I feel pretty...

My pretty rose bush is doing so well this year...I have been able to get so many blooms to share indoors too!!

Here are some sweet blooms in the bathroom. I think it looks so pretty!! :) Here are more blooms...

Got blooms?

Alice.com - My First Order

Thanks to a friend and a gift card I placed my first (small) order at Alice.com.
It was great and so easy to use...not to mention the FREE shipping!!

Everything was packaged so nicely...I only got wipes, Kleenex and Dawn...but they were packaged like new china!! :)

They even thought to put the Dawn in a Ziploc bag.

So. I suggest you go now. Place your own order. Follow any of the links on this post. Alice.com is GREAT!

Olive will hunt you....no matter where.

So...Husby came home one morning and let Olive and Pickle out to go to the bathroom. While out there, Olive started barking at the trash cans. When Husby went out he lifted up the trashcan a little mousy ran out.

I won't say that Husby ran into the house screaming like a little girl...that didn't even happen.

:)

We walked out again together and the mouse was gone, so we laughed it off and put the dogs in their crates to eat. I went to work and Husby went to bed. When I got home from work, we let the dogs out. Of course Olive ran straight for the trashcans and I proceeded to start dinner. After a few minutes I heard whining...so peeked out the kitchen door...and this is what I saw...

Look close. You see her? Olive. Yep, right there in the recycle bin. I died laughing and of course ran for the camera!

I think she got a little embarrassed, because by the time I came back with the camera on, this is how I found her...

Me - "Whatcha doin' Olive?"
Olive - "Uhm, Mom...I was looking for that mousey...but I got in over my head.
Me - "I can see that. How are you going to get out?"
Olive - "You're gonna help me out?!"
Me - giggle.

I walked away and left her alone to think about her actions, heehee, and got Cory so he could see. When we came back. She had learned her lesson.

"Mom, I am really sorry. I won't jump in the trash cans again."

"Promise."

I'm Lovin it!

I got a few goodies for you on this fine Saturday...

I am lovin' these flower pot house numbers...what a great idea!

(image courtesy of Newly Woodwards)

...and CHECK OUT this dressing room...what gal doesn't want her own DRESSING room...lovin' it!!

(images courtesy of Russet Street Reno)

Last...these...are...adorable. I totally think they would be a super cute way to add some decor to the backyard!!! I'm really thinking about it!!

(images courtesy of Aubrey + Lindsay's Blog)

So?! What are you lovin' this week?

OMG.

Grey's Anatomy.

OH.
MY.
GOODNESS.

Did you watch it?

Thoughts?

Almost got dupped...

I ordered my camera...it should be here on Saturday.

I'm kinda wettin' myself a little over this...

No, seriously.
I am terribly excited!
I have been doing research. Watching videos. Stalking photographers. Looking at pictures.

I am so ready.

But let me tell you about the process of buying the camera...and in the meantime, maybe I can share a little about what I have learned from online shopping over the years.

So first things first, search, search and search. There is almost always a better price out there...but be careful. Sometimes the best deal, isn't really the best deal. Do your due diligence.

You may remember my birthday wish list...I found my camera on sale here, here and here. The first link, was at $599 when I originally posted that blog. Then when I went back to do more price searching I found the price at $574. Of course I nearly fell off my chair...what SAVINGS! Then I looked at the other pages and the prices were different from what they were originally too.

Red Flag #1.

So I did more searching...PriceGrabber, Google Shopping, etc...all the prices I was finding there ranged from $669 and up.

Red Flag #2.

Now, I know what you are thinking...Why did you keep searching? Grab that pretty expensive camera for cheap while you can!!

And I know...I almost did.

Red Flag #3.

The more I thought about the GREAT SAVINGS the more my belly twisted, and my mind raced...along with my heart. It really was a case of too good to be true.

So I took the next step...I googled the companies with the great sale prices; and what I found was downright upsetting...

Bad reviews.
Scams.
Doing business under multiple names.
No business addresses.
No delivery on products ordered.
Receiving the wrong item.

Red Flag #4, #5, #6...let's just say my red flag "buzzer" was going off...!

Just lots of downright dirty, shady, hinky business stuff. So I sat. I waited. There's no rush, I thought to myself. Sure, I want my camera now...but not enough to get scammed, or to get the wrong item, to go through all that hassle. I did more reading...

I found it said on many blogs and forums, that if you are saving more than 65% on a fairly new item...chances are it's a scam of sorts. Rarely do new and somewhat expensive items go on sale that deep. Like I mentioned above...if it's too good to be true it probably isn't.

