NYE- 2011

Jess and I are pretty low key when it comes to celebrating. We enjoy quiet evenings at home and like to avoid the craziness of it all. I wasnt feeling very well new years eve and had someone cover my shift. I stayed in bed most of the day and then watched the ball drop with Jess when she got home.

2011 has been a pretty good year for us.

- Jess finished her last year of college basketball.

-She got her first job!

- I graduated from my 2 year school.

- I went full time at work, only to have to go back part time in January 2012..

- We moved into a 3 bedroom apartment (which was a lot of drama that I never found time to blog about! =/)

- I got into Nursing School! <<---- Best News Ever!

-We threw our first baby shower!

And some more incredibly exciting events, Im sure!

We are grateful for all that we have and look forward to a year for of changes for us!

Happy New Years Eve!

Goodbye 2011!

Christmas 2011

 We had a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas eve, we closed so we didnt get off work until 8pm. Well, I got off at 8, Jess got off at 7. It was a Saturday night so I had extra stuff to do to close out for the night, as well as for the week. But I was done on time. :)

Jess rushed home to finish packing and walk the furbabies. She loaded the car and got everything ready so that when I got home, we could get on the road. I have the best wifey :)

We got to my mom's around 10pm and of course we opened all of our gifts. Why you ask? Because I have always opened presents on Christmas eve.. not all of them, but most of them. Seriously, I always had Christmas as soon as I woke up whether it was 4am or 9am.... lets be honest, it was rarely 9am ;) Santa must have woken me every year on his way out!! Ha Ha.

Well, Santa mom did not disappoint!!

drumroll please....

Oh yea... I got a Kindle Fire baby!

I also got these... ok let me explain...

1.  Anyone remember the Pizza Hut glasses with the Flintsones Kids on them from 1980s?? Well, me either. I think maybe my Aunt Kathy had some, but thats the extent of any kind of memory. One day, the family (me, mom, Aunt Kathy, and Jess) were hitting up the antique stores they love, oh so much, we I spotted a Freddy glass for $2. It was too cute to pass up... plus it was 50% off. SCORE. Fast foward a year, and I found the Barney glass at antique store but it was $18. Uh no thank you! I was crushed. I wanted it sooo bad. Well, Mom found a good deal on one... so I got it for Christmas. :)

2. OK.... I may have had a bit of an obsession with Blue's Clues. Ya know, the toddler show on Nick... Well, maybe not the show so much... but the little dog is just so dang cute! One year, Mom found a plush Blue's Clues blanket and pillow for $40. I still have it... and it traveled to New York with me on a high school chorus trip. No Shame! Anyways... I have had the plate/bowl set for years!!! And last time mom was down to see us we noticed it had a crack in it. So sad. I decided not to use it anymore... and actually threw it away about a week ago. Guess what else mom found for a good deal??? Yep. A brand new Blue's Clues plate. :) Awesome.

Along with all our antique store finds, Mom found a gumball machine a while back. Jess loves it! She eats so much gum every time we visit. So mom found her one too. She also got my niece and uncle one too! It was the Year of the Gumball! Ha Ha.

She also got Jess some new Paula Deen dishes, not the cook set she got that last year, but some baking dishes. And some new PD utencils. Mom gave us an awesome canvas picture that she actually made! Lots of other cool stuff.

The babies had Christmas when we got back to our apartment on Monday. They were excited... although Kiwi appears a bit stuck up in the pics but really she found a chewy bone on the floor!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!

Banks suck.

Ugh. Our bank charged us another $17 fee this month, just like last month. Yes, I should have called before but I just dont have the time. Well, this morning I made the time. Basically, they changed their account types & if we dont keep at least $3000/month in our account they charge a fee. Seriously?! They claim they sent out letters to explain the upcoming changes, but of course, I never got one.

"So let me get this straight, other banks were very public about their $5 debit card fee, and you all proudly hung signs stating you wouldnt be charging a debit card fee, but then secretively change your account so that you can charge higher fees?!"

