i picked

No, not my nose.
I picked a dress and shoes to wear in Dani's wedding!

Number 3 was the winner...

#1 was cute but just not right for me.

#2 looked like lingere on me, no lie. WAY too short and revealing.

#4 was one I did like on but I just wasn't as flattering.

#5 was my second pick and went all the way to the floor on me (rare for a dress + my height) and I decided to go with #3 because it was the most flattering, the most comfortable, and I really think I can get some wear out of it. I am actually pretty excited because I like the dress so much that I think I will feel comfortable in it all night.

I also ordered some super cute shoes that are some of those crazy dyeable shoes but I didn't get them dyed clover green because let's be real...I won't wear green shoes again. I don't own shoes that will match this color and decided that the price was worth it and saving me the stress of searching for shoes. I got them dyed a really complementary champagne color that is a great neutral that I can surely wear again. Here is a picture of them in white but mine won't be...I just said that part....yeah.

still sleeping

While Jess is still sleeping and I couldn't any more (I promised to get her up just in enough time to catch the end of breakfast at Hardee's and make it to my appt. at DB so she gets atleast another half an hour!), I thought I would show you pictures of the bridesmaid's dresses that I like and will be trying on to narrow down the field. I already sent these to Dani and she picked the ones she thought I might like the best and in the cool package she sent the other day, she even sent a DB catalog with notes inside. How fabulous. Did I not tell you about the package? My mistake! She sent all the bridesmaids this wonderfu little package (the address is obscured for obvious reasons!)

All of this cool stuff was in it...addresses of all the maids so we can keep in touch, instructions about dress buying, and little bios about all of us since only a couple of us know each other (I know one of the other maids, Amy, from high school, which is also how I know Dani.) She chose the color (clover green) but is letting us choose any dress we went so that we get something we like and feel good in. How thoughtful! These are what I think are my top five picks. I am open to suggestions to the DB people but I have ruled out a lot of them that I don't really like. The five below are in no order of favorites but I will let you know later which one I pick. They aren't too expensive but hopefully I will get something I can wear again....more later when I choose!

#1.

#2

#3

#4

#5

she's here!

My bff is here!

I am super excited.

Plans for tomorrow:

Chad has to get up terribly early and go teach a CPR class so Jess and I have most of the morning and early afternoon to hang out. I have an appointment at David's Bridal to try on dresses for Dani's wedding. Maybe I will be able to make a decision and show you a pic!

Then we will go hang out and get some lunch...maybe see a girly movie when they are still cheap in the afternoon. Good times.

Made the Pioneer Woman's ceasar salad tonight...de-lish-ous. Much better than the spaghetti. The store bought meatballs were not particularlly my favorite. Looking forward to tomorrow's Mexican food.

mine

Since I told you Chad's mildly embarrassing story for yesterday, I will tell you mine for today.

This morning, as I was leaving for work, I realized that Chad's truck was still parked on the opposite side of the driveway, behind where his car was parked (he kindly moved it back after leaving a few minutes before me to go help a friend move into a new apartment this morning on his half day off). I was being so very careful to NOT back into his truck (I would be in SO much trouble if I rubbed off some of my red Saturn on to his white TN state owned vehicle!) that instead I backed into our giant green trashcan.
Not only did I back into it, in front of our nice neighbor who walks every morning, I knocked it completely over.
Not only did I knock it over, but the lid flew open.
Not only did the lid fly open, but little bags of dog doo went all over the street.
So yes, I had to stop and collect, replace can on curb, go back inside the house and wash my hands, and then go to work.

Going to play with Photoshop. Enjoy the laugh at my expense.

heading out

I am headed to work but I thought that I would leave you with one little reminder of last night's story.

This is what you get when you deal with smoke and fire all day. Black legs. Atleast down to your socks and boots. I mean, I knew the leggings look was in but I didn't know it had caught on with men already. (He would be so mad if he knew I wrote that!) :)

And this is pre-haircut.

I know you can't really see how long it is but my arm is only so long. But then, I had a really good hair day yesterday (only because I actually did something to it). People asked me all day what I did to my hair and "it looks good!" so I might for-go that haircut for a while after all.

long un'

I am following Chad around the house and wondering why it smells like a campfire in my kitchen...oh right, its just my husband. Another (new) fire today. Same mountain, different place.

