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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Sittin' on the dock of the bay

So maybe I'm not sitting at the bay but I am sitting at my hotel waiting to go to the dock.... That's the same thing, right?

No?

Buzz kill.

Anyway, I'm waiting to catch a shuttle from our hotel to the cruise ship. Our trip was postponed by a day due to hurricane Sandy.

I have added some in pictures that I have taken while waiting here. One is of our luggage and another is of my awesome new kicks. Keep in mind, I am posting from my phone so I hope the pictures actually load.

Have a great week!!

-W

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Southern Living & Family Circle


In the last year I've tried to make my apartment feel like home. Sometimes that means getting rid of a few misplaced or mismatched pieces of furniture. I've hung pictures on the walls, put together a few projects to clutter the floor with and even bought an antique quilt rack to put my blankets on in the living room. Not matter how much money I spend and how much junk I fill my floor with, I can't make my apartment feel like home. Then I realized that it isn't really a home that I'm trying to build. I'm actually trying to make my apartment feel like my mom's house. Isn't it funny how you spend your entire teenage years imagining what your own place will feel like, look like and even smell like but when the time comes to have your own space, you want everything that you used to have?

I want what my mother has.....

WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN!!??

I've decided it isn't such a bad thing after all. I was in Wal-Mart recently and was waiting very impatiently in the check-out line behind a mother with three screaming children in her buggy all wanting candy bars and such (btw, I DON'T want what that mother has) when I looked over at the magazine rack to browse some celebrity dirt. I usually get my fill from hourly updates via TMZ but sometimes I need a mid-hour update. Then a Southern Living magazine caught my eye. My mom reads Southern Living and Family Circle like it's going out of style. I picked up the magazine and thumbed through the pages. It's their Thanksgiving special so there are tons of turkey and pie recipes to drool over. Then the new Family Circle started calling out to me so I had to get it too. I dropped them in my buggy and proceeded to the register.

After I read through them they found their forever home on the end tables with the other magazines I read. I was walking through the apartment a few days ago and was picking up things as I went when I came across the magazines again. They caught my eye and I literally stopped in my tracks. I suddenly felt like I was back at home again. I left the magazines where the were and walked away.

Maybe I'm crazy but I will probably go home in a few weeks and read the exact same magazines and gasp at exactly the same articles as I did the first time I read them. But that's ok because I'll do it with my mom like it's the first time and it will make me feel at home all over again.

-W

Monday, October 8, 2012

Dreams



I dreamt of pumpkin spice lattes last night while I was sleeping on the couch. Then B woke me up and told me to go to bed. When I laid down I couldn't sleep so I got up and watched scary shows on t.v. until he woke up again. It was during that time that I decided the blog needed an overhaul. Hope you are liking it!

I also looked up some Photoshop tricks too. Check this out..


I'm shooting my cousin's wedding this weekend and being that her fiancee is a baseball fan, I thought this would be appropriate.

I got two ant bites taking those pictures. They itch horribly now.

B is traveling again this week. He's headed to Orlando for a nerd convention. He was semi- looking forward to it until he remembered that Disney World is in Orlando and his flight would probably be pack with little people wearing Mickey ears. Good luck, B!!!

Did I mention I was having pumpkin spice lattes with Mr. David Beckham in my dream? No?

Happy Monday!

-W

Monday, September 24, 2012

A Little Message


"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, 
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 
And the peace of God, which trancends all understanding, 
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 4:6-7

Let me first say I do not talk openly about my faith and beliefs. I do believe in God and I support those who want to go out into the world and "witness" to others but I do not feel that is what God has in his plans for me. In the past few weeks, this particular verse has been popping up everywhere. Also, a friend of mine has started school to be in the medical field and is facing the same problems I had in the beginning of nursing school. Then I remembered that this verse had been showing up and thought that maybe this is what I was needing to say to her. I also shared this story.