"uh uh uh.. Ms. (insert last name here) let me see what we can do to help you."

Thats how the conversation went this morning. The first man kindly refunded my fee for December, but had to transfer me to another dept for November. And that man was extra rude, stating he didnt know why the first man even refunded it for me, since I was clearly notified.

And me being the hot head that I am said "Ya know what?!? Dont refund it. I will close both accounts on Monday."

Thats exactly what I planned to do on Monday. Until I realized what a hassle that would be. Spend time closing one account, then opening another, then setting up our direct deposits for work (which we are required to have =/), waiting for debit cards to arrive, blah blah blah. In the end, it's just not worth it.

So the bank wins. Of course now it looks like an empty threat, which I hate more than anything. >=/

Nothing I can do now, without causing me more headache and stress.

Damn.

Christmas Wishlist

This year, Jess and I are not exchanging gifts. I know I know its sad.. thats what we keep hearing. But, really.. we dont need or want anything. Well... I need a lot of stuff for nursing school.. so we are focusing on that. The orginal plan was to buy a new 46" flat screen tv for our living room, but when I was accepted to school, our plans were thrown off track. The only other 2 things Jess wanted was

this

and this

But we got them both on Black Friday!

So back to my list...

I need these

[caption id="attachment_704" align="aligncenter" width="367" caption="Nursing Books"][/caption]

And these

And seriously think I need one of these



Or one of these

Ya know because every serious nursing student needs an iPad or Kindle.. strickly for educational purposes, of course ;)

Dear Santa,

Please read my blog and get me the things I need for school.

K thanks!

 

A few of my favorite things! ~Christmas~

I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner. And shortly after that I will be starting nursing school (WARNING: You may get sick of hearing about nursing school.. BUT I don't care, I worked very, very, VERY hard to get it in ;) )... wow... time flies.

After weeks of studying and working... we finally have a break. At least from school.

So these are a few of my favorite *Christmas* things!

We finally found time to put up our Christmas tree the other night. As we were dragging out all of our Christmas decorations, I started thinking about how long we have been together. I mean we had 4-5 boxes of Christmas stuff, plus our tree. I also realized how many traditions of our own we have. We always watch one (if not, all) of The Santa Clause Trilogy. I bought them for Jess last year.

 The best part about getting out all our decorations is 1. reminiscing about our childhood since we have most of our childhood ornaments. :) 2. Remembering what I bought last year at craft stores at 75% off!! Love after holiday sales! Plus I found the personalized ornaments I bought last year but didn't get to put up!



 

[caption id="attachment_684" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Our family 2010"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_682" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="The ornament we bought our first Christmas 2008"][/caption]

A couple of years ago, we found the cutest chihuahua ornaments and they fit Kiwi & Mango perfectly!!
 Moving on down the list...

My Christmas playlist!

1. Christmas in Dixie -Alabama (it's a family thing!)

2. All I want for Christmas is you -Mariah Carey (an obvious choice)

3. Christmas (Baby please come home) -Mariah Carey

4. All I want for Christmas is a real good tan -Kenny Chesney (because its fun!)

5. This Christmas -Chris Brown (because he though I hate Chris Brown and wish he would never release another album again.... I love that movie!!)

6. My only wish -Britney Spears (reminds me of being 15 :) )

7. Christmas in Dixie -Kenny Chesney & Alabama (love it so much it has to be mentioned twice! plus its with Kenny!!)

8. Hard Candy Christmas -Dolly Parton (I just like it!)

9. Hanson's entire Christmas album (dont judge.. makes me 10 years old again!)

10. NSYNC's entire Chrismas album (again dont judge... 1. its good. 2. makes me feel 12.)

I will spare you the others, but I assure you there are more. Yes, I listen to this playlist EVERY year!! Almost everyday ;)

Continuing with the list...

