Galentine's Tea

   Happy belated Valentine's Day! I received a desk full of Valentine's from my first graders, got to see my parents, and enjoyed dinner and dessert (chocolate cake!) with my Valentine.
   I dunno if you watch Parks and Rec, (you're missing out!!!) but Leslie Knope has a little holiday she celebrates called Galentine's Day. A day to celebrate your lady friends and your friendship with them. Valentine's Day to me, has always been, not just a couple's holiday, but a day to make your friends feel special and loved. I decided to have a little Galentine's Day tea party. What lady doesn't love a tea right?

 

   We feasted on cucumber sandwiches, cheese, scones and jam, cookies, and fruit salad. We laughed, and talked, and sipped tea, and ate way too much. It was a pretty delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. 

Christmastime Instagrams

   Christmas just goes by way too fast. That's why I pan to leave my decorations up until at least Jan. 5th (12 days of Christmas folks).
   I figured I'd just share a few of my Christmas Instagrams... baking cookies, pretty things and wonderful smells at the Fresh Market, my grandparents' tree on Christmas Eve, gifts from my sweet husband, an Anthro gift card!!, and Brandon wearing the shirt and tie I gave him for Christmas.

2013 Goals

   Happy 2013! I really can't believe 2012 is over and done with (and by the way, where did Christmas go?!?). Considering the fact that I slept till 10:30 today, watched at least 20 episodes of The Office, snuggled with my husband and kitties, and cooked some chili in the crockpot, I'd say today was a great start to this new year.
  I'm not a New Years Resolution kinda person, but I did make some goals. I anticipate goal one as being the most challenging but two and three are definitely more important :o)

Goal 1: Wake up a tad earlier so I don't feel like such a hotmess at work every day. This includes putting on mascara and doing something to my hair other than wearing it in a ponytail every day.

Goal 2: Keep up with my prayer journal. I recently started this and plan to record my prayer request as well as when my prayers are answered. It's an awesome reminder that God DOES answer the prayers of His children.

Goal 3: Be thankful for all I've been blessed with. I'm a bit of a "Negative Nancy." I view myself as more of a realist, but I admit that I sometimes focus on the negative rather than all the Lord has blessed me with. I wanna change that.

Our Kitty Cat

   Meet the newest member of our family and one whom has truly stolen our hearts. Her name is Riley. I came across this precious kitten on pet finder.com one day. I email the lady who'd rescued her, we went and met her, and a few weeks later (on my birthday) she came to live with us. 

    The sweet lady we adopted her from rescued her when she was just a wee little baby and only weighed about a pound. She had been tossed out of a car window on a nearby highway. She was shaking with fear and her face was all scraped up and hurt. Her rescuer took her in, paid for her to be all fixed up, and then gave her up for us to love. I will be forever grateful to her rescuer and thankful that the Lord protected our little kitty on that dangerous road.

   It's a tad ridiculous how much we love this cat. She sleeps with us, snuggles with us, watches TV with us, and...sometimes eats with us. She has a wild amount of energy, but is ready to purr and snuggle in our arms at a moments notice. She's pretty much perfect :o)

Our Home

   Well, we've been living in our own house for almost two months now. Each day it feels more like home and last weekend we had our first gathering.
   We've made so many changes including bamboo flooring, painting four rooms, hanging blinds and curtains, and all kinds of other things. My parents have told me that I'll probably never feel like the house is "finished," but I'm ok with that. I love home improvement projects.
   Today I just wanted to share a few snapshots of our little abode.