A day to relax

Bella waiting patiently to go outside and play in the snow.....


But we waited till it was finished snowing! While we waited we all took naps....ahhh..got to love that!

Then out we went to play.....and clear the driveway! Boy is it cold out there!!

But we got it accomplished....and the sun even came out. All in all a great day!

Now it is time to eat some blue bell ice cream......this weather just makes me want to eat!

Have a wonderful night!

More pictures to come tomorrow of our tile ordeal! ha!

Snowed in...and loving it!

Finally a good snow day! I have been waiting all winter for this! I am sorry for those of you who were hoping it wouldn't snow today.

This morning we were suppose to have our tile layed in 4 areas of our home....the tile guy called at 8 this morning to tell us he is going to have to do it tomorrow as he can't make it to our house. So tomorrow we will get it taken care of.

We had a lot on our agenda today. Hubby is off getting a massage right now....I am at home about to make some yummy breakfast....we were planning on car shopping...but that is postponed too.

Thank goodness I went to the store last night to stock up! I don't think I will be getting out at all today!

Bella and I ventured out at about 7 this morning to scoop off the sidewalk and driveway for the tile man.....it's completely covered again.....I think we must have about 4 inches!

I will take pictures later on today of all that is happening at our house.

I am trying to find a yummy cake or bread recipe to make today and have a Thirty-One party to prepare for....other than that just catching a few things up on the computer.

Can't do any laundry as the laundry room is out of service at the moment....the washer and dryer are sitting in our hallway. Oh darn! hehe!

Hope you all enjoy your day....I will post more later.

My Love Dare Attempt

So I have created a new blog on my 40 day journey reading The Love Dare book....if you want to check it out you can find it here... www.mylovedareattempt.blogspot.com.

I made a recipe tonight from Kelly's recipes at Kelly's Korner. SO YUMMY! I will post the recipe on my recipe blog tonight too!

Hope you all are enjoying your evening!!

Tuesday thoughts.....

What have I been up to lately? Made a special trip down to my sister's today to check out some of the new handbags that we had ordered for her party. They are fantastic and I can't wait for all of the gals to get their orders!

Of course spending a little play time with little "I" was wonderful too! He was all smiles...as usual.....and was quite a busy guy while I was there. He waved goodbye to me as I left and I had wished I could of stayed longer. He keeps changing so fast!

On Sunday I did spend an hour sewing my newest bag! I had to share the pictures with you. I LOVE this fabric! This one is my keeper...I think I might just begin using it tomorrow...the colors put me in the mood for spring and summer!

Another project I am beginning on is working on these books below...any idea what they are?

These are recipe books from my Great Grandma Minnie. My Dad let me borrow them and I am going to try and put some kind of collection together for my siblings and anyone else in my family that wants copies. I can't decide whether to type them out or make copies of her handwriting and bind them. I am leaning toward the 2nd choice as her handwriting is so good and beside the recipes she liked she put the word "good" and circled it.

I have placed a real close up of one of her recipes on my recipe blog...check it out if you want. I need to begin trying some of her yummy recipes as I am sure they are good!

Tonight I was so excited to watch the Biggest Loser and wouldn't you know....the President is going to speak during the last hour of the show! What happens to my hour I am missing...will it be replayed? ERRR! I am so frustrated! I think they should give us an option on our tv of whether or not we want to what the speech or watch our shows. Just my opinion...not like it matters a lot.

That about wraps it up with me for the time being. Muscleman is in bed...he couldn't sleep last night...I rearranged our furniture in our family room and did some cleaning tonight too....nothing like a clean house....or at least a room.

Looking forward to another nice day tomorrow! I am ready for spring!!

Have a great night!

Hanging out with cousins

As promised...pictures from Saturday. We love getting together with our cousins and having lots of laughs....I didn't get a lot of pictures of everyone...but below are a glimpse of our day.My cousin, Rach and her little boy, A who is 3.

Uncle J and little I

Auntie D and Uncle M playing in the water with little I

Party behind the recliner..

Hmmm....little I trying to decide what to play with next

My sister and our cousins sharing a good laugh.

Little I trying to decide if he is going to help Grandpa blow out his birthday candles.

A is building a road.....little I kept taking the pieces...

