.hello. cara box swap- Novemeber

Last month I signed up to swap Cara Boxes over at Wifessinonals! It sounded fun and I love picking out gifts for people so it was right up my alley! The theme this month was ‘childhood’ I was paired up with Sophia over at Mulitpied Love! We were such a mess! Both of us busy and late all the time. LOL but had fun getting to know each other and it gets me even more excited for next month! We were both first timers this go around! I told her all about my love of Lisa Frank and Disney and she disney’d me out! I am totally going to be rocking those coloring books this week! lol She also sent me puzzles and a Lion King book and paint books! So cute and so fun! She sent me a planner for 2013 that I so so needed! I go through them so fast and I like to keep separate ones for different things. I don’t think I told her about my deep and obsessive childhood love of Tinkerbelle, but I will be putting together that puzzle and framing it in my office! I sent her goodies like Uno, Silly Putty, and a Slinky! I hope she had as much fun as I did!

 

 

.hello. game day

Today is the day. Our state is divided and everybody picks a side. No, it’s not political. It’s football. Today is the Iron Bowl, the biggest game of the season every year in the state of Alabama! It doesn’t matter that Alabama is #2 in the nation and Auburn is having an awful season, this game is the great equalizer. It’s 2 totally different teams that step out on that field. A rivalry with a vengeance. That being said…. ROLL TIDE ROLL!

I’m not a huge football buff, but when your team’s got it, you can’t help but be proud! Plus the tailgating eye candy is too cute to resist! Here a little Iron Bowl themed goodies for you to enjoy!

How precious are these printables from Green Owl Crafts? I will certainly be saving an using them for a Championship party this year when we make it!

How adorable are these Iron Bowl goodies from Cookies by Alison Hathcock! Now I am Crimson through and through but how precious is that Toomer tree cookie?!

Quick and easy Crimson Tide Cupcakes!

And of course, no game day is complete without my favorite tailgating dip! Buffalo Chicken Dip! I’ll be posting my personal recipe soon so keep an eye out! 🙂

Welp, it’s after half time and I think I’ll get back to this game, not that it’s much of a game at this point. We’re 49-zip at the moment. How cool would it be if we could make it to 100? It’s only the 3rd quarter! Anything could happen! 🙂

As for me and my house- we bleed Crimson! ROLL TIDE ROLL!

.hello. creamy chicken noodle soup (recipe)

So while we’re still battling random 80 degree weather days, for the most part, the cold has found us. I’m mostly okay with this, but I do long for my springtime warmth and I will until around March or April! We went to my mother in law’s house this weekend and she made some fantastic Chicken and Dumplings, but of course, being the picky eater I am, I hate dumplings and had mine without them. While eating I was thinking how good it would be if I substituted the dumplings for noodles and added some veggies, and that’s exactly what I did and the results were out of this world! It’s a yummy soup, mild enough for those who like it when they’re sick, but still creamy and flavorful. We loved it and it made a ton so we’ll have leftovers for quite a while! I think this would be perfect to freeze and keep on hand for a quick dinner on cold nights!

4 large chicken breast/boneless

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cans milk

½ stick of butter

2 teaspoons of chick base (optional) I use Better than Bullion in Chicken to just give it a richer chicken flavor

1 bag of frozen mixed veggies in Carrots, Peas, and Corn

Thin Spaghetti Noodles

Boil your chicken breasts (I put in enough water to cover my chicken and then a little more so I have plenty of broth) and once they’re done cooking, pull them out and shred the chicken. Return the chicken to the broth and add your cream of chicken, your milk, your butter, the chicken base, and your veggies.

Low boil for about 1 hour. Stir a lot. IF THICKER than you like, add more milk or water. I like mine thick though!

Add your noodles and let them cook in the soup for about 15 mins or until they’re done. I find this to be more flavorful than cooking them separately. How much you use it totally up to you. I used more than I probably should have, but I like my chicken noodle soup extra noodl-ey! 🙂

.hello. house progress pictures (living room windows)

I’ve been talking about us getting new windows in our house for a few days now and while we’re in the middle of the renovation I thought I’d share some photos so you can see how it’s coming along! 🙂

We have a really long house so I had to break it up for you, there.

Big ugly window that was horrible for holding in heat and would have busted with one hit of a rock or hammer.

Bye bye big ugly window! 🙂

Progress as of 11/7

Building a new wall in between the new windows!

 

Progress as of 11/8

.hello. 30 days of Thankful day 8

day 8
Today I am thankful for my HOUSE!

There is nothing perfect about my house, much like there is nothing perfect about me or my husband. Like us, our house is full of potential waiting to be tapped into, and like us being perfect for each other, our house is perfect for us. It’s a long road away from where we want it to be, but it’ll get there eventually. It’s our first house and it was a foreclosure with a Dixie Cup red bedroom, a lime green with blue, red, and orange polka dot room, and a baby doody green living room, but it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have the urge to take something ugly and make into something that was mine.