One day at the beginning of second year, everything came crashing down on me and I cried for 30 minutes in the bathroom. I don't think anything bad had really happened that day. No bad grades returned or snotty comments from the teachers but it just hit me like a ton of bricks that there were a million things that needed to happen in the next 4 months. I was living with B by then and had a long drive home which sometimes wasn't so good because it gave me too much time to think about things. I had just left work and was headed towards 400 and my mind was racing with all of these thoughts about other majors I could take on when I failed the semester. It was pretty pathetic. So then I thought I'd just call someone. Sometimes I just need to get my thoughts out in the open to someone else and then I don't really think about them anymore. The first person I thought of was B, of course. He's my best friend after all and is the only person who knows everything about me including how to turn my day around. But then I started thinking about what he would say. He would let me vent and then he would say something like "Aw hun. You're going to do just fine. Take it one day at a time and you'll make it through. I just know you will." I didn't need a pep talk. Then I thought of my best gal pal Kayla and what she would say. She'd say the exact same thing as B..... except the hun part. That's when I came to my mom. I thought about what she would say and it almost stopped me in the middle of the road. The only thing she would have said is "God never gives you more than you can handle."
Wow. What a thought. God never gives you more than you can handle. What a basic saying we hear every day. I guess I had never really applied it to my life. It was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I could suddenly breath again. It was after that one thought, everything seemed to get a little bit easier. I started reminding myself every time that I had those negative thoughts that I have all of the information I need to make my dreams happen for me. The teachers can only give so much information before they are basically answering the test question for you.

After that day, I went into each test and quiz day and sat at my desk without my notes and just reminded myself that I've done all the reading and studied all of the material. Each day got a little bit easier after that point and I continue to remind myself that I need to pray about the things that I am encountering in life and to also say thanks for the things that I have been blessed with.

Maybe you needed to hear this verse today too or you need to pass it along to someone else too. Who knows. God works in mysterious ways.
-W



Friday, September 14, 2012

An Upgrade and Pinterest Project

B is, for lack of better words and a lengthy explanation, a traveling salesman. Travel season is picking up and we thought he was going to be gone this week to Los Angeles and I was going to accompany him because who doesn't like having their wife as a chaperone? But the trip was cancelled.

Either way, I ended up having the week off so I planned a few Pinterest projects.... and ended up upgrading my jewelry box.

We'll start with the jewelry. It started out looking like this.


There really wasn't anything wrong with my previous system. It held my jewelry just fine and it was a cute butterfly that my mom had painted for me. My collection is growing and I sometimes felt like I didn't really know what I had because nothing was really on display. 

I was at Walmart a few days ago wandering around and stumbled upon this....


Hello idea! I think it's some sort of small parfait dish. Either way it was $1.50 so I scooped it up and brought it home.

So then it quickly became this...



LOVE IT!!!! Everything has a place and I can quickly see where all of my jewelry is.

My Pinterest project was a little different. While on Pinterest one day, I saw a cute project where someone took tomato cages, turned them upside down and strung lights on them. Very cute! In the picture Christmas tree lights were used to make it look like a Christmas tree but I wanted to use orange lights to make it more of a Halloween theme.

I cleaned off our porch, threw away some tomato plants (finally!) and ended up with 4 cages. I then took a trip to Hobby Lobby..... unsupervised... sorry, B, and found some orange lights.

These were the supplies I ended up using.


One important point in this project is to stack two cages on top of each other or else you will not have the infrastructure to make the lights go in a circle.


Now you're ready to start stringing the lights on. It took me 4 boxes of lights to do one small tree.



Sorry for the horrible pictures. I love my little tree but I'm thinking it might sit on our porch as an outside decoration but I'm working on cleaning my porch. That's a post for another day.

Happy Friday!

-W

Friday, September 7, 2012

My Addictions



The past few days, a few of my addictions have been coming on a little stronger than normal and I feel that if I vent them to someone else, I won't have to deal with them on my own.

My addictions include, but are not limited to...

1.) Chick-Fil-A Peach milkshakes. I suggest you run out and get one soon because they're seasonal so they will go away soon.... the thought makes me want to cry. MOMMY!!!

2.) Fiesta dinnerware. Who doesn't love it?

3.) Princess Diaries. Who doesn't love a movie with Hector Elizondo? 

4.) That reminds me, Pretty Woman is also an addiction along with Steel Magnolias.

5.) Yarn stores.

6.) Fall festivals.

7.) Fresh sheets on my bed.

8.) Canoodling with Boo.

