Photo Friday

I know that this isn't a scenic picture of a beautiful land that I have been to, but I was browsing through my facebook photos and saw this...and there you have it.  This is what I wrote, almost two years ago, as a caption for this photo in my facebook album:

this is the good life...

through debt and betrayal and break-ins and car break downs...

this is the life we live and it's good because we have each other and we have faith that it will all work out...

 because we are loved by someone greater than ourselves...

 This is true yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  We truly have a good life.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Decided to post this one as well.  From the same album, two summers ago.  

On our way to see The Dark Knight.  

Love this boy.  Love this photo.

off like a herd of turtles!

I am officially off of work for the next NINE days!  I love love love my job, but I need these nine days off pretty badly.  However, we are having some delays getting the show on the road.  Our plan was to rise early tomorrow and I would take the first leg of the drive (no trouble since the latest I have gotten to sleep in the past six days is 6:30 am).  We were going to stop along the way and take our time and eventually arrive in Ft. Smith in time for my nephew's evening basketball game.

As luck would have it, when Ryan took my car for an oil change this morning we discovered that good ole Sabby is on her last leg.  Broken water pump...check.  Bad seal thing...check.  Head gasket about to blow...check.  Total estimate $2500...check.

Thankfully, we know a guy.  Our guy is doing all of the work for less than half of the estimate we got from our normal mechanic.  The only trouble is we may or may not leave tomorrow.

Really though, we will get there when we get there...  

And now I have more time to do laundry and pack and clean!

i think i can, i think i can...

I am psyching myself up for a very very busy week.  Isn't the week before vacation always the worst?  I mean, I am usually pretty busy so I don't think I actually have more to do this week.  I am just so ready for a break that it seems like far more than it usually does.  The good news is; my Monday is over!  All I have to do today is empty and load the dishwasher and make supper.  Wonderful!  

Then I get to open three days in a row, have my monthly meeting with my district manager, go to one super fun birthday dinner, go to my amazing home group, do a lot of laundry, pack for myself, pack for Gus, find out what we are doing with Gus, eat all of the leftovers...and we're off!  

Like a herd of turtles.  

I am so looking forward to relaxing and doing nothing for a few days.  Ahh...  

everyone needs this in their kitchen!

Well, maybe it's not everyone's taste, but I sure think that this print is precious!  And, it would look perfect in my red kitchen!  CJane recently posted about Persimmonandpink's etsy shop, and there is some pretty cute stuff!  The best part is, now through the end of February all shipping is FREE!  Thought I would share in case anyone has any decorating to do/gifts to purchase!  I am hoping to be displaying this in my kitchen very soon!  

Photo Friday

This is a photo that I took in Newcastle, Co. Down, Northern Ireland in 2003.  Newcastle is a really cool town that lies on the Irish Sea and at the base of Slieve Donard, one of the Mourne Mountains.  We went here on one of our free days.  I remember walking around in the town browsing shops.  We had fish and chips on the beach and then went on a hike up the mountain.  This was a really special trip to me and I love this photo.  I was right there.  I stepped in that icy cold water, and smelled the freshness of those trees.

helping me eat less sugar.

The latest Gus shenanigan. My favorite candy...dragged off of the

coffee table and spilled all over the floor. Thanks buddy. Luckily, I

did catch him in the act so he did not get to eat any sweet tarts.

a few of my favorite things, winter edition.

Personally, I always enjoy seeing what products others can't live without.  So, I thought I would do a post on a few of my winter must haves!

I drink a ton of hot tea regardless of the season.  This winter has been so unbearably cold that I have taken to having at least 2-3 cups per day just to add some warmth to my body!  This new Sleepytime Vanilla is my current favorite to sip anytime of day.  The addition of vanilla sweetens it a tiny bit and just increases the relaxation that I always get from this tea.  Yum!

I wash my hands countless times per day while I am working.  As a result, they have become dry and cracked.  I recently bought this miracle salve at Target and I am loving the results.  I just slather it on at night and let it soak into my skin.  The trick is to keep Gus from licking it off of my hands before it absorbs!

This is a new product by an old household name.  I grew up loving the old Carmex from the squeeze tube that my mom always used.  Then I heard all the myths about fiberglass and addiction and whatnot, so I stopped using it.  I recently stumbled upon this moisture plus lip balm at Target and I am loving it as a solution to my horrendously chapped lips.  I usually use Rosebud Salve for my lips, but while I am at work I don't want to be sticking my hands into a pot of salve and then onto my lips as this requires two additional hand washes.  So, for the winter, I think this product will do the trick.  It's very rich and nourishing and has a tinge of mint.  

Ryan bought me this body butter for Christmas and I have used a lot of it already.  This body butter moisturizes really well.  I have excema, so I have to be careful about products that I use and I also have to moisturize to the max.  The shea butter in this really helps to lock in moisture.  I use it immediately following my shower.  

This is the Restoration Hardware luxury plush foot duvet.  I have these in graphite and literally wear them every single day.  They are filled with down and lined on the inside with a really comfy plush fabric.  These are so warm and comfortable.  I put them on the minute I get home from work.  I only wish they had a hard sole on them so I could wear them when I take the dog out, then I would really never take them off!

There you have it, my personal vices for staying warm and hydrated during the cruel winter!  What do you swear by?

on moving a dog to a new home...

For posterity's sake I decided to list the problems that poor Gus has had since we moved to our new apartment a month ago.