We’re having our windows replaced this week, as a generous gift from my husband’s grandmother. They totally ripped out the front monster window in the living room and are building a wall with two smaller windows instead. On Tuesday I was sitting in the living room with my dogs while they were working. I was on facebook and I was SO cold! The windows were out, there was a giant hole in my wall and it was freeze. I thought to myself, how blessed am I? While I was sitting on Facebook and working on wedding photos on my laptop, there are several people that were this cold because they didn’t have walls to be taken out. They didn’t have windows to be replaced. They don’t have a house. That thought made my heart ache. There are so many times I get frustrated because my computer is running slow or because there is a mess in the house (which is always) or I see what someone else has and I just wish I had something that nice too and then I have moments like that where I realize how selfish I really am. I like to think of myself as a good person. As someone who loves and helps when and where I can, but truthfully I’m just as selfish as anyone else. There are people out there struggling to keep a roof over their heads. There are people out their who have completely lost their homes and everything they own to Hurricane Sandy. There are people still rebuilding and putting their lives together from the tornado that ripped through our state last April 27th.

Today I am thankful for the blessing I have in my potential filled house. It’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but it’s mine. It holds things I am lucky to have. It is where I lay down to sleep with my husband every night. It is where I cuddle with my dogs, play with my pig, and love on my rabbit. It is where I cook food for my family. It is where we relax and have fun. It is where we laugh and where we cry. It is where we talk and we open up to each other. It is where I work. It is where my husband studies for school. It is where we will bring our children when they are born. It is where all of our memories are being made and I am so blessed to have it. ❤

.hello. 30 days of Thankful day 7 aka Why I voted for Obama

day 7
Today I am thankful for my Healthcare.

I feel like I’m coming off from a high last night (not a Colorado high, a life one! ;> lol). I went out to the polls yesterday, I placed my vote, and I watched the coverage until 1 am this morning when the final speech was over. When they announced the President would be re elected, I cried. I sobbed. I sobbed for myself, but mostly I sobbed for my future children, because now they have a chance. I have a chance. I may still have a family after all. I voted for Obama 4 years ago in my first election, because he promised me hope for a better future. That better future for me came in the form of getting back on my Stepdad’s health insurance. It was the first time I had insurance since 2005, and when it came down to us dealing with infertility, it was the insurance that gave us Dr. Richmond and my new diagnosis. Back in April we found out I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. PCOS effects my hormone levels, my ability to get pregnant, and my insulin levels. I have a much higher chance now of becoming diabetic and there is a good chance I will see cervical cancer in my future. It’s frighting. What is more frighting is that this April, one year after my diagnosis, I will turn 26 and I will no longer qualify for my Stepdad’s insurance, but thankfully, as of right now, because of the healthcare reforms being put in place, my PCOS will not be able to keep me from being accepted by another insurance like before. I applied for insurance in 2008 and was quoted ‘$456’ a month and then told I didn’t qualify because of preexisting conditions. Guys, for me, that is a mortgage payment. When I started searching this year in order to not have a gap in my coverage, the same company told me $142 and I couldn’t be denied. That is UNREAL! This gives me the chance to continue with my fight against PCOS and my chance to continue my fight to one day have a child.
Him getting a second term was the only way I could have a shot in the dark at having a child. it was the only way I could be able to get on insurance and get help for my cysts and to prevent me from getting cervical cancer later on in life. Those were huge for me. When he won tonight I cried. I cried so hard and I thanked God because I still have a chance. My future children still have a chance.
Other people have other issues that are equally as important to them as that was for me. I respect that. I wish everyone could understand it’s so much more than skin color or religious preference. People had REAL reasons for voting for each candidate. Everyone had the opportunity to vote for who would make life better for them and their family. Obama is actually the only chance I have for a family from what I can see.

Today I am SO thankful for the healthcare I have now, the healthcare I will be able to purchase in the future, and my future children, because I know it will happen for me. God gave me the promise as a Christian that He will work things together for the GOOD that love him, and I absolutely adore him. Romans 13:1 in the KJV says: Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
God knows what he is doing. He is in control and he has a plan. This night was ordained far before any of us where here. There is a plan and I believe I’m apart of it! I believe my children are a part of it. He has provided a way for THEM!

.hello. voting day 2012

I may be lame, but election day is one of my favorite days of the year (every 4 years that is. Too much excitement to happen every year!)! It’s a national holiday for me and I enjoy it so much, even if the outcome isn’t what I’d hoped for. I’ve been with my husband since I was legally of age to vote so every election day has been spent with him by my side. We do research months before hand, but the day of the election we always sit down with the sample ballot and do any last minute research on candidates like judges we don’t know much about and always try to decode the amendments to know where to place our vote there. Then we set off for the polls.

Today we voted at the same location I’ve voted at for every single election so far. I love our polling place. It’s small and there are never any terrible terrible lines and if there are lines they always have the sweetest people there that talk to you and keep you entertained. We got there later in the day today so there weren’t a ton of people there. We always sit together and chat about the ballots even though I’m sure we aren’t suppose to.

