a weird view but I forgot to take pictures so this is the only on I have.

This one was for a Grand Opening of a store.

15w2d

2009-03-26T20:24:00.002-05:00

Today was my 3rd OB appointment. This one was a little more exciting. In addition to all the routine stuff I got to hear the heartbeat! Mom went with me today so she got to hear it for the first time. The heartbeat was 156 today and the doctor said that was great. Blood pressure and all was normal. I have only gained 3 more pounds so I am at 5 pounds total. I was pretty excited about that, especially since my appetite is back!

I still get sick in the mornings but I am starting to get hungry more often now! I still rely on comfort food a good bit like french fries and baked potatoes. Those have been my favorite but lately I have added cheeseburgers to the mix. I really haven't had any crazy cravings or anything but when I get hungry I have to eat right then or I get light headed. I have been getting heartburn which is not fun but the doctor gave me some new medicine that I have to take daily that is hopefully going to take care of it.

We go back in two weeks and get to have the big ultrasound done which will be where we get to see if we are having a boy or a girl! I am so excited. He decided since I would be a little over 17 weeks that I was far enough along and wasn't going to make me wait four weeks like I normally would. Buck and I have started debating on names and have some good options but can't seem to agree on any of them! We do have our boy name picked out but don't agree on the spelling yet. Hopefully we will have something picked out so when we find out what we are having I can start buying things and start monogramming everything in sight!

Happy St. Patty's Day

2009-03-17T15:19:00.001-05:00

New Cakes

2009-03-11T14:51:00.001-05:00

I had a couple of cakes to do this past week. I had one for a birthday party for the granddaughter of a friend of mine and another for my nephew's school birthday party.

Powerpuff Girls

Hunting & Fishing

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

2009-03-01T19:39:00.003-06:00

Today we got a surprise! It snowed! I had the most fun hanging out with family and friends today playing in the snow. I took a ton of pictures but here are just a few.

Snow Angels!

Shaking all the snow out of the tree.

Making a snow man! We made three that day.

The snow wasn't very deep in some places so

our snowmen were a little dirty!

Snow icecream! Yum!

11w1d

2009-02-25T18:33:00.003-06:00

Today was my second OB visit. My mom went with me today because it was just a checkup and nothing exciting. Buck will probably just go to the big appointments with me. For one, he gets very bored in the doctor's office and if it is nothing but a checkup it is no big deal for him to not be there. Second, if he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid!

Pretty much all they did today was check my blood pressure, urine and all that exciting stuff and weighed me. I had only gained two pounds which the doctor said was good. My blood pressure and all the other looked really good. I met with the doctor for a few minutes and then we were out of there. Mom and I did a little clothes shopping afterwards and I found a few things. I was most excited about my new bras! It's the little things in life that make me happy!

I go back in four weeks and that will be an exciting trip because I get to hear the baby's heartbeat again!

Back to the daily grind...

2009-02-17T14:26:00.002-06:00

Valentine's Day is finally over! Finally things will go back to normal around the flowershop. As for my everyday job it is just getting my busy season with Court starting back up. I have one Grand Jury down and two more to go.

The pregnancy is going good but I am starting to understand morning sickness all too well. Whoever labelled it "morning" sickness should be shot because I wish I was so lucky as to only be sick in the mornings! I pretty much have "24 hour a day" sickness. Just looking at certain foods or even some smells can make me nauseous. It has been pretty rough but I am learning some tricks here and there that really help out. One thing is for sure, I can't just jump out of bed and into the shower. I haven't gained a lot of weight and am still in my regular clothes right now. I am sure once I can eat without getting sick I will start to gain!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T22:13:00.002-06:00

7w1d

2009-01-28T18:53:00.003-06:00

My first OB appointment was today. It was a long but exciting day at the doctor's office for us. We started out waiting for an hour before being called back and then we met with a couple of different nurses about insurance, medical history, etc. After that, I went in to be examined by the doctor. Then we were sent downstairs to the lab. Anyone that knows me knows that I have an extreme fear of needles and freak out whenever I know I have to get stuck. I can handle (sometimes) the prick in the finger but when they actually have to go in and find a vein...not so much! As usual, I told the nurse that is pretty impossible to find a vein in my arm and she would have better luck in my hand but since I am not a nurse, she pretty much ignored me. After poking me in the arm and missing, another nurse came in and got it from the top of my hand. The next thing I remember is waking up and there was another older nurse in there and some guy from the lab giving me orange juice and wet paper towels. Buck told me I passed out and they pulled the help chain. I told them I didn’t do well with needles! After all of that, we went back upstairs and got to see our baby. We got to hear the heartbeat which was amazing. It was 133 beats per minute. Buck just grinned the whole time. Actually he started grinning on January 20 when I told him I was pregnant and hasn’t stopped yet. It is pretty cute!

