Well, Christmas came and went. It's always so bittersweet when I wake up on the 26th. Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely LOVE Christmas, and I start looking forward to it around October. On Christmas Eve, I just wish I could slow down the next two days and soak up the amazing time I have with my families. Josh often finds himself rolling his eyes at my child-like excitement when it comes to Christmas (which he refers to as "just another day"), but this year when I told everyone that I wanted to take turns and watch everyone open their presents (we've always done this at my house), at first he was like, "What!?" But I feel like too often we get so consumed with just ripping open our own presents that we don't get to really thank people for the nice gifts, and we don't even get to see other people open the gifts we give! I put a lot of thought into the gifts I give, and I really like to see others' faces when they open my presents, as well as see the goodies they recieved. And he agreed, I think he even said he liked this way better because it feels like we are able to eat and then leisurely open gifts and spend more time together before we have to leave. It may take a little longer, but you really get to spend time with family and not feel so rushed. I love it! <3
Friday night we went to Josh's mom's, Saturday morning we went to my parent's, Saturday night we went to Josh's dad's, and then Sunday we went to Josh's Grandma's. We'll be heading to Omaha to my grandparent's Jan. 8th so we have a little bit of a break. This year was a little more special because we had Kayden and it was her first Christmas! She obviously didn't fully undersand Christmas, but she did like pulling the wrapping paper off some of her presents. She got one of those fun door jumper things, so that was fun to play in as well!
We all had a really nice time. I got everything I asked for and then some! Josh and I always say we make out like bandits once all is said and done, and we are very blessed to have families that love us and are able to provide for us all the things we want. Josh's big gifts included a recumbent bike and he was really surprised and excited to unwrap the autographed Tesla poster I got for him. He really liked it. :) He also got a bucket from my mom with his name on it, so we couldn't help putting Kayden in it haha.
I recieved a new pair of Ugg boots, some nice scarves, Christmas movies (AH! Can't wait to watch them all next year!), a headboard, and some diamond earrings from Josh. So like I said, it was a great Christmas had by all!
We don't yet have any plans for NYE on Friday night...but I am very excited to see what 2011 has in store for us! Hope everyone has a great end to their 2010!
(The trees were so pretty :))
Sorry for such the stretch of time between posts. Seems like when I actually get a second to sit down the last thing I want to do is blog. With Christmas almost here (15 days left!) as well as getting ready to wrap up the first semester of school (can it be?!) things have been hectic. Not to mention throwing Scentsy into there - I've been busy! Scentsy has been great - made some extra money this month and already more for next month so that will be nice! It has been overwhelming, but great at the same time.
We went and got family pictures done a few weeks ago in Davenport with Josh's side so I'll post a few sneak peaks:
Baby K <3
Everyone:
I don't have many pictures to post, I should take a few pictures of the tree and our new stockings, so that might be my next post. With the family photos done I finally got my Christmas cards ordered so they should be sent out Monday for everyone - enjoy!
Nothing really new to post or going on. We were reminded this week to count all of our blessings with the tragic passing of a 17-year-old from the community. My heart hurts for his family, not to mention my brother who is upset, as well as all of his other friends. Tell everyone you love that you love them, everyday. So I've made a point to think of all the positive things in my life and say an extra little prayer at the end of each day.
I hope everyone has had a great Christmas season so far - now if only it would SNOW and give me a white Christmas, I'd be so happy! :)
WOW. Where does the time go? Looking back over the last post, it seems like that day was just yesterday, let alone almost a month ago. I've been pretty bad about updating, I know, but I'm here to catch up again (hopefully) and stay caught up. It's been a pretty busy month trying to catch up with the kids as well as keeping up with life. So...let's start from the beginning, about a month ago.
Andy and Laura came down for Halloween and we all went uptown Friday night. I wasn't going to dress up, but Andy came decked out as Bret Michaels, and Laura dressed up as Andy so I figured I might as well get in on the fun. I dressed up as Josh, so Laura and I went as the Meckley boys. Pretty creative, haha. I must say though...I feel like I'm a much prettier Josh than he is ;)
Kayden dressed up as a little strawberry, but trick-or-treat wasn't until Saturday night and Andy and Laura ended up going to see a movie so we stayed and greeted the trick-or-treaters by ourselves. We ended up going to see Paranormal Activity 2 that night - SCARY! I wasn't as freaked out as I was after seeing the first one, but it was still pretty scary!
