I'm Just Sayin'...

OK, this HILARIOUS weekly post comes from Amber.  She just started this a bit ago and I just love it! Not that I think personal blogs are about complaining about things, but if you read it light-hearted, it can be really funny - and SO true! I think we have a lot in common!

I've been wanting to jump on the bandwagon for a little while so I'm thinking maybe next week I will make my link-up debut! haha!

Anyways, you should totally read her's here.  I completely agree with the facebook comment, the girl scout cookies, and the dog comments!  I've already been making my post for next Thursday! :)

I'm also going to steal her disclaimer, too! You never know!!!

Anyways, think about reading it or linking up...I'd love to read yours next week! haha

Hello Goodness

This is my new favorite. It really tastes like the name, it lasts for a pretty long time,  and it's sugarless. Strawberry Short Cake

Have you tried it?

I'm also loving these from Vera Bradley. We just received our new laptop, so I am thinking this would be too cute!

Do you like?

My Mom and Dad ROCK

The title of this post makes me sound about 17 {or in 4th grade since my kids LOVE using the word, rock}. Which is what I feel like when I write this post. :)  I.Am.Spoiled.

Seriously, I have great parents.

Around 1:30 I had this craving for Chili. But not my chili, my Mom's chili.  So I seriously emailed her and asked her what she was doing and if she could make it and come bring it to me.  I know you are shakin' your head right now. But I did it.

And of course, with the oh-so-now tech we've got, it went straight to her phone and she replied instantly..."yes". YAY!

Well actually, Mom already had dinner plans so she said she'd make and send Dad over.  Well my poor Dad had work to do, but he agreed to stay and eat with me. Where's hubby? Oh, he's training to be Mr. Fitness America apparently.  So...my Dad and I got to enjoy a great dinner that Mom cooked and he brought over.

Pure Bliss.

So, I say again, My Mom and Dad ROCK, and now you know why I said I'm like a 17 year old... but, I guess no matter how old and married I get, I'll always be the baby. :)

most recent pic :)

Side Note:
Here's my Mom's Chili recipe along with my add-in's {since there are so many different ways to make chili!}
What you need:
French's packet of Chili-O
Browned hamburger meat
French's chili beans (1 can)
1 can tall tomato juice
cooked spaghetti noodles
1 can water
Chili powder
Frank's Red Hot Sauce
tomatos (we don't include those b/c we don't like them!)
How to make:
In a large saucepan, simmer tomato juice, beans, water.  Add chili-o to the browned meat and add. Add noodles.  Shake Chili powder and lots of Franks Red Hot Sauce.  Let boil, then simmer and serve with cheese and crackers.
*PS- I AM so one of those people that can't have macaroni noodles in my chili--it must be spaghetti noodles! Are you like that?!

Saturday!

Saturday was also a very fun day! First, I met my friends Katharine and Sara for brunch at Joseph-Beth Cafe ~ YUM! It was great seeing Sara outside of school and so fun to see Katharine since she moved far, far away to Michigan! :)

Then we celebrated my Mom's Birthday! It was fun, but Colby was SO excited about the ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins he put the party on speed dial! He was handing GG gifts left and right, helping her open, posing for a few pictures, and running back over to the cake! I will tell you...it was the best cake I've had in a long while!!

The photo below is blurry from my BB, but it's really cute. Eric just happened to have on a matching shirt with Colby, and Brian really did just happen to have a matching shirt to Cameron! Too cute!

Kelli and I didn't get the memo to match someone else...

We topped the day of with a W for UK! {finally!}
Hope you had a great Saturday!

Friday Night!

Friday night we had our girl's night I'd talked about here. It was so fun seeing a lot of our friends from college.  Mandy and Amanda S. came in from Bardstown and Cincy, and Liz happened to be in from NYC.  It's always nice to know how friends make the time to see one another!

We started off at Bar Louie for a rushed dinner before the show! It was fun hearing new and exciting updates from everyone...since we all seem to get worse and worse making phone calls - me especially!

Then we went over to Comedy Off Broadway.  The first act was better than the main one.  It was a girl who was on Last Comic Standing twice.  She was hilarious! We only got called out for a little bit with her, but with the main act, he called us out a few times! This was actually unusual, since our group has seen Etta May several years and she ALWAYS calls us out! ha!  It was a really fun night!