Hallmark Movies. I love the holidays when they air new movies almost every week, with almost the same story line... sad girl meets handsome man in some small town :)

Last thing.. I love going home for the holidays. Every year, (except when I wasnt working) I have closed on Christmas Eve. I usually offer too because I dont have kids. After work, I drive home to help mom cook... (usually I just taste test! :) ) It doesnt matter what time I get home, she wakes up and we talk for hours! Even if she has to work early on Christmas day. We try not to wake her up but we use her bathroom (its bigger) so it just sort of happens. This year, when we got there for Thanksgiving we sat on her bed talking till almost 5am! AND she had to get up at 630 haha. Good times!



 

 

Nursing Orientation Pt 1 & 2

Today, was my second orientation for the nursing program. I closed last night and got in bed around 2am?? ... then I got up at 530am and drove an hour and half. :/ The meeting didn't start to 9am but I was nervous about being late and knew I was have to stop for breakfast! :) When I got there, I had an hour to kill so I watch Netflix on my iPhone (caught up on my new fav show Hot in Cleveland haha) in the car. Man, I love this phone!

So the first hour of this meeting was letting us know just how much our lives were about to change. AND more importantly how much our "significant other's" lives were about to change as well. People have been telling me lately to kiss my life goodbye... because for the next two years, nursing school would own me. Well that seems to be the truth. They explained to us how to make sure our families and friends understand everything that is about to happen. They informed us that we made it to our goal of getting in the program and everything we all had worked for was here. And now everything else must come second. They showed us a full PowerPoint on how to help our families understand and adapt to these changes. They addressed a few "support" people in the room that came with students, husbands/parents. I wished Jess had been there to hear all this first hand, so she will understand why she has to pick up all the slack and clean the house more. (Our biggest issue is cleaning! ;) ) I keep asking her if she is ready for this because this will affect her too... A LOT! She says yes and they we will be fine. I'm sure we will be, I just wanted to make sure to have the conversations that the instructors told us to have with our families.

The second hour we discussed nursing professionalism including we have to wear at clinical and standards to abide by. We discussed jewelry we can wear, and found out my earrings, my cartilage that I have had since I was 13 :( and my tragus which I love. :(   Im super sad about this but I guess I will deal. Small price to pay.

I planned to my Christmas break enjoying life and being very lazy. I wanted to watch all my new dvds from (Black Friday!) and play our new Wii and Wii games.. (More on that later!) BUT... we have 8 chapters of reading to do before classes start in January. That sucks! I wanted to enjoy doing nothing for a few weeks before I give my life to nursing school.

The instructors kept asking us "Are you sure you still wanna be a nurse?!"

Yep. I'm sure! :)

[caption id="attachment_667" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Excited to get my scrubs in!"][/caption]

Thanksgiving & Black Friday

I love the holidays. And I love being home at my mom's. We were off 3 days from work and spent it all at moms. Love that!

[caption id="attachment_674" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Thanksgiving 2011 (Idk why its so blurry!)"][/caption]

This year, Black Friday shopping started at 10pm. I was really excited about this because I hate getting up early. Although, I didnt realize it would interfere with my nap after Thanksgiving dinner. We got to Walmart around 530pm. We were on a mission to get the new blue Wii. We already have a Wii in our bedroom that we use mostly to stream Netflix. But we needed Netflix in the living room as well. So instead of buying a streamer for $60-$80m, we decided to just buy the new Wii. We also wanted some of the $20 600 threadcount sheets, which Jess got trampled over. But after elbowing her way back up.. she got our sheets! ;) Some guy tried to take them out of her hands by reaching over her and she BIT HIM! haha kinda gross but hey dont put your hands in someones face just because you are bigger than she is! Asshole. Mom wanted the 19" tv for $100 to go in the guest room (mostly for us :) ) so she stood in line in the freezer section for 7 hours to get one! She was number 1! But turns out they had plently and the next morning they still had over 100. She was pissed. Ha Ha.

We got great deals on dvds, and Wii games. So thats always a plus for me. (seriously addicted to dvds.)

