NYE '11

It's New Year's Eve and to be honest I've never been a big on celebrating too much. I don't really drink so partying is kinda out. We don't have any really good friends to hang out with or do anything fun with. I'm sorta an old lady and after like 10:30pm I'm practically asleep. So needless to say if I stay up on watch the ball drop on TV that's a big deal. But I've always been with family or at least my husband. I figured tonight would be the same. We went out with my sister earlier and had "dinner" and hit up the mall then headed home. On the way home B had an unexpected call from a family member that needed his immediate attention so he let my sister take Gigi and I home. Gigi and I were watching TV but she's been up since 6am and at 8pm she asked to please be put to bed. Seriously?! Lol. So she's in bed. And B is still not home. I thought about going to bed but I'm not tired so that would be pointless.....so here I am. Usually when I'm bored out of my mind I flip through channels and get on Pinterest. So that's what I'll do now. Lol! Yay for the New Year!

Also, have you checked out my "A Letter A Day" project? We are starting tomorrow and I'd love to know you are participating! You can go HERE or HERE to learn about the project. If you decide to join in leave me a comment and let me know!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Settled.

“The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence, and educational advantages, but what he will do with the things he has.” - Hamilton Wright Mabie

This past year I have felt very unsettled. That's the only word I know to describe it. I wasn't really unhappy, in fact, for the most part I was very happy with life and how things were going. Don't get me wrong, there can always be improvement and there seems to always be a "need" that isn't quote fulfilled, etc. But something just didn't feel right, it didn't feel whole. And I prayed and prayed for the "thing" that I felt I was missing. The thing my heart was aching for. I was just so sure God was going to answer my prayer by Christmas. Truly. I spent my whole year waiting for God to bust out this miracle and drop this "thing" in my lap. And it didn't happen. The closer I got to Christmas and it was very obvious this thing wasn't going to happen I went through a bit of a depression over it. I felt so disappointed, so frustrated with God. I mean, He's the one that planted this seed in my heart so why didn't He deliver? Although I know that God knows even more than I do that we aren't quite in the right place I still wanted it to happen. BEGGED for it to happen. But it didn't. And then I stopped praying for it to happen. I felt guilty. Like I was bailing on my part of the mission or something. But I realized that maybe I wasn't praying right. And instead I started asking God to please give me peace. To help me not give up but to feel settled until the time was right. Because it was really causing some issues - as crazy as it sounds this idea was consuming me. I thought about it in every situation, in every place, in every moment it seemed. My heart felt SO burdened. I felt so alone in. Right before Christmas I asked a wonderful friend of mine....someone I respect SO much spiritually, someone I know is a prayer warrior....I asked her to share my "burden". To help me pray, to help me petition God so to speak. And it's been so nice, I don't feel like I'm battling for this alone. And the other day I suddenly realized that I felt settled. I felt peace. I felt joy. I'm still praying, I'm still hoping, I still want.....but I know that when the time is right it will happen. When everyone involved is ready to step aboard and carry their part then this thing will take flight and when it does my heart will soar with it! But until then I will be settled. I let me heart rest and my mind find peace. I will soak up the moments that are now because they will change and they will be gone. And what a waste to let those pass by because I'm unhappy with how things are at the moment.....so my "word" for 2012 is settled.

.....a holly jolly Christmas!

I am FINALLY getting around to putting up some Christmas photos. Better late than never! (That's my motto it seems these days! Haha!) This Christmas seemed fairly easy and not super rushed but at the same time I feel like I haven't stopped lately either. Looking forward to the new year and all it holds!

(Christmas tree. Our Christmas card photo. All dressed up.)

(Charlie Brown tree at the cabin. Cabin mirror pic. Cute Glavin.)

(Worlds Tallest Man. Me and my babe. Sisters)

(Outside the Titanic Museum)

(Coming home. Candy cane girl. Gandalf. Handmade snowflakes.)

(Tiniest top knot. Christmasy scarf. Cutie pie.)

(Feeling the red. Our family. Trying on boots (him)

(Checking out Cracker Barrel. Chocolate milk. Blueberry pancakes.)

(Decorating cookies. Santa's cookies and note.)