It was also funny because B and I seem to have been spending a lot of time together. Not that I think that's bad, I think that's how most married couples are. But usually we do more couples things than girls nights/boys nights.  It ended up we didn't have a chance to speak all day until I got home from the night! It was kind of weird, but fun at the same time!

Thanks to Mandy who planned the fun night and to the girls who were able to make it! :) Looking forward to our next get-together already!

me, Mandy, Amanda, Amanda, Shannon, Ann, Liz

If you don't mind...

As I'm watching Hoda and Kathie Lee on my day off {thank you SO much presidents!} I started freaking out a little about how much I share on the Internet {did you see the episode?!}!  Although I think I'm pretty good with not sharing too much on Facebook, I sure am NOT like that on here!!

So, here's my plea....if you read our blog, and you haven't clicked 'Follow' yet, please do so! I promise it's not for vain reasons {ha!} I would just really like to know who I'm sharing all our personals with!

So...  if you need help...
Click on the FOLLOW button on the right.  If you have a google account, twitter account, or blog account you can sign in using that name/password.  If you don't, no problem! You can click and follow anonymously and just use your name or initials!

Maybe I'll even tie it in with a give-away soon...

THANK YOU! :)

Change...

My blog is under-going change... :)
If you've been with me for a while, you know I like to change the background a lot! Now I'm working on changing the header... so... I'll be back to blogging soon!

:)

Happy Heart Day

Alright, so you either love or hate this day. I'm blah to this day.
I think that's it is a silly Hallmark holiday that forces single women to have to hear about guys being ooey-gooey over other girls.

You'd think with this feeling over this day I'd have this great love-hate story, but actually I don't!

I've always had pretty good V-days with friends or guys...and of course the oh-so-fun Valentine's Day parties in the 4th grade realm. I've even had some funny ones with a few blind dates...yikes! :)

My hubby kind of feels the same way, so we don't go overboard. I mean, yes, I get the beautiful flowers delivered to my classroom (haha) but let's just say I'm not trying to open a heart-shaped CZ necklace.  Our first V-day we went skiing with our friends Mandy, Brian, Jess, and Justin.  That was pretty fun!  Last year we did the regular dinner and such. 

This year we are planning on going out to eat and B got me a new surprise...a little outfit from a store I've never been to before...;)  {no, it's nothing dirty, get your minds out of the gutter}

**************************
And on the topic of love...my bible study got started back up again last night. We started a new book called Simple Secrets of a Great Marriage.  I think it will be good - and I read the first chapter which seems promising.  I feel like B and I are still in the 'honeymoon' stage of our marriage.  We prepared A LOT before we got married, so the whole marriage transition was a pretty smooth one.  But, there's always room for improvement or just being conscious of continuously working on our marriage - I think that's what I'm hoping to get out of it. So, either way, it will be nice to see the girls more often and it being just us without the boys. :)


Hope you have a good Vday with whatever you do, and remember; GOD IS LOVE.

They have my heart...

I've not been feeling well for about the last week so I haven't gotten my 'weekly' time with my sweet nephews, Colby and Cameron.

I am spoiled and usually get to see them 1-2 times a week. And you know what, I need to see those sweet little faces to keep me going. I mean, really, I do. Their little innocence, their sweet gestures, the easy way to love them; I just need that.

Well, last week my sister called while she was in the car with the boys and Colby started saying my name over and over. "Mom-maa, Mom-maa".  It was such a sweet sound.  Kelli told him I was sick and that they couldn't come over and he just kept saying "mom-maa sick, mom-ma sick". It broke my heart!  We also missed our regular Sunday afternoon with them, so finally I was able to quickly see the boys later this week.

If you have/have ever had a 2 year old nephew you'll know what I mean when I describe the giggle, smile, and hug...  As I came to the door he smiled big, threw out his arms, and gave me a big hug and kiss on the lips.  Precious. I just love that Colby. Of course, I love Cameron just as much, but his snuggles aren't the same as Colby's are on his own. ;)

Anyways, I was just so happy to get to see them even for just a bit! :)

Colby showing me how he can use his fine motor skills - cutting :)

Also...my sister has entered the boys into a local modeling contest for a new store in town. If you have time, 'like' the site Baby Bundles of Lexington on facebook and then 'like' Colby in the 2T boys category and Cameron in the 0-24mo boys category!
THANK YOU! :)

I'm a Cheesehead, ya'll are Cheese Whiz

I do not think I could describe to you the excitement and joy B has with the Packers winning last night.
To say he is a die-hard fan does not do it justice. He's a freak fan: superstitious, screaming into the TV, etc.

