The Horton House

Sweet Surprise

2012-01-25T21:03:00.000-06:00

First of all, thank you for your prayers on my last post. We attended the visitation and funeral all Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful service honoring an amazing man. It's one of those things we'll never understand, all I could think Sunday was how unfair all of this was. Just another cold hearted reminder life isn't fair.

Then, as if we needed yet another reminder of how unfair life is, I was jolted out of bed around 3:00am Monday morning to my weather radio app and the tornado siren. We'd been warned all day Sunday that there was a risk for severe weather so before bed I packed a little bag to take to the basement with me. (I didn't want to actually get dressed unless I knew it was headed for us and I didn't want to be caught in a storm without a bra and tennis shoes) I also take my wallet (id and insurance cards) camera and I put Ally's leash in the bag. Call me crazy but for some reason I feel like if I'm prepared nothing will happen. I know it's completely irrational but it's how my mind works.

Luckily, we were never in the path but for a while we were in the polygon. Areas not far from us suffered tremendous damage. There were two deaths and hundreds of homes damaged or completely lost. I just kept thinking how can this be happening again right here. I will say this we have amazing weather teams. We were warned all day on Sunday to be "Weather Alert" they were on the air all night long. Where I am had a 30-40 minute window to get to our safe place. They were predicting the path right down to street names.

Needless to say, I was worthless come Monday morning. I was drained from Sunday, is it just me or are funerals exhausting? Then being up way to long with the weather but I am so thankful that we were spared and safe. My heart breaks for those affected. (There was a story on the local news here about a couple that lost everything April 27th, they moved to another part of town and they were hit again this time. So sad)

Tonight I got a call from Lorie and she needed a babysitter for a few hours. It was just what my soul needed. Ellie was so happy when she got here, we were talking to Patrick while he was getting ready for work and she just laughed and laughed at him. It was the cutest thing. After he left she napped for a bit. Ally was not a happy camper. She was so jealous. I know I need to start setting some boundaries (okay I realize I should have started this about 3 years ago but I didn't, better late than never right?). She is so sweet and not aggressive at all, its the barking a licking I can't stand. She wants to lick everyone and everything. When you don't give her the attention she thinks she deserves she barks and whines until you do. I don't know how to fix it. Any suggestions are welcome. Anyways back to the baby..I loved getting to keep the little angel for a little while, isn't it amazing how a little baby smile and giggle can make you instantly feel better!

(If you've made it this far here's a couple pictures for your reward.)

Can you see Ally's evil eye? Bless her heart.

Lets Lift them Up...

2012-01-22T09:01:00.000-06:00

If you get a chance today please say a prayer for this sweet family. These three beautiful women are having to say their final goodbyes to that precious man. Mr. Kirk was killed in a terrible industrial accident at his shop on Thursday night. It was so sudden and so tragic. He was the nicest man and would do anything for these girls. He loved them more than anything in this world and everyone knew it. He and his wife were high school sweethearts and they still loved and enjoyed each other so much. So if you think about it or have a chance please say a little prayer for them. My heart is broken for them and I can't imagine what they are going through.

2012-01-19T20:55:00.000-06:00

I'm so happy tomorrow is Friday. I have a couple little projects I need to get done around the house this weekend so hopefully I can get those done. I can't seem to get anything done during the week. I hate that I haven't posted since Sunday but as you can see I don't have much to talk about. So, I'll just leave you with this picture I took of the sky this afternoon. I thought it looked so neat with the blue showing through.

Weekend Recap

2012-01-15T18:39:00.000-06:00

We've enjoyed a pretty relaxing weekend. Friday night I finally got all the Christmas decorations down and put away. I also had a gift card to Hobby Lobby from Christmas so I ran in there to see what I could find. They had so much stuff. It was hard to choose.
Saturday was spent watching football and Miss America. I wanted the Saints to win. They didn't. After that let down I settled in to watch the pageant. My dad and I have watched Miss America together for as long as I can remember. In true southern fashion we were flipping back and forth between the Broncos game and the pageant. I used to not be a Tebow fan. It was really hard to like the guy after he chose Florida over Bama, but now that he's playing for the NFL I really like him. Back to Miss America... I don't care what you say Southern girls are some of the prettiest girls around. It was fun this year because Ava and Harper were there to watch with us. I'm not going to lie I was a bit disappointed with the winner, she was obviously shocked too since the poor girl didn't wear waterproof mascara.

Ally loves the fireplace at mom and dads. I have to watch her because sometimes I'm afraid she's just going to crawl right into the fire.
Today I went to church then had lunch at my parents. After I left there I was on the hunt for a new vacuum cleaner. Not a purchase I was really excited to make but we needed one desperately. I ended up just getting a Dyson. I didn't want to spend the money but I also didn't want to be in the same situation this time next year. I got it home and cranked her up to see what she'd do. Lets just say I'm glad no one was here to see what that thing sucked up.
All in all it was a pretty good weekend. We're watching the end of the Packers/Giants game and E!'s Live from the Red Carpet for the Golden Globes. Glad to have a relaxing weekend because things are about to get busy around here!

Heart to Heart

2012-01-12T19:36:00.000-06:00

I always have a hard time getting back into the groove of things after the holidays. This year I think it was worse simply due to the fact that I had two 4 day weekends in a row. It was wonderful and I'm very thankful for the time off but it's about time to get back to my routine.

I've been thinking about things I want to accomplish in 2012 and it's pretty much overwhelmed me. I have a hard time living my life for me. It's hard for me to be content when I see what others are doing and think I should be in the same place. I feel like I'm simply passing through. I get asked all the time when I'm going to have a baby. I understand it's a natural question but when I tell people I don't know probably not anytime soon, I feel like I have to give them an explanation. I shouldn't have to explain anything but the people pleaser in me feels like they deserve a reason. Honestly, dressing a baby in cute smocked outfits isn't enough of a reason to bring a child into this world and right now it's the only one I've got.

January is always a dreary month for me. I feel sad that the joy of the holiday season is all but over, college football is offically over and it's usually cold and rainy. I've jsut now started taking down my Christmas decorations. I just didn't want to give it up. I love how cozy my house is at Christmas and I wasn't ready to pack it away just yet. I rally enjoyed the holidays this year. I didn't get as stressed as I usually do. I think after 4 years of being married I'm finally getting the hang of gift buying and just the stress of two Christmases.

Anyways, enough of that crap...what have we been up to lately?

We celebrated my cousin Frank's 21st birthday at "The Old House" on Friday night. It was a fun night. Frank was surprised and his parents had tracked him down a ticket to the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty jealous.

Monday night some of the tailgate crew gathered at Matt's house to watch the big game. (We also watched the 2009 Championship game at Matt's so I guess we're going to have to watch any other ones there too!) It was a great game. I couldn't have been more proud of my school. I was still very jealous of everyone that got to go to New Orleans and the game.

This is my Babo and Papa. They were in Tuscaloosa staying with my cousin. After the big win they headed to the strip with all the students to celebrate. Aren't they cute!

It's been a pretty good week. I can't believe we won again. It's a surreal feeling after the football I had to endure while I was a student. I'm so excited and proud! Roll Tide!

Day 365

2012-01-02T20:52:00.000-06:00

I'm so happy this is the last day of my Project 365. I've enjoyed it. I wish I had a profound shot for today. I don't.

I've never been a Stephen King fan but when I saw him on the Today show talking about this book I knew I wanted to read it. My Patrick's sister and brother-in-law got it for me for Christmas and I was so excited. I stayed up till almost 2:00 this morning reading. It's so good!