Weekend

Another weekend has come and gone. Time sure does fly by! Friday night hubby and I went out for some dinner and came home and crashed. Saturday we headed up to my Aunt and Uncle's home for lunch to celebrate my Grandpa's birthday. It was so great to get together with all of our family. My only regret is that all of us grandkids should have had our picture taken together...rarely do we all get together at the same time! I did get some pictures taken and will hopefully download them tomorrow.

Saturday on our way home we stopped at Menards to check out the store and have decided it is so much better than Lowe's or Home Depot! We will be making a stop there again soon I have a feeling.

Today has been a great day. I finished another handbag....went to church...had breakfast out with the hubby at our favorite place.....made a trip to Nebraska Furniture mart (didn't buy anything)....came home and did laundry.....closed another catalog party.....went to see the movie "Taken".....and are now home relaxing and finishing up laundry. What a weekend!

Oh and I almost forgot. I bought a new vacuum cleaner on Friday. I have been trying to decide for quite a while what one to get....I finally decided on a Eureka Boss.....so far..so good...I am enjoying it! It isn't one of the bagless vacuum's. After going through 3 bagless Bissel's and Hoover's I decided I wanted to have one with a bag again....I can already tell that it is picking up more stuff! Finally...a clean floor! Anybody else feel that way??? Bagless just doesn't cut it for me!

I think that about wraps it up for now....hope you all had wonderful weekends too!

Dinner with friends

Tonight after work I met two of my old roommates for dinner at Baja600! Sorry marathon woman for the pic of you with your eyes closed...we should have taken two! It was so good to catch up with them both (Marathon woman and KJ) and find out what has been happening in their lives. We need to get together again soon! I enjoyed hanging out.

I arrived at home tonight to find that my beautiful flowers are in full bloom. I just had to take a picture and share it with you! Aren't the beautiful?? Makes me so ready for spring!

I am so full from dinner that I am crashed out in my comfy chair.....just going to hang out this evening and watch some tv with my hubby.

A wonderful evening indeed!

so many blogs to talk about

So I have been adding some more of my favorite links to the left side of my blog. I will touch on just a few. First if you want to enter a great drawing be sure and check out http://www.twiceasnicetwin.blogspot.com/ I have entered twice and am hoping I win their cute stuff! They also sell their items on http://www.etsy.com/!

Another blog I am frequently visiting is http://www.moneysavingmom.com/. I LOVE THIS SITE! Check it out if you want some great ideas on saving money! She posts more than once daily! And with the new Walgreens opening soon less than a mile from my home...I am working on becoming the best Walgreens bargain shopper ever! Heck...I should be pretty good at it since I was a manager for almost 3 years. I need to get back in the swing of things!

Another site I have begun to frequently visit is http://www.tipjunkie.com/. For all you stay at home mommies..(hint hint)...actually for anyone out there.. check out the giveaways that she lists on her blog and go enter for some of the free giveaways...I love some of the items so much that I think I may enter even though I have no little one of my own yet....(if the good Lord would just convince my husband ...praying heavily about that)

I also met a friend of my sister's a couple of weeks ago and she has three blogs that I am loving! Rae Rae....I know you like to scrapbook...and I think you will really enjoy them! Her first link is http://www.callmecraftyal.blogspot.com/. She also has two others that you can find on the left or on her blog.

I think that about wraps up my tips on blogging for this evening....I am going to need a few hours a day now to read all the blogs I am getting updates for! Ha~

Oh....the training today went well. I learned a lot and work with a great group of people. I don't know how to explain how I end up with jobs like I do...but I am so thankful to God...as I know that he has prepared a way for me and even though my desire is to stay at home and become a mommy...I am thankful for the wonderful opportunities he has provided me.

Happy Wednesday..time to watch American Idol!

Free Drink

There is nothing better than waking up in the morning......working out...taking a shower..getting ready for work...making the hubby breakfast....dropping the dog off at daycare...driving through the Starbucks drive-thru on my way in to work...getting a white chocolate mocha...and receiving a receipt to take a survey online and earn a free drink.

I just took the survey and now I get any beverage I would like at Starbucks! Got to love that for a Wednesday morning!

Off to PA training I go....

Random thoughts on Tuesday

Lots going on in our household. We have been having some home issues with our flooring in our pantry and laundry room. Our home is still under warranty and we have had the manager out to check things out. We have decided to receive a credit from our builder and have tile installed in both of the areas as well as our half bath downstairs and our guest bath upstairs. The tile is going to match what is in our master bath and our entry way. As you can see from the picture below, hubby and I are saving some of the costs by removing the linoleum ourselves. We began last night in the guest bath....what a mess and it stinks!