(Christmas morning. Stocking loot.)

(Opening gifts. BIG dollhouse.)

(Happiness. Christmas.)

Vloggin' on a Thursday!

Christmas love

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend filled with family, friends, food and fun!

I'm making pot roast and we're having cobbler and ice cream. Keeping it simple and yummy!

Be safe and enjoy every moment!

Talk to you next week!

The "A Letter A Day" Project

This morning I was browsing around on Pinterest and saw a quote that said, "Noah wrote Allie (from The Notebook) 365 letters, the least you could do is answer my text!". It was funny and I laughed and started to move on but then I totally had an inspiration moment. What if you wrote someone you loved a letter every day for a year? No one seems to write letters anymore and even if it's a short one it's still written from the heart and it takes time and thought. I love letter writing, for me it's the easiest way to say what is really on my mind. It's the best way for me to organize my thoughts and place them in an order that makes sense. It seems like so many days I think of things then forget them or never have the nerve to say them or talk about them or bring them up. There are things I want to remember but then they are forgotten. So this is my project "challenge" - choose someone, it can be your spouse, a sibling, your child, a friend, anyone - and starting January 1, 2012 you write them a letter each day, seal it in an envelope, make sure each envelope is dated on the outside and it has their name on it. Keep them somewhere out of the way where they won't be gotten into, ripped open or peeked at. On New Year's eve 2012 you'll give those letters to that person with the instructions that they are to read one letter a day for the next year. For instance, January 1, 2012's letter will be read on January 1, 2013 and so on and so on.

I know, it may seem like a lot of work but think about how special that person is going to feel when you present them with 365 hand written letters?! Knowing you thought about them each and every day. It doesn't have to be serious every day although I'd encourage you to do that some too but it can be funny, it can be a silly thing your child did, it can be a quote you heard, anything. The letters don't all have to be long but I think once you get into the swing of writing things will flow and before you know it you'll have two or three or four page letters!

I have chosen to write my husband. I miss all the letters we used to write each other when we were dating and lived 7 hours apart. And there are things each day that I think about telling him or thoughts I wish I knew how to share or funny things Gigi says or does that just slip my mind by the time he gets home. I think it would be fun and to give him all those letters at the end of the year will be amazing!

If you think this is something you are going to join me in doing would you leave me a comment and let me know who you chose? And also, would you share the idea on your blog if you decide to do it? When you do leave me a comment with the link to your post! I don't know how to make a button for you to "grab" or how to put up a place for you to link back to me. Lol! Sorry! But I do hope you will join me in this "little" project, I think it would be fun and inspiring and make someones year down the road!

I was tagged!

Just playing along. I was tagged by Ashley here are my answers and questions!

Rules:
1. You must post these rules.
2. Each per­son must post 11 things about them­selves on their blog.
3. Answer the ques­tions the tag­ger set for you in their post, and cre­ate 11 new ques­tions for the peo­ple you tag to answer.
4. You have to choose 11 peo­ple to tag and link them on the post.
5. Go to their page and tell them you have linked him or her.
6. No tag backs.
7. No stuff in the tag­ging sec­tion about ‘you are tagged if you are read­ing this.’ You legit­i­mately have to tag 11 people.

MY QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:

1. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Our family TN trip. It's what Christmas is to me. As crazy as it all gets sometimes we love it enough to keep doing it every year. We were figuring it up and we've had this yearly trip tradition going for 10 years now!

2. If you could have dinner with one person dead or alive who would it be and what would you talk about? Stephen King. Although I would be sorta scared I think he's brilliant and I would just want to understand how his mind works and what things inspire the stories he ends up writing.

3. One kids show you are embarrassed to admit that you actually think you enjoy more than your kid. (I know I have a few) Wizards of Waverly Place! Lol! I used to force Gigi to watch the re-runs just because I liked watching it so much!

4. 5 things you would take to a desert island with you - B, Gigi, my iPhone, endless supply of water and matches.

5. An Infomercial you really want by then end of the commercial. I know there is at least one out there. Any kind of blender! I've never owned a really great blender so anytime I see an infomercial for one I want it!

