Wedding Showers are so F-U-N!

Jenna had her second shower today hosted by my Mom's Sunday School class. These ladies have been around to see us all grow up. They all knew Jenna and Jason (her fiance) way back when they first dated and were still in high school. We have had fellowships at their house, some have kids our age, and all these women have been great friends to my Mother.

And did I mention they are pros at hosting wedding showers? I mean seriously. Amazing. Above (starting from the left: Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Emmons, Mrs. Heffington, Mrs. Ensley, Jenna, Mrs. Fitzgibbon, Mrs. Richards, Mrs. Ozment, and Mrs. Van Norman). We use to have Disciple Now at Mrs. Ozment's house, which by the way is b-e-a-utiful!! I so wished I would have gotten a picture of her bathroom. Gorgeous!!

And for all you wondering, no Jenna and I did not show up in the same dress. She did look radiant though!! My Aunt Angie and mom looked wonderful as well!

The cake table was darling! The ribbon was too cute, the punch was pink just for Jenna, and the cake was delicious!

And how about those beautiful tulips? I mean my goodness! Greatness. And I know you can't see in this picture but those chocolate mints were hand made and the tops were a "W". How cute!

Jenna said she was sad afterward because her showers were over :( But good news is the wedding is only four weeks away!! I did tell her, "....excuse me you still have your bachelorette party to attend." Hello! Wild and crazy times!! Except really not, because the older we get we are finding our bedtime is earlier and earlier (even on special occasions).

Have to go now, I hear my sweet husband calling for my help hanging my new favorite purchase........we live such exciting lives do we not?

Friday Five

#1. I must say today was such a great day! Mom and I headed off to Canton, TX this morning for a full day of shopping and browsing. We found some awesome deals and came home with a new necklace that has already become my favorite and one more much needed purchase! My new pot rack! Pictures on that to come later, Dave still has to hang it. It will be hung before the weekend is over though, I'm getting excited just thinking about it.......

#2. To all the ladies at my tanning salon. Please stop trying to sell me any and every lotion/after tanning product you carry. Yes, we know you guys get commission and yes we do know that tanning products make for a better tan. But seriously? If I bought something every time I went in there, Dave and I would be homeless. It's getting old.

#3. Have any of you utilized the online ordering at Domino's? OMG. It is the greatest thing ever. How much easier is it order pizza online you ask? Very. And you get to track what is going on with your order. Greatness.

#4. Winter Olympics, I love you and I think your great. But I must say, I will be happy when you are over. I miss my new episodes of the Office and Parks and Recreation. I am having withdraws, literally.

#5. Dave and I experienced our first HOA meeting this past week. WOW. I didn't realize how worked up HOA members get at those things. Although it did open my eyes to issues taking place in our neighborhood. I am thankful to live in a neighborhood that has a HOA, mainly because it does enforce some much needed rules and regulations to keep it looking nice. Although, really? $120 a year? Best be spending our money in a much more conservative manner. I'll be much more prepared for our next meeting, you can count on it! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Just a little update

So what is the deal with my test results? I still have no clue if I passed or not! Can you believe that? I even checked with the state to see if they had posted them there yet instead of waiting on it to come in the mail..........boo. I'm bummed. I only share with you all because literally, someone everyday asks me if I have found out yet. Poopie. I. hate. waiting.

I took C'mere in for a check-up/surgery scheduling appointment for his torn ACL this morning. And I would just like to say for the record, my dog is the best dog in the entire world. There was literally like 7 dogs in the waiting room and C'mere just sat there like a pro. Calm, cool, collected. I was such a proud Mama.

I am totally looking forward to this weekend. Not only does Jenna have her second shower but the madre and I are going to Canton!! LOVE IT. Can't wait. I'm looking for a pot rack for my kitchen for sure and then possibly whatever else catches my eye. But knowing me, I'll just end up looking because I can't make myself spend money on stuff like that. I'm kind of cheap. Sad, I know.

The other major, super important thing happening this week? I have Thursday night off from TRH due to a much needed meeting that afternoon, which means I get to watch this week's episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County. I. love. it. I can't help it.