He was a nervous wreck during the game, but so happy with the result!

Who wouldn't love Aaron Rodgers? At least his rap sheet is clean.... :)

We went to Jordan & Nick's for the game with a few other friends.  She had a yummy spread of pizza, dips, and veggies.  I brought Popcorn Lollipops in the colors of the Packers! I got the recipe from Brown Paper Packages. I'd love to make something similar for my students for Valentine's Day, but I am thinking I don't have the time this week! They were a little messy to make! :)

don't hate on our outfits.. haha

PS- If you haven't heard the Green and Yellow song yet, YouTube it. It's SO hilarious. I couldn't get it to upload to my blog b/c my awesome computer had decided it now doesn't have sound...
PPS- My team teach is a big Steelers fan so we made a friendly bet...she had to walk my walkers out in the pouring snow today! haha :)

Better than a Snow Day Cake...

otherwise known as Better Than Sex Cake, according to the student who gave me this recipe and treat...

One of my sweet students and her mom baked a delicious, over-the-top, phenomenal, finger-likin' good dessert! AH-MAZING. It was SO good!

Here's the recipe so you can try it for yourself, and be amazed! :)

What you Need:
yellow cake mix
3.5 oz. instant vanilla pudding
8 oz. sour cream
4 eggs
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 C water
8 oz. German Chocolate (grated, use a food processor - do not microwave!)
6 oz. milk chocolate chips
1 C chopped pecans (she didn't make it with these, and I was glad!)

What you Do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a bunt pan.  Combine: cake mix, vanilla pudding, eggs, oil, sour cream, and water.  Mix well.  Add grated chocolate, chocolate chips, and pecans.  Mix well. Pour batter into pan.  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  You may want to cover the cake with foil for at least 15 minutes or so; it tends to burn the top...actually the bottom.

Enjoy! :)

{Friends}

Isn't it nice to know you've got great friends on your side? It really means more when you have things to share or things to go through and your friends are always there - no matter if they really want to judge you or not. haha

Well, B and I are just very blessed to have some really great friends by our side.  It was definitely evident during our wedding and seeing how many people made it a point to be there {especially with Spring Break and the Final Four game going on...hey, we're a basketball state}.

sorority sisters

some work friends

not a great pic...but some of B's fraternity brothers

My friend Mandy has planned a Girls Night coming up in February and I am SO excited about it! We used to get all our college friends together a TON, but with people just getting older it's been so hard to get a group together unless it's for a shower, bachelorette party, or wedding {which I am so happy to say we all still really try to come to everyone's events still!}.  We are going to Comedy Off Broadway and the best part is Mandy is shacking it up with me after the show!! I can't tell you how pumped I am for this! ha! Not that we will stay up late or get too crazy, but that we used to stay together all.the.time. after college when she'd come up to go out in Lexington. And girl, you will get your own bed this time! ;) Seriously, I have some great memories with her! Can't you tell?! I'm excited!


And...the other night, our neighbors Nick & Jordan invited us over for dinner! Couldn't have happened on a better night, because I was laying on the couch feeling too tired to make dinner! Jordan made some delicious Macaroni Grill lasagna {YUMMO!}, Caesar salad, and texas toast!  Her sweet hubby also picked me up some flowers while he was picking his wifey up some, too! Sweet, eh? Nothing like a bright pink tulip bundle to bring some joy to these cold winter days!

stupid BB pic, much brighter in person!

Hope you all are having a great week so far!

Great Site for Little Girls!

A friend of Brian's from college recently started up her own little shop selling different types of bows for little girls. She just added tutus to her collection and they are adorable! I had Rachel make a custom design for Nola {my friend Allison's little girl} just as a little gift and had a matching bow made, too!  These tutus and bows are priced extremely well comparing to other sites I've seen!

Doesn't she look adorable?! Best part is, the tutu and matching bow was only $22 total! That's such a steal! Rachel shipped the package to Allison & Nola with a personalized message, too!

You can check out other designs or make your own through her facebook page, Belles Bows N More.

I love surprises!

Ok, maybe not all the time, but when it comes with a gift, I really like it! :)
My sweet hubby came home yesterday with a present for me! I've been eyeing the New Balance Tonifiant {butt toners} but thought it was ridonkulous to pay that much for shoes that probably won't tone up my butt and thighs without me having to do anything extra. ha!

Well, he came home with some cute pink ones for me! I'm so excited! Just in time for the 2-week state testing coming up where I will be walking around aimlessly for hours a day in April! :)

But before you start your judging on oh-no-he-didn't-call-her-butt-big thought, I've had my eye on them for a while and think I'll be seeing some tennis-shoe wearing ahead in my future! I'm starting to re-think my high heels everyday at work thing anyway. :)

New Item!

I've added a new item to my little Craft Store. 
Remember the vinyl letters I used for my flour and sugar containers? Well, I decided to put those letters and other items on sale! I shopped around on the internet, and for the letters and size I'm offering, my prices are pretty low! :) haha

Go check out the site when you have time!

Hope you had a good, snowy day! I'm happy to announce we actually WENT to school today in this mess! Just class to not be adding to the June days today! :)

What's The Rule? I want some feedback!!

This tends to be a debate, errr, conversation topic between me and my team-teacher during lunch. {I know, you are all jealous by the witty, intense, thought-provoking topics we discuss}
When is too much, too much?

Wedding Showers:
How many wedding showers should one friend be invited to?
Do you count the Bachelorette-Lingerie Shower combo in on this?
If you attend more than 2 showers, do you also bring a gift to the wedding?

Rule of Thumb during my Wedding: The most girls were invited to were 1 shower and 1 bachelorette party. Thus, 2 total for some.
My sister/MOH and Mom were invited to all. xoxo

Baby Showers:
How many baby showers should one friend be invited to?
Do you throw/attend/have baby showers after the first child?

I want to really hear your answers! So please comment!! :)

"Yea, I Make Curtains..."

That's what I'll be sliding in to conversations from now on. :) Our Sneak Peek Reveal is here!
Although the pictures DO NOT due this fabric justice {can't wait to get a decent camera, sheesh!}, it looks really good in our family room. It looks so good that we are re-thinking needing curtains in the breakfast area. 

Do you like the puddle-look of the fabric, or should I hem it just a little to just barely touch the carpet?

I've been looking for fabric for a while because A) I like custom things, B) I wanted super long curtains to start close to the ceiling and end touching the floor with 9 ft. ceilings, and C) I'm too cheap to pay over $50 for something I felt like I could make myself.

And here it is! I MADE THESE! And my wonderful hubby hung the rods perfectly! I am so proud of myself! ha!

the picture makes it look more green than it actually does in the room:)

We chose this fabric because it ties in the greens and yellows from the kitchen, the blues and grays in the family room on the couch and chairs, and the beige and tan from the wall and trimming.  We found a really pretty green pillow with the colors in the fabric from Wal-Mart and I'm debating on getting it to add to the couch. Again, I like textures, designs, and colors all mixed in.

I used the technique from this post to make all the edges look hemmed and seamless.  I also chose ring hooks to hang the curtains from the rods for a few reasons.  I felt like fabric going over the rod would make this room feel 'fancier' than I wanted and I got the last bit of fabric from the store so I was afraid I didn't have much to spare! {Wrong!}

Total Cost:
2 Rods from Wal-Mart: $25 each
2 bags of ring hooks: $6 each
2 panels cut of 8ft 3/4in fabric: $32 total {this was 40% off and I got the end of the fabric, so one panel was 50% off!!}
1 bottle of Unstitch: left-over from wedding...I think the bottle was $4
Saying I made my own custom curtains: PRICELESS! hahaha :)

Hope you likey!

AND...remember this post? We did it! I got the cheaper stencil from Hobby Lobby that looked just like the $40 one at the on-line store. Brian takes all the credit for this! He was even being creative when he asked if we should do the entire wall or just a strip.  At first I wanted the entire wall, but after we saw how bold it was, we both decided we really only wanted it to add an 'extra layer' to that area, so we left a strip. I like it!! But Brian is still debating. He may end up painting the whole inset section. :)

Total Cost:
Stencil{50% off}: $9
Valspar Churchill Hotel Vanilla paint: 1/2 pint - $2.95

Hope you're having a good weekend! Go Green Bay!


*I'm Linking up with A Bowl Full of Lemons! {7/12/11}

Sneak Peek...

This Saturday has been busy for us! We've been working on 2 big projects!
Here's 2 hints...

{sorry for the poor quality pics, taken from the BB}

Stay tuned tomorrow to see the big reveal! I'm SO proud of B and me!!! :) :) :)

Laundry Room!

You all know how much I love doing laundry. ha!  Well, last week during one of my snow days {and yes, I'm on another one today...we're never getting out for summer!!!} I decided to organize my laundry room a little.  Not really because it needed it, but because I was bored.  I also organized our linen closets and bathrooms. Wow.

Here's a few pics of my laundry room.  It's like an oversized closet on our 2nd floor.  I love the fact that I don't have to drag (or roll) our laundry bin to the first floor, but I would love to have a cute mudroom one day, too!

2 Bins with labels of the content inside, change/button bowl

Cricut Letters, Sign that reads, "when I said I do, I didn't mean laundry" - a wedding gift

So, it's not the coolest place, but it would be ridic. to paint...so I like the brown paisley baskets with yellow stripe tags (cut from Cricut), and the brown Cricut letters in Loop Dee Doo font.  You know teachers, we like to label and bin everything! {pantry, closets, bathrooms, etc.} ha!  To the left of the dryer is a large open space where I have my drying rack stored and a small trash can. I found that it saves me time to have a trash can nearby to quickly throw away the lint.  On the left side of the washer is where I store the ironing board and our water-heater lives. :)

Today {because I'm on a snow day and bored} I'm thinking about adding letters in a different font under the 'Laundry Room' stickers with maybe - Wash. Dry. Repeat.  stacked on top of one another. Overkill?

I'll save you the boredom from looking at my linen closet...but I did get an email asking where the baskets came from in my pantry make-over.  DOLLAR STORE! Yep, lots of sizes, designs, and colors.  In the linen closet I chose lime green and bright blue polka dot bins, you know what the pantry ones look like, and at school I have the multi-colored polka dot bins on my shelves.

Meal Planning

Ok, so you all know I obviously find cooking fun and enjoyable with all the recipes I share... But I also love having my meals prepared and organized! I'm sure that's a big shocker to some. :) 
I cook about 4 nights out of the week (Mon.-Thurs.) and then Friday/Saturday are our nights out, and Sunday nights are just little things like frozen pizza, chicken fingers, etc.  Besides making a menu to keep me organized, it helps me stay less stressed every night coming home from work wondering what to cook, helps with saving money, and helps with not wasting food!

I like to make my list on Sundays {oh, how I love list-making}, go to the grocery if I need to {but we only go every 2 weeks, so some weeks get super creative with what I've got to work with in my organized pantry, ha!}, and post it up on the fridge.  Now, to most people a post-it note menu planner would be fine.  But come on, I can't have that!

So, I did a little searching on the internet and came up with little that I liked. :( I'm a paper-and-pencil kind of gal, so I can't have anything fancy like keeping it on my phone! For goodness sakes I still keep a large agenda book in my purse! 
So, I made a little planner, but then thought about what a pain it would be to print off every week...

Next I thought about using my Cricut letters and making a chart on the fridge. Hmm, still not sold just yet. But maybe. We'll see. :)  I'm thinking this might be my Saturday morning craft.
{I know, I'm such a nerd!}

I'd LOVE to do chalkboard paint over my pantry door. I even went to buy the chalkboard paint and was ready to go, until I realized my door is the type that has the 2 rectangle shapes cut into it on the outside instead of the one large rectangle.  Do you know what I'm talking about? Such a sad moment. ha!

Any cute ideas for me?!

Also, I'm starting to get my shelves put together. I'm not sold on the second shelf, but I love the top one.  How cute is the Lexington plate?! Brian's cousin, Kelley, bought that for us for Christmas! So perfect!

wedding champagne flutes, china platter, wedding sign, canister with removable pieces

How cute is this plate?! It has all the different local Lexington places on it.