Resolutions?

Let's face it - I am QUEEN of procrastination. I'm not about to make a list of resolutions that I likely won't keep. But there are some things I would like to work on this year. No pressure or judgement on myself if I don't do it.

Hubs and I are discussing a beachy vacation over the summer. This would obvs require swimsuits. Which would obvs require some weight loss. So I want to get back into running. I don't care about the number on the scale, but I would like to wear a swimsuit and show off my tattoos without feeling like a whale.

This is the year I want an organized sewing room. The sooner it gets organized the sooner I can have a television in there. And with a television comes a DVD player. Which means I can watch/listen to movies while I work.

I want to give more. Whether it's time, or money, or whatever. I feel like we were so blessed this year that I need to give more next year. Not grudgingly either, but with a happy heart. I think I can do it. I would love to find a couple organizations that I can really get into.

I want to make more. Over vacations I have the time, but sometimes I just get lazy. I need to be motivated. It's fun when I start, just the getting started takes a little extra oomph.

So instead of resolutions, what are some of the things y'all would like to do? Focus on?

Merry Christmas!

It's Here!

It's Christmas Eve! Presents are wrapped and cookies are almost done. As I sat on the couch with hubby this morning looking at the gifts under our tree I couldn't help but feel extremely blessed this year. We had a few instances of "conveniently timed money." And we were able to do a lot because of it. I know it wasn't random, and I'm thankful to God for blessing us in such ways as well as countless other ways this year and particularly this season.

I didn't really prep a special post, so I thought I'd share our Christmas card with you. Well, one side of it. Actually, one side of one of them. (Yes, we had two different ones. And they were both two-sided.)

 

Gotta love when your scanner goes out and you have to take a crappy webcam photo. All credit goes to the super awesome Mariano Friginal, our wedding photographer. Pics were taken in... August I think? When Sookie was a lot smaller and Greenlee was fresh from a haircut. :) I love my babies. 

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving

Let's see if I can keep this short and sweet and let everyone get back to celebrating (or preparing to celebrate)...

I feel like every year there's more to be thankful for. Is that a part of growing up, or am I just that blessed? I work at a private Christian school so I teach my kids daily Bible lessons and one week our theme was blessings. It's funny how a lesson designed for first and second graders can make you look at your own life. There's so much to be thankful for that I just overlook things sometimes. So a quick list today...

• my job. Thankful doesn't begin to cover it, I'm definitely blessed by being there.
• my family. Mine as well as my husband's. How many people can have their brother-in-law live with them and genuinely enjoy i?
• the ability my husband and I have to support ourselves without getting into debt. That's so hard for so many these days that it's a big deal to me that we live in a house and have our individual cars. It's not something to be overlooked.

I also wanted to throw some things in from Pinterest...

Source: cardiganempire.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Ashley on Pinterest

Happy Thanksgiving friends. I'm thankful for all of you.

Happy Father's Day

A quick one today because I still have to finish desserts for later!

Started the morning by heading downtown with mom and dad. Mom and I did a two-mile walk and dad did a six-mile run. SIX MILES! His time was under an hour. AND he's fifty years old.

Go dad.

Also have to send love to my grandpas. The local one who I'll get to see today as well as my grandpa Jim in Alabama. He's not out here this year (sads), but I'm workin' on getting him to visit us.

A happy FIRST Father's Day to my long-time friend Leon. Growing up we probably would have laughed if someone told us he would be a parent before me. But he's doing a fantastic job.

And all you other dads out there... keep setting a good example for your kids.  Enjoy your day.

Happy Mother's Day

Just wanted to take a minute to give a quick shout out to all the moms out there. And I'll throw in a few specific ones today...

• my mom... duh. Thanks for everything.
• my grandmas, but extra props to my grandma Ophie. She's always been a saint for some of the things she had to endure, but now she's raising my twin 17-year-old cousins... WOW. And she's doing an amazing job.
• my friend Kellee... a new mommy. :)
• my wonderful Bonnie. New grandma and always an amazing woman.
• my sissy Beth. She does it all... and has finally started asking for help when she needs it.