We got a few pictures but the baby is not much bigger than a blueberry right now. Right now the doctor said everything was on track and looked good. My due date is September 16 by the doctor and the ultrasound measured it to be September 15. Either way it is going to be a long HOT summer! I go back in four weeks on February 25 for my next checkup.

Well....

2009-01-21T13:18:00.001-06:00

It has been way too long since I wrote anything but I have a really good excuse! First of all we have been pretty busy getting the flowershop ready for Valentine's day so that takes a lot of my free time and also at work I have Court coming up so that keeps me running. In addition to all of that, we just found out that we're....

Christmas

2009-01-09T16:42:00.001-06:00

I know Christmas is over but since I am finishing up packing all my decorations I thought I would post some of my pictures that didn't get posted earlier.

This is the centerpiece on my table in the kitchen.

This is a plate my mom bought me that sits on top of my fridge.

This sits in my kitchen window over my sink. The picture is of my nephew Jackson. Isn't he adorable!

Long week!

2009-01-07T19:11:00.007-06:00

I know it is only Wednesday but this has been the longest week ever. I had almost two weeks off for the Christmas/New Years holidays and this is my first full week back to work. It has been so long already!

I worked last Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the flower shop with mom getting things cleaned up and organized for Valentine's day. The day after Christmas we have to take all of the decorations down and start preparing for Valentine's day. We always use this time to kind of "spring clean" the shop. It helps to have everything totally cleaned, regrouped and in order before the weeks leading up to Valentine's day. It gets really hectic.

In addition to all of that, I somehow have to find the time to finish taking down my Christmas decorations at home. I have gotten a lot done but all the boxes are just sitting in our extra den waiting to be finished up and packed away for another year. I like to take everything down and repack it grouped by room instead of just throwing in into a box. It makes it so much easier to put back up the next year. I also spring clean my house after taking down Christmas. It makes January much more tolerable because the house always looks so empty after taking down Christmas decorations and a good deep cleaning at least makes it feel better around here. Then closer to the end of January I get to decorate for Valentine's day at home! I am wanting to do a new wreath for my porch and something to go by my front door but not really sure yet. I am still looking for some ideas.

Oh well, I am off to balance the checkbooks and such...what fun I have on the week nights!

Wooooooohoooooo!!!!

2009-01-05T20:55:00.004-06:00

My new phone came in so I will be occupied for a little while!!!!!!!

I am sooooooooo excited!

I am such a dork...

Better luck next year...

2009-01-02T23:01:00.007-06:00

Well we just finished watching the Sugar Bowl. It pretty much sucked. I really think we could have played better and I wish we could have ended the year with a win but hopefully we will come back a stronger team next year and maybe even come out with a National Championship! We shall see...

It's 2009!

2009-01-01T00:15:00.002-06:00

New Years Eve!

2008-12-31T17:47:00.002-06:00

It is almost a new year. I have so much to do around the house but I have had a nasty cold for the past few days and just can not muster up the energy to take down the Christmas decorations. I think I am going to wait until the weekend and just work for two days straight on taking down Christmas and cleaning. We have decided to stay at home for New Years Eve and I am actually excited about that. I am just not in the mood to get all dressed up and hang out with loud music and loud people. We are just going to hang out here watch movies and stuff. I am going to work on my to do lists and get organized mentally for what all I need to get done before heading back to work on Monday.

I'm in mourning...

2008-12-27T11:38:00.006-06:00

Last night we were getting ready to go to a friend's birthday dinner at the Mexican restaurant here in town. I was tossing my phone onto the bed (like I have done a billion times) and it apparently didn't get far enough up on the bed and it hit the floor. It must of hit just right in the corner because my screen is busted. I had a sick love affair with my phone and I am seriously distraught over this. I am going to be without a phone for a few days and then I have to pick up a cheap phone to use until my new phone comes in. The one good thing that comes out of this is I now get to order this:

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T12:35:00.003-06:00

Christmas rush!

