He’s BaaaAAAaaaaK!

What he does while I do laundry.

 

Parker LOVES to lay on things…..

remote controls
trash
phones
books
shoes
clothes
wrapping paper on the roll and off the roll

These are just a few of his favorites. If it’s on the floor and he can get to it he likes to lay on it. It’s strange but cute at the same time!

Parker Update:

You may remember me telling you about Parker’s story HERE. Well I’m happy to say that he’s doing MUCH better! His health has been a bit of a rollercoaster these last few months but I think it’s safe to say that he’s stable and doing well! We have him on a medication that’s alleviate most of his pain. He still gets 4 different eye drops 3 times a day and and a pill twice a day. He will remain on these medications as long as he’s alive. Let me just say that I’ve become a pro at administering eye drops! The whole process is kind of a pain but I’m just tickled that he’s back to his spunky self!

 

Our Story VLOG: Part 3

Hello……is this thing on?

I always wonder who watches these.

It shows that they get around 100 views but the Our Story vlogs usually get 1 to 2 comments.

Makes me wonder who the other 98 people are.

I think it will be fun one day to look back and reminisce on all my crazy China stories and how it had a part in our love story.

So I keep talking and taping away………

even if people are too shy to leave a little comment love.

That’s okay! I just hope the other 98 of you that are watching are not serial killers!

I’m kidding! Okay maybe there is a little truth to that. :o)   

 

Sorry about the title mishap. This is part 3 I just titled it wrong. ;o) 
You can find links to part 1 and 2 below.

 

Oh the screen shots that youtube picks. They always make me look so great! ;o) The screen shot from part 2 a few weeks back made me look like I was performing a magic trick. Now that was kind of neat. This one is just plain mean!

 

If your new to the Our Story vlogs you can watch part 1 and 2 by clicking the corresponding title below.

- Part 1
- Part 2

Flashback Picture

Us in Hong Kong getting our eat on! I think we were eating dim sum here. If you’ve never had dim sum I would highly recommend giving it a try. It’s delish! Are you wondering what dim sum is? If so click HERE to get the 411.

We Have the BEST Neighbors: 2011 Snow Day

This post is a little late but I’m slowly but surely catching up!

A few weeks ago Texas was covered in snow! This is not common for us. Schools were closed, offices were shut down. Kent was home for 5 days in a row due to the crazy weather. I’m sure people up north think we’re silly but it’s just not the norm for us. It sent all of DFW into a tizzy!

Well we have these really awesome neighbors that just so happen to be our close friends. I think it’s pretty awesome that we click so well. They’re even attending our destination wedding! Neat stuff!

We all had a free day due to the weather so we spent the day together……..

 

We took a little stroll around the neighborhood to oh and ah over all the beautiful snow. Look at what Kent has in his hand!

 

We all ended up falling during our walk……..
well everyone except Mr. Neighbor.

 

 

I busted my butt and of freaked out because I dropped my camera in the snow.

What was I thinking taking my nice camera on an icy snow walk? Really…..you would think I would know just how clumsy I am. Mr. Neighbor offered to carry my camera the rest of the walk. See aren't they the BEST!

After our walk we braved the ice and snow and headed out for some lunch!

Kent hates, HATES driving in the snow and it’s no fun to take a snow drive by yourself so it’s been a long time since I’ve been out on the roads when we’ve had weather like this. Mr. Neighbor drove and I was able to take in all the snow blanketed beauty!

 

 

Look at this precious coffee tray Mrs. Neighbor set up for us! Again with the awesomeness!

After lunch we headed back home to warm up with some hot beverages. The girls had coffee and the guys had tea.

 

 

                 

Yes boys can enjoy tea too! Mr. Neighbor is quite the tea connoisseur and has lots of fancy tea contraptions. Did you know you can now buy tea in the form of a cake (pic of tea cake on the right)? Pretty neat huh!

 

We spent the day chatting away and before we knew it the sun was gone and the day had passed us by.

 

We hung out by the fire and I took way too many pics of Mr. Neighbor's champagne glass.

It was time for dinner so we decided to head out to a local Italian restaurant that happens to be BYOB.

Kent had the BEST idea to use snow as our cooling agent. Yes it’s the same as ice but way fancier! Really that guy is such a smarty!

So did you notice a trend in the last few pictures?

Yes! I’m addicted to taking pictures of drinks. I ‘m doing a Project 365 on my photography facebook page and I’ve just discovered that I’m totally obsessed with talking pictures of drinks!

Hot ones
cold ones
alcoholic or not…..