9.) Putting in fresh contacts.... seriously, I could do this all day every day.

10.) Cleaning my ears out... oh, have I gone too far? Sorry.

Have a great weekend and don't forget.... GOOOOOOO DAWGS!!

-W

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Time To Tee It Up Between The Hedges!

Most southerners will say there are just a few things in life they love more than anything else in the world. God, family and football..... in that order. Today I want to focus on the third.

Football isn't just a sport for us but instead it's a religion. The coach is our preacher, the playbook our Bible and the referee our Devil. Saturday becomes our Holy Day and the first game of the season is our baptism, washing away the sins of watching any other sport besides football since the last season was over. Everyone belongs to a certain religion too. Mine happens to be the Bulldawg Nation. I was born into this following and bleed red and black. I'm also a strong believer that God himself is a Dawg fan, why else would the Bible be written in red and black?


Yes, football is very important to us. Pregnancies, deliveries and weddings are planned around football seasons, cars are chosen in colors that support your teams and man caves are decked out in everything UGA. It's a fun time of year to live near Athens, Georgia.


Football season also holds a special place in my heart because it is what brought me and B together. I only applied to one college in high school, the University of Georgia. To my amazement, I was accepted and then also accepted to the Redcoat Marching Band. I know, I know. It sounds super lame to march in a band while in college. BUT, how else was I going to get to go to all of the games for free? Duh! Also, they are the biggest party group on campus of the #1 party school. It was amazing. More importantly, I met B while marching. He was a trumpet player and someone I was already familiar with.


We got to know each other during the Florida/Georgia game of 2006 and the rest is history. He proposed in Savannah, Georgia and we were married in Panama City Beach, Florida. Of course, our wedding was UGA themed and my garter had little G's all over it. Our t.v. stand is a giant Georgia G, our children will be products of the Redcoat Band and their first words will be Gooooooooooo Dawgs. Sic 'em. Woof Woof Woof. 


So this weekend and the rest of the weekends in 2012, I will raise my Georgia G Solo Cup to the Dawgs and proudly say 'Sco Dawgs!!! 

Glory, glory to old Georgia!

-W

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Let's Talk Yarn


Confession, yarn makes me happy and a yarn shop makes me even more happy. I could spend hours walking around looking at the different colors, feeling the different textures and browsing the millions of patterns while picturing what B would look like in a crocheted cowl while on the motorcycle. By the way, he turned that one down about a year ago.

First I want to explain what I like to do. I crochet.... not knit and despite the opinions and ranting of some, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME. You either like to crochet or you like to knit. I've rarely found someone who likes to do both but there are many, like myself, who have learned to do both. 

I began crocheting at 10 when my mother taught me how to do the basic chain stitch. I would spend many nights sitting on the couch making 5 foot chains for my cat, Gizmo, to chase around the house. As the year went by, I had learned how to make my chains into small square pieces that were eventually used for pot holders. My small pot holders evolved into bigger pot holders and soon I had crocheted my first blanket for my niece, Amanda.

I got out of crocheting at the end of high school and through my early years of college. I attended UGA and marched in the Redcoat Band, met B and realized I wanted to be a nurse. After I transfered out and was accepted to nursing school, stress started to set in.  I was introduced to ravelry.com and was soon engulfed in crocheting again. And as to my surprise, I realized it was the perfect stress reliever for my studies.

To understand both, you first need to know the basic difference between the two which is the tools that are needed to do  a stitch.

These are knitting needles.

These are crochet hooks. 


Both sets come in different sizes, shapes, colors, contours, etc. Crochet uses one tool and knitting requires two. Needles come in number sizes while hooks come in letter sizes.

The possibilities of what you can make are endless. For example, these two colors of yarn, crocheted together....

Made this hat for B.


I don't have a lot of pictures of my projects. Sometimes when I'm finished, I'm so tired of looking at it that I don't want to take any pictures. But I will say that one my my favorite yarns I've used recently is this one...

This one is made from 100% alpaca yarn is is probably the softest thing I've ever felt.... besides baby's skin..... and Boo when she's fresh out of the shower. 

* Important note: DO NOT WASH 100% WOOL... unless you plan to felt your project* (felting will come way later in the blogging world)

I'm also in love with this yarn...