I love all these wonderful women plus so many more.

Happy Mother's Day!

Spring Break - Day 9

Happy Easter my friends!

It was a nice, quiet day spent with my family.

Actually, this morning it was spent making these babies. (Forgive the gross picture about to attack you.)

That is possibly one of the best cupcakes I have ever made. It's a new vanilla bean recipe I tried out and it is AMAAAAZING! No I will not be sharing my recipe, I have a business to run (kind of).

Anywho, the cupcakes were made for this afternoon where I had good food and fun times with some family. Got to visit with my brother which feels rare lately. And giggle like a high schooler with my high school cousins. The talk about prom and boys and friends was funny. I felt a little like an old lady.

Hope y'all had a great day. Tomorrow is my last day of break (sads!). So I'd like to do something epic... which won't happen. But fun times will be had.

5 Things

Ahhhh... three day weekends are glorious. And this is my last one for awhile. Although I do have a week off in February. Ahhhh... weeks off are glorious. haha

Anyway, my weekend was relatively productive. Wanna hear about it? Of course you do, that's why you're here.

5 Things I Accomplished This Weekend

1. Ice skating! Went for our nephew's birthday on Friday night. Surprisingly, I did not fall and injure myself. Tad had a ton of fun and wants to do it again.
2. Helped sissy out at her house on Saturday. Cleaning up, folding laundry, playing with children... all fun. Because I was with the right person.
3. Painting! I painted a picture frame for the wall above my mantel, a wreath hanger, and a little birdcage. Happy with all three.
4. Crafting! Made two wreaths. One mini, one smallish. Love them both. Especially LOVE the one for above my mantel.
5. Snow trip! Yesterday hubby and I took my two cousins (in high school) and headed up to the snow. Had fun laughing at each other falling. Had fun watching me try to kill myself (I ate it twice while sledding down a hill). I'm can guarantee some soreness today. If you see me later ask me how it was getting out of bed. :/

So as you can see I used my three day weekend and had fun with it! How was yours?

First

Just checking in to see how everyone spent their first day of 2011. I got in a nap with the fur baby. Watched a Jaws marathon on Encore. Snacked on random food I happened to have at home. Never changed out of my sweatpants. Built a nice fire. And started a book. I'm guessing when hubby gets home we'll do more of the same. Maybe grab some dinner because cleaning the kitchen was NOT part of my day. :) Hope everyone else was able to relax and enjoy their day.

5 Things

Hey there! It's Tuesday and it's going to be a busy one for me. Singing practice with my kids, I get to do my acting coach thing after school, then I have to come home and prep for cupcakes. Because I have some Glee themed cupcakes to do for one of my girls tomorrow.

Did I mention we got our Christmas tree last night?

Do you love it? In all it's Charlie Brown-ness?

Okay, so that's not our tree. Hubby made it for me while he was trimming the real one.

There's our real one! It's huge. I had to do huge, we're fortunate enough to have high ceilings at our house.

Just had to share the goodness with you. Let's get to our list today...

5 Things I Love About Christmas at Our House

1. Um, kinda mentioned it, but our high ceilings allow us to get a tall tree. Me likey.
2. I have a porch that's fun to decorate. I hung ornaments from the planter hooks. And filled a standing planter with lights and colored mesh.
   
3. Our mantle. It's way cute this year. I'll take pics at some point.
4. I'm not constantly afraid some ghetto person will come steal our wreath.
5. All our Nightmare Before Christmas decor. Ornaments, wreath, the man-eating wreath that's a work in progress, throw blanket, snow globe, dessert dishes... we have a lot. I love it to pieces.

So what do you love about your Christmas decorations?

Happy Tuesday!

Monday Coolness

This is some of the coolest coolness I've seen in a LONG time. Some guy times his Christmas lights with a program to the song "Raining Blood" by Slayer.

