Sunday, May 31, 2009

John David's Birthday

My wonderful husband turned 23 today! Since his birthday fell on a Sunday he worked hard this morning! We went to La Fuente for lunch! It's a wonderful Mexican restaurant and they have a buffet which is amazing! We both really enjoyed that...we had yummy Mexican foods & strawberry ice cream for dessert!! I didn't have an actual gift to give him but I am buying him a new pair of Cinch jeans (his favorite brand) and we are going to order those on-line! I didn't want to just order him a pair because I wanted to make sure I got the right style & color!

More Mac

Every night we pull our excess pillows off the bed and put them in our recliner! Well, Mac really likes the recliner and while I was tossing the pillows on the recliner Mac was getting buried in pillows! Luckily my camera was close and I was able to snap a few cute pics of him!





Stuff Sold (May)

I have set a goal to sell $500 worth of stuff from around our home in one year beginning August 1, 2008 and ending July 31, 2009!

I haven't sold anything since February and it's looking like I won't reach the goal by July 31 but I am continuing to try to sell things that we aren't using or don't need!

*God's Timing for Your Life $2.61 (minus shipping costs, sold on half.com)
*Microwave $16
*Hamilton Beach Drinkmaster $5

Total Sold: $23.61

Remaining to reach goal: $248.61*

*I need to sell $124.30 in June and in July to meet this goal...possible but probably unlikely!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

John David's New Grill

On Memorial Day we went shopping for a grill and in true Boreing fashion we got it discounted!! We had our choice narrowed down to 2 grills and we spent about 30 minutes comparing the two and trying to decide which on we wanted. Finally another salesman asked if a discount would make the decision easier. My bargain savvy husband said, "Of course." One of the grills, which was $189, had a few scratches and a bowed hot dog dog rack. They discounted it to $149 and John David said, "We'll take it!" So this is our new grill which we got $40 off which is 20% savings!! Yay!

The grill is a Char-Griller. It looks like a smoker and the name makes you think it is a charcoal grill but it is a gas grill. When we had our propane tank set for our home John David had them plumb in a line to the deck to hook up a grill so it's hooked up to a 100 gallon propane tank..so we'll be grilling all summer long!

Country syle ribs John David made last night! Yum! He soaked them in vinegar and then coated them with his special sauce (which is wonderful!)

He even put a pepper on his! This ribs look small close up but they were huge...we even had leftovers they were so big!

Here is the master griller himself! Now that we have a grill he will be taking care of a lot of the summer cooking which is wonderful! I am seeing hamburgers, ribs, chicken, pork chops, hot dogs, and maybe even a grilled pizza in my future!!

All About Weddings

Last night the women's ministry at our church hosted an All About Weddings event. It started with a bridal fashion show, our women's ministry leader, Marie, talked about becoming the bride of Christ, and then was followed by a vendor show.

I participated in the fashion show! I wore my bridesmaid dress from my friend Kara's wedding which was in December. She told me that I would wear this dress again and turns out she was right! As of now I have worn it 3 times, at her wedding, for a picture to promote the All About Weddings Event, and last night during the show!





This is a beautiful bridesmaid dress!


The vendor show had wedding cake & punch (the punch was amazing...I hope to get the recipe!) There were photographers, wedding planners, caterers, Pampered Chef consultants, and Annie Brown was there with her new business If These Walls Could Speak. Her artwork is beautiful! I ordered one that has "But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord" as the background with a "B" and "established 2006" on it! Here is a link to what it looks like (except for the year difference!)

I had a lot of fun reminiscing over weddings and spending time with wonderful women from the First Family!

Friday, May 29, 2009

Refinancing the house

Today we closed on refinancing our home! I believe the average life of a mortgage is 7 years and our first mortgage lasted 5 months! Our interest rate is almost 1 percentage less now and we have set up bi-weekly payments. A bi-weekly payment plan is every two weeks and the payment is half of what a monthly payment would be. By simply paying on the bi-weekly payment plan our 30 year mortgage will be paid off in 25 years! Of course we plan to start adding extra principal payments and maybe get that 25 years down to 15 or maybe 12...we'll see!!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Our Third Anniversary

Today we are celebrating 3 wonderful years of marriage!

May 27, 2009


May 27, 2008


May 27, 2007


May 27, 2006

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Trip to East Tennessee

This Thursday we left around lunch time and headed to visit John David's family! We stopped on the way and visited Jill a few hours and then continued the journey. We arrived around 8:00 eastern and had a yummy dinner of Buffalo Dip (made with wild turkey John David's dad killed a few weeks ago!)

Friday we went with Annette (Mom) to The Pizza Parlor and had Pepperoni Mushroom Pizza! Yum! (This is my favorite place to eat in Jonesborough...we try to go every time we are up there!) Then we went to Mr. K's used books to shopping. Annette had some credit there and wanted me to get a few books! I was in heaven in this store!! There were books everywhere...I do believe I could stay in the store for hours just looking at everything! We did end up browsing about an hour! I found a few children's books & Karen Kingsbury books! That stop was like Christmas to me! :) We then went to Lifeway to look around where we heard a man trying out a song track, he had headphones on and was singing...LOUD (and not so great!) We all had a huge laugh after we got out of the store!! :)

Saturday I went and visited with John David's grandparents while John David worked with David (Dad) on one of their tractors. I enjoyed spending time with Mamaw, she gave me a French Bread recipe which I am anxious to try, sewing books, and some plants! Around 3:00 we left and went to John David's cousins wedding which was at 6:00. The wedding was an outdoor wedding and everything was beautiful! We left the wedding around 7:30 eastern time and arrived home around 10:30 central time! We had a wonderful weekend spending time with family!