*The day we moved in we brought him over to check things out...he pooped on our bedroom floor.

*The day after we moved in...he threw up on the living room floor.  All of our cleaning supplies were still at the old apartment and I could tell that he was going to puke some more.  So, I definitely held him over the toilet while he threw up two more times!

*We live on the third floor, and when we first moved in Gus was terrified of the stairs.  He are pretty sure he has a fear of heights and the stairs and landings are wooden and you can see through the cracks.  We literally had to drag him up and down the stairs every single time we took him out up until about two weeks ago.

*There is a gas fireplace in our living room, one day I kept finding little black pieces of something on the carpet.  I finally caught Gus digging bits of rock out of the fireplace and eating them.  Not a smart idea to eat rocks that have been in a gas fireplace.  He was sick for a few days.  We invested in a fireplace screen.

*About a week after we moved in Ryan came home to find that Gus had gotten into his food.  We estimated that the poor dog had eaten about a week's worth of food in one afternoon.  Needless to say, there was poop and puke everywhere.  Also needless to say, we did not feed him for two days afterwards and he laid around with a swollen belly.  Poor ornery little guy!

*Last week Gus got ahold of a new Netflix DVD and decided to shred the wrapper into a million pieces as well as bite through the DVD.  Yup, we had to pay for that one.

I'm hoping that things level out pretty soon.  This dog is far too spoiled to be acting out!  He sure is cute though!

life in a snow globe.

this is the first time that i can remember actually having a winter.  sure, it has always been cold in the winter; at least for a little bit.  usually snows once or twice but doesn't stick.  or, there is one big blowout ice storm.  however, this year mother nature decided to show us what winter was all about.

we had a lot of cold weather in december and i think i remember a few flurries as well.

in january we had an 'arctic blast' which put our temperatures well below zero for the better part of a week.

two weeks ago we had 4-5 inches of snow.

last week we had an inch or so of snow and a few days of flurries.

it snowed again last night and into today, i think we had two inches of powder total.  gorgeous puffy big flakes.  the kind that truly do stay on your nose and eyelashes.  lovely.

i really don't hate it; as long as ryan is around to de-ice my car, drive me to work, and take the dog out.  ;)

all you need is...LOVE

 The Excellence of Love

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothings.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.  When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.  But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I Corinthians 13:1-13

Husby,

I love you now, I will love you always.  

You are my perfect match in every way. 

Wifey

8 Things...

8 TV shows I love to watch:
1. LOST (just starting out, currently on season 2, and loving it!)
2. Criminal Minds
3. CSI
4. One Tree Hill (even though i think it is ridiculous i can't stop watching)
5. Pawn Stars
6. Grey's Anatomy
7. Private Practice
8. Amazing Race (someday, i will be on this show!)

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. J. Alexander's
2. Marketplace Grill in Springdale
3. Rotier's in Nashville
4. Carrabba's
5. Green Papaya in Ft. Smith
6. Thai Spice in Siloam Springs
7. Pei Wei
8. 5 Guys Burgers & Fries

8 Things that Happened Last Weekend:
1. watched a lot of LOST
2. ate a burger on french bread from Rotier's, yum yum!
3. went to the art crawl in downtown Nashville
4. drank lots of free wine at said art crawl
5. watched the super bowl
6. played bananagrams with the spooners, love love that game!
7. slept in on saturday!
8. hung out with my husby and puppy

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Ryan finishing his graduate degree (long term)
2. Seeing the Hawk clan in Branson at the beginning of March
3. Mary coming to Nashville in March
4. Rise O' Sleeper (worship event Ryan is helping put on)
5. Going to Colorado (no plans as of now, but looking forward to a visit)
6. Having our apartment neat and organized and cute
7. Going to the beach this summer
8. Warm weather!

8 Things on my Wish List:
1. A boyfriend style watch from Fossil
2. Rain boots
3. New kitchen knives
4. A car charger for my iPhone
5. The Infinity Necklace from Tiffany & Co.
6. Printed photos to hang in our home
7. A new shower curtain
8. New bedroom furniture

Photo Friday

Ryan took this photo when we were in Estes Park last summer and I think it is a wonderful shot! I have loved Colorado as long as I have known of it's existence. It is a place that truly relaxes me and speaks to a part of my heart that I can't truly explain. When I'm there, my vision is clear. :) Maybe I breathe easier when I can see the mountains, maybe I just love the feeling of being so small next to something so huge. Oh Colorado...I'm so glad that you're a part of my life!

um, hi...

yup, i did it again. stopped blogging for months at a time. oh well, it's my blog and i'll do what i want with it! :)

i'm not even going to try to catch up the past four months. i will just start from here and see where it goes.

ryan is in his second semester of grad school and i am so proud of all that he has accomplished! i have a smarty little husby! and he's cute too!

little gus gus has turned into a sweet little dog, thanks in part to a little ball slashing. ;) he likes to snuggle, but will still growl if the snuggling is not his idea.

i am working and working and working. and spending my free time watching the food network and putting off organizing/unpacking from our latest move.

yes, you read that right...we moved again! i think we are up to 7 moves now since getting hitched 9/2006. we found a cute little loft apartment that we are liking a lot. we also got an incredible deal on the rent and locked in to an 18 month lease. so, we will be here for sure until june 2011. then, hopefully in a more permanent situation. once we get everything unpacked and decorated i will post pictures for a virtual tour.

that's all for now, i'll be back!