2008-12-22T11:03:00.002-06:00

I only have to work today and half a day tomorrow and then I am off for FIVE WHOLE DAYS! Although I am off from work, I don't actually get to lay around and rest. After I get off work today I have to head to Tuscaloosa with Buck to finish up his Christmas shopping. He always waits until the last possible minute to finish his shopping. Tomorrow after I get off at lunch I have to run a few errands and then Buck, my brother and myself are headed to my dad's for our Christmas supper with him. Wednesday is Christmas eve and we always spend most of the day with my mom and stepdad. Then Christmas day we spend the day with my husband's family. Basically the next few days will be a blur of presents, ham, turkey, dressing, etc!

Christmas Candy

2008-12-15T23:05:00.002-06:00

Two posts in one day! I had to make Christmas candy tonight even though I am exhausted. We always send candy to the Stockyard where my husband works. I send little packages to each family and then to the single men. I was a little lazy this year though because I only made one kind of candy. I usually make peppermint bark and fudge but this year I only made the peppermint bark. I used some Martha Stewart packages this year for my candy. They turned out really cute!

I survived...barely!

2008-12-15T12:14:00.006-06:00

We made it through our family Christmas on my mom's side. It is probably the biggest gathering that we have every year and it also is the first of every season and kicks off about two weeks of marathon Christmas parties!

I did decide to do a wreath in my guest bathroom. I made it using travel sized shampoo, conditioner, soaps, etc and decided to keep it all green with green Christmas balls and ribbon. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Time flies!

2008-12-11T15:14:00.004-06:00

It has been a few days since I last posted but I have been so busy around the house and at work. My mom's side of the family's Christmas is this Sunday. She and my aunt (mom's sister) take turns hosting and since it is mom's turn to host and they are still in the trailer while waiting to build their house, we are actually having it at my house. I will have approximately 33 people at my house on Sunday. Nine of those are under 10 years old! It is always crazy and hectic but so much fun!

I have finished all of my inside Christmas decorating except for the guest bathroom. I can't quite decide what I want to do in there. I have seen a few pictures where they hang wreaths on the inside of the house over a window and I really like that idea. It is simple but still pretty. I may work on a wreath for that tonight. Buck and I worked on the front porch last night and I am almost finished with it. I just have to finish the wreath that hangs on a double window on my porch (like the fall one in the pictures of the fall decor). I started on it last night and have everything planned out and put where I want it so tonight I just have to glue everything in. I also have to buy some garland to hang around the door when I go shopping tomorrow. I had garland previously but I changed all of my decor that had lights from color lights to white lights.

I am hoping to finish those projects and get most of the house cleaned tonight. I am not doing floors (sweeping, moping, etc) until Saturday because the weather has been wet and nasty and with a husband and two dogs, I would just have to do it twice. I can at least get the bathrooms cleaned, rugs washed and everything dusted tonight so I can begin baking when I get finished shopping tomorrow.

I am working on my lists now for everything to be finished by tomorrow and then my list for shopping so maybe I can stay on track and not be rushed! If all goes as planned then Saturday should be just simply finishing up food items and setting up all the tables and chairs and all the little things like that.

I hope to finish up a couple rooms and take some pictures tonight so I will post more when I get another break!

SEC Championship Game

2008-12-06T23:19:00.000-06:00

Tonight was the SEC Championship game between Alabama and Florida. We got beat but I am still really proud of the way our team played this year and of the way they held their heads up even while we were criticized for being put at the number one spot. No one thought we deserved it, but I think after holding our own in the game against Florida, we proved we are a good team that is only going to get better! I can't wait until the Sugar Bowl and of course until next year!!! Roll Tide!

Kurdt

2008-12-03T15:48:00.002-06:00

I already showed a picture of Kurdt's stocking so here are some pictures of his ornaments! I don't want him to feel left out! I have his new one for this year but I still have to paint his name on it.

Fa la la la la!

2008-12-01T14:53:00.004-06:00

These are some of the individual ornaments from the tree in our den. We have a total of 110 ornaments on there this year. Yes, I counted the ornaments as I put them on the tree. Why? Because apparently I am that big of a dork!

This is our cowboy snowman. Isn't he a cutie!

This is our summer time Santa. Buck and I got him on our

first trip to the beach together!

This is a cowbell. These were the favors at our wedding last year and I kept one and made it into an ornament.
These are just some of the colored ball ornaments on the tree. Last year I retired all the ones that we had that were hand-me-downs and bought all new on Black Friday. I have pink, green, blue and red. I love the new vibrant colors vs. the older traditional colors.
This is probably one of my favorites! My mom bought it for me several years ago.

