Tickled Pink Housewife

Spring..In Videos & Pictures

2011-04-22T09:33:00.005-05:00

Remember back in January, my solemn oath to blog more...I think we can see how well that has panned out. But life has been ever so busy around these parts & I am trying. I've made notes in journals & notebooks of things to blog about or what needs photographed because it was a good recipe or craft. Teaching full time, managing the household & every day life has just caused the lack of time to sit in front of my computer and blog.

So maybe it will be easier to describe, through pictures and a video or two, what we have been up to. I'm also hoping that with this three day weekend, I can post some of the fun crafts Miss Mia & I have been up to because they really are cute!

First picture- Our entire household participated in some way in the Houston Rodeo & Cook-off. Hubby's work sponsored one of the cook-off tents, which gave us & 2 of our besties free tickets, free food & free beverages & free tickets to the rides. It was so much fun! We tried fried oreos, which although lethal are heaven sent! We also took Miss Mia & her cute cowgirl self to the rodeo, stock show & petting zoo. Just loved this picture of my little cowgirl in boots, hat & plaid Ralph Lauren dress (that her Mommy scored for $5!) & a book about animals. We used the book as a sort of I spy game for the petting zoo.

Second picture- In March, when I was on Spring Break, Miss Mia & I loaded up the Jeep and headed to West Texas for a few days with Nana & Pawpaw. Pawpaw has recently acquired about 10 new horses & after the rodeo, Miss Mia is all about them! So we took her out to the pastures to feed them apples, oats and carrots.

Here is our little horse feeder on the back of my Grandad's pick up truck. I need to peruse the archives because somewhere is a picture soo similar of me about the same age on the back of the same truck! It is scary how much can can look like my younger self sometimes.

In April, we took a family camping trip to Lake Somerville. Miss Mia spent the night in Granma & Granpa's trailer. Hubby & I camped in the tent fairly old school, but with air mattresses. (I'm only going to go so far!) It was a good weekend for camping. The nights were cool & we swam and took the canoe out in the lake. Very fun but tiring weekend.

As for the promised video, for Valentine's day, Hubby came home with mint chocolates. Which would have been good enough..but then he whipped out 2 tickets to one of my FAVORITE singers! My love for all things British runneth over into musical acts. I discovered Bobby Long over a year ago through friends and a recommendation in an article of a singer I already liked. Bobby came to Houston last September, but we were out of town for the show, thus I had to go this time. Hubby took me early, we went to my favorite restaurant Downtown & then headed off to the concert. At the concert, my ever chatty self befriended Bobby's merchandise guy and learned that Bobby would be staying around after the concert. He put on a wonderful show & then, just like the merch man promised, we got to meet Bobby. He signed by album (yeah, I bought the vinyl like an old-school nerd!) and took pictures and talked with us.

So for those of you who haven't heard of Bobby Long, let me help you out with one of my favorites:

Crafting Progress

2011-01-10T16:08:00.003-06:00

A small update on the progress of my first craft project of the year. Here are the postcards that I have chosen to use for the vintage postcard calender that I have previously written about. These postcards are from my collection that has accumulated over the past few years. My favorites are the postcards that were sent to members of my family. The postcards from Washington DC and Egypt were sent to my great-great aunt Catherine from an aspiring suitor! Oh the scandal! In case you are wondering, she never married him. In fact she never married. But he sent her lovely postcards from his travels and always ended with, "I see your face in every flower and moonbeam!" Pretty heavy stuff for 1927. The other postcards are to various people that I have no relation to but found in antique stores across the country. A strong coincidence is that two of the cards (from Venice) are sent to the same lady within a month of each other to a lady in Roby, Texas. For those of you who aren't familiar with the thriving metropolis of Roby, its a small town of less than 1500 in West Texas. I bought one of the Venetian postcards to the Robyite in Lubbock and another in Holland, Michigan! Isn't that weird? Not sure how the one ended up in Michigan.

Now that I have selected the postcards, I need to buy my index cards and date stamp, stamp the dates on the cards, and then arrange in a chosen basket. I am very excited to see how it all turns out.

Year of Crafts

2011-01-05T13:20:00.012-06:00

A few days ago, I wrote that one of my resolutions was to make more handmade in the following year. As I was surfing the blogworld, I found a few women who broke down their resolutions into monthly increments. I thought this was such a great idea, especially when making things. So here is my breakdown of things to make in 2011:

January- Vintage Postcard Calender- such a great idea & so easy!
February- Camera Strap- my camera strap is in serious need of love. Hubby has requested that I not make the fabric too girly, as he takes lots of pictures with the camera too!

March- Cover for my sewing Machine- My poor little machine needs a cover so badly. I love how Jade over at Chikaustin made this cover with vintage pillow cases & other fabric.

April- Make homemade roast chicken. I have always wanted to roast a chicken and create my own stock. I will do this! Plus, Nigella (oh, yeah we are so on a first name basis) has the best recipe!

May-Entryway- Our entry way needs some TLC. All we have in it at the moment is an old church mirror. I am looking at antique stores and thrift stores for an old metal R...I have plans!

June- Miss Mia's wall art- Miss Mia's big girl room has been in owls. With the new house, she has extra wall space and needs a big statement piece. I have a large canvas that I got for 75% off at Micheal's. I've been talking to Hubby and I have an idea for what I think I would want. Picture a big owl in corresponding room colors with Miss Mia's name on the bottom. This project will take help from the Hubby who is MUCH more artistic than I am. He has already sketched it out and it will be beautiful!

July-Homemade pesto- with the summer comes the herb garden and so much basil! I have wanted to make homemade pesto for years. Every summer I say that I am going to make it and then usually get some from a friend. This year, I am going to make my own, and freeze extra to have in the winter months!

August-Sock monkey- I have seen these everywhere & really want to make one. We have quite a few friends expecting kids in early August & I think a sock monkey is a great gift idea!

September- Craft Space- Right now all of my craft supplies are in big boxes in my closet. It is quite the challenge to get everything out when I need to hem something or make a quilt baby blanket for one of Miss Mia's "babies." I'm not sure where this is going to happen but I have some ideas. Love these ideas that could just be somewhere in a corner!

October- T-shirt quilt- This is of my father-in-law holding his Christmas quilt from his mother. He is Michigan State grad and she made him this t-shirt quilt for Christmas. (Word has it, our family is in for a Texas Tech version! woo hoo!) I have seen these before and loved the idea, especially for the special shirts that I don't wear anymore, like those from high school. I graduated from a small school where everyone participated in virtually everything. I have state cross-country shirts and basketball playoff shirts that are sitting in boxes in my parents house. My brother is the same. So I've been working with my mom to get big brothers football and basketball shirts from his golden days and turn them into a scrapbook quilt. Very excited! Mom is also excited, in that I have 5 boxes of shirts as does big brother...that is 10 boxes folks that are cluttering up her closet!

November- Crocheted Blanket- this blanket is destined for Miss Mia's 4th birthday! Its a tiny bit ambitious b/c there is a tiny flaw- I don't know how to crochet! Oops...But I bought some DIY books at Half Priced Books and have a tutor. The idea is to make the basic design & add extra white around the edge every year. Very excited to get started.

December- Christmas stockings for the family- I have a stash of vintage pillowcases and fabric that have a holiday flare. I have yet to use them but think that I want to make Christmas stockings for the family. The past few Christmases we have had some fairly generic store bought stockings that matched our tree skirt. We changed out the skirt this year and the stockings need to follow!

Snatcher

2011-01-03T14:46:00.005-06:00

Since I was young, my parents have called me their "little snatcher." With only one sibling, eight years older than myself, in many ways I was like an only child. I was and am physically similar to my mother, except a MUCH taller version. My personality, however, is the spitting image of my father. Fairly short fused, very sarcastic, somewhat quick witted, and in love with all things old and historical. Some of my earliest memories are going to antique shops when I was 4 or 5 and helping my parents look for treasures. These treasures included old books, old toys from their childhood and various odds and ends. When I got into junior high and high school, my room was adorned with pictures of my parents, grandparents and great grandparents as children and young adults along with other favorite antiques. My friends always thought it was funny that I would have antiques and old history books next to posters of my favorite athletes or other more current teen-age pursuits.

My earliest antiques were usually those that I found throughout our house. Maybe Mom & Dad didn't really need that box on the coffee table. It was obviously better destined for my room and on the top of my antique trunk.

Here I am years later, and I am still "snatching" from my parents. Over Thanksgiving, I snatched a few new items for my bookshelf at home from my parents room. In my defense, they didn't even notice it was gone until I fessed up! So, what did I take? I took my Grandad's old camera. I wanted it for several reasons.

One being, its a beautiful peace, good conversation starter, etc. Two, it belonged to my Grandad when he was young. It was the camera that he used on his honeymoon with my Grandmommie. Thirdly, I played with this camera all growing up. It was the camera we played with as kids when we visited the grandparents farm. Its my new favorite thing to have in my house and on our bookshelf.

Happy snatching!

Miss Mia 2010

2011-01-01T22:47:00.001-06:00

A look back at our sweet Miss Mia throughout 2010...from Norman, Ok to Houston, Texas and everywhere in between, she has been the best trooper. No matter where she lived, she rolled with the punches, changed schools, gained new friends, changed churches, and came out of living with Nana for 2 weeks with minimal spoilage! ha!

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T21:56:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year! Is it just me or did 2010 only comprised of 4 months? This year flew by but in some ways January 2010 seems so long ago. 2010 rocked our family. For the controlling, type A girl that I am, it was quite the learning experience. We lived in 5 different places this year, both changed jobs, changed states--lots of changes. If someone would have told me last January that in one years time, I would be writing from Houston, I would have laughed and told them they were crazy. Living in Houston was always one of my "I'll nevers!" (I.e..The good Lord likes to mess with this type-A girl who has said, "I'll never live in Houston!" Look where I live..For the record I also said "I'll never get married or have kids before I'm 30." Reality, I was married at 20 and had Miss Mia at 24.) One of my resolutions is to stop saying, "I'll never," because I think God is messing with me. ha!

My little, Houston based family spent our New Years Eve together. The in-laws watched Miss Mia most of the day so we could help Hubby's sister install hardware on her kitchen cabinets. Then Hubby & I had a little date to the movies. Then we all came back and stayed up to watch the ball drop and be silly with the late hour.
Today we spent the day again with the in-laws. For lunch we made a sausage and shrimp boil that was beyond fabulous. One of the best parts of living in Houston (yes, I said there are good parts) is fresh seafood and Chapel Hill, Texas sausage!

As for resolutions, which I love making, and kept 3 out of 4 this past year, I have narrowed them down to the following:
1) Make more handmade instead of buying. One of the things we tried to do this past year was make most of our gifts and it was so great. I'm already making my brother's Christmas gift for next year.
2) Finish my book- deadline is this summer, and I have book promotions in April..lots to do
3) Build and strengthen new relationships. With moving to a new city where I knew no one but my in-laws, I am so thankful that we have found a great church with amazing people. We have already made some great friendships, but I am hoping they will grow even more this year!

I also love that some people pick a word for the year and I’m thinking I will go this route too. My word for 2011 is Transform. I am in a new stage in life with many new projects in the year and I hope that I can take on these tasks. (Also helps that I just finished an amazing Bible study called Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed.)

While 2010 was the year that I learned the most about myself and what my little family is made of, I am hoping that 2011 will be a bit more gentle! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-30T20:16:00.003-06:00

Wishing that you all had/are having a wonderful Holiday season and a wonderful new year!

2010 held some serious kicks and surprises for our family but they all worked out for the best. here is hoping for a less stressful 2011 but filled with family and lots of laughter!

PS- Kudos to Hubby for updating the look of the blog. I told him that if I am to blog more in the new year that I must have a new backdrop. I love what he came up with!

Cheap Christmas Gifts

2010-11-11T11:05:00.003-06:00

Today on Daily Steals you can get the Extra Large Pillow Pets for only $6.99! These are usually $20-$40! Miss Mia has been begging for the lady bug pillow. Now that these are on sale, she will find one under the Christmas tree!

Shipping is $4.95, but that is still 1/2 of what they are in the store! Go HERE to take a look!

I Heart Swagbucks

2010-10-18T10:53:00.003-05:00

You all know that I love a frugal find. I have heard about Swagbucks for a long time and finally decided to join. In two weeks, I have earned over $15 in various gift cards. Even better is that using it is really simple. You earn "swagbucks" through searches (like you would use on google), finding codes, referring friends, no obligation surveys. I am totally hooked. So I am using my gift cards to buy birthday and Christmas presents for the family. Today I bought Miss Mia a present on amazon. It was originally $12, then I used $10 of my gift cards, a my free Amazon Prime for no shipping or taxes and paid $2! Soon she will have her new Melissa & Doug set & it only cost me $2!! Pretty great right?

If you would like to join, click here:

A Funny Thing Happened At Walmart

2010-09-30T11:38:00.005-05:00

Miss Mia & I were doing a little shopping at Wal-mart Tuesday afternoon. Now, I am not a frequent Wal-mart shopper but I needed a bizarre mix of things. Thus to save us time, I swallowed my pride, and made the trek. We ended up in the kitchen section and Miss Mia spied the Paula Deen cookware. At the top of her little lungs, she began to shout, "Look! My Nana! There's my Nana!" Of course being my daughter, most of the store heard her. A few people looked and smiled. Finally one lady, who had been staring at us for a bit, came up to us. She looked really shy and said, "I am the biggest fan of Paula's. We TiVo all her shows and have all her books. Could I get your autograph?"!! She was almost shaking from nerves that I couldn't laugh at her. I told her I was so sorry but Paula only has two sons and I am not married to either. My daughter is just under the impression that my mother and Paula are one in the same. She laughed and was very sweet about it. We called "our" Nana all about her almost celebrity! = )

So what do you think? Separated at birth?

Nana...aka Not Paula Deen

The "Real" Paula Deen

If only you could her them both speak! Then you would see how Miss Mia could get confused..and watch them both cook..Yumm-O!

Welcome Back....

2010-09-27T17:17:00.017-05:00

Welcome back to our NEW Red Raider Home located in Houston, Texas. Our little family has been through much in the last 3 months. We lived apart for a month while I completed a fellowship I won through June. We all rendezvoused at my in-laws house the first of July and lived with them until our house was ready. Last Friday we finally got to move in!! We are basking in the large open spaces and having our own area again. I am basking in cooking again after living in either a hotel or someone's house for over 2 months! Miss Mia is so excited to have her toys back, she is beyond control.

So welcome to our house. Complete with Bentley and Miss Mia playing and watching Toy Story 2!

View from the living room/dining room into the kitchen and entry way.
I love this house's kitchen. The house was built 5 years ago but all the appliances are 1-2 years old because the sweet lady who lived her before us hated all things that weren't Kenmore. Thus, we have all new appliances. The fridge is three weeks old!
View out of the kitchen...and of the best pantry ever. I'll post about it later. Seriously, I have waited so many years for this pantry and kitchen.
Corner view of the kitchen with our green bookshelves. Oh, how I missed our stuff!

Down the hall we go to Miss Mia's room with her new door sign made by a sweet lady I found on Etsy.
Reading area, toy box...all our attempts to control the chaos
Her most beloved bed and even more beloved kitchen and pea pod tent that has to be up at all times for her animals to go camping.

Miss Mia's bathroom complete with picture of her and her Papaw feeding chickens!
Our utility closet. Hubby makes fun of me for decorating it. I loathe folding clothes, so if I can make the process better with some decorations (particularly the Shaq and Chipper Jones bobble-head dolls) then its just that much better.

Down the hall we go into the master bedroom...

My birthday was a few weeks ago and Hubby and my parents collaborated on all new bedding..including 800 thread count sheets!!! Hallelujah!

Other view of the bedroom including doors to the HUGE closet and master bath...

Love this bathroom!
Although you can barely tell from this picture, the thing I love most about this new house is the garden tub with jets! Judge me if you will but after a week of moving, sometime the only thing that gets me through the day is knowing that I have those jets at the end!

More to come...from the right side of the Red River!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

2010-04-08T10:04:00.005-05:00

Oh, where do I begin? I think there are too many changes happening in our world to even begin. So here is a sort of "David Letterman style" top ten events/changes in our household:

10) I finally joined the rest of civilization and watched the first Twilight movie. I was fully prepared to judge and of course it bit me on my backside and it was that horrible. (I promised my nephew that I would read the books with him. So I decided to watch the movie first, see what I was in for. I am really judging myself for not hating it more.) = )

9) Our church is doing a garage sale as a fundraiser for their summer mission trip, and I have decided that it is my mission to personally donate most of our house! = ) Seriously, our garage is beyond full of items. How did we get this much stuff in only 6 years of marriage? Especially given the fact that when we got married, all Hubby brought was his clothes and literally 2 small paper boxes of miscellaneous stuff.

8) The class I TA for have their research papers due this week. You cannot imagine the belly-aching that a 10 page paper can cause. I awoke this morning to literally over 25 frantic e-mails. (Papers are due today) I have been meeting 2-4 hours every single day with students. I am thinking about recording my responses and posting them on you tube because I am saying the same thing over and over. With papers due today, that means that I have 90+ papers to grade..that's 900 pages (turn around time, one week!)

7) Went to West Texas for a great Easter weekend with my parents, grandparents, & brother's family. Such a great visit. Funny to watch my highly competitive family play Cranium. Even more fun when you put my mother and Hubby on a team. Oh, the horrors! hehe

6) Miss Mia has decided that the "terrible twos" can be quite fun. She has announced in the last few weeks that she "will never sleep ever!" (actual quote) and when she got in trouble and I told her I would spank her or put her in time-out she said, again direct quote, "well, then just spank me then!" Oh Lord, come to my rescue! I have since seen her put her bear and gator in time out. I asked her what they did to earn the punishment, and she said "gator looked at me funny."

5) I won one of the big fellowships that I really wanted for this summer. All of July, Miss Mia & I will live in Lubbock as I research for my book. I am so excited!

4) My Duke Blue Devils won the National Championship & saved my bracket!!! Thank you Duke..and thank for my whole $5 in "winnings" from Hubby! haha

3) Finished my Comps- and we all survived (thank you Lord!)

2) I have an interview to teach with a small college in Texas (very exciting)

1) We are moving to Houston at the end of June!

Is that a light I see?