Other than that we haven't really been up to much. My Scentsy business has really been fun and I've done a pretty good job so far selling it! I went to a few craft shows with Steph and that was nice, but my basket parties have been really great. I just recieved the order I closed with Lisa and she sold over $600.00 so I should have a nice commission next month to spend on Christmas prezzies. :) So I'm pretty excited about that!
Kayden is getting SO big! She rolled over a bit while we were there this last weekend getting some family photos (I'll post them as soon as the photographer gets them back to us!) so it was really neat to see her do that, but I guess she officially got all the way over just last night. She's a very happy/smiley baby, so that's always fun. Josh and I were reading to her the other day when we were there. His grandma had gotten her "Big Joe's Truck" as a present, and it was a book both Josh and Andy loved when they were babies, so Josh really seemed to enjoy it almost as much as she did :)
She's 4 months old this month!
So other than that, that's what we've been doing. I cannot believe as I'm typing this I only have to finish the rest of today and then a half day tomorrow (with my classes ending at lunch - the rest of the day is a movie day!) And then CHRISTMAS! I just hope it snows...even just enough to cover the ground for a White Christmas. <3 Hope everyone has a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
What a busy week it was! Everyday I thought about the blog challenge, but was so busy I didn't actually have time to update. I really don't even have time now, but I thought I'd post anyway - especially because I promised some pictures of the house. :)
Well this week coming up is conferences week, so I've been pretty busy trying to get everything graded and grades turned in for the quarter. It's a lot harder than it sounds, but it won't be so bad. I just have to make it through the 4-8 P.M. nights Tuesday and Thursday and then HELLO three day weekend! Not to mention November starts and then we'll be on the road to Christmas! CAN'T. WAIT.
On another note, I started selling Scentsy. (http://rachelkauer.scentsy.us <-- check it out and let me know if you'd like to order anything!) I absolutely love Scentsy, and Laura does such a great job, I knew she'd be a good sponsor. While I don't anticipate on making an extreme amount of cash (not enough to quit my day job anyway - HA), I am hoping to make a little side cash in time for Christmas, as well as just getting a ton of free Scentsy and having it around my house. I LOVE this stuff! So that's been pretty exciting for me so far! I also got all my orders in from my basket party this past week and it was like Christmas for me:
So I know I'll just love selling it. Can't wait to get my starter kit and get started! Andy, Laura, and Baby K are coming down this weekend - I'm super excited because A) I feel like I haven't seen Baby K in forever B) I think we may all head uptown for a while and listen to some Loose Neutral and C) Laura and I are going to be working on Scentsy! YIPEEE!! Looking forward to the weekend!
I haven't really been keeping up with the blog challenge, so I may just give up for now. I am doing the "Where you live" post because I'm posting pictures of our house! My grandma hasn't seen the house in a few years and we've done so much to the inside. So here are some updated pics just for you Grandma! :)
The view when you walk in from the backdoor (which is used most often):
The kitchen:
The dining room:
Living room:
Another view of the living room (You can see my Scentsy Jack O'Lantern on! & Jersey Shore was on T.V. haha)
The computer room/spare bedroom. We put the bed down there after Andy and Laura had Kayden because we figured when they came to stay they wouldn't want to stay upstairs where it is either really hot in the summer or really cold in the winter, plus there's a little T.V. and the computer.
The hall-way going upstairs with the "family" wall. I want to get a picture from www.letter-photo.com for Christmas that says FAMILY so I can hang it above all the pictures. We've got pictures of everyone in the family there - on both sides! :)
The bathroom. While I'm not actually posting a picture of the bathroom (it's tiny and looks like...a bathroom haha). I had Laura make me these cute little vinyl letters and then hung pictures of the dogs getting a bath. I thought it was funny!
Basically the only things left are our bedroom, the now empty spare room upstairs that used to have the bed, and Josh's bathroom. None of which are that neat! Haha.
So, there are some updated pictures of our house and all the work we've put into it. We are going to re-do the bathrooms this Spring, and hopefully finish off the new windows downstairs. I really love our little house, it's very homey and just somewhere I really love to be. Sending lots of prayers and love out to my grandma this week - I'll be thinking about you and I love you!
Just thought I'd end with this picture of our neighbor's tree. It's been changing a lot lately, and the colors are just beautiful:
Even the dogs love it :)
Well that's enough for now...hope everyone has had a great weekend!
