Lincoln's 24 Birthday

Lincoln turned 24 on the 25^th and I was so excited to plan a little get together for him. Just family and our closest couple came because he had to work all that day and get up at 4:30 Sunday morning so I didn’t want to over-do it.  I talked to everyone and planned on having a get-together at our house after Lincoln got off.  We grilled burgers, my Mom made his cake, I ordered him the most original gift a month in advance and NEVER spilled the beans, hung out and just talked outside by the fire pit.  It was a great night and I am blessed to have celebrated this special time with my love. Sadly Lincoln's Mom was way under the weather and she wasn't able to make it and his sister dropped some things off but went to be with Connie.  We missed them a lot but understood the bad circumstances. 

Party Pics..a few.  I didn't really have my camera out any but my Mom got a few good ones.

me and the b-day boy....He didnt' take his work clothes off all night :(

Kaylynn, Lara, and Me

His cute curvy cake

Make a wish

SURPRISE!

I don't think he really knows what to think or do. LOL

Leap Year

Life's Little Moments

The past week or so little things have gone on or have made me laugh and I wanted to share.

v Lincoln loves watching WWE Raw on Monday nights. SOOO that means I get to love watch wrestling too (even if I don’t love it) Don’t get me wrong it is entertaining to say the least and at times so corny its hilarious. Sort of like watching a Jim Carey movie. LOL I have even come to like watching it because now I know all the characters and have my favorites but don’t think you’ll be peeping in my windows on a Monday night and catch me watching it while Lincoln isn’t home. Anyways Monday night the Rock made a "special" appearance and, as usual, was bashing John Cena and in his little smack down speech he called John a Kung Pao Bitch. LOL OMG it was hilarious!!  What is a KPB...well you have to watch wrestling to understand!

v My mom captured this loving moment on camera Saturday night at Lincoln ’s little birthday bash (more to come on that later). “Babe I think you have something in your teeth…here just let me get it…Ok now it’s gone..."

That's love

v For all of those employees who get to BLOG at Work I envy you! Our Internet is blocked and I remember back in the days of Iraq where I could blog a little here and there on my down time….boy all those posts that I posted!!! Oh well maybe one day I will be able to but as of now I’m left alone, in the dark of the night, blogging away like some creeper. ;)

v Ok so for like the past 2 weeks I have been noticing all these new vehicles ALL OVER the roads. Saturday Lara and I were running a few errands and I was telling her about how I’ve been noticing all these new vehicles and she thought and then agreed. We chalked it up to everyone getting tax refunds and then going out and blowing it on new cars. Well low and behold we were sitting at the house Saturday afternoon and Casey and Kaylynn pull up in a brand spankin’ new Toyota Highlander. I have been wanting a new car for a while but the time just hasn’t been right....or my checkbook ya know what I mean?  Like Casey & Kaylynn, I am a Toyota person as well and have been debating on when I do get a new ride if I wanted a Highlander or a 4-Runner…well I think their big purchase helped me make up my mind. I LOVE it and it drives great just like a car but you have the space and height of an SUV. Plus all the buttons this thing has a kid could go crazy in these things. LOL

I will have one!

v We have a new mouth to feed! Surprise Surprise right? Tyson, Lincoln ’s boxer finally came to live with us. Tyson and Hercules had a little brotherly spat right off on Monday when he arrived but Lincoln said after that it was smooth sailing. By the time I got home on Monday night they were BDFL (best dogs for life) Right now he is on a chain and that is breaking my heart so this weekend I’m going to try to find him a collar that will be compatible will Hercules’ invisible fence transmitter, that way he can roam with his brother and maybe loose a bit of his weight. 

v Check out this cute outfit I rocked all day Saturday. I wanted something casual, cute, and comfy since I knew I was going to be active and running errands all day plus entertaining that night. I may not be a fashionista but I was proud of my ensemble and I have another one that I plan on wearing Saturday to a wedding. Hopefully it will be as cute on as I have imagined!

v I booked my flight to San Diego tonight !!!!! J You’re asking WHAT FLIGHT TO SAN DIEGO? Well, I have all these frequent flier miles and frequent stays with a hotel that I have been dying to use and in April I’m going to use them! I had a seminar for work on President’s Day so we received a floating holiday in its place and I’m going to use it to make myself a three day weekend and jet set to Cali just me and myself. J More to come when it gets a bit closer and I have more than just my flight planned but I’m really excited to go exploring I haven’t been to San Diego since I was 5. I’m trying to decide which Marriott I want to stay in so I can maximize the use of the time.