And then something funny happened...and this is how it went.

Chad narrates to me while in the shower, literally, while I sit on the (closed) toilet.

"You ever have one of those days when you go to work and leave half a day early and still manage to work a whole day? So I pull up to this fire, talking on three radio channels and my cell phone. I get out to help unload the dozer (bulldozer for you folks out there) and make sure everyone is out of the way, including some lady sherriff from Dade county who I had to repeatedly tell that there was a dozer coming her way.
I noticed that there were a whole bunch of people standing around who were not helping put out the fire so I decided that I needed to lock my truck. I went back and rolled up the window, locked the door and shut it. The only reason we are here is to pull out another dozer that is stuck and we are going to meet up with them. We stop at the top of a really freakin' steep hill and at one point I seem to remember that I can't find my keys or my chapstick. More so the chapstick than the keys.
We try to pull the dozer out and end up ripping the wench cable out of our dozer. I am chatting with my boss and said you need to get the keys out of my truck so we can fix the wench and about five minutes later he shows up. I am headed back to the truck to get some tools to put the wench back on and he hands me the keys as I am walking back to the truck and says 'I found these in a truck that was running' and it took me a minute to ponder because my boss is suspect of being a jerk *yes that's right Boss B, that is you* and I come to the realization that I didn't have my keys because they were still in the ignition of my truck, that was still on. And I couldn't hear my truck running because of all the other trucks that were on. Except that then they turned theirs off later, apparently. But hey, on the bright side of things, atleast my truck was still warm because it was pretty freakin' cold out there."

So basically, he locked his keys in his running state truck. And his boss caught it first. Fabulous.
But hey, atleast he thought it was funny, as I was told later by his boss.

and then he says "Oh yeah, and I went to the doctor today and they took four miles of blood."
Paula: "Four miles of blood?"
Chad: "Yeah, like thirty minutes later I look over and she is on her fourth vial. If I had known, I would have just gone to Blood Assurance (like the Red Cross) and said hey, while you are at it, save me out four vials"

A day in the life of stinky sweet.

ant for today

It was supposed to be "and for today" but when it got mis-typed I decided that I sorta liked it there so I just left it. Might be more exciting....who knows?

Today I am back to the Hobster Lobster. Working straight through five days this week in order to have my saturday off but the best thing is happening to me this weekend....Jess is coming to see me! (Not Chad, just me!!) We are going to do girly things like paint our nails, and watch sappy movies and try this little Mexican rest. on top of Signal Mountain that I have been aching to try. My bff is coming! WooHoo! I am super-duper excited. On a more entertaining note, where Jessica is concerned, she has this program on her computer that is supposed to protect the user from questionable websites. If you open a site that has questionable content, it closes it automatically. It closes my blog. This is probably in the top 5 most wholesome things you could read on the internet but her little program things I am edgy. Cool. I must still be a little edgy. Nice to know. As long as Jessica's computer thinks I am questionable, I guess I will be happy.
Who knows why....I don't think I have ever said anything quesitonable. Maybe just a combination of talking about the dog eating my bras was enough for them to think that I was just a little too free with words. Strange.

Hair salon is closed on Mondays which is a little sad. I completely had my gumption (?sp) up to call and go this morning if she had an opening so now I will have to wait until atleast Wednesday when I can go in the morning before work. Hopefully I won't lose my nerve before then. I hate haircuts.

The worst part about Chad having to work Saturday night and all day Sunday on a fire is that he has to take those extra hours off another day this week. He is going to take some of thme this afternoon for an appointment he already had anyway and then he will probably take all day Tuesday off. What a bummer. I missed being able to hang out with him on our only day off together and he has to take the time on a day that I have to be at work. Ugh.

Going to eat peanut butter crackers for breakfast.

instead

This is what Gwen and I did instead of hanging out with Chad today...

I took her to the park with her extra long training leash and a pocket full of treats to get some "come here" training in. She did pretty well but she tends to only perform with she knows you have a pocket full of hot dog pieces. Sneaky thing. I am gonna keep at it though. I will train this dog if it is the last thing I do...

But I also had some time and took the camera. It was pretty chilly and windy outside (around 40 degrees) but an aboslutely beautiful day. These are all SOOC pictures....