Well...I haven't updated because 1. There's not really anything new to report and 2. I haven't been feeling the blog challenege lately so I guess I've been avoiding it. But here we go:
Weekend Recap
This weekend we didn't do much. Josh and I opted for a quiet night Friday night, we just headed out to Legends in Marshalltown to eat. It was pretty nice - Friday had its ups and downs here at school for me so it was nice just to go out, have some dinner, a few drinks, and head home. Which is exactly what we did. We were going to see a movie, but there aren't really any good movies out and with the exception of Paranormal Activity 2, I really don't want to subject myself to any scary movies this close to Halloween. So, we went home and Josh played his new Playstation game for a while and then we went to bed. Saturday I got home and cleaned house a bit (so, I'll post pictures so Grandma can see the inside of the house since she hasn't really seen it since we first moved in, yay!) and then went and ran some errands and went to the Pet Expo with Tyson and Jane. I was a little nervous because Tyson isn't always the most friendly dog, but he did excellent and was actually so over it that he was ready to just be carried by the time we left. Saturday night I went up to O'Kellys with Janell and while there wasn't a big crowd, we had our own fun and danced the night away - ending with an all out Lady Gaga dance party while driving around. It was much needed. <3
I have to make it through this week and then next week we have two early outs (but conferences until 8 P.M. both nights - yuck!) But then I have next Friday off and then after that four sweet weeks until Thanksgiving break (Black Friday AND putting up my Christmas Tree!!) and then it's Christmas. So really...things are starting to look up. :) Josh and I also got tickets to go see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra on November 4th so I'm pretty excited about that! I'm pumped to see them...I've been wanting to see it for a long time now, and when I saw they were coming back to Iowa I thought, "Why wait?" So I can cross that off my bucket list!
Blog Challenge
Day 19 - A talent of yours
This one I struggled with because I don't really have a "talent" per-say; at least, I don't feel like I do. I can't really do anything creative - I scrapbook, but I by no means would call it creative. I love decorating the house in different themes for the seasons, but, once again, I'm by no means "creative" at it. So I guess a talent of mine would be that I love to act like I'm creative, but in reality, I'm not. :)
Day 20 - A hobby of yours
A hobby of mine is definitely shopping. I will ususally go at least once on the weekends, and it might not be for clothes. I might make a trip with the dogs just to Petsmart and fiddle around. I might just go to Pier1 and wander around looking at all the great Halloween decorations they have out now. OR I might go to Von Maur and add more to my charge card (ha!), but I usually go at least once on the weekends. Another hobby I have, like I said, is trying my hand at being crafty. Lately I've been stalking for websites that have fun little creative ideas so I can hopefully MAKE some gifts this holiday season for co-workers, family, and friends. So if anyone knows of any good ones, let me know! I've also gotten in the mood to start my annual mixbook scrapbook. Like I said, not much of a crafty person and as I've found, scrapbooking takes a LOT of time to do; time that I really don't have when I have to check papers and do other things around the house. So, last year I got onto www.mixbook.com and started making an online scrapbook. They have some really neat templates where you can just drop the photos in, or, this year I challenged myself to make my own starting with a blank scrapbook! I've only got three pages done so far, but it's been pretty fun so far. They also have some Christmas cards and calendar makers, so I might be comparing prices between them, Hallmark, and Snapfish this year to see where I end up getting some of my Christmas stuff!
Day 21 - A recipe
I'm by no means a cooker. When I work out WITH Josh, we often don't get home until 7 P.M. and by then it's pointless to prep everything, cook everything, eat, and clean up. That's like my whole night! So on those nights we usually just grill something or whip up something fast. But something I do make that's pretty easy and Josh loves is Baked Bowties.
1 box of Bowtie Pasta
Mozzarella Cheese - Shredded
Marinara Sauce
1/4 cup of milk
Any other kind of cheese you like (sometimes I throw in Ricotta or Colby)
Cook pasta in boiling water until soft. Mix milk, some of the cheese and pasta bit of the pasta all together until everything is coated. Put in a nonstick baking dish. Top with remainder of sauce and cheese and put into the oven for 30 mins at 350 degrees, covered. Take top off with 5 minutes left and let bake until cheese is melted and brown. Pull out and let cool off. As you can see, this isn't anything fancy, and I have no REAL measures because I just kind of made it up one day. I love pasta, cheese, and marinara sauce, so I put them all together and baked in the oven. You can add sauce and cheese as you like, I just do whatever we like best.