6. If you won the lottery how would you spend it? Wow. Um, I guess it depends on how much I won but I'd like to purchase a cute little bungalow style home, buy new vehicles for me and my hubby, start a serious college fund for Gigi, go on an amazing vacation, expand our family, and make a few "big" purchases for a few people who need something they might never get, take our entire family to Aspen for a ski trip, and invest some of it so we're set for life!

7. Favorite beverage: Coke. I don't drink it too often but it's my favorite!

8. One baby name you love that you know your significant other would never agree on: B and I like most of the same names. So far I haven't found one that I just LOVE and he doesn't like. I have always liked the name Jubilee and I don't know that he was too fond of it.
9. One country you can't wait to visit: Australia!

10. If you could have someone elses hair who's would it be: I would have Kourtney Kardashian's hair for sure! It's gorgeous!

11. 3 blogs you think everyone needs to know about - Delirious Rhapsody, Enjoying The Small Things, and Camp Patton.

My Questions:

1. What's your least favorite house chore?

2. What is a gift you've received at Christmas that you'll never forget?

3. What's your middle name? Is there a meaning behind it?

4. What kind of car do you drive and how long have it had it?

5. Where were you born?

6. Do you play an musical instruments?

7. If you could just make one thing happen right now what would it be?

8. Do you have a hobby you wish you spent more time on?

9. If you could have any celebrity body whose would you have?

10. Do you have any pets?

11. What's your favorite piece of clothing?

I tag: April, Danielle, Polly, Christa, Jillian and Karly!

Sunday Confessional V.4

31. We lived in our last place, an apartment, from Dec. '07 to Aug. 2010. So almost three full years and I NEVER used the dishwasher it had! Lol! Now I'm in a house that doesn't have one so I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

32. I am the oldest of five children. There is me (25), Charity (22), DeeAnna (almost 19), Kenneth (15) and Matthew (11). Of us girls I am the shortest at 5 feet tall, Charity is 5'8 and D is 5'6. I got the short gene. I think even Matthew will be taller than me pretty soon!

33. I grew up in a tiny little nothing town called Valhermoso Springs. The other side of the main road was Lacey Springs and that's no joke. You could go barefoot to the gas station and no one thought twice about it! And we lived in a trailer. A nice trailer but a trailer none the less. My parents were in the ministry and lived in "staff housing". I loved it. Rode my bike up and down our dirt roads and had loads of pets. I'm surprised I have any class though! Haha!

34. Growing up my dad would take me fishing occasionally at a local pond. Before we'd go we would go to the local gas station and get crickets and minnows. He'd also buy me a chocolate moon pie and a can of RC Cola. Good times! Those two items together still make me feel like a little girl again.

35. My first "official" pet that was all mine was a little orange and white tabby cat I picked out myself and named Wendy after the girl in Peter Pan because it was my favorite movie growing up. It was that or Tiger Lily.....I went with Wendy. And that cat had at least two litters of kittens every year and would have like 10 at a time. Cuh-razy!!!

36. I am, to this day, scared of any kind of dressed up character. You know like Chuck E Cheese? Terrified. As a child two of my cousins had their birthday parties there for years. I was forced to go twice a year for 3 or 4 years. I would literally get sick to my stomach I'd get so scared. When Chuck E. would come out to greet the kids I would freeze and have to fight tears. I hated it so much.

37. I'm totally addicted to shoes. I can't go to a store that has a shoe section without going to at least look. Before I had a child I spent a LOT of my paycheck on new shoes. Once a week or so I'd get a new pair of shoes. Nothing expensive, I have rarely ever spent more then $20 on a pair of shoes. But I do miss getting to buy stuff like that.....now I'm trying to pass my shoe addiction on to my daughter! Lol!

38. If I have something really important to say or something I feel like someone might dislike me or be upset with me for I write it. I can't actually say it. I fall into a mess of blubbery tears and can't force myself to get it out. It started when I had to deal with my parents, I'd feel like anything I had to say that didn't exactly line up with what they wanted to hear that they'd hate me or I'd get in trouble so I'd either not say anything, say what they wanted to hear or if I got really brave I'd write them a letter and say how I felt. Even now it's much easier for me to blog or write my true thoughts and feelings in a letter. For some reason I feel like that gives me some sort of "buffer".