Day 365I'm hoping to make a book of this little project. I think it'll be neat to have.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T18:16:00.006-06:00

Patrick was actually off work for the night! Since he didn't know he'd be off until Wednesday I'd already made plans with Kristen to go to her boss's party. So she and I made a quick apparence at her there then headed to one of Patrick's buddy's houses to ring in the new year. It was less than exciting but it was better than Patrick being at work.Day 364 I'm still working on my Christmas and end of the year posts. Hopefully I'll finish them up tomorrow!

2011-12-31T23:26:00.000-06:00

While we are waiting to ring in the New Year I did some cuddling with this cute kitty. He was so sweet!Day 363

Top 11 of 2011

2011-12-31T19:11:00.000-06:00

In no particular order. Here are 11 of the headlines from 2011!

April 27th Tornadoes ripped through our state. Killing hundreds. It was a sad, terrifying day.
Celebrated my brother's 30th birthday with a Big Wheel Race.

Celebrated my other brother's 21st birthday with a big party at the Old House.

Celebrated Patrick's 30th birthday with a surprise party.

Kristen and I took our nieces to a gymnastics meet in Tuscaloosa.
I finally payed off my car.

My sister got engaged and married.
My best friend had a baby!

Patrick & I took a wonderful vacation to the beach with some good friends. More and More. (Lots of posts on this trip)
I enjoyed football season. I got to travel to Oxford, MS as our SEC road trip of the season. Alabama will play for the National Championship next week.
I finally decorated the living room, got cute curtains for the kitchen and we moved the TV. I loved all the changes and they really made our house feel like a home.

While 2011 brought a lot of happy memories, I'm not sad to say good bye! Bring it on 2012, I look forward to what you may bring!

Sister time

2011-12-30T23:55:00.000-06:00

Tonight I got to have dinner with my sister and Amy. We did a little shopping first. I found this super cute headband and I really wanted it for NYE but I didn't buy it! Kristen said it was a bit much!Day 362

New Ornaments

2011-12-30T16:02:00.000-06:00

I know I've mentioned time and time again my love for ornaments. I love the story they tell about my childhood and now my adulthood. I get several new ones each year and I like to keep track of them. Some of these you've seen some you haven't but I wanted to have them all in one place.

The poodle I got after Christmas because it reminded me of my sweet Ally Bama.

These cute gingerbread ones were from the annual Sister's ornament swap with Patrick's aunts and sisters.

Our Barbie and Ken from my parents.

I got this cute one from Babo. I love it.

This beautiful cross is from Aunt Pam.

These four were from Patrick's parents. I just love them.

The house divided ball for the downstairs tree. I'm so glad I finally figured out who makes these. Coton Colors. Now I really want all of them.

It's Christmas!

2011-12-29T14:47:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas weekend. I say that every year but it's true. I still can't believe it's over. (I know it's been over a week get over it already!) This seems to have been a theme this year on the blog but this year seriously has flown by. We didn't have any big exciting events this year (like the fire of 2009 and the snow of 2010), we just all enjoyed being together.

The best shot of the whole family Christmas Eve at my Grandmothers house.

Patrick and I ended up getting each other the same thing. We decided that we wanted to buy a tv for our bedroom as our big gift this year so we just did small things so we'd have something to open Christmas morning. I opened the jewerly box first then I let Patrick open his. When he saw it was an alarm clock he just started laughing. I was afraid he didn't like it. Then I started to open mine and I saw why he was laughing. We got a big kick out of this. We use seperate alarm clocks, not really sure why but we do. Patrick needed a new one so he was thinking he'd get me a new one and he'd just use my old one.

Annual Christmas morning picture in front of the tree. (This is one of my favorite traditions!) Ally didn't want to cooperate.

This is the best we could get with her.

(I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I normally do.)

Porter and Ally. Ally got the cutest sweater from Santa!

At my parents house this year the four siblings and significant others drew names instead of buying for everyone. Then we all bought for the kids. We got Clay and Hope's names and they actually got our names too. Kinda funny. We really had a blast watching the kids open their gifts. They were so excited.

Dad fixed a nice spread for breakfast and lunch.

Patrick and Ally, Patrick had to work the night before and then we stayed at Mom and Dad's really late playing wii so he'd had about 4 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours and was exhausted. Plus he had to go back to work Christmas night.

Harper, John, Hope and Bentley.

Porter asked for was a chainsaw, it's the one thing he always said when you asked him what he wanted. I finally found one and drove to Cullman to get it for him. It was so worth it. He was so excited. While we were playing wii he came over to me and said "Thank you so much Maggie, I just love my Chainsaw!" Totally worth the hour drive to get it. He also wanted a cooler for his room like John has. So dad found this little old cooler and I put his name on it. He was pretty excited about it too. Plus Dad put some root beer in it for him.

I think John was a bit jealous.

Harper hit the jackpot in the dress-up category. She got this awesome tiara with 3 pairs of shoes. Then my sister found this trunk thing and filled it with some of her old dress up clothes. She was in heaven. She pranced around in those plastic shoes all day long!

Babo gave us aprons. Clay's says Roll Tide and Liz's is a snowman. They were really cute!

Drew opening some of his loot. This boy has changed so much this year. He's grown about 5 inches and is taller than me. It's crazy!

Ava and Leslie.

Harper wanted to try out the chainsaw.

She was pooped. She crawled up on the couch right by Patrick. She looked so sweet curled up with him taking a nap.

We went to Patrick's parents house for dinner. The girls were so excited wearing their headbands from us. I was so excited this year because all the kids seemed really excited about their gifts. I got Tripp the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie and he was so excited. I love getting that reaction. I'm always a picture slacker by the time we get here. We got lots of great things. We were spoiled this year for sure. Melissa made a delicious meal once again. In fact we went back on the 26th to eat again!

I loved this picture of Ally looking over Patrick's shoulder. She looks like a stuffed animal. She was so tired by the time we got home.

We had an amazing holiday this year. It was one of the least stressful of my adult life. (Probably because I got my shopping and wrapping done early) We loved getting to surprise my parents with a new tv, we loved getting the kids little gifts that we knew would light up their faces. We loved all the special gifts that everyone took the time to pick out for us. But my favorite memory this year was sitting at midnight mass (at 8:00) when the lights went dim and the choir started singing Silent Night. I was sad that Patrick had to work but it was in those quiet, still moments that I was able to take it all in and just be thankful and truly remember the reason for the season.

Poodle Love

2011-12-29T11:50:00.000-06:00

While I was doing some after Christmas shopping this week I found this sweet poodle ornament. I had to get it for Miss Ally. Isn't it so cute!
Day 361

Dance Party

2011-12-28T11:12:00.002-06:00

This may come as a surprise but I love the Sims. I downloaded a free version for my phone and I'm kinda addicted to it. I thought this looked so fun. A dance party at 11:00 in the morning!Day 360

Critter Control

2011-12-27T21:14:00.000-06:00

Y'all, I've had a day. If it wasn't my life I wouldn't believe it!When I got to work this morning my boss mentioned that we'd had a little thief on the premises. He wore a little black mask and had rings round his tail. Well the neighbor called and said he big guy was in his carport. We didn't have a trap but Steven tried to make one using a dog crate and we thought we'd lure him in with marshmallows.As you can imagine it wasn't that simple. After several marshmallows and a beer can we realized this guy wasn't going anywhere. So we got out the hose, that got him moving. My job was to lead him to the crate, well when he started running toward me I promptly screamed like a girl and ran backwards. He took cover in the shrubs on the front lawn. It was about this time a nice man and his wife showed up with better equipment, a really long pole and a net. After a long game of chase Mr. Raccoon ended up under the truck the nice man and his wife showed up in. The raccoon got up under the truck and we decided that he should go on a ride. So last we saw him he was headed to a new destination unharmed.Here he is enjoying his afternoon beer.Day 359

Good Dogs

2011-12-26T20:26:00.000-06:00

Santa came to see the dogs and left them each a bone in their stocking.