I am all ready tired of the mess and it's only been a day. The tile has been ordered so hopefully by next week we will be back to normal. A great anniversary and valentine present to the both of us.

I spent an hour tonight working on bags and organizing paperwork and listening to our dog snore! She is so loud! Hubby thinks she could be a show dog...ha! He keeps telling her how pretty she is....so funny!

I am going to be in training all day tomorrow at work. I am excited to do something different and learn about being a project manager. No....I am not switching positions, but the company selected a few of us to go through project administrator training. It will be an all day class tomorrow and I think it should be pretty interesting.

I think that about wraps up my day. New recipe for stew meat on my recipe blog...I am waiting for it to finish right now. The flavor is wonderful! Biggest Loser is on tonight so you know what I will be doing!!

Have a wonderful evening!

89th Birthday!

Today is a very special day for our family. It is my Grandpa B's 89th birthday! The picture below was taken on Thanksgiving day.....he doesn't look 89 to me!!





Grandpa B is an amazing man of God. He has demonstrated how to live like Christ to our family and he and Grandma B always made sure that we knew that Christ must come first in our lives. Holding hands and praying before each meal at their house is a wonderful memory that I hold in my heart. He has taught me so much and I admire him for the strength he has. I know that the past year and a half has been hard for him and he misses Grandma so much, as do we all. He has had to start over by himself and after 65 years of marriage had to begin to learn how to make coffee, do the dishes, make his own meals, grocery shop, and do his own laundry (yep..you guessed it...Grandma B was the BEST homemaker EVER!) Despite all that, I am sure the hardest part for him has been waking up alone each morning and reading his devotion by himself. That was something that the two of them did together each morning and I know it was so special to them both.

I can only hope and pray that my hubby and I can learn from their display of love and compassion for one another and for Christ. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful Grandpa!

I look forward to spending this coming Saturday celebrating Grandpa's birthday with our family. I know he will enjoy having us all together.

Happy Birthday Grandpa. I love you!

Happy Birthday Rae Rae!

Today is Rae Rae's birthday! Above is a picture of my closest friends from college and I from a little over a year ago! Rae Rae is the 2nd one over from me. She is a wonderful woman of God and an amazing wife, mom, sister, daughter and friend! She is always encouraging me and I am so thankful that we are friends! I wish you so much happiness today and in this next year. I treasure our friendship!

Happy Birthday!

My weekend

There is nothing greater than starting my weekend seeing my favorite little fella. Little "I" and my sister took time out of their day to meet me for lunch on Friday. We had a great time and I got some snuggle time...which was wonderful!!

The rest of my weekend I have been working on some new bags.....check out this great material! I think this first one is going to be for me.....I have yet to make one for myself!

This next one...I am not sure what I will do with yet...may try selling it on etsy.com....I have several more I am working on....including one that was ordered for a gift...so I will not be able to post it until it has been given...but let me tell ya...I LOVE THE FABRIC!

Friday evening I swung by Hobby Lobby and bought this bullentin board for 1/2 off~

I spent today cutting out the fabric I bought for it and attaching it to the bullentin board...it is going in my laundry room!

What do you think? I LOVE IT!

I have a few more things that I am working on...including another blog...I know...can you believe it? I have decided to read the Love Dare book and try it out for 40 days...I just ordered it and am anxiously awaiting my amazon order. If you want to join me in this you still have time to get the book. I plan to begin a blog diary of each day.....I know it may be a bit more vulnerable than this blog....but I want to share my story and hope that it might be a safe place for those who are going through the same thing to come and read my experiences and comment if they want. My hope is that it becomes a sisterly support group. I haven't laid out all the details...but that is to come in the next couple of weeks.

Thirty-One is going really well. I have had three parties...all successful! Thank you for all your support! I look forward to many more!

We are getting our laundry room, pantry, 1/2 bath and guest bath all tiled in the next couple of weeks. We have been having trouble with our linoleum so we decided to use our home warranty credit and pay the difference to get this all done. I will be glad when this is all complete and we won't have bubbling floors.

I was looking out my kitchen window today and wanted to share with you what I have in my window. I believe my mom bought it for me about 10 years ago....and I always feel encouraged after reading it.