Day 22 - A website
A website I think is hilarious and try to check out if I'm having a bad day is www.failbook.com. It has all these hilarious posts and status updates from facebook users - hilarious! Also, checking out www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com always puts a smile on my face too!
That's all for today - hope everyone had a good weekend!
Finally! A blog topic I can relate to! Ha, kidding (sort-of). While I feel like I know how my future wedding is going to go, it's really hard to say that I won't change my mind between now and then. In high school we did a project where you had to pick out everything for the wedding: colors, dresses, flowers, location, etc. It's hard to think back about what was important to me then and think that I would EVER do my wedding like that. So it's hard to say that what I like now, is something I'll like when the time is right to get married. I'll be brutally honest when I say that somedays I'm ready to get married, and somedays I'm not quite sure. It has nothing to do with Josh or that I'm not ready to be with him - it's just, when is the timing ever right for a wedding? I just think about all the money that goes into a wedding, all the planning, and the preperation. And then I think about all the things that we'd like to have within the next five years (a new truck for Josh, new stove and microwave, new windows for the house, bathroom renovations, bedroom renovations, I want to get my masters, etc.) not to mention the daily grind of paying bills and things, and to add on top of that rings and a wedding? While I know that our families would be more than generous in helping us out, it just seems like a lot of work. Not saying I don't EVER want to marry Josh (in fact, I'd be quite thrilled if he asked tomorrow and I'd throw my inhabitions out the door and start planning, reguardless of what my bank account says), but it seems like it will never happen. I also know that I'm turning 24 in April, and while that isn't old, I definitely don't want to be someone who gets married and then 9 months later has a kid. I'd like to be married for a few years, which puts a damper on my having-both-my-kids-before-I'm-thirty mentality...which, the more I think about it, the more it doesn't bother me. I'd still like to have at least one child by 28, it's slowly just becoming a number I was selfishly fixated on because I figured my body was still young enough at that age to bounce back. But I suppose you're never really ready, you just have to have faith and jump in head first. I don't know...but I suppose since it is the blog request, I'll fulfill it and fill everyone in on my future wedding.
I'd like to have my wedding in the fall, (If Josh were to ask in the next 4-5 months) I think it would be really neat to have a wedding on 9-10-11 of next year. How could you forget that anniversary date?! So I suppose my colors would be a mixture of fall colors - the auburns, oranges, yellows, browns, etc. I'm not sure what I'd have my bridesmaids wear, but I know that I want a strapless wedding dress. I'm not sure the style - I suppose when the time comes I'll need to try on 35468715 million styles, maybe something like these ones - kind of simple, with a touch of different:
I try to think that I'd have a pretty formal wedding...I'd like it if it were possible that Josh and I couldn't see each other before the wedding. I know this becomes a hassle when you have to take pictures after and you have guests waiting - but I suppose if we kept it as a small ceremony with only close friends and family, they wouldn't mind having a little bit of down time between the wedding and the reception. (Like finding a near-by bar to attend?) Or I'd always visioned playing some sort of slide show of our lives while we took some pictures after the wedding. I don't know, we'll see when the time comes.
I really don't have anything set in stone picked out. No flowers. No shoes. No set way of how I want the wedding to go. I do know though that I'd like to have my bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down to the melody of Tesla's "Love Song" and then I'd walk down in Canon D. Otherwise...I'm definitely a visual person, and have to see something before I can decide on it. So I suppose I don't have much picked out yet. Of course I have a running lists of bridesmaids to ask and what not, but otherwise, I'm pretty open to suggestion. I'm lucky that I have so many creative people in my life (like Laura!) who had amazing weddings and I know I could ask plenty of questions to them. I do know though that I would L.O.V.E. a ring like this:
That's an emerald cut diamond with baguettes on the side. I just LOVE the look of the emerald cut - it's different and not something you see everyday. I told Josh once that I wouldn't accept anything else, but I suppose the older I get the less picky I'll be! Ha!