Day 358

Merry Christmas Y'all

2011-12-25T23:22:00.001-06:00

We've had a wonderful Christmas. I'll do a full recap as soon as I can get the photos uploaded and sorted. For now enjoy this sweet one of Porter with his new chainsaw.Day 357

Merry Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T23:22:00.001-06:00

Ally resting at Mom & Dad's after church.Day 356

Slovensky Family Party

2011-12-23T23:58:00.004-06:00

I've had a full day and night. I got up and cleaned house. I love having a clean house, just hate having to actually clean it. After the house was clean I got ready and Lorie picked me up to meet Kristen for lunch. I had not seen Lorie or Ellie in a month. I'm not even sure it was the same baby. She looked so much bigger and was smiley the whole time. She fell asleep while we were waiting on our food, I just loved holding her. After lunch we went by my parents house. My mom had not seen her yet and had a little gift for her. I loved getting to spend the day with them. Hopefully it won't be another month before I see her again! Can you believe I didn't take a single photo? I know I'm a real slacker.

After my visit with the girls, it was time for the Slovensky Family Christmas party. Patrick had to work so I rode with mom and dad. It was fun as usual. This is the only photo I took at that party. (I really need to get my butt in gear, this can not set the tone for the Christmas photos to come!)

My cousins Andrew and Adam. I only get to see Andrew once a year. He lives in southern Florida and works all the time. When I was a kid these guys seemed so much older than me. Now not so much!

On our way home Dad took us looking at Christmas lights but it was 11:30 and most were turned out for the night.Day 355

Christmas Ramblings

2011-12-22T22:46:00.000-06:00

Tonight was the annual Supper Club Christmas party. No, I'm not in a supper club but my boss used to be so I tag along to their party each year. It's always so much fun. We had delicious lasgna, salad, cheescake for dessert and these amazing chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels. We played dirty santa and the gifts this year were pretty good. I'm so excited I get to sleep in tomorrow. One of my favorite things about the holidays...the ridiculously cheesy movies on Hallmark and Lifetime. I record them all and watch them while I'm off! Since I took no pictures tonight, I thought I'd share our ornaments from my parents this year. Campus Sweetheart Barbieand
Campus Cutie Ken, you can imagine the excitment when Patrick opened this one. I"m kidding he loved it, only because I loved it!
Day 354 On the way to the party tonight I was thinking that Patrick and I got engaged 5 years ago yesterday and the next day was the annual Christmas party with my girlfriends from high school. It was so exciting sharing the news. Lorie rode to the lake with me and I decided I wasn't going to say anything, I was just going to wait for someone to notice. Well that plan almost backfired. We'd been there for about 2 hours before someone noticed. It wa such a fun night! I can't believe it was 5 years ago. I need time to slow down.

This & That

2011-12-21T22:02:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to get things caught up at home tonight since it will be the only night home till Monday night. There is a lot of fun to be had this weekend!

Patrick had to leave before me this morning so I took advantage and made up the bed. I used to make up my bed every single day. When Patrick started working nights it was a lost cause, he is usually in it before I leave. The bedroom is still lacking some decorative touches.

Ally was so sweet the other night before we left to go somewhere. She knew we were getting ready to head out so she snuggled up to me in hopes that she'd get to go. For the record, she didn't get to go. She looked pretty cute though.

The other night Brittany and I headed to Gigi's. It'd been a while since our last trip. It did not disappoint. Then we headed over to the mall. As expected, it was a zoo.
Day 353After bragging about finishing my Christmas list, I realized I hadn't gotten Patrick anything. I know worst wife ever. We aren't doing big gifts this year but I still need to get him something. So guess who'll be doing some last minute shopping tomorrow. yay.

Record Setting

2011-12-20T18:22:00.000-06:00

With five days till Christmas, everyone on my list has a wrapped gift under the tree! That's not to say I'm done shopping. There's still a few things I would like to get but if I don't no big deal. It feels so good to not have to worry about gifts and just focus on the season.

Day 352

You serious Clark?

2011-12-19T23:09:00.000-06:00

Patrick and I enjoyed a little date night tonight at the Alabama Theatre. This place is absolutely beautiful. You can check out photos of the inside from my post last year HERE. We saw Christmas Vacation. It's one of my favorite movies ever. I love it. The place was packed and I laughed because I know the movie is older than most of the kids that were in attendance.

Day 351

4th Annual Gingerbread House Competition

2011-12-19T09:37:00.000-06:00

Saturday night we all met at Mom & Dad's for the 4th annual gingerbread house competition. This year the boys decided to get in on the action (they quickly realized it's not as easy as it looks). This has become one of my favorite traditions!

Porter was so excited!

Harper just wanted to eat the candy!

Ava

Porter with his finished house.

We decided to give my parents their present early. Their tv stopped working about a month ago and they've been watching a 19" all this time. So we surprised them with a new tv. They were thrilled.

John and Hope working hard.

Drew was taking a break.

I think Elizabeth was praying for inspiration.

The new tv.

Mom's new ornament. Hallmark was starting a new 12 days of Christmas series this year so my sister got mom the first one.

My parents decided to add a level of difficulty to the competition this year. We were given a bag with a coffee filter, a wine cork, a plastic spork or fork and and weird paper clip thing that we had to incorporate in our design. It was tough.

My design. I was so excited with how it turned out.

Ava's house with a pool!

My big brother gave up.

Drew's Christmas Luxury House.

Elizabeth's Christmas Campout. Somehow she always manages to have an awesome house when she comes with no plan.

John's 1997 Z17 Stepside. His was really good!

Kristen's Santa Claus is coming to Town

Leslie's design called Porter's Chicken farm.

Drew and Porter's. Porter had already started eating the candy off of his.

Clay's President's Mansion.

Hope's White Christmas in Dixie

Harper watching us play Wii

Patrick and Leslie and Hosea were exhausted.

It was such a fun night! I always enjoy spending time with my family. It's becoming harder and harder the older we get but I hope that we always make a point to spend this time together each year.

The gift that keeps on giving...

2011-12-18T22:21:00.000-06:00

We decided to go ahead and give Mom and Dad their Christmas present last night. This was the tag I made for the package. I was almost as excited about the tag as I was for the actual present. (Which you'll see when I finish my 4th Annual Gingerbread House Competition post!)

Day 350

Redneck Yacht Club

2011-12-17T23:15:00.000-06:00

Or Riverboat Gambler, I couldn't decide which name I liked best.

Day 349

The most Wonderful Time of the Year

2011-12-16T09:23:00.002-06:00

I haven't linked up in a while so I love Christmas decor so I decided to link up with Kelly's Korner for Show Us Your Life: Christmas Home Tours. So if you're visiting form there, Thanks for stopping by I hope you enjoy!

