Grateful....

There are so many things that we are grateful for.. so why not share a few?

Home.. I am grateful that the Lord has blessed me with such a wonderful home, a roof over my head, shelter, a place to run to..our house is still new to us, but we are slowly making it our "home"..i think this will take a while, but we are working on it daily..

Family.. I am so grateful for my family..whether or not we get along all the time or not, whether we are near or far, whether we talk on a daily basis or only once a month.. I am thankful for the family members i have, and so thankful for the ones that can no longer be here on earth with us. They have shaped me into the person I am, they have raised me, and they have loved me.

Work.. yeh yeh, i know what your thinking..your grateful for your job?? yeh right.. but really, I'm grateful that I have a job, I have worked since I was 16 and i have to make a life for myself, and whether I like my job or not, i gotta do it.. I'm glad that I get up every morning and do it over and over again..

Dogs.. ha! I'm thankful for the little babies I have here at home, they are always so excited to see me..who wouldn't love that right? They will always love you no matter what.

Car/Transportation.. if I didn't have a car, where would i be? I suppose i would figure it out, but i'm grateful that i have a job (see above) and that I can have this kind of luxury, when i know there are millions of ppl out there that don't..

These are just a few things, in no particular order...just whats on my mind lately..when i pray at night, I always tell God how thankful I am for the things he has blessed me with. Where I would be without Him, I have no idea..

Holy Cow

A couple weeks back David called me late on a friday night while I was at work, and asked if I wanted to go out and eat at The Red Barn..i said sure, he made reservations, and I was excited! We had never been to the red barn, i heard it was really good and a great spot for a romantic dinner--which we don't have often..
Anyways, we ordered our food and were just talking and having a good time..David had recently started up a facebook account and got in touch with some friends from Georgia..he said he felt like it was time to grow up and that all of his friends had grown up and were starting families and that he felt as though he was still trying to live in the past... (holding on to the past for dear life, is more like it..haha)
But the point of all of this..he said he was ready to let them swim...LOL What i mean by this is, he said he was ready to have kids.. I wanted to make sure that he wasn't just doing this because everyone else was--was he just feeling pressured to have kids because he was behind? I needed to be sure this was HIS decision... At this point, at the restaurant, I was almost embarrassed i think, i was in so much shock i didn't know what to do or say..
But we have talked and I know that he is ready, but now I'm wondering if I am ready.. I think I'm just nervous now--am I ready ? I'm freaking out.. I know we have plenty of time, and I'm reminding myself of that.. But i think once we get pregnant, I'll have 9 months to get ready for everything right? lol I don't want to plan it though, I just want it to happen as it should, Gods plan is wayyyy better than our plan.. its not just way better..it is better! you get the point..
So I'm praying that if it should happen for us, it will... maybe i need to buy some baby books..haha.. (not really, not yet anyways)

July 2011

I have set up a goal and a compromise...to lose 25-30 pounds by July.. This is a goal that I know I can reach and a healthy amount of weight to lose for my body. The compromise you ask? Not only will I look and feel better, but if I reach my goal....David has promised to stop his bad habits as well! I'm so excited I can't hardly wait to start.
It's so very true that I have some HORRIBLE habits..I've had them all my life, so getting rid of them is easier said than done. I love starchy food, ya know..potatoes, bread, Mac and cheese, spaghetti, pizza...should I keep going? I love cokes, sweet tea, lots of orange juice..so yeh it's gonna be hard, I'm going to want to quit..but I've got to get into shape and get healthy! I know I've started this a hundred times, but this is for real! I'm gonna get out there and do it..if it's raining, that's no excuse to not exercise.I can either work out in the house or run on the treadmill at work..
I would really like a food regimen to stick to, and David told me to buy a book..but there are so many out there I wouldn't know which one to pick..but I'm going to just take some tips from online and do what I know is right and we will see what happens..so I'll keep my blog updated every so often when I do my weigh ins... Which I plan on weighing in once a week to keep up my my progress.. Ready set here I go!

New Recipe Night

I've started a new thing to help me become, not only a better cook but a better wife--in the long run.
New Recipe Night!!! Once a week, I pick out a new recipe that I haven't made before and try my hand at it.. some are hits, some not so much--trial and error.. and this way I can add more meals to our regular schedule ya know.. like i have a handful of meals that i know how to make and its easy to get worn out on those.. so repetitive right??

So, I usually try a new recipe on Wednesdays, but sometimes things come up.. don't worry-- i still try a new recipe just change the day! If you know me, if i skip one week, you better just forget all about it.. so i make it mandatory to do this once a week, EVERY week!
Would you like to know some of the new meals? I thought so..lol
We have tried: Turkey Chilequilas... got this idea from Sandra Lee on Semi Homemade... wasn't too bad, i had to tweak the recipe a little and use ground turkey instead of leftover turkey.. it wasn't too terrible, but not a do over thats for sure!
Chicken Tortilla Soup-- in the crockpot.. OMG this was sooo good! i got this from another blog i read, and let me tell you--there were NO leftovers after day 2.. we cleaned that up!
Potato Soup-- i have never been a fan of potato soup, but i thought well maybe i can make it, and i might like it.. it was OK.. i still don't have the taste for it.. but David did like it, we had so much left over, he took a big bowl to work and some of them even wanted the recipe..thanks Betty Crocker!
Easy Beef Stew... made in the crockpot... When i got home after work and checked on the beef, i thought it was ruined! My crockpot tends to cook really hot, and the sides of it were burnt up! I was like great, i spent almost 7 dollars on stew meat just for it to ruin, but i only had to throw a few pieces out.. i poured the stew over some egg noodles, so good! i will definitely need to figure out how to tweak this so it doesn't burn.. (maybe get a new crock pot) who knows..
Meatloaf.. out of a Paula Dean cookbook i have. This was amazing as well.. The only difference in this recipe that was different from most recipes is that it had chopped onions and bell peppers, which really did give a lot of texture and flavor.. I'm not usually a fan of meatloaf bc its so thick and tends to be dry- but this one was great.. and of course a side of mashed potatoes only made it better!
I'm thinking thats about all the new recipes I have tried so far.. gotta get to looking at my new Southern Cooking Cook book i got for christmas and also my Heart Healthy cook book that i got for my birthday.. I'm finally putting all those to good use!