No, this is not at the park. This is in the pantry. Happiness in my house is when the Stash Tea Company order comes in and our stock gets replenished. So I just thought I would share this one...I call it "Happiness on a shelf".

Gwen admiring another dog...

They have lots of bird houses at this particular park and they are all numbered. I guess so they can keep track?

Some neat gourd birdhouses and a little area that I think they use as a community garden during the summer.

This is happiness in a gourd.

Thinking about getting a pretty serious haircut this week. OK, not that serious. Shoulders will be the shortest I will go but I am ready for a change. I know I always hate it after I get it cut because I think that I look so much better with long hair but maybe if it is a little shorter and in a particular style (that part I will entrust to my hair stylist...love her!), I might like it a little shorter. Suggestions?

our plans

Gwen and I are going to PetSmart because she is out of her favorite treats and we are headed to the park to do some long leash training. Wish us luck...

it's a fore

That's how my dad says it...not fire. Fore. On purpose of course. When we would go camping, he would ask who wanted to build the fore. Tend the fore. Put out the fore. Well, now it's my Chad and his friends. He got home about midnight last night, maybe a little later. And he had to leave again at 6:30 this morning. The fire is up on Raccoon Mountain (it is the mtn. between Lookout Mountain, which is the most famous one in town, and Signal Mountain, which we live at the bottom of). They stopped working last night (not irresponsibly of course, no people or property were in immediate danger) and got started back at it this morning.

I know what he does is important, stopping fires from spreading and either destroying valuable forest or really spreading and destroying homes and property. But, I was really looking forward to spending the day together today. Sunday is the only day we both have off this week and we both look forward to it all week but oh well....bummer. I do get a little nervous but I just say a little prayer and know that God is in control of both those guys out there and the outcome.

a hard day's night

I got a few things done at home this morning but mostly just hanging out with Chad doing a lot of nothing. He has the cold that I had the last week and a half (that we both believe we got from his sister Megan when she came home for their grandmother's funeral) and he wasn't feeling too hot today. It is the worst day of the cold, the one where you are just plain exhausted and the fever sets in. I brought him lunch in bed (it was Krystals...exactly what he wanted!) and then headed to work. The store was a little trashed so I didn't get off till about 10 tonight and when I got home his truck wasn't in the driveway...an immediate and sure sign that he got called out for a fire while feeling terrible....my poor sweetie.

so far

So I didn't finish much else yesterday but here are some pictures of what I did finish...

This was part of Chad' s valentine's present...I know you can't really tell but they are framed papers out of fortune cookies. I love the fact that they are framed but I am not liking all the colors. I like the mat colors but I think I will stick to a single color behind the fortunes...black maybe to match the frames. I hung them in the front hallway, near the tree but not on the same wall. Will keep adding!

These are the curtain tie backs that I made for the brown curtains in our bedroom...

Close up...

This is the actual fabric that I made the tie backs from and I will also use to make the next chair cushions. I like the retro-ish big flower print but also like the fact that it isn't too bold...light blue and brown. And yes, it is laying on the bed amongst folded laundry. Atleast it is folded!

Dinner was fun but we didn't get home until almost 11pm so I didn't so anything else last night.

Update #2

I finished the curtain tie backs. I will post pics later.
Delivered jewelry to friend at work. Check.
Mailed jewelry to my blue glass loving sister. Check.
Going to Olive Garden on the other side of town to meet friends so I have to go take a shower.

Update #1

So far I have done this...

These are the earrings and bracelet for a friend at work. We were standing in the jewelry aisle yesterday, putting away returns and of course, looking at beads. She said "I love these beads...the remind me of the ocean" but goes on to lament that she doesn't have time to make jewelry for herself (and in truth, probably couldn't take the time if she wanted to. Works two jobs and has kids to take care of in her "off time"). So I made her a bracelet and some earrings from the ocean beads and I am going to take them to her today on my day off.

And then I had all the stuff out to make earrings so I made myself these...

And these. I know. Selfish.

But I think since they are blue glass that I will send them on to a special someone that I love (you know who you are...watch the mailbox)

(And maybe make myself some too because I like them so much)

and for today's magic...

I finished one of today's projects last night while sitting on the couch watching Bones and Burn Notice with Chad...

This is the chair that my grandfather made that I got a couple of weeks ago...he did it all by himself (I think it is called caning?).

