Movies & Crocheting

So Monday was my first off day, and boy did I catch up on some sleep! Heather, Frieda, and I went and ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Boy do I love their biscuits and strawberry jam! Then Heather and I went galavanting around on 280. Kent got me a gift certificate from Roger's Trading Company for Christmas since he went to buy my North Face jacket the day before Christmas and they were out. Big shocker! Anyway, they were still out of that jacket, so I ended up getting an awesome Mountain Hardware fuzzy jacket. It's a lot like the North Face that I wanted, but the saleslady said that it had a better lining. Not that I really needed a better lining since I live in the South. Then we drove down 280 thinking there was a Michael's. Nope, couldn't find it, it must've closed. So we just went to the one in Hoover since it's not like we had anything better to do. After I left Heather, I went to Hobby Lobby to see if they had any of this certain yarn that I bought a long time ago, since I just started crocheting again. I had about 6 inches of a purple baby blanket started and thought that I might try to finish it. I'm not very fast, but I find it very relaxing. I really want to become better and faster! So, they didn't have that particular yarn, but they did have some that regular price was $8, on sale for $1.99 I thought would make a great scarf. I just started it this morning and have about 18 inches done so far. Much progress I do believe! I have made 3 scarves in the past and gave them for Christmas presents several years ago to people who loved them.
As I have mentioned before, I am a Netflix subscriber and love movies. Well I discovered yesterday that they have some of the movies you can just watch online at no extra charge. Boy have I been useless the past 2 days! It's mostly just the older ones, but when you have 44 movies on your queue, you're bound to have some that are instant watch!
I am now going to go and lay down, my head is really hurting and I have no idea why. But I do know that the best cure for a headache is a nap!!!

Call me a Carpenter!

As Gus told you a couple of posts ago, Kent and i are putting in hardwoods in our house. It's something that we have wanted to do for a long time and are finally biting the bullet and we started this past weekend. We found some at a great price at Southeastern Salvage that we really liked, so we bought it last Tuesday and let it sit in our front bedroom/storage room until we started on Friday night. Kent had to run to Lowe's and pick up a few more items, so I got busy moving the furniture. We are doing this ourselves, therefore, it is going to take some time since we are doing about 850 sq feet. I suggested that we just move the furniture from room to room since there would be no way that we would get finished in quite some time. So, while he was at Lowe's, I shoved all of our living room furniture into the dining room. It was a maze! Our couch is HEAVY! It's a sleeper sofa and has steel frames, but if you know me, I have a pretty strong lower body and heaved it in there. When Kent got back, he handed me my Valentine's day present: Green knee pads. How precious!

I will not scare you with a pic of the rest of my get up. I was quite a mess when all was said and done! Friday night, we just pulled up the carpet, cleaned the floor and laid the first row to get everything started. We didn't go to bed until about 1am and I decided that I wanted to sleep really well, so I took some Nyquil. Sat morning, Kent woke up around 8 and said that he was going to see his dad for a while and that we would get started when he got back. At 10:30, he woke me up again. I was zonked! I LOVE me some Nyquil!!! We got started and worked until midnight. We got a lot done, but when each row is only 3 inches wide, it takes a while!!! Plus the fact that we are amateurs at laying hardwood, we are teaching ourselves as we go. Kent is google-ing and I am asking all kinds of questions. Sunday, I got my lazy self out of bed at 8 and started early. The Daytona 500 was that day and my grandfather was coming over so we had to get enough done so that we could put some furniture back in there. We cut it close! We got enough done and cleaned up by 12:30 and Kent's friend came and helped put the furniture back in there. I feel a little bit crazy, but we forgot to buy some felt pads for the furniture so I had to go a little red neck and tear up a towel so that the furniture wouldn't scratch our beautiful new floor.

I love it!!! Gus, as you can tell from his post is not so convinced it was a good idea! Frankie doesn't care, she runs and slides like there is no tomorrow, Gus tip toes everywhere and sometimes needs a little nudge to get moving. Sunday night, we did finish up the rest of the living room floor. We still have to do the shoe mold, but it looks sooooo pretty! I am going to go shopping next week for a rug, so wish us luck that we can agree on something! I cannot have an oriental rug in my house. They are pretty, just not quite my style. I am more of a contemporary girl! So here starts the timeline. Hopefully I can do a little next week when I am off. Our goal is to have it done by summer, which I think is very reasonable for someone who works every other weekend! So the stop watch started Feb 13th. We will see!!!!

P.S. I did most of the work while Kent was trying to figure out the cuts around the archway and going to Lowe's again! It did give me a little bit of a rush when I used the power saw! :)

Great Giveaway!!!

I was led here tonight when I was checking up on Harper @ Kelly's Korner. Can I just tell you that this story brought back so many memories for me when I was still living in Cullman. My good friends from my hometown church adopted 2 little girls from China after trying 10 years for a baby. I was personally involved in selling cookbooks, doing car washes and bake sales, and numerous other fund raisers for my friends. Adoption is soooo expensive and I just wanted to let you know about this great story so that maybe you could follow, pray and donate to their journey. There are two amazing prize packages up for grabs that you can get full details here. I also added a button on the top right that leads straight there also! Please go check it out!