What a sad, sad life I live that watching the "live" episode of the Real Housewives is a highlight in my week. Eww...whatever.

Our New Addition

So what had Dave so giddy this past weekend that he actually got out of bed on a Saturday at 8am?!

Say hello to "Mr. Ugly**" (soon to be re-named to something a lot cuter)! Isn't he beautiful?? We got up extra early this past weekend to drive to, ugh um Wichita Falls, to find Dave's dream boat. Oh how happy Dave was when we drove away with the boat attached to our vehicle.

Dave has been looking for the perfect boat for quite sometime now, mainly thinking it was just a distant hope. Well, after some loonngg discussions Dave finally found something that 1) fits the budget 2) is exactly what he wanted. Nothing to extravagant or extreme, just a little two seater he and I can go out on the lake and fish on.

It felt so good to have been able to be a part of something that made/makes Dave so happy . I think wives forget sometimes what brings joy to their husband isn't always what fulfills us (and vise versa) but it made me happy to see Dave experience boat ownership. Let's just hope I get to use it as well some days. I have a feeling there will be many "guy" fishing trips in the near future!

**The boat was named Mr. Ugly by the original owner, it was his fourth boat. His first boat was a little canoe that evidently was not such beauty so one of his co-workers named it Mr. Ugly. Hence the name Mr. Ugly IV. Love to hear stories about how things get their names!

Jenna's Wedding Shower

Jenna had her FIRST wedding shower today! I say first because she has another shower next week. YAY for Mom having lots of friends who all love to throw showers!!! Her colors are black, pink, and white so hence the color theme for the shower today.

The beautiful food table. These hosts know how the throw a party!

These ladies have all worked with my Mom for years and years! Each one have had either myself, Jenna, or Leslie in elementary school as a student. They are great hosts and really know how to entertain some guests!!! Above is Mrs. Harris, Ms. Anderson, Mrs. Perdue, Jenna, Mrs. Gilbreathe, Mrs. Sheffield, Mrs. Sorrell, and Mrs. Ratliff.

Yes, Jenna and I did show up at her shower in the same dress. No lie. Great minds think alike. That's all I can say.

Myself, my Mom, and Jenna at the food table.

That's Reagan and Kate. They are both bridesmaids in the wedding and we love them!!!! Both are super kind and fun girls!

And this is our long lost friend Sally and her daughter. Sally and Mike are both friends of our families and it has been forever since we have seen them. Sally is the coolest, funniest, and most unique lady I have ever met. I was a little jealous that she made it to Jenna's shower and not mine but that's okay. I'll over look it :)

Jenna got a ton of good stuff. It, of course, was the never ending pile of gifts and we had a great afternoon of laughter and fun. I'm looking forward to her next shower next week. Hopefully Jenna and I will not be showing up in the same dress!

Belated Birthday Post

Happy Birthday to the

BEST Dad in the world!!

My Dad's birthday was February 16 and I'm late in posting this. I'm a bad daughter. I hope your day was wonderful Dad!! We love you!!!!!!

Flowers really do make it better

You know sometimes when you think your husband has forgotten totally that a certain Sunday was Valentine's Day?

Well.......shame on me! I had to work Sunday night and after a, ugh not so "blissful" morning, these beautiful flowers were brought to me at work. The pictures just do not do them justice because the task of driving these home was a handful. So they were our decoration at work for all the ladies to look at. You know you are getting old when you become the "married lady" at work and everyone refers to your significant other as my husband instead of Dave. Ha!

And what Valentine's Day is complete without an official kiss?! Everyone kept wanting to eat it too, and of course it was not me who was to selfish to share. :)

My mother of course came through and bake a batch of her famous sugar cookies and brought them up to work. Yummy! I did share those just because I'm nice and her cookies are way to good not to share.

After a very, and I mean very, busy night at work I came home to a sleeping husband and two dogs who were just as pooped. All in all, a good Valentine's Day.