How do I love my husband...let me count the ways...

2008-11-30T22:38:00.004-06:00

Sometimes my husband can drive me completely insane. It seems that every time he is about to drive me crazy he does something really sweet and I instantly forgive him for everything he has ever done. Today we had our Christmas Open House at the flower shop and a friend of my mom's came in with a really cute purse. It looked almost just like the one I had been wanting from Fossil. Only thing is, the one from Fossil cost over $300 and being as we are like the rest of America and broke I knew that purse was out of the question. But anyway, she said there was another one just like it left at the store and it was waaaaaaaaay cheaper than the Fossil purse AND 20% off! Well since the hubby was up there with us at the Open House I told him he should go get it because it would make a really nice Christmas gift for me. Of course he said no and so I decided since the price was so good that I would just go get it for myself later when I got off. After the Open House, my mom and I closed up and got in the car and headed up there. When we went in mom started looking around and I went straight for the purses. It was gone. The girl at the counter told me they had just sold it. I was so upset and mad that Buck didn't go get it. Well after shopping around for a while I headed home and had to run in and change because we were supposed to head to his sister's house for a late Thanksgiving dinner. When I got to the bedroom (after storming through the house and not speaking to the hubby!) this brown bag was on the bed and the purse was inside it! Some how he had snuck out of the shop and gone and bought it and had it waiting for me at home. Of course he didn't make me wait until Christmas to start using it. I absolutely love it (and him)!!!

Isn't it pretty?!?!?!?!

Roll Tide!!!!

2008-11-29T21:20:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I worked at the flower shop all day helping prepare bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres for a wedding. Today we had to take all of the flowers and decorate the church. But this afternoon was the Iron Bowl!!!!! It was an awesome game and I am so glad we won! Not only did we win but we totally shut out Auburn! Roll Tide Roll!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T22:16:00.002-06:00

Today we went to Buck's grandmother's house for lunch. She always has a huge crowd. Then we traveled to my uncle's house to have supper with he and my new aunt and her two sons, my mom, stepdad, stepbrother and his wife and new baby and my brother. We had way too much to eat today but had a really nice day with family!

These are a few of my favorite things!

2008-11-26T23:34:00.009-06:00

These are some close up shots of the Christmas decor on our mantle. This ornament was given to me by my mother several years ago. It is one of my favorite pieces to put out at Christmas.

These are our stockings. I love the colors. Mine is the white/pink one and Buck's is the red/brown one. I found them at Old Navy a few years back. The cute one in the shape of a paw is Kurdt's stocking! (Yes, Santa brings presents to canines too!)

Oh Christmas Tree!

2008-11-25T22:01:00.004-06:00

Here is our Christmas tree that is in the den. This is my favorite tree because it holds all of mine and Buck's ornaments that we have collected from when we were children on up until we were married. We add a new ornament each year for each of us and for Kurdt, our dog. I put a bow at the top of the tree and like change the ribbon just about every year. The colors in our den are all shades of brown and then accented with a turquoise blue color. The close up picture shows the ribbon I used this year. This is my favorite room because of our fireplace. I love snuggling on the couch and watching TV (which is hidden in the armoire) and lighting up the gas logs in our fireplace. There is nothing more relaxing!

More Autumn Decor!

2008-11-24T14:05:00.006-06:00

Now that is it time to take down my fall decorations and get ready for Christmas, I finally took some pictures of my front porch. This is my front door (that no one ever uses). As you can see my door is painted orange and the house is stained a dark brown. I hung a leaf garland with amber lights around the door frame. The "W" stays on the door year round. The pumpkins beside the door are an idea I got from Southern Living magazine. They were actually super easy to make and they have Christmas lights in them so at night they are really cute.

These are my rockers that sit to the right of the front door. The wreath on the windows is actually from our wedding last October. I love the colors and leaves and feathers. The candles sticks were given to me by a cousin and I love how they look with the chairs.

Baby Shower

2008-11-23T16:13:00.002-06:00

I helped co-host a baby shower for a friend of mine yesterday. It turned out so cute! We did a brunch shower so we did breakfast foods. We had breakfast/hashbrown casserole, pumpkin spice muffins with a cream cheese filling, grape salad, cheese straws, sausage balls and of course cupcakes for dessert. I made the cupcakes and just did simple fondant decorations for the tops. I think they turned out pretty cute. She is having a little boy, so we did the color scheme to match the nursery which was blue and brown. Here are a few pictures of the food table, the sign in area and of all her wonderful gifts!