Tuesday's Travel To Do- There's No Place Like Home

After the weekend I have had and since missing last week's post due to procrastination this week's Tuesday's Travel To Do is HOME!  Sometimes moving all around and living our day to day lives is tiring and the best thing for anyone is holing up in our comfortable homes and doing relaxing things.

So sorry folks if you were in for some awesome, exotic, vacay spot this week but I need rejuvination and I have it for you so you aren't going to be disappointed.

Without further ado all the makings you need for a relaxing stay at home!

Go HOME duh!!!! leave all your work and everything else in the driveway and just enjoy nothingness----

Spend a lot of time lounging in an awesome bed and bedroom like this-----

Have plenty of books so you can loose yourself in a fantasy land----

Have plenty of wine on hand----

The best way to relax is of course stuff you belly full of yummy comfort food.  My favorite is pasta!

and my all time favorite thing is baths...I take them when I'm cold, sick, sad, happy, too full from comfort food LOL, really any time is a good time for a bath

So grab your snuggies, books, remotes, and lock the doors because this is going to be AWESOME!

I wish you all a great rest of the week!

TV Jackpot

This Sunday and Monday I hit the

A few of these shows are just tack ons... I'm not really IN LOVE with one or two just really like them and some new seasons started this weekend and I'M loving them.

1. Khloe and Lamar....LOVE them!!! I love Khloe she is so outrageous and a good wife and Lamar is so nice and a sweet husband.

2. Ice Loves Coco.... NOT in love with them but they come on right after Khloe and Lamar so I go ahead and watch them.  They are another awesome couple who are funny and really different to say the least.

3. Bethany Ever After... LOVE her.  This woman is a powe house.  I mean she has so many irons in the fire and is hilarious and is so REAL.  She inspires me.

4. Gossip Girl...I've always been in love and this show isn't just premiering this season has been going since the fall but it's still as good as ever.  I mean it keeps twisting and turning and I don't know who I want to root for.

5. Pretty Little Liars....again not a new season premier but they keep me on the edge of the couch constantly and who cares if it's a high school show! I LOVE all the scandal.

6. The Amazing Race 20.... I have been addicted to this show since the first season every came on and this season is NO different.  I love it and I can't wait til I'm a few more weeks in and I decide who I'm going to root for.

Told ya... JACKPOT!  Just what I needed after the weekend I had. 

Happy Monday!

Hobby Farm in the Making

I am fully aware of my surroundings and that I DON”T live on a 600 acre dairy farm any longer BUT is that going to stop me from turning my 1 ACRE home into some what of a hobby farm?....

HECK NO! 

I have my garden which, as I have told, I’m ssssoooo excited about, my sprouts are growing like weeds and I know I’m going to be a successful vegetable farmer. 

On top of that I have been brainstorming about what else I could get over the past month or so. Most of my ideas have got shot down by Lincoln like the mini goat, pot bellied pig, and the guineas. I also suggested maybe we could get some chickens, then we could get eggs and they could get bugs out of the garden. That was shot down too…or so I thought.

Last week we were getting ready for the day and Lincoln asked me if I still wanted some chickens?! 

One of his friends was getting rid of the ones he had to make room for new ones. I said sure. I didn’t put much weight into it just because I knew Lincoln wasn’t keen on having a million farm animals running around the yard and I think he sort of thought I wouldn’t take responsibility for them and would leave it to him. LOL

But he worked out the coop plans over the weekend with one of our friends, gathered supplies from my parent’s house, and had a great coop built by Tuesday afternoon. 

I was thinking some little ramshackle chicken coop but NO SIR this thing is legit. 

Tuesday night Lincoln went off to buy and bring the chickens home. We got 2 roosters and 9 hens. 

One rooster came with a name, Gustar, and the other one we named Pete. 

Gustar

The hens aren’t named yet but I think my favorite one so far is a fat little brown one.

The first night Hercules didn’t know what to think so he sat and barked at his boundary towards the chickens ALL NIGHT LONG! I figured if I could get him used to them then he would leave them alone so the next night when I got home we were going to try it out. 