Yeah, I like Slayer. Deal with it.

You don't even really have be a Slayer fan to appreciate how cool it is the way he pulled this off. It's flat out amazing. My jaw dropped the first time I watched it. I laughed at the coolness of it all. And I may or may not have watched it several times since Thursday night.

Witness the coolness for yourself.




Happy Monday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone is able to be with friends and family today and share some good times and good food.

I have so so much to be thankful for this year. My husband has a great job. I finally have a great job that I worked hard to prepare for. My family is happy and healthy. Hubby and I are able to live in a house now where we feel infinitely safer than we did at our old apartment. I have an amazing church group that I work with. My friends are the best anyone could ask for.

Take a minute today to remember what you're thankful for.

Coolness

You ever have one of those weekends? Where everything you did was awesome? That was mine. It could have been that it was my first holiday since school started. And the fact that hubby and I had a day off together for the first time in almost a month (seriously, we didn't realize how tough our opposite schedules would be).

Would you like a rundown of the awesomeness? Okay then...

Friday 5ish pm - I get home and decide that a bath and book are necessary. Done and done. Feeling good.

Friday 7ish pm - I realize I never watched part one of the Jersey Housewives reunion. So I watch. And I LOVE it. Can't wait for part two.

Saturday 6ish am - Uncool. My body decided to try and wake up. I have none of it and fall asleep for another hourish. Good enough I suppose.

Saturday 9 am - Mom and I go to my baby's first flag football game! He was adorable and that is all that even needs to be said.

Saturday 11ish am - Mom and I go to set up centerpieces and decor for my grandpa's western-themed 80th birthday party. We love what we've done with the place.

Saturday 5 pm - Party starts. Tweeting ensues. It's a good time with no drama and my grandpa is the cutest thing ever.

Sunday 10 am - Head to grandma's with the parents. Menudo, pan dulce, and more family time.

Sunday 2 pm - Cousin comes to town. We go pick up my Tad and do some shopping.

Sunday night Tad and Kayla both stayed here. We watched Diary of a Wimpy Kid (hilarious!). Looked for constellations. Just hung out. Then all day Monday we were at my mom's. Again, just hanging out. I snuck in a nap while Tad played.

Thank goodness for a relaxing weekend. Now to count down to the next holiday...

It's Not About the Burgers

Today is Memorial Day here in the States.

For kids it's day off of school.

For a lot of grown ups it's a day off of work.

For just about everyone it's the official kick-off day for summer. The perfect day to jump back in the pool, bust out the grill, and make some burgers.

I'm just here to remind everyone, it's not about the burgers.

Today is a day to think about our war veterans. Specifically to remember those who died to give us many of the rights and freedoms we have at the moment. There are plenty of people who don't support war in general. There are plenty of people who don't support our troops. I'm not one of those. I rarely get political/religious/personal on here, but days like today earn it.

I stand behind every one of my family, friends, and acquaintances who are in the military. If someone gets sent overseas, I'm praying for their safe return. If any of their loved ones needed help with something while they were gone, I would offer it up. Isn't that the least anyone can do for someone who is putting their life on the line for the country we live in? For you personally?

So take just a minute today to appreciate what we have, and the men and women who fought to make it this way. Even if you don't know anyone personally, just think about it. I'm not asking you to go to a cemetery, or a memorial, or anything out of the normal day. Just stop and think. And give a silent (or loud) thanks.

Happy Mother's Day!

Just a short and sweet note to all you moms out there.

You are amazing and probably under appreciated. But your hard work and tough love make a difference.

Mom - I won't get into it too much here, but you have shown me strength and wisdom so much lately. I'm so glad I can come to you and feel better after we've talked.

Bon - Only you could be considered a mom and a best friend. You've gotten me through so much.

Sissy - You are doing an amazing job. Keep it up. Your children love you beyond words. And I will always be there for all of you.