So while this wasn't a very informative blog wedding wise, it was fun to look up all the different dresses and things on google! :)
It seems like the days just fly by anymore. They really fly at work, and then once I get home it seems like there's so much to do that I can't sit down and blog. This week has been just as busy! We had an early out yesterday at school so it was a shortened day and trying to get everything done is nearly impossible. This Friday we're having a fun day for the second half of the day for the kids who sold magazines for a school fundraiser, and lucky me, I get to have the movie in my room! And wear jeans! (We only get to wear jeans on special occasions.) So I'm pretty excited for that. Otherwise, this week I bought my first Christmas present (only 73 days left!) for Josh...I really don't know how I'll keep it a secret for the next two months because I am just so excited, but I suppose I'll make due somehow. I'm now just (im)patiently waiting for it to arrive in the mail. I closed up my Scentsy basket party with Laura yesterday and got to order over $100 in free stuff! I was so excited, I almost didn't know what to order! It took me nearly two hours to decide on EVERYTHING that I wanted...with that much to spend, you almost have to look ahead for the following months - so I had to decide what I was going to put in my warmers AFTER Christmas. It's been a pretty good week so far...at the end of the month we have two early out days and then Friday the 29th we have off for conferences so I'm looking forward to that nice 3 day weekend. This weekend is the Great Iowa Pet Expo, so I might take a trip down there with Taytum or Tyson and see what I can come across - maybe some Christmas presents for them! :)
On to the blogging challenge...
Day 15 - Your Dream House
This one was kind of hard for me...I know that I want a nice ranch style home, but when I tried to look for pictures of the inside I just couldn't really find pictures that I liked for the inside. Most were too modern or too fancy, so I'll just show a few of my "wants". I want the outside to look something like this:
And I know I want my living room to be sunken with a fireplace:
Otherwise I can't really find anything else...I know I want my own master bedroom with a nice whirlpool tub and a tiled shower with a walk-in closet (sound familiar, Steph? I LOVE your bathroom!) I also know I want my kitchen to have several windows, all facing the East so when the sun rises in the morning it pours into the kitchen. Otherwise I'm not too picky haha. Josh and I have talked that maybe in about 5 years we'll have enough money saved up to make our dreams a reality and build our own house. Someday.
Day 16 - A Song That Makes You Cry
Ah...I'm a pretty sensitive/emotional person, so there are several songs that make me cry. One that always gets me is Taylor Swift - "Breathe". This song was a really hard song to listen to when I was going through a really tough time. And while it made me feel better to let it all out and cry, even now I can't listen to it without crying.
A song I've always held close to my heart and have known that I want it played at my wedding someday is Taylor Swift - "The Best Day" (you wouldn't know who my favorite singer is, would you?!). It's about a girl growing up with her mom and talking about how her mom has taught her so much. There's also a part in the song that says, "I have an excellent father, his strength is making me stronger. God smiles on my little brother, inside and out he's better than I am. I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run and I...had...the best day with you." Seriously..beautiful. It just really makes me appreciate my family and how blessed I am to have such an amazing family.
And the latest tear jerker I've heard is James Otto - "Soldiers and Jesus". The chours reads, "There's only two people who's ever died for me, both laid down their lives just so that I could be free...God only knows where we'd be without soldiers and Jesus." So. True. There are probably several others, because like I said I'm a pretty emotional person, but those three really tug at my heart strings.
Day 17 - An Art Piece
I'm not sure if this is suppose to be one in my house or that I own or that I like? In our house we have a horse statue that Josh's Grandma Koppin got us, and it's really neat and artsy, and we also have a neat framed painting that's pretty artsy, but since I don't have my camera (and I'm not at home) I'll post some artsy photos I like. So after a quick google search I found a few neat black and white ones:
Well now that I'm all caught up...until tomorrow blog world!
It seems like I just can't catch a break when it comes to the weekends. Friday comes and goes and then it's not until Sunday that I can sit down and catch up with the blog challenge. This weekend was my brother's 18th birthday so I went over to my parent's house for a bit, and other than that I just relaxed. Josh and I watched "The Crazies" Saturday night, and while I did fall asleep before the end, it was really spooky! That's basically been the weekend in a nut shell, but I will continue on with the blog challenge.
Day 12 - Something you are OCD about.