I'm almost certain it would make an amazing scarf this fall but I don't think my N hook is even big enough to handle this chunky monkey.

These are some of the pattern books in my collection. I usually go here to get my patterns but Wal-Mart also offers these $5 books. They're perfect for an intermediate crochet project and what is so great is that the book teaches you about 6 different stitches and then has you make different projects with them.


One of the best books is at the top left. That book has patterns to make dishcloths that are super cute and easy. The yarn used for that is 100% cotton and can be found at Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby whereas some of the other yarns (like Chunky Money) can only be found at specialty yarn shops.

*Warning: Visiting specialty yarn shops will cause you to have strange urges to touch all of the yarn. You may also find that money mysteriously vanishes from your bank account after visiting such a store*

The last tool in my arsenal is my yarn rack.


My mom and I saw a man knitting with a rack similar to this one at a fall festival last year so we came home and made ourselves some. My rack can hold three different yarns but we've made some that only hold one or two. I love my rack because I don't have to waste time pulling the yarn out of the skein in between stitches. Instead I just keep crocheting and let the yarn roll itself out.

I want to just lay in the middle so I can feel them all at one time.

I got into crocheting because my mother taught me but anyone can do it. Many specialty shops will offer certain days where beginners can come in and be taught how to knit or crochet for free. I will warn you that most shops knit and will make fun of you if you say you crochet. But I don't care, I'm a rebel.... I guess..... or they're just snots. Crocheting and knitting both are very stress free crafts and are both something you can do while carrying on a conversation or watching t.v.

Either way, I hope this post has helped you decide if you'd like to try something new.

Happy hooking!!

-W

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Early Morning List

As a night shift nurse you learn to give up a few things. The first being nights at home with your loved ones and being able to sleep until 10 am. I would kill to be able to sleep long hours. Instead, I was up at 5:30 this morning and now I'm stuck on the couch waiting for The Golden Girls to come on. While I sit here trying to be quiet, I've decided to make a list of things on my mind this morning.

1.) I'm ashamed to say I watched a new show this morning. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Though I'm not crazy about the little girl the show is supposed to be based around, I have fallen in love with her family.... and the fact that they live in Georgia.

2.) Football season starts soon and I'm itching to get back to A-Town to watch the Dawgs Tee it up between the hedges. For those of you non Dawg fans (and in my book, sinners) YouTube some Larry Munson favorites and see what it means to be a Dawg.

3.) Football season means fall. Bring on the pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider.

4.) Pinterest is addicting. If you don't have an account, make one and be prepared to throw away hours of valuable time.

5.) B had me out laying on the tennis courts last night watching the meteor shower. I was tired, until 5:30 rolled around.

6.) The upstairs neighbor is uber loud.... I'm searching for houses now.... in Florida..... at the beach.... way out of my price range.

7.) I'm thinking about #3 again and I've just remembered that I will not be able to attend any of my favorite fall festivals this year. Poop. What reason is there for living?

8.) I'm working on a post all about yarn. Dorky, I know, but some of us like to have personal crocheted blankets, hats, scarves, table runners, iPhone cozies, etc.

9.) Bonnie smells like B's body wash.

10.) The closing ceremony for the Olympics is tonight. Don't forget to tune in. Mr. Beckham was so sexy in the opening ceremony... I hope he returns tonight.

Sweet Dreams!

-W

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Books

Today is a nasty day in good ol' Ga which means that for a night shift nurse like me, it's great sleeping weather but for those of you who aren't keepers of the night, it means a good day to curl up with a good book..... unless you're watching The Olympics and in that case GO TEAM USA!!!! Here are just a few books I am reading right now and a few that I've already read but highly recommend to you too!

Fifty Shades of Grey.

Little Earthquakes

 House Rules

One for the Money (skip the movie)

 Room

 And for the men in your life, Unbroken. B read through this one in a matter of days.
 Happy rainy days, Y'all!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Photo Shoot With Boo

You'll often hear me call my dog by Boo. Her real name is Bonnie which evolved into Boonie, Booner, then we landed on Boo. She likes to lay across our bed and our bedroom gets the perfect amount of light and my D40 loves it!


She's usually not thrilled when I come at her with the camera.


