So excited about this weekend!

We had a change of plans last night. Originally, we were going to spend Saturday at the Renaissance Festival and then spend Sunday and Monday on the lake. A few friends, Josh and I decided that we would go camping on an island in the middle of the lake instead. Our friend found the perfect place last night and started setting up. We will spend all weekend outside now. We will spend the nights around the campfire and spend the days on the boat!

The best part is that we finally get to use our new tent!
This tent is awesome! (It is a Coleman) It even has a hinged door! :) I thought it would be fall before we could use it. I am so excited!

I will be back early next week with pictures!

Happy Memorial Day!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for a GREAT day. People tried to ruin my GREAT day but it was just so damn great that there was no way they were going to ruin it!

I needed today and the good Lord blessed me with it. What an awesome person He is. And to top it off, Josh and I paid off more debt. We are down to 1 bill and we will be debt free.

I am so ready for the weekend. More Renaissance Festival and 2 whole days on the lake. It's a good thing because I am a little too pale for my taste! Bring on the sun!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wishful Wednesday

I am a swimsuit whore. It goes without saying that I stalk the Victoria's Secret website for clearance swimsuits because not only am I a swimsuit whore, but to make matters worse, I will NOT buy anything if it is not on sale. I spent 3 hours on their website last night and found all these gems that I wish I could have. I think I will have to be selfish and get a couple of them.

Victoria's Secret Website










The problem is that I cannot decide which ones to purchase. Can I have them all please? :)

Creative Juices

I LOVE scrapbooking, card-making and stampin'.

These are two cards that I made tonight.

Baby Shower


Graduation
Both of these were made completely from scratch starting with 1 single white piece of cardstock.

I am about to start another scrapbook of the wedding for Josh's grandfather. I am pretty excited about it!

Our Menu

I discovered a few months back that I was so tired of Josh coming home and asking what's for dinner. I was tired of it taking an hour in a half to figure out what we were having for dinner. It became such a huge production in our house. It came to the point where we would just eat frozen pizzas because it was 8:00 before we could come to some sort of decision of what to eat and by that time I said screw it, I'm not cooking.

I decided one night that I would write a menu a week at a time and put it on the refrigerator. I told myself and Josh that it was set in stone. It would not change unless something last minute came up like an impromptu dinner and drinks with friends.

We have done fairly well with this menu. We have been at this for about 6 weeks now and not only has it cut down on the "what's for dinner" production, but I now go into the grocery store prepared with a list and a budget. I *try* to stick to that list and budget. I am a sell girl so if something is on a major sell, than I stock up. It's the smart thing to do. :)

I have also discovered that doing the menu, grocery list and budget has made us eat healthier. I have incorporated more fresh food such as broccoli and asparagus into the menus. I am also not cooking the same thing over and over and am getting more recipes and trying new things.

For instance, this is this week's menu:

Saturday: grilled hamburgers, fries, and pasta salad
Sunday: chicken cordon bleu, cream corn, asparagus and rolls
Monday: salsbury steaks, mashed potatoes and mushrooms
Tuesday: Fajitas
Wednesday: Campbell's Chicken*, steamed rice, steamed broccoli and pasta sides
Thursday: Spaghetti and garlic bread

*I don't know the technical name for this dish but it is pretty much chicken breasts, a couple different Campbell's soups and cheese. It is amazing and Josh was definitely surprised when I made it.

I have never been adventurous with food so I like to stick to basic meats and vegetables. As I get more comfortable in the kitchen, I am sure that I will be open to more adventurous food and recipes. Until then, I am keeping it simple. I am still learning to cook. :)

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for a couple different things:

My House
I realized last night, as I was complaining about cleaning the stupid thing, that I should be thankful that I still have a house. Most of the time, I take my house for granted thinking that it will always be there.
So I am thankful for the house. I am thankful that it is still standing after the flood especially after so many people that I know lost everything. I am thankful that I can go home each day and sleep in my own bed because so many people don't have that luxury. It really is a luxury right now to have a bed, much less a house of your own right now.