Gone With the Wind...Christmas style!

2008-11-20T17:52:00.001-06:00

I thought I would show this tree first. I collect Gone With the Wind memorabilia. I love the movie and I love Scarlett O'Hara. But then again, what girl raised in the South doesn't dream of being Miss Katie Scarlett? I have been collecting GWTW ornaments for a long as I can remember and this year decided that I wanted to move them from the main tree in our den to a tree of their very own. I put it up in the guestroom for two reasons. One, I have my GWTW movie poster hung in there and all of my collectibles are in the armoire you see in the picture below. Two, this room is closed off so I don't have to worry about the dogs or small hands getting to close to the tree and breaking any of the ornaments! I counted as I was hanging and currently I have 46 ornaments. I went with the gold shear bow on top because any color ribbon I tried to use took away from the pretty colors in the ornaments.

Busy as usual!

2008-11-19T15:47:00.001-06:00

I haven't been able to post for a few days because I have been busy at work and then I actually worked through the weekend and was in Court on Monday, Tuesday and half a day today! It is always hectic when I have Court coming up so I usually stay stressed out during the week and weekend before. I got a good bit of my Christmas decorating done in that time though so I am going to post pictures of the house and some of my trees tomorrow.

Christmas time's a coming!

2008-11-10T13:48:00.003-06:00

Well Halloween is behind us and now I am ready to start putting out my Christmas decorations. I have a baby shower that I am co-hosting coming up at the end of November and I would really like to have my house decorated for Christmas before the shower. Yesterday I packed up all the Fall and Halloween decorations from inside the house. I decided to leave the outside Fall decor up until after Thanksgiving. I don't want my neighbors to think I am completely crazy! I got all of those boxes back in the storage shed and started pulling out my Christmas boxes. I love getting everything out and looking through it. Sometimes I forget about things that I have. I am also going to add two more trees to my decorating this year so I seriously have to get a jump on things!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T13:31:00.003-06:00

I spent most of last week getting ready for our Halloween party. I got the house all cleaned up on the inside and Saturday morning Rebecca (my sister-in-law) and I cleaned up the yard and cut the grass, blew off the porches, etc. Then I got the food ready and got into my costume. Here is a picture of me as Elvira and Buck (my husband). He doesn't "do" costumes.

We had a good turn out. There were several people that didn't get to make it but we still had a pretty good time. We had a few people in costumes and they were so cute. Overall I think everyone had a good time.

One year! Yay!

2008-10-28T22:50:00.005-05:00

We made it to and through our one year mark! It seems like time just flew by this past year. To celebrate we went on a date Saturday night and ended up staying for the night. It was nice to have a night to ourselves without any interuptions. Sometimes we get so caught up in our daily routines that we forget to take time for each other and just enjoy being husband and wife. All in all it was a pretty good year and I am looking forward to many more!

Gratitude

2008-10-22T00:01:00.002-05:00

Five things I am grateful for today...

my husband because he can make me laugh even when I feel like crying
my doggies because they always love me unconditionally
my mom because she is my best friend
my home and the fact that it is currently heated!
my ability to laugh at myself

Cupcakes!

2008-10-20T23:40:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures of some cupcakes I did tonight to take to work tomorrow. I had some leftover chocolate mousse buttercream so I decided to bake some devils food cake cupcakes and just play around with some of my cutters and some fondant. I did some Fall inspired and then a few with pink and brown and the breast cancer ribbon on them.

Our First Wedding Anniversary

2008-10-20T15:47:00.009-05:00

My one year wedding anniversary is coming up on October 27, 2008. We have been husband and wife for one whole year! It is funny because I feel as though we have been married forever. That may be because, although we have only been married for a year, we have actually been dating for ten years. Nothing like taking it slow and making sure you are with the right one before marriage, right? Anyway, I have been trying to think of something to do for our anniversary. I really wanted us to stick with the traditional list and come up with something creative. Well I finally figured it out!

My husband is a Nirvana/Kurt Cobain fanatic. I have over the years bought him various gifts, such as CD's, posters, t-shirts and even a certified autographed CD cover insert signed by Kurt Cobain himself. For his birthday one year I got on ebay and found every CD put out by Nirvana. I ordered them all so he would have one complete set of their CD's that were still in their packaging.