2010-03-25T20:44:00.003-05:00

Dear blog,
Please forgive me for my continued absence. I do think about you everyday. I check my favorite bloggers daily. I just don't have a lot of free time on my hands. Most of my free time is spent trying to get a little sleep, folding the mountain of laundry in my utility room, or trying to raise my child. Life is beyond hectic, but tomorrow will hopefully be my last written exam. Tomorrow is my last written, and luckily it is in my major field. My brain is beyond mush right now. Hopefully, with a good night of sleep, all will be restored and I will be able to sit and right beautiful essays for six hours. Next, I am hoping that I will have passed all of my written exams and then can move on to the oh so dreaded oral examination. I get nauseated thinking about the entire process, but I have to pass this next one to get to the next.
I do apologize for the boring Comprehensive Exam talk, but my head does not know how to talk about anything else right now. I have found lately that I cannot have a conversation without bringing Comps into the mix. I find myself introducing myself, "Hello, I'm Ashley, and I'm taking Comps right now. Please don't judge me yet, and wait for a better first impression once I am not wondering the extent to which the American Revolution was truly revolutionary."
My poor house is in total neglect, my baseboards are missing my loving scrubs. Did I mention, there is a pile of laundry in my house that is higher than most points in Texas? Did I also mention that I forget what more than 4 hours of continuous sleep feels like?
Did I also mention, that while I do study, basically non-stop, that I have a bit of a internet deal finding addiction? Bought a few cheap finds off Anthropologie, Miss Mia got a $11 Michigan State Cheerleader Outfit
(Makes her Grandpa 'Paddles' who is a Spartan alum very happy), and then found a few to die for pieces of jewelry that some of my family and friends will find in their Christmas stockings! = )
So dear blog, please do not give up on me, for I will return. Hopefully with more fun and exciting stories to tell. Even better yet, I'm hoping to get a coupon class going soon both in person and a web-based version. But for now, my notes need one last glance over before tomorrow...

If You Give a Mom a Muffin

2010-03-18T09:44:00.002-05:00

I'm taking a small break this morning to peruse through some of my favorite blogs before I go back to the trenches of studying. Tomorrow will probably be the hardest exam of my academic career. The thoughts are quite vomitacious.

Upon my searching, I found this poem found by chikaustin. Holy cow did this thing speak to most of my life. I am quite a Type A personality but since becoming a mom I have found that it is beyond easy to get distracted with the forty billion things we have to do. I know many single girls that this would apply to as well..but I won't name names. ; )

If You Give A Mom A Muffin

If you give a mom a muffin,

she’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it.

She’ll pour herself some.

Her three year old will spill the coffee.

She’ll wipe it up.

Wiping it up she’ll find dirty socks.

She’ll remember she has to do laundry.

When she puts the laundry in the washer,

she’ll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.

Bumping into the freezer will remind her

she has to plan for supper.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.

She’ll look for her cookbook.

The cookbook is setting under a pile of mail.

She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.

She will look for her checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse

that is being dumped out by her two year old.

She’ll smell something funny.

She’ll change the two year old’s diaper.

While she is changing the diaper the phone will ring.

Her five year old will answer and hang up.

She’ll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.

Thinking of coffee will remind her

that she was going to have a cup.

And chances are… if she has a cup of coffee

her kids will have eaten the muffin that goes with it.

– author unknown

Countdown..

2010-03-07T21:17:00.002-06:00

Please don't give up on me. The posts haven't been priority of late with Comprehensive Exams coming up. I take my first this Friday. I am nervous, anxious and just so ready to get them over with. Hopefully it won't get too bad and the ulcers won't flare up. Please send a prayer in my direction, especially for my family who also have to endure Mommy or wife, or daughter, or aunt, or BFF taking Comps this month!

Oh, and did I mention that in the midst of this madness, I am doing a diet detox? (And putting Hubby on one too?) Hubby has even started a blog to document the pain that an opinionated West Texas wife does to a man. You can read his blog at www.thehungryhubby.blogspot.com

I have so many good things to post when I do come back. I've been keeping photos..Miss Mia is in the midst of potty training, the weather is finally warm enough to play at the park, and I have made some truly amazing creations in the kitchen..But all of that will have to wait...

Happy 'Ballentown's Day!

2010-02-14T13:13:00.005-06:00

For the past week we have been asking Miss Mia who her Valentine was going to be. Could it be Mommy or Daddy or Bentley (our dog)? Finally on Thursday, Miss Mia announced her answer. On the way to school she announced, "Mommy, Drew-Drew is my 'ballentown!'" Drew-Drew wins, no big surprise there! But Drew-Drew does not come to school on Fridays and her party was Friday, who would choose.

The winner was the ever so adorable Mr. Wyatt.
Like Drew-Drew, Mr. Wyatt has been in Miss Mia's life since 7 weeks. He really is cute and posed for many pictures on my camera.
Ballentown's day is really hard on a girl. You need to lay down and prop your feet up.
And keep a keen eye out to make sure Mommy isn't going to still your new sucker from your other Ballentown Joby.
Miss Mia, Hubby & I wish you all a very Happy Ballentown's day!

Etsy Love & Frugal Decorating

2010-02-14T12:36:00.009-06:00

I love Etsy. I find fabulous ideas that I try to replicate, but most of the time I find great pieces that I just want...and want now! Hubby & I re-decorated and rearranged our bedroom a few weeks ago. I didn't like my last nightstand. I had no room for my books or my lamp. So I looked around the house and in our garage and came up with this table and a throw and a bigger and better nightstand was born. Put my favorite reads at the moment on the side, a Tiffany-blue McCoy planter found for $1 at a Indiana antique shop (that had no idea what they had!), $2 Woman of Praise statue bought at OKC Botanical Gardens 75% off giftshop, my favorite lamp (bought for my old office at Texas Tech when I spent my nights writing my thesis in my office), and then this Audrey print.
I bought this print here. I just loved the colors, pistachio, brown and blue. I was even more pleased when I saw the print in person. It is just gorgeous. I ran down to Michael's that day and bought this picture frame for $15. (Thank you 60% off coupon!) I look at this picture every morning and it just brings me calm.
More Etsy...I have blogged before of my love of Belle & Boo. I bought a few prints for Miss Mia's room before but needed something else for one of her walls. I had the frames already for past artwork in Mia's room. I also had these fabulous mats that I bought 20 for $5 at Pottery Barn after Christmas sale. (I have had these mats in the 'to-use' someday pile for 2 years!) One day, when perusing through Belle & Boo, I came across 2 prints that I loved. Dark haired girl, feeding chickens or looking at a caged bird. They screamed Miss Mia. The prints, however, were $51. So I bought the same picture in her card section for $3 a piece. I am so in love. Miss Mia loves the chickens picture best of course.

The Etsy love does not stop there. Also in Miss Mia's room is another collage of Etsy prints that I bought at small sizes, matted with already owned mats and framed with similar frames. I bought this print here. I used to sing 'You Are My Sunshine' to Miss Mia before she was born and then to get her to sleep when she was an infant. The song has such a special place in our family. Whenever my family gets together we always sing and play instruments. My beloved Grandad used to request we sing 'You Are My Sunshine.' Since he's passed, we sing it in honor of him and whenever we're feeling nostalgic.
This entire collage, mattes, pictures and frames included was $15.
Nine Years ago, Hubby took me to meet his family in Michigan as his new fiancee. They took me to Saugatuck one afternoon. While window shopping, I came across the art studio of James Brandess. He is known in the area for painting pictures of all things Western Michigan. (i.e. the dunes, lighthouses, Dutch village and of course tulips.) I wanted something to commemorate my first trip and found this beautiful print. What I did not know, is how long it was going to take to frame it! It is an 15X15 which has been a difficult frame to find. When I went to Hobby Lobby's 50% off framing specials, to do what I wanted was still $80 after the half off! So I held out. Then one day, a few weeks ago, Hubby and I went to after-Christmas sale at Garden Ridge. I found this 20X20 frame for $10. I loved the metallic-wood frame. Then we bought a royal blue matte board for $1.50 and after almost nine years, the picture is finally on the wall! (And I am so glad we waited to do it right!)
Another frugal find of late was found this past week at Target. At the end of the aisles in the home section, many items were 50-75% off. I found this shower curtain for $7.50!

What's Happening Around This House

2010-02-14T11:43:00.009-06:00

Our household has been quite busy of late. Days beginning around 6 and not ending until after midnight. Exams have taken over the entire household. Our family's schedule is shifting and conforming to my studying. Yet the household must still go on. Laundry needs to be folded, potty training is still in full effect and of course this family needs to eat.

I have found of late that cooking is providing me a necessary escape from not thinking about my exams. I have been trying new foods and new recipes. I often don't cook with recipes but I find that my psyche needs the recipe. I need to completely immerse myself in another person's ideas. Pioneer woman is providing a necessary outlet. Hubby is quite proud of this development. Last night we tried MM's favorite sandwiches. Such a hardy meal. Hubby professed his love after the meal. (Those who know Hubby know he is a man of few words, and thus the meal must have been something extra!) After making this meal last night, I e-mailed a dear friend who just started a relationship and told her this was the trick to ever-lasting love! haha!

Today we are trying Pioneer Woman's pot roast...I'll let you know how it comes out!

The food that provides me the most comfort and is my favorite to make is my Chicken Tortilla Soup. When I was pregnant with Miss Mia, I ate this soup once a week. Not even kidding! Hubby can barely eat it anymore b/c of the memories of coming home night after night and smelling my soup. Yet I am still not tired of this most delicious soup. With the crazy snowy days we've been experiencing in Oklahoma, it makes it even better. Plus, it gives me the fabulous spice and Tex-Mex flavor that is so lacking in Norman!

My lovely soup in my even more lovely Le Creuset pot! (Another post is so required in my love for these pots!)

Here is my recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken
- 1 medium onion, chopped
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-1 tbsp olive oil (can easily substitute a different oil if you don't have olive oil stocked)
- 2-3 Tbsp. butter
- 2-3 jalapenos, chopped (can be eliminated or seeded if you are like my Northern relatives and don't like heat)
-3 cans Rotel (I usually use 2 cans hot and one original, but again, do whatever heat your family can handle)
-1.5-2 c. frozen corn
-1 carton chicken stock
-2-3 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
-Tortilla Chips
-Colby/Jack cheese

-Saute onions, garlic and jalapenos in butter and oil until tender. Add chicken and cook until done.
- While chicken is cooking, put Rotel into blender or food processor and blend until no longer chunky but not completely smooth.
-Once chicken is cooked, add Rotel, chicken stock, corn, and cilantro. Let come to a boil.
-Once at a boil, lower heat to simmer and cover for 15-20 minutes.
-To serve: Add chips and cheese to your hearts delight. Top with extra cilantro. Enjoy the warm and yummy goodness!

Along with cooking soup, we've been cooking with chocolate. Last night we made Nigella Chocolate Pots. (Be still my heart!) Nothing wrong with these! Miss Mia got into the act by licking the bowl for Mommy.
Speaking of Miss Mia....
I found her in our bed the other day with my make-up case..and this face
I knew it was just too quite in there. So much for thinking closed doors would keep her out.
After the make-up was gone...what a poser!
At least she and Hubby can sit in his 'man-cave' and play trains while I study or cook!

Let them eat cake!

2010-02-06T21:57:00.004-06:00

Just a quick update on the workings of this crazy household. After months and months (and months) the foreign language department and graduate school have finally gotten all of their "dealings," together in posting that I am indeed "competent" (pun, intended!) in Italian. Thus, I am all clear to take my Comprehensive exams. (Gulp! Gulp! Vomit!) I am studying around the clock. Writing, re-reading old passages, finding out how much I DON'T know.

I get up early, go to school, study, teach, study, pick up Miss Mia, make dinner, feed family, kiss family good-bye and head back to the library to study, then sleep...Repeat! Repeat! Repeat! The nightmares have really began. Somedays I wake up and feel like I am so ready to take these on..then the next day, or minute I want to run far away where they will never find me!

To keep my sanity, I have been cooking. A lot! Making big meals for the family so that I don't have to think about packed lunches for Hubby and I the next day. Then there is the baking. I recently fell into the path of the Pioneer Woman and subsequently her cookbook. I am so in love with both. Tonight we tried her chocolate sheet cake. With one simple bite, the clouds parted, angels and doves came down and I think I might have heard a deep voice say..."and it was good!" Miss Mia is usually found somewhere under my feet whilst I am baking. She is more than prepared to lick the bowl, spoonula, etc. Tonight she wanted more. "More 'poons Mommy, more cake! Need more cake!" After more bites than she needed we had to cut her off or call the Betty Crocker clinic!

Tomorrow is the Superbowl. We have always been at someone's house having a party. This year, however, Hubby asked if we could just stay home and watch it. I loved this idea. I can go to the bedroom and read, we can control the menu, beverages, clean-up (or lack there of thesedays). Or we can record it to our DVR, do something else, and then fastforward TO the commercials! Homeland is having Crazy deals on meat this week and we just bought 5 lbs of ribeye steaks for $15. So we are having steak tomorrow...and for many more meals to come! We'll also have cake!

Random Things that Make Me Happy

2010-01-29T15:48:00.002-06:00

We are all stuck in the house. Oklahoma is in a "state of emergency." I cannot study for my exams as Hubby and Miss Mia are home with me and are not exactly "study friendly" companions. But that's OK.. With snow drifts in our back yard over 3 feet high already and more to come, I thought I would stop cleaning and just write out a few random things that make me happy. (OK, if you want to know the true thought process...watching snow fall, snow flakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes, me possibly twirling as if on an Austrian mountaintop...and alas, this post came into being. Please no judging!)

1. lemons (smell, zest, cooking, in pie...all good)
2. Bravo Tv (again, no judging)
3. Butterscotch fondue
4. funny text messages
5. Clean Sheets
6. Smell of Mia's shampoo
7. Fabulous sunglasses
8. Dark chocolate
9. Great boots
10. Degas artwork
11. Yankee Cotton Candles
12. Smart water
13. Body pillows
14. Leather journals
15. Sonic diet cherry limeades (oh, darn you snow, now I really want one)
16. Re-writing notes (no judgment)
17. Anderson Cooper reporting in Armani t-shirts (they grant me crazy chuckles!)
18. Honeycrisp apples
19. Smell of pine-sol
20. Singling Taylor Swift songs in the car with Miss Mia (we can do a mean 15 and You Belong with Me)

Calling all Crafters..Or Buyers of Crafts!

2010-01-15T09:36:00.003-06:00

The fabulous ladies at Craft Hope are getting together to raise money for the people of Haiti. They are asking those who craft, or even have fun accessories to give to donate them to the Craft Hope Etsy shop. ALL proceeds will be given to Doctor's Without Borders going to Haiti.

For all details go here.

So if you love to craft, please help, or if you're not a crafter and more of a buyer...then this is a great way to help too!!

Introducing Daniela Alexandra

2010-01-14T10:53:00.002-06:00

Although I woke up extremely early yesterday, I could not sleep last night. I watched Anderson Cooper (an entire post could be dedicated to my love for his fabulousness) and cried at the devastation and sadness surrounding Haiti. Feeling like we just had to do something, Hubby and I talked for a bit last night, slept on our decision, & woke up knowing that we needed to take action.

As most of you know, I love two kinds of people, old (85 and above) and young (all under 10). I find both endlessly fascinating. I worked all through my undergraduate with underprivileged pre-school children. The last few years, Hubby and I sponsored a child from Kentucky. That experience has been beyond fascinating. We are even more lucky, that the child we sponsored, his family has rebounded so well that he no longer is in the program. In fact, both of his parents have good jobs. It is truly an amazing story.

So without a child to sponsor, we decided to go international this time. We chose Honduras for various reasons, and then I saw this little girl. Daniela Alexandra. Is she not precious??

Just look at her adorable dress and that pose. I knew she was the little for us! I am so excited about this new journey and working with Compassion International. I just had to share our picture of this lovely little girl.

In case you want to check out Compassion, you can go here. You can also watch this video:

Julie & Julia

2010-01-13T07:45:00.002-06:00

I've been awake since 4 a.m., so please forgive me if this post does not make the most sense. But after a week-long battle with our mail-carrier, I finally got my latest shipment from Netflix, including Julie and Julia. I knew I would love it, I just knew. Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, cooking, Nora Ephron...perfect girl movie, right?

After a truly horrendous day, Hubby came in the door with my Netflix and first issue from my Cooking Light subscription, that I nabbed off Amazon a few weeks ago for $5. (That's right, $5 for an entire year!!) We ate a quick dinner, and I made us lovely hot chocolates, and I sat down with a comfy blanket to enjoy the movie. As it turns out, I did love it. Meryl is so charming as Julia, whom I have always loved.

I remember the first time I ever saw Julia Child on TV. I was maybe 5 and I thought her voice was really cool. I tried to copy it, but with my West Texas twang, even my sweet mother could not suppress her giggles. (For the record, I have not tried it again, and my mother has no recollection of my attempt.)

When I was in high school, I really began to look at cooking differently, travel outside of West Texas and think of differnt cuisines. Julia came back into the picture. I read an article about her and was astonished to learn that she was 6'2! Being an over 6 foot female myself, we have to stick together! My adoration of Julia has only continued.

So, the movie..it really was great. Since I have been up since 4, I decded to see if I can find the blog that became the basic for the movie, which basically involved a google search. Read the blog, read Julie Powell's new blog. Was not really that found of the new one, but liked much of the original.

Then I got to thinking, what cookbook would I be willing to cook my way through? I would really love to attempt to cook all of the Paula Deen recipes. I feel that if I could survive the endeavor however, the next few YEARS would be cooking my way through Weight Watchers cookbooks and Heart-wise, repair the damage after a year of butter. So I think I'm leaning more towards Nigella, although Martha would be fun too. I'm not planning on doing this anytime soon, but it is an interesting notion.

My New Love

2010-01-12T15:23:00.002-06:00

I have a new love...no, Hubby has no need to worry, my new love's name is Netflix. Have you discovered this most glorious creation? I got a coupon in the mail a few weeks ago for 2 free months. So I thought what's the harm in trying. Ordered my first movie, two days later it arrived. It was fabulous..and so on! But here is the best part, the instant watch. We have our Mac computer hooked up to our big screen TV in the living room. With the help of our wireless keyboard and mouse, I can access so many movies, including TV seasons, and documentaries.

This week I have been watching fabulous movies on the American Revolution, British Empire, and Jane Austen. Oh, its just glorious!

One of the other fun features, is you can see what other people in your area are watching. I must admit that it did break my heart a little to hear that the top movies requested in our area were Bill Engvall Comedy special's and Where the Red Fern Grows. In Manhattan, they like to watch Second Chance Harvey and Mad Men. (I think I might be living in the wrong area!) = )

2009 In Pictures

2010-01-07T20:32:00.016-06:00

Can you tell I am stuck at the house today? Miss Mia's school was canceled due to the weather, and thus we are at home. I've already completed all my other "to-dos" for the day. I have been seeing these "Year in Pictures" everywhere, and basically had to do it as well. A follower, I usually am not, but on this one, yes!

January
We took Miss Mia to Fort Worth and to the zoo. She loved it all, especially the birds! EEk! I just know they want to peck my eyes out! = )
February
In February, Miss Mia played with all her new toys and her grandparents that came to visit her!
March
Learned in March that a toddler cannot be expected to help with grading, but can be expected to disorganize their Type-A mommy's alphabetized stack of blue book exams.
April
Hubby & I spent our first night away from Mia in a train..the Santa Fe Caboose at the Woodrow House in Lubbock while I delivered a paper at the West Texas Historical Association Conference.
May
Miss Mia became Mommy's Little Helper. She "helped" with cleaning and the general running of the house
June
With temperatures going into the triple digits, we decided to take Miss Mia out on the lake for the first time. She loved the canoe, the water and most of all the sand on the beach.
July
In July we drove 16 hours in one day to Michigan. We took Miss Mia to meet many of Hubby's "Yankee" relatives. She met her 3 cousin Charlie (above.) They actually liked each other!
August
More triple digit days. So Miss Mia & I hopped on an airplane and headed for..Houston. (Wait, trying to escape the heat?!) Hubby's parents had a new pool that Miss Mia & I graciously tried out for them! Miss Mia also got to experience her first airplane ride and turbulence, which she ended up loving.
September
I got a new camera for my birthday! Pictures of Miss Mia went into overdrive!
October
Hubby & I went to see U2. What a memorable night!! I hope I never forget it!
November
Miss Mia turned 2 in November and to celebrate Auntie K got married! (Well, that's what Mia thinks at least!) She got to be the cutest flower girl EVER!