39. I still pick out baby names even though I'll probably never have another child to name! They change each year pretty much. I'll hear another name I fall in love with or think of. I had one name for about 2 years that I held on to for dear life then suddenly this year I heard a name I LOVED even more and now that's my "favorite" name! Lol! But with a name like Alaythea I was either going to love unique and interesting names or I was going to want the plainest most boring names around!

40. I can't eat most pork - surprisingly most of the time bacon and sausage don't bother me too bad but pork chops, pork roast, pulled pork or anything like that makes me really sick! It's something I inherited from my dad and one of my sisters is the same way. We don't know what causes it exactly but the results are far from pleasant!

Vloggin' Vednesdays!

Relentless (Only 5!)

So I know I'm being relentless here but I figure if there is something I really want or need badly enough I just have to keep pushing till I get there! I had a goal in mind as far as how much money I'd like to make for Christmas "help" and I needed to make it by today (tomorrow at the latest but really today). Right now I'm $50 away from my goal. $50. That's "it"! Here's the thing....I have 101 followers and I only need 5 of you to make a purchase through my Etsy shop! Only 5! Of course, if more of you want to purchase then by all means please do! I appreciate those who have stepped up so far and made a purchase to help me out. I also hope that you "help" because you like my products as well. I put a lot of time and effort into each one. I make each one myself. I do use some pre-made items but I make all the flowers, rosettes and pom-pom's myself.

These items are made with love and care and I'd love for you to buy one (or 2 or 3!) for yourself or someone you love and pass it along. I have hats, scarves, necklaces, and headbands (regular and stretchy), so something for just about any woman/girl in your life! So would you take a moment to peek in my shop and think about making a purchase today?! It would help me out SO much! And if you use the coupon code CHRISTMAS10 you can 10% off your total when you check out!

Thank you again and I look forward to mailing out your order!

Christmas Gifts!

I'm still trying to get stuff sold from my Etsy shop. Thank you so much to those who have purchased something or just helped me get the word out to others. It means a lot to me and I appreciate it SO much! I'm still trying to get things sold so that I have some money for Christmas gifts and traveling. Please continue to help me spread the word and take a peek in my shop would you? You might find something you like or something you know a friend or family member would love! I added new stuff yesterday and this morning, so their are lots of goodies waiting for you to snatch them up!

Merry Christmas & Thank you!

ETSY SHOP

10 Randoms

1. I'm so behind of this whole Christmas thing. I've bought 2 gifts. Yes, TWO. That's it. And I don't even have the motivation to go buy gifts for anyone. I hate buying gifts, not because I don't like giving, I love it but I have no idea what to get people especially on a very limited budget. It just gets annoying and I prefer to just not do anything except I feel obligated because people get me stuff. I'd rather us not get each other anything so we don't have to worry about it!

2. Gigi is sick. I feel like she's been sick none stop since she started school, it's just some times it's worse and then other times it settles a little bit. But she always has a sniffle or little cough or something. But now she's got a full blown chest cold and awful cough. I think we're going to skip dance today because she gets so emotional when she doesn't feel good. The least little thing will send her into fountains of tears. I was going to keep her home from school today but she didn't have a fever and she's already going to be missing a day this week.

3. We're headed to TN for our Christmas trip on Thursday after Gigi is out of school. I'm excited about it. Mainly just getting away and being in vacation mode. I'm hoping that all the unsettled feelings between various family members can be set aside at least for this occasion. I'm really excited about our cabin this year! It's gotten harder and harder to find a good cabin because we need so many rooms now. And it's like when you find enough rooms the actual living space is too small. But this time we've found the rooms and it's got a HUGE OPEN living space. And we got a great deal on it too. So I'm thrilled to see it in person!

4. My hubby has left Facebook. Yup. He's now one of those people who isn't on Facebook. It makes me sad and I don't know why. I liked leaving him sweet little messages on his Wall and tagging him in posts and pictures and now I can't do that. And now it just says I'm "married" not "married to Benjamin Carroll". He says he's going to get a Twitter and Instagram account soon. I hope he does.

