Hello, 2014

Just going to be honest... I feel like the only reason I crank out a blog post is in the event that Facebook/Instragram collapses and my pictures disappear.  I love this space but I've learned that I now have big girl responsibilities and priorities.  Therefore, the blog takes a backseat.  But every once in a blue moon, I'll show up on your news feed.  Today is one of those days! :)

 

--When we last "met," one of my best friends had just gotten married.  Since that time, we've enjoyed seeing the teasers from her photographer... this is one of my absolute favorites!

 

--I celebrated my first holiday in the classroom... Halloween.  If you need further hints on my costume I shall only wish that "may the odds be ever in your favor."
;)

--I learned that Momma jokes are alive and well in the youth today.

--I befriended a donkey every afternoon in the Fall when I checked the mail.  And yes, it really is that beautiful in our neck of the woods!

--We celebrated Thanksgiving... one of my favorite days of the year!

--KY saw it's fair amount of snow before Christmas ever made an appearance.  As a first-year teacher, I live for and love every single one of my snow days!

--We prettied up the indoors and outdoors for the holidays.  If it isn't obvious, I have a thing for traditional decor... pine cones, holly berries, burlap, popcorn garland, red/gold colors, etc.  Old habits die hard!

--I created a fun, yet oh-so cheesy, Rudolph poem for my 4th graders.  It focused on reviewing our behavioral procedures after Thanksgiving break.

--I watched my favorite little girl cheer in her first Jr Pro basketball game... then I wondered how in the world she grew up so darn fast.

--Hubs and I took our unofficial official portrait for 2013.  God bless self-timers on cameras and stubborn wives!

--We celebrated our 2 year engage-versary.  And I wished that Boone was still that little ball of wrinkles.

--I baked for hours in preparation for Christmas... and that night I caught the stomach bug.  I knew my luck would run out considering I didn't even have a headcold during my first semester as a teacher.  This bug stuck around nearly 4 days and finally made it's way out just in time for Christmas Day.

The bad part of the story is that I was unable to enjoy all the food that comes along with Christmas but the good news is that I was able to wear skinny jeans on Christmas... as seen below.  Ya win some, ya lose some.

--The weekend after Christmas, we road-tripped a few hours North to spend the weekend with our friends.  The reality is that the boys went duck hunting and the girls slept-in and chatted it up.  We watched the UK vs. UL basketball game then proceeded to enjoy our own basketball game.  Our friends have their own arcade game and we fell in love.

--Finally, we said good-bye to 2013 with our annual NYE party.  We added in several Minute to Win It games this year.  It was a blast and took us all the way to midnight!

And here we are, nearly a week into 2014.  I am more than happy to say good-bye to the roller coaster of 2013 and hello to the endless possibilities of 2014.  I cannot wait to see what this year has in store for us... :)

it's hard to be humble

WHEN YOU'RE A KENTUCKY FAN!

I witnessed GR8NESS :)

PS -- I know I'm a day late... but I'm still beaming from the big win!

spending fast & our weekend: Lily, CATS, the river

Happy Monday & April, friends :)

I had a fabulous weekend.  It was filled mostly with homework, of course, but that's to be expected.  April is a college student's worst enemy.  Experience tells me so.  I have two major units due in the next 2 weeks.  If I can survive that, I'll breathe a little easier.  The weekend wasn't a total loss, though...

I drove up the road Friday afternoon to see my favorite girl.  She was the perfect break from homework.  We played on the back deck while her mommy cleaned and little sister, Gracyn, napped.  Her favorite toy was her brand new hula hoop.  Unfortunately, I can't hula hoop... but I thought of all kinds of creative uses for it.  We used it as a basketball hoop, rolled it around, and I think she did karate with it.  I pretty much just let her do whatever as long as she's not hurting herself.  I love her sweet little laugh!

Fiance and I took a long boat ride down the river yesterday afternoon. There's nothing I love more than feeling the water on my hands and wind in my hair.  Freedom.  We got back to his place just in time to grill some hamburgers for supper.  They hit the spot!  There's nothing like a grilled hamburger in the warm weather, right?! :)

And, finally, one of the highpoints of my weekend was when UK beat U of L.  It was a nail-biter several times and Louisville put up a fight, but we pulled it off.  Yes, it was sweet!  We play for the National Championship tonight for the first time in 14 years.  Basketball is religion around here, so I'll be tuning in.  Either way, I'm so proud of my CATS and all they've accomplished this year.  I'm a proud KY girl!

On an unrelated note, Emily had an amazing post last week about spending and money.  I've decided to join her this month on a spending fast.  I have no debt and I have a decent amount of savings, but I still feel like a lot of my money just flies out the window each  month.  I'm going to try my hardest not to buy anything I don't need this month.  Want to join us?! :)

Let's get this week rolling, shall we?  Have a fabulous day!

weekend, basketball, & music video

This weekend goes in the books. Nathan had a 4-day weekend thanks to some vacation days and we soaked it up! I cooked until my heart was content, cleaned until everything was caught up, and had some major QT with fiance :)

My favorite recipe from the weekend captured my sweeth tooth. No surprise. I named it Bonfire in a Pan -- aka s'more casserole. I love s'mores so it was love at first sight!