God is a Restorer

God's purpose is not to destroy us but to restore us. The enemy is the destroyer, but God has promised to restore the things the enemy has stolen from our lives: all the years of lost joy, all the times of frustration and defeat, all the moments of regret, all the pains of lost opportunities, all the hurts of broken relationships. God is building his kingdom within you - a kingdom of joy, love, peace, righteousness, victory, redemption, and right relationships. Roy Lessin

Until tomorrow...

Flowers and Dinner...what could be better?

Last night I got home a little early from work. Bella and I took a nice long walk around our neighborhood and the trails....by the time we arrived home muscleman had called me to ask me if I would like to go out for dinner....I of course said yes!!

When he arrived home to pick me up he had beautiful roses in his hand...4 of 4 years of marriage! I love flowers!!

We then headed to my choice of restaurant...THE OLIVE GARDEN! I have been wanting to go there for months!!

We had yummy salad and breadsticks....

I had delicious mushroom ravioli....

And we both had amazing dessert....my choice was my FAVORITE.....White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake....

Who could ask for more????

We came home with full bellies....crashed on the couch.....watched the General's Daughter and went to bed early. A wonderful anniversary!

4 years ago......

....today I married my best friend. As I sit here this morning, I can clearly hear my Grandma B telling me how I brought my hubby by her and Grandpa's house one day and told them that he was a friend of mine....little did they know he would end up as my husband!!

I remember being so excited and nervous that day! At lot of things were about to change. I was going to become a wife and had already packed up all of my things and moved to New Jersey to begin a new life with hubby. As much as I was sad to leave my family and friends, I just kept telling myself that it wouldn't be forever. And it wasn't!

A year ago today, we were in Florida on vacation...walking on the beach and discussing our plans as hubby had been offered a new job back in the midwest. Oh my...what a discussion that was! I knew in my heart and mind that it was God's plan and that he had provided that opportunity to us, but I also knew that muscleman wasn't as convinced. After lots of prayers and talks we made the decision together and I have never been more happy!

I am so blessed and couldn't ask for a better husband. We have been through alot together and I wouldn't want to go through it with anyone else. I know that God has a plan for the two of us and I look forward to many many more years of wedded bliss!

Happy Anniversary Babe...I love you.

Help Fairfax's Field

Check this out..I received this in an email from a former classmate of mine.

VOTE for the Fairfax Softball Field!

Frosted Flakes is rebuilding ball fields. Fairfax ( my hometown) is a town of 650 people and could use an upgrade badly on their ball field.

I am asking you to take one minute out of your life and vote on the Fairfax softball field and I ask that you let everyone you know that you believe would vote on their field out of the kindness of their heart. They need new equipment a score board a outfield fence and seating for the community. It would also be nice to have to have a playground area for the children to play on.

I understand that hard times are hitting our economy and this is something that will allow a small town that has always made it on its own to have hope from the kindness of others to vote on field that you may never get to see or your children may never get to play on. I would ask you to vote on a community that has a wealth of volunteers and a community that is wonderful place to live if you would like to vote on our field and give them a chance to have frosted flakes rebuild their fields this is what you need to do.

go to www.frostedflakes.com
click on plant a seed
click on search nominated fields
then put MO and 64446 for state and zip
vote on this Fairfax Softball field

It takes very little time and all the votes would be appreciated! Oh..and you will get a $1.00 off coupon for Frosted Flakes for voting..not bad!

Closed due to economic hardships

Today I was supposed to meet a good friend of mine for lunch at a restaurant down at the river market. As I approached the restaurant I noticed that it looked dark inside. I then walked up to the door and saw the following sign, “Closed due to economic hardships”. It made me sad to think about all the ma and pa stores that have had to close due to reasons just like this. Will things ever begin to get better?

Busy day

Today has been very busy for me. I had so much to do at work and then got home and am trying to play catch up with laundry. Why is it that it never seems to end? I have ordered some more material today from fabric.com. Like I needed any more...right? I found some I loved and I couldn't resist.

I am hoping to make a few more items and post them on the blog soon. I have some ideas up my sleeve. hehe! I have also begun trying to plan another giveaway here on the blog...so be on the lookout! Maybe a valentine treat?

My hubby is going to be a little late tonight, so I am hoping to finally watch Fireproof!

Have a wonderful evening!

Another Amy Butler bag

I made a new bag style for my friend Griffin's birthday.....this was definitely more challenging than the first. I really liked it though and it has inside pockets which is an added bonus. It is another pattern of Amy Butler's. I love making bags!