DVDS- Pretty Little Liars (dont hate!), The Vampire Diaries 1 & 2 (2 sets for gifts), Planet Earth, The Big Bang Theory Season 4. $10 each!

[caption id="attachment_678" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Black Friday Shoppers"][/caption]

While we were eating our dinner, I told my brother all about my nursing expenses and how much I had been spending on vaccines and physicals etc. When dinner was over, and he was leaving, he handed me $100 and told me to get my shoes ($60) and stethescope or whatever. I was super excited, hugged him and told him I loved him :) Even though, he gave me the money for shoes, I also had $115 nursing kit to buy to I put the money up for that instead. He called mom later to tell her to make sure I didnt spend it on Black Friday shopping. She informed him I already put it aside for my nursing kit because it cost more. Well he said for me to buy both and he was send me more money in the next week. YAY! I never ask him for money. I try to do it on my own, because I know if I ever get into a bind he will be there for me. Im super excited he is helping me out.. one less thing I have to worry about. :)

What Bake's Thankful For

So since usually Shell is the one to blog I decided write a blog about what all I am thankful for!

I am thankful for my wonderful girlfriend and all she does for me. She is the best. She has always supported me in anything and everything I have ever wanted to do. Even though she is not the biggest sports fan, I am thankful that she has learned to enjoy the sound of college basketball in the background!  I am thankful that she is always trying to better herself and our life together! She has always wanted to become and nurse and Im so thankful that she never gave up on her dream, and all the hard work paid off, she just got accepted to nursing school to start in January!

I am thankful to almost be done with school! Only one more month of classes and then my internship starting in January! I cant wait. And I recently got some good news about Grad school. I found out that I have been nominated for recieve a scholarship from the athletic department so that my Grad school will be free to me! I could have a batchelors degree and a masters degree by May of 2013! I am thankful that I was blessed enough to have the athletic ability that allowed me to go to school completely free and may even allow me to get my masters degree free as well.

I am thankful that I have a job. Even though Im sure I complain about work alot, Im very thankful that noth Shell and I have jobs that allow us to not need or want for anything. We have the ability to live a pretty nice life while being full time students and supporting ourselves with no help from family!..(well her mom helps us out sometime :) )

I am thankful for our fur babies! They bring so much joy to our lives. You cant possibly be in a bad mood for long when you see those precious faces that just love you unconditionally. Kiwi and Mango make everything better! They are the best fur babies in the world (yes i know evryone thinks this about their children) but mine really are!

Thanks for listening!

Bake

BIG NEWS!! :)

On October 27, 2011, I came home from work on my lunch hour, to eat with Jess. She said the mail was on the counter.. I saw an envelope from my school's nursing department. I held it up and said "Look a letter saying I didn't get in" and laughed it off.

I opened and started screaming to Jess... "IT SAYS CONGRATULATIONS! IT SAYS CONGRATULATIONS!!" She stared at me all confused and started smiling "what?!?" I said I GOT IN! I GOT IN!! So there you have it... I have been accepted into the nursing program!! :)

And since that day... It has been a whirlwind of things to do to prepare for the program in January 2012.

First, I had to tell my store manager that I could no longer be full-time in January because of my acceptance. He asked me if I was completely sure this is what I wanted to do (haha DUH! I busted my ass for this moment!) and he said he was happy for me but this would hurt the office.. (3 of our 4 full timers are leaving in Jan.) but he understood.

When I received the letter, I had just a few days to reserve my seat in the program by paying $100 toward my tuition. I was worried if I mailed it would of course be lost and I would be immediately drove it all the way to school.. 1 hour and 15 min away... to hand deliver it. Last Friday, I had Part 1 of orientation for the program. I was informed all the expenses that would be due over the next few weeks, including criminal background check, immunizations shot records, hepatitis shots, flu shot, physical, uniforms to order, shoes to buy, medical equipment to get, CPR certification class to attend.. and the list goes on and on...

In a few weeks, I have part 2 of orientation. This should be more information on class times and clinical sites. I'm super excited and feel like this is the beginning of the rest of my life :)

I leave you with these fun pics..