December
December brought many exchanges of gifts, helping Mommy bake and helping Daddy build, decorate and landscape (of course) a gingerbread house.

What a year! How fabulous it has been!

Christmas Part II

2010-01-07T11:59:00.006-06:00

We celebrated Christmas with Hubby's family over the New Years holiday. We had only been home for 2 days after being in Texas and thus I ran around the house like a mad chicken as I tried to finish laundry and cleaning the house before their arrival. Hubby and I went out and did some last minute shopping, hoping to find some good deals after Christmas and came across a Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus for $2. OK, so some back story. I grew up Church of Christ and we never had a Nativity set since we don't celebrate Christmas as a "religious" holiday. Since we don't know the exact date of Christ's birth, etc etc. I have never really wanted a nativity set, but this one, was so funny. The baby Jesus is at least 5 years old. It was too funny not to buy.
Since Hubby's family is Baptist and have many nativity sets, we decided to use some of Miss Mia's toys and create one. (I hope this doesn't offend any of you. It was meant as a joke!) As you can see, there are cows and horses and a "stable." The smurf on the top has wings and is the guardian angel. Some lego men are the wise men. Hubby really got into this! = )
So the family got here, we exchanged presents, made ridiculously fabulous appetizers for New Years Eve. Oh, it was such a feast. Then we decided to play Hubby's Wii Ski that he had gotten from his parents. Even Miss Mia took a turn!
The next day we went to Myriad Gardens in OKC. Miss Mia loved it, especially the fish.
Here we are making fish faces at her grandparents!!

The holidays were so great this year. It amazes me how much more fun the holidays are with a little one. Since the holidays and turning 2, Miss Mia is talking more and more everyday. Sometimes in entire paragraphs. She has memorized two books, and quotes them so beautifully. Every night we read a book before bed and then she grabs her book, "Night Night moon, night night chair and rev (that's red) loom (that's balloon!)" Precious, precious memories!

Christmas Part I

2010-01-07T10:48:00.010-06:00

As promised, I am finally getting around to writing about our many Christmases. When you have a big family that lives 4, 7, 16, & 20 hours away, you have to improvise on the holiday celebrations.
Hubby, Miss Mia & I celebrated our Christmas early in December with our few gifts, stockings, and some treats.
Then came Miss Mia's school party. We made gingerbread men and ornaments.
She enjoyed the chocolates given to her by her teacher more than anything. Later that evening we left for Texas for Christmas with my parents. We were lucky to get there the night before, because a few hours after we arrived, the craziest snow storm I have ever seen started.
We got almost a foot of snow-which is just unheard of for West Texas. Here is my parents front porch bench covered in the snow on Christmas Eve morning.
In my family, we have always opened gifts on Christmas Eve. Since my brother's family couldn't get to us because of the weather, we had to improvise the holiday festivities. Miss Mia was so excited about her Christmas presents from Nana & Pawpaw that included this baby and a beautiful baby bed.
On Christmas Day we went to my Grandmommie's as is custom. We walked the twenty feet from my parents to my Grandmommie's. The weather and snow was still too bad on Christmas day that only my uncle could visit us. The lack of people did not deter Miss Mia's enjoyment. In fact, I think she may have reveled in being the only small child. She got these adorable owl pajamas from Grandmommie, and the moment she opened them HAD to put them on.
The day after Christmas, enough snow had melted that my brother's family was able to come visit. Hubby & my neice & nephew built this great snowman, complete with cowboy hat and big ears. (Big ears are a trait on my father's side of the family!)
Miss Mia & her cousins exchanged gifts and she got this adorable outfit.
Then Miss Mia insisted on taking pictures under the tree. So we put her in and my neice in their matching shirts from Nana for picture time. Miss Mia even staged this picture, wanting to sit with backs to Cousin K!
With all the picture taking, Miss Mia grabbed Nana's camera and instructed everyone to "CHEESE!!"

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T21:53:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year to you & yours! I promise to post about our Christmases..we've had many, but I am currently so inspired with the new year and resolutions, that I just had to post.

In brief, we have been very busy, but the wonderful kind, that is taken up with family and friends. A small amount of family crises that always accompany the holidays, but on the whole, great. Miss Mia, as well as Hubby & I have been showered with love and gifts, and hopefully returned the favor tenfold!

Hubby's parents are currently here with us celebrating the New Year & finishing up our last Christmas. We had a great New Years Eve that included Hubby getting off work early, a ridiculous amount of fabulous appetizers for dinner. Garlic/Chili Shrimp, stuffed jalepenos, brie & red pepper jelly! Oh, it was fabulous!

Even though Christmas is my favorite time of year, New Years is a close second. I think it is because its a clean slate. I love that this is the time when everyone tries so earnestly to do right. I have been perusing my favorite blogs, and I love how Kelly wrapped up her year and how she made resolutions for 2010.

FIVE THINGS I'M THANKFUL FOR IN 2009:
1. I am so thankful for Miss Mia! Words cannot express the joy, fear, love, consternation, that this little girl brings me! I understand her so well, and yet still surprised by her quirks and new remarks. This very week, she has began to repeat everything! In this past year, I finally got a little girl with curls! She has taken up walking, talking, running, jumping, climbing, yelling, singing, dancing..I love that she is so fabulously girly and yet will play in her tutu and pearls with trains & trucks.

2. Hubby has been so supportive, as always. This year has been a great exception, as we have entered into uncharted waters. He is constantly the one person that I know will help me keep things in perspective, always offers a humorous suggestion, and listens endlessly while I drone on about school and the historiography of the Early Republic. (There is a spot in heaven for this boy on that note alone!)

3. Family & Friends My family and friends have been so dear to us this year. I have always been close to my family, but with a few unexpected turns, they are closer to me now than ever before. The same goes for friends. My dearest friends have never been dearer and I so look forward to any time that I get to spend with them, whether in person or over the phone.

4. Church Family- One of the biggest decisions this year was our changing of churches. The process, the decision was quite horrific. I will spare the details, but the result was beyond anything I could have imagined. We are now blessed with a fabulous church with some of the best leadership I have ever encountered. I no longer have to worry about the intentions of these most honorable of men & we have made so many great new friendships. We are so lucky to have found this church!

5. Creative outlets- I know this sounds silly, but I am so thankful for all the blogs, fun websites that foster creativity, better devotion, community, and sometimes most importantly those beautiful hours of procrastination that I need so badly! I have made some great friends over this blog. Who would have thought? (Just shows how many ladies love a great baragin!)

FIVE THINGS I WANT TO IMPROVE IN 2010:
1. Better wife & mother- While I have been the busiest that I have ever been, I still want to improve as a wife and mother. I want to not take out my stress on the two people who love me most.

2. Less stress with school- this goes hand-in-hand with the first improvement, but I know that if I just do the work the best I can, there is nothing more than I can do. I am trying so hard to not stress about school and to keep myself healthy..this will be my greatest struggle, I know

3. Reach out more to new friends- Since we have moved to a new and much bigger church, we have so many new friends. I really want to reach out more to these new people and develop these friendships more. I feel that with all our schedules and the business of our lives, Hubby and I could have done so much more in fostering these new relationships. I plan to remedy this in the following months.

4. Improve the health of myself and the family- I have mentioned before that I have been training for 5Ks and the like. That training continues, and I am one race down. Also, I am almost down 20 lbs since September, and 40 since January! I want this to continue for not only me but for Hubby and Miss Mia too. I have some very exciting ideas in mind!

5. Not feel guilty for "me" time- I think that as women and especially mothers, we feel so guilty for giving ourselves any time to ourselves. I will go months, umm 6 to be exact, without getting my hair cut because I feel it is too extravagant. I don't want to find a sitter, don't want to spend our family money, etc. I am really trying to not make myself feel so guilty for a few moments a week or a month that are just for me...I think this will cut down on some of the stress.

FIVE WAYS I WANT TO GIVE AND HELP OTHERS THIS YEAR:
1. Get more involved with the women's ministry at our chruch. I have always helped with the food pantry at church and it is not something that I plan on changing, but I would like to get involved specifically with more women in need.

2. Participate in a Craft Hope project. I love what Jade and other have done! Pick a group in need and have crafty people come together to show some love and compassion. I follow the projects each time, but have yet to make anything for one. I want to change this and maybe even get a few of my other crafty friends in on the projects too. Get Ready!

3. More random acts of kindess. My dad is the absolute best at this. He always talks to strangers, some funny sort of conversation starter, helps with doors or getting someone up steps. I feel I inherited much of this from him. I constantly get people, usually over 80 = ) coming up to me and telling me they feel they are supposed to hug me. (Seriously, this happens almost once a month!) But I want to do more. Whether its a card of kindess, dropping by with cookies for a friend, helping someone up steps, I want my eyes to be open to helping others more and not being too preoccupied with my own life to notice.

4. More coupon classes. While this may sound trivial, I get so many requests that it is hard to keep up. Hubby and I have been talking about me making pseudo-business cards with a link to a site set up to help. I am still working, so please don't give up on me, on a special link with the information from my class on my blog. Hubby is my tech support and he has been CRAZY busy at work..thus changes will come..but it may be a bit yet.

5. Giving- My parents and I have discussed doing more for others than for ourselves. We have everything we need, we just don't have everything we WANT. The day when we have everything we want, will not be in this lifetime. I have really wanted to start focusing our money on one more CD or shirt that no one will wear on those who are less fortunate. My family has always held various Boys' Homes in their hearts. Hubby and I sponsor a child through Save a Child, which I highly recommend. But I would like to do more. For mothers day this year, instead of a bottle of perfume (my mother's perfect gift), maybe give the money we'd use for that and give a donation in her name to the Boys Home or some other charitable organization.

FIVE SPECIFIC GOALS I WANT TO ATTAIN IN 2010:
1. Pass Comprehensive Exams

2. Complete a sprint triathlon

3. Finish book manuscript

4. Get another fellowship (need money when researching!)

5. Take a vacation with just Miss Mia & Hubby--not a vacation that incorporates visiting other family (that's all well and good, please don't get me wrong!) but one that is just for us!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

2009-12-23T09:42:00.006-06:00

We watch a lot of movies as a family, but particularly during Christmas time. Recently Miss Mia has began requesting certain movies, but really likes a few Christmas movies. She particularly likes I Want A Dog for Christmas Charlie Brown & Charlie Brown's Christmas.

So channeling Charlie Brown, Miss Mia and I decided to decorate the one very small and quiet sad tree in our front yard for Christmas.

Here is Miss Mia with our finished product! The expression is her asking where did the birds go. (Many many geese were flying over our heads while we decorated.)

Today we leave for Texas to spend time with my family for the holidays. Before we leave, however, we have a lot to do. I have to finish wrapping the last minute gifts that we bought on sale last night, take the dog to the kennel (aka puppy camp), finish cleaning the house (laundry, bedding, vacuuming etc) & then go to Miss Mia's Christmas party at her Mother's Day Out.

Since Miss Mia is having her party, I had to dress her in something cute & festive.
This was the dress that we chose. She is pointing for the rest of her breakfast. Mean Mommy made her take a picture while she was trying to finish her breakfast.

Wondering what she's going to get at her party today...will Drew-Drew kiss me under the mistletoe? = )

Tis the season to be baking!

2009-12-22T21:02:00.003-06:00

It will come as no surprise that I love to bake. It is also no surprise that almost every gift I get from people at Christmas goes in my kitchen. I get an alarming number of Williams Sonoma gift cards. This brings my heart so much happiness, I can hardly stand it!

This Christmas has already been in keeping with the traditions of my gifts helping me in the kitchen. Hubby, Miss Mia and I decided to open gifts early as a family since we would be with my family during Christmas, and with his family over New Years. True to tradition, Hubby got me cooking accessories. The difference, however, was that I had forgotten that I had ever mentioned wanting these things.

My gifts come from the kitchens of Martha Stewart and Nigella Lawson. Two of my favorite women!! If I could somehow combine the two--that lady would be unstoppable! From Martha, I recieved her alphabet cookie cutters, which Miss Mia & I have already tested. They work really well. Then from the Nigella Lawson Living kitchen, I got these beyond beautiful measuring cups. Seriously, how beautiful are these? They look like little pieces of art in my kitchen!

I had totally forgotten about these cups. Yesterday, while waiting for my ladies Bible study to begin, I was pursing the books at Barnes & Nobles and happened upon Nigella's Christmas cookbook. True to form, it was beyond beautiful--elegantly written, beautifully photographed & mouth-watering. I only had half an hour to devour the book, but I got some really good ideas. Oh, and did I mention that while I was reading the book, I was sipping on a Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate? I think that one of their ingredients might be some sort of addicting drug..I would have so gone back for seconds if I had another coupon. (Shameful, yes, but delicious, even more so!)

So let me leave you with one of my favorite Nigella recipes. I use this so often that I have it memorized. You will love this sauce! Put it on everything! I have even used it in a fondue pot at a party and we dipped fruit & other yummies into it!

Nigella's Sticky Toffee Sauce:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soft dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
3/4 stick unsalted butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
Serving suggestion: Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions:

Put the sugar, syrup and butter in a pan and slowly bring to the boil, allowing the butter to melt and the sugar to dissolve. Let the mixture bubble for a couple of minutes before carefully adding the cream. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce is thick, sticky and glossy.

Serve with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream.

11 days...

2009-12-14T10:04:00.004-06:00

Only 11 days until Christmas. I am so excited, I as you can tell from the picture above, so is Miss Mia! I thought I'd provide you with an update on my advent calender "wish list" of things to do this holiday season.
So far we have:
-Exchanged a few gifts
-Made hot chocolate and home-made marshmallows
-Put up a sash for Christmas cards
-Made a gingerbread house (See previous post for the final product!)
-Listened and sang along with Dean Martin Christmas carols..(this might be my favorite thing!)
-Drove around to look at neighborhood lights
-Opened a gift (Target giftcard..which I promptly went and spent! Thank you Grandma & Grandpa K!)
-Made a traditional family dessert (Hubby's mother makes fabulous Christmas cookies with hershey kisses in the middle. I experimented this year with the various flavors of kisses, and after MUCH research, I concluded that the Melt-aways are the BEST!)
-Exchanged ornaments with the family. (This is a tradition Hubby & I started before he was Hubby. This year we let Miss Mia even select ornaments for us to be from her. )
-Watched a seasonal movie (I have yet to watch Meet Me in St. Louis, but I think we've watched Elf at least 3 times, and watched The Santa Claus with Miss Mia and Polar Express.)

I have yet to get my Christmas Cards out, which is horrible, but I will this week. We finally took Miss Mia's pictures in her Christmas dress. When we finish the card, I'll post it, but as of now, its a work in progress!
So we still have a few more things to do before Christmas, but the best news is that school is officially done for me until mid-January. Now I get the next month to sit and read and study in the relatively quite library with all the students gone home for the holiday. Then I can return home to my family and listen to "Baby Its Cold Outside." (And you're living in Oklahoma and Texas, it has been strangely cold early this season!)

Gingerbread Houses

2009-12-10T15:22:00.007-06:00

While I was pursuing the deals at Target, yesterday- I found the gingerbread house kits on sale for $8. I thought that Miss Mia would love all the candy and the house, but what I did not anticipate is how much Hubby would enjoy the project!
She found that eating the candy was way more fun than putting anything on the house. Mr. Landscape Architect really enjoyed landscaping the house with gum drops.
Miss Mia did give up the mini-balls to Hubby. She enjoyed pulling out all the "circles."
The two posing with their beautiful creation!
Eating the last few pieces of candy!
Close up of the house! Isn't it cute?

A moment of Bliss

2009-12-07T20:49:00.002-06:00

Today was such an amazing day. It all started out so simply and ended as one of the best nights ever. I went to my Bible study this afternoon with two of the most amazing ladies. Each week we give each other new challenges, and after I discussed my need to read something that was not related to my Comprehensive Exams, they challenged me to read one fun book. This would appear to not be the hardest of challenges, but I have such a hard time not doing work. Tonight, however, I decided to take the girls up on their challenge and read for pleasure.

So I chose to read Bella Tuscany, the sequel to Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. I had forgotten how amazing her books are and how she writes in a way where I can smell the olive trees, taste the cheeses, and hear the sounds of chatter in the plazas. So I took the night off from studying, cleaned up from a delicious supper, and decided that I really need to read whilst taking a bubble bath. I had one last Bath Fizzy (from last Christmas) to use. Then with a few candles and some classical music, I embarked on the most perfect of evenings.

The more I read her striking prose on the wonders of refurbishing an Italian villa to the ways to cook various forms of wild asparagus, I long for my feet to stand on Italian soil.

I found this picture this evening of a fellow blogger who took her picture in front of Mayes' famous wall in front of her villa, Bramasole. Bramasole, could their be a more perfect name? To yearn for the sun

A via/strada in Cortona. How perfect is this place? So excited to finish this book and maybe even read a few more non-history based books over the holidays.

Tis the Season

2009-11-29T21:00:00.003-06:00

We had a beyond fabulous Thanksgiving. We spent time with family, met new members, and sat in Tony Romo's locker! (more on that later!) With the past week being Hubby's sister's wedding, we had a new brother to welcome to the family. With the wedding, cousins and family came down to celebrate in the festivities. We met some of the spouses of cousins that we had yet to meet due to their living Far North. We had so much fun meeting and spending time with the family, playing Apples to Apples a billion times and found out that Monopoly on the Wii can be very fun.

Saturday, Hubby and I left Miss Mia with her grandparents and drove to Dallas to attend the Texas Tech/Baylor game at the NEW cowboys stadium. I won us tickets and a tour of the Cowboys' locker room. I will post more about the trip and pictures soon, becasue they are amazing. Lets just say the game was great, as was the outcome, and I sat in Tony Romo's locker!

But now that Thanksgiving is over, my schedule is about to get nuts for a few weeks with the semsester winding up. But luckily our presents are all bought and the tree and all decorations are up, but I still want a few more traditions to take place before Christmas arrives!

While browsing the blogs last week I came across a great list for your advent calendar. I really liked it because it was experiences instead of things. I tweaked the list a bit to fit our needs!

Advent Calendar

Exchange gifts
Make Christmas cookies for friends
Watch Meet Me In St. Louis and sing out!
Address and mail Christmas cards
Go the bookstore and pick out one new Christmas Book
Make thick hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows
Put up a ribbon sash for Christmas cards
Put up a wreath
Make a gingerbread house
Make a popcorn garland
Sing or listen to Dean Martin's Christmas Carols!
Drive around to see neighborhood lights
Go out and see public light display
Open a gift (new stocking, pajamas, or pillowcase)
Make a family traditional dessert
Exchange ornaments with my family
Eat out at a festive restaurant
Go to a seasonal movie
Host a Christmas dessert party
Attend a city tree lighting event

‘Tis the season.