WE will figure it out.

There are certain things I wish to accomplish in our marriage. I understand that it may take some time & patience--but when it comes to some issues, time is of the essence.

1.Trust-- to be able to let it all out. TO not be scared of what the person might think, but to know that you can tell them anything and everything! to know that there are no details about our lives that will be left out, that we can say what we want and need to say

2.Compassion--to put the shoe on the other foot, to open your heart completely to one another.

3. Patience--be slow to speak. Listen to one another, really understand one another. Not let things get to you so quickly. Take the time to spend together and continue to learn new things about your relationship.

4. Admiration-- to look or even think about one another and just be in awe of the love you have for them.

5. Comfort-- to always feel at ease, to feel safe and know that your being taken care of without a doubt. To know when you fall asleep at night they will be there when you awake and love you all the same, if not more..

6. Dependibiliy-- to be a constant, to know that there is always someone to lean on. Someone to pick you up when your falling, hold your hand when your lost, guide you when you might stray.

7. Love-- to always have that flutter in your stomach. To never wanting to let go. Knowing that the other person can never be replaced. Jumping off the edge of the earth just to have them.


These are just a few things that come to mind, in no particular order of course. I'm honestly not sure how to work on these things, or how to exactly accomplish all of this--but I'll figure it out.. WE will figure it out. --together!

a new hobby?

So i have decided that I really want a hobby.. I'm not all that artistic or anything--but I'm going to try and make a wreath,
I'm super excited about this and have been waiting all week for the weekend to get here so I could go shopping for all my stuff.
This morning came, I got up and around, went and visited my nanna and pa for a while, and then headed to where the shops are!
All by myself, b/c i'm a big girl, lol... I went to Hobby Lobby-- I got my wreath and some bouquets of fake flowers, and decided to head over to Target and see what I could pick up in the dollar bins.. no luck there! But I knew I couldn't leave empty handed, so I picked up some dishwasher detergent for a great price of $2.94, for a huge bottle.. and let me tell you, I'm really into clipping coupons and trying to save as much $$ as I can.. so I'm really trying!
I then drove on over to Michaels--I'm super glad I did, they were having some great buys on all the fall stuff that was left. So i picked up some ribbon for $1.00 and some long flower/leaf garland for $1.99. The other night, I bought my hot glue gun for $2.50 @ walmart. I am still on the lookout for a craft table of some sort- I'm going to hit my dad up to help me build one, so I can paint it and do whatever I want to it. I'm really excited! I just hope i do a good job, but I know it can't be perfect so I can always try again.

Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes soon enough!

one year down..

One year down.. and many many many more to go. Sept 5, 2010 was our one year wedding anniversary. I still have days where I can't believe that we have been married that long...much less that we are actually MARRIED!! wow..
We went out to eat last night with some other couples, all of them either have kids or are expecting, and I know that makes David feel a bit awkward.. I know his feelings on the issue, he feels like everyone is growing up...and well..they are, because thats life and thats what slowly happens..
They are still the same people, just parts of their lives are changing and becoming something new. And maybe it scares him b/c one day he is going to have to grow up too...he's just putting it off as long as possible.. But he did get married, so he's progressing..slowly but surely.. And can i say, he did marry a pretty good girl.. oh yeh, thats me..lol Just playing! But looking back on the last year--I'm so glad that I didn't rush into getting married before I was ready. If it were up to me, we woold have gotten married a long time ago.. and more than likely we would end up getting divorced--i hate to say that, but its probably true. We both needed time to grow and mature before we made that committment to one another, and i'm so appreciative of that time.
So one year is down, I can't wait to see what the next year will bring.. I'm nervous & excited, but I'm also committed to David..I'm ready to continuously love him for the rest of my life, i'm ready to be there for him through all of our ups and downs, I'm ready I'm ready!

I wrote down a quote to read at our wedding but didnt end up reading it.. but i did share it with david when it was just he and I.. I've been thinking about it lately, and how true it is..and always will be between him and I.

--this is is just winging it.. i have it written down, but can't get to it at the moment..

"i stand and watch, as you get closer, you say "sorry I'm late" i smile, and say "no problem", but i think to myself, I could have waited forever".

David and I's relationship was long, and frustrating at times.. but all the while I loved him, and was willing to wait and wait.. and come back each and every time. and he knows that.. and its all because he's my everything.. im so happy to know that we have an anniversary to celebrate each and every year together.. to celebrate our love for one another..i'm so happy to call him my husband..(oh yeh, and my honey bear..lol)