So I went back to a reputable searching source and began searching. I looked at the lowest prices, within the reasonably safe, yet still saving range and I even headed over to eBay. At least I know with eBay I have buyer protection from scams. I found a pretty decent deal and I was able to make an offer as well...I did and saved $10 more dollars.

Normally, and here's a bonus just for you, when I shop online at consumer stores (places like eBay don't count) I always go to Retail Me Not to look for coupon codes. Many, many times I get lucky. I saved $20 on my laptop skin from Schtickers.com and every time Husby and I order Papa Johns, we save more money by grabbing a coupon code from Retail Me Not. I have saved at many other places as well, there have only been a handful of places that had nothing to offer.

So anywho...I got my camera...still with $100+ savings on the retail price and with decent shipping costs to boot and I narrowly avoided a scammy pileup and some heartache!!

The moral of the story is...take your time. Never be in a rush to buy online. Do your research, check the background and reviews on the company. There are many other people who write reviews for that very reason. Learn from other's mistakes...and if a company does a great job...write a good review too! And remember, the lowest prices may seem good...but may equal alot of annoyances in the process.

Good luck!

Tell me about some of your online shopping successes! Where do you go for great deals??

Oh technology...

Check out what these guys can do on their iPhones!!

I'm back!

Well, I am back in town. Today was the first day back to work...and it has been SLOW. I am getting some small stuff done; filing, stamping-in drawings, etc. I am ready for my routine back...but tomorrow will throw it off a bit as well...

I have some BIRTHDAY plans scheduled, so I took the day off. I am glad to get to spend it with Husby, he is off the whole day too! Thursday is my actual birthday and that night I will be going out with some family and friends to one of my favorite places in the whole wide world...Fuddruckers. Man! I love that place! :P

Did I mention that I am getting my CAMERA for my birthday!!!??

...I'm just a tad bit excited about that. I won't actually have it for another month maybe...gotta work on the buying plans tonight!! So I am looking for a great deal on my camera to get it for the best price...and maybe some accessories...so that I am ready to start taking pictures and maybe even take a class!!

I have tons to blog about...and I have tons of blogs to read (534 to be exact, per Google Reader) so I am off to find some goodies for this weeks I'm lovin' it series and I will be back soon with more! Hope you have a great week!!

And hello to the few new readers I got! Thanks for the emails and thanks for dropping by!!

Saying Goodbye...

The best way we know how...is having fun, laughing and sharing great memories!! My family and I have been in Memphis, TN since Wednesday am. We buried our Grandfather today with lots of family and friends, many we haven't seen in years! It was a great time of celebration. Celebration of life, of love and of family!

Enjoy some pictures. This should tide you over till I can get back into my routine at home and back to blogging regularly.

At the service...



After the service, we took pictures...lots of pictures! (It's alright, we were all in great spirits after some "mighty good" southern food!





...and here are all the girls doing the Whitten Gals Pose...it's pretty infamous around here...



After that...there was napping...lots of napping...



I love my cousins!



And me and the Sisters are nuts!



We also went to visit my Dad's parents, Gma and Gpa Sharpe...







Grandpa told us tons of stories!! Our favorites were about Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and their Honeymoon. Here is a quick video of his Elvis story...he even sang us a quick song.

Grandpa Sharpe talks about Elvis from April Eslick on Vimeo.

So cute.



I have plenty more to share...and I will later...for now I am off to hang with the family in the hotel lobby...on our last night together!

OH!

So...remember when I posted what I wanted for my Birthday?

Well...

I am getting my CAMERA!!!

I am so terribly excited that I can hardly contain myself. I can't wait to start learning more and taking pictures and expanding my use of the camera!

My goal is to one day take pictures for people on the side. I know...Husby is probably laughing his head off at me cause I am eternally looking for something to earn money on the side with...But hey! I say why stop trying to earn MORE money?! Getting out of debt doesn't happy by accident! :P

I have been reading all kinds of blogs and tutorials about the camera and the different types of lenses and their jobs, filters and posing. AHHHHH!!

So you may be asking yourself...how do you know already what you are getting for your birthday, there's still 10 days to go?!

Well...funny story. Back in January Husby asked me to start putting away $50 into savings each month for my birthday present. So I have been. Well I told him a couple days ago that he had $250 saved up for my present..."well that isn't enough" he says. He knew I did what he said...and we are assuming that somewhere in the translation he meant to tell me to save $50 a pay...for $100 a month.

Either way, he said he wasn't going to go out and purchase the camera himself, cause he knew I would want to find the best deal...and he didn't want to get the wrong thing. So he told me...that I could use the money saved and any other monies needed to get my camera for my birthday. You see...we have a $50 rule in our house. If you are spending over $50 on any ONE item, we run it by the other person first...so we don't buy needlessly. So that was the permission to use other monies aspect mentioned above.