Children's books from Annette, most of these were John David's when he was little!

My books from Mr. K's...a Little House Birthday, 365 Bible Stories, I Kissed Dating Goodbye (we read and reread Boy Meets Girl while we were dating and I wanted to have this one too!), and 3 Karen Kingsbury books...I am almost finished with A Time to Dance!

Sewing books from Mamaw!

Mint, sage, basil, and oregano from Mamaw & Annette!

Hay and tobacco stakes from the farm for our garden!

Beautiful Plants

The flowers will bloom soon...I am excited!

Beautiful petunias on the front steps!

My petunias in the basket!

Road Trip with the Dog

We visited John David's parents this weekend and brought the dog along so during the 5 1/2 hour trip there were plenty of funny Mac pictures to take! We kept him in the back seat area of John David's truck, we don't allow him up front because he wants to be in the driver's lap the whole time and that could prove dangerous! He slept some, climbed up on the luggage to peek out the window, and poked his head up on the arm rest some!
Sitting on his little bed in the back seat!

Trying to get as close to us as possible!

Then he realized that by standing on the luggage in the back seat he could not only look out the side window but he could also visit with John David:


Checking out the driver's view!

Standing on a crate of books!

Needless to say traveling with the dog can be quite entertaining. He whines a little especially when we first get in the car. Every time we hit a pretty big bump his head pops up, even if he is sleeping, so that can be entertaining to watch!!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Fan Makeover

When we purchased our home it needed a lot of work, nothing too complicated just painting (every room, baseboards, crown molding, doors, and even closets!) There also were some pretty awful light fixtures in the bathrooms (which have been replaced!) Our ceiling fans in the living room and master weren't hideous they were just hunter green which matched the sage green walls that were in both rooms. Since they were green and weren't going to match our paint colors we decided to purchase new fans. However, when we went to purchase ceiling fans (and we went twice) we spent over 30 minutes just looking and never found an affordable fan we liked. Then there was no money left in the home improvement budget and we decided to paint them!

Before:


After:




It's not a huge difference but the green is gone and we only spent $2.50 and about 1 hour taking it down, spray painting, and reassembling....much better than $100 for a mediocre fan!

Mac


This is too cute not to share!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Curb Appeal

Our home is starting to look home-y! We have been spending time outside working and doing small things to make it beautiful!

We have put up hanging baskets with flowers, added white folding chairs, and potted flowers on the steps!

Our potted petunias!

Our purple petunias in the beautiful basket!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Our Garden

Yesterday I was able to get out in the garden and finish planting all of my seedlings!! The garden is looking good! Most of my plants are small since I started everything from seed and this is our first garden to work in and we are learning as we go!!

My cantaloupes that were planted yesterday.

All of the Lasagna Garden plots! I have planted Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Cabbage, Pinto Beans, Cherry Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Red Beans, and Cantaloupe. We are planting our Sweet Corn & Green Beans soon! I am so excited to watch my garden grow and I am really enjoying getting outside in the garden and taking care of it!

Blackberries

Last week I discovered blackberry bushes in our yard! And when I say bushes, I mean many bushes. On 2 sides of our property there are blackberry bushes lining the property!! I just love blackberries....jam, jelly, cobbler, frozen for smoothies, they're just great!! I was incredibly excited about this discovery!! Now I am anxiously awaiting the berries!!

Beautiful blackberry blooms!

Just one of the many bushes!

One side of the property lined with blackberry bushes (& honeysuckle which smells amazing!)

Almost time to make my wonderful Blackberry Cobbler with fresh blackberries!!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Work in the Flowerbed

Our front flower bed has needed a lot of work and still needs even more! Earlier this week we were able to get quite a bit accomplished, doing some more weeding, pulling up old stumps and roots, and planting some flowers!

Before:

After:
Much better, the big hole is looking a little better!

These came up on their own and there were several shoots so I separated them. I think they are irises!

The Planter:
Before:


After:

I have weeded and removed all the landscaping rocks from around the edge. (There are still concrete pieces around the edge I need to do something with!) See my Easter Lily that came up...beautiful!! Obviously we need to get a load of dirt to fill this in. We are planning on doing this pretty soon! Once we get it filled in, we plan for this area to become an herb garden!

I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and enjoying my front yard since it's starting to look beautiful!

Wordless Wednesday: A Day of Rest

I just love this picture I snapped this past Sunday of my husband. He is working on fixing a wireless router and watching NASA TV while kicking back and relaxing!! (You have got to love my very unique boot wearing, technologically savvy, media director hubby!)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Blackberry Cobbler



4 cups berries
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
6 Tbsp. butter
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour

Place berries in an 8x8 baking dish; sprinkle with lemon juice. Stir together egg, sugar, and flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle over fruit. Drizzle melted butter over topping. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Menu Plan Monday


This week is a no-grocery shopping week! We are going out of town this weekend and we have a lot of food in the pantry/freezer and since I am not going grocery shopping we will save a little money!

Here is my plan for the week:

Dinner:
Monday-Chicken Wraps* & Apple Salad
Tuesday-Patty Melts & Fruit Salad
Wednesday-Turkey Lasagna & Salad
Thursday-Saturday-Out of Town!

Lunches:
Leftovers

Breakfasts:
Cereal
Waffles
Yogurt
Fruit (Apples, Oranges, Grapes)

*My Chicken Wraps are easy, I cook chicken breasts on the griddle and then wrap them up in a tortilla with lettuce & ranch dressing! They are easy and delicious!
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