Happy Birthday!

Today is Mamaw Faye's 67th birthday. I know that she is having a wonderful celebration in Heaven today! It's been a hard couple of weeks, I must say, but I know that everything is gonna be alright! I will miss her like crazy for a while, but I am human and that is normal! On the bright side of things, we are getting to spend a lot more time with my grandfather. He works in Shelby County and has a trailer down here too, so he's been coming over for dinner and came Sunday and watched the Daytona 500 with us. Anyway, today is going to be a hard day for my family so please say a special prayer for us all.

Award!

So, I am a little bit behind on my blogging. Last week, I didn't leave my house for 3 days because I was sick and just really didn't have much to say. But, I did receive an award from Susan @ Life in the Psych Ward. Might I just say that she is amazing and just ran the half marathon this past weekend! Such an inspiration for me to get off of my couch!! Anyway, here are the rules:

1). List 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!

2). Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

So a couple of posts ago I did 25 random facts, but hopefully you aren't sick of hearing about me. Plus, 10 isn't too many.

1. I would love to live in NYC for the summer one year. I've been there 3 times and LOVED it, and would love to see how living up there would actually be.

2. I was going back to school to obtain my Bachelor's Degree until I got engaged. I didn't want to plan a wedding while being in school so I stopped. Well, it's been 2 years since I stopped going and have NO drive to go back.

3. I truly cannot stand to be late for work. Our shift technically starts at 11:45 and if I am going to be 5 min late I freak out.

4. I have close relationships with some of my patients. I know that some people think this is unhealthy, but when you see someone for days upon end, for 6 years, you form a bond with them. Don't tell anyone, I do have a favorite patient.

5. I want a day shift job more than anything, but I am being VERY picky about what division I want to work in. I don't want to work weekends or holidays, so I am a little limited. I just pray that something comes open soon, and I make the right decision. Night shift is hard after 5 years!

6. I have always loved to put stuff together. Anytime we buy something that has to be assembled, I get excited and want to put it together as soon as we get home.

7. I don't really know any of my neighbors. Since I moved to Shelby county, I've met some of them but never developed any relationships with any of them. My husband has a slight social phobia, so he's not into meeting anyone.

8. I've seen every episode of Sex and the City. I saw the movie and I want these shoes so incredibly bad. I however cannot afford them. They are Manolos, SIGH!!!

9. My husband owns a Volkswagon Bus. It's parked in our garage and he hasn't driven it in like 7 years. It doesn't crank, the tires won't turn and he had to push it into the garage with his truck after we got a letter from our Homeowner's Association to remove said vehicle from site.

10. I think that Valentine's day is ridiculous. Kent and I have never celebrated it and this year we put in hardwoods all day long and ate chick fil a sitting in the floor. Romantic, I know.

Now, for the 7 people I am passing this to:

Jennifer, my friend and coworker

Brandy, my blogger friend

Ashley, my friend I haven't seen in forever

Courtney, my friend and coworker

Trina, my blogger friend

Make it 5 people that I am going to pass this to. :)

Letter from Gus

I would like to take this opportunity to write my owner a letter. My name is Gus and I am Mary's 5 yr old Boston Terrier. I used to be an outside dog until Mary moved in with this awesome man, whom I love so much! However, they decided it would be a great idea to put in these really pretty smooth wood floors. If you have never met me; I don't like smooth and shiny flooring. I don't know how to walk on it and slide all over the place. She knows this! So I don't quite understand why she chose to do this to me. She knew that I would hate them from the get go. I even heard her and that man talking about how they knew that I was going to stay on the rug at all times. Well, where is that rug!?! All they have right now is slick flooring in the living room and my only comfort is a random blanket in the floor or staking my claim on the couch. I am very upset about this! It's not fair! I liked the carpet! I tried to let them know, but they just ignore me think that if they call my name 100 times that I am just going to forget the flooring and run straight to them. They are ridiculous! Get the rug ASAP!!!

My Favorite Things

Okay so today I am just hibernating at home watching some movies. I did however, decide to join in on My Favorite Things @ Sarah's blog. If you have ever read my blog you know that I am now a coupon clipper and sale shopper and love to get a great deal. Last weekend, all of the ladies in my family went shopping together. Everything that we bought was on sale. The best deal that I got was these great shoes:

Guess how much they were...$16.xx. Isn't that awesome! When I was looking for a picture of them, they were still $55.xx on that website. What a steal! I have already wore them twice! So today, this is my favorite thing. I don't think I will wear them today though. They wouldn't look too good with my flannel pjs. :)

New Resolution

This year, I have decided to try doing my Christmas shopping a little differently. I had heard about people buying things throughout the year. I think that this will be so much easier and I won't have to be scrounging around at the last minute trying to find something for someone. Or having to work extra shifts to scrounge up some cash. HAHA!! I started this last week. I bought some items on Sundance. If you have never looked at their stuff, it's really cute and classic, but can be a little pricey. I hopped on their clearance sale the other day and bought 4 items for $64.xx. Not bad since this will be 2 seperate gifts. I have put these things away in a sterile lite container. I am going to make a list and tape to the top so that I won't forget who for and what I've bought throughout the year.