Wakey wakey Boo! Mama needs some new pictures! You know, in case a rabbit catches your eye while we're out pottying and I need to post "Have you seen this dog?" pictures all over the apartment complex....... and in open fields........ and in the woods.


Work it, Boo! Hey, did you know your snout is turning grey? I think it makes you look wise. Even though you still like to chase a laser light across the floor.



I'm loving it. I think my camera is actually in love with her too.


That's a good one. I just need one more!


Ok, I'm good. I'll be back in a few months and we'll do it again. I'm supposed to get a new lens in October so I'll see you then!!!

Happy Thursday, everyone!






Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Kayla's Canvas

My best friend, Kayla, is getting her very first classroom this year! Yay! Couldn't be more excited for her on this one. Before I show you the finished product you need to know a few things about Kayla. She's hands down the greatest friend I've ever had. She likes Cupcake Vodka, Cupcake Wine, cupcakes and anything Dr. Seuss.

Finished product. 
Sorry for the horrible picture. The closest camera I had was my iPhone and I can't get it to rotate so just pick up your computer and turn it..... tee hee. The thought makes me laugh.

You'll need:
One canvas of any size
Acrylic paints (make sure white is included)
Brushes
Printout of picture that you choose
Graphite paper
Ruler
Tape

First I painted my entire canvas white. This is to keep the paints from settling into the canvas fabric and causing the picture to fade over time.
Next I measured out where I wanted my lines to go and then used the caps to spice bottles/salt shakers to make my circles.

I then found a picture on the internet of The Cat in the Hat that I liked and printed out Kayla's name.

It was then time to draw out the picture and letters. This is where the graphite paper comes to use. This stuff is tricky because if you don't place it on the correct side, the picture won't trace. Make sure the DARKEST side is facing the canvas. 


I did the same for under the letters also. Trace the picture and letters with any sort of sharp tool. I used specials tools from Hobby Lobby but you can also use pens and pencils.

The picture will be a little messy but you can paint over the smudges with white paint or color if you like. Now it's time to paint!!! Have fun with it! I didn't paint in a specific way. Just kind of went with it and painted where ever I wanted to.

This is the finished product again.

Kayla hung it outside her door so all the little kiddies will know where to go.... actually they won't because they're in pre-k and don't know how to read. 


Next time I'm making one for Bonnie.







Sunday, June 17, 2012

Father's Day


Last year, me and B got married. I had been dreaming of the day that I got to dance with my dad at my wedding and had always had one song picked out. I had chosen "Down The Road" sang by Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally. A beautiful song about a daughter wanting to marry a boy she believes is perfect and how the mother wants to make sure he is a Christian boy but the father is worried about if he can take care of his little girl. I thought it was perfect.

My dad had a different agenda.

The first time I pitched this idea to my dad, he said he didn't want that song and he wanted a song called "Keep On Smilin'" by Wet Willie. Hold the phone.... Wet Willie?! Is there such a person? I've never heard of this person and can't imagine what kind of music he sings. I also thought my dad was pulling my leg because he has been known to do that kind of thing.

As the wedding drew nearer, he became more persistent on his song choice. He wouldn't budge an inch! I, however, was holding firm on my ground. I wanted this to be a special moment and I didn't want to ruin it with some crazy song from this "Wet Willie" fella.

One day while I was making song selections for the wedding, I decided to YouTube Wet Willie and see what was up. That lead me here. Not bad, eh? Not the sentimental song I was hoping for but I really liked the message.

When the wedding ceremony was over, we moved from the beach to a grassy area where the reception was to be held. I danced with B first to "First Dance" by Corey Smith and then it was time for me to dance with my dad. The d.j. called Dad forward and then began playing "Keep On Smilin'" by Wet Willie. The picture at the top of the post is of my dad's reaction to the song. All he said was "You didn't have to play this!"

.....

Thanks, Dad.

Today I think back to my wedding and remember that huge grin on his face as we danced to that song. I like to think of that moment often. Especially when I've had a bad day or something just isn't going the way I had hoped and planned. Remembering that smile on his face reminds me to keep on smilin'.

Happy father's day to my dad and to all of the other amazing fathers out there. We love you and you are very much appreciated.

-Me and B