I'm not really OCD about much. I mean, I like to have a clean house, but I am not the type of person who comes home every night and cleans, cleans, cleans. Our house is probably pretty messy (or, what I would consider messy) most of the week, and then on Saturdays I like to knock out all the cleaning in one shot. I hate doing laundry, and I hate having to scrub, so mostly I stick to vaccuming, dusting, and just putting things in their places. Something I am very OCD about though is my classroom and the way it is run. I hate being gone, whether it's sick or just out of the building for something, and having to rely on someone else to sub. This is partly because A) I need to know what they know before I can plan for the next day B) I have a set system of the way things go, and I hate having that messed with and then trying to get the kids back into the swing again and C) I hate having to plan for someone else if things go shorter/longer than I expected. I know what I want to do next, but it's hard to plan it all out for someone else. Last year I had to get my bus license and they really wanted me to use my lunch, prep, and then study hall to go up and get it, and more than once the time ran into my 7th period class and we were working on a research paper and it gave me really bad anxiety not being there with them, especially on such a BIG project. I knew how I wanted the papers to turn out, and I didn't want someone else telling them different. Everything turned out fine and all, but I will admitt I get slightly OCD when it comes to that sort of stuff.
Day 13 - A fictional book.
Well...since I already posted about books I've read and liked, I'll post about a fictional book I read this Summer (that for the longest time I wasn't sure was fictional until I saw it on the back!). Many people had suggested Chelsea Handler so I checked out Chelsea, Chelsea, Bang, Bang from the library this summer when I worked at the pool and I LOVED it! It had me laughing out loud constantly and while I haven't seen her show (we don't get the channel) I really wish we did. I wasn't a big fan before reading the book, but after reading the book and watching the MTV VMA's where she hosted, she is a really funny woman! I'll have to see if I can rent a few more books (although the librarian said she wasn't sure they should even have THAT book, let alone any of her others) and since the school year has started I don't get much time to free-read. But we'll see - I really like Kaylan's idea of audio books, so maybe I'll give that a try soon!
Day 14 - A non-fictional book
Ugh...I don't think I've read anything non-fiction lately. Magazines, do they count? I suppose the last non-fiction book I read was actually The Diary of Anne Frank in March/April for the 8th grade class. Otherwise I think I've stuck to some fictional books lately.
Well that's all for today. Caught up on the weekend things and caught up on blogging. Tomorrow is already HALF-WAY to the end of the blog challenge! Can't believe it..and pretty soon, Christmas will be here! YAY! :)
So...I've been lacking. While I think I'm doing a pretty good job trying to keep up with the 30 day challenge, it's unavoidable that sometimes things come up and I'm not able to post. The past few days at work have been literally CRAZY. Non-stop work, and then I come home and feel like it's non-stop at home. So I haven't had time to blog, so I figured this will be big picture update on the blog challenge, as well as a little bit of an update.
Blog challenge:
Day 9 - a photo you took.
I took this photo about 3 or 4 years ago. I by no means have ever had any "good" cameras, but I've had some pretty decent ones. The latest one I have now I love, but I hate how the pictures just don't come out very clear. Anywhoo, I bought this camera from Wal-Mart, not sure what brand it was, but it took some pretty good photos. I got this one from Taytum one day, and was kind of proud of how "artsy" it looked haha.
Day 10 - a photo of you taken 10 years ago.
Well..in order to get a photo of me from 10 years ago I'd have to go to my parent's house and scan one since I don't have anything here from me being 13. However, although I thought about skipping this one altogether, I thought some photo was better than none. So, this photo was taken a little over 5 years ago when I was a senior in high school (I believe I was getting ready to graduate, so it was taken in April?). Alex and I had gone to visit our friends at ISU and I promise I wasn't drinking the alcohol Mom, but I can remember how cool we thought we were that we had actually gotten our picture taken and alcohol was in it haha.
Jon, Me & Alex
Day 11 - a recent photo of you.
This one was easy, I just had to pop onto Facebook and steal a picture from me that is recent. This one was from Nichole's wedding while we were all getting ready. Thanks Steph! :)
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Now that the blog challenge is done for now....I'll post some pictures of the decorations I have outside the house! I'm still cleaning my house up to take pictures for Grandma can see (I promise I'll have them by Sunday!) but for now I'll post the pictures of the decorations I have outside the house.
I bought some ghosts for .99 (for a pack of 6!) at Menards and put them around the landscape. I think they are really cute...but we'll see how well they hold up when it finally rains. They are basically just plastic with tissue paper shoved inside of them and a little stick to stick them into the ground. Here they are lined up:
And one in front of the flowers, close up:
I also put up some icicle like orange lights in the front windows since Mom gave me the lights this year. I LOVE it!