Happy Monday!

:)

Kim K. And Nikki & Jill

Sooo its been a while.... we have so much to catch up on... but first...

So remember The Real L Word season 1...



Remember the cutest couple... Nikki & Jill?

[caption id="attachment_632" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Jill & Nikki"][/caption]

Well..... I MET THEM!! The other day, they came in the store, grocery shopping with Jill's mom (she lives around near us!.. the ladies live in LA) I was so excited! It was time for me to leave but we were slammed.. so like a good employee, I stayed. And then.. Jill walked up and asked me for a lottery ticket :) I just stared at her and was like "Are You Jill?... I love your show!!" They were super sweet and I am glad I stuck around for those extra 15 minutes. I tried to tell my co-workers but no one knew who they were.. We so need more gay people in this tiny town. :)

Anyways.. recently, we all saw the end of Kim Kardashian's marriage to Kris Humphries. I was disgusted by this, of course, because I am a lesbian. I am denied the right to marry because my marriage will obviously ruin the sanctity of marriage. However, Kim K., Britney Spears, and even Kenny Chesney, are allowed to legally marry for less than a year (or even less than a week!) for whatever reason they see fit.

Well, I guess Nikki & Jill had the same reaction to news of Kim K. as well. This was their public letter to her in the magazine "The Advocate".

Dear Kim Kardashian,

Like much of the world, we were made aware of the news of your impending divorce from Kris Humphries after just 72 days of marriage. We are sorry for any personal anguish this is causing you. No one likes to hear about hardships when it comes to matters of the heart.

That said Kim, we can’t help but wonder if your “sacred union” was indeed a ploy to boost the ratings of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, while earning millions of dollars from the media in the process.

That thought greatly disturbs us.

As businesswomen, we respect your entrepreneurial spirit. But using a wedding/marriage as a catalyst to further your brand recognition, your celebrity, and your wallet is truly hurtful to those of us who so deeply value the union and yet are unjustly denied the right.

Did you know that gays are denied more than 1,000 federal protections as a result of not being allowed to legally marry? Are you able to understand how devastating it is to love someone dearly, want to spend your life with them through a legally recognized and respected union, only to be denied that civil right because people in position of political power don’t think it’s “right”?

We were unlawfully wed in the State of California on October 9, 2010, where amongst dear family and friends, we vowed to love, honor, cherish, and respect one another. It was truly the most magical day of our lives. Yet despite how meaningful and genuine our commitment to one another was, that “I Do” was not enough to protect our relationship. We had to take countless measures to ensure that our honorable bond was guarded, in areas of healthcare, parenting, benefits, and taxes—just to name a few. We wonder if you appreciated just how many rights your marriage with Kris was afforded when you collected all those profits.

Kim, we have no doubt that a woman as smart, savvy, and beautiful as you will find love and marriage again. But for the respect of the millions of people who hear about it at every turn (many of whom you rely on to build your brand) please do take into consideration the uphill battle that so many of us have to fight for marriage equality. Perhaps you can demonstrate a bit more respect for the union next time around, instead of using it as a business gain.

We leave you with this idea: Why not take a portion of the millions of dollars you earned on your wedding and donate it to the Human Rights Campaign to help fight for marriage equality? It would speak very loudly.

This was very well said I think.. I noticed on their Facebook page, a lot of people were commenting saying "people shouldnt judge Kim because we don't know the details, and she deserves privacy!!" Umm.. hello?! She is on several reality tv shows depicting her life, and she is only famous because of the details of her life. If she wanted privacy, then she should have had a quiet wedding without all the camera crews!

Here are some recent fb status favs of mine..

"Dear E now that Kim and Kris are getting a divorce please stop playing her fairy tale wedding! Does she know how bad the economy is?"

"Dear Mr. President, if i promise to stay married longer than Kim K, can I marry my girlfriend and it actually be legal in all 50 states? :)" (this was on mine and a friend's)

And this pic was on fb as well...