I think I'm finally finished decorating for the season. I love our home decorated for Christmas. I love the way the lights make the living room feel so warm and cozy. I love looking at our tree and remembering all the places we've been and all the special memories each ornament holds. Not much has changed from our decor last year. But here it is...

The mantle had to change a little bit this year due to the TV being on the wall now. I love the TV there so I didn't mind working around it. As my sister so eloquently put it, It looks like pinterest threw up in my home. I loved the burlap stockings so much, so I added those this year.

Also new on the mantle this year the apothecary jars with the ornaments. I love the way it looks. As always the photo of us Christmas morning the first Christmas we were married and then a photo of us from our trip to see Santa last year.

This nativity normally sits in the middle of the mantle but I decided to move it to the shelf beside the fireplace due to the TV. I think it's so pretty.

On the coffee table sits a mercury glass bowl with a few ornaments, our Christmas memories book and the cards we've received in years past. I saw this idea on pinterest and I loved it. It's been a conversational piece for all our guests.

Our card for the year framed on the hearth.

I also love these oversized ornaments hanging from the fireplace tools.

Our traditional tree. I added the ribbon this year and I think I like it. You can't see but this is where the tree skirt I made is.

I went a little crazy with the yarn trees this year. They were so easy to make and I loved how they turned out. Here are a few on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen.

The window over the sink with a few more yarn trees, a small nativity and my lenox ornament wine stopper.

The card tree in the foyer. I added this last year and I love it. Last year I used clothes pins and pinned the cards to the ribbon. This year I decided to just sit the cards in the tree. So far it's working well.

I little Christmas cheer on the end table with the Southern Living December issue and and sweet little candy dish.

I have these cute little hand towels in the hall bath. I want to get a little tree or something to sit on the counter in here. Maybe next year.

The ledge going to the man room. See what I mean with the yarn trees. I just loved them. I bought the stocking hangers last year for the dog's stockings. I found the cute little cable knit stockings at Target and I added the glitter letters. There's one for Ally, Sam and Gracie. This is one of my favorite little spaces this year.

A close up of the trees.

and the stockings.

The "House Divided" tree in the man room. It's pretty much the same as last year. I did move it to another corner and I'm not sure I like it there.

I had this table runner on my table upstairs last year. It didn't really go with the new curtains since I mostly got rid of the black so I used it on this table.

Here's a closer look at the Christmas Memories book. I'm so happy I started this. It's been fun to look back at each year.

One side has photos from that Christmas, the other side has a little pre-made prompt to write about the holiday. The prompts are

Christmas Eve- Where you went? Who was there?

Christmas Day- Where you went? Who was there?

Special Memories?

I also add our card from the year in the book and I write on the back of the card a few favorite memories from the year.

The little tree in the guest room. I also have holiday sheets I put on this bed. Not that I have a lot of guests.

One last look at the living room. I love how it turned out this year!

Day 348

And the tree in the mirror over the sofa.

Merry Christmas!

Cat Picture of the day

2011-12-15T22:00:00.001-06:00

Day 347

A Blue Christmas

2011-12-14T21:51:00.000-06:00

Tonight Patrick and I drove around looking at Christmas lights. This one really stuck out to us and not for a good reason. Everything was blue. The pictures do not do it justice. We also saw a home with approximately 18 inflatables in the yard, sadly they were not inflated. I'm thinking it may require a special trip to see it in all its inflatable glory!Day 346

Jazzed up Stockings

2011-12-13T20:27:00.000-06:00

I've already showed you the burlap stockings Kristen made for me. Well they've been hanging off my mantle for about two weeks now but I noticed that the white of the cuff seemed to just blend in with the white of the mantle. So I took them to work and jazzed them up a bit with our iron on vinyl. I went with the one intial and I think it looks so classic.

Day 345

Santa's Workshop

2011-12-12T22:05:00.000-06:00

Tonight we made our annual pilgrimage to the Bass Pro Shop to have the kids picture made with Santa. We always make a night of it and the kids always have a blast.

I can't believe how big these kids are getting. Drew is now officially taller than me. Not that I'm tall but it's still weird to look your nephew in the eye. He's 11!

Day 344

Harper loved Santa. She would have sat and talked to him all night if we'd let her!

Patrick was making fun of me cause I always have to have Ally in the photos so he grabbed a stuffed animal to be in our photo.

Mom and Dad with the grandbabies.

Us again. Mom likes to use my camera so I take advantage of having someone to take our picture!

We were getting ready to leave and Porter wanted to play with the race cars one more time so we went over to Santa's workshop. While we were watching Porter, Harper kept waving at Santa so he waved her to come see him again. She ran up to him and climbed in his lap and just started talking to him. It was actually really cute! So she got her picture made with him by herself.

When Porter saw that Harper got to see Santa again he had to go see him too. They were so sweet.

This is one of my favorite family traditions. Just for kicks here are the past two years photos...

2009

2010

2011

Signed, Sealed...

2011-12-11T22:15:00.000-06:00

Hopefully will be delivered tomorrow. I'm not making any promises though!Day 343

Ornament Party

2011-12-10T22:35:00.000-06:00

Tonight, I went to the annual ornament swap with Patrick's aunts and cousins. It was nice to see them. I got some really cute ornaments so I was happy! Vikki made a delicious roast with potatoes and carrots. I'm sure there's more I could say but I just don't feel like it tonight!

Day 342

It's the Holiday Season

2011-12-09T22:58:00.000-06:00

Tonight I served wine and a Christmas party for some of my dad's friends. It's always a fun time and they always send me home with a plate full of goodies. Doesn't that look yummy!
It was cold here this morning so Sam and Gracie were cuddled up together in their bed. They are best friends and totally love each other. Day 341

Silly kids

2011-12-08T20:58:00.000-06:00

My parents have had these cuties since yesterday morning and they needed a little break so I went this afternoon and picked them up to hang out with me. I took them back to Nana and Granddaddy's house, they were getting ready for bed they wanted me to lay with them. They were so precious. I could listen to the laugh all day.

Porter drug this bitty baby bed and put it right beside the bed because that's where his new cousin sleeps at her house. Yes, arm covers for your accent chairs also double as a cover for your baby in case you were wondering.
Here he is with the baby. Melts my heart!Day 340

Sweet Treat

2011-12-07T21:12:00.000-06:00

Last night after bootcamp I really wanted something sweet so I made brownies. Yes, I know that completely defeats the purpose of the exercise but to be honest I would have eaten the brownies anyway so at least I worked out!

Day 339

(I think I missed some days or something, because I started this on Jan 1st and I should be closer to 365 by now. I'll only have 363. It's going to drive me crazy. I've got to figure out where I made a mistake.)

