The all-in-one update :)

No, your eyes have not deceived you. It is I...your long lost blogging friend.

It's shameful really how long it has been. Technically I blogged on May 23rd, but let's be honest...I haven't been "active" for months. I am terribly sorry.

Wanna see a little bit of what I have been doing? It's exciting, lemme tell ya! :)

I've been thrift shopping and buying stilts Walk-a-Roo's with great friends who are home from college for the summer...

I have been eating ice cream with my sexy man, trying to beat the heat.

I've been watching my Nephew/Godson graduate from Middle School...he's a big High Schooler now...*gasp* I still remember holding that little peanut when he was born!

I've been dying from the aforementioned h e a t....ugh.

I've been sharing evenings with some of my favorite ladies...

Watchin' some sexy men dance and sing for us...NKOTBSB!!! (Don't even get me started on the fact that I didn't bring my camera!!! ugh)

I've been playing dress up :)

I've been weeding the garden...over and over again...gosh, we really  need to mulch!

I've been making rainbow surprises for my Momma.

And for my latest venture, I have been cleaning out the pantry...duh duh duhhhhhhh...yeah it was pret-ty bad. It became the catch all during the basement remodel. (and yes, basement remodel pictures AND videos are headed your way!) 

You see...what really sent me down to the basement the other day was a dry, r e a l l y dry creative spell. Then I realized why. My pantry/creative storage area was so jam packed with junk and all disorganized that even if I went in with a plan...I may only come out with dust and some bruises from trying to find anything in there!

So I knew it was time.
Time to end this dry spell.
Time to clean out the pantry.
It was time.

And b o y did it take t i m e. Here I am at the begining of the day...all the stuff that is out in the game room, that stuff was covering all of my floor space. Which mind you, we don't have much of in our little 8x10ish room. :)


Not to mention there was stuff jam packed on the shelves. See all that stuff up there?!?!!

Well, after about 4 hours I had made some headway. I had cleaned off, wiped down and reorganized 7 shelves!! I still have probably another full days work ahead of me. I plan to tackle a bit of it tonight after small group and ice cream :) and then probably finish it up tomorrow night.

It's quite the undertaking.
Hopefully though, it will drive me to get creative and to finish some projects that I have on my wish list and the dreaded/fully procrastinated 30 Before During 30 list! :)

Well, that's what's been up. I would call this a success in the update category :)
Now let's see if I can get a success in the get creative and blog about it category! :)

Talk to you soon! :)

When Mondays go bad...

It's only 12:15 pm and I am SO over today.

I was pretty geared up for a good morning too. I had set up a couple challenges for myself...read more on what they were below.

I got up from bed in a hurry...I will skip the next part of the story...it's TMI, but let's call it Crapity-Crap #1. Then I wasn't feeling good, but I pushed through so I could eat breakfast. Challenge #1. Then I got dressed and ready and headed off to work.

April = 1     Monday = 1

10 minutes late. Grrrrr. Thanks to the initial crapity-crap I failed at Challenge #2. "Be on time for work."

April = 1    Monday = 2

I settled in and started working on my Monday work...then my stomach grumbled and groaned. "Man, I am not feeling very well." I headed to the bathroom...and enter Crapity-Crap #2. I am just doing my thing and someone turned out the lights on me. "Helloooooo, someone is INNNN HEEERRREEEE!!!" Nothing. They didn't hear me. asl;kdjfoiansd;fokjasdf ay ay ay!

April = 1    Monday = 3

You see this right? Monday is SO winning.

So I got back to my desk and got to work. I was steadily cranking out some busy work when...crapity-crap #3 hits...bloooop. Off goes my monitor. "That's odd." I said outloud. I wiggled the cord and blooop; on popped my monitor. Hmmmmm. Anywho, I got back to work. 5 minutes later. blooop. There it went again. "Dang it! What in the woorrrlllddd??!!" I said out loud-er. I wiggled the cord again, checked every end, made sure it was all working right. Check. And then I sat in silence. Wiggled the cord again...and blooop. On it goes. "ohhhhkkkk." I got back to work. That lasted all of 35 seconds. Blooop. "Uggghhhhhhhh!!!"

April = 1    Monday = 4 5 6 7...

I texted Husby..."Is Monday over yet?" Time check? 10:33 am. Yep. My day was only 2 hours old and it was driving me batty.

Here I am at 12:27 pm. Waiting on lunch from Husby (Thank you SO much baby!!) and yearning for 4 pm. I just want to go home and start over again tomorrow.