SO...yeah.

I am going to do some research and find the BEST deal. And *fingers crossed* I may have my new camera by the time vacation to Boston rolls around in June!! Thank goodness for three pay months...that basically means one extra paycheck for both of us = extra money!

So if you have a DSLR or a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and you have any favorite or helpful websites, tutorials or advice...PLEASE let me know! I need to learn all that I can!!

I am just ecstatic!!

My head is spinning a little...

My Grandpa passed away last Thursday...my days have been a little cloudy since then...planning and researching how I will get out to Tennessee for the funeral. Husby can't make it with me...between the cost and work...it's just not feasible. So, we finally booked our flight last night...Myself, Bek and Sarah (my sisters) will be flying out at the butt-crack of dawn on Wednesday morning...we will fly into Little Rock and drive the roughly two-and-a-half hours to Memphis. We saved about $200 doing this, instead of flying into Memphis. We booked our hotel room and our rental car last night too...it was just alot of planning. I don't normally mind planning, in fact I LOVE to plan...it's just hard when you are planning for three people and trying to save as much money as you possibly can!!

I think we did pretty well though...$455 per person for Flight + Hotel + Car for Wednesday-Saturday.

It's going to be a long week...but even with the purpose behind this trip being that we are burying Grandpa...it will be great to see everyone. My Cousins (Chris and Joy...Joy just got married, but they live in Australia), My Aunts and Uncles (One set lives in CA and the other in TN), we will get to see my other Grandparents (Dad's side). Haven't seen them in...gosh...9+ years??? I am sure we will see many other people that we don't know...but that know us. I am glad to know that Grandpa is in heaven with his sweetheart finally, and happy to know that we will see him again one day!

But for now...it's funeral time. I will post some pictures later of Grandpa...to honor him a bit more. He was a good, good man!

I will have my Hattie Pearl (laptop) with me this week, so I will try and post as often as I can, if you don't hear from me though...I may have fallen into a hole at Graceland, but don't worry...I am sure the King will take care of me!

I'm Lovin' It

My apologies if you saw this post earlier full of links, I forgot that I started it and never added the pictures...lazy bones I know...my b!

Here we go...

This week I am lovin' this repainted laminate set of bookshelves. The blog post comes with the tutorial on painting it!



(image courtesy of Centsational Girl)

I really like this ruffle pillow too...and I don't have to sew the ruffles!!

(image courtesy of The Stories of A to Z)

And this butcher block countertop!!! I LOVE it...and the design of the kitchen and the backsplash...lovin' it!

(image courtesy of Rocky Bella)

This headboard is TOTALLY cute!!

(image courtesy of Joy's Hope)


Some great stuff!!

What are you lovin' this week?!

I'm feelin' brave...

Brave describes me well...

I am brave for trying the Neti-Pot.
I am brave for video taping the nastiness.
I am brave for posting it.

Enjoy.

Trying the Neti-Pot... from April Eslick on Vimeo.

p.s. - If you haven't tried it yet...and you have allergy or sinus issues...DO IT. It's quite possibly the strangest thing I have ever done...but it works!!

Jumpin' Pics ANIMATED!

Here's what I do when I am bored on the couch with fun pictures!!

Slater Charles Whitten

Grandpa, I hope you are strolling hand in hand with Grandma down the streets of Heaven today, looking down on us and smiling...we will always do our best to be "Mighty Good" at everything we do, in your honor!! We loved you dearly!

Slater Charles Whitten
1918-2010



p.s. - We hope it looks alot like Cleveland up there...cause you know; all good things happen in Cleveland.

We will be seein' you soon!

a little sweetness...

Let's step away from my earlier rant to something a little sweeter...

Like Husby baking a cake for last weekends Murder Mystery Dessert Theater! :)

He made Carrot Cake...one of his favorites! He did an excellent job, baking all on his own while I was at work! He iced the cake, but waited for me to help with adding the special touch...the carrot on top!

Here he is trying his hand at making the carrot...

Then he got brave enough to put it on the actual cake...

Here he is smiling with his beautiful creation...

The completed cake!

All in all, he did a great job and I am sure it tasted delicious...I am not a big carrot cake fan myself; but he did a excellent job if you ask me!!

Hey...I may even be lucky enough to have a beautifully decorated birthday cake this year! :)

*wink, wink*

Time to rant...

Sorry...I may come across as a raving lunatic...but I am aggravated.

All I would like to do is refinance our home loan to a lower rate. Is that a lot to ask? Sure the rate isn't high...in fact it is average if not the norm. We can pay our mortgage payment with no issue. We do it on time, every month. Always have; but who wouldn't want to pay less for a mortgage payment...even if it's just a couple hundred a month.