Random Blogginess

I hope that now that my life is becoming a little more settled, I will be back to regularly scheduled blogging. For now, I thought that I would be like so many of my friends and share 25 Random Facts about myself.
1. My middle name used to be Judith. When I got married I dropped it and kept my maiden name as my new middle name. I was named after my aunt who was told that she could not have any children. Three years later my cousin was born.
2. That cousin I just mentioned-Jonathan-is my only first cousin. Tons of second cousins, one first cousin.
3. I still get together every Christmas with my friends from high school. I may not talk to all of them throughout the year, but we have a get together every Christmas.
4. I have always hated weenie dogs, chihuahuas, and poodles. I think they are ugly and who would ever want to have a dog that is 2 inches tall and five feet long-my husband that's who.
5. I am never satisfied with my hair. I get a lot of compliments on it because I can wear it straight, curly and it looks different just about everyday. Honestly, it gets on my nerves.
6. Before I met my husband, the two previous guys that I dated, my family strongly did not like. When I started dating Kent, my mom told me she knew that I would marry him after about 3 months. I was shocked!
7. I love shoes! I own about 100 pair and have about 15 pair that I have never worn, but they are cute so I can't get rid of them. I will wear them at some point!
8. I grew up on a mini-farm. My parents own 4 chicken houses, not chicken coops in the back yard but 4 very long houses that hold thousands of chickens. Imagine the surprise of Kent when he sees them thinking that they were just a coop in the back yard. HILARIOUS!
9. I had a science teacher in high school that let us watch Fern Gully and Free Willy more times than I can count.
10. I had to take 2 years of Spanish in high school to get my advanced diploma. I hated my teacher and he hated me. We even had a conversation about not liking each other. I still made an A in the class.
11. I moved out on my own 2 weeks before I graduated college. I called it my matchbox house. It was a 2BR/1BA house that was tee tiny but supercute!
12. I have had a job since I was 15. My parents always gave me an allowance, but I didn't think that it was enough so I got a job.
13. I love zebra print. I had a huge zebra area rug that my husband made me get rid of since he can't stand the whole safari theme.
14. I bought curtains for our bedroom 7 months ago. They are still in the package in the floor under the window.
15. I have had my Volvo for 3 years next month. This is the longest I have ever owned a car. I have no plans of getting rid of it either.
16. I have been "snipe hunting" before. I have also taken people it's really a lot of fun!
17. My favorite soft drink is Sun Drop. When I moved to Shelby county, they didn't have it so when I went to Cullman, I would bring some home with me. Now they sell it at my Publix so I am happy.
18. I don't like confrontation. It hurts my feelings and makes me cry. This is the reason I could never be anyone's boss.
19. I secretly want to open up either a restaurant or a craft store. I don't have any sense of how to run a business but I think it would be fun.
20. I am addicted to my itouch! I love it. Now that I have updated my version, it's with me everywhere. I listen to music while I am shopping, scrapbooking, etc. I also play some of the most ridiculous games on it too!
21. Kent and I bought hardwoods tonight. He says that we are going to put them in next weekend. Hopefully this will go a little better than when we built my fence together.
22. I saw "The Fonz" at World of Wheels Friday night. I refused to go up to him and talk, but I have a pic on my phone to prove that I was there.
23. I had Lasik eye surgery 4 years ago. It was the best decision to have it done! Quick easy and I could see without my glasses/contacts that afternoon.
24. I love my husband! He has been my rock throughout this time with my grandmother! He spent the afternoon with me Monday and when he got home, he brought me the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers with my fave-stargazer lilies! The card said, Just Because I Love You-Kent
Awwwwwww......
25. I love my family! We have gotten so much closer (I didn't know that was possible) in the past 2 months. It's a shame that I don't have a desire to live in Cullman, but being 1.5 hours away isn't really that bad.
Well, I don't think that you could get any more random than that. Hope you stuck through to the end. 25 is kind of a lot. :)

Cooking

Well, this has definitely been a difficult time, but I seemed to have emmersed myself in cooking and looking at and trying new recipes. The last time Kent and I went to the beach, I bought the Lulu's cookbook. If you have never been, you must go. It's my favorite place to eat when we go to Gulf Shores. I was so excited when I saw the cookbook I think I may have jumped up and down a little.

I told Kent that if it had the recipe for the crab melt, it was mine. It did and it was. We have cooked a couple of things out of it since getting back. Monday night, we made blackened mahi mahi sandwiches with fried green tomatoes and Lulu's WOW sauce. My papaw came by and we loved it! The sandwich was way too big for me to eat completely, but I so enjoyed the fried green tomatoes on top of it. MMMM... Unfortunately, I don't have any pics since my battery is dead and I cannot locate the charger. It's around my house somewhere.

I also got this for Christmas:

A mini burger press! I used it last night for the first time. We are trying to be on a diet, so I bought some ground chicken, added some spices and of course some Dale's marinade, mixed it all up and pressed out 10 mini chicken burgers. They were sooooo good!