This is the chair with the houndstooth cushion I made for it! And actually the cushion came out pretty good consider I literally had no clue what I was doing.

Made some little ties to keep it from sliding off the chair all the time.

This is a full-closeup view of my cushion..I am so proud!

As for the rest of today's projects, here goes, in no particular order of importance:

-make more fans and put them on the wall

-make a bracelet and earrings for a girl at work that needs a pick-me-up

-fold another two loads of clothes

-clean up our bedroom a bit (includes vaccuming up the houndstooth bits that are on the floor now)

-make a couple of curtain tie-backs for the chocolate brown curtains in our room out of this cute fabric that I have a remnant of.

-make cushions for outside chairs that don't exist yet (same fabric...very cute and retro! I will show you pics of that too)

Sounds like a project-y day and I love it....

Some friends of Chad's are in town tonight and celebrating their dad's birthday and asked us to join so we might hear from them and head out somewhere with them tonight.

Let you know how my projects go!

a fun lovin' sandwich

We had Manwich for dinner because Chad sings the Manwich song to me all the time...something about "everybody loves a fun lovin' sandwich...and gettin' some-a that sandwich on you".
And I called my sister for dinner suggestions and she suggested Manwich and tater tots.
Fabulous suggestion.

And I am home in time to watch Bones with my sweetie tonight. Does it get any better?

getting started

I am NOT a morning person. I am willing to admit that. I can be nice in the morning, pleasant even, but inside I am thinking about getting more sleep. I am happy as I can be at night, even when I am tired (unless we are talking about the time around midnight, when I can't go to sleep!) but I choose nights over mornings. Chad, on the other hand, is a morning person. He doesn't seem to mind getting up early and going places, even if it is work and at night...don't even ask. If he isn't in bed and mostly asleep by 9:30 or 10 pm....bad things man, bad things. But, I am opening the store this morning again. I was supposed to close and was looking forward to sleeping in but one of the other supervisor's asked me to switch and I love being at home with Chad at night so much that I jumped on the idea. Two nights, home, with my sweetie, in a row? Perfect! Three (I'm off tomorrow)? Even better! So, I went to bed last night after starting my houndstooth project and got up this morning with Chad. OK, so I said "some back and get me after you walk the dog" but none-the-less, I'm up now.

So, I've agreed to work this week long trip in April in Pine Mountain and taken the days off work to do it...I did it last year and it was an exhausting blast o'fun so I am doing it again this year. A week off the Hobster Lobster and getting paid to play in the woods? Totally worth it. It is hard work because it is a class of 7th graders from a school in Tampa that have virtually NO outdoor experience and are so accustomed to being waited on by their parents that they kind of get a shock when they get to camp and discover they have to sleep, go to the bathroom, and eat in the woods for a week (oh come on...they knew it was coming!!). The guy that I work for, F, has been doing this for years with the same school and pretty much has it down to a fine art. They spend one full day when they get to camp on the ropes course (at the Girl Scout camp), learning some basic team building stuff and then they spend the next four days out on the trail, hiking around 20 miles and just learning how to not only survive the woods but survive life a little better and be a little nicer to each other. The change that comes at the end of the week is sweet, amazing, fun, and totally worth all the blisters and miles and miles of "how much farther?". I am really looking forward to it but already thinking about all the stuff I need to pack to take with me...need new hiking shoes, need to break in said hiking shoes, need to break in the rest of my body for a 20+ mile hike...Oh well...not until the middle of April so I have plenty of time.

Gotta get ready for work and go convince the dog that whatever she is barking at doesn't really exist...normal morning for me.

at the house

Another update for the house...now that I have finished my tree art and half finished my fan art (always like to have something half finished...it thrills me...truly), I am going to start my next projects. Chad finished his projects in like three seconds (two new ceiling fans...installed and spinning clockwise to pull heat from the ceiling back down to the floor...and again...and again...sorry, distracted) so my turn for a big one.
I am sewing/making a few seat cushions...one in my favorite houndstooth fabric for the rocking chair that my Papa made. I sorta like the combo of something old and sweet with something funky and geometric. I'll post before and after pics.
The second set of cushions are for the chairs that I will be building for our back porch. We have a little area/patio on the back side of the house with a grill, etc and the current furniture is horrendous, only because it's old and in need of repairs (ask Chad about falling through the chair). So, I want to make the patio area more liveable..comfy, lots of plants, some cool lanterns, etc. Working on it...when I have the moola. Which is never.