...and for all that good behavior...we get nothing.

No lower rate.
No lower payment.
Nada.
Zip.
Zilch.

stupid.

It seems that we fall into some category of people, who do what they should; paying mortgage on time; have good credit scores, have steady jobs, etc, etc, etc...so that means we are just fine and they have no options for us.

Just stay right where you are and enjoy no financial benefit for doing RIGHT and sticking with your financial responsibilities.

It's just dumb.

Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful that we aren't struggling; that God has taken care of us and has given us wisdom to stay financially healthy, we live within our means and God takes care of us; we are grateful that we don't NEED help from the Government...

...but a little slice of the pie...that wouldn't be too much to ask for. Not in my opinion.

Ugh.

Rant over.

Catchin' up

Well...the Murder Mystery was a huge success...the students did amazing and it was by far, my favorite show!! I feel like between all the practices and the planning I haven't breathed in about two months...but it was all worth it! Now...to rest.

ZzzzzZZzzzzZzzzz....

OH! Sorry, not right now! :P

Now, it's time for the pre-summer lull; and it is welcomed with open arms!! May is semi-busy...it's like birthday month in my family with 4 birthdays (including mine!) I have the Mother-Daughter Banquet this Friday night, then we have our yard-sale this weekend, My Niece's birthday part on Monday, the NLEOMF Candlelight Vigil next Thursday...then a weekend off!!! Then it's back to the grind with my youngest sister's birthday, then my birthday then my dear friend Terri's Baby Shower and my friend Dave's Birthday Party. (the same day! So Husby and I are split for the day) Then we round out the last week with my Father's Birthday and my Mother-In-Law's Birthday back to back...and then our Memorial Day party!!! Sounds busy...but not too bad really. I am actually kind of excited about it...but that's probably because my birthday is squished in there! :P

Well, all things home improvement have been halted for about a month now. We are saving money for Vacation (in June!) and paying off some smaller debts. Then we will get back up and running! We also kind of decided to not fall full force into yard work for the backyard...Husby kind of feels that finishing the basement can provide us more bang for the buck, and we do plan or wish to refinance to a lower rate...so that basement completion would really benefit us there! I am a little bummed, so I am just doing some minor things around the backyard...but that does mean the veggie garden is out until next year...although I may do a few small things in pots...we
shall see.

So...that's about all that's going on in our neck of the woods right now, I am somewhat enjoying my downtime and I know I haven't been super bloggy lately, but I am working on a list of things to blog (already at 5 items) so as soon as I come out of my downtime-coma you will see me more regularly!!

Talk to ya soon!!

This Month Last Year - May 2008 & May 2009

April writing...

More back in time fun...what was I doing/blogging about "This Month Last Year."

What was I doing/blogging in April 2009:
On May 4th, 2009 - We learned a little more about our future with IVF.
On May 11th, 2009 - Pickle ran from his medicine.
On May 22nd, 2009 - We hit 10,000 Visitors! (we have more than doubled that in a year!)
On May 26th, 2009 - Jon and Kate Gosselin fell apart.
On May 29th, 2009 - Obama paid off our Mortgage...hee.

What was I doing/blogging in April 2008:
On May 4th, 2008 - We hit 1,000 visitors!
On May 5th, 2008 - I blogged about Astigma Rectus.
On May 6th, 2008 - I got my replacement!
On May 9th, 2008 - We had one, single thanks-to-Clomid follicle ready to drop.
On May 25th, 2008 - Husby talked KARMA.
On May 28th, 2009 - I remember the past 10 years.

Have fun looking back with me!

I'm Lovin It

Oh man...there is so much I am lovin' this week! I have been super busy and finding all this great stuff has taken my mind off all that I have to do before this weekend's Murder Mystery Dessert Theater! AHHHH!!

Anywho...here's what I am lovin'...like this Picture Frame Wall of pictures....and the colors are gorgeous!!

(image courtesy of Sawdust & Paper Scraps)

Now...check out this ART! Who would think it was made out of cut-up toilet paper rolls!?!

(image courtesy of Reinvented)

And I am lovin' this super easy and super cute pin board tutorial!!

(image courtesy of The Shabby Nest)

These are the cutest little idea...hanging pin cushions!

(image courtesy of On My Side of the Room)

This Frosted Glass tutorial is super easy! And a great way to add style and privacy!

(image courtesy of My Backyard Eden)

And last...we have these sweet little numbers...A great way to refashion old plates or cheap plates on Clearance at Target (whaaatt...you never see those and wonder what you could do with them?!)

(images courtesy of The Speckled Dog)

Well...that's all I have for today!!! What are you lovin' this week??