We don’t wear our voting stickers, we put ours on our license so we see them everyday. I have my ‘sticker collection’ from each election I’ve been apart of personally.

Rocked the Vote!

My ‘sticker collection’!

 

After we voted we popped over to Starbucks, because you can’t have voting without some sort of coffee or drink to chill you out. This year they were giving these fantastic indivisible bracelets to those that voted! These were our first red cups of the season and I was excited to grab my first Caramel Apple Spice of the holidays!

Thanks, Starbucks!

We went out to dinner like always. Covallis of course, because that’s our favorite place to eat in the county. Now we’ll settle in for the night and our eyes will be on CNN until we find out who is the next president. I’m very nervous this year, but I try to keep in mind that no matter what happens, we’re going to be okay. It’s so close this year it could really go either way. The next time I post the nation will be different, be it with a new leader or with a new plan from the same leader. Some people will be angry, some will be overjoyed. I know, either way, I’ll be glad to stop seeing all the hate that is spewed around this time every 4 years. I hope everyone got out to the polls today and rocked their right to vote!

.hello. 30 days of Thankful- Day 6

day 6
Today I am thankful for my right to VOTE!

I think people tend to forget, it hasn’t even been 100 years since women did not have the right to vote. We were expected to stay home and let the men folk decide what was best for us. Best for our families.  Best for our county. Here we are 92 years later, and thanks to our Mother’s Mother’s Mother we get equal say in the world around us.
My mom started carrying me to the polls as long as I’ve been on this Earth. I can honestly say, in 25 years, I’ve never missed an election. I would roll my eyes at the speeches I’d have to hear on the way there and on the way home, but she obviously did something right, because even though we don’t share the same view points on candidates, I’ve voted in every election since I turned 18. Local or national, I do them all. I spend months researching each candidate and I’d shoot myself in the leg before I’d ever straight party vote. Ran and I always go vote together. Before we go we sit down with the sample ballot and look up every judge, every BoE member, every amendment. We educate ourselves to make sure we’re making the right decision for our family.  When we have a child, they will become part of this long drawn out process. I want our kids to know how important it is to do your research. To really get to the core of the issues and not to let other people’s views or opinions dictate your choices. I want them to know that voting is a right that is there to be exercised and it’s a privilege to live in a country that gives us those rights.
Today I am thankful to the ‘Sister Suffragettes’ who fought so hard so that I may have this right and to the the thousands of men and women who have fought and died to protect it. ❤

.hello. 30 days of Thankful- Day 5

day 5
Today I am thankful for a supportive family!

This is not my ‘thankful for my family’ day. This is my day to be thankful for the support they give us. Support we don’t deserve, but they do anyway. We’ve lived in our house for 3 years now and it is so far away from where we want it to be, but the potential is amazing. For broke newly(ish)weds potential is hard to tap into when money isn’t just laying around to use. Ran’s grandmother last week told us she was ordering new windows for our home as a gift. New windows. Wow. I know to most people this wouldn’t be a big deal, but our windows are GROSS! They’re double pained but they’re painted/nailed shut and there is so much junk in between them that we can’t get to to clean. There are wasps nest at the top of a lot of them and most are broken either inside or out. Window are your eyes outside of your home. When your eyes are cloudy and dirty and dim it’s hard to get excited about look out of them. I was raised with the windows open and the air flowing through our house. It makes things airy, light, and fresh and just plain wonderful. I’ve yet to do that in our home. That ends this week. Today they arrived to start putting in our new windows! I’m so excited about them! They’re starting in our bedroom and tonight I’m planning on laying in bed, raising the windows, and letting the breeze flow through around me. They are BEAUTIFUL!

I am always so overwhelmed by the gifts we are given by our families. We don’t have a problem they don’t try to help us with, even problems we don’t imagine we can attempt. It’s just amazing. We love them so much! They have really helped us in more ways than we could ever repay. Without them we would have fallen so many times these past 3 years of homeownership, but when we trip, they catch us. I am so thankful to have a support around us who will always pick us up. How blessed are we?

.hello. 30 days of Thankful- day 4

 

 

 

 

day 4
Today I am thankful for my baby SISTER!

Today on day 4, I am beyond thankful for someone I haven’t always like, I never understood until recently, but I always loved with my whole heart since she came barreling into my life 15 years ago. My mother claims I asked for a little sister when I was young, and although I’m pretty sure I’ve blocked that out and that she got my order wrong because I wanted a brother, I couldn’t be more thankful she’s here. She is quirky and funny and silly and absolutely beautiful. She doesn’t know how great she is and we couldn’t be more different and more the same at the same time. She will always be my munchkin no matter how old she gets, but I can’t believe my munchkin turned 15 today. I’m not sure where the time has gone, but I’m so glad it’s gotten us to this place where we can be so close. I hope she know how much I adore her. I couldn’t picture my life without her and I’m excited to see where life takes her as she grows up and where it takes us as sisters. I love you, Adrianna! Today I’m thankful for you! Happy birthday, baby girl!