Today I was thinking about our anniversary again since we are just a week away. The one year gift is paper. Well of course I am pretty sure my husband will probably give me money or a card. He is not so good at the gift giving. He would rather give me money and let me go shopping and pick out something I really like. But, I digress. I mean, sure, he could surprise me with a present, but I'm not exactly holding my breath. As I was searching around on ebay, I finally figured out how to buy him something he would love and also stick with the traditional one year anniversary gift.

I have bid on and won three magazines from the year Kurt Cobain died. They all have Kurt Cobain on the cover and several pictures and articles about him inside. I also found a painting of Kurt. All four items fall in the paper category and they will be something he will truly love. I can not wait for them to come in. I just hope they make it here before next Monday!

I love this season!

2008-10-16T15:11:00.013-05:00

I thought I would post a few more pictures of my fall decorations. I like to take pictures of each season so I can remember what I did last year. Some things I like to keep the same from year to year but others I like to change up! Here is my dining room. We never use this room so I put the small bistro table in here. The black buffet is a piece that was given to my step-dad and his brothers and sisters when their mother passed away which in turn was given to me. It was a brown color and I repainted it and put new hardware on it. It currently houses my china since I don't have a china cabinet. I would like for it one day to be in a baby nursery to use as a changing table (that is, if I have a china cabinet by then).

I love my fall runner. I found this on sale at Dillards when they were going out of business. It was originally around $35 and I got it for $3! I love bargins like that. I just used one of my silver serving trays to put some pumpkins and small gords on. On the table I used a trifle type dish and just layered dried beans and lentils around a pillar candle for a centerpiece.

Busy!

2008-10-14T13:53:00.009-05:00

Well the cookies turned out great. The cookie icing...not so much. I couldn't get the right consistency. Mom gave me a few pointers and I might try it again later. I will have to bake a new batch of cookies though because the hubby has just about finished off the ones I baked Saturday. I did get some cupcakes made and the icing put on them. I made spice cup cakes and cream cheese icing.

We went to my husband's step-sister's wedding on Saturday. We had fun but we stayed out way to late for me. Sunday we were pretty lazy and just layed around and watched movies all day. All in all it was not a very productive weekend!

Today I have mountains of stuff to do on my desk but just can't seem to get motivated. I seriously hate days like this. I am not normally a lazy person but there are some days I wish I could just stay at home and lock the doors! When I get off work I have to run a few errands and then I am headed to home to pick up the house, wash clothes and pay bills! Doesn't that sound exciting?!?!?

My husband and I will also be celebrating our one year wedding anniversary on October 27th. I am wanting to do something to surprise him but I am coming up short on ideas. I am hoping to brainstorm on that tonight. I am also going to be working on my task lists for three parties I have planned in October and November. I am hosting our annual Halloween party on November 1st, a house warming party for my sister-in-law on November 9th and co-hosting a baby shower for one of my best friends on November 22nd! Needless to say, I am going to be super busy for the next couple of weeks.

Day Off

2008-10-11T13:15:00.006-05:00

For the past several weeks, Saturdays have mostly been consumed with watching Alabama football. They have an off week today and I am not quite sure what to do with myself! I have a couple of recipes I have been wanting to test out. I will more than likely spend the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen.

My husband works at a stockyard and several of the people he works with have children. I always send some kind of goodies with him to work on holidays for the kids. I thought for Halloween this year I would bake something instead of the containers full of candy like I usually do. My mom bought me some cute Halloween cookie cutters because she knows how much I love Halloween. I think this afternoon I am going to test them out by making some sugar cookies and using the poured icing recipe that I have been wanting to make. If they are easy enough I will probably make them for the kids and wrap them up for the kids treats.

My newest creation!

2008-10-10T12:55:00.018-05:00

This week I had to make a baby shower cake. She really liked the one I had done before with the cute fondant baby on top. I changed the colors of the borders. I did this one in two shades of blue. This one was pretty easy to do because I have already done it one time before. I had a lot of fun making it!