Rachel - I'm so thrilled for you. You are going to be a wonderful mother. WONDERFUL.

There are lots more people I could address here, but I'll stick with the short and sweet idea - I love all of you!!!

April Fools!!!

Ha, two years ago Tad didn't fully understand that April Fool's Day is only the FIRST day of April. Or even that it's only in April. He shouted it at people frequently. Including at my wedding rehearsal. Dang kid...

I'm not big on the day (that's the teacher in me). Although there are some good things you can do to your family members that won't take a lot of prep. Let me share.

1. Do you have one of those spray attachments for your sink? Before your victim uses the sink, head over there with a rubber band. Wrap it around the handle of the attachment so that the thing is pressed down. When your victim turns on the regular faucet it will come out of the sprayer... right at them if you've positioned the sprayer straight out. I'm a fan of that one (yes, I've done it).
2. Do you have kids? Make dinner look like dessert tonight. Make meatloaf in your cupcake pans. Then top it with mashed potato "frosting." I've seen that online a TON. Never done it myself, but I don't have kids. Just a husband who acts like one.
3. Vaseline on the doorknob anyone?
4. Change the clocks to make them think they're late. (Don't ACTUALLY make them late, that would be wrong.)
5. If you have milk in a cardboard carton, dye it before anyone drinks it. It'll freak them out to pour green (or purple, or blue) milk in their cereal.

Keep it simple if you're doing something last minute. And if you pull something really good off, please let me know. I love hearing good prank stories.

Friday Photo

It's Friiiiidaaaay!!! Two days before Valentine's Day. And the day that we are putting in our notice at our apartment!!! Yup, we move into our new space March 8. Woohooo!!!

I had some trouble picking one photo today. So you get a few. Enjoy.

Here's Tad's window right now. We decorate his window since it's right by the front door here. And he was pretty stoked to decorate it for Valentine's Day. Now it turns out it will be the last window decorations we have living here...


Here's my Valentine's wreath! I pretty much love it. I didn't want to go overboard and have a bunch of glitter hearts or anything. So I stuck with hot pink feathers and sequins and other stuff from the Christmas clearance bin at a craft store. I know how to shop. ;)


See? Here's a closeup of some of the hot pink cuteness. (And I just realized this pictures is sideways, oops.)


And here is the thing that made my month. Thanks to my little Tad. I picked him up on Tuesday and he busted open his backpack and said, "Tia Ashley, I made you something." I figured he was just going to give me some of his schoolwork like he does sometimes. I always make a big deal out of anything he gives me. Anyway, he pulls out this paper you see above. In case you can't read it, the prompt says "If I found a box of Valentines..." and he finished it by writing, "I wd giv one to my Tia Ashley." (They're working on their inventive spelling right now and he's doing great!) How ADORABLE is that? I felt pretty special that out of everyone he could have named, he wrote MY name! It's sitting at my house making me smile every time I look at it.

So happy Friday everyone! And happy Valentine's Day in a couple days!

Wish List Wednesday

I'm influenced by the upcoming holiday this week. So these are things I totally wouldn't mind getting. If hubby and I were getting gifts this year. Which we're not. But I can totally look at these and dream. Once again, everything was found on Etsy.

These pillows are pretty cute. I'm not too thrilled with the price, but I'm pretty sure I could make them if I still want them next year. (via SofaGarden)


I love this necklace. I love the color combo. And I'm pretty sure I'd wear it all the time. (via verarodrigues)


This is a cute, non-cheesy Valentine's Day shirt. I don't think I own any shirts tied to this particular holiday. But I'd start a collection with this one. (via ShamefulTees)


Seeing as how I use that symbol all the time, I think I need this one. (via metalsmitten)


I'm also one of those weirdos that likes conversation hearts (hubby hates them and just admitted to it this year). So these necklaces are perfect to me also. (via minasyani)


And I picked this because it's adorable. I have a thing about birds. And it's pink, so it fits in with the holiday, right? And it's a cupcake pedestal!!! I think it would have to be on my counter all the time. (via whitneysmith)

Don't be surprised if you start seeing some house stuff on the list next week. There's plenty out there that I would love to have if we had the dinero.