5. I am seriously lacking the motivation to eat right lately. And I can totally tell. Even though I'm working out I still start slowly putting on a couple of pounds. I guess ever since Thanksgiving my brain has gone into Holiday/Christmas mode and I can't get myself to eat right. I just wanna eat sweets and junk.

6. I'm working hard to get my Etsy shop out there. I'm made two sales through the shop. I've sold most of my stuff through Facebook though. I just wish I could get things a little more consistent. It's like for a week I sell a good bit of stuff and then I may not sell anything else for a month or more. I was really hoping it would pick up a lot more than it has around Christmas.

7. I'm feeling up and down lately. I feel like there are so many things in my life making me SO happy right now. Gigi is such a sweet girl and for the most part is funny and well behaved & is really getting more and more independent which is nice. My husband is being the best he's ever been ( he's always been good but....), I feel like we are really in love and understanding each other better and better. But another part of me feels so unsettled and frustrated. I think I know what it is but it's something I just can't change or make happen at this moment but I want it SO bad. There is "reason" after "reason" why it can't happen and won't work and we just can't do it right now but I guess I just see it through more of an emotional eye then a logical one. So it really puts me in an up and down mood because I feel like I'm constantly fighting my own thoughts and feelings inside.

8. It's freaking me out that we have only 6 months (or less) to figure everything out about moving to Bama. I'm eager to know where we're going and how we're going to make it work. I'm nervous about finding a job that will work with the schedule I need and about Gigi starting a new school and having to learn new schedules, teachers and students all over again. But more than anything I'm looking forward to a SMALLER place. Yes! I know how crazy that sounds but I'm thrilled to be moving back into an apartment and having less to clean, less to keep up with and less furniture and stuff. I think my hubby's minimalist attitude is starting to rub off on me. Our power bills will be far less in an apartment then this big two story house. I'm sure there will be things I miss about having a lot of the room but for now I can't think of any! Not to mention being back in an actual city and not living in the middle of the country. SO EXCITED!

9. I've gotten where I hate watching movies at home. In fact there has been two movies lately that I've started and actually sent back without even finishing them because I just don't want to bother watching them. I love seeing movies at the movie theater but at home it just bores me. Even when I'm watching TV I'm doing something else or flipping the channels around.

10. I think I'm going to work on changing my handwriting. I do this every once in awhile. I find a font or handwriting I like and I start altering mine. I don't write often enough now and I can tell my handwriting is getting messy and I hate that. I love keeping it neat and pretty. I focused a lot of time on handwriting in high school. I write a lot like my mom who has really neat handwriting. But I recently found a font I'm obsessed with and I want to teach myself to write like that - so I'll do some practicing over the weekend while we're chillin' at the cabin!

HURRY HURRY, CHECK THIS OUT!!!

My Etsy shop has been updated with new items! I'm going to add a few more this evening....

But tonight ONLY if you order something by midnight you can get 25% off! Yes, 25%!

Use the coupon code MIDNIGHT25 for your discount!

Thank you in advance for your orders!

ETSY SHOP

Sunday Confessional V.3

21. Growing up I wasn't allowed to wear pants to church, ever. So now I sorta have this thing against wearing a dress to church! Lol! I guess it's a small rebellion. I don't really think about it but I find myself skipping a dress unless it's Easter!

22. My child looks nothing like. She may have my eye shape but that's overlooked most of the time. She looks more like my husband and a little like my sister. Most of the time when I'm out with Gi and my sister people will compliment my sister on her beautiful child and how she looks just like her! Lol! I always wondered if we would have had a second child if it would have gotten my dark hair and skin.

23. I'm terrified of heights - I panic and literally feel paralyzed. Last year my family rode the big Sky Tram up to Ober Gatlinburg in TN. It's basically a big glass cage a million feet up in the air on a little cable. And it swings and bumps around. I thought I was going to die - either the cable was going to break or I was just going to have a flippin' heart attack. I kept my eyes closed and just tried to breathe for the horribly long 20 minute ride.