Sunday afternoon

A while back, I was nominated to buy our supervisor's birthday gift. This project I worked on today. I created a gift full of items such as wine glasses, wine opener, a candle, coasters, wine charms and more. I think she will like it...take a look.

These type of projects are what I wish I could do every day. I love making gifts and seeing the reaction of the recipient who receives the gift. I look forward to tomorrow.

The rest of today has been a lazy day at our house....I have been catching up on emails, working on Thirty-One orders, baking chocolate chip cookies, downloading pictures and trying to watch movies....oh yes...and the never ending Laundry is calling my name.

Happy Sunday!

Little I's Birthday Bash

Look who was waiting to great us at the door! The birthday boy himself! And he was so thirsty after his nap!

Showing off his new hat that Uncle "J" got him. He loved it!
Great Grandpa and the little man. One of the lucky few that made it home without the flu!

Still not sure if he is ready to wake up to party...

Somebody didn't want to try his first bite of cake...nope..wanted nothing to do with it!

Mommy and Daddy helping unwrap gifts.
Discovering his new toy from Grandma and Grandpa K...it plays music...which he loves!


Showing off his birthday boy bib that I found for him at Kohl's! And holding onto one of his new Tigers that he received as a gift. He loves Tigers...hmmm..wonder why??

Back to life....

I am back and it feels good to be back. The flu hit me so hard! I told my hubby I don’t think I have ever been so sick in my life. I couldn’t even move! It was horrible! I will try and recap this past weekend for you as so much has happened since my last post.

Friday afternoon, I tried out a new hair salon and really liked the girl who did my hair! She did a great job and muscleman likes it! Although he keeps saying that I cut it shorter…just the back is stacked more. The length is still long in the front. (Inverted bob) I had my hubby take a picture of me at dinner on Friday night and I will post it soon. I like it a lot!

Friday evening, we went out to a new sushi place called the Moonlight Grill…NEVER GO THERE! It was the worst sushi experience we have ever had. They were super slow and we never did get all of our food…my hubby finally got someone to wait on us as our waitress disappeared and we got our check and left and headed to Chipotle as he was still hungry for a burrito and I wanted guacamole and chips. It was a very amusing time for the two of us. I enjoyed our date night…despite the crazy restaurant ordeal.

Saturday, we ran errands in the morning and early afternoon. We made a trip to Lowe’s where muscleman spent his gift cards on items for our house. More or less for projects we are going to begin working on…tiling and wainscoting. That evening we headed to my sister’s house to celebrate Little “I”’s first birthday. He was the star of the show and all had a great time. I have pictures of this too! You can check out a few on my sister’s blog….and her version of the story……looks like the party was a success despite all of the attendees getting the flu!

Sunday, I spent the day baking and making some yummy appetizers for the Super Bowl party that I was excited to share with you all. However, do to my recent battle with the flu, I shall not be taking on that topic for now. I was hit with the flu Sunday before bed, spent 8 hours in the bathroom, crawled back to bed, layed in bed all day and night Monday and even Tuesday morning. Around noon, I decided to try and take a shower….thank goodness we have a seat in our shower….it was exhausting! By last night, I was downstairs working on my Thirty-One party that I have tomorrow night, and my hubby had taken my place in bed. I tried to sleep in Y’s room last night….and decided that bed is the most uncomfortable bed ever!

Today, I am back into the swing of things at work, my hubby is back at work and we are on the mend. Chicken noodle soup is on the menu for tonight…..Bella girl is back at daycare…she didn’t eat for two days….she was so confused as to what was going on.

Thanks to my wonderful husband for taking care of me. I know I had him scared (he wasn’t sure if I was going to make it….he kept wanting to try and give me medicine to make it all better) he checked on me so much on Monday, bought me jello and chicken noodle soup and 7-Up…and gave me a cold wash cloth and heat pad when I needed it. He says he didn’t feel like he did much, but to me he did a lot by just being there if I needed anything. He was a great comfort.

Now on to my next adventure...

Reason for no updates...

The FLU.

I have had the flu since Sunday night. This morning I am feeling a little better, but am still very weak, I have made it out of bed and downstairs to the kitchen, so that is really good. But it took all of my energy. I am also going to try and keep some food down today.

I am back in bed now, with my laptop in hand. Going to try and do a little work from home today. Muscleman went to work this morning but had the look of sickness in his face. He said he was up all night not feeling well. I have neer been so sick in my life. It is horrible. Back to getting some rest.