You need 1/4 stick of butter, a bag of marshmallows, a bag of milk chocolate chips, and a box of Golden Grahams cereal. Put the butter and marshmallows in the microwave for about 90 seconds. Stir until it becomes a cream... almost paste-like. Then add in the chocolate chips and stir until it becomes chocolate heaven. Finally, stir in the Golden Grahams. Make sure you have a decent size bowl in order to stir it well. After that, put it in a 9x13 pan and serve! There were only 2 pieces of this stuff left yesterday... it is good, y'all!

I spent most of my time curled up on the back deck with my new best friend. Yup, I'm addicted!


I know, I know. I'm late to the party... and I don't really have an excuse. My sister got the whole set for Christmas so I've had easy access to them all. She and my mom saw the movie on Saturday and can't stop talking about it! I refuse to go see it until I finish the book so it doesn't spoil it for me. Are you guys obsessed with this series, too?!

Oh yeah, Nathan and his friends built a front porch over the weekend, too! No biggie ;)


Ok, actually it was a big deal. It took a lot of time but we love it! It's not completely finished yet. It still needs spindles and will be stained in about a month... but I couldn't resist taking a picture. Now I really can't wait to get plant some flowers and get more patio furniture. It's the little things :)

We were glued to the TV in anticipation of each UK game... and guess what?! We're going to the FINAL FOUR! Basketball madness will resume this weekend when we play Louisville... our in-state rival. I love this time of year!


C-A-T-S, CATS, CATS, CATS!

Let's end this post with some eye candy, eh? Remember this post from when I saw Luke Bryan in concert?! One of the best nights of my life. Anywho, he filmed part of that concert to appear in his new music video for the song, "Drunk on You."


I've been patiently waiting for it to come out and it finally has!!! Anytime you see him in the black v-neck, that's footage from the concert here at WKU. Most of the crowd shots are from WKU, too! I've been in love with this song since I first heard it on his CD and I've been in love with Luke Bryan since I first saw him. Amen?! Thought so.

It's a beautiful Monday here in KY... I hope it is for you too :)

lazy break... & a busy week!

I must admit that almost 90% of my Spring Break was spent with my face buried in my laptop. I worked on so. much. homework. It was a total pain at the time, but I'm loving it right now. I'm so far ahead in all my classes and I'm thanking myself for it right now :) The break wasn't a total loss, though. I got to eat some yummy Mexican with one of my best friends, catch up with my 2 favorite little girls, and spend some QT with Nate and the dogs. Speaking of those girls, Gracyn can now roll over and Lily turns 4 in less than 2 months. Can we please stop with the time flying thing?!

My favorite day of break was most definitely yesterday. Nate and I grabbed some lunch at Subway, watched the UK game, put out the patio furniture, shot our new pistol, and played with the pups for hours :) It was pure bliss! And speaking of UK, we were both totally bummed that they lost the SEC Championship. But now we have something prove. We're still the #1 seed and we still bleed blue.


I also have to represent here at WKU. After the firing of our head coach in January, the boys have pulled together and won the Sunbelt Tournament. That means we are headed to the big dance!


Basketball will be the hot topic in our house over the next few weeks.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to do my DIY projects but I'm hopeful that the next few weekends will allow me some free time! Pinterest and I hope so anyway ;)

Now, it's Monday. It's raining, the time changed, and I'm back to reality. I had a piece of chocolate cake for breakfast at work just to reward myself for waking up and getting to work on time. Well deserved, right?! Whatevs. This week looks like it's going to be a busy one and I hope to get a lot accomplished! I have a dentist appointment Wednesday morning...


I'm peer teaching my lesson plan tomorrow, I have a skin care party on Friday night, and I'm trying on my wedding dress again for the first time since I bought it. Lots of exciting things and I'm sure the week will fly by! Plus we are going to have some ridiculously warm and beautiful weather :)

I think that's enough rambling for today. Have a fabulous Monday!

Rainy Day Happiness

Is that an oxymoron? Normally I am depressed on rainy days but I have a lot to be happy/excited about at the moment! I thought I'd share some of those 'happies' with you!

Summer is just around the corner! I have the countdown at about 7 weeks until school is done! I cannot express to you how happy this makes me (I'm sure you can tell because I talk about it in almost every post) ;)

WKU's campus is looking more alive lately! The trees are blooming and students are enjoying their time outside. With all this rain we're getting today I'm sure the flowers and trees will be even more beatiful tomorrow!

I am going to attempt to cook another recipe this weekend... another from Emily! It's an awesome chicken dip and I can't wait for my family to try it.

My adorable cousin, Lily, will celebrate a birthday in just over a month... I can't for her (and her mommy) to see her present :)

I just finished a book my parents got me for Christmas as a stocking stuffer. It's called "When God Winks at You" by SQuire Rushnell and it's about "God-winks" or what most of us tend to call coincedences. It's a book filled with amazing stories of "God-winks" and talks about how/when/why God "winks" at us. I would highly recommend it!