Cookbooks
As silly as it sounds, I am thankful for cookbooks. If it weren't for cookbooks, my husband and I would, more than likely, starve to death or gain 500 pounds eating frozen pizza and chicken nuggets.

What are you thankful for today?

My First Blog Award

I have been so out of the loop in my blogger world. Tonight I took the time to sit down and catch up on all the blogs that I follow.

I found this to my surprise. I gasped out loud, seriously. I was so surprised.

Mchupie over at ...And Baby Makes Three gave me this wonderful award! Thanks so much girlie!
I would love to pass this onto these lovely blogs:

JennyBee @ ::A Little Something Special::
Katie @ Ditching the Fat Girl
Lindsay @ Lindsay Loves It All
Katie @ Love and Lattes
Mrs. T @ Whats New With Mrs. T

Time for bed...Good Night All!

Wishful Wednesday

A couple of weeks ago Josh and I watched the movie "Couple's Retreat". Ever since watching that movie, I have had the deepest desire to go to Tahiti. I have never really had any desire to go on luxurious vacations. Camping or the beaches of Destin, Panama City, and Daytona Beach, Florida are more my thing. I know... *gasp*...who ever would have thought I would prefer to be in the woods roughin' it? Yes, I actually hang up the high heels every once in a while.

Thanks to that *wonderful* movie, I have been constantly thinking and researching going to Tahiti. It is absolutely beautiful and the fact that I can stay in a tiki hut type thing is even better! Not to mention, the water is abso-freakin-lutely gorgeous!

So with all that said, I wish to be able to go to Tahiti in the next 2 years. I guess this is more of a wish and a goal. We will see if it actually happens though. Josh and I have talked about it briefly but alcohol was involved so I think we need to have a serious, sober conversation about it soon.


Hope you are having a great day!

This past weekends adventures...

WOW! This past weekend was busy. Josh and I went non-freakin-stop both Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday was AWESOME! Josh and I spent the entire day together out and about. This is something that normally doesn't happen. We woke up early and started our day. We got our free tetanus shots provided by our city. We both have done some serious flood clean-up and have been scratched a few times so we decided that it would be in our best interest to take advantage of the free tetanus shots. Let me be the first to tell you, IT SUCKED! I am terrified of needles (but yet don't mind tattoos) and couldn't even bare to look at the freakin' thing. MY ARM IS SO SORE STILL!

After our tetanus shots, we went shopping and racked up on some khaki shorts for Josh. We got him 5 pairs for about $60 at Ross. I love that place! They have great, name brand clothes for AMAZING prices. I was truly surprised at what we got for the price.

After a couple more shopping trips to various places, we headed to the Renaissance Festival. WE LOVE THAT PLACE and can't resist going each year. It is so much fun and definitely a different experience then what we are normally used to. We love watching the (real) Joust and the Human Chess game. The costumes there are awesome. I secretly wish I could be the queen of the Renaissance Festival. She gets to wear an amazing costume complete with hoop skirt and make-up. Josh goes for the beer, I think. The Ren Fair is one of the very few occasions that he drinks during the day and he takes full advantage of it.

This is one of the few pictures that I got at the Ren Fair. We decided that we are going to go back the last weekend this month with some friends so I will, for sure, get more pictures of various things besides Josh and I. The last weekend is also the final Joust that is the most entertaining and about an hour long so I'm sure I will have a ton of pictures from that too.

Saturday night I had my first shot of Patron. It was an experience as well and I think that I will be keeping some at the house for all occasions now. So, thanks Ms. Teresa for sharing your Patron with me. Love you bunches!

Josh and I spent Sunday helping with flood clean-up at his dad and step-moms rental property in Murfreesboro. The flood was on May 1st and they were not able to get to the house until May 11th. The house sat in water for that long and still had water in it until the end of the week. His dad had to build a bridge to get from the street to the house on the 11th. Everything in the house had to be ripped out. My knees hate me today. They are red and swollen. BOO!!! I spent the majority of yesterday ripping up flooring and taking the insulation out from underneath the floor that was still soaking wet. That shit is heavy in case you were wondering and sticks to high heavens!