Do you ever have days like this? I figure I am coping well enough...just glad it's a quiet day in the office; and even more glad for my under-5-minute commute home at 4 pm :)

My 29th year.

I write you right now, I am 30...10 minutes into it at least. 30 freakin' years old.
My 29th year...has been a doozy of a year.

I am ready for 30.
I ain't skerd.

I have to admit though...the 30 Before 30 list. Well...It won. Technically I failed...miserably.
Although, I am not just forgetting the list. I DO plan to take my 30th year to complete it. ALL of it.

It's my list and I can do it if I want to.

So. there.

About blogging. I know it's been slim pickin's. My priorities, focus, time have been adjusting lately. I am more than ok with that; but I DO miss blogging. So I will be back. But I make no promises as to when.

I am doing some self-challenging right now, which may involve many things, some of which are getting up earlier...spending some time in the Word...and I may, I just may throw some bloggin' in there at that time too.

Blogging at work isn't an option now. So that's out.
Blogging at night, may only happen on occasion. Family time is more important right now.
So....It's gonna be more like blogging when I can.

But I will.
I just won't be breaking any records.
I love you all, my faithful readers and those that send me comment love.
I'll be around. And I will share as I mark projects off my 30 Before During 30 List. :)

Royal Crazy Hat Day

Were you watching? I totally was. (Not at 6 am mind you...I heart DVR.)
I mean, seriously I almost died. How adorable..right?

I nearly wet myself when Prince Harry turned to Prince William and said "Wait, till you see her!"
Adorbs!!

Then...when they saw each other, Prince William says, "You look fabulous. Beautiful."
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...I melt.

It was a gorgeous day, and why wouldn't it be...it was a stinkin Royal Wedding afterall. However, I must say...some of the best moments...were the hats.
all.
the.
crazy.
hats.

Did you know that, as an attendee and a woman, you were requested to wear a hat?
Check it.
First we have Camilla and the Queen. Not too bad...understated and traditional...especially on the part of the Queen.

And Mum of the Bride...Carole Middleton. Very elegant, just like her daughter.

Princess Anne...snore; I mean it doesn't seem that she would take many bold fashion risks anyhow! :)

Then we have Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice of York (Fergie's daughters)

What the??

(Obviously Beatrice is known for her crazy hat choices...check out this old picture...woah now. overkill.)

Anywho, back to the wedding...Here's Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Kinda neat.

Lady Frederick Windsor. Love it.

Zara Phillip....woah a little like a giant spider was exploding out from under it.

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson. Channeling GaGa...uh woah.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex. Pretty traditional. I likey.

 Princess Michael of Kent. Kinda Derby-ish.

 All it all, it was interesting to see all the hats! I never realized the UK was such a HAT place?! What did you think of the wedding? The hats?

I am loosing Pinterest...come on now!

I am not sure I understand why it takes Pinterest 8.76 years to send me my invitation.

I am loosing Pinterest.

I want it now.

No seriously...like n o w.

I all of the sudden feel like bookmarking pages and pictures I like is so below me.

Come to the ON!

I guess I'll just go back to looking at EVERYONE ELSE'S Pinterests for now. 

Ughh.

It's a hot mess around here.

I feel like I have been busy for two months. Probably because I have. Either way, I can kinda see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm settling in nicely at work, got my routine pretty much down.
The Annual Murder Mystery is this weekend, then I can breath and have my weekends back.
Although they will quickly be filled back up with photoshoots...but I'm not complaining! :)
The basement is done.
Yes, there is a tour coming for you...very...soon...promise.
So. The calm is quickly approaching. You may be thinking...calm, yes c a l m. Summer isn't too bad for us, at least it hasn't been. It's hanging out, working outside, playing with the dogs and swimming; with some great youth group events thrown in there.
Oh, and then there's the me turning 30 thing.
I feel like turning thirty warrants some slow down time...at least for a couple months, a month, ok, at least a week or two.

I am sitting in our office tonight. I feel like I haven't been in here in months. Truth be told, I am pretty sure I haven't been in here in a really long time. It's super evident too.

Need proof? This kind of disorganization is very unlike me...so I will share with you as I hang my head in shame.

This is just a snapshot of what the desk looks like...

And this pile of goodness is on the floor next to the office chair/desk.

The sitting area when you first walk into the office...

There's even crap on top of the dogs crates. Poor things, it sounds like the sky is falling whenever they shake or move while they are in there.

So, it's just a hot mess of unfinished projects, which adequately describes my life right now. Projects that my brain hasn't been able to wrap itself around; but after this weekend. It's on like donkey-kong. I am attacking my 30 Before 30 List, I am attacking this office, I am attacking the photo project for my ever-so-nekked hallway. I am GOING TO DO IT. 