And for those of you who are wondering, I have not received my official pass/fail on my content test. I have gotten many questions about it but I will post as soon as I have word. Unless I fail. :)

Snow Day Recap in Pictures

Well after my long drive home from work Thursday I made it home to Dave shoveling the drive way to try and make way for my car. That did not happen. But we did get out in the snow last night and snapped a few pictures. It was cold!! Dave decided to take the neighbor kids along with Brenna and Braiden for a snow board ride behind our chuck wagon while I was at work. Wish I could have gotten a picture.

Our poor excuse for a snowman. Hey we tried. We had been riding around the neighbor after a long morning of trying to clean (which did not happen by the way) so after seeing all the other houses that had snowmen, we had to have one too.

This was my attempt at a snow angel. HA! Right. That snow was way to thick for that.

Buddy just didn't know what to do with all the snow. By this morning it was just about as tall as him so he would hop all through it. Funny stuff. C'Mere couldn't tell the different between a real ball and snow ball so I would make a snowball and throw it and he would try to fetch but ended up eating it. So entertaining.

Unfortunately, C'Mere isn't moving very well tonight. We aren't really sure what is wrong. It appears his back hips are not cooperating with him. I guess the cold just didn't do him well. :(

Show us your Life: Valentine's Dates or Ideas

Today over at Kelly's Korner it's Show Us Your Life Valentine's Dates or Ideas! This will be our fourth Valentine's Day together. Dave and I aren't super romantic people. What I mean by that is we typically don't do anything unless I plan something. But one year Dave did plan a little something for us.......

To my surprise, he had actually ordered some flowers and had them delivered at work. Not that my hubby isn't thoughtful but he is a procrastinator. It meant a lot to have been one of the ladies at work who had some beautiful flowers to display at my desk :)

And he also thought ahead and made some reservations at Nick and Sam's in Dallas. A super nice steak house. I wore my favorite Jessica Simpson dress shoes that night. Well, the floor was extra slippery and as we were walking into the dining room (where everyone can see you, literally) I completely slipped and fell right in front of everyone. The restaurant was packed. So, as Dave helps me up and we were walked back to our table people already eating kept asking if I was okay. Then the waiter dared to ask if I had been drinking due to my embarrassing fall. Um no! I'm just that girl with bad luck. Lucky for me though I am missing the embarrassment jean. All the ladies I had told this story too couldn't believe I didn't run out of the restaurant. Hello. I. Was. Hungry.

Funny memory but Dave and I had a wonderful dinner and Valentine's Day celebration. This year I will be working V-Day night. Maybe my dear sweet husband will get up and make me a nice Valentine's breakfast??? Hint, hint Dave!

Tuesday's List: Typically Grocery Lists

Today's Tuesday List is our typical grocery lists. Well let me tell you one thing, with a husband who likes pretty much nothing except meat, potatoes, bread, and corn our grocery lists are pretty boring. And not to healthy. I'm scared when we have children. So usually my list always consists of the following:

• lean ground beef/chicken breasts
• OJ/milk
• taco dinner
• spaghetti
• roast and potatoes
• mac and cheese
• lunch meat
• bread
• chips of some sort
• Kraft Cheese Sticks! These are one of my favorite snacks. I love the sharp cheddar
• Sweet tea (Dave drinks this, I was raised on unsweet tea)
• ranch style beans
• corn, of course!
• eggs
• 100 calorie snacks (although Dave will eat these, I think it defeats the purpose if we eat more than one pack. Right?)
• Coffee
• Cereal
• green beans
• other "personal" items we all need

Those are kind of the basics and then I try when I can to look up some new recipes of which Dave will actually eat. Although he is super picky. Even to the point where I can't cook with onions, I have to use onion salt. So if any of you out there have super picky eaters at your house, help a lady out with some new dinner ideas!

Although our biggest challenges is working opposite schedules. I don't cook the days I'm working at night because there is no guarantee he will actually eat it and I don't want to waste food. SOOO that makes the drive thru his best friend. How horrible of a wife am I? Terribly unhealthy.

What does your grocery list look like?