And we picked up some pumpkins while we were out the other day :)
So glad it's finally the weekend...hopefully I can catch my breath and start over next week. :) That's enough blogging for one day!
I missed a day yesterday...I was thinking about it all day, and wasn't sure what to post a picture of. A picture that always makes me sad is a picture I have of my uncle Jimmy and I at Christmas time when I was younger. It always makes me sad because I miss him and can always remember how much he loved me, and sometimes that makes me sad knowing someone who cared about me/I cared about a lot isn't around. On the other hand, I know that everything happened for a reason, and if I hadn't lost him we wouldn't have moved to Baxter and I wouldn't have my amazing friends, and I also wouldn't have met Josh.
A picture that makes me sad/angry though is anything that has to do with animal abuse. It breaks my heart to know that there are pets/animals out there that can't speak for themselves and no one will. After what happened with Taytum this weekend it is just surreal how people can be so heartless and cruel. So while I won't post a really sad picture, one that is sad is always one with a sad face on it:
I'll have to go home and go through my photo archive in order to post today's "A picture you took". I have a ton of pictures I've taken, but I'll have to find a really neat/artsy one. So I'll post that as soon as I get home.
I dabbled in my first Ebay selling this week! I bought an HTC Touch Pro 2 from Craigslist and used it for a week before I was distraught over not having my Blackberry, so now I'm selling the HTC. I was going to put it back on Craigslist, but with how busy I've been lately it seemed like just shipping it somewhere would be easier. (Plus, Josh didn't want me running into a Craigslist killer, so he was adamant that I went with Ebay.) So it ends tonight and the bid is up to $132! Slightly less than what I paid for it, but that's okay. :) I already have the money spent...I saw a really neat item that I want to buy Josh for Christmas (getting started early!) and then with my brother's birthday this weekend I need to get him a present, plus I'm due for some new Fall clothes. But, if this sell goes well I might try selling more Ebay!
And as a last request...if you read this blog, can you post a comment and let me know if you can see the background? I can get it at home on the computer (it should be black with some Halloween things and ghosts), but I can't get at work so I'm wondering if it's just my work computer or if it doesn't work so great on everyone's computer? Thanks!
Blogging on a Saturday! Get out of here! But it's true. Jane and I went shopping all day for some fall stuff and Halloween decorations (since, it's officially October, and I can get out all my Halloween things!). Josh was napping so I figured I'd blog and tell everyone about my day and then continue with the blog challenge.
Well, today started like any other day. We live on the corner in Baxter, with no fenced in yard. It doesn't seem to be a problem because the dogs never wander far, or else we're always outside with them. Tyson is more of the sniffer and will tend to follow the trail of a rabbit or cat and wander somewhere where he should NOT be, but we've been fortunate enough to find him and catch him and keep him close. Taytum is such a good girl - she hardly ever wanders past our house, and when she does it's just to play with Toby next door. This morning I let them out and then let Tyson in (since it's getting colder he wants NOTHING to do with being outside besides doing his business). I let Taytum wander around a little longer because she enjoys the weather with her big coat. An hour went by and I was cleaning and decorating when I went to bring Taytum inside. No Taytum. I called the neighbor Lisa - she hadn't seen her. At this point I wasn't too worried because she's such a good girl that I knew she'd be outside. So we went outside and called for her. And called for her. And called for her some more. At this point in time Lisa's husband Tim and Josh's uncle Bruce went out and were driving around for her. I called my mom - hadn't seen her. 30 minutes go by and we STILL haven't found her. I'm driving around with my brother and we have Tim, Bruce, Lisa, my mom, my dad, Jane, Christopher, and me all driving/walking calling for her. And Taytum is not the type of dog to ever whine or bark when she needs something, she's a very independent dog. So I KNEW if she was stuck somewhere and could hear us, that she wouldn't whine or scratch to let us know, we would have to find her on our own. An hour goes back and I'm really starting to worry...we have a pretty sketchy neighbor who is not on our good side and has been known to dispose of animals. An hour and a half goes by and I'm getting hysterical, Josh called and I broke down crying. FINALLY though, another neighbor had actually found her in the sketchy neighbor's shed with the door closed - thank God for good hearted people! She's safe and sound now, but it was the scariest thing I've experienced in a long time; almost like losing a child! Phew!
Okay so on to the challenge...20 favorite things. Here they are, in no particular order...