Watching Chad laying on the couch across the room reading and thinking that going to lay next to him and snuggle would be way more fun than blogging so good night folks...

Chad's pick

I asked Chad what my blog topic for today should be and he made two suggestions....

"my truck" and
"where are the freakin' screws".

and then he said....wait, I got it...Cream Ale recipes.

Explain Please....ok.

1. He now drives a "company car" to work and back home again. It is actually a big pick up truck with the Tennssee Division of Forestry logo and the word "FIRE" in big red letters. I think he really likes his truck...I know our gas budget really likes it. I drive about 12 minutes or maybe seven miles one-way to work and he had to drive alteast 30 minutes one way. Now he gets to use someone else's vehicle and gas to get there and back. It's nice.

2. We finally bought two of the last three ceiling fans for the townhouse. One for our now guest bedroom and one for the office/2nd guest room. (Yes, we have four bedrooms and one is Jay's...more space than we know what to do with.). We had to buy a couple of extra, longer screws to mount them in the existing light fixture because the stock screws were a little short to meet up with the contractor's light mount. Chad has already put up three fans and so he pretty much had it down to an art but apparently I unknowingly hid the extra screws in our bag from Target (screws from Ace Hardware) and my phone was dead so he couldn't call me at work. My sweet husband says he spent "like three hours" looking for the screws today before he finally found them. He also claims both of the new fans would be installed had I not hidden the hardware...instead, now only one is hanging from the ceiling. Sorry dearest, I had no idea...

3. We are going to enter the Sam Adam's Longshot Contest for homebrewed beer. Chad wants to make a cream ale because that is the beer that his sister has requested and we sorta just want to hit two birds, as they say. The biggest catch of most beer contests is that they don't want you to really brew from an already established kit or recipe; they want you to come up with one of yours own. Now its your turn Adventurers...he wants suggestions for a recipe. I did, in fact, try to tell him that I have approximately three daily readers and none of them brew beer but he has big dreams for you all...
Correction...He just made me read him this paragraph and he says...(this is a direct quote) "No, I have faith, high hopes, big plans, plotting and scheming..."

This is what I get for letting him pick the topic for the day...
He finished with "Smile and wave, boys, smile and wave."

shopping

Today we are going with Boss B and Wife L to a Home Show downtown.
Not for an actual house of course but for the hypothetical one we will have some day.
Basically we just want to see what is out there, available to home buyers and builders.

Megan spent the night with us last night...we watched some Bones episodes and this week's Burn Notice. Chad and I watch three shows, but never on the actual nights that they come on. Those two, previously mentioned, and Fringe....all three completely worth your time. We usually hit them up a couple of days late on Hulu.com or Surfthechannel.com.

And finally, my second favorite wall in the house now. In honor of Nie, I put up a few of my fans (only a few of them... I have a lot more to make. That's a craft project for another day!) and now I absolutely love this wall in the dining room. I tried to stay within the same color scheme to make them look good together but the rest of the fans are brighter colors...some of the paper is from HL, some of it is Indian Rupees from my trip to India, and others are notes that loved ones and team members wrote me while I was there. I wanted the paper to be meaningful as well so I think it turned out pretty cool...

the wall

Slept better last night...probably due to the Tylenol Cold PM that I took at 10pm and again at 4 am. It was nice to get some decent sleep, although I woke up quite a few times during the night. My biggest problem is that I simply just can't turn off my brain...Chad says, just focus on your breathing, your heartbeat or something, and I can't keep my mind from wandering off to some other place and analyzing life at 11pm. Oh dear..

In other news, I think we are going to try to hit the indoor rock climbing place on Saturday. Happy Valentine's Day to us...Megan will probably also be spending the weekend with us so there won't be any big, romantic plans. Sorry to disappoint...I told him I would cook him anything he wanted, literally anything, but he says he just wants to hang out, eat junk food and pizza. I can't decide if I should be offended or not...I'm not.

So here it is...finally...my favorite wall in the house.