Monday Inspiration

Monday, February 08, 2010
Developing Your Creativity by Rick Warren

Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights. Proverbs 18:15 (MSG)

Over the years, I've noticed when people are stuck in life, it's usually because they're still working off a set of assumptions that no longer apply. Or they're using problem solving techniques that once worked, but don't work anymore.

God wants us to always be learning, "always listening for fresh insights." (Proverbs 18:15 MSG)
Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing mysterious about being creative. The basic principle of creativity is simply combining two or more known ideas in a new way to create a fresh idea. This is a skill you can develop and it starts with awareness:

Here are the five steps I use in the creative process:

State the problem clearly. What is wrong? Be as precise as you can. Vague problems are more difficult to solve.

Set a specific goal. What is it that you really want to accomplish?

Generate as many ideas as possible. The more ideas you have, the better. Force yourself to list at least 5 options. Brainstorm. Have fun. Use your intuition. Ask a lot of questions.

Narrow the list to the one best idea. One new idea is all you need to get unstuck.

Take action! Do it now. God has given you fresh insight, now act on it!

You must always be developing and growing and becoming what God wants you to be. Learning to be a leader takes a lifetime.

What I have been up too

Last week was definitely busy to say the least. I worked at Roadhouse several nights but got to sub for my friend Friday and had such a great day! Such a good day that it really motivated me to do well on my test. I studied all week for the content exam for my teacher certification.

I woke up bright and early Saturday morning to head towards Dallas to hopefully pass my English Language Arts and Reading test 8-12. Brought back many memories of the high school days. I tried to a) get a good nights sleep and b) eat a hearty breakfast to keep my brain functioning. After three long hours I finished and now all I can do is wait to see if I passed. If I did the good news will be I can start applying to districts for next year although probably won't be hearing anything from anyone till the summer or August. Hey, a girl can hope can't she?

So afterward I came home to nap and then off to Ft. Worth we went to celebrate a friend of Dave's 30th birthday. It was a surprise dinner at one of my favorite Mexican food restaurants. We had a great time!

I worked today though and came home because I. Am. Pooped. I feel an early bed time coming on, even if the Super Bowl is on. If Brett Favre ain't in it, I ain't into it. Nice language for a potential English teacher huh?

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday's List: Bible Verses

Today over at love from texas it's Tuesday's list! And today we are listing our favorite bible verses! So here are a few of mine........

"A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." Proverbs 19:11

This verse reminds me of one main thing, as a Christian it is my job to not take offense or try not to take personal other people's choices and actions. I think this is an extremely challenging task at times since I have tendency to want to make people follow the rules, or do the right thing and in actuality it isn't my responsibility. It's the Lord's. I tend to be someone who at times gets my feelings hurt pretty easily and other times turns the other cheek but either way I am called to be forgiving. Even when it's hard, even when I don't want too, and even when the offense or hurt has wounded me deeply.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

I am a planner. Plain. And. Simple. I like for all my days to mapped out and scheduled. But I think the biggest lesson I learned in the past few months is to trust in the plans God has set for me and not my own. I am also a worrier. Now I know this verse isn't so much about worrying but it calms me to know that with God my future is in his hands and I don't need to worry about tomorrow, or 5 years now. I just need to enjoy today. The Lord has his plans for my life already laid out, I just get to wait for the surprise of what those plans may be.

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" Titus 3:5

Oh what a joy to know that each day I get to wake up and start a fresh new day. A new slate. Sometimes I lay in bed at night ashamed, embarrassed of choices I made throughout the day. But it is SO refreshing to know I get another chance over and over again in the eyes of the Lord.

And my ALL time favorite.........

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I love this verse for two reasons. 1. If we all lived by these words the world would be such a better place. Our marriages would be better, our friendships, our families. So simple is it not? Although we live in an imperfect world full of things that make it hard to follow these verses. But if I could strive to live out at least some of these words, I'd be doing much better. I also love this verse because my sister Jenna read this at our wedding. I know tons of people have these verses read at their wedding but I will always cherish them. We heard them read as our first day as husband and wife.

What are some of your favorite verses??