I will also include the NOH8 pics from both The Real L Word & The Kardashians.... I love NOH8 pics!

[caption id="attachment_635" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Real L Word"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_636" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Jill & Nikki"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_637" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="The Kardashians"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_638" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil... Kardashian style."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_639" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Kim K."][/caption]

 

"Uhh, where are the apartment keys?!?"

So lets start from the beginning...

Since we have moved closer to work (5 min away!) Jess takes my car to school 45 min away because my car get better gas mileage than her mustang. So I have been driving the mustang to and from work.. which I love cuz it makes me feel all hot driving her sports car ;) Anyways, when I go to school.. an hour in the other direction and on the interstate.. I feel better in my own car.

So yesterday.. Jess accidently takes my car to school.. I meet up with her to switch cars and on the way back home.. I started having this overwhelming feeling of not wanting to go to school. (Looking back, this was totally a sign.) Which is weird, because I do not skip school. Especially now since I only go one night a week. I told Jess (she was kind of annoyed cause we had just drove 20 min to meet each other.. oops!) and she finally agreed that I should stay home and do school work. :) We have this weird of making sure, the other doesnt care if we skip.. kinda like when you were little and "played sick" to stay home from school.. you wanted your mom to be ok with it. Weird I know..

Unfortunately, my teacher sent out an email stating he was giving us a take home mid-term.. so I had to go to school to get it. UGH. Fortunately, Jess agreed to go with me and keep me company on that long ride ;)

We live in the middle of nowhere, so anytime we go into "the city"... we try to take advantage of it and catch up on some shopping. I needed new work shoes, so we hit up shoe/sports store. We went to class, where I only had to stay about an hour, and were on our way back home. Fast forward an hour drive... we were walking up to the apt (around 11pm I should add), loaded down with laptops, books, shoes, and My Vera.. of course... When Jess dangles the keys in the air and says "Uhh, where are the apt keys?!?" Everything inside of me just said  &%#@.

We start tearing everything apart.. my purse, the car, the bags.. nothing. We call the apt answering service for someone to let us in.. and guess what .... THEY DONT OFFER A LOCKOUT SERVICE. Of course they dont, why would they offer this service when they have maintence people living on site? Why would they want their tennents standing outside in the dark, alone? That was silly of me to ask I guess.

You know what else this middle of nowhere town does not have... a 24 hour locksmith. Great.

The apartments we live in... many of the people we work with live in too. So we called everyone to help us... but they couldn't... because really, who can break into a deadbolt. *sigh* But every one of them offered us a place to crash. Why didnt we take their offers you ask.. Well because our furbabies were in their crates.. and that would be 16-17 hours without a potty break. And I cant bare the thought of that...

And of course they asked us... "Is there a window unlocked??" Umm, yes. We do leave a windows unlocked, because we are two females in an apt, and we know that no one would ever break in. And being lesbians doesnt make us an easy target for danger... NO THE WINDOWS ARE SHUT TIGHT & LOCKED! But thanks! ;)

We even called the non-emergency 911 number.. and the dispatcher was appalled that maintence wouldnt let us in. She sent a deputy out, but all he could really do was keep us company & safe. The man was young and possibly very new... I am not sure if he could really use his gun ;) A young Barney Fife, if you will.

The closest 24 hour locksmith was an hour away.. and after I assured him that if he drove all the way out to our apt, that we would pay him.. the $160 fee. Which isnt bad to us, because we're from Atlanta.. and I once paid $125 for a locksmith to unlock my car.. and he was only 3 miles down the road. Anyways, locksmith was on the way,  and the deputy left after we walked to a friend's (Jess' manager, actually) apt.

And hour and half, later the locksmith arrives. A 70 year old man. Yep.. 70 years old. He told us. The deputy was also driving back by to check on us, and stayed until we were in (which was going above and beyond if you ask me). So the very nice old man, who did not seem to be aware of our nieghbor,s as he banged and clinged and drops keys on the ground when they didnt work. He informs us there is no getting into this door.. so he tries the patio door. Picture it... porch railing much higher than a normal rail, that even my athletic girlfriend had a hardtime climbing over... somehow he managed to stumble over it without breaking anything.. YAY! :) hahaha.