First of the Season

2011-12-06T20:45:00.000-06:00

Our first card of the season arrived today. It made this dreary day so much brighter. Also made me feel like a slacker since I just ordered mine yesterday!Day 338

More Decor

2011-12-05T20:48:00.000-06:00

I had a fun craft night tonight with my boss' wife and daughter. I helped them make the ruffled tree skirt. I use the term help loosely. I was mostly there for moral support. We didn't finish but they got a good start. I didn't get any pictures so I thought I'd show some more decor. I plan on doing a whole Christmas home tour but here's another little peek.This is the ledge going down our stairs into the man room. These are the dog's stockings with a few of my yarn trees. (I think I went a little crazy with the yarn trees!)Day 337

Disney on Ice

2011-12-04T20:19:00.000-06:00

Circa 1990...When I was 5 years old I won a trip to Disney on Ice. It was so cool, they picked us up in a limo, they introduced me during the show and we got to meet Mickey. It was pretty much the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. When I got in the limo (that looked just like the one in the end of Pretty Woman) these two giant Mickey's were waiting on me. They now live at our house, we just need to find a place for them!Day 336

Celebrate

2011-12-03T23:57:00.002-06:00

Kristen and I braved the malls today to return some pants that ended up being on sale and of course I didn't have my reciept so they wanted to give me $20 less than I paid for them so I just exchanged them. Pretty sure I still lost in that situation but at least I feel better about it. Then we came to my house to finish the burlap stockings that we'd started two weeks ago. They turned out really cute. Then I went to my cousin's 50th birthday party. It was a lot of fun! Now i'm home and going to call it a night. Ally is ready to go to bed and so am I!Day 335

Tis the season

2011-12-02T19:17:00.000-06:00

I decided the best way to kick off the fun old fashioned family Christmas was with a little Clark Griswold and Christmas Vacation. I used to watch this movie either Thanksgiving night or the weekend. I didn't get around to it last weekend so I decided that tonight was the night.Day 334

Christmas Parade

2011-12-01T20:37:00.001-06:00

Happy 1st Day of December!Tonight Carla and I ran out to see the Christmas Parade after we got out of bootcamp. It was fun! I'd made a few signs for some of the girls riding in cars and I was excited to see them. I know this picture is terrible but it's Santa on the back of the fire truck!Day 333

Peacock Love

2011-11-30T21:51:00.000-06:00

Our foyer tree is the card tree. It's peacocky and I love it. I plan on posting all the decor soon, not much has changed but I still love having it to look back at each year!

Day 332

Warm the Soul

2011-11-29T20:53:00.000-06:00

It's been a cold, dreary couple of days around here. The highs have been in the low 40's and just rainy and wet. I've been freezing, I know that 40's isn't really that cold to some people but it was to me. The first thing I did when I got home was make a nice mug of hot chocolate. It was wonderful!Day 331

Weekend of the Century: Part 2

2011-11-29T20:43:00.000-06:00

(You can catch up on Part 1 here) We got up bright and early on gameday to watch Gameday. I had to go to the store for a few things so I headed out. I went to the Publix on campus, not that this is important, I basically went in my pjs thinking I wouldn't see anyone. I don't know why I thought that. There were people everywhere. I pretended like I wasn't wearing my pjs and started gathering my goods. I got to the check-out and realized I didn't have my id or card. So I left my buggy and ran home. I'm not going to lie the thought crossed my mind that this wasn't a good sign for the day to come.Slowly but surely we all got up and got ready for the day. After the events the day before we were all a little spent emotionally so it took us a little longer than usual to get into our tailgate groove. It wasn't too much longer till everyone started filing in. A little later we ventured to the quad. There were more people in Tuscaloosa for this game than I've ever seen there. It was unreal

When we got home from the quad Ally was pooped. It's tough to be carried all that way. We rested and refueled for the big game. I was nervous.

Before we left the house.

Amy and I saw this beautiful sunset on the way to our seats.

In our seats. We managed to spill two drinks before the game even started. The man in front of us (that we spilled a drink on at the UT game) turned to us when he got to his seat and winked. It was a little creepy but made us laugh. Apparently he didn't hate us. The game was frustrating to say the least. It should have never come down to our kickers or overtime.

When we went into overtime I went to the bathroom. I couldn't watch. I came out of the portal to watch the 2nd overtime and met these two super sweet people. They weren't even really Bama fans but they consoled me anyway. They ended up coming back to the house for dinner and drinks. I enjoyed them.

I think this photo best describes everyones feelings at the end of the day. We were all pooped both physically and emotionally. I was sitting at the table trying to decide if I wanted to drive home or not and I just started crying. I looked like an idiot. (It also made the season complete, I some how managed to cry about something every single home game. It's a gift, or a curse I'm not sure yet.) I just got to thinking about that being the last tailgate I'd probably go to at that house. We've had some amazing times there and I was sad thinking about not seeing all these people every Saturday in the Fall. John will still be down there next year so hopefully we'll have a place to hangout.

All in all it's been a great season. The loss hurt, only because we had every opportunity to win and we blew it. We're on track to get our rematch in the BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans. I would give my right arm to be there. (Which I may have too!)

Roll Tide Roll!

DIY: Tree Skirt

2011-11-28T22:54:00.000-06:00

I've been busy working on a new tree skirt. I finally finished it tonight. It's not perfect by any means but it gets the job done.

This was another pinterest idea and it was fairly easy just very time consuming.It's more square than your average tree skirt, I'm not real good with scissors!
Day 330 Theirs is way better than mine!

Source: mycrazylife-lauren.blogspot.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Thanksgiving Sunday

2011-11-27T17:15:00.000-06:00

Since we didn't have turkey and dressing at my grandmother's Thursday, my dad made it for lunch today and it was delicious. I took this picture of Harper and Ally before we ate. They're pretty cute!

Day 329

Winning

2011-11-26T23:56:00.001-06:00

Iron Bowl Saturday is always a big day in our house. I think I've mentioned before we are a house divided ;). It's rough. Patrick was off work today so we invited some of the tailgate crew and a few friends over to watch the game. It was mostly Alabama fans with the exception of Patrick and Hope. It was fun to have everyone over to hang out and watch Bama kick some tail! I got us this ornament for our "House Divided" tree and I love it. I thought it was so cute!Day 328

Weekend of the Century: Part 1

2011-11-26T02:58:00.001-06:00

**Disclaimer: This particular post has taken me almost a month to write for a reason. It was hard to write. I would appreciate any questions or comments about anything I've written to be directed to me. Thanks.**

Some of you may have heard about the "Game of the Century" a few weeks ago in Tuscaloosa, well my weekend started Friday around noon when I hit the road to Ttown to get ready for my sister's wedding.Yes, my sister got married the day before the LSU game in Tuscaloosa. I've never felt emotion like I did that day. Let me back up to the Sunday after the Tennessee game... Liz and Clay came by mom and dad's to announce they'd set a date. November 4th, 2011. They also informed us they were inviting 4 guests to the ceremony and 20 guests to a dinner following. I immediately started bawling. The first words I spoke went something like this, "4 guests? Are you f-ing serious?" Classy, I know. To which Elizabeth replied something like, Be happy you're one of them. She went on to name the four guests...none of which included my parents or his parents. I then announced if my parents weren't invited then I wouldn't be in attendance. I could not for the life of me understand why you wouldn't want your parents at your wedding especially since our family has always been so close. I love my parents so much and they are good people. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't want them there. I was caught in the middle. I love my sister, I support her, if she's happy I'm happy for her. But I also love my parents and it killed me to see them so upset they've been dealt some blows and I think this was the most hurt I've seen them. I mulled over it for two or three days and with my parents blessing I decided I should go to the ceremony if I was invited. I arrived in Tuscaloosa a little after 1:00 Friday and the whole town was a buzz. There were people everywhere already ( for the game not the wedding). I got to the house and Elizabeth and Amy were getting ready. We all chatted and laughed. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it through the day. I was trying so hard to stay strong, I've gotten pretty good at smiling on the outside when I really want to sit in the corner and cry. I was completely torn the entire day. We all got ready and then it was time for Liz to put on her dress and finish her hair. While I was so honored and excited and happy to be there, I was also dying on the inside. I wanted my mom to be there. It's a mom's job to make sure your veil is straight and that your shoes are buckled. I was reminded of my wedding day so much. My sister and I spent that entire day together and we laughed a lot. We laughed a lot this day too but every time I laughed I felt guilty that I was there and my mom wasn't.Soon enough it was time to head to the church. We arrived at little bit early and the priest wasn't there yet. He quickly arrived and we headed into the chapel. The chapel was beautiful and it was a really sweet, intimate ceremony. One of the prayers was that you are blessed with children and they bring you much joy and all I could think was that their parents weren't there and how much joy being a part of this ceremony would have brought to them. I always cry at weddings and this one was no different. I cried like a baby. It was really beautiful. I was so happy I went because I know I would have regretted not being there. Sometimes we have to suck it up and smile even if you think it may be the last thing you ever do. After the ceremony we went to Cypress Inn for a nice dinner. Patrick and I love Cypress Inn, I was sad he wasn't able to join us. He wasn't able to get off work. I was happy to finally see my parents.