The fabulous art from Ikea on the wall in the front hallway near the stairs...I absolutely love it. The tree starts all the way down at the baseboard and just sorta grows up the wall. There are also litte random flowers and humming birds on it too...it came with a lot more birds and flowers but I didn't use all of them because I thought it might be a little much. I like it so much I am considering a second one somewhere in the house but it might make it not as special...

Headed to meet Megan at Lupi's (a great local pizza place) for lunch then it is off to HL...

closing and opening

I closed at HL the past two night. I am opening today.
And closing tomorrow.
And opening Friday. It is sorta unending like that...
I haven't been sleeping well, probably due to all the congestion in my nose and chest (no Mom, I did not get a flu shot and no mom, it is not the flu). It is just a cold and I seem to be on the upswing of this one so hopefully I will feel better soon. I am making an appointment at the DR. to see about the headaches and I might ask her about the not sleeping thing too...I am really worried that they will just want to treat the headaches with super strong meds and not bother to take the time to figure out what is causing them so I can live life without them in general! Hopefully I will be able to get in next week sometime and I will let you know...

Tonight we are having loaded nachos for dinner and I have been looking foward to it all week. Got all the toppings at the grocery store (except for the chips...minor detail right?) and cooked the meat last night so they should be pretty easy to put together tonight. Chad seems to think that if I excersised more that I would sleep better (and I need the exercise so either way, I would do it!) but after 8 hours on my feet, it is hard to want to go for a walk! We are going to try it tonight and see what happens...

I am gonna take pictures of my favorite wall in the house and post them...for YOU Danielle.
Speaking of...Danielle and Ryan set a date for the wedding! August 15th, of this year! So, they will be about a week before our one year anniversary...how fun! Can't wait guys...it is going to be a sweet, fun, beautiful wedding!

keeping promises

I keep my promises people...here are the promised pictures from oh...weeks ago.

These are straight out of camera (sooc) shots with not the first bit of editing, mostly because I don't have time this morning. Two loads of laundry to fold, clean dishes to put up and a dishwasher to refill before I head to work....

Chad and the guys at the forestry office have been mobbed by ladybugs. He has been taking pictures of them to send to some research place...

These are some pictures Chad took on our multiple drives down to south GA for my grandmother's funeral. Mostly of farm equiptment and trees, though some of them have some serious potential! He might be a better photographer than I am...

Chad's....of a tree.

Dozer.

This phone booth is sitting beside the road near an antiques place and I drive past it every day to go to work...I keep seeing it when it is early in the morning and it has frost on the top and the sun is hitting it perfectly but alas...the one day I remember my camera it is neither cold nor sunny.

Rear-veiw mirror self portrait...

Happy sister, on her birthday...

Me and my girls at Eddie's...and yes, I am the tall giant among them.

The lamp I desperately want from Ikea...

That's all for now folks.

friends

I am super excited...my friend A from work is coming to hang out today.
We are doing a little cleaning this morning and then I need to run to the grocery store.
And then I need a shower...ew.

I got pictures to transfer and will post some later...especially Chad's ladybug pictures!

allowance

I am allowed an off day right? (Not a day off, mind you, because I don't really get those!...But an off day. See the difference?)

I DO NOT want to go to HL today. I am sure it is a combination of the following facts: I have worked the past 5 days straight because of the funeral on Monday, I am about 98.2% sure that I am getting sick (cold, nasal symptoms), I have a sty in my left eye that is basically making me look like I got punched because my lower lid is so swollen, and Chad is off today, making me miss a full day of hanging out with him. The only thing that is making me WANT to go to work today is the fact that he just fixed the dog's morning food which includes a bit of the wet type food mixed in with the dry food and then microwaved a bit. Gwen loves it...the smell of wet dog food makes me want to yack (yes folks, I said yack...or is it yak? Either way...it is N-A-S-T-Y.)

So today is my off day...yesterday at work, all people wanted to do was have an attitide and I just can not take that again today. Please pray there are not tears!

Off I go...feeling bad, missing Chad, and eye looking rad. (sooooo not funny....).

come on friends!

No suggestions for a V-day gift? You guys are not helping!!

Not too much to write. Gotta work today and tomorrow, get Sunday off, then another five days before I get Valentine's day off. I am pretty excited about having the day off to just hang with Chad. My friend A from work is going to come over on Sunday to hang out, eat burgers, and watch the latest episode of "Fringe"(She doesn't know that part yet...oh that Joshua Jackson). I am excited about having company...I guess I will clean a bit Sunday before she comes, just the basic vaccuming, etc.