But for tonight, I am grabbing some shut up juice (chocolate milk) and watching some pre-royal-wedding-TV and relaxing before the busy weekend slaps me in the face a day early tomorrow. Bring it weekend. ;) 

Oh, by the way...Olive is watching me blog...garsh I lurve her :)

It's ma birfday...

That's right people...I am going to be thirty in less than 30 days. I'm not much closer to completing my 30 Before 30 list than when I last updated...but while I try and light a fire under my own booty I figured it was time to start making a birthday gift idea list. Also, per Husby's request.

Anywho...here I go. I really don't know what I want, so this list may seem random...but here goes.


I would LOVE a Vera Laptop Bag...in either Lemon Parfait or Baroque

I would also LOVE the Lensbaby Muse Lens!

I would LOVE some vinyl for my Silhouette SD Cutter. This assortment pack is a great idea!

I also think some great ideas for gifts would be some plants! I would LOVE to grow my garden bigger and more beautifully this year! I love flowers like Ranunculus, Peonies, Foxglove, Clematis, and other Perennials. I am a most definatly a perennial girl! I love color and beautiful cut flowers!

I would also LOVE a stylish camera bag. Preferably one that I could throw over my shoulder and wear during a shoot, or one that would just hold all my camera equipment without squeezing it all in or out!

Here are a few that I am liking:

the BUILT Cargo Camera Bag (Black/Teal)

the GOLLA Lynne Camera Case (Brown)

I am sure I have other things I want...so this list will surely be updated! Until then, happy shopping for my birthday!!

And please, don't cry for me and my twenties...I'm pretty stoked about what my thirties have to offer! ;)

Yes, I said it. I said it. I said it cause I can.

I have at least two blogs headed your way...but Pinterest is owning my time tonight.

30 Before 30 Update

1. Finish all drywalling in the basement.
2. Recover a chair.
3. Complete our Master Bedroom. (Paint, Furniture & Decor)
4. Sew a dress for myself.
5. Make Sushi from scratch. Thanks to Husby tonight…read more below.
6. Get pregnant.
7. Pay down Credit Cards. (I am sure you see what I did...changed "pay-off" to "pay down." It was a lofty goal at best, but we did put over $3000 towards Credit pay down since the list creation date...so I am marking this off. Deal with it, it's MY list! :) haha!)
8. Print out photobooks of my favorite photos. Forget favorite photos, I am working on a photo book of the basement progress. So it totally counts!
9. Have a Family Photo taken. Husby and I...and us with the Pups. Again, thanks to Husby…we are taking photos tomorrow. So I am going to mark this one off!!
10. Grow vegetables.
11. Learn how to use my DSLR in manual mode.
12. Start journaling.
13. Lose 20+ pounds. *still on WW...losing slowly but surely. I highly doubt I am losing another 9 pounds before May 20th…but I am proud at many of the changes I have made and the 11 pounds lost so far!
14. Make new curtains for my kitchen. *getting ready to purchase fabric.
15. Successfully launch my Photography business...aePhotography.
16. Grow out my hair.
17. Bake my own bread. Got the plan…now let’s do it already!
18. Surprise Husby at least once a month with something fun. August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March Planning April now...
19. Create our "Family Story" wall. *May make the shelves in the next couple weeks.
20. Organize and add shelving to our Master Bedroom Closet. *I really wish I had known we were going to finish our basement as fast as we did…I wouldn’t have added this to my list haha!
21. Hit 35,000 visitors on our Blog.
22. Successfully keep an Orchid for more than 30 days.
23. Have a successful Yard Sale.
24. Paint a picture. *Painting soon
25. Slow dance with Husby.
26. Go to a show on Broadway.
27. Hold a puppy.
28. Make a necklace.
29. Grow Peonies.
30. Get Husby to dress up for Halloween.

So, let me tell you about how this evening went. So Husby tells me not to plan anything this evening and then he surprises me with some of my favorite girlies and all the stuff to make homemade Sushi! WHICH is one of the items on the list above. OH YEAH!!! Here are some great pictures from the evening.

It was a blast, and I am so grateful to Husby for planning it!!! If this is the kind of 30 Before 30 fun plans that are headed my way, I am really excited for the next month!!!

Wish me luck, I have a lot to do!!