Wedding Weekend..and Thankfullness

2009-11-25T09:45:00.004-06:00

This weekend marked Hubby's sister's beautiful wedding in Spring (just outside of Houston!) So the whole family drove down into the wee hours of Thursday evening to Houston. Friday morning we all woke up early for a princess-birthday brunch from Hubby's family. All the Michigan family was there too since the wedding. She had a fabulous time.

Saturday was the wedding. Miss Mia was the flower girl..one of the most beautiful flower girls ever! She was so well behaved the entire day. Walked down the isle with her small bouquet and was very still and quiet during the ceremony.
Before the wedding, while others were taking pictures in other places, Mia tried out center stage. She quiet enjoyed it!

What a beautiful flower girl!!

After the wedding came more pictures and the reception. We all enjoyed a lovely lunch and yummy cake. Then came the toasts (which Hubby had to give one, and it was really sweet!) and the dancing. After restraining Miss Mia to not dance along with her aunt and new uncle, we let her dance the rest and she was more than ready to oblige. She twirled, commanded others to dance beside her, and best of all had several dances with her daddy!
Aren't they just adorable? With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I am so unbelievably thankful for my family. I am thankful that we are healthy and happy and warm. I love that I have a daughter with a personality the size of Texas who keeps us laughing and guessing what is coming next. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Backyardigans Birthday..

2009-11-14T17:53:00.011-06:00

Today marked Miss Mia's 2nd birthday party. When we asked her who could come to her party, her first reply was "Mymone." (Translation: Tyrone, the Backyardigan Moose) So we went searching for all party items Backyardigans..and found quite a bit!

We all woke up rather early this morning for last minute party prep. Mia thought some of the Backyardigans needed diapers..so she tended to that part!

Here is all the Backyardigans with her delicious cake! It was chocolate with vanilla butter cream frosting..so yummy! Everyone had seconds!
The whole set up! Backyardigans coming from the ceiling!
These balloons were the hit of the party!
A close up of some of the garland. I took pictures of Mia these past 2 years and made a time line of milestones. On each clip, I wrote a small caption. Loved how it came out.
Miss Mia with her party shirt and party hat on! The shirt was a cute custom made piece, complete with the Backyardigans peeking around her '2'.
Mia and her BFF Drew-Drew eating some cake and ice cream. She was more excited to have him at her house than anything else!
Opening Drew's present. He bought her some bath toys and jewelry. He already knows how to treat her! = )
So many presents!
When it was all over, she sat in the middle of floor with all her loot. She got baby dolls, books, DVDs, baby stroller, jewelry, outfits, cozy coupe, and os much more. What a lucky and loved little girl. I can't belive that she is already 2. Where did the time go?

2009-11-12T22:04:00.002-06:00

So I thought I was done for the night, but then I checked out Kelly's Korner before I went to bed, and had to tell y'all about her latest post. As evidence by past blogs, I love kids, they have my heart. As an undergraduate, I worked with low-income pre-school kids in an amazing after-school program..but that is another story.

So Kelly is El Salvador with Compassion. Today she and her husband met Daniela, a young girl they have been sponsoring for a few years. Someone luckily videoed their meeting. The sweet little girl closes her eyes because she wants to be surprised by meeting Kelly, and because she is just a bit nervous. The video will warm your heart! It will also make you want to take them all home!

To see the video, that had me crying, go here.

Hubby & I have sponsored children in the U.S. in the past, and I'm thinking we need to broaden our scope too and have an international sponsorship! I love how God works in ways we never think about!

One more chance to get candy

2009-11-03T08:50:00.004-06:00

We took Miss Mia to my West Texas hometown for the weekend so that she could spend some time with three of her favorite things, (Nana, Pawpaw, Chickens!) and go to my old school's fall festival and trunk or treat.
Before the festival, we of course had to go feed the chickens, at least fifteen times.
Then Pawpaw let Miss Mia drive on the farm. She really loved all the buttons, especially the radio.
Then the little bee went to Guthrie CSD to trunk or treat as the sweetest little bee. She got so much candy!
Then she and Hubby went on a small walk so they could see the rest of my sweet little town.

She had a fabulous weekend, but then got really sick, and has been sick ever since. She now has the flu, poor baby. So we are staying home, drinking fluids, and watching lots of Backyardigan videos.

U2 & the Black Eyed Peas

2009-10-19T10:38:00.008-05:00

So Hubby's birthday was a few weeks ago, and I surprised him with tickets to see his favorite band play! Last night (after driving 4 hours from Texas, & spending the weekend with my parents) we dropped off Miss Mia at some friends house and went to see U2! One of my first conversations with Hubby was of his love for U2 and how seeing them in concert was on his life's "to do" list! When I found out that U2 was not only coming to Oklahoma but Norman and the football stadium, we had to go- there was no other choice!
The view from our seats in the North East side of the stadium of the spaceship stage. The stage was so ingenious, the way they incorporated the entire 360...fabulous!
Hubby & the stage before the concert.
One cute and chilly couple before the concert.
Last night was the first night that the Black Eyed Peas opened for U2. They put on a really great show. I took this picture of Fergie for my brother for finds her very attractive!
Smoke coming out of the spaceship...U2 was about to take the stage!
Its Bono in Norman, Oklahoma!
The set during "The city of Blinding Lights."

I have been to several concerts before, but none like this one. It was like a religious experience. Over 55,000 people, all singing some of the same songs, and at one point, Bono sang Amazing Grace! It was pure U2...old and new, political and spiritual. If you've never been to one of their concerts--go! You'll thank me later! = )

Show Us Your Life= Make it Yourself!

2009-10-16T09:37:00.011-05:00

This week over at Kelly's Korner, its Show Us Your Life- Make It Yourself! I have been very busy making a few things. We'll start with Miss Mia's Texas Tech Red Raider Tutu! With football season here, it was evident Miss Mia needed yet another tutu, but this one needed to be Red Raider inspired. I had a few ideas I wanted to try on making the tutu, and got all the tulle for 75% off at Hobby lobby. The only part I had to sew was the elastic together. Everything else is tying knots and cutting tulle! So easy, a caveman coudl do it! = )
Miss Mia loved her new tutu..She stomped around the house and twirled. She has recently learned the words to ring around the rosey & this large tutu made it so much more fun!
Future Red Raider shirt with tutu!
All of the fluffy goodness! Even put a few red and black ribbons throughout just for some extra texture and color.

The bigger DIY project came two weeks ago with the purchase of these fabulous bookshelves at our favorite used furniture store here in Norman. I could see so much potential in these needy shelves.

So we had them delivered a week after we bought them, went to Lowe's and bought some gorgeous Martha Stewart paint! (Of course!) Then we got to painting!
Look at our little helper...I even dressed her in what I thought was a baby painter outfit!
Side note...there isn't anything really on her roller, but she painted like there was!
Here is the finished product! I think they look gorgeous! I love them so much!
I found these cute knobs at Hobby Lobby for .75 each! Added such a cute flair to the shelves!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2009-10-01T19:59:00.002-05:00

Oct. 2 marks Hubby's 28th Birthday! In honor of his turning 28 and inching ever so closer to those (cough!) 30s, I thought I'd make him a list of 28 things that I love about him! They are not necessarily my 28 MOST favorite, but just a random assortment. Disclaimer: I promise not to provide too much information and will avoid getting too lovey dovey! = )

1. Strong moral conviction- a must-have in any man, but mine happens to have a lot! (Suckers!...sorry!)
2. The way he puts Miss Mia to bed every night..precious
3. Bluest of blue eyes...something he passed to Miss Mia
4. Incredibly artistic (makes me jealous sometimes!)
5. His laugh...those of you who might know Hubby in real life, know that when he starts laughing really hard his entire body (but particularly his shoulders) shakes..cracks me up!
6. His nods...the poor man of numbers and design has been hauled to more history lectures, conferences, and gatherings than I can count...as we get into the historiography of women of the American revolution, his eyes glaze over, and he nods as if he agrees with the entire conversation!
7. Always does the dishes...I'm the unloader of the dishwasher, but he always loads and does sippee cups!
8. So good to my family...he always said he fell in love with my family the first day he met them..he shows it everyday!
9. His appetite..its something of legend, but it just defines Hubby...where there is food so too will he be!
10. Ridiculously large occipital protuberance...(that is the sort of bump at the base of your skull) When I was an undergrad and taking my forensic anthropology class, we had to memorize all the bones and such..he was my test case...and still has one of the largest occipital protuberances that I have ever seen! Impressive, I know!
11. Great guitar player- mid-90s rock..he knows them all!
12. This one will sound silly..but he's a really good driver. I HATE driving, and he loves it. Even when we take 16 hour car trips, he'll drive over 12 hours of it!
13.Sense of humor..its different (lol) but its all him..
14. Loves being outdoors...whether mowing, hiking, or kayaking..he's up for it..
15. Like any 88 or 8 year old man, he loves trains. (Even subscribes to a train magazine) But it has eventually grown on me (there are many worse hobbies...even some of his other ones..)
16. Random knowledge..he knows a lot about elevators and fossilized camel teeth..seriously
17. Thickest (& curliest, if he'd ever let it grow more than a centimeter) of hair! Miss Mia & any other subsequent offspring will be blessed by two parents with crazy thick hair.
18. This is more of a memory...but when we got married, and he saw me for the first time, he teared up...one of the sweetest things I have ever seen.
19. Fabulous giver...he always knows what to get (even when I am not giving him a list (BTW, that little side mark is geared towards snickers and comments from Cousin B!))
20. He's my "history hunter." Before Miss Mia, he used to go to the library/archives with me and help me research. He's actually found some of my most important documents for my master's thesis. (Don't worry, he was in the acknowledgments.)
21. Instead of flowers, he buys me bubble bath randomly or when he knows I'm stressed or upset (with him!)..
22. His love of James Bond...it too cracks me up
23. Willing to let me fall asleep with the TV on...he's a keeper!
24. That fact that he can't sing...even a little. I find it endearing when he tries..makes me giggle!
25. His taking care of the cars...puts gas in them, gets oil changes, vacuums, washes, etc...LOVE IT!
26.Crazy Wii playing skills...he gets a perfect score on bowling almost every time...drives me crazy!
27. Amazingly good tempered..you'd have to be to put up with some of my shenanigans
28. I love that he puts up with all my craziness!! I can't imagine anyone else putting up with me! hehe

Happy Birthday Hubby! Miss Mia & I love you bunches!

I LOVE having a daughter!

2009-09-29T11:18:00.003-05:00

I love, love, love having a daughter. I have written many times on how much I have always wanted a daughter and having Miss Mia has made all those desires and dreams come true. One of my favorite things about Mia is her love of fashion and all things beautiful. My little girl is a fashionista. I blame this on her listening to Project Runway, America's Next Top Model & Rachel Zoe Project in utero!

Like all little girls, Miss Mia loves dress up, but even her everyday clothes are being accessorized and such. For example, yesterday Miss Mia wore a Pink and Navy Ralph Lauren long sleeve dress with these brown mid-calf boots! After spending the day looking fabulous at Mother's Day Out, we went shopping to hit up some CRAZY sales. Mia helped pick out some jewelry, some for me and some for her! What is hilarious is that she picked out jewelry and wore it around the store that totally matched her outfit! Apparently Mia is very bo-ho chic..as she picked out a cute gold owl necklace and this gold charm bracelet. I need bangles a lot...and so I loaded up! (Got all this jewelry at Dillards for under $10!)
On another note, I love having a daughter because she is so sweet and photogenic. This morning, in lieu of a Dallas Cowboy victory, she wore a Cowboys shirt with a cute white skirt and reading her chicken book that her Nana made her. This is truly a picture for her Nana & Papaw!

Coupon Class Coming Soon!

2009-09-28T15:01:00.002-05:00

Attention to my Oklahoma people.... a Coupon Class will be coming soon! I am currently in talks with some fabulous people at our church to use a room and host a coupon class. Stick around for more details to come!

Grateful Friday

2009-09-24T20:20:00.002-05:00

Its Grateful Friday...just a few hours earlier! I am leaving tomorrow evening and thought I would write tonight! This week has been so great! We spent last weekend with Hubby's family celebrating his sister's wedding shower. We had a great trip, spent quality time with family, spent blissful hours in the pool, and even better hours at the new Fairfield Outlet Mall!

This week I am grateful for:
1) New Coach messenger bag! (OK, maybe grateful is a strong word when discussing a bag, but I LOVE it! I have been looking for a good alternative for hauling my books and laptop around that wasn't a backpack. I'm 26 and a Ph.D student, I think the backpack days are over. So I found this amazing black Coach messenger bag for 75%! Yeah, it is now in my possession!)
2) My daughter's love of shoes...while out shopping, we hit a few stores for her and found lots of cute shoes! She loves them and even changes out pairs throughout the day! She is now the proud owner of a few pairs of boots, couple of mary janes, and a pair of really cute little Sketchers!
3) My sweet West Texas mother--this week we got a few care packages in the mail..requesting a visit soon, and filled with encouraging letters for me while I study, pictures, treats for Hubby, and a home-made book for Mia. My mom made the sweetest book for Mia about chickens from old magazines that she and Dad used to buy their flocks. Mom then put Mia's pictures throughout with the sweetest captions!
4) A free weekend! Now, this has yet to happen, but I am banking on it being amazing. Our church is having the ladies retreat this weekend. We're staying at the new Embassy Suites--just the ladies. No hubbies, no kids...just the girls and Jesus! I am soo excited--more details to come later!

Grateful Friday

2009-09-11T11:46:00.005-05:00

I haven't posted a Grateful Friday in a while...but this week I have felt overly grateful. We started the week out by FINALLY getting a new camera. After months of research and watching sales, we chose a Canon Rebel XS. Hubby is a former photographer, took classes throughout high school and even a couple in college. I had no idea how much he knew until he pulled out his old Canon and then showed me everything he needed to develop his own film. I was impressed!
So we took our new camera on a test run on the OU campus & of course used our cute Mia as our subject. Hubby can't find his edition of photoshop for the Mac so we are going through storage boxes trying to find it so that we can further edit the pictures. Precious little face!

Without further ado..for this week I am grateful for:

- My healthy, growing girl. Miss Mia is learning new words, attitudes, and sayings by the day. She is constantly climbing on everything, making up stories, learning possession of objects, asking questions & the like. My favorite moment from the week is when I was reading her a bedtime story. We were reading "Goodnight Texas," and one of the pages says, "Goodnight oil fields, country roads and pick-up trucks." Mia pointed to the pick-up and said "Pawpaw! Pawpaw's truck..." and then of course..."Chickens!!"
- A most fabulous church family..they have been so uplifting to us in the last few months. Everyday we are more and more uplifted by their presence!
- Fall weather! Bring on the 75-80 degree days...I'll take them any day! Of course with the fall weather, comes Fall football. I'm grateful for my Red Raider win!

See all the places we can strolling on a nice Fall day?

26....

2009-09-02T10:52:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I turned 26. Although there were moments of excruciating boredom, (another blog in itself) one the whole it was a good day. Hubby and Mia made it special with sweet gifts, a nice dinner & an early turn-in and watching a movie in bed. I am not all that excited about turning 26. This has nothing to do with my thinking that I am getting old, etc. It is much more an aesthetic thing. Saying I'm 25 sounds better than 26. I believe it to be a result of slight OCD and 26 not be divisible by 5..yes I know = )
Yesterday I did find one of my "life to do lists." I wrote it at 17 when I was finishing up high school. I wrote where I would be by certain ages. Although I have a few extra people in my life that I didn't see being here yet, everything else is sort of where I thought it would be. With one minor exception, that I don't or haven't lived abroad. I'm still working on that one. Maybe that one will be before I'm thirty!
Anyhow, in lieu of my turning 26, I thought I would blog about 26 of my current favorite things.

1) Chi Hair Straightener (Hot Pink) Got it for my birthday with help of some birthday cash from family and 2 coupons from Ulta in this Sunday morning's paper! You won't regret the investment
2) Tori Spelling's Jewelry Line for QVC. I am a little obsessed with vintage inspired costume jewelry, and this cocktail ring is just perfect!
3) Grey Gardens with Drew Barrymore & Jessica Lange I cannot make my brain understand that Drew is not Little Edie
4) Pandora...I love my Pandora with the fire of a thousand suns! If you have not experienced the wonder that is Pandora...go directly to this site. Its an online radio station that only plays songs based on your preferences. It Will change your life!
5) Bath Junkie lotion..I blame my Cousin B for showing me the wonder that is Bath Junkie. For my birthday, she took me there and I got the best clean smelling, beaufiully Tiffany's blue-box hued lotion. Oh how I love it. It is a good thing that Oklahoma doesn't have a Bath Junkie or I would go much too frequently.
6) Half Priced Bookstores. I believe that I have blogged before on my love for all Half Price Bookstores and how I plan all trips to Texas around them. Last week Hubby informed me that OKC has a half price Books right by my favorite mall. We went, it was heaven...I spent $4 total for 4 books..
7) This Audrey Hepburn print..I found it on Etsy and purchased it for my vanity table. It was screaming for classic Audrey. To find this print or the many others that the seller makes, you can go here.

8) Twitter--totally obsessed. Love that I can tweet from my cell phone. Any site where I can read what Anderson Cooper, Paula Deen & Elizabeth Taylor are doing..sign me up!
9) How I Met Your Mother--Hubby & I watch this show almost every night. I am sort of married to Marshall in a weird way. hehe
10) Coach Rain Boots-These are in no way frugal but I love them so much. I wanted some rain boots that would last and not make me look like one of my soreity girl students but were still cute enough that I didn't look like I was wearing my father's duck hunting boots...enter fabulous Coach Rain Boots!
11-12) Texas Tech/OU Football- Its September and that mean college football is here! I love college football more than I can express. Growing up in the Big 12 conference just intensifies my love. Although Hubby & I are Tech alums we do cheer for my current school when they aren't playing our Red Raiders. I cannot even begin to express my excitement for Miss Mia to put on her Red Raider cheerleader outfit this Saturday! Wreck 'Em Tech & Boomer Sooner! (She's going to be so confused!)
13-14) These two could easily take up more than a million of my favorite things...they were two of my first true loves- my niece and nephew. My nephew is now a teenager and my niece is approaching 11, oh, how that breaks my heart. However, here is some of their latest pictures and it proves that they are two of the cutest kids..this photo does nothing to display just how vibrant their personalities are or what fabulous kids they are!
15) Margaret & Helen's blog--My Cousin B texted me one day with the following.."OMG, we have a blog." Once I read it, I could see it was true that in forty years, she and I will have a similar blog ranting and raving, being eccentric old women, and talking politics!
16) All Nigella Lawson Cookbooks...still reading through the cookbooks and marking new recipes to try
17) Vera Wang flip flops from Kohl's. I bought some a few days ago on sale for $5 & I love them very much!
18) 75-80 degree days...thank you Lord that Fall weather is here!
19) Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds...period, enough said!
20) Elizabeth I HBO miniseries with Helen Mirren..she is just fabulous as was the lady she portrays
21) For the past few weeks, I have been studying a Kay Authur Bible study, "The Holy Spirit Unleashed In You." It is such a good study! I love her ideas for how to study the Bible. I bought mine off of www.christianbooks.com (Much cheaper than in stores and the shipping is really cheap!)
22-23) How can I not have these two? They make me cry (mostly for good reasons), they make me laugh and keep me centered..I have a sign on the wall of my study carrel that says 'For My Family' with this picture next to it. While I feel guily many nights or days for not spending those moments with them, I know that in the end, I'm doing all of this for the betterment of our little crew.
24) Tutus & Turtles is one of my new favorite blogs. I'm not even sure how I found my way there, but her pictures and ideas for kids make me smile and inspire me to try new things.
25) Williams Sonoma Home- I spend way too much time planning & redecorating future prjocects with the help of the beautiful things on this site.
26) The Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo. I LOVE this show. I wish I had a live 24 hour stream to this show. It's Buh-nanas. (If you've seen the show, you will know that Bananas is one of her words for amazing, etc. I asked Miss Mia if something was Buh-nanas and she informed me that it was Buh-pawpaw..I think she's brilliant and Loves her Pawpaw..hehe)

A Tea Party for Ava

2009-08-27T15:52:00.009-05:00

Today Miss Mia and I had a tea party in honor of a very special young lady, Ava Rosemeyer. I have blogged before about visiting Ava's mother's blog. The blog is beautiful and heart breaking. I have stopped reading the blog at night because I have to hold my Mia after reading her words. This week would have marked Ava's 6th birthday and friends, family and admirer's of Ava's life are having tea parties in her honor.