24. Our Persian cat was a rescue. We got him right after we got married. I wanted a pet and B didn't but we went by Petsmart anyway and saw Gandalf. And after B realized he was already named after a Lord of the Rings character the deal was sealed! He ended up standing in line for him that evening. He was like 7 years old then so Oct. 1st of this year he turned the big 13! We have an old cat. lol!

25. B and I were married in the courthouse in Huntsville, AL. We of course wanted a wedding but my family wasn't really supportive of me marrying B or getting married at 18. So we started planning a small chapel wedding and I put $100 down on a beautiful dress. Then that wasn't working out either so we scratched it all and went to the courthouse and got married August 5th, two days after my parents anniversary (little side not - my parents, Beej and I and my sis and her husband were all married in August. And it wasn't really planned that way either.) So far neither my sis nor I had a real wedding. She was married on the beach - just her, her hubby, the minister and a photographer. My other sis I'm pretty sure will never get married.

26. My favorite cereal is Life cereal. Occasionally when I want a super sweet cereal I like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I also like Frosted mini wheats but I can't just pour them into my bowl, I have to set each one frosted side up in the bowl!

27. I've never broken a bone. I've had a couple of pretty nasty cuts and I busted my nose open when I was a like 7 or 8. I was riding my bike down a wet, muddy, graveled hill and I was going to fast so I slammed on my brakes and flew over the front and busted my nose open on the front tire. I think I may have broken it then because now my nose is crooked but it was never proven broken!

28. My dream job would be naming people's kids. No joke! I love names, I love researching names origins and meanings, etc. I think a lot of people (no all) really don't put enough effort into finding a name for their child. They go with whatever they've heard recently.

29. I studied Cosmetology after highschool. I was licensed and worked as as a stylist for a year before we moved back to NC, I got pregnant and haven't been back to work since!

30. I used to eat my steaks well done. Then I met my husband and he taught me the right way to eat a steak and I can't believe all the years I missed out on eating a steak in it's best, juiciest form. I worked my way up to Medium and recently went to medium rare. YUM!

Help is needed!

I know it's the holidays and every one is bit strapped for cash - we find ourselves in that boat quite often. Right now I haven't been able to find a job and we are living on one income. For the time being I am doing my best to get my shop, Pretty Nods, up and going well. I sold some items but my Etsy shop hasn't done as well as I hoped it would.

I really need to get $150 worth of my items sold by Thursday. I know it sounds like a lot but if I had 15 people make a $10 purchase I'd be at my goal!!! So as you are shopping around for gifts for your family and friends and co-workers please take a peek in my shop. You'll be helping me out so much and you'll be getting a great item in return! I'm offering a 10% discount for this week as well. Use the coupon code CHRISTMAS10

Thank you and please pass on the word!

ETSY SHOP

POLL Time - I want your opinion!

I'm contemplating a new tattoo and I need to choose a font for it. I'm also trying to talk my hubby into getting a "matching" one with me. He still doesn't have any tattoos and I want him to get one because it would be SO hot! Maybe you ladies should leave him a few comments and tell him he'd be smokin' with a tat and he'll go get one with me!!! Hehe (No, for realz, leave him some "love"!). But #1 is at the top and then go down. Which one do you like best?

Christmas List

So everyone is putting up their Christmas wish lists. I usually don't make much of a list. My family just kinda gets me whatever they want whether I send a list or not. Which is totally fine by me, I have a hard time narrowing down what I want especially because you don't want to put stuff on the list that's too expensive or over the top, etc. But these are a few things on my "wish list" for now.

A new tattoo!!! I'm dying for some new ink! Trying to talk my hubby into

"matching" tattoos.....we'll see. Lol!

Women's size 6.5 Black Stone Washed Cord Women's Classics

This family tree hand stamped necklace. LOVE!

(http://www.etsy.com/listing/76308202/handstamped-family-tree-charm-necklace?ref=sr_73513caf3aee632ccc963481094152b834d421f0edf0c171b23ce161b2f46722_1323264738_14101878_handstampe_necklace)

A Houndstooth iPhone cover.

An HOUR long hot stone massage! Yes, please!

Christina Perri's Lovestrong album. Listened to it last night and there isn't one song

I didn't like!

The rest of the Twilight series books. I only own Eclipse.

Spandex work out pants