Autumn

2008-10-08T21:04:00.005-05:00

I love this time of the year. I love the weather getting cooler and being able to turn on the heater. I love being able to sit in front of the fire place with Buck and watch movies. I love the leaves changing colors. I LOVE pumpkins. I love to watch Alabama football on Saturdays. I love wearing old comfy sweatshirts around the house. I love my down comforter. I love the colors orange, brown, eggplant, mustard and red. I love giving out candy to all of the kids that trick-or-treat down my street. I love throwing a Halloween party every year with my friends. Basically, I love, love, love absolutely anything to do with this season!

my mantle in my den

my centerpiece on the kitchen table

my centerpiece up close and personal

Hunter's Skateboard Cake

2008-10-05T20:54:00.007-05:00

I did manage to find a couple of ideas about how to make a skateboard cake for my nephew. (Seriously, I don't know what I would do without google!) Here is what I came up with.

The cake is just basic white cake. I baked the cake in a rectangle pan and a circle pan. Then I cut the circle in half and put each half on the ends of the rectangle cake to make the skateboard shape. I did a layer of butter cream icing on the cake to help smooth it out and connect all the sections of the cake. Then I covered the whole cake in a layer of fondant. The designs on the cake were all cut out of fondant. Some (like the cougar paw) were as simple as using a cookie cutter. Others (like the Alabama "A" and the skateboarding brands) I had to draw on paper and use it as a template to cut them out of the fondant. I made the wheels and axles out of pirouette sticks and chocolate donuts. I covered the board that the cake is on with a thin layer of icing and put crushed up oreos and chocolate sprinkles on it so that it would like like pavement.

All in all, I think it turned out really cute and I am very proud of it!

Time flies...

2008-09-30T00:45:00.015-05:00

Well it has been a while since I posted anything. I have been so busy at work. This time of the year is my busiest and I usually stay stressed out. I am slowly learning to take it one day at a time. I have to keep telling myself that I am only one person and I can only do so much.

I did manage to clean my entire house this past week so at least it is nice when I get home. I have a couple of things coming up that I am working on including a baby shower that I am co-hosting for one of my best friends, but I will write more about all of that later.

Tonight I have been looking up ideas for a cake that I have to do for Friday. It is my nephew's birthday. If you take a cake on their birthday to the school, the class gets to have a small birthday party. He likes skateboarding and so I am going to attempt to do a skateboard cake. I will post some pictures when I get done with it.

I have been doing cakes for a couple of years now. I really enjoy it. My mom has baked cakes all my life. A couple of years ago I started playing around with decorating them myself. I have enjoyed learning all the different techniques and things. I have done several now on my own and am rather proud of them. I thought I would post a few of my favorites!

_______________________

This is the very first cake I did all on my own.

It was for a baby shower.

This one was for a friend's high school graduation party.

I did it in her school colors.

This was for a birthday.

He is a big Dale, Jr. fan!

This was another birthday last year.

Tinkerbell was a lot of fun but a lot of work

because of all the colors I had to use.

This was a birthday cake. I have actually done this one twice now.

This was for my other nephew's birthday this year.

This is another one of my absolute favorites. It was for my brother's graduation from the University of Alabama this year.

My Favorites

2008-09-11T14:47:00.011-05:00

I love lists. I make lists for everything, from things to do, shopping lists, packing checklists, list of things to do before going on a trip, honey do lists, wish lists, gift buying lists, lists of items lent out, list of projects to work on...I think you get the picture. I could seriously go on for days about all the lists I make. So here is a "list" of all my favorites, in no particular order, starting with the most obvious!

diet mountain dew

polka dots

flip flops

the color pink

pearls

music

my pink Ugg boots

autumn

pumpkins

the color orange

Halloween

a really cold beer after a really long day

cheesecake

The Golden Girls

my husband's unique personality

Alabama football

painting

decorating my house

snickers

purses

my palm treo

being organized

my labeler

puppies

hauling cows with my hubby

babies

circles & squares

a schedule

gerbera daisies

giving gifts

I could go on and on. I know some of these are dorky but I'm cool with that. It really doesn't take much to make me happy!

Now or never...

2008-09-08T20:45:00.007-05:00

I decided to finally start my very own blog. I read several blogs and have wanted to start writing daily. I really just need an outlet to vent, release some stress and to track my goals. I am a huge procrastinator. I always put things off to the last minute. I just recently had a birthday and I always seem to reflect on my life around that time. It finally hit me this year that I still need to grow up in many ways. I have so many things I want to do in this life time but I never seem to get around to getting started. I always tell myself I will do "this" as soon as I finish "that" and so on. It is a never ending cycle. I have two years until I turn thirty and now is as good of a time as any to just get started. I truly hope to stick to my goal of writing something at least five days a week. Even if it is just a sentence or two about how my day went.