I pull into the drive way and Lincoln says didn’t you get my text…obviously it was an important one but I hadn’t got it. He said that when he went out to check the chickens had laid 5 eggs! 

We were so excited. 

We walked down to check them out and I brought a hen out in my arms to show to Herc and let him get a sniff. When I squatted down he was sniffing around and the hen started going crazy…this made Herc get really excited. After a few rounds of this he just stepped back still curious but not that interested.

I thought..hhmmm he doesn’t care much for them so I walked a few steps back to the coop and let the hen down on the ground and WOW it was on! 

Before I knew it the hen was running zig zag patterns and Herc was on the hunt. He got shocked and sent back to the house before he could sink his teeth in but the chicken was excited and still on the loose. It went behind the coop by the fence, Lincoln and I tried corralling it but it slipped out of my hands and through the neighbor’s fence.  UHHHGGG

So me, in my rubber boots and wind pants, hop the fence to chase catch the chicken.

It was a cluster to say the least. 

I was running back and forth trying not to bust my butt. 

FINALLY I grab the hen and give it to Lincoln to put away and then I hear a yell….I’M SURE GLAD YOU CAUGHT THAT THING YOU’RE FUN TO WATCH! I turn around and the neighbors were on their way out their driveway and had to stop and enjoy the show…. J I’m so glad I could provide entertainment for everyone.

Lincoln said when we were getting the coop and things together…."Now I’m getting you all this but the chickens and taking care of them is going to be on you." 

SURE

that has already changed and we are only in the first few days. He has talked to all his friends, researched on the internet, and gotten all these ideas how to make our chickens and the coop all it can be. LOL

He even put a fallen limb and an old tire in there for them to roost on and lay eggs in.

Needles to say we are loving our new additions and are very pleased that they are such great producers. 

Who knows what we’ll get into next!

Should vs Am

Ok this Saturday morning I got up around 7:45 and planned on going straight to the office after making myself a cup of coffee and plunging into my INTERNAL AUDITING homework so I can be done for the day. 

Let's just say that I got my coffee made....I'm now on my second cup and I did log into school but got side tracked over here. 

Go check out Rachael, who lives in Amsterdam with her fiance and travels all over. JEALOUS!  (about the traveling all over) 

Anywho, needless to say Rachael is WWAAYYY more intersting that auditing so that's about as far as I have gotten.

Plus ontop of checking out cool blogs my mind keeps slipping away to WHERE CAN I TRAVEL TO?  Now this is always on my mind but as of late it's REALLY on my mind.  I can credit my big tax refund to that....THANKS UNCLE SAM (for once). I am itching and scratching to go somewhere but main problem....no time off from work.

Sigh! Life is hard, I know. 

Ok so I'm going to finish learning about Rachael and lusting over her travels then I promise I'm going to burry myself in auditing.

Happy Saturday!

Spicing up Supper

I’ve been trying to broaden my supper menu and this week so far I think I have done a great job. I can’t keep from bragging about this meal, not because it’s so special and difficult to put together but because it is something new to me and is different from my day to day menu. Last night I made salmon patties or as Lincoln would call them salmon croquettes said in a really fancy almost proper British accent LOL J, black eyed peas, and …… mashed cauliflower. I heard about this in the kitchen at work a couple weeks back and have been itching to try it out. I have been trying to cook and eat healthier so I was really looking forward to this test run of something new and different. It turned out amazing and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t mind substituting mashed potatoes for mashed cauliflower every time. Don’t get me wrong I’m still very much a meat and potatoes type of girl but mashed potatoes could hit the road….but don’t hold your breath waiting on me to give up all other forms of potatoes. I made my cauliflower just like I would my potatoes…. Break into medium size florets, boil until fork tender, strain, and then mix with mixer using the same ingredients you would your potatoes. I also threw in a few cloves of garlic in my boiling pot to give it a bit of added flavor. I was so impressed and excited with my supper! It turned out better than I had hoped or even imagines cauliflower could. If you haven’t tried this give it a whirl I’m sure you will be as impressed as I was.

not my picture...stole it from pintrest

Other stuff on the menu…. Salmon steaks, broccoli rice of roni and green beans! YUMMO

 And this weekend I plan on making some variation of beef stew!! I’ll keep you posted.