Within 5 minutes, he had the lock picked. And we were in. Thank God, and the nice old man, and the deputy. We paid the man, and he and the deputy stood outside for at least 20 minutes, discussing all tools and equipment he had. :)

Our babies were ecstatic... and Tee-Tee'd for a long, long time.

If you made it this far, you deserve some pics! Unfortunately, it did not occur to me to take pics of our frustration last night... sorry! *Note to self... must take more pictures for blogging purposes!*

[caption id="attachment_619" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="On the way to class.."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_620" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Leaving the shoe store, possibly where the apt keys are =/"][/caption]

Jess bought Halloween costumes yesterday... here's a sneak peak!

[caption id="attachment_621" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Mango-pango.... The Fireman!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_622" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Kiwi-girl .... The Ladybug!"][/caption]

New Love... Pinterest!

So I am having a serious love affair with... Pinterest :) This site is so awesome..

Everyday I find more and more projects I want to make. I am contemplating quitting school and work.. just to do these things with my momma.

Here are a just a few of my favorite things.

[caption id="attachment_610" align="aligncenter" width="295" caption="Magazine Vase made by gluing coiled pages of magazine to a balloon.. then bursting the balloon once glue is dry."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_611" align="aligncenter" width="192" caption="Fabric covered styrofoam... cheaper than Canvas!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_612" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cinnamon Roll Pancakes :)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_613" align="aligncenter" width="176" caption="DIY play kitchen!! Making this for my BFF's little girl's Bday in October!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_614" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="This is the one I am modeling the one I am making after. I love it!! How cute is the shelf with frame and S & P Shakers!"][/caption]

Pics to come of some DIY... as soon as I can find the time ;)

Tugging at my heart...

Lately, one of my favorite bloggers, has been having a very hard time. The seemingly perfect marriage she thought she had just crumbled into pieces. I have been following along with her for quite some time, and watching it unravel, has broken my heart everyday. The other day, I checked in to see how she was, and it was gone. Just like that, her whole blog disappeared. She had stated that she wouldnt take it down because it was also her journal. I was completely crushed. Not only for her, but I didnt want to miss out on seeing her survive this. Its funny, how we get attached to blogs we read daily. Like books or tv, you get attached to the characters, and you want to see what happens next. I dont like to see people hurt, so when they do, I want to see them overcome. I cant tell you how excited I was when I checked in with another blog tonight, and found the new link to blog I had been looking for. Super excited. Although, her life is still in shams now, she is taking control and moving on. Yay for her! :)

On another note, reading her blog, makes me think of Jess. We have a damn-near perfect relationship, we never argue about anything bigger than her lack of cleaning ;) thats nothing compares to the lying and cheating thats others deal with. I consider myself truly lucky and everytime I read that blog, I make it a point to make sure I tell Jess how much I love her and that I am appreciative of what she does. I always tell her that I am in love with her and only her, and that should she ever start to question our life, I want her to tell me so we can fix it. She assures me that we wont ever have this problem and she will never leave.... even if we break-up ;) (She has this plan that if we divorce after we have kids, we will remain in the same house and be civil because she doesnt want our kids to suffer and be raised in two different houses. Good plan. She says we will suck it up for the kids.. and then eventually she will work her way back into my room ;) man, I love her.) Lately, she has been helping me a lot with homework... I work full-time and travel further to school than her.. I am overwhelmed. She stays up with me and reads to me when I am too tired to read for myself. So I dont say anything about her not cleaning.. I just do it when I have the time. I figure its the least I can do for all the other things she does for me. And guess what.... no arguing. Win-Win! Plus, she always does little things, like puts gas in both cars, brings me lunch/breakfast to work without me asking usually, and she ALWAYS rubs my back when we go to bed. Needless to say, I am spoiled. :) Plus, I just got a new Vera Bradley purse and wallet on her birthday.. how awesome is she!!