The CATS play again tonight (yay!) but since I usually go to bed early I'm afraid I won't be able to stay up through all of it unless it's a really close game... and I do NOT hope for that!

I believe (if all goes according to plan) that next Friday my mother and I will be getting pedicures. How relaxing does that sound?!

Old Navy is having a sale this week. A lot of their t-shirts and cardigans are at pretty good prices. I may have to make an order from there sometime soon!

Last, but not least, my wonderful boyfriend and I will celebrate 4 years together on Saturday!!! We don't have any big plans but who knows what we'll actually end up doing. Neither of us are very good at planning our dates ahead of time :) Anyway, I'm sure whatever we decide to do will be great!

Hopefully you'll find some 'happies' on this gloomy day :)

Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. --Acts 14:17

7 Days???

Has it really been 7 days since you last heard from me? Oh well, I'm sure you're fine :)
As usual, nothing important has happened since then but I'll just give a quick recap.

I had the 'blahs' majorly last week at school... why can't Spring Break last forever? I am counting down the days until the semester ends already!! I am SO looking foward to Summer! Being in college has seriously made me cherish every free moment I have... I wonder sometimes what I did in high school with all my free time?! I would go back and tell myself to sleep every chance possible...

My weekend started with taking a trip to Scottsville with my boyfriend's family. We all love this restaurant called Harper's. It's menu mainly consists of fish... and although I'm not a big fan of fish, I eat every piece on the plate there! I love it!! On Saturday evening, Nathan and I left a little earlier than we normally do. We ate at Cheddar's (good as always!) and then made a quick trip to Wal-Mart - yes, it is possible! We then hurried back to my house to watch the CATS play (which was the whole reason we left early) and boy, did they play good!! I got a surprise visit from my favorite person, Lily, on Sunday afternoon. She was just perfect, as always :)

Now it's back to work and school. But I really can't complain, my week has been good so far. I have a Psychology test later in the week so I will be happy when that is over. Did I mention that I am ready for summer yet?!? ;)

Spring Break 2010

Let me just start off by saying that my Spring Break was very uneventful... just how I like it :)

I had to work on Monday and Tuesday but the rest of the week was filled with nothing-ness! Along with running some odd and end errands, I also had a hair appointment on Wednesday. My hair now looks something like this (minus the curls)...

I helped my Mom out that afternoon by cooking supper. The menu was this (thanks for the recipe, Emily!) and it was a big hit. I may put a little more chicken in it the next time I fix it because we are a meat loving family.

Funny and random story: The boyfriend refuses to eat my cooking... but he has a good reason why. The first time I (attempted to) cook for him I made grilled cheese... well, sorta. It was more like toast with cheese in the middle - yea, it was gross!! Ever since then I have been trying to convince him that I can cook. In order for him to actually eat the soup I had to tell him my Mom cooked it. Between his first and second bowl I broke the surprising news... that I cooked something successfully! Hallelujah! I may have finally redeemed my cooking reputation - at least a little anyway :)

The rest of my break was filled with cleaning, watching this movie (which I would highly recommend), catching up on sleep, and watching basketball all weekend! I love March Madness!! And yes, I do have to brag on my CATS now...

2010 SEC CHAMPS

...it's good to be a Kentucky girl :)

While we're on the topic of Spring... the first "official" day is this Saturday and the temperatures look like they will reflect that. I am very excited to see the March flowers starting to bloom... they are my favorite! Yes, I think it's safe to diagnose myself with Spring Fever :)

Enjoy the day everyone :)

Favorites

This will be another 'get to know me' kind of blog :)

I thought I would share some of my favorites (movies, TV shows, music, etc.)... hope you enjoy :)

Movies...

"City of Angels" -- Meg Ryan is amazing and I have to say the music was almost as good as the movie.

"The Blind Side" -- Who doesn't love this movie?! I'm so happy Sandra Bullock won an award for this!

"Sweet Home Alabama" -- Reese Witherspoon is hands-down my favorite actress!

TV Shows...

"Reba" -- I still crack up everytime I watch this show.

"NCIS" -- My second career path... but I love the kiddos more :)

"Army Wives" -- I CANNOT wait for this show to come back on April 11! I have missed it over the winter.

Music (I'm a country kind of girl)...

Carrie Underwood -- You can't deny that voice... or her beauty!

Jason Aldean -- I'm not a girl who likes a guy with earrings at all... but he pulls it off - well! His voice is awesome too!

Miranda Lambert -- Definitely my fave! Her songwriting skills are amazing and I never get tired of her songs!

March Madness!!!

That's right... I bleed blue! This time of year only means one thing around my house... NCAA Tournament! I am watching a game right now as I type this... the Cats are up :)

Hope you are all having a good day! I am enjoying my last couple days of Spring Break... then it's back to reality!

Enjoy the weekend :)