1. Friends and Family
2. Christmas (EVERYTHING about it!)
3. Journey "Don't Stop Believing"
4. Scentsy
5. Yankee Candle
6. Concerts
7. Macaroni and Cheese
8. Fall
9. Hallmark Stores
10. Fire places
11. The first snow fall <3
12. Fresh grass on bare feet in Summer
13. Hanging with my brother
14. Spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Medders
15. Decorating the house (For Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer!)
16. Glee
17. Taylor Swift
18. Saturday nights with Josh just watching movies
19. Vacations (to really anywhere...just vacations in general!)
20. Sleeping in
Hope everyone enjoys their weekends! :)
As you can see...I'm still pretty bad about keeping updated. BUT I think every other day has been great for me! I was going to do one yesterday, but all day was busy and then after school I went and watched the 8th grade girls play volleyball and then went to Steph's house for an open house. She had so much great jewelry and purses from Just Fabulous Darling and I bought more than I should...but I love it. :) I'm starting to seel Scentsy from Laura so if anyone wants to order anything check out www.wicklesswaxwarmers.com and let me know - but order from me, not online, becuase then I can get you some free shipping! :)
Okay so for the challenge...yesterday was what's your favorite book? And I have several. My all time favorite book has been tied between two (but by the same author) The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
They are both just amazing books and they really put life and the problems in the Middle East into perspective. I honestly had a new respect for the people, as well as what we were fighting for, after reading the books. They are amazing. The Kite Runner was made into a movie and I made Josh watch it with me, but it's not the same as the book. Seriously, pick either one up and read them if you haven't already. A Thousand Splendid Suns focuses on two women from the Middle East who are married away and the trials and tribulations they face. The Kite Runner focuses around the main character who has a prodominate father in the country, and his childhood friend. I can't really explain them without giving away the juicy details, but you won't regret reading them - I promise.
Another book I've been reading (STILL trying to finish...although I still love love love it, I just can't seem to find the time to read it.)
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. It's a very good, flowing read. I haven't been bored wtih the book once since picking it up and the author just has an amazing writing style. Hopefully I finish it soon, but like I said, school really puts a damper on being able to get through a good book!
And then today's challenege: What's your favorite quote? I have a few, and there's always the "Those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter" but one I found particularly inspiring, at least for me, is this one:
"It's not so important that it's happily every after, just that it's happy right now."
I think this really inspires me because it can relate to anything in life. Whenever I think about something or question something (which I do often, I'm a bad over-analyzer) I just have to ask myself, "Am I happy right now, in this moment?" If yes, then that's all that matters. It doesn't matter if I'm still happy with it in 10 minutes, 5 hours or 3 years, just that for that moment in time, it made me happy. I've been trying to slow down my life and keep this in mind lately. I will admit that with everyone getting married around me lately, I definitely caught the wedding bug. But when I think about this quote, I just have to remind myself that I don't need to rush things...and that I'm happy right now, so it doesn't matter if it's happy forever. It's a really inspiring quote.
I also really like "Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death." So true - I try to live fearlessly which is one reason why I simply love Taylor Swift. She wrote a whole thing on living fearlessly in her last album and it was just so great. Fearless is being scared and taking chances and letting things change.
Well that's enough for now. We're going out to eat and then to the CMB vs. West Marshall game tonight and then tomorrow I'm decorating the house in Halloween and going SHOPPING!! Even though I don't need to...it's going to make me happy, and that's all that matters. :)
Okay...so I'm already late on my 30 day challenege! UGH! I was thinking about it all day yesterday and was really trying to think of my favorite movie, but there seem to be so many. I really enjoy The Hangover, The Notebook, and Christmas Vacation. I would probably say National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is probably my favorite movie - my family always watches it during the holiday season and it's such a good, funny movie that we've been watching for as long as I can remember. So, because of the memories, I'm going to go with Clark Griswold. :)
So for today's challenege, the question is "What is your favorite television show". This question is MUCH easier for me! My brand-new all time favorite show has to be....GLEE!
I really, really love Glee. I love the songs and the singing and the plot/story line. The characters are extremely talented, as well as funny (Sue!) and it is just an all-around great show.
I also love Californication, Dexter, Jersey Shore, and Modern Family. I never miss any of those shows and since we don't have a DVR I have to stay home during the week so I can catch all my shows! Haha.
One other thing...Andy and Laura came home this weekend and Kayden is getting so big...look at this smile:
