Month of Thankfulness

Wow! Where has this year gone?!? I can't believe it is already November. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I have so many wonderful things to be thankful for.

On Facebook, the trend this month is to each day list a thing to be thankful for. Last year I did not jump on the "bandwagon" but this year I have, and I enjoy it. Some people complain and say "we should be thankful everyday and not just during November. I completely agree, but we usually don't take the time to say out loud or so public on Facebook the things we are in fact thankful for (and that includes the people that are spouting off that thankfulness isn't limited to November lol).

So I would like to make a short list of the things I'm thankful for on here.

• My sweet AJ. lol. We argue like an old married couple, bicker like siblings, love like soul mates, and share so many memories that I cherish. Our house may not always be clean. We may have dishes and laundry piled up for days, but the love we share brings me true happiness. I love that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him. I love that I get to show him true love forever. I love that I get to share more memories with him in the future. 
• My loving family. I am so very thankful to get to have such a large loving family. I love that it may not be blood that bonds us all together, but it is love.
• My friends. It seems like the older we get the more we realize how few friends we have. lol. I love that I don't have to see or talk to some of my special friends every day or even week to know which ones I can count on through thick and thin no matter what. It warms my heart to know they are there for me through it all--good times as well as bad. 
• My job. I'm so thankful to be employed when so many are not. I am so thankful that in turn I have a reliable car, a beautiful home, and all the things I need in life. I may not always have the things I "want" in life, but I am thankful to always have the things I need. 
• My health. I am so thankful that I have my health. I may not be "in shape" or have the figure that everyone thinks I should--even myself lol, but I am thankful for my health as well as my family's health.

Thank you for letting me share my little slice of heaven--also known as my life--with you. I wish you all the best as the holidays are upon us... only 49 shopping days left til Christmas...

A Summer Full of Memories

My family has always meant the world to me. I have always known that I have a wonderful family. I have always known that we can count on each other during the good times and the bad. Thankfully up until 2012 almost all of the times I've been with my family have been good times and the happiest of memories. It's not even September yet and 2012 has been the biggest year of loss my family has experienced in the almost 26 years of my life. In April, we lost my Aunt Wanda (follow link to previous post), and it devastated me that the world lost such a free spirit.

Now, I want to share with the world what a wonderful, Godly man my Pawpaw was, how great my family is and how difficult this journey was on us all...

 (my Pawpaw and me a long, long time ago)

September 2010 the doctors found an extremely rare tumor in the direct center of my Pawpaw's brain. He was 70 years old, and they decided the best course of treatment would be radiation to keep the tumor from growing instead of removing it due to its location and his age. Radiation was not a permanent fix though, and July 9, 2012 he was admitted into ICU because this rapid growing tumor had started growing again. A new doctor had seen his case since 2010 and was willing to try surgery because the tumor was now terminal and radiation was no longer an option. There were great risks with this surgery. My Pawpaw knew them all and as a preacher of God's word for the last 35+ years, he had already made his "peace" with God and knew whatever the outcome, it would be better than what he was experiencing. Surgery was scheduled for Friday, July 13, 2012. I was supposed to start 13 days of vacation the next day. Thankfully my employer and coworkers worked it out so that I was able to join my family during the surgery. I arrived at the hospital that morning prior to them taking him back. We were able to pray with him and each other. He told us he loved us (a memory I will cherish for a lifetime). We cried. We held one another. They came to take him and wheel him to the operating room and we followed him until we weren't allowed any farther. The aching in my chest that he may not make it out of that surgery was one of the most real emotions I've had in my life.



Something I'm not sure we are ever ready for is to see the people we've looked up to our whole life in tears. It is an awful feeling in your core when you see your Daddy holding onto his sisters and mother as his Daddy is being wheeled away to a risky surgery on a terminal brain tumor. It is heart wrenching to think about the worry in their souls, and to see the sorrow on their faces because it is out of their hands. Seeing the strongest people I know at their breaking points was quite possibly the most humbling experience of my life.

(my daddy and his mama)

I learned a lot about myself and my family that day. It seemed like he was in surgery for an eternity.  We sat in silence a lot. Mostly though, we enjoyed each others' company--despite the circumstances. We laughed more than we probably ever thought we would. We laughed til we cried.Then, we cried til we laughed again. I know that God had his hand on us that day (as He does every day) because He was preparing us for the longest journey we've ever endured as a family.

My Pawpaw made it out of surgery 8+ hours later. They were able to remove most of the tumor, but he never really woke up from it. He was barely conscious for the next 13 days. Then, on July 26th, they took him down to insert a drain tube in his head--he already had a shunt, it wasn't working, it was not supposed to be a major event. Most of the family wasn't even in town (he was in the hospital 2+ hours away from where we live), let alone at the hospital when this was taking place. While they were performing this mildly routine procedure, he had a hemorrhage in his brain which sent him into a deep coma, and he was placed on a ventilator. After running tests that weekend and letting him rest, it was determined that next Monday, July 30, 2012 that there was nothing else medically that could be done. We were able to have him transferred back to our home town, they removed the ventilator between 5 and 6 pm that day, and we waited. And we waited. And we waited. We had just thought the previous 3-4 weeks had been exhausting, but nothing could've prepared us for this.

Something I had never honestly thought about in my whole entire life was what happens after "life support" is removed. On TV they make it seem so sudden. They remove the ventilator and then the crying starts, then the flat line and then they raise up the sheet and call "time of death". Well, I'm a television medical drama professional--House and Grey's are my favorites--but this was nothing like that. It was on the verge of torture sitting at his bedside or in the hallway because at times you can't bare to sit and watch him struggle for each breath.

 (guess this is proof we got a little sleep in the hospital lol)

It was emotionally draining to pray and beg God to either let him stand up and walk out of the hospital or go to heaven to meet Him. It was gut-wrenching to watch my grandmother--his wife for 47 years--sleep in a hospital "recliner" next to his bed every nite.

 (my mom-o and pawpaw's last pic together...I'll cherish it for the rest of my life)

It was torture to have to go to work and be on edge all day because at any moment you could get a phone call telling you to leave and come back to the hospital because "it's time". Well, after the longest week of our lives a little after midnight on the morning of Monday, August 6, 2012, my Pawpaw finally got his peace. The fight was over. He met our God and has been dancing on the streets of gold ever since.

The funeral was a beautiful remembrance of his life. It was a celebration because of his 2 favorite things--God and his family. A close 3rd was his love for Yankees Baseball though lol.

This experience through the loss of my Pawpaw has taught me several things:

• Family will always stand by my side no matter what.
• I have wonderful supportive friends that held me up when I didn't feel I could stand.
• My employers are great because they gave me all the time I needed with my family--no questions asked.
• Love does exist--my grandparents were living proof of that.
• I need to get back in church because that's where God and my Pawpaw want me to be
• AJ is one of the most supportive, loving men I've ever met in my life and I am thankful for him.
• Sometimes it's okay to laugh even when all you want to do is cry.
• Sometimes strong people feel weak too--and that's okay.
• God has a plan through it all... even when we can't see it. 

Thank you for letting me share my journey with you all. God Bless! :-)

Busy, Busy Weekend

Did so much to our house this weekend, and I am one proud woman. AJ and a bunch of other helpers put a new roof on our house. Then I put a few helpers to work on some other exterior things. We took the ugly carpet off of our front porch, pulled weeds out/cleaned up the flower beds, painted the brick on the front of the house, painted the shutters, and then painted the front door. SUCCESS! I love how everything turned out. I am so proud of our house. I have been proud of the inside for awhile but never really loved the "curb appeal", but now that has all changed. Still indecisive about the front door color though. It turned out "Tiffany Blue" which wasn't exactly what I was going for, but it's some $5 clearance paint I found at Lowe's so I can't really complain. Going to post a few pics for you to enjoy then headed to bed for some much needed rest... hope you all enjoyed your Holiday Weekend and didn't work nearly as hard as we did. :-)

 The white trim on the door around the window is now black to match the doorknob. I haven't taken an updated pic yet...

Life may give you lemons, but it also gives you someone to help you make lemonade with them.

I feel so far behind. It's been over a week since I've written! I don't like it at all, but my life has been super crazy in the last week. Sunday was my first Pampered Chef party! I had so much fun. I'll be honest that the turn-out wasn't quite as amazing as I thought it was going to be, but the people closest to me plus an extra super special girl I hadn't seen in a while were there. I've had some additional orders outside of the party so it's going to work out pretty well for my first order being placed tomorrow.

So I spent the whole weekend cleaning to prepare for all the guests at my house. I finally finished my kitchen redecorating that I started the weekend before, and it looks pretty good if I might say so myself--especially since pretty much everything was "budget friendly".  (I will post pictures sometime soon)

Also, this week I learned how hard it is for me to not get overly invested in things/people. It's like when I care about something or someone I have to give it/them 110%. I guess that's not a completely bad thing, but it starts to wear on you. It's easier to get your heart broken by people or your feelings hurt if you care so much. I do it a lot with my employees too. It's hard for me when I find out one or some them have been talking about me--I take it so personally, but then I have to try to step back and realize, everyone talks about their boss at some time or another and it's not personal most of the time. SIGH.

 I posted on facebook about this exact subject because my feelings were hurt, and I was having an "emotional day" because female hormones are so lovely and sometimes you just get upset because you feel like it--or even if you don't feel like it...

 I ended up deleting the post on facebook today--about 24 hours later because it was pretty negative and I'm not usually the one to post negative things so publically. However, the response I received in that 24 hours was overwhelming. I realized that I DO have friends or at least people who are close enough to know my heart and know that I have good intentions--even when ranting on facebook. I appreciated all the encouragement and today was a much better day. I probably offended some people with how blunt I was about them talking behind my back, but I realized if they are guilty enough to get upset about it then they probably thought it was about them because they were guilty and had been doing it...so I feel less bad about that. It started out being in reference to a specific situation but really was more in general about how much people talk about other people and how much it frustrates me.

I have a lot of younger employees so I'm around the gossiping so much--it is exhausting sometimes to listen to all them bicker and fight with one another over the most trivial things, but I guess that's one of the joys of management huh?

On a happier note, last night AJ (after knowing how heartbroken I was over the gossiping) was even sweeter than he normally is. I have to tell you--he is a very sweet guys, but last night he let me ramble about girl stuff and didn't criticize or ignore me for "just being a girl." He genuinely loved me and held me until I felt all better, and that ladies and gentlemen is one of the 1,763,054,834 (approximately haha) reasons that I love him so very much. So thankful to have my soulmate by my side--no matter how much friends, family, or others in my life hurt my heart I know that he has it and is protecting it from the storm.

Plate Project

First of all isn't my new kitchen wall color so cute?!? Second of all I love my plates on the wall (would've taken a picture of the whole wall with the table and everthing in it to give you the whole picture, but there's still a mess from painting sitting on the table so I didn't lol).

I went to Target today and purchased 7 plates for approximately $2-4 each. When I got home (almost immediately because I was so excited that I couldn't wait), I tore off wax paper about the size of the area I wanted to cover in plates--I had to tape three long strips together--for the future I would use something thicker like craft paper instead though.

I laid the taped wax paper on the counter and arranged the plates the way I liked them on it. After I thought I had it all the way I wanted it, I traced around them with a black sharpie.

Then I took this picture so I would remember which designs I had where so that I would know how to hang them.

I then hung the wax paper to the wall and got the plates ready to hang.

This picture shows why I would use something heavier than wax paper next time.

Ok are you ready for the GENIUS way to hang these?!?! I hot glued old pop can tabs to the back like the next picture shows.

Once glue was dry on all seven plates, I put a nail in each circle on the wax paper about an inch and half or so from the top of the circles. Then, I removed the wax paper from the wall. And hung the plates by the glued pop tab on the back.

It literally took about 15-20 minutes for this easy and cute project for my kitchen wall. Can't wait for the silverware on canvas that I am going to make for the opposing wall--soon to come.

There's the completed project again! :-)

Change is Good

Today I woke up and went to a baby shower for a sweet friend of mine--an old co-worker. She's expecting a little girl. I am so happy for her and enjoyed catching up with friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Today was a reminder that change is good. Even though I have a new job now and we don't see each other often, I know that I still have true friends I can count on. In my opinion, those are the best kinds of friends--the ones that you don't have to talk to every day, but you know that they are there no matter what because they're that good of a friend--just a phone call away.

After all the baby shower festivities, my mom came over and spent quality time with me painting my kitchen. So excited! I love the new color and my kitchen looks SO much better (even thought it didn't look bad before it wasn't what I preferred). It's now a neutral tan (rather than bright red and sage green). So now I feel like the walls need something bolder on them. Now I see that the decor that was on the bright walls isn't bright/dark enough to be on the tan walls... Well guess that means I get to go shopping. Oh, darn. I guess I will take one for the team and go shopping for stuff for my kitchen--MY FAVORITE THING TO DO!

Also, this comes at a perfect time because I am having my first Pampered Chef party next weekend. I am also very excited about this. I finally signed up to be an Independent Consultant for Pampered Chef last week. My starter kit was delivered on Thursday, and it felt like Christmas at my house! I just kept opening more and more boxes of great kitchen gadgets and products. I cannot wait until everyone is at my house next week for my party so I can show off all these great products!

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend as much as I am... Tomorrow we're headed to spend time with AJ's family for his grandpa's 80th birthday--excited to get to spend time with his family and share in the joy of this amazing milestone of 80 years....

I made a quick salsa for the birthday party that is my favorite and so very easy.

Recipe:
2 cans original Rotel
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chunky Rotel
half a bunch of Cilantro
4 green onions
4 garlic cloves
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste

Put one can of original Rotel, Cilantro, 2 green onions (green and whites), garlic cloves, and salt into food processor until smooth.

Open the other cans and put contents in a large bowl. Add the blended mixture from food processor. Add other 2 green onions (green and whites) sliced into small rounds. Add juice of lime. Let sit in refrigerator for at least a couple hours to let flavors mix.

Serve with Tortilla chips.

The King to my Kingdom

This may be my favorite post to write so far, but now, I'm not sure where to begin. With it being Valentine's Day I figured it'd only be fitting to tell you more about the love of my life, the man that puts a smile on my face like no one else on Earth can. He is truly my other half. It's that Ying-Yang thing. We balance each other but fit together perfectly all at the same time. I never thought I'd ever fall in love, let alone have that mind-numbing, life-altering kind of love.

We met, and he never left my mind. We didn't speak again but once or twice after meeting. Then, nearly two years later we started dating, and I've never looked back. In May, we will celebrate our three year anniversary, and I couldn't be more happy. Sometime between now and our anniversary (I'm pretty sure--fingers crossed) I will become his fiancee instead of just his girlfriend. I cannot wait. I love being with him. I love everything about him. I cannot wait to plan our wedding and our future together.

I love even the smallest little things about him. I love the way he smells after a shower. I love the way he kisses me on the cheek. I love the way he drives me crazy while I'm trying to cook dinner, and he thinks he needs to come help. I love the way he looks at me--whether we're home alone or in a room full of people he gives me this smile that only he can give me. I love that he'd do ANYTHING in the world for me--like the time he drove to the store at 1am to get milk because I poured cereal and then noticed we were out. I love how he gets frustrated when I don't understand when he tries to explain things (I mean I'm a girl and some stuff I just don't get because I'm not a boy). I love that he knows how to do some many things--he's very handy, and I appreciate him for that. I love that he is a hardworking man that endures so many hours at work just to provide for me. I love that he can make me laugh even when I really don't want to. I love how goofy he is sometimes--but also how sincere he is. I love how well he treats my family--especially my sweet nephew. I love how sometimes he gets a little jealous--it's cute--not like the super creepy, scary jealousy. I love him because no matter what I know that he has my back--against anyone. I love the way he loves me--unconditionally.

"Normal" Weekends

Wow... What a weekend off! I have LOVED it... Starting this weekend I have Saturday AND Sunday's off now... If you know anything about the restaurant industry, then you know that is unheard of, and I couldn't be any happier about this. AJ has "normal" weekends off too so we got to enjoy two full days off together, and it was wonderful.

Yesterday, we went to the pig show (first one I'd ever been to) to watch my brothers and 3 year old nephew (well technically he's my cousin, but my family's kinda special so don't ask me to put the family tree together... just trust me he's more like a nephew because his momma is one of my dearest friends). They did their pig showing things--still not sure how it all works, but I was supportive and pretended I had a clue. I also had an excuse to wear my cowboy boots so I was excited.

This is what my super cute boots look like. LOVE them--bought them for a George Strait concert in 2008 and have only worn them like 10-15 times since so I get pretty excited for any chance I get to wear them. I had so much fun watching them show their pigs--they did so good in my untrained clueless eyes, and I couldn't be any more proud of them...

Then went for a "night on the town" with AJ and one of my bestest friends in the whole world. That was a blast--but one of those "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" kinda nights, so, that's all the details I can give you. Then this morning woke up much too early for a Sunday off of work, and went to a yummy breakfast, took a big ol wonderful Sunday afternoon nap that can't feel nearly as good on any other day of the week, and then some good friends came over for dinner. I made roasted pork loin, rolls, salad with homemade ranch dressing, corn, and roasted/fried potatoes. These potatoes were my demise tonight. I am normally a pretty decent cook and have people over for dinner almost every Sunday night--it's my favorite time of the whole week. I have made roasted red potatoes with butter, salt, pepper, and vegetable seasoning a million times, and they are usually pretty fail-proof. I seemed to forget how long they take in the oven, and it seemed like they would NEVER be finished. The pork loin was done to perfection and waiting on the potatoes (guess I should've started them before the meat instead of the other way around). So, being impatient and surrounded by hungry people, I poured the potatoes in a pan on the stove, cranked the heat up to high, and fried those bad boys in aforementioned butter until they were golden and wonderful (I mean, what wouldn't be wonderful after frying in butter?).

Moral of the story: If all else fails, fry it. Oh, and don't forget that roasting potatoes in the oven takes a very long time so you should probably start cooking them before 8pm!

Hope ya'll have a great week and enjoyed your weekends as much as I did!

My Addiction--Pinterest

One of my biggest "addictions" right now is Pinterest--if you haven't heard of it or been on there, you are really missing out. It is the greatest site I've ever been on in my life, but it's also my biggest downfall. As with any other addiction in life--it may feel really good, but it can also get in the way of having a normal life. (It really made me laugh out loud to type that.) I warn everyone that I tell about the site, "You will be forever changed. This will consume your life now. You'd better be prepared to spend lots of time on Pinterest--You will love it." It is true; I could spend hours on there planning my home decor, future wedding, and dinners that I will cook someday.

With that being said, I would like to share with you the first project that I created based on an idea I got from Pinterest. It is so easy and has so many possibilities.


 I made these cute canvas quote signs for my living room.

To give credit where credit is due, this is the inspiration for my project: ORIGINAL POST

Side note: The walls in my living room are NOT the color of mustard as they appear in this picture. Yes, they are yellow but a much more mellow yellow than they look in the picture so please don't judge me on the outrageous color it seems to be.

Now that is out of way, and we can get started on the "how to" for this project.

What you will need to complete canvas quote project:

• 1 canvas (I used 8x10 and 5x7 and made 4)
• Enough fabric to cover the canvas (I purchased 1/2 yard of 4 different fabrics because I wasn't sure what I'd want to use, but print fabric will work better than solid colors)
• Can of spray adhesive
• Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks or Staple Gun
• Scrapbook stickers* (enough packages of different sizes/fonts to have all the letters you need to spell out your quote and color doesn't matter or need to match fabric)
• Black acrylic paint

First, you start with a blank canvas like this:

Second, you cover it with a fabric of your choice. I measured the fabric and cut it to size--it needs to be enough to cover the front and sides as well as having enough wrapped around the back to be able to be attached. Then, I sprayed the front of the canvas with spray adhesive. Next, I hot glued it to the back, but it could also be stapled and it would look like this:

 Third, you need to stick the stickers on the fabric to "write out" the quote you want to put on your sign.

*The thicker scrapbook stickers are a little more expensive but much easier to pull off after painting and do not slip in the wet paint when trying to paint over them. They are worth the investment for this project.

Fourth, after you like the way the words look on your canvas, start painting over the canvas. I didn't paint the sides because I wanted to let the pattern of the fabric show, but you could definitely paint the sides as well. I applied two coats of paint and let it dry. It looked like this:

Lastly, once the paint is dry you pull off all the letters. Now, the fabric shows through where the letters once were making a reverse stencil. After the letters are pulled off, the project is complete and ready to hang.