This picture was taken a week after the flood.


By the way, this house was FULLY renovated as of November 1, 2009 and exactly 6 months later, the flood came and my in-laws have to start completely over from scratch AGAIN!

I am glad that I had an eventful weekend but boy am I exhaustated and sore!

Happy Monday everyone and I hope you all have a great week!

Thankful Thursday

Today, I am thankful for Starburst.

Starburst has been my daily snack. Since I don't eat lunch, I run next door to the little market next to my work and get some Starburst everyday. They keep me going and they are only $.85. :)


I am also thankful for this girl.


This little girl(on the right) has stuck with me for the last couple of years through everything. She has so graciously listened to me bitch, moan, and complain. She has celebrated with me. She has listened to me and she has respected all my decisions.

This girl is awesome! I love my Teresa!

What are you thankful for today?

Wishful Wednesday

I wish this day would hurry the hell up.

Doesn't time realize that I want to go home, cook dinner and than proceed to whoop my husbands ass at some Wii? I mean that is a total reasonable wish, right?

On a serious note, the Wii is an amazing invention. I urge everyone to go get one. I got my ass kicked with the boxing portion of the sports game that comes with the console. I never work out which is probably why I couldn't move my arms the next day! If you don't like going to the gym than I would definitely invest in one of these.

I hope everyone has a great day! Love you all!

What's left...

First off...Happy Mother's day! I have no idea what I would do without my mother. She has always stuck by me and is my biggest fan. I love her so much!

I have spent the better part of the last week in Bellevue demolishing stuff after the flood that hit the Middle Tennessee area on May 2nd.

Words cannot describe the destruction that was left. The pictures don't do it justice either.

Below are some pictures of what is left...

The pictures below are of my friend Tommy's parents house. I spent the better part of 5 years at this house. Everything was ripped out, including sub-floor, drywall, carpet, hardwood floors, furniture was thrown out and everything in between. It is truly devastating.

This is the neighbors barn that used to be in the back of the house...


Tommy felt that we needed to have a little humor...

COLD BEER ANYONE?????
EVERYTHING' S A $1.00




Finally, I broke my own rule. I always said that it should be illegal to wear boots with shorts but I guess there is an exception to every rule. And yes, I have owned these boots for years. I got that question so many times this week. I guess people didn't expect me to own a pair of steel toe work boots.



I ask that everyone continue to pray for these families. It will take them years to rebuild. The volunteers have come from near and far and are greatly appreciated. The homeowners haven't had to worry about food or water because of the gracious restaurants that have come out to support the community. I have seen first hand why Tennessee is called the Volunteer State. It has been a humbling experience working with the clean up efforts.

I hope everyone has a great week!

The poor Grand Ole Opry

This historic landmark is no longer a landmark...

This is all so sad!

Flood 2010

This past weekend has been hell. I said good-bye to my brother as he was leaving for Afganistan. I get home from Kentucky to find that my area is flooded. This has been a 3 day event and is only getting worse.

Here are some pictures of the area:

2nd Avenue downtown next to Joe's Crabshack

Downtown

The Publix grocery store close to my parents house
The street I drove down almost every day that I lived in Bellevue


LP Field where the Titans play


Part of my in-laws land in Murfreesboro. They do have tenants that live on the front 1/2 acre (13 acres of land total)of this land and the picture of the house below was taken about mid-day Sunday. Today, is Monday and the house is now almost covered with water.


I go under this bridge everyday. This is about a mile from my house.

My parents live in one of the hardest hit areas called Bellevue. So many of my high school friends and families have lost everything. I am in so much disbelief at all of this. I can't even wrap my mind around everything that is going on. So many people are affected by this in all areas of Middle Tennessee.

I will continue to post pictures as they are available. I just ask everyone to pray for everyone in Nashville and the surrounding area.