Our tea party was supposed to be outside, but the weather did not cooperate. In fact it down right poured and thundered, so we moved a quilt to the living room and had just as much fun. Miss Mia and I were joined by a few of her "VIP" guests, including her Care Bear and Backyardigan Tyrone.
Our tea party fixings included goldfish, toasted baguette, brie, various fruit, tea and some yummy milk. I'll let you guess which were Mia's suggestions! = ) This picture breaks my heart a bit too. I love her eyes looking upward.
Eating a few more snacks..
Bunny's special seat at the party
Miss Mia posed this picture herself. She took Tyrone (whom she calls 'Mymone.') and told him to 'cheese.'
She couldn't hold back any longer. Twas the end of our dainty tea party.
This beautiful illustration was done in Ava's honor by Mandy at Belle & Boo. Mandy has done 5 special prints for Ava called the "Super Princess" Series. I have ordered a few of them for Mia's big girl room.
Ava's mother's blog can be found here. I urge all mothers, sisters, friends, whomever, to read some of the words that Sheye writes. I promise it will make you hug your children a little longer, linger in sweet moments a second more, whisper I love you a few more times, and not take a second of their sweet lives for granted.

Start of the year

2009-08-24T19:00:00.004-05:00

I am alive...I promise! The past few weeks have been so busy with school just around the corner. I've been studying for my Italian proficiency exam (which I took last Wednesday). I am praying that all went well and that I passed and one less part of the doctoral process is behind me. I am now in full blown study/read mode. Comps are JUST around the corner and everyday I get a little sicker thinking about it. To top it all off, Hubby is gone this week to Beaver's Bend State Park as his firm is re-designing most of their camp grounds and such. Thus, Miss Mia and I are here to fend for ourselves as I get ever closer to October. I pray daily, sometimes hourly, that God will get me through all of this, and more importantly my family with my focus directed somewhere else.

So this is where I'm spending almost all of my time, in the OU Bizzell Library.
This library was one of the reasons I chose OU. As a historian, libraries are your home away from home. I needed a library or libraries with many of my primary sources and the ability to get whatever I needed. OU definitely offered that, espically given my area of focus.
This is the Great Reading Room of OU. My heart skipped a beat when I walked into this room. It had all the charm and character of the Great reading rooms Hubby and I saw on our trip to England and felt VERY out of place in Oklahoma. My nephew says it looks like it should be in Harry Potter & I must agree. I have my own little office in the library b/c I am a Ph.D student, but I still like to haul a few of my books down to the reading room and read. The best day in this room are the days when it rains. I can hear the rain drops slowly going down the windows. It is a small slice of heaven for a book nerd like me!

Show Us Your Life= Favorite Vacation Spots

2009-08-14T09:59:00.010-05:00

It's Show Us Your Life Friday over at Kelly's Korner but today we are talking about favorite vacation spots. I love traveling, more than words could ever express. I love planning the trip, going on the trip, scrapbooking about the trip. Oh, how I love it! My family did not travel all that much growing up. When we did travel, however, we went to Civil War battle sites and cemeteries 'housing' our dead relatives. Isn't shocking how I became a history professor?

When I met Hubby, I told him that I want to travel, end of story. I don't have to stay at The Plaza every time, but I want to travel. In our 5 year marriage we have traveled all over the country, and once out of the country, and that finally brings us to my favorite vacation spot EVER...Bath England.

Hubby & I took a trip to England about two years after we got married. It was by far the most spontaneous thing we both have ever done. I happened to be perusing Expedia for cheap airline tickets, and found REALLY cheap tickets from Houston to London. Then the wheels started turning, could I find a good hotel, where exactly was everything in London, could we take a day trip out of the city, etc..

We booked in December, we left for London over our Spring Break in March...good time to go to England, still a bit cool, but definitely not crowded!

We spent our time in London, site seeing, going to museums, walking the streets, eating lunches in the various parks. All failed in comparison to our day trip to Bath. I have wanted to travel to Bath since I was in junior high and fell in love with Jane Austen. Knowing that she wrote some of her work in Bath made it all the more alluring.
We arrived in Bath a little after lunch after spending our early morning in Salsbury (another fabulous English village) and Stonehenge (another post in and of itself!). We got off the bus and this was the first thing we saw. In the center is the roof to the Roman baths, far right is part of Bath Abbey. The yellow lab in the picture followed us almost the entire day. Many of our photos have the dog in them. He was chasing a lot of ducks, which flew away and when we toured the Baths, found them lounging happily in the warm waters.
This is the entrance to the Pump Room and the Roman Baths. There is a small museum about the Roman occupation of England, history of the baths, etc.

The pump room, which has been used several times in various English films, and by Jane Austen herself is a fabulous ballroom with a large fountain where patrons can drink the supposed cure-all waters of the Roman Baths. We tried some, and it tasted like West Texas water warmed up--i.e kind of chewy, little bit sulfury and long lasting flavor!

Around the Bath and the Abbey is a mixture of gift shops, small restaurants and various businesses. Bath has the old warm charm that one dreams about.
In my head I knew I was walking the same streets of Jane Austen and other various English historical figures, but in my heart I was hoping to see someone in costume walk around every corner. While we were there we saw an older couple performing songs for the tourists..we ate some pizza from a mom-and-pop English vendor--it was fabulous! We sat at a small cafe and Hubby drank tea whilst I had some hot chocolate..
You can take many tours around Bath, several of which are Jane Austen walking tours. I bought a book on

The Jane Austen Center..all Jane Austen, in bath= My little heaven!
I still cruise the web looking for good deals to England, and am constantly looking at real estate in Bath. I have already told Hubby to be prepared once we either retire or make way more money to spend weeks of his life in the beautiful city of Bath!

Homeland Deals Aug. 12- Aug 18

2009-08-12T10:53:00.002-05:00

Head over to Homeland for some really good deals. Today I spent $25 and saved $35. I love when I save over 50%!
Some of the great deals with week:
-Chicken Tenders/Chicken Breasts, 3 lb bag, 4.99
-Velvetta- with $1 Q from this Sunday's paper (which will double), 50 cents
-Kelloggs Cereal 2/$3, use whatever Kelloggs coupon you have, plus use the $1 off 2 Q in the Homeland weekly add, FREE or at the most .50 cents each
-Colgate toothpaste, use $1 coupon, FREE plus overage!

Good, Good, deals! So excited!

Home Sweet Home

2009-08-10T10:04:00.004-05:00

Miss Mia & I have made it back from our week's vacation in Texas. It was very relaxing..oh how I already miss the pool!

Mia & I weren't in Houston but a few minutes before she decided to hit the pool. The pool was such a big hit. She swam at least twice a day every day we were there. She loved swimming at night the most when the pool lights were on.

Our adventures took us to the Houston Children's Museum and the Natural Science Museum. She loved them both.

The Children's Museum was such fun for Mia but a bit of sensory overload for the rest of us! The second floor of the museum is only for children two and under. The bottom floor had a "Vetsmart," HEB, post office, paint gallery, fire station, the works. Mia most enjoyed shopping at the grocery store and putting the puppies in their kennels at the vet clinic. She even climbed into one of the kennels. It was quite comical.

At the Natural Science Museum, we had a wonderful private tour from my soon to be brother-in-law's roommate. We saw an exhibit on diamonds (LOVED!) and then the new terra cotta warrior exhibit. I did my senior thesis for anthropology on the dig. It was amazing! Miss Mia thought all the horses were cows, and proceeded to shout "Booo!" (supposed to be moo" at all of them!

The following day day we went to try on flower girl dresses for the upcoming wedding.

My little girl Loves puffy, girly dresses!

This dress was the winner, only we are putting it with a black sash. She will be the cutest flower girl ever! Can't wait to see her that day!
The plane rides were great, Mia found the turbulence exciting- shouted "wee" every time we hit a bump.
Upon our arrival back to Oklahoma, we were both worn out. Many naps have transpired in the last few days. It's good to be home...

Poolside Retreat

2009-08-04T09:39:00.003-05:00

This week will probably have fewer posts as Miss Mia and I are on vacation at Hubby's parents house in Houston. We survived Mia's first airplane ride even though it had so much turbulence. So much so, in fact, that the flight attendents never could get up. Mia thought the bumps were fun and continunally shouted, "weee!" This made everyone around us laugh. She also sang 'Old MacDonald' to the little old lady across the aisle. She was very prou of herself, especially when she got to walk in the Houston airport.

Hubby's parents just put in a new pool in their backyard, and we are beating the Texas heat with lots of time poolside. She goes in twice if not three times each day. She is completely fearless--wanting to be thrown in the air or put her head under. (We have to watch her VERY closely!)

Today we are taking her to the Houston Children's Science Museum. She is going to love it so much. I am not going to want to leave the pool! Its great when you can swim at 10:30 at night and the pool is 85 degrees!

Show Us Your Life= Wedding Ceremony/Wedding Party

2009-07-31T11:08:00.015-05:00

Over at Kelly's Korner, it is Show Us Your Life Friday. Today's edition is Wedding Party, Ceremony, etc. As I have previously stated, I have very few digital pictures from the wedding, so some of these are pictures of pictures, but they are good enough for you to get the main idea.
So this is how it all started...with this simple yet elegant invitation. We bought these about 3 weeks after getting engaged. I went in to merely look but they had a special going on. I wanted to try an mimic the border design of my parent's invitations. Not only did they replicate the design exactly, they even replicated the font! Plus, I got a really good deal on them, and they were ready in 1 week! (That's right, I had my invitations for my June 2004 wedding in August of 2003!)
The location was the adorable historic chapel in the middle of a rose garden. Believe me it was not easy to find a beautiful rose garden in the middle of West Texas! This place, however, was one of the first places Hubby and I ever went on a date. He took me on a picnic in the rose garden, I think it was date 3 or 4. I fell in love with the country charm, wood beam ceilings, and old wooden floors...reminded me of my hometown.

I walked down the isle to the Westphalia Waltz. Two ladies from my hometown came and played the fiddle and acoustic guitar as the guests were seated. The wedding party walked down to 'Faded Love' and 'Ashokin.'
The heart of my family is music, and I always knew I wanted my Daddy to sing at my wedding. He is a very accomplished singer and guitar player. (Much loved by West Texas ladies over 70! hehe) When I first asked him, he said he did not think he could make it through, but after convincing, I got him to play 2 songs. (By the way, those of you who know my father know that it was much harder on me to get him into the tux than to sing...but that's another story!)
Right after walking me down the isle, and 'giving me away' Daddy sang the 'Farmer's Daughter.' He actually picked this song out for me. It is written and originally sang by his hero Merle Haggard. For those of you who have never heard it...

Daddy did change some of the words. For example, in the second verse instead of Momma died 8 years ago December, it became "Ashley was born the 1st of September, she joined her Momma, brother Shane and her Papa too, Somehow me made a home of our old farmhouse, and love was all our Ashley ever knew...Dave, welcome to the family. I promise, we're going to feed you the best we can. But you say that you really love the farmer's daughter, and I know the farmer's daughter, loves her man." (Side note, totally tearing up writing this..)
We were married by our preacher Brother Ira Lynn from Kingsridge Church of Christ in Lubbock. One of the very special things about Ira is that he not only married us, but baptized us both the previous year. He will always hold such a special place in my heart for so many reasons! You can also, in the picture, get an idea of our adorable wedding party and the West Texas sun gleaming through the stained-glass windows..Let me tell you it was warm....especially in layers of wedding dress!
Here we are lighting the unity candle...this picture also gives a better idea of the beams in the church and all the spheres of flowers I spent days making..Our flowers were pink and white roses with white hydragenas. They were so gorgeous!
After lighting the unity candle, Daddy sang another Merle Haggard song, "That's the Way Love Goes." I can remember him singing this song to my mother since I was a little bitty girl. You can also tell from this picture, that my Daddy does not sing with his eyes open, something my Mom and I always kid him about. I wish I could have taken a picture from my angle of all the people crying as he sang. It was so cute. Hubby's Grandma K. once told me, she loved my Daddy once hearing him sing..So cute!

One of my favorite pictures of the two of us..
A picture with part of our wedding party..and our families. My parents and brother, and Hubby's parents and sister.
This is another favorite because it isn't staged..I think the photographer said "Say Grandkids," and I said something like "No!"...
The reception was short and sweet...cake, heavy appetizers, a little music, lots of conversation...nothing too big. We had the best Italian Cream Cake as our main cake.
Hubby's groom's cake was the Texas Tech double T, chocolate divine chocolate covered strawberries surrounding. There was not a single piece left of the either cake after the reception. People went back for seconds and thirds. Guests still tell me that was the best cakes they have ever had...One thing about a party that my family throws...there is going to be good food, especially desserts! = )
My maid-of-honor/best friend since 7th grade Kat caught my bouquet and my nephew/ring bearer caught the garder. Well, he was more-or-less thrown in front by the other guys and caught it..he wondered why no one else wanted it. Kat caught the bouqet and 5 moths later was married...and they say its just an old wives' tale...= )
Here is the best man and Hubby's best friend since he was 10 lighting the sparklers. I had this fabulous idea that we would run out with fun PINK sparklers. It was really beautiful, but with 75 people holding them, it became a LOT of smoke..so much so we set off the fire alarms in the reception hall..and my uncle Jerry got a spark in the eye and my neice/flower girl caught the hem of her dress on fire...yeah...sparklers, fabulous idea!
Here are our ushers and two of our 3 groomsmen proudly standing by their masterpiece..my car covered and stuffed with everything! The three ushers were Hubby's only boy cousins from Michigan, and these two groomsmen are Hubby's best friend/best man and his then roomate and our dear friend...The car was packed with balloons, streamers and confetti. They put confetti in the A/C ducts and it blew everywhere! It took me a solid year before I stopped finiding confetti in that car!

Happy on a Rainy Day

2009-07-30T14:33:00.002-05:00

I found this youtube video today while searching for something entirely different. With the weather being overcast and a bit gloomy today, I found it so uplifting. This is one of my current favorite songs to sing at church...I've been singing it to Miss Mia who only knows the "hards" (hearts) part.

Thus it goes something like this....
Me: "So listen to our hearts..."
Miss Mia: "la la la HARDS!" (and yes, she screams it because she is my child!) hehe

A Few of My Favorite Things...

2009-07-28T09:11:00.006-05:00

With yesterday's post being dedicated to the things that I don't like or do not do, I thought today would be a good day to name some of my favorite things to do and materially.

I'm trying to limit myself, because this could go on for a while.

1) I Love Friday night in our house. Knowing that we don't have to be up early the next morning and we can stay up late and watch TV, DVR compilations, movies or just sit in our big bed, listen to pandora & read books (or read to Miss Mia).

2) I have posted posted before of my love for all things Nigella Lawson. From her cooking show to bakeware, I find her fabulous. (And I want to look like her when I grow up!) I have been devouring her book How to Eat. I just adore it. I approach it like a text book with so many helpful hints and basic cooking 'how to's'.

3) I love more than words can say a well organized pantry. Having a slight case of OCD, I need all everything facing outwardly and in descending height. Knowing that I have extreme measures, I usually do all the putting away of all groceries. Hubby, however, has been under 'orientation' for general rules of this goes here, etc. (In his defense, most of the time, he is very good at putting things back the way I like them.)
4) I get many bottles of lotion free with coupons, but really only use the one that I can not find a coupon for. Thus, I give away in gift baskets the others. The one that I use the most and would love to give the world a free sample (it's just that good!) is Mediterranean Spa Olive Oil Lotion. This lotion covers like shea butter but it is not even the least bit greasy. The Olive Oil fragrance isn't overly fungent and I can still have a perfume on without the two competing. They also make soaps and body wash which are also supper amazing. The unfournate part is that it isn't sold everywhere. I buy mine at Bauble Bath Ltd. which is a fabulous store in Saugatuck, Michigan. The owner is a dear friend of Hubby's grandparents and he sends me the lotion!
5) I love, love, love traveling. One of the first coversations Hubby and I had when we started dating was about our love of traveling. Since we've been together we have traveled all over the world. My favorite place that we have ever visited is Bath England. I could do a blog dedicated to everything Bath. I absolutely adored the streets, the smells, the water, the architecture, the history..

"I Don't"

2009-07-27T10:17:00.004-05:00

Teresa, over at Grammy Girlfriend has a fabulous blog and today's blog is entitled "I Don't." She lists all the things in her life that she doesn't do. My sweet mother always told me that we are defined more by the things that we don't do rather than the things we do. (It was one of those no regrets, choose wisely, etc speeches that mothers make to their daughters before they graduate from high school.)

So, here is my "I Don't" List....enjoy...

1) I don't do humidity...neither does my hair. This is why I was born and raised in DRY West Texas! (also b/c Jesus knows I love and need hot salsa!)

2) I don't sleep with dirty dishes in the sink...such a pet peeve

3) I don't eat mushrooms...sorry...I can't do fungus..I try to explain this to Hubby but he can't understand. (Even our dog Bentley won't eat them, so there!)

4) I don't drink coffee or tea or Dr. Pepper. (The last two could get my Texas card revoked...and the first, I think I'm the only Ph.D student ever who is addicted.)

5) I don't leave the house for more than a day without giving it a deep cleaning. (This stems from my Grandmommie who once told me that I should keep the house clean in case I die. That way when family has to come over they won't think bad thoughts about what a horrible house I kept...I realize this is crazy...but yeah, family!)

6) I don't like to drive. Long before I would hire a house keeper, I would hire a chauffeur.

7) I don't like to sleep with no sound because my mind won't shut off. I have to have music or a movie going the entire night. Hubby has had to learn to deal being the deep sleeper of the two.