I’m not picky. If it’s a drink I will have the compulsion to take a picture of it. Oh the things you lean about yourself though a 365 Project. If you want to take a gander at all my other drink shots and I know you do ;o) you can find my photography facebook page by clicking HERE

Okay back to my story……..

Dinner was great! We laughed and had a jolly old time. At one point I accidentally referred to the booth we were sitting in as a butch. That threw me and Mrs. Neighbor in to a giggle fest. What I said: “I can’t reach my purse, it’s way under the butch.” You had to be there but it really was funny! I’m constantly getting my words mixed up. Throw a glass of wine in me and I need an interpreter!

After dinner we said our goodbyes. No long car rides home just a walk across the street! Love that!

Yay for snow day 2011!  

 

The next day Mrs. Neighbor came over for a craftapalooza. Look at our mess. How I love a good mess caused by crafty fun!

I don’t think we could have asked for a better set of neighbors!

Fun Pictures Full of LOVE & Some of my Fave LOVE Quotes

 

“Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep…..wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds you hand in front of his friends, who thinks you’re just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have you……The one who turn to his friends and says, “that’s her.” –Author Unknown

          

 

“Love is just a word until someone comes along and give it meaning.” 
-Author Unknown

 

“Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”
-Robert Heinlein

 

 

 

     

“Laugh as much as you breath and love as long as you live.”
-Author Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

“I don’t pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you.”
-Author Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

“True love stories never have endings.” – Richard Bach

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

            

“I love her and that’s the beginning of everything.”
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

Because Sometimes it’s Fun to Look at Pictures

 

I love to take pictures. I love to look at pictures. I love to read books and articles about how to take pictures. I’m pretty much obsessed with anything photography related. In fact I take pictures for a living! :o)

Because pictures are FUN I thought I would share a few with you. No words just pictures. because sometimes that’s all you need.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are all pictures from my Project 365 that I’m doing over on my photography fan page. I go into a little more detail about each image and have several more posted if ya want to take a gander. You can find it by clicking HERE and then going to my photo tab. Say hi if ya stop by! 

When a Facebook Status Turns into a Blog Post

I was going to try and get a discussion going on facebook  but decided to turn my  status update into a blog post! Below is what I was going to post.

If you work from home, are the COO of your household, or just a gal/mommy/wife trying to do it all you may find this post interesting!

Because every post needs a picture!

This was my status update: I think I’m finally getting into my “work from home grove”. It took a year but I think I almost have it. What am I doing? I’ll list the changes I’ve made in my comment below. If YOU work from home I want to know your tricks too!!!!

 

What I was going to put in facebook my comment:

Things I’m doing to stay focused while I’m working for home-

-No personal phone calls while I’m working.

-I start work at 8:30am every morning and try to wrap up around 7pm (depending on my work load).

-I no longer drop what I’m doing to play with friends or family during my work day. If there is something I want to do I schedule it and work evenings to make up the hours I took off during the day.

-Every Monday I write my goals for the week. I write goals for Home Organization, Project Completion, Relationship, Health, Work, and If I Have Time I need to…..
I keep my goal note book on my desk and look at it several times during the week.

-If I want to write a blog post I get up early so I have time to do it before my work day starts or I do it in the evenings and schedule it to post when I want. I love when I have several post scheduled! 

-I take an hour lunch break! This is my me time! I watch TV, read blogs, whatever! I make sure that I look at the clock when it starts so I know when my lunch break is over.

-I take dance breaks during the day! I’m not a sitter and get antsy if I’m sitting for hours on end. To keep my self going and energized I pick an upbeat song and break it down in my office. Yet another reason why it’s good that I work from home alone! My dance breaks are fun but NOT pretty! A 2min dance break will do ya wonders! Go ahead and give it a go. I promise you’ll like it! Sometimes I share a link on facebook to a song I had a dance break too so others can get their grove on if they like!

-As I’m still growing as a business owner and photographer I have A LOT to learn! I schedule an hour a day to read something that will help me in those areas. Some days it ends up being longer than an hour but it’s important to me that I continue to strengthen on those areas.

 

These pics I’m sharing really have nothing to do with this post.
Just random pics I’ve taken.

What I’m still struggling with: 

-Balancing working and our home. It seems like I can never keep up with our house! There is always something that needs to be organized, washed, or cleaned. We don’t even have kiddos yet! I need to get this under control!

-Not over scheduling myself. I have a real hard time saying NO!