John and me before dinner.

Me and the bride.

Amy and my Mom, they both looked beautiful.

Amy and John

We felt like we were at the kids table. So to play the part when Keith opened his potato we all thought it looked like a seal so we made a ball and put it on his nose. Isn't he cute. We had Gigi's cupcakes and then we headed to the house.

Once we got to the house we decided to head to the Houndstooth. This was the outside at 8:30 Friday night. It was crazy!

I was excited to see my new friend Shannon. Love this girl!

Also got to hang out with an old friend from high school. We didn't stay out to late. We got back to the house and Amy and Shannon were going to another bar so I just decided to call it a night. Before I went to bed, Dad and I took Ally for a walk and we ended up walking all the way back to campus to see the Gameday set. We also passed this casket in the bed of a truck. Pretty random.

I've tried so hard to put all of this behind me. It's just so hard when you see people that you love hurt, it's even harder when the cause of the pain was the action of another person that you love too. I try to forget the pain but it gets brought to the surface all too often in a photo or a friend who mentions it in public because weddings are happy occasions. And for the record my feelings about this situation have nothing to do with the person Liz has chosen to spend her life with. It wouldn't have mattered who was standing beside her. The fact that my dad wasn't there to give his daughter away and my mom didn't get to see her stand in front of that chapel and vow to spend the rest of her life with someone is where the hurt comes from. The fact that it didn't seem bother either of them that they hurt people that love them deeply fueled these feelings.

If I've learned anything in my 27 years it's Life is all about perspective. While all this was so hurtful and some of us even found ourselves navigating the stages of grief, it could be a lot worse. They are still in our lives. I am still able to call her on the telephone if I want to tell her something. I don't want that to change but I also want it to be understood how hurt I was and why I was hurt. I've tried to understand and respect the decisions they made but that doesn't mean I have to agree with them. It also doesn't mean my feelings won't be hurt.

Thanks for sticking with me. I hate writing these types of posts but sometimes I just need to pour my heart out. I try to keep it real and this is about as real as it gets.

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

2011-11-25T23:46:00.000-06:00

I am really blessed beyond words. I have the most amazing, resilient family that I couldn't imagine not having in my life. Do they make me crazy sometimes, yes, but I know without a shadow of a doubt they'll be there for me in a heartbeat.

Patrick is my better half. He keeps me grounded. He tells me when I'm being ridiculous and need to chill out. He lets me cry when I get my feelings hurt and he can always say something to put life in perspective for me. My mom and dad, I'm lucky enough to be able to say they are truly two of my best friends. Patrick's parents are two angels in my life. They are two of the most kind hearted people I've ever be around. They are able to make impossible situations seem possible. They always know the right thing to say to make you feel better. My friends, where do I start, they have listened to more venting over the last 8 years then they probably care to think about. Just being around them lifts my spirits. I love that we can laugh at things and ourselves all the time. Sometimes I wish we could still all live together, husbands, babies and all. The two years I lived with them were some of the most laughter filled moments of my life. I'm thankful that when we get together we can laugh till my face hurts (usually about whatever we started venting about). I have learned a lot this year, a lot of tough lessons that I didn't really want to learn. But I'm am thankful for them.

Life is good. Petty things do not matter. I can not control how other people feel and act I can only control my reaction to them. People can only hurt me if I let them. I'm trying to learn that.

Enough mushy stuff on to Turkey Day...
We had a wonderful day. We started with lunch at my grandmother's house with my aunt and my uncle (his wife went to Indiana to visit her family, we missed her). My grandmother decided against a traditional Thanksgiving meal and opted for vegetable soup and Mexican cornbread instead. It was delicious (although I was a little disappointed because I'd been craving turkey and dressing all week).

Harper checking out the black Friday deals.

The boys (and Ally) out shooting.

Harper loves Ally.

For dinner we went to Patrick's mom and dad's and like usual they cooked enough food for 50 people, there are 13 of us, five of those are under the age of 10. She had ham and turkey, dressing, scalloped potatoes, mac and cheese, broccoli casserole, squash, green beans, corn , peas, baby potatoes, roasted vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes onion all together), sweet potato casserole, salad and rolls. It was all so good. Then for dessert she made a chocolate cheesecake, pecan pie, another pie (pumpkin I think), banana pudding and strawberry/cream cheese danish thing. It was all so delicious! Needless to say we had to roll ourselves out of there.

I left there headed to my parents house to make a black Friday shopping plan. Honestly there really weren't that many deals that we thought we just couldn't miss. There were a few things that we were after. Our first stop was going to be Wal-Mart until we drove by and there wasn't a parking place for blocks. All we wanted was one wii game and we decided we didn't need it. So we headed to Target to wait for them to open. The line was ridiculous so we decided we'd just sit in the car until it opened. Then they were only letting 30 people in every 3 or 4 minutes. So we decided we'd have to go stand in line if we were ever going to get in. We made it in around12:30 got the few things we were after and got in line. This is where I started to turn into a pumpkin. I get really grouchy when I'm up past my bedtime and it was way past my bedtime. We stood in line about 20 minutes and made it out without hurting anyone.
I really didn't do as well as I have in the past. I only got 6 gifts but that's a start so it was worth it.

Wow that was a long one, if you're still reading thanks for sticking it out!

Tomorrow is kind of a big day in Alabama, there's this little game called the Iron Bowl and we really need to win it!

Roll Tide!

Volunteer weekend

2011-11-25T22:54:00.000-06:00

"The Third Saturday in October"

October 22 we headed to Tuscaloosa to take on Rocky Top. Tennessee is terrible so we weren't expecting much of a game. I honestly don't remember much of the game. We had a good time. I do remember that! We won, I remember that also.

We started the day with mimosas, like we do most every gameday.

I don't remember what we ate but I'm sure it was good. I think it was chili.

John, Hope and Bentley. Aren't they precious!

Pre-game photo shoot. I title this one "Self-portrait".

Liz on the porch

Amy so happy to go to the game with me!

Mom, the Doggy sitter extraordinaire. They love her!

Sisters before the game.

Siblings. Amy and I ended up leaving our seats after we splashed a drink on the man in front of us and I thought we were going to get in a fight with his wife. She was so mad and it barely got on him. These people have not liked me since the first day I sat in these seats. I like to cheer, a lot and loudly. They didn't appreciate it ever. Funny thing is this game I was cheering at one point and the woman turned around and told me she just loved my energy. I thought we were finally making progress then the drink happened and we were back to square one. So after all that we decided to go find my little brother and sister in the student section and sit with them.