A little vinyl action…

What’s this? She’s blogging?! Oh yes, that’s right friends I am back. At least for now. I did get halfway through my first vinyl project before I realized it would be the perfect thing to blog about. So, pardon my jump into the middle of this Day O’ Vinyl Projects. : )

So first thing, I created a vinyl expression for Husby. He wanted the front door to say “Win the Day.” He had been wanting the perfect saying or quote to go over our front door, to serve as a reminder and encouragement before each of our days. He searched and searched and finally came across the perfect saying. Read more about it here: Win the Day. Of course it would have some relation to sports as well; but I could let that slide.

Here are a few photos of Husby putting the expression on the wall. It was his first time and he did a great job!

                    

I can’t figure out why I look like I write like a 6 year old on my bamboo pad. stink.

Anywho. I think it looks lovely…the vinyl expression that is!! More photos to come!!!

It's over.

I am sitting in our newly renovated, painted, carpeted and vinyl wood floored basement.

It's done.

All the work....all Husby's work...finished.

It looks amazing.

You can blame the basement for me not being around much; but now that it's done and as soon as I get the go ahead from Husby. There will be pictures-a-plenty.

I'm in love with it. It's perfectly us.

Stay tuned...I promise it will be worth it!

...'tis random.

Just some random thoughts.

I am sitting at my desk, waiting for Murder Mystery practice.

I am terribly excited for this years performance.

I am already incredibly proud of how well the students are doing with their lines.

I want a double white chocolate pretzel and peanut butter cookie.

I am glad that this year is an "I Love Lucy" spoof...I loved that show.

Today was a gorgeous day.

I've driven much of my time the past three days with the window rolled down.

I want to swim.

I don't want to wear a swimsuit.

Not sure how I am gonna arrange the above.

I kinda like my desk set up at work.

Although, I do wish that I had a wall right by my desk, well closer than one is right now.

Oh here comes Husby, he's kinda cute...scratch that...he's really cute.

I bought donuts for my co-workers today, I felt like a good "fat" samaritan.

It's practice time.

I can't be late.

I yell at the students for that.

Bye.

I know. Don't say anything.

I have been one heck of a bloggin' slacker. I have a few good reasons.

shut up, I mean it.
 
Number 1...So, I may or may not have mentioned my new job, but I am finally settling in there. I just started my second week and I am loving it. I am home. My career has truly come full circle. When I graduated High School I got a job at my church working as a Secretary for the Youth Pastor...who happened to be my Father. I loved it, but I had aspirations of becoming a Nurse...needless to say 11 years and many jobs later (none satisfying my desire to go into Nursing, but  that's a different story) I am back at the church. I have wanted to come back to work here for years. My skills are best used here, I love the people, the environment...everything. Thank God for finally answering my prayer. I am at a job that I love, I mean love every aspect. Even the glitches with the server and screaming toddlers. (yes, you can bring your kids to work here) It's just home. So...I don't have as much time on my hands as I had at my previous job, so my blogging will be rescheduled around the rest of my life now. I am sure it would be safe to expect some late night blogging to come.


Number 2...our basement. There's alot of love around here people. It has all come together more perfectly than I could have imagined. From the paint colors to the baseboard, to this beautiful flooring that is coming next Wednesday. It's just perfect.

For the most part it's been Husby and friends working on the basement...with me stepping in on occasion. It's not that I don't want to step it...it's just they were at the manly-man part of the remodel and I only stepped in to do my part being the "Massa-Cauka" (Master Caulker) of the house. I'm such a DIY lovin' chick...you know this when you don't stop in the middle of your job to grab a hair tie to tie your hair back...instead you use painters tape.

That's how I roll.

Sidenote - To my wonderfully talented, patient and manly Husby...your work in the basement has been amazing. Your drive and determination to get the job completed and under/on budget makes me squeal with delight! You are pretty cute...even after all the trips to Lowe's. Such a trooper you are...

 
To our Fathers who have spent time to help teach and work beside Husby on this job...to the many friends, especially Mikey who spent so many hours helping too; we could NOT have done it without you. And yes, we DO plan to thank you in a very special way.

Anywhoodle...there will be pictures in your future. Aren't you just grinning with expectation?! I know I am. :)

Finally...Number 3...there really isn't a third good reason, other than the fact that I just have not THOUGHT about blogging. I do have stuff I want to blog about, and projects that are coming up!! Now, this next part is going to be rather negative of me...and that's not typical. However...I am getting the feeling that I may not complete my 30 before 30. I mean I kinda knew I wouldn't get a few of them or five...but I am thinking that number may be a bit higher. I think I slacked a little too long. Ehhhh. Well...here's to one last push...after all I do still have 59 Days 2 Hours, 22 Minutes and 55 seconds...54 seconds...53....

Oh and here's to more blogging too...