8) I don't like to shop without coupons. I feel so guilty buying anything, even if its only a dollar, without a coupon.

9) I don't go two days without a luxurious bubble bath. It is an essential element to keeping my sanity.

10) I don't trust birds. Silly phobia but I think they'll poke my eyes out. Miss Mia, however, is fearless and loves all birds/chickens..She is constantly running at the park after birds yelling "Chicken! Come here!"

Vanity Chair Before/After

2009-07-25T16:35:00.002-05:00

A few months ago my Grandmommie bestowed upon me her old vanity chair. She wanted something a little different for her newly renovated bathroom. I, having spent hours and hours as a child sitting in that chair, jumped at the chance to own it! Our master bathroom has a small vanity area built-in, and thus I really 'needed' the chair anyway.

The chair came to me with a bright gold frame and 60s white (fading) vinyl covering. Although it is almost 50 years old, being from my Grandmommie, it was still in very good shape. My bathroom, however, is not really in golds and white vinyls. I have had my eye on some beautiful fabric at Hobby Lobby for a while, but wanted to wait for it to go on sale. This week it did!

So today I made the new seat cover and spray-painted the body white. I LOVE the finished product. It looks like a completely different chair. Now Miss Mia can start sitting in the chair making her memories of the torture of getting her hair done..haha

Show Us Your Life= Wedding Dress

2009-07-24T12:39:00.005-05:00

Over at Kelly's Korner, its Show Us Your Life Friday, this edition is the wedding dress! I don't have too many of digital wedding photos, but here is a small sampling. I got my wedding dress the DAY after Hubby proposed! Now, this might seem a bit extreme, but we had a plan, you see. About a month prior, Hubby (then fiance) and I went to my favorite jeweler in Lubbock and I picked out my ring, etc. Then my mother called and told me that David's Bridal in Amarillo was have their $99 dress sale and that it would be so much fun to see if we could find one so cheap! I then told Hubby about said sale..with the oh so subtle hint that I would be the weirdy going to the sale without said ring. Little did I know that it was that very day the ring was ready and he picked it up!

A few days later, with help from my roomie, he set up the proposal. The very next day, Mom, Grandmommie and I headed to Amarillo for the big sale. I tried on about 50 dresses that day, and of course, knew the moment I put it on that it was the one. (I had a small quiver when I tried on one more, but when I saw the $24k price tag on it, I knew that I would go with my original choice!) My dress, of course was not the $99 that Mom and Dad had hoped for, but it was $500 cheaper than normal...I saw that as a good sign.

My sweet Grandmommie wanted to buy something for me that day too and she bought my veil which was had pearls throughout. It was then in the middle of the store, with my dress on that she offered to let me wear her pearl earrings and necklace that my beloved Grandad bought her on their 35th wedding anniversary! It was one of the many times that day that I cried!

The dress was perfect for me! Strapless, with pink and ivory bead work on the bodice, A-line skirt with Italian lace on the bottom..The dress matched my already picked out wedding colors and the already chosen brides maid dresses. It was just perfect.I so loved the train of the dress as well, espically after we chose the site for the wedding, and I knew it would cascade down the sweet steps.
With my gorgeous bridesmaids and flowergirl.

Tagged

2009-07-23T20:01:00.000-05:00

What is your current obsession? Etsy

What is your current favorite memory? Mia yelling “Chickens!!” at the top of her lungs at the seagulls at Lake Michigan

Starbucks or Peet's? Starbucks vanilla bean frapaccino (oh so yummy)

What's for dinner? Mini-burger sliders with corn salsa, and plums!

What would you eat for your last meal? Steak (pink all the way through!), Rosa’s chips and queso, italian cream cake, very large cherry coke…(its my last meal, who needs veggies?)

What's the last thing you bought? groceries at Homeland

What is your favorite ice-cream flavor? That’s like picking a favorite relative..but other than vanilla bean, I always go with mint chocolate chip

What do you think of the person who tagged you? I actually got tagged twice last week, but both ladies are so very dear to my heart as they have helped me acclamate to living in Oklahoma

What was your favorite toy growing up? My buddy doll

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Venice Italy…give me a gondola, some gelato..some breezy summer night in Venice…

Which language do you want to learn? I want to be fluent in Italian..not jut my broken/reader knowledge…but once I have concured Italian, I am moving on to French

What's your favorite quote (for now)? "If I had a nickel for every time I was wrong, I’d be broke!”- Stephen T. Colbert (I recite this to Hubby frequently!)

What is your favorite colour? Pink and robin’s egg blue (leaning blue these days)

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? Black cashmere sweater…I would wear it everyday…bring on the cool temperatures!!

What is your dream job? Being Martha-esc..dabbling in crafts, cooking, homekeeping, etc

What is your worst habit? Leaving the folded, clean laundry in the basket way too long

If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on? Good lamp for the master bedroom

Do you admire any one's style? I heart Kate Winslet with the fire of a thousand suns…I love Jen Garner’s style too

Describe your personal style? i am a jeans and tank top girl...when i dress up i usually stick with layers of black with good earrings and the most fabulous of purses!

What are you going to do after this? Frost the cake I made for Hubby!

What are your favorite movies? Movies that I can watch over and over, Love Actually, Meet Me in St. Louis, Pillow Talk, Becoming Jane, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

What is your favourite fruit? Plums

What inspires you? Traveling, photography, crafty people

Your favorite book? Pride & Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird

Do you collect something? Torquay, Quimper, McCoy..vintage tin boxes..cookbooks..oh so many thing

What are you most proud of? My amazing family and the life we have created

What do you like most about yourself? My organization (“I have won awards for my organization.”-Monica from Friends, also known as ME!)

What is your go-to nail polish color? DEEP reds…

Paula Deen vs. Martha Stewart

2009-07-23T12:42:00.008-05:00

Martha has an empire that I am not sure will ever be duplicated. (even by me..haha) She cooks, she cleans, she crafts, she sells, she does real estate...I truly believe there is nothing that she can't do. I love her b/c she loves everything. I feel like I can understand her b/c she is always interested in something new. I too am always finding a new obsession!

Then there is Miss Paula Deen, who should really be renamed MY MOTHER! I remember the first time that I saw her on her cooking show. I shouted at Hubby (who was then merely 'Boyfriend!') "That woman is my mother!" She has a ridiculous southern drawl, big hair, sweet smile, and cooks with butter y'all! My mother to a T!

(Little side note, the first time Hubby met my mother, she cooked for our whole family and the 12 friends I brought home with me to see their first 6-man football game. Most mothers might make a dessert or some appetizers, not my Momma! She had a full Thanksgiving type spread with a ham, cake, multiple pies...oh the food! My friend Mara still says she full from that meal 9 years later! Hubby said that after meeting my mother, he fell a little more in love with ME! haha)

But back to my original story..Paula vs. Martha. How do you choose? Martha is definetley more formal and Paula is obviously more Southern. Paula's dishes and new accessories are casual, while Martha's are simple chic.

Here are some of Paula Deen's chicken measuring cups. These are so my mother. So much, in fact, that I actually bought these for her! (My parents house is a chicken coop...chickens, chickens everywhere! One of Miss Mia's first words was chicken. In fact, she thinks that all birds are chickens!)
Classic Martha cake stand. Whenever I see cake stands like this, I think Martha. They are simple, classic, they never go out of style...just like Martha!

As for recipes, I have never had a single problem with either ladies' recipe. From main courses to desserts, all have been delicious and well recieved by my taste testers!

Here is one of my favorite Paula recipes (if you've never tried this...you will so thank me later):

Baked French Toast Casserole
Ingredients:

dash salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon sugar
1 cup milk
8 large eggs
2 cup half-and-half
Butter, for pan
1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Raspberry Syrup, recipe follows

Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2-teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Inactive Cook Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Yield: 6-8 servings

Here is one of my favorite Martha recipes (this one is so great b/c you can freeze these and they will save forever!):

Martha's Mini Meatballs

Ingredients

Makes 40

1 pound lean ground beef
2 slices bacon (2 ounces), finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon plain dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

In a large bowl, combine beef, bacon, parsley, garlic, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, egg, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Shape mixture into 40 meatballs. (For equal-size meatballs, scoop out meat mixture with a teaspoon, using two scoops for each meatball. Then roll between your palms to shape into balls.)
Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet or on two large plates. Freeze 1 hour. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container or resealable plastic bag; label and date.
To use the meatballs straight from the freezer, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

All in All, I can't decide who I love more...and luckily I don't have to!

Deals at Homeland!

2009-07-23T10:21:00.002-05:00

This morning, while Miss Mia was off at Mother's Day Out, I ventured to the local grocery store for the first time in weeks...I came back with sacks full of good food....

I bought:
Earth Land Bread
Pepperoni
Budding Turkey Luncheon Meat
2 lbs of bananas
2 lbs of red plums
Baked Lays
Mission Tortilla Chips
Generic Vanilla Wafers
Generic Wheat Thins
Romaine Lettuce
Generic Mustard
2 boxes of Tyson Chicken Nuggets
Fiber One Pancake Mix
Lg. Package of Borden 2% single-slice cheese
3 packages Shredded Mozzarella
1 package Shredded Colby/Jack Mix
3 liter of Minute Made lemonade
Not Seen:
3 Lb bag of chicken
2 lb rotisserie lemon-peppered chicken
6lb beef brisket
3lb of center-cut pork chops

Grand total...$5! The young cashier checking me out was sort of flabbergasted when I was all done. He told me that he was going to tell his mom about me. I gave him my card with my e-mail and told him to have her e-mail me. I'm due for another coupon class soon anyway! = )

A Look Inside 3....

2009-07-22T16:32:00.005-05:00

Hubby's Grandma R. is the craftiest person I know...and I don't just mean her personality! = ) She is a beyond amazing seamstress and the quilt maker for the entire clan. The very first time I met her was 3 days after Hubby proposed and drove me to Michigan to meet all of his family. She asked what I would want for a wedding present, I told her I wanted a wedding-ring quilt. Although she had been making quilts for many years, she had never attempted the wedding-ring design. Ours was her first...and it turned out beautifully!
I keep this quilt in my cedar Hope's chest that my parents gave me during the winter months, and pull it out for the summer. The light yellows and pinks (the colors of our wedding) remind me of summer and that very beautiful day in the rose garden!
So this is our summer bedding...patches of summery hues all stitched by Grandma R. (A fun side note, less than a year after our June wedding, that December in fact, she made me another King size quilt for Christmas. That year all the women in the family received Christmas quilts. Being Church of Christ, and since we don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, she made mine the colors of our Italian decor--deep purples, greens, browns and golds. It too is gorgeous and stays displayed on our quilt rack or guest bed all year round!)
One of my favorite touches..in the corner she embroidered our names and the year of our wedding...
The most special touch of all, however, is her signature E.R. in the corner of everything she does...Even Mia's fleece baby blanket has it too! Oh, how I adore Hubby's Grandma R.!

A Look Inside 2....

2009-07-22T13:17:00.006-05:00

I have not been so good with the promised "look inside" the house. This past weekend, however, we redecorated a few rooms and I felt it was the perfect time to post on it. I love our new house more than any place we have ever lived. The only problem, though, is that due to being a rental, we can't paint anything. That makes decorating much more difficult. So we started with the kitchen. We spend most of our time in the kitchen. Even when company comes over, we hang out in the kitchen.

I had a few problems with our kitchen, however, because I felt it lacked color and character. We also have a bit of storage issue, as I have a miniature Williams & Sonoma in my house! So we needed some storage, place to put some of my more decorative items and something that would add color to the kitchen. I thought this book shelf might be a good idea for the kitchen. With too many cookbooks to store, I have to pick and choose once or twice a year which books to keep out. We had this bookshelf in our office, but it didn't work all that well. I also loved the idea of the cabinet doors that would hide my standing mixer, toaster and other appliances! I can't believe it worked!
A bit of a closer look at the knicknacks on the shelf...a few of our favorite Torquay pieces and my beloved McCoys. Also, two of my must-haves in the kitchen, my Le Cruset pot (makes the best soup ever!) and my pasta roller. (makes all my noodles the perfect thickness!)
Here's what the doors hide...our toaster, standing mixer (with ice cream maker attachment), sno cone machine, blender, stock pot, and so much more. I love not having to see it anymore. Just shut the door and have instant organization!
Here is a peak at the top of the cabinets. I store some of the more colorful and bigger pieces that we can't store on the top. Oh how I wish we could repaint these! I am not a honey-oak cabinet kind of girl...but we do what we have to! Looking up at the old tins (which used to be my Grandmommie's cookie jars) they make me smile and think of my sweet family!

Oh to play in Martha's prop room..

2009-07-17T15:11:00.006-05:00

Martha, how I love you...let me count the ways...

My love of all things Martha truly knows no bounds. After seeing these pictures, I think my love has grown as big as her prop room! Oh, to be able to run around in this room unsupervised for a few hours...I think I could decorate and entertain for years on end!

Wouldn't you just love to peruse? According to Martha: The people who work in this department are called "prop librarians" and they know exactly where everything is located. And just like a good library, every single object in this room is labeled with a description, the size, the quantity, and a bar code. Each piece has been logged into a computer and must be checked out when it is borrowed.See, she has everything...as is super organized! Ahh..amore! I tried to do something not nearly as fantastic for all of our storage bins currently residing in a barn at my parent's..I like Martha's method so much better. I think I will bring it up to Hubby..
One of my weaknesses are pedestals. I have way too many of them and even more in storage. Someday I figure I'll have the room for a big hutch or a large kitchen to display my favorite finds!
I do not want to be the person who has to polish all of this! But it is just so gorgeous! If you want to see what else Martha has to say on her prop room or even more pictures, you can check out her blog and the pictures here.

Grateful Friday

2009-07-17T14:29:00.003-05:00

This week has flown by! With so many things going on, it was hard to limit all the things that I am grateful for this week.

-So grateful that the weather has cooled off! (Temperatures have dropped from 109 to a 'cool' 90!)

-Wonderful meals with friends! Its becoming a weekly tradition.

-Miss Mia's hair being long enough to put in pig tails! My heart runneth over!

-Grateful to be running and jogging again! A girlfriend and I are training for a 5k in a few weeks!

-Grateful that my stomach is healing! Doctors said I am down to 2 ulcers and only 20-25% damage! That means no surgery..and that the medicine is working!

-Miss Mia getting to go to the theater with her Mommy and watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (She LOVED it! She kept saying, Ron "Weezie".)

-Eating yummy fried squash! Oh how I love fresh summer produce!

Dreaming....

2009-07-14T10:12:00.002-05:00

With all of these 100+ days, I have been dreaming of this! I'd settle for our own pool too! With Hubby being a Landscape Architect, I asked him last night, "Could you design this for our backyard?" He replied, he could design this all day...its the ocean view and paying for it that poses the problem. Apparently there is not a coupon for amazing outdoor bathtub!

Heat Wave!!

2009-07-13T18:33:00.005-05:00

It has been a heat wave here in Oklahoma! Temperatures were well past 102 today! Yuck! Plus, its humid. When we woke up at 8 this morning, and the temperature was already 88, I knew we had to take drastic measures. So I put up Miss Mia's hair in her first bun!
It was so precious! It was quite lucky that we did put the hair up b/c when I took her to Mother's Day Out, the main toddler rooms were without air conditioning..so the teachers were scrambling to find cool places for the kids to play.
So she left for school with her cool hair up, and a cute (and airy) outfit...then we came home, after melting all day..
She has been playing "potty" with her dolly Helga. Apparently Helga is also potty training. She told Helga today to go "poo-poo." She converted the doll case into a double bed for her other doll and teddy bear. I think this shows great intuition and imagination on her part!
....like I was saying, she has imagination. Yes, that's the potty seat on her head as a hat! Oh, and remember the cute outfit and up-hair do? Once we got home, she stripped down and pulled her hair bow out...I don't blame the kid...it is too hot to worry about such things!

Michigan Vacation Part 3...

2009-07-08T09:37:00.010-05:00

For the last few days of our Michigan vacation, we went back to Holland. We basked in the quite of staying in a house with only one small child! Mia was quite excited to get back to the K's house too. On Friday we spent the afternoon downtown shopping. I was so good and didn't buy a single thing! Mia, however, raked in the presents. We went to an upscale kids boutique called Twinkle Toes. Oh, I could live in that store. I got so many good ideas for things to try and create.
That night the girls went to Cousin K. Ann's wedding shower. Hubby and Grandpa K had a boys night out..they enjoyed some alone boy time. The shower was really sweet and the couple got some great presents. Miss Mia, however, stole the show. She's not used to going to parties where the presents weren't for her. This took some time to get over. Then as the party was winding down, she spotted the hostess's grand piano.

The hostess teaches piano lessons, taught all of Hubby's cousins and his mother how to play! She also leads the childrens singing ministry, the Spiritual Sprouts, at their church. Mia never pounded on the piano..she was very meticulous with her hand movements and her timing.

The hostess played a duet with Mia..Mia played the high notes..precious..it made me and Grandma K. tear up.

The following day was the 4th! We started the day in the wonderful town of Saguatuck. Its a fancy artsy town in West Michigan. Their were many art shows going on. It was fabulous. Before we ate our picnic lunch, we took Miss Mia to an old soda fountain shop and let her get a snack.

Doesn't she look thrilled by the events? She had her snack, then we met up with the rest of Hubby's family for a picnic. After our yummy chicken lunch, we went back to Holland and headed to the beach! I had been waiting the entire trip to put Mia's little feet in the tide.
I got my wish! Is that not the most pinchable set of legs ever?
I love this belly shot picture!
Mia is a water baby..always has been. Even with the major waves crashing on her, she loved the water and refused to get out.
Post wave, she was still happy! She kept wanting to scoot further into the water. Finally, however, we had to get her out of the water.
Mean Mommy made her get out of the water and put on her jacket. I'm not sure she's forgiven me yet!

After the beach, Miss Mia took a few hours nap! Hubby stepped on a fish bone at the beach and it got stuck in his big toe. We had to take him to the Urgent Care. There they numbed his entire foot and thought they were going to have to operate. Luckily, they got the fish bone out and put a large bandage on his foot. The bandage made the 14 hour drive home a lot of fun. Hubby does all the driving b/c he's a bad passenger. The bandage, however, hurt when he drove, so I drove about 500 of the 943 mile trip!

We got home exhausted, but to a spotless house. I threw in the laundry and put Mia and Hubby to bed..Then I unpacked the vehicle and slept for 11 hours!

Michigan Vacation Part 2...