To start the fourth quarter we decided to head down to Dad's seats. This was our group shot after Rammer Jammer. So happy!

Amy and I trying to pose with our victory cigars. I couldn't do it and look cool so this is the best it gets.

Babo and Papa! I love them!

The boys and Liz with Bullets infamous sign of the week! After the game we decided to head to the Houndstooth. We watched a football game at the bar, I think it was Texas Tech and Oklahoma. Can't remember for sure but it was an upset.

I love these girls.

One Month

2011-11-25T22:22:00.000-06:00

Till Christmas!!!

As of today our halls are officially decked!
I started the day with coffee from my Christmas mug. I caught up on shows via our DVR. (I love Wednesday nights on ABC the comedies are great and Revenge is the best show I've watched in a while.) After I watched a few shows I started dragging out the Christmas stuff, my sister came over and helped me so I got it all done pretty quickly! I'm pretty excited with the results! I'm also trying to get the blog caught up before the holidays are in full swing. I've still got a couple football games and Thanksgiving and I'll be satisfied!

Day 327

Making a List

2011-11-24T21:22:00.002-06:00

We're making a plan to tackle black Friday. I'm sure I'm going to regret this decision!

Day 326

Breaking Dawn

2011-11-23T23:11:00.007-06:00

Tonight I went to see Breaking Dawn with Lorie and Kristen. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't love it. There were some parts that were just a bit over the top even for a vampire, werewolf, mortal and vampire baby movie. To be honest I haven't just loved any of the movies. I loved the books but the movies have been just okay. We went to the late movie and I had to prop my eyes open. I'm getting to old for that stuff!

Day 325

Chicken & Dumplings

2011-11-22T20:14:00.000-06:00

This was another pinterest recipe. It was really good considering the effort it took!I can't get it to embed so here's the link.Day 324

Iron Bowl Week Kickoff

2011-11-21T21:39:00.000-06:00

I decided that I could justify putting up one of my Christmas trees this week because it is our "House Divided" tree for the man room. I can't believe it's already Iron Bowl week. This season has seriously flown by. I need life to slow down.
I cut these vinyl letters awhile back but we just got around to hanging them tonight.
Day 324

Blooper Reel

2011-11-20T21:23:00.000-06:00

After lunch today I took some pictures of my brother's kids. While Ava was getting her hair done, Porter and Harper helped me find a place and set my camera. They were both being such hams.

Day 323

Celebration

2011-11-19T23:09:00.002-06:00

Tonight we went to an engagement party for my cousin and his fiance. It was at her parents home and it was fabulous. I want to live on their patio around the pool! Everything was beautiful! I'm so excited for Ryan and Natalie and all the wedding festivities. I love a wedding!(Patrick, me, Hope and John out by the pool)Day 322While we were at the party the BCS was being turned upside down. It looks like things are lining up for a rematch in the National Championship game. We still have to beat Auburn and if I've learned anything this weekend it's anyone can lose any Saturday!Roll Tide!

Jealous?

2011-11-18T23:34:00.000-06:00

Tonight Ellie made her first trip to Aunt Maggie's house. She was so excited! It was kind of surreal. Joe came with Lorie and it was like being right back at 1216 14th Street in Tuscaloosa. We were chatting and crafting and Joe was watching football and basketball. Only now there's a baby and a poodle ;)Joesph put up with us all the time. He felt like our 4th room mate he was at our house so much. I'm pretty sure I never had to take out the garbage or fill up the ice trays those last two years. Joesph made sure it was done. He wasn't "one of the girls" but he could definitely hold his own with us. He and Patrick both have always respected the friendship that Lorie, Kristen and I share. I think it's so important to have good friends and I'm so happy that our men think so too! Ally was just a little bit jealous when I was holding Ellie. I don't know how she's going to react to a baby when the time comes.Day 321

Solo Craft Night

2011-11-17T22:18:00.002-06:00

Another tweaked pinterest idea. Simply yarn wrapped around styrofoam forms. It was time consuming but not hard at all!Day 320

Lighter and Brighter

2011-11-16T22:30:00.000-06:00

My daddy was nice enough to color mine and Kristen's hair for us. It'd been about 6 months and was definitely time. Just a few gold highlights for fall and winter!This is not really a good picture but it does look a lot better!
Day 319

Colors of Fall

2011-11-15T21:43:00.000-06:00

The leaves have been beautiful this year. But sadly they're almost all on the ground by now!Day 318

My husband rocks

2011-11-14T17:40:00.000-06:00

Patrick has been busy the last couple of days. I wanted a shelf in the cabinet under the cook top. He did not disappoint. I'm thrilled with how it turned out.Day 317

Sunrise

2011-11-13T14:50:00.000-06:00

Patrick got this shot this morning when he pulled into the driveway from work.Isn't it beautiful?Day 316

Static

2011-11-12T13:48:00.000-06:00

We've spent the entire day on the couch watching football. Here's a shot from work yesterday.

Day 315

Sick Night

2011-11-11T19:59:00.002-06:00

I have felt like crap all day! Hopefully all this and a movie will do the trick!

Day 314

Baby Days

2011-11-10T21:31:00.000-06:00

I can't imagine loving my own kids any more than I love this little kiddo. I got to hang out with Lorie, Kristen and Ellie tonight and it was much needed! I hadn't seen Ellie in two weeks and she's grown way to much! (Although she's still not as big as my sister was when she was born. I have a whole new respect for my mom!)I was trying to get her to smile. I think I just scared her!Day 313

Hair Time

2011-11-09T19:07:00.000-06:00

I told Patrick this morning that I had a hair appointment today. When he woke up around 4:30 this afternoon he told me my hair looked good... My appoinment wasn't until 6:30! It's a good thing he's cute!Day 312

Late to the Party

2011-11-08T21:03:00.000-06:00

I'm just now jumping on the Toms bandwagon.I got my first pair this week and I love them. I've already got my eye on another pair. I ordered the youth size 5 cause i'd seen in the comments that other women with little feet had done the same thing. I really should have ordered a 4 but the 5's work.Day 311

Flim Flam Bim Bam, Ole Miss Bye Damn

2011-11-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

We made our annual road game a day trip this year, to Oxford, Mississippi to take on the Ole Miss Rebel Black Bears. (Although Liz, Clay and Amy have made all the road games this one the official road trip since I tagged along). I think every SEC fan has a desire to visit all the SEC stadiums at least once in their lifetime whether they say it or not. Slowly but surely I'm making my rounds.

It was a beautiful day for football. We arrived in Oxford just in time for lunch so we slipped into The Blind Pig for a sandwich and mimosa. After lunch we strolled around the square shopping and taking in the sights. This area was so cute and quaint, I could have stayed all day there.

After shopping we headed to the Grove. Let me tell you, if you've never been to the Grove you have to go at least once in your life. There's a reason their slogan is "We ain't never lost a party!" It was tent on top of tent, people on top of people for as far as you can see. By far some of the best people watching I've witnessed. The girls were beautiful and were dressed to kill. I've never seen such big hair and high heels at a football game. Most SEC girls dress up for the games but these girls were over the top.

Obligatory picture in front of the stadium!

We got tickets outside the stadium and headed in. Amy and I were shocked when the bag checker going in the gate told us we had to break the stick off our shakers. We're such rebels we just hid them in our shirts. We quickly found our seats in the middle of the Ole Miss fans right in front of the cheerleaders. Everyone was so nice. I sat next to an older man, he was a high school football coach. I'm not going to lie, when the Rebels scored that first touchdown, I was afraid I couldn't handle being in the middle of all the fans. But the sweet man next to me leaned down and said "Don't worry, we ain't that good!" Turns out, he was right! We came out in the second half and completely dominated. The crowd thinned out but our friends we made stayed around till the end. We did the Hotty Totty with them, they cringed while we did Rammer Jammer. It was really a lot of fun!