I was so excited & surprised...

when I logged onto Amazon.com this past weekend to spend my Kindle gift cards and found that James Patterson is coming out with another Women's Murder Club novel!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am beyond excited and couldn't click that pre-order button fast enough.  It doesn't come out until May 7th but at least it's coming period. 

I thought that after the 10th book that was going to be it. 

 Out of all of James Patterson books this series is my favorite. 

I read them so fast and they just suck you in.  With the amount of gift cards I had racked up from Christmas I got to buy about 8 books and I am glad I had to pre-order the best one since I will want to save it for a last good read and savor every page. 

click on the pic and it will take you to Amazon.com so you can get your own copy!

What Amazon says about it (sounds so good):

Your best friendLindsay Boxer is pregnant at last! But her work doesn't slow for a second. When millionaire Chaz Smith is mercilessly gunned down, she discovers that the murder weapon is linked to the deaths of four of San Francisco's most untouchable criminals. And it was taken from her own department's evidence locker. Anyone could be the killer--even her closest friends.

Or a vicious killer?

Lindsay is called next to the most bizarre crime scene she's ever seen: two bodiless heads elaborately displayed in the garden of a world-famous actor. Another head is unearthed in the garden, and Lindsay realizes that the ground could hide hundreds of victims.

You won't know until the 11^th hour

Tuesday's Travel To Do- Austin, Texas & Surrounding Area

Keeping up with last week’s post on mini road trips and long weekend getaways this week’s Tuesday’s Travel To Do is an awesome little spot I found via Pintrest, Hamilton Pool Nature Preserve, in my very own state capital   Austin, Texas

A few facts from Wikipedia:

• Hamilton Pool Preserve is a natural pool that was created when the dome of an underground river collapsed due to massive erosion thousands of years ago.
• The pool is located about 23 miles (37 km) west of Austin, Texas off Highway 71.
• Hamilton Pool Preserve consists of 232 acres (0.94 km²) of protected natural habitat featuring a jade green pool into which a 50-foot (15 m) waterfall flows.
• The pool is surrounded by huge slabs of limestone that rest by the water's edge; large stalactites grow from the ceiling high above.
• The ceiling and surrounding cliffs of the grotto are home to moss, maidenhair fern and cliff swallows.
• Hamilton Pool is part of the Balcones Cayonlands Preserve and is a protected environment.

Park rules and fees:
         NO

1. fishing
2. mountain biking
3. camping
4. dogs or other pets
5. Cooking and fires are also not permitted
6. access to the pool and river requires a $10 Travis County Park entry fee

For updated swimming conditions please call (512) 264-2740 before you come.

 SWANKY if you’re a nature lover like me!  It’s like the Playboy mansion’s grotto but in Austin and out in the woods. J This travel to do comes just in time to plan a little weekend getaway as summer is only a few months away, which sends me into a panic since I’m nowhere near bikini ready!

 Also while you’re there and swimming at the preserve is surely only to take one day check out some other sites in Austin.

 Awesome nightlife: check out 6^th Street

History: check out the state capitol building

In for some culture, Austin is known for its music scene and is all over no matter the time of year.

You could also explore Austin on a fun Segway tour but watch out because those things will FLY!  I have first hand experience. http://www.glidingrevolution.com/Tours.aspx

Animal Love

DIY: Second Mantle

I had been wanting to add something to my living room that I could put more pictures on that didn't entail me hanging them all over my walls.  I thought of a great solution.  I love the way I have my fireplace mantel decorated so I thought hhhhmmmm I could hang a mantel above my TV on the big red wall and it would be the perfect and final addition to my decor. 

I was in Longview a couple weeks back and stopped by Lowes to see if they had what I was looking for.  Indeed they did.  I got a mantel and two decorative corbels.  A couple weeks after that I finally got around to painting it all and last weekend Lincoln hung it for me and minutes later I had it decorated. :) 

I love the way it turned out!  I love what it adds to my living room!  I feel like my living room is complete!

Corbels after painting them white

all pieces painted and ready to go

Before

In mid-update

Decorative jar I filled with leftover floral scraps

I love this little crown that I got from Hobby Lobby

Also got some really good frames and this little bird too

TADA all done and I love it