Late... No Surprise There

So I'm making a wreath for my door for Valentine's Day. This is unheard of because it's not a holiday I typically decorate for. But this year I'm all about it for some reason.

Anyways, I totally realized that I never showed you the wreath I made for Christmas! This is totally relevant because the wreaths are the same type.

So... tadaaaa!

Yeah, that's black tulle. And so many of you are probably thinking, "BLACK?! And what's with the green and purple???" Well, hubby and I have a Nightmare Before Christmas theme going on here for the holidays. Ornaments, fancy feather wreath for the mantle, little snow scene with figurines, and even a vampire teddy bear for the top of the tree this year! So the black and green and purple obviously fit in.

Here's a close up of the stuff I put in. Glitter ornaments are from a dollar store. So are the snowflakes. The ribbon I got for fifty cents a spool. Mom had the black tulle already. And I used a coupon for the styrofoam wreath that's under all that tulle. So it ended up being a really cheap project. And I LOVE how it turned out.

So like I said, currently working on a Valentine's Day wreath. But it's not going to be obnoxious pink or red tulle. I'm actually making it white. And I'll add in random pink and red stuff. It'll be cute. Maybe I'll get pics up next week. And I'll have to include Tad's window. He put up his little gel clings that I bought on clearance last year and they're looking mighty cute...

A Year in Pictures... Part 2

The second half of the year was busier than the first, so this turned out a little longer...

I ended up with a whole family of ducklings when their mom died. They're now happily living at our aunt's.


I got strep throat from my nephew and had to get a shot in the rear. He had no sympathy and laughed when his mom told him.


We took a trip to Great America. Four adults, three kids.

We laughed at the similarities between my niece and Angelica.

And Tad waited all day to see Spongebob.


We took one last beach trip with Tad before he had to go to school.

And took pictures of our feet in the sand.


My baby started Kindergarten. And looked so grown up.

He was really excited, me... not so much.

He loves school now and is doing really great.


I went on my first hunting trip. Which was totally unsuccessful because does are not legal here.

I also found out I can rock the Real Tree camoflauge.


I went to see Dave Matthews Band with my mom. And LOVED him.


I made some super cute invites for one of the most random bachelorette parties ever.

We had fun though, I think it was just right for sissy.


Then sissy got married at the beginning of October. And this amazing picture (as well as many more) was taken by my dear friend Steven.

The wedding was... well... when it finally happened it was nice. We make one good-looking wedding party.

I was not without my moments of frustration though.

But this little man was as adorable as ever.


We went to Las Vegas right after the wedding. I was in need of a vacation. I actually won some money!

Hubby got to meet one of his heroes.

And I got to drive A BRAND NEW CAMARO!!!


Mom and I slaved over Halloween costumes. They were totally worth it.


Thanksgiving came and went. I was rocking the glasses for a couple weeks because I'm such a slacker at making appointments.


There was leaf-jumping, because that is what you do in the fall.


There was my birthday trip to Tahoe, complete with snowmen, snow fights, and sleigh rides.


And my little manlet had his first Christmas program and awards ceremony. I don't want to brag too much, but he's pretty darn smart.


We celebrated Christmas in three different places (four if you count our early Christmas with hubby's dad, five if you count Christmas Eve).


And we took Tad on his first trip to Bass Pro. Hubby was excited. And Tad had fun.

They especially enjoyed the "Shoot'n Arcade." Where I scored higher than hubby. And yes, we bought Tad that hat. It's mighty cute. It has a buck on the front of it.

We'll be celebrating at my mom's tonight. Surrounded by people we love. I can deal with that.

And with that... goodbye 2009. I'm ready for the new things 2010 will bring me.