2009-07-07T08:57:00.007-05:00

On the 3rd day of our vacation, we left Holland the Grandparents K. and went to Big Rapids and out to Grandma R's cottage on Pretty Lake. Grandma R's cottage was built by Grandpa R. and Hubby's dad in the 70's. It's filled with cute memories and has Grandpa R's touches everywhere. While the weather had been great in Holland, the winter somehow found us at Pretty Lake. Temperatures were in the 60s and it rained every single day we were there. (Which made all the kids staying there, very claustrophobic.) Mia got to meet aunts, uncles, and second cousins for the first time. She also got to see Grandma R for the second time. (She met her the first time when she was one month old...Mia has obviously grown and become much more vocal!)
Whenever I think of Grandma R, I think of smells...smells of baking pies, casseroles and other northern delicacies. She did not disappoint. As you can tell from the above picture, Miss Mia got to try new and exiting things as well. She is drinking all of Hubby's Squirt..a drink from his youth that we can't get in Oklahoma..
The best part for me in our time at rainy Pretty Lake was getting to see Aunt Violet again. I adore her! (Obviously, I named Mia after her.) I wanted a picture of Mia with her namesake. This picture was taken after nap time...check out Mia cutting eyes at Aunt Violet. Later she warmed up and even let Aunt Violet have a few blocks.
With all the rain the kids were stuck inside for 3 solid days, even the big kids. We watched many of Mia's movies, the other cousins got addicted to the Backyardigans. Hubby built this pastel Lego house, complete with tree, car, and a guarding Dinosaur pet for Mia to play with. He was so proud of his creation that he made me take a picture of it.
On our last night in Pretty Lake, after raining all day, it stopped for 2.5 hours from 8:30 to 10 pm. Mia had gone down for the night and so Hubby begged me to go fishing with him. It had been all he wanted to do the entire time we were there. So we took the 2-person kayak out and paddled into the water. I barely had my hook in the water before I was reeling in fish. Most were very small, but then I caught this guy! He was 3 lbs and 13 inches and a bass. I am NOT a fisherwoman. I usually sit on the banks and read or go for a walk b/c I'm not quite enough. Poor hubby didn't catch anything, or even get a bite. He says, however, that watching me get all the bites and the biggest fish he's ever seen come out of Pretty Lake to be very exciting. Grandma R was also impressed with my catch. Hubby cleaned it up and grilled it the next day. He says it was fantastic!

Michigan Vacation Part 1...

2009-07-06T12:58:00.008-05:00

Over 30 hours of driving...hundreds of Backyardigans episodes..
We left Oklahoma at 4 a.m!! And arrived in Holland, Michigan at 7:30 pm (local time). Miss Mia did so great on the ride up. She watched (as you can tell from her lounging in the picture) many videos, especially her beloved Backyardigans. She colored a few pictures, sang many songs, and kept a keen eye out for birds and cows. The shocker was that in the 13 hour trip, she only slept 1.5 hours!! (And yet she was really good.)

We arrived a Hubby's maternal grandparents first..where Miss Mia was showered with affection and gifts. (They had not seen her since she was 6 months old...things had changed!)
Mia with the great-grandparents from their first visit to see her in March. (Our little bald baby..)

At Great-Grandparents house...reading a bedtime story..

The great-grandparents have been shopping around for new toys for Mia's arrival and even re-finished some old finds. The picture of Mia in the high chair is the refinished chair that belonged to her great-grandma. The chair is still in fabulous condition, complete with original metal tray. (Not bad looking for being 75 years old!)

The weather was to die for! We escaped the 100+ temperatures for nice and cool 70 degree days. On our second night in Holland, we took Mia to see the lighthouse (Big Red) and we walked out on the pier.

Grateful Friday

2009-06-26T12:27:00.003-05:00

What a week this has been with all the preparations for vacation. I cannot wait to hit Lake Michigan and temperatures below 102! I am looking forward to learning new cooking techniques from Grandma R. and going on shopping adventures with Grandma K. I love, love, love Hubby's grandmothers. They could not be more different but are oh so special. We are also going to swing by Lansing so that Miss Mia can meet her name sake, (Well, her middle name's sake) in Hubby's Great-Aunt Violet.

Here is one of the pictures of Lake Michigan a few steps from the K's cottage in Whitehall! I can't wait to get back!

So on this Friday, hours before we leave for vacation, here is what I am grateful for:

-Air conditioning! With temperatures averaging 100 this week, praise Jesus for the cool air in my house!

-The time and funds to actually go on vacation. This is Miss Mia's first family vacation, & mine and Hubby's first vacation in three years. (Last vacation was to England in March of 2006!)

-Great friends and a fantastic fish fry! We had the opportunity to go out to our friends' farm and had a big fish fry with a lot of good company. The food was so fantastic, the kids played in the grass...ahh summer!

-So grateful that puppy let me give him a haircut. For those of you who have actually met Bentley, the kamikaze schnauzer, you know what a feat this is!

-I am ever so grateful for my little girl. She's everything we always wanted and I thank the Lord everyday for the new surprises she gives us that she is healthy. This past week, while perusing the Belle & Boo website (oh how I love her site!) I came across the Superprincess Ava illustrations. A story accompanied the drawings that told of a young girl, Ava, who had passed away unexpectedly. Her mother and Mandy of Belle & Boo had gotten together to commission the drawings. Ava's mother, Sheye is a photographer and has a beautiful blog. You can find Sheye's blog here. I recommend reading her blog, especially to any mother. I have cried so many times reading her daily life after losing her young child, but can't seem to stop reading. I have held Miss Mia tighter all week, took more pictures, and according to Hubby been so sappy! = )

My Water Baby

2009-06-25T22:27:00.005-05:00

My beautiful girl's fun day outside with her water table had to be posted. Plus with vacation, I wanted to be sure to get these posted while I'm overly sentimental!
It's amazing how a small sand and water table, a diaper, a little shovel, and a little plastic fish equal a fantastic evening. She played for over an hour almost completely by herself. She did, however, like a good sister, offer the puppy a refreshing drink from her water table. He gladly took her up on the offer! It's been a little hot in Norman these last few days.

Oh, she is just so precious sometimes that I don't know what to do with myself!
When I found out we were having a girl, I was fairly sure I'd have a brown-eyed, brunette girl. I got something even better in that she has Hubby's Beauty Full blue eyes, both of our brown hair, but Hubby's curls. Hubby's family, particularly the men, all have very thick and very curly hair. I never even envisioned just how cute and curly her hair could be. The curls are one of my favorite things about our little Mia Bugs..
We have officially learned to say "cheese" when the camera is produced. She usually stops whatever she's doing to say cheese, so many times I have to sneak up to get a cute, "original" shot. This shot, however, was too cute to pass up.
Moments later, I luckily caught this shot of Miss Mia splashing herself with water and enjoying it so! She got to play in the water even more later when we took her in for her bath. She played in the tub with her duckies for over half an ...Lots of water for the water baby. I can't wait to see her eyes when she sees Lake Michigan!

Crazy Chicken...

2009-06-25T14:38:00.007-05:00

I have been running around this week like a crazy chicken with no head. I have lists upon lists of what needs to get done this week but it feels like I'm making little progress. We leave tomorrow evening for vacation to Michigan. I am so excited to see Hubby's family and for many of them to FINALLY get to meet Miss Mia. We were gone last weekend to Texas to see my family and friends and now are turning around and leaving for 9 days! That is a lot of packing, planning, list making, cleaning, and laundry for this Mommy.
So here is the early attempts at packing early. I would like to note that MY bag is the big maroon one. Miss Mia's bag is the red one. The one with the flower is our our play bag with fun items for the trip (books, magna doodle, toys, etc)..the rest are Hubby's! That's right..those other 3 bags, (not to mention he has a fourth in the bathroom) are all his bags. I better not here anymore how I over pack! = )

Today after finishing up packing Miss Mia, I finally finished her new blanket. I made it two sided for her in her favorite color of pink. (or ping as she calls it!) Its super duper soft..I put two battings inside.
One of the other highlights of the trip is that I actually get to go to one of Hubby's cousin's wedding showers. Being 13 hours away, we rarely get to share these memories, and with her wedding coming on one of my Comps days in October, we sadly won't even get to go. Luckily, however, I will get to go to the wedding, so I've been putting together a special present for her. I got a few things off her registry (pizza pan, colander and glass oil bottle) and then filled the rest with fabulous Italian accessories to help make yummy Italian cusine and the best pizza crust!
In this envelope, I added several recipes, including my pizza crust, chicken soup, peanut butter cookies, and some great Southern and Texas recipes. With the couple being from Michigan they've always marveled at our spicy cuisine. I hope they love the gift and make many of the fabulous recipes!
Hubby has also been quite crafty for Miss Mia. He made her these two water tables and sand tables. She loves them so dearly. They are a perfect height, and have lids that actually snap shut!

Next time she plays out in them, I'll have to take her picture. The puppy also loves these tables height as he can drink from the water table when no one is looking. = )

Feeling Crafty

2009-06-18T12:51:00.004-05:00

I have been feeling rather crafty. Sewing in my office has become the therapy I need to create something, anything really, that has nothing to do with studying for COMPS or dealing with ulcers. I have been finding so many cute ideas to make easy stuff for babies, and of course Miss Mia needs them all! Pillow monster is still a hit. Helga the doll sleeps with the Pillow Monster next to Mia every night.

Here are a few more things I have whipped up in the last few days. This is a place mat diaper-bag-to-go. This is my second one and I just loved this placemat. I bought all that my Target. (So going to the next girl I know who has a girl!) I got the idea from Unnecessary Necessities and the tutorial can be found here. The only thing I did differently was add velcro to keep mine shut. I have so much stick-on or sew on velcro and felt that kept the bag closed better. I use the one I made for Miss Mia as an insert to her diaper bag as well as by itself when are just running to the store. It easily holds a few diapers and wipes along with my wallet. When Miss Mia outgrows it, I'll probably use it for a tolietree case.

I have also been wanting to try my hand at covering a baby wipe case. One of my friends asked if I would try and make her one to go along with the small diaper bag I made. I had left over fabric from making the bag. The case was really easy. I googled "how to make a baby wipe case" and many tutorials came up. All it really takes is hot glue gun, fabric, wipes case, and some trim. I did the case in way less than an hour. Yet another easy and frugal gift to give your friend or to jazz up your own diaper bag!

A Day in the Life..

2009-06-16T16:52:00.004-05:00

I found this print today and it was absolutely a perfect portrayal of my day. I have ironed, done the dishes (more sippy cups than dishes), put laundry out on the line, hand-sewn a project for Mia, cleaned the bathroom, and swiffered the floor! Just a day in the life. If only the print showed the housewife studying for COMPs, then it would have been my entire day!

Here is the "pillow monster" that I finished for Miss Mia today. The monster was not supposed to be a pillow, but Mia kept putting her favorite doll Helga on it to go "night night." So the monster became a pillow with eyes and a crooked smile. Of course, that is how all truly great creations begin! Pillow monster has yet to be named...but for now he's just pillow monster..and Helga's night night toy.

Grateful Friday

2009-06-12T14:56:00.004-05:00

This week I have had much to be grateful for, especially today. Today marks Hubby and my 5th Wedding Anniversary. Thus with such a busy week and today's anniversary my 'grateful Friday' is more of a 'Grateful 5 Years....'

-The opportunity to travel around the world and the country with my best friend
-Making truly amazing friends
-Welcoming the world's cutest kid ever!
-New adventures, hiking trips, camp outs
-Around the house projects that didn't always go well but were funny to witness
-Many tears from laughing too hard
- Thousands of movie's watched
-So grateful for 5 wonderful years...they have gone back so quickly!
Hubby & Me at Leeds Castle (Weekend home of Henry VIII) outside London

A Look Inside...

2009-06-08T13:09:00.007-05:00

Confession- I LOVE open windows. I love open houses, visiting friends houses, house tours, etc. I want to look in every cabinet, see how people decorate, open every box. I am so the friend that could possibly look in your bathroom cabinet when I visit your house. I won't read your prescriptions (b/c THAT would be too far, hehe). I really just want to see how you organize it. I'm a bit obsessed with organization.

So, since I love looking in others houses, I thought I'd do a little revealing of my home. I thought I'd start with my office desk. My desk is a bit multi-functional in that it is where I craft and study for my Comprehensive Exams (which are coming up in October...eek!)

So here is my desk area complete with new sewing machine that was my 5 year anniversary gift from hubby. I needed a lamp to read by and so I stole hubby's Texas Tech stained glass lamp that I bought him 6 years ago for his birthday! On the wall I have favorite photos, my summer study schedule, inspirational photos to spark creativity or calmness, and a Winston Churchill poster my hubby took for me off a bulletin board when we were students at Tech. (The poster is Churchill's famous quote, "Never, ever Give Up." He took it for me when I was working on my master's thesis. = )

A closer look at my inspiration wall. Things that provide me inspiration & motivation to go on. Picture of Mia & me at her first picnic, my favorite paint sample, an old postcard of London, and a picture of my niece & nephew.

I got this sign at Hobby Lobby for $2. I thought I needed the inspiration when I'm studying...as in "believe you will pass your exams."
New 10" Laptop that I really love, along with my Rosetta stone paperweight from the British Museum, an old sugar jar that I use to store misc buttons, and some of my current favorite books. My latest favorite is What Would Jackie Do? Love it!

Grateful Friday

2009-06-05T21:01:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite blogs is Artsy-Crafty Babe. She sews really adorable stuff for her etsy shop and on has "gratitude Fridays." I thought it was such a wonderful way to wrap up ones week and put it into perspective. Thus on my "Grateful Friday..."
I am grateful for:
-Some truly delicious summer moments alone with Mia this week clapping our hands, dancing to Backyardigans theme song, and falling on the floor and laughing (Oh if I can remember this moment forever!)
-Getting to eat non-clear food! Yay!
-Having a sweet hubby who gave me my anniversary present early so that I could craft while sick
-Getting my office finally organized
-Chatting with good girlfriends on the phone
-Reality TV to be there for me when I'm sick! (My TiVo was so considerate of me during my sickness and recorded all my shows plus new ones it thought I might like...they were all ready and waiting on me when I literally couldn't get out of bed.)
-Fabulous finds at Target (including $1.50 placemats that I converted into small on-the-go diaper or travel caddies for future gifts!)
Diaper case idea and how-to at Unnecessary Necessities

The Weekend

2009-06-01T09:41:00.005-05:00

What a last few days it has been. To start off with, on Wednesday I finally broke down and went to the doctor after 5 weeks of being sick. I had previously thought I had some horrid virus, but after 5 weeks, I knew it must be something else. So I went to the doctor here in Norman who diagnosed me with 3 ulcers but did not want to give me any medication. He asked, are you stressed? I told him, I am a Ph.D student, with an 18 month old, I am about to take a language proficiency exam, and my Comprehensive exams in October. If I fail them, I have to start all over...yes, I am stressed. So I call my parents, who recommend that I go to a stomach specialist back in Tx. Mom calls them and gets me an appointment for Friday morning. So I drop off Miss Mia, drive over 2.5 hours to Texas, see the specialist. He tells me that I do not have 3 ulcers...whew (I thought)...I have 5 with 60% stomach damage!! He says that I most definitely need some medicine. I also find out that my T-5 and T-6 vertebrae are out of whack. What vertebrae send the nerves to the stomach? 5&6! He asks me if I have had an acidic stomach for awhile. I tell him, almost my entire life! So he gives me medicine, I drive back to Oklahoma, pick up Miss Mia..and then crash.

Saturday, I woke up for the first day in weeks and was not sick! So hubby suggested we hit the lake, which we haven't been it since before Mia was born. When I was pregnant, we went to Lake Murray almost every weekend. I was 8 months pregnant and still kayaking! Mia has yet to be on the water, so we drove down and rented a canoe so we could all be together. Lake Murray is so beautiful, clear enough to see fish swimming below and to collect shells. It also has a great beach and place to swim.
Miss Mia LOVED the water! She was so good. She sat in the bottom of the canoe almost by herself and loved it. We paddled into a few coves, sat in the shade, and Mia put her feet or hands in the water. After canoeing and a small bite of lunch, we took Mia to the beach to play with her new shovel and buckets and swim. She loved it! She sat in the sand for over 2 hours and didn't say a word. She played and dug with me while hubby found beautiful rocks.
Miss Mia slept the entire way home, woke up for supper, and then went back to sleep until 8:30 the next morning! What a weekend!

Introducing Dakota

2009-05-26T09:39:00.002-05:00

My sweet West Texas parents wanted us to name our first child, whether boy or girl Dakota...b/c they're my sweet West Texas parents. When I told them I wouldn't honor those wishes, they've been finding all sorts of ways to put a Dakota in the family. My dad is really good at wood working, and I've been bugging him to make Miss Mia something special. He came up with her a rocking horse...this ridiculously cute rocking horse..named, of course, Dakota! Dakota is a little big for Miss Mia to climb onto by herself, but she loves putting her babies on and making them go "weee!"

Good Deals This Week

2009-05-19T11:36:00.003-05:00

Hit Homeland this morning with Miss Mia to get a few good deals. I got the above for less than a quarter!
Here's how I did it:
Suave Shampoo & Conditioner: On Sale for $1 each, used $1 off 2 coupon (doubled to $2=Free for both)
Jell-O Sugar Free Gelatin: On Sale for 70 cents each, used $1 off 3 coupon (doubled to $2= 10 cents for all 3)
Kotex: On Sale for 2.50 each, used 3 $1 off coupons (doubled to $2= 1.50 for all 3)
Kraft BBQ Sauce: On Sale for $1, used $1 off coupon (doubled to $2= $1 overage)

1.60 total
-1.00 overage
-.45 cents for bringing own shopping bags

=.15 cents for the entire shopping spree!

Feeling Crafty

2009-05-15T12:08:00.003-05:00

Now that my papers are turned in, and all I have left is grading, I've been feeling crafty. I have been anxious to try to make Miss Mia some hair clips. So I went on ebay and got a huge stash of metal clasps for $3! Now I'm using up fabric, checking out other designs I want to put on them, and going through my craft boxes for felt and other materials to add to the buttons. Miss Mia loves them. She's been putting them in her baby dolls hair. Evidently, to an 18 month old the clips are "pretty girls!" You think she's heard this before?

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-09T21:19:00.004-05:00

In November of 2007 Miss Mia was born as was a mother. This year marks my second Mother's Day. In ways I still can't believe she is here. Yet I can barely remember life without here. These are two of my favorite pictures of Miss Mia. The first is from our first photo shoot together. The shot was actually not staged, she just reached up for my hand and the photographer grabbed it! The second picture is during Christmas vacation and my hubby took the picture of the two of us napping.

In honor of Mother's Day, I began to think of what are the best aspects of being of Mom:
1) I can buy really cute clothes without feeling guilty b/c they aren't for me!
2) I get to sing the Hokey Pokey, read Dr. Suess, finger paint, write with side walk chalk and am found awesome and hilarious in my daughter's eyes.
3) I gaze upon one of God's most beautiful creations everyday when I look at my little girl!
4) At this stage in life, Mommy can do no wrong, unless M&Ms are denied!
5) I appreciate and adore my own mother so much more given that we now have something so amazing in common!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mother's...and a Special Happy Mother's Day to my Mom & Miss Mia's Nana!! We Love You!

Belle & Boo

2009-05-08T14:13:00.004-05:00

I have found a new love, Belle & Boo. I first came across their illustrations whilst browsing on Etsy. The illustrators are from London and have so many beautiful pictures. I absolutely love all of their work and am planning on purchasing some of the prints/cards for Miss Mia's room.

On their blog, they have a free print to download. I am planning on printing it out later today! I love free stuff! Go here to get the free download and other free illustrations as well!

Baking!