Listening to NPR with Chad before he goes to work so I am gonna leave this one and spend a few short minutes with my sweetie before he's gone..

no snow show

Its cold today. I mean, its really cold today. I mean REALLY really cold. Chad came in and told me it is "sub-20's" before I even got out of bed this morning. Now I realize that there are a lot colder places in the world than Chattanooga and some of my readers even live there but I am a little disappointed folks...if the temperature is in the TEENS, I expect some action! You know, the white fluffy cold variety. What did we get? Nothing. Nada. Not no way, not no how (yes, name that movie.) Pray for us...I need to see some snow here!

On to real life...Valentine's Day is a week and a half away. I think there might be a slight possibility that I will have the day off and if not, I might atleast have the second half of the day off. (I am doing some serious finger and toe crossing). I already have plans to make dinner (what ever he requests...anything, I told him.) and I got cute red placemats last year after Christmas that will be perfect for V-day. BUT, I don't know what to actually get him or do for him for Valentine's day. I need help! It can be handmade (I work at HL people!!) or just anything at this point. I am totally idea-less.

Oh, and I had big plans for posting pictures this morning, I even got out of bed early enough to do it! But Chad took the camera to work with him to take pictures of lady bugs. I tell no lies here. There was some explanation of "a scientific study" and "we vaccumed a lot up yesterday" and "i am going to send in the pictures" but we will will what comes back on the camera.

I have to take a shower, take fingernail polish OFF nails, make a lunch, run to Target, and head to work. Much love all...

a super, duper bowl.

We are watching the super bowl. OK, the word "we" is used loosely. I am blogging and my mom is sitting with her back to the TV, Chad is snuggling Gwendolen, our neighbor Snickey (no lie on the name) is entertaining Megan, Elaine, and Jay with some story of a lady bumping her head. And talking about how heavy her martini glass is because its REAL CUT GLASS she says. Funny times...Mom S and Dad B just walked in so the party is multiplying and I am headed to bed. I know, I am so lame.
Camera battery is dead (in the middle of a photo session this afternoon at the park...bummer) so I am trying to charge it and get some pictures loaded.
Got VERY little done on my list today. Other than cleaning out the fridge this morning, I didn't really get anything done. Nails are painted brown to match tomorrow's outfit and that's about all...
Oh, the fabulous news is...my friend Danielle over at The Adventures of Bort (real life best friend though...not just a blogging friend) is engaged, finally (!!!) to the super cute love of her life. I am soooo excited for them...we are going to have so much fun making her a DIY wedding. I think we might even have a little Stinky Sweet surprise at their reception...I have to ask her how much is a surprise before the rest of the details. He sprung it on her yesterday and hopefully she will be able to get the proposal specifics on her blog soon! Congrats Dani and Ryan...being married is an adventure for sure!

My Adventurers

Ok folks, I added a counter at the bottom of the page for pure, down-home curiosity.
I am keeping track of you guys now!

Cleaning out the fridge...up before Chad but when he gets up, the bedroom is my next goal for cleaning.

I told that joke to Allison Kraus.

I told Chad I was going to title today's blog that and he might be mad but I think it is totally ok...
We went to dinner with some friends of the family tonight and one of them works for a record label and the best part of the meal was when she told a joke and then followed it up with "...I told that joke to Allison Kraus..." and I don't even remember the rest of it because I was so entertained. Never expected to hear that in any every day conversation!

Marking these off my list...
- Put up tree art in front hall way (too cool...took pictures, will post...)
- Bought sweater to wear Monday to funeral
- Chad cleaned bathrooms AND vaccumed in the living room
- I vaccumed the stairs (and literally broke a sweat!)
- Cleaned out the pantry (fabulous!)

So only about 40 things left to do tomorrow and Monday night.
My mom will be here tomorrow night and I am pretty excited...
We also finally found a board/card game that we had been looking for..."Who Knew?". It is an absolute blast so I think we will be playing a little bit of that this weekend.

I got a call today that I had been waiting for...it was fabulous, wonderful, sweet, fun news but I can't share until details get worked out and I get permission. I'll link when I get the go ahead...I absolutely LOVE good news.