Elizabeth doing her impression of the Ole Miss Rebels basketball team's commercials they played. They were zombies and we didn't enjoy them!

Our Group!

After the game we met some of our tailgate group for dinner then headed back to Birmingham.

It was a great trip! I really hope we can keep these road games going.

Healthy Dinner

2011-11-07T20:45:00.000-06:00

Fried corn dogs are healthy, right?Day 310

Family Time

2011-11-06T19:24:00.000-06:00

We spent the day at my grandmother's house, the first Sunday of every November we have Mass on the cemetery where my mom's family is buried. Then we spend the day hanging out with everyone. Since my grandmother passed away about 7 years ago we don't see all of her family very often. When the sun sets we go back to the cemetery and light candles. It's always so pretty.

Day 309

Geaux Home Tigers

2011-11-05T21:50:00.000-05:00

Day 308

Sisters

2011-11-04T22:36:00.001-05:00

Day 307

What to Wear

2011-11-03T22:47:00.000-05:00

I'm leaving for a two night stay in Tuscaloosa. This is what i've laid out to pack. I've still got to go through the narrowing down and we've got a lot to narrow. My problem is I have no idea what to wear to the game. Ah...decisions, decisions!

Day 306

Casserole Queen

2011-11-02T19:49:00.000-05:00

I didn't want Patrick to starve this weekend while I'm in Tuscaloosa.Day 305

I like big bows

2011-11-01T09:18:00.001-05:00

I took Ally to the groomer last week and they put these bows in her hair. They were so cute but they were huge. I just kept thinking about something I saw that said "the bigger the bows the better the mommy". It made me laugh!

Day 304

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T18:00:00.004-05:00

Waiting for our little ghosts and goblins to arrive!

Day 303

Sunday Funday

2011-10-30T17:59:00.005-05:00

Today I enjoyed church and lunch with my family. John and Liz were home and we danced the day away with the kiddos!

Day 302

Relaxing Fall Saturday

2011-10-29T17:58:00.001-05:00

We've enjoyed the off weekend by drinking coffee, watching football, eating soup, napping and more football. It's been wonderful!

Day 301

Authenticity

2011-10-29T17:01:00.002-05:00

I miss blogging. I'm trying to get caught up. I've been keeping up with my 365 photos and I plan to start posting them tonight. Until then, here are my thoughts on life right now when it comes to blogging.

Hopefully, I'll be back in full force soon. It's kind of a big week this week. Did you hear Bama and LSU will be facing off in a #2 vs #1 matchup of the ages a week from today in Tuscaloosa? I can't wait

Authenticity: the quality of being authentic; genuineness.
This is something I strive for in my writing.

Lately I've been challenged to balance being true to myself and my feelings without being offensive.

Let me start by saying that I love blogging. I really do. I love having my scrapbook and journal in one place. I love the support that I've recieved from people. With that being said, I want people to get a true glimpse of who I am. I like to think that if you met me in real life you would not be surprised at all. (People that know me in real life can vouch for me, hopefully) I do understand people that don't want to blog about negative things because they want to keep their blog positive. But I want to show my life the good, bad and ugly. I don't like to dwell on things but I want to blog about my life and my feelings about life. Sometimes things happen in life that we don't necessarily like. But just because we don't like them doesn't mean they didn't happen.

My family is a very important part of my life. We used to say when you hit one of us we all hurt. I still feel that way to an extent. I blog a lot about the goings on in my family because they are important to me. I don't plan on stopping. I've never written anything on this blog that I wouldn't say to someone's face.

All that to say...If you don't like something you read on MY blog you can A) Contact me at MaggieMHorton@gmail.com and discuss it with ME. Cause no one else is going to understand what I wrote better than myself; and they shouldn't have to defend what I wrote! or B) Don't read it simple as that.

If you're offended by something I wrote, your best bet would be option "A".

Craft Night

2011-10-28T20:22:00.000-05:00

Kristen's assistant for craft night. Sadly Ally was probably as much help as I was!Day 300

Organized chaos

2011-10-27T20:23:00.001-05:00

In an effort to get organized I printed this weekly meal planner.I love it. I added the month view at the start so I could plan holidays and such. So far it's working pretty well. Day 299

Baby fix

2011-10-26T20:24:00.000-05:00

I got to see sweet Ellie tonight. We went shopping and it was a little surreal to be walking with Lorie around the mall pushing a stroller. We laughed cause we were just walking and something caught Ellie's eye and she turned her head just staring. It was a shoe store! Then we met Kristen for dinner. It was a nice night with the best friends a girl could ask for.Day 298

Good Fortune

2011-10-25T20:26:00.002-05:00

Patrick and I had Chinese food tonight and this was my fortune.No pressure friends.

Day 297

Puppy Love

2011-10-24T20:28:00.002-05:00

I was in such a tizzy this morning I was halfway to work when I realized I forgot thsi baby.She was so happy to see me when I got home, I'm thinking about leaving her more often!Day 296

Sleepy girl

2011-10-23T20:29:00.002-05:00

This is how Harper fell asleep after lunch today. She looked so cute in her grey sweater dress and red cowboy boots!Day 295

Rocky Top

2011-10-22T20:30:00.003-05:00

Celebrating the "W" at The Houndstooth. Love these girls!Day 294

Put your feet up

2011-10-21T20:33:00.002-05:00

Can you tell I'm struggling for things to take photos of?Day 293

Signage

2011-10-20T20:34:00.000-05:00

One of my good friends just started a new event planning business with her mom. They do beautiful work. I was happy I got to make them a sign for their new office. It turned out so good!Day 292

Snow Clouds

2011-10-19T20:36:00.001-05:00

On my way home from work today I saw some snow clouds.There was no snow but the air definitely has a cool feel to it lately.Day 291

Anniversary Decor

2011-10-18T20:39:00.002-05:00

I did the vinyl work on this vintage window for a 50th Anniversary party.

They used it as decor then gave it to the couple as a gift. I thought it turned out so pretty. I add the actual date above the year in a scrolly font. It was beautiful!

Day 290

Say Cheese

2011-10-17T20:43:00.003-05:00

Harper's not afraid of the camera, that's for sure!Day 288

Mr. Saftey

2011-10-17T20:41:00.004-05:00

I love this kid! Porter came to my house, he brought his saftey glasses.

He looked so cute I couldn't help but smile at him!

Day 289

Hotty Toddy

2011-10-15T20:44:00.003-05:00

Day 286

My Private Jet

2011-10-14T20:54:00.003-05:00

I was brave today, I got a color that wasn't red or pink...and I love it!It's OPI My Private JetDay 285

Reese Crescent Rolls

2011-10-13T20:56:00.000-05:00

I saw this recipe on Pinterest. It was only okay, but it looked really pretty!Day 284

Make yourself comfortable

2011-10-12T20:57:00.003-05:00

Sophie relaxing at work.Day 283

Little Cutie

2011-10-11T21:01:00.005-05:00

She's such a sweetie!

Day 282

Soccer Star

2011-10-10T21:00:00.008-05:00

I've only made it to one soccer game this season. I know, I'm a terrible aunt.

Day 281