2009-04-28T10:08:00.004-05:00

Growing up my mother was the town's best baker. Although I grew up in a town of less than 200, that did not make her prize less earned. Whenever bake sales came around, or concession stands, people would call our house early to find out what Mom was baking. Her love of baking carried over to her daughter, who truly believes in the art of baking from scratch. Upon going to college, I was mortified and flabbergasted to realize that most mom's didn't make a 3 layer cake from scratch weekly. She is one of the reasons that I have such a fascination with 50s housewives. (Even though my mother always had a job.)

This past weekend part of my work load ended. I was the president of our history honor's society, and this weekend we had our annual banquet. Very fancy, good food, lots of awards and speeches. I got home Saturday night from the banquet, and needed to unwind. I turned, as would my mother, to baking. (Plus, I had to bake the birthday cake for our church's 4th Sunday luncheon.)

I turned to my "old reliable" cake recipe. Whenever in the past I wanted to impress others

with a good cake or needed to win brownie points with hubby, I have always made a chocolate-peanut butter cake that I learned to make at a Taste of Home Cooking School. Since entering graduate school, I have found that baking and cleaning are fabulous stress relievers. Its a fabulous disorder to have when you can't sleep and thus feel the need to fold laundry or wash dishes.

The cake turned out great, not a crumb left. (Much to dismay of hubby who really wanted another slice after church.) I did, however, cheat a tiny bit on the training/eating healthy and split a slice with hubby and Miss Mia. The cake, however, was well worth the extra workout time!!

Neglected Blog

2009-04-23T21:03:00.004-05:00

Oh my poor neglected blog..April is always such a killer. Although I have still not found a camera, thanks to my laptop's cruel decision to die in the midst of my semester; I, being a history Ph.D student, had to invest in the computer and not the camera. So now I am saving once more for a new camera. I guess in the long run, this gives me more time to look through all the consumer reviews. I promise to return to this blog soon and post fabulous new tips, craft projects, and most importantly frugal finds as soon as this month has left me behind. (and most likely in the fetal position!)
But in case you're wondering, here is what the last two weeks have been like:
-Major wildfires in the small towns around Norman (Being in charge of all outreach for our small church, I organized 2 caravans of cars/trucks/UHauls to take everything we could get our hands on to the fire vicitms.)
-2 Major papers due. One on the British Monarchy and the other on the a prolific America West historian's bio/historiography
-1 very big Awards Banquet that must be planned, programs created, contracts signed..and a speech prepared (as I am the President)
-1 Language Proficency Exam looming over my head...studying fervently..must pass before I can take my Comprehensive Exams in the Fall
-4 church cleanings...this was our month to clean the church all month, prepare communion, and bake the birthday cake for the fourth Sunday luncheon
-10 billion loads of laundry (I think we must all be going through 7 outfits a day..or maybe the dog is wearing some around--the dirty clothes are breeding!)

But I promise to return soon..with pictures, better tips, and so much less stress!

Night on a Train

2009-04-06T17:11:00.003-05:00

Confession: Hubby and I have never been away from our 16 month old daughter at the same time for an entire night. That was until this weekend.

I had a paper accepted to present at a history conference in Texas. It just happened to be in Lubbock this year and thus I scored free babysitters in my parents who were more than excited to keep Mia all by themselves. (And thus away from my eyes as they give her endless supply of candy!) Hubby had one more day of vacation to use before June and really wanted to go.

I get my conferences paid for due to my fellowship here at the history department, and wanted to find somewhere fun for us to stay. My hubby is such a little nerd that he actually subscribes to train enthusiast magazines, and thus I decided that we would stay in a Lubbock B&B that offers a converted caboose car as a room.

It was so much fun! They did a really great job of the renovation. We had our own shower and bathroom along with a queen bed, air conditioning, and a small living/eatery area. Along with getting to stay in the caboose, we got to see our dear friends, old professors, and of course eat yummy Mexican food!

When we got to my parents house we found most things still intact and no major sugar rushes. She really enjoyed helping her Pawpaw gather the chicken eggs! Every bird we see is now a chicken.

Now that we're back, life is back to warp speed. I am currently looking for a new sewing machine and digital camera. Any suggestions? = )

Post-Spring Break

2009-03-24T08:20:00.005-05:00

Life has been quite busy in our small household. On top of everything my camera broke, and I am currently using an old one while I read reviews and check out the pricings for new ones. Miss Mia is walking everywhere and overnight went from being 16 months old to going on 16. She walks with her hands on her hips, talks with her finger, has learned the power of throwing herself on the floor in the most dramatic fashion, and loves the phrase "let me do it." (I say she gets this all from Hubby...but anyone who has ever met me, knows the truth!) = )

Of course the new attitude is only in part due to 7 straight days between 2 sets of grandparents. On top of the excessive spoiling, Miss had croup and had to be put on several antibiotics, steroids, and a breathing machine for a week. Luckily she recovered quickly and is back to having fun with her dog and world domination!

Oh the Love of a good Chocolate Snack Pack! (that mommy got for free with coupons)

Free Nike Shoes!

2009-03-03T15:03:00.004-06:00

My sweet hubby is a Coke Drinker. ( I feel this is like some kind of confession!) Along with my sweet hubby are my parents and grandparents. A few years ago, my husband began saving the codes off Coke b/c he wanted a Wii. He finally got his own Wii and was left with many points. So, knowing that his wife needed a new pair of shoes, he cashed in some of his points for a Nike giftcard. We both got $65 shoes and got free shipping. The shoes were totally free! My sweet mother sends us codes once a month from her work, home, and my grandparents.

It's really not a bad deal. If you are going to drink Coke anyway, why not get some freebies? We've also cashed out points for restaurant gift cards to use for ourselves, or give as gifts. Not a bad way to get some Free shoes!

Frugal Fitness

2009-02-28T09:21:00.003-06:00

My training is going really well. I'm working out muscles I forgot I had. A lady from church told me I should blog about frugal fitness because she didn't believe you could lose weight or eat right without spending more money. Here are some of my tips.

1) I don't pay for gym memberships or a personal trainer. (Now granted my girlfriend, who is training to be one, gave me a list of things I should do.)

2) I buy fitness DVDs at Used book stores or on Itunes for less than $2. I've bought several Biggest Loser DVDs that are usually $14 a piece, for less than $3 each. (You can also use fitness videos on Youtube!)

3) I use mytrainerbob.com to food journal and get fitness tips. The best part is, the site and complete access is totally free!

4) I don't like owning bulky fitness equipment. The only things I have are a few hand weights ranging from 5-10 pounds. Bought all of them at a 75% off sale at Tuesday Morning.

5) I buy most of our fruits and veggies frozen with coupons. Seasonal fruits we buy at our local farmer's markets. They sell in bulk and so much cheaper. We even have our favorites who we know make the hottest peppers, or sweetest peaches.

6) I do easy things on hard days. When I'm really stressed, the dog and I go out for runs. There is a kids park about a mile away. I put Mia in her little red wagon and haul her down to the park. She is really fond of my trips to the park.

7) Eating better, also means eating out way less--saving so much money!

Eating well and working out really doesn't have to cost a lot of money. The work is paying off. I'm over twenty pounds lighter, and down 2 pant sizes!

I Received the Lemonade Award

2009-02-28T09:14:00.001-06:00

I received the Lemonade Award from Frugal Patti. It is an award that celebrates good attitude and gratitude. I am so excited about my first award!! Thanks Patti! You should really check out her blog. She has really great frugal tips.

Frugal Tips

2009-02-06T12:19:00.004-06:00

Frugalness must go beyond coupons and grocery shopping. Whenever I give my coupon classes, I try to emphasize other frugal tips that can be employed to save money.

1) We only use cloth napkins. I love cloth napkins for several reasons. One, is that they add a cute flair to even the smallest meal. The other reason they are great, is that you save money not buying paper towels. Using the cloth is also quite eco-friendly. In the long run, it really doesn't add to the laundry load much more.

2) I always carry a big 32 oz. hiking water bottle with me. This makes sure that I don't get thirsty when I'm out shopping or at school. I can easily refill without having to buy soft drinks or bottled water. You can save a lot of money not buying a drink throughout the day!

3) I cook large amounts on my big cooking days and freeze the rest. Home-made frozen meals are great when neither of us feel like cooking, and thus save us money by not going out or ordering in food.

4) Whatever clothes or blankets that I don't donate to Goodwill or give away at church giveaways, I reuse and make into fun craft projects for Mia. A lot of old cloth becomes fabric dolls, a small purse, new baby blankets, etc. She actually places with the fabric dolls more than her others..

5) We use free Redbox codes to rent new DVDs, then make our own popcorn at home, and don't have to pay for a babysitter!

6) I make a lot of my own cleaning products. It's not hard, it's always organic, and I don't have to worry about what my family is breathing.

7) We save all of our spare change in a really large cider jug. At the end of each month, we use it to either do something fun, go out to eat, or maybe save it for a big treat. (We saved for months to get David a new TV--all from the spare change jar!)

8) I buy almost all of Mia's clothes at Orchard's M.O.M or Once Upon a Child. I am very picky, and only buy the clothes that still have the original tags on. OUAC also has store appreciation cards, and you get 15% back when you fill up your card. Such cute clothes for almost nothing.

Our busy world

2009-01-23T08:46:00.003-06:00

School has started up again, and with it my busy life resumes. I am back to teaching two classes during the week, taking two of my Ph.D seminars at night, running the food pantry, hosting a Bible studying once a week, and raising a walking/talking child. Her newest phrase is "That Mine!" Apparently everything belongs to Mia and we are to know about the new change in the rules.

I have also been feeling quite crafty lately. I've made Mia some really cute scarves that are "her size." Along with the scarves, I've made her some cloth dolls just like my grandmother used to make me. My grandmother always used her leftover fabric to make me dolls clothes or actual dolls. When my camera starts working again, I'll take a picture of my creations. Mia likes to chew on the dolls, apparently they are a good chewy texture.

On top of all of this, I have started training again. Once upon a time, in a far away land, I was something of an athlete. A good friend of mine is a personal trainer and she sweetly agreed to put me on a work out regiment to get me back and shape. So far, she's been killing me, and its been great.

Texas, Our Texas

2009-01-19T12:48:00.007-06:00

Both my hubby and I are Texans. For those who have never lived there, we, like most Texans we know, take our heritage seriously. Everything is bigger in Texas, everything is better in Texas, etc. Since we relocated to Oklahoma for my Ph.D work we have determined just how much we missed certain aspects of Texas. The number one missed thing, however, is GOOD Mexican food!

My sweet, sweet hubby surprised me on Friday with a quick weekend trip to Fort Worth before I start up at school again. So fantastic.

We stayed in a great hotel, complete with two rooms, great sofa, amazingly comfortable beds, and a 42" plasma TV. (You see why he picked the location now?)

But the best part, the hotel was really cheap! (under $90!) The other hidden bonus about the TV was that it was within walking distance to a fabulous Italian restaurant, Italianni's.

Once he told me we were going, I quickly began looking for coupons for fun things to do. In Allen, there is a great outlet mall. And if you have small kids, or really like animals, Fort Worth has one of the top five zoos in the country. Luckily I found great coupons for all kinds of activities in the metroplex, including the zoo!

The Zoo was so great. Mia loved all the animals and people watching. Her favorite part, however, was getting to go inside the bird sanctuary and feed them. I did not want to do in, as I have a slight fear of them pecking my eyes out! She was fearless! Put her hand out for them to land on her!! I'm very proud of her being a little daredevil.
After the zoo, I had to hit my favorite grocery store ever...HEB Central Market! After we purchased some yummy food, we then hit the outlet stores in Allen. I had gotten a Coach purse for X-mas, but needed to return it as I am very picky about my purses. Luckily the nice Coach people were so sweet and let me take it back. So I found one that I LOVED, and by taking the other one back, I only had to spend $30! I love thirty dollars for a Coach purse!!

Then we hit a few more stores & then headed back home. In the meantime, however, we went grabbed some Mexican food, and got extra salsa & tortillas to bring back to Oklahoma. Mia slept the entire three hours home! Such a wonderful trip!

Starting her young...

2009-01-10T09:09:00.003-06:00

We survived the holidays with only minor spoiling. Had many fantastic gatherings with friends and family. We are for the moment staying home for at least a week and getting back into our old routine.

As the above picture indicates, Mia got kitchen "goodies" for X-mas. Her big present was a play kitchen. Then family and friends added to it with aprons, chef's hat, stainless pots & pans, dishes, cups, play food, etc. It is all she plays with!

Since we've been gone most the break, I haven't done much shopping at all. I haven't been to CVS in at least 3 weeks! We've just been using our surplus or X-mas presents. I have so many new coupons to use that I got for X-mas, including lots of gift cards!

I've also been baking, a lot! Last week, we made Paula Deen's peanut butter cookies!

1 c. peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Roll into a ball the size of a walnut, and bake for 12 minutes in a 350 oven. You can use a fork and make a criss-cross pattern on the top before placing in the oven, or you can put a Hershey Kiss on it...Try the Kiss, it is divine!

I Am Alive

2008-12-02T15:07:00.004-06:00

So many of the blogs that I follow have recently posted, "I am alive" messages. The blogs seem to flow less frequently this time of year. I too am alive, but frantically busy. With Mia's birthday, Thanksgiving holiday, and now Christmas we've been frantic. This of course does not take into consideration hubby and baby both having severe sinus infections or that I am at the end of my semester and thus have extra grading on top of the 60+ pages of papers that I have to write for my own Ph.D classwork. I was very good and bought most of my gifts early, although one was stolen by a UPS worker. (An entirely different story, which luckily had a happy ending!)
I have done little shopping in the past few weeks. I bought diapers yesterday at CVS b/c I had some ECBs that were soon to expire. I needed the diapers for a diaper cake I'm making for a friend from church's twins baby shower! Thus, I need 2 diaper cakes. We don't have any diapers smaller than size 3 in the house anymore, and thus I had to purchase more. I only spent 2.15 (including donating $1 to St. Jude's) I will post the newest diaper cake creation when it is finished...

To hold over feverish fans, i.e, grandmothers and pseudo-grandmothers, and aunts who read this blog for couponing tips and/or pictures of Mia...here is a picture of our Little Red Raider to hold you over for a few days. (Or at least until I am able to hold my head up for a few minutes..)

**Notice the pirate flag that hubby made her to wave when Tech scored!**

Happy Birthday Mia!

2008-11-18T09:22:00.007-06:00

My 100th post is dedicated to our little Mia. This weekend Mia turned 1! She had a party at her MDO on Friday and then the party at our house on Saturday. Her party was barnyard themed. I happened to have a red and white checked table cloth. We decorated the table with one of our presents to her, which was a Little People barnyard set. In true frugal form, I conducted the entire party from home made invitations to the cake and refreshments for $15.

This was how I did it:
Cake Mix & Frostings- Free after coupons at our local Homeland grocery
Chips- Free after coupons at Homeland (bought 2 bags)
Queso- Already had ground beef and rotel stored, used coupons for cheese (came out to be a $1)
Salsa- Free after coupons at Homeland
Cupcake holders- ($1) --had no coupons
Cow Print balloons, red balloons, giant cow balloon, and 1st birthday cake hat (Used 40% off coupon on total purchase for Party Galaxy--mailer coupon)--total purchase $6
Card Stock, envelopes, felt- (40% off total purchase coupon for craft store- mailer coupon)- total purchase- $7

She was a bit overwhelmed by the mountains of gifts. Her favorites included the floppy dog that plays music, a spin & say, school bus, a musical caterpillar and a pink cell phone.

The cupcakes were a BIG hit!
After the party was over, she 'mooed' at us and the balloons for a while.

DIY Kitchen Gifts!

2008-11-06T09:27:00.005-06:00

Thanks to Like Merchant Ships for revealing this great list from Whole Foods on DIY Kitchen Gifts.

Wrap up your holiday shopping without leaving the house! Download festive gift tags for each recipe, complete with cooking and usage suggestions. These ideas are perfect for your "foodie" friends or those who love to cook or even merely enjoy a nice cup of coffee in the morning.

Some of the great ideas are:
Chili Oil
Herbes de Provence Salt
Vanilla Bean Sugar
Lavender Sugar
Maple Sugared Walnuts

**Note to my personal friends and family, please disregard this post once the holiday season arrives as you will find it as a stocking stuffer!**

My Schedule

2008-11-04T08:16:00.003-06:00

A good friend asked me a few days ago what my schedule is like. As an expecting mother she worries she won't have time for the things she held so dear pre-pregnancy. I thought for a long time if there are things in my life that have been cut out since Mia and could only think of a few and they were temporary given that she is an infant. My friend intends on being a stay-at-home mom which I find fantastic. My mother was a basically a SAHM when I was little and it was fantastic. I have such amazing memories of helping her around the house. I had always intended to take more time off when my kids came around. Mia joined us much earlier than we had expected. We were not planning on kids for a few more years (at least until I got through with my Ph.D). The Lord had other ideas for us and we're glad we got her sooner rather than later! Thus, we had to make a few adjustments to the "perfect" baby raising scenario that I had in my head. This is all a long way of answering my friend's original question about what does my schedule look like as a wife, mother, teacher and Ph.D student.

It looks a little like this:
-Everyday must be up by 6:15 if I am to get everyone ready and out the door by 7:15.
-Everyday must have Mia dropped off by 7:30 at her MDO
-MWF- I teach at 8:30-9:30 and then hold office hours for the following 1.5 hours
-TR- I attend a class from 10:30-noon, use all time before to grade, read for my own classes, or write my own papers
-MWF- After office hours, I hit the books again, go to any meetings I have to hold as our history honors society's president, and again read somewhere in the library
-TR- After noon, I prepare for my 6-10 pm class on T or my 2:30-4 class on R.
-Wed Night- Go home, make supper, and hit church by 7
-R Night- I run our church's food pantry. Always a mad dash to get out of class at 4, pick up Mia and get to the church by 4;30
Saturday-Read, do all housework that can be done weekly
Sunday- My day of rest, get up early, spot clean the house, church by 10, small group (which we host this year) around 12, then lunch with friends, followed by my collapse so that I can ready myself for the next week.

**Here is the major caveat in this schedule. I made a pact with myself, hubby, and Mia that when I get home after being all day at school, I am truly home. I don't read, write or grade. That is our time. Most of the time I don't bring books home with me b/c I want to insure that I don't pick them up or neglect the family.

This is not always the easiest schedule or not working at home sometimes makes me anxious but its the best we can do for our family and knowing that although I hadn't intended to work, someday I can tell my daughter that she truly can do anything. If her mother could raise her, hours from family help, whilst teaching and being the only female in her Ph.D class, then she can do anything too.

I am very interested in hearing others' schedules. I find it fascinating how women work everything in....it just proves we really do rule the world, we just let the men take the credit. = )

Target Toy Coupons!

2008-11-03T11:59:00.005-06:00

Make sure to head on over here and print out the Target toy catalog coupons for your holiday shopping. Coupons for various toys from Crayola, Leap Frog, and Play Wonder to Scooters, Hot Wheels, and Legos!

The coupons expire on 11-26-08.

Thanks to "Deal"icious Mom for the heads up on this great deal!