Dont take the one you love for granted. Cherish each day like it was your last, even if it means, dishes arent washed and clothes arent folded. Yesterday, we had a date day and may have gotten behind on homework .... oh well ;)

[caption id="attachment_606" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Shell & Bake"][/caption]

9.11 Never Forgotten.

I know its been a while since I've posted and there's so much to catch up on: starting my program, moving to our new apt only to have to move again (say what?!), so so much more. I think about needing to blog everyday and I check my most-read blogs EVERYDAY... sometimes twice a day ;) But today is not the day to catch up on us...

Today, we remember the tragedy in our country 10 years ago today. We remember those who lost their lives, those who gave their lives, and all the families that carry the burden of worry and loss. We are thankful for those who are willing to put on that uniform and fight for strangers and lay down their lives. 9.11 always puts life in perspective for me, and reminds me that my problems are quite trivial in comparison for which I am truly thankful.

In 2010, I posted this 9.11 blog and remembered all this sadness of that day. Every year, I watch the coverage again on YouTube, with all the music tributes, and every year it makes me cry again. I watch it because its hard and its sucks.. and sometimes that's the only way to really be reminded. We may talk about 9.11 day to day in a casual conversation, but nothing brings back that day like seeing the planes and towers collapsing. All the smoke and ash. And those fire fighters... ahh that gets me every time I see it. God Bless them.

Today, when I finally woke up (slept late because I have been getting up at 6am everyday for last few days!!) I turned on tv to find the coverage. All that is on is the revealing of the memorial, which is beautiful. I love how the memorial was built downward instead of upward. I read somewhere that  in the aftermath when everything was settled, the ground almost seemed as if it was sunk in.. that it was very eerie at Ground Zero and seemed always quiet. So it seems fitting that they would build it the way they did. The waterfalls are so beautiful and peaceful.

[caption id="attachment_592" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="9.11 Memorial at Ground Zero"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_598" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="USA - Ariel view of Ground Zero"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_594" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cross at Ground Zero"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_597" align="aligncenter" width="309" caption="Boston Memorial (where the planes were hijacked from)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_599" align="aligncenter" width="273" caption="What the Future Holds for Ground Zero"][/caption]

God Bless America.

 

Poor Mango-pango

Today, we had Mango neutered. :(

We dropped him off early this morning for his surgery. We were so worried about him not waking him because he is so little and an applehead. Correction.. our little man is not so little. They weighed him and he now weighs 8 lbs. I cant believe it. He looks so tiny but I guess he has more muscles than we thought. ;)

Anyways, we picked him this afternoon and he looked so pitiful. He couldnt even keep his eyes open. We took him from the nurse and he cried so loud. She assured us he was not in pain, that dogs just react that way with so much pain med. Jess rode in the backseat with him on the way home. He slept sitting up next to her the whole way. She even got mad at me saying I drove too fast and that it was bothering him.. lol.. shes such a worry momma.

So of course when we got home, we couldnt put him in his bed so we laid down with him in our bed to keep watch over him.

[caption id="attachment_583" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Trying to give him water, but he just slept."][/caption]



Mango scooted to the end of the bed, so of course Momma J and Kiwi followed. They laid down there with him and watched tv while he slept so peacefully, all snuggled in a nice & warm blanket. :)

[caption id="attachment_585" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Kiwi watching over her little brother"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_586" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Recovery with a little tv watching, bone chewing, & sleepy snuggle time with Momma."][/caption]

After only 2 days of resting in our bed, he was up & running like a crazy man! He has calmed down a lot and his urge to mark everything outside is almost non-existant, which is why we wanted the surgery done. Now walking the dogs is a much faster process because Mango doesnt need to mark every tree & every blade of grass.

[caption id="attachment_587" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Standing in his bed on top of his crate looking out the window :)"][/caption]