-Learning the power of NO and not feeling guilty when I have to say it. This is a big one for me. I’m really hard on myself and saying NO to someone brings on tons of guilt. I hate that I do that to myself. I need to learn that I can’t do it ALL or keep EVERYONE happy.

-Getting in gym time. I have the time to do it I just don’t make it a priority. That NEEDS to change!

-I do something work related every day including the weekends. I need to find a balance so I’m caught up with work and not struggling to catch up on the weekends. A day off without guilt would be nice! See there’s that guilt again!

-Setting boundaries with friends and family. I LOVE them and want to chat on the phone, meet for lunches, have fun with them but I just can’t do that and stay on track unless I schedule it.

I had a friend that thought I was mad at her because I’m always so busy during the day. I wasn't upset with her just busy working. I had to explain the new leaf I’m truing over and how I’m trying to stay focused during the day. If I want to continue to grow my business and proved the best service I can I must treat my work days like anyone else. Just because I work for myself and from home does not mean that it’s not a real job. I need to keep telling myself this! My job is one of those “There is always something I could be doing” type jobs!

 

 

Spring is going to be a busy time for me! I’m almost all booked up for March, April, and May, and will be getting married in the mix of all it! I’m so blessed that my business is taking off. I still pinch myself at times. I can’t put into words how grateful I am for the opportunity to follow my dream; a dream that I didn’t even think was attainable.

I’m slowly but surely learning to work smart not hard! I’m not prefect at it and I still have Shinny Ball Syndrome but I’m trying to overcome that! :o)

To be able to make it through the next few months I’m going to need all the focus I can get!

Don’t Leave Me Hanging……….

If you work from home, did work from home, or are the COO of your household I would love to know how YOU stay on track! Let me know your tips or tricks of the trade!

OR if you work from home and are struggling to stay focused let me know what you’re struggles are!

I would LOVE to hear from YOU!

New Fluff in the Craft Room

I found some black bunny vinyls at Marshalls for $1.50 on clearance. I know shocker! I’m surprised people weren’t jumping at the bit to by these. ;o)  I kid, I kid! I think I’m the only one who would want black bunny vinyls.

Well since we do have a black bunny I thought it would be fun to use a few of them in my craft room (which is where Ninja our bunny lives).

I attached one to a white plate I bought at Goodwill. This little shelf is on the wall right above Ninja’s little bunny condo.

 

I popped into Ninja’s bunny condo to see what he thought about his new bunny decorations and he said LOVES it! ;o)

 

 

 

The planter and frame were pervious Gooodwill finds that I first showed you HERE. I put the frame away until I came across for the perfect picture to put in it. I was cleaning out some stuff and found a greeting card that I’ve been holding on to for awhile……I’m talking since high school. I’ve always loved the print! It just so happed that it fit perfectly in my frame and went great with the color scheme in my craft room! See sometimes holding onto things pays off!

Tip: If you have a cherished greeting card from a loved one or see one at the store you like think about framing it. If you need to fill a larger space on you wall think about finding a series or cards that you like and frame the series in multiple frames on your wall!  That’s what I call cheap art!

*To see my craft room make over click HERE
*To see the before and afters click HERE and HERE

She may have eyes for my man………

She may have eyes for my man but I still love her none the less. If you’ve been reading the blog for awhile you know all about our Chihuahua Abby and her infatuation with Kent (my fiancé).

Texas experienced some beautiful weather before the before the BIG snow storm of 2011 hit. I’m talking Spring type weather.

The sun was shining

the sky was a bright blue

a nice cool breeze was blowing

and birds were singing!

I promise I don’t make this stuff up! It was a little teaser of what’s right around the corner.

I was running around nonstop doing this and that when I decided to be still, stop, and enjoy the day.

I grabbed my camera and headed to the back yard with the dogs. I got comfy on the grass and enjoyed the weather and the warmth of the sun on my face.

Look who hung out with me and let me take TONS of pictures of her. Now if Kent was home this would be a different story. She wouldn't even give me the time of day if he was home. But on THIS particular day she wouldn't leave my side and I took full advantage of it! 

 

 

 

 

 

Then in true Texas fashion we said goodbye to the high 60’s………..

 

 

and hello to streets covered in ice and snow!  Ballet flats went away and the rain boots and heavy jackets came out. I sure enjoyed the little taste of spring but I LOVE cold weather as well so it’s all good with me!

 

On a random side note: It feels weird to post a picture of myself on here. I really don’t like it. I hate being in pictures by myself but that’s something I’m trying to get over! Why should I feel weird being in a picture by myself on my own blog…..that’s just silly!