Hair Tutorials

22 December 2011

procrastination rewarded

pfffttt.  we are going to mexico this weekend & my swimsuits are 6+ yrs old & falling apart

who sells swimsuits in december!?


yayyyyy victoria's secret has clearance swimsuits & free 2 day delivery


 i'm so happy!! ...


... that my head shrank!


what are you looking at 


& what the hell is wrong w/ you

don't judge me.





06 November 2011

i love lamp


i upgraded our bedroom lamps to something warm & cosy.  grant thought they were a bit girly...



... until i did this!


he was so amazed.  he even thought i had planned it out just for the gnome.
he thought i had measured and bought these particular lamps solely because the gnome fit.
i had been eyeing glass lamps like these for a few years.  the lamps from pottery barn are
really pretty, but super expensive and you can only put personal keepsakes in them 
from the small top opening.  these lamps from world market  are perfect for me.

i love you, grant.  



04 November 2011

friday night

we stayed in to paint the trim and instead we expressed ourselves through art.

we had a contest to see who could draw a better bo from memory without looking.


annnnd then we had a contest to see who could draw bo better while looking at him.


the bottom right drawing looks like a police sketch. 
"ma'am please describe who stole all of the hot dogs."



31 October 2011

happy halloween!

my sister-in-law and brother-in-law came over to carve pumpkins with us!

grant & his big (little) sister


bobo has become brave enough to climb under the table...
if he knows it will result in food or pets



our pumpkins!!



bobo admiring his special pumpkin.
he thought it said "boo" at first, but then he was
so overjoyed when he realized it said his name.


bobo's pumpkin instagram'd


our little angel heading to meet his friends on halloween!

23 October 2011

boiler up - my favorite part



play music with a loud train in the background
and pretend to be a train chugging along the tracks.

grant probably wouldn't agree....
but this is the best part of being a boilermaker and going to a purdue home game.

i love the fall!!!

chugga chugga chugga chugga, choo choooooo.

boiler up, hammer down!
(who came up with this whole thing anyway!?)

21 October 2011

i love you, lap dog

if you sit on the floor, he will back that thing up.

God made a dog just for me and his name is beauregard, aka bubba.

16 October 2011

bo's favorite game

after working all day
and staining the deck all night,
bobo always makes us laugh!!

05 October 2011

new job

i got a new job!

here are some pictures that tell the story.


cute note from grant the morning of my 1st interview.



that morning in the airport i found this cute note grant 
put in my "briefcase"



for encouragement, i had stashed a few pictures in my bag.

grant did a sneak attack and wrote on my picture too.
when my friend melissa was helping me prep for the 
interview she told me to show my #'s and say 
"the proof is in the pudding".
when i got home i told grant about this funny new cliche i learned




flight home after interviewing




two days later, i accepted the offer.
i tried to meet my boss in person to put in my two weeks
unfortunately i had to tell him over the phone b/c he was busy.
cute bobo laid in my lap while i broke up with my old company after a 4+ year relationship.


and then grant and i went to dinner to celebrate our new positions!!!
(big guy took a new job the same month!!)


time to study, study, study
i thought it was funny that the library had this sign on their restroom door.


i didn't have a car during home study because my old company took the company car back
and my new company doesn't give you a new car until you pass training.

so here i was.

i spent a few evenings with my sisters preparing for my sis priscilla's baby shower.
and my cute sis rachelle let me crash with her and drive her mini van to the library one day to study.


can't focus.

bobo helping me study at home.


who knew!?  

when we adopted bo we had no idea that
he was a rhodes scholar. 

he even had an ascot & geeky chic glasses!





21 September 2011

hamster car

right now i have a kia soul rental car for work. 
guilty confession - i think the kia soul hamster 
commercial is perfection.  if you don't smile while
you're watching it... i don't even know. i'm horrible at comebacks.


so it killed me when bo climbed into the drivers seat while i was loading samples in the back.


gp was not amused.  he quickly retrieved bo as i snapped pictures.


you can get with this, or you can get with that.


for your viewing pleasure....





09 September 2011

mastiff family portrait


i found bo's family portrait.

i imagine him as the little
stinker in the middle.  

maybe i will buy the photo
from the photographer and 
frame it for bobo.

i think i found my calling.

first - buy a good camera.
second - learn how to use it.


my favorite season







02 September 2011

'til death do us part

GOD BLESS AMERICA



"LOVE BELIEVES THE BEST

[Love] believes all things, hopes all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7

in the deep and private corridors of your heart, there is a room.  it's called the appreciation room.  it's where your thoughts go when you encounter positive and encouraging things about your spouse.  and every so often, you enjoy visiting this special place.

on the walls are written kind words and phrases describing the good attributes of your mate.  these may include characteristics like "honest" and "intelligent", or phrases like "diligent worker," " wonderful cook," or "beautiful eyes."  they are things you've discovered about your husband or wife that have embedded themselves in your memory.  when you think about these things, your appreciation for your spouse begins to increase.  in fact, the more time you spend meditating on these positive attributes, the more grateful you are for your mate.

most things in the appreciation room were likely written in the initial stages of your relationship.  you could summarize them as things you liked and respected about your loved one.  they were true, honorable, and good.  and you spent a great deal of time dwelling on them in this room.... before you were married.  but you may have found that you don't visit this special room as often as you once did.  that's because there is another competing room nearby.

down another darker corridor of your heart lies the depreciation room, and unfortunately you visit there as well.

on its walls are written the things that bother and irritate you about you spouse. these things were placed there out of frustration, hurt feelings, and the disappointment of unmet expectations.

this room is lined with the weaknesses and failures of your husband or wife.  their bad habits, hurtful words, and poor decisions are written in large letters that cover the walls from one end to the other.  if you stay in this room long enough, you get depressed and start expressing things like, "my wife is so selfish," or "my husband can be such a jerk." or maybe,"i think i married the wrong person."

some people write very hateful things in this room.  where tell-off statements are rehearsed for the next argument.  emotional injuries fester here, adding more scathing remarks to the walls.  it's where ammunition is kept for the next big fight and bitterness is allowed to spread like a disease.  people fall out of love here.

but know this.  spending time in the depreciation room kills marriages.  divorces are plotted in this room and violent plans are schemed.  the more time you spend in this place, the more your heart devalues your spouse.  it begins the moment you walk in the door, and your care for them lessens with every second that ticks by.

you may say,"but these things are true!" yes, but so are the things in the appreciations room.  everyone fails and has areas that need growth.  everyone has unresolved issues, hurts, and personal baggage.  this is a sad aspect of being human.  we have all sinned.  but we have this unfortunate tendency to downplay our own negative attributes while putting our partner's failures under a magnifying glass.

let's get down to the real issue here.  love knows about the depreciations room and does not live in denial that it exits.

but love chooses not to live there.

you must decide to stop running to this room and lingering there after every frustrating event in your relationship.  it does you no good and drains the joy out of your marriage.

love chooses to believe the best about people.  it gives them the benefit of the doubt.  it refuses to fill in the unknowns with negative assumptions.  and when our worst hopes are proven to be true, love makes every effort to deal with them and move forward.  as much as possible, love focuses on the positive.

it's time to start thinking differently.  it's time to let love lead your thoughts and your focus.  the only reason you should glance in the door of the depreciation room is to know how to pray for your spouse.  and the only reason you should ever go in this room is to write "COVERED IN LOVE" in huge letters across the walls.

it's time to move into the appreciation room, to settle down and make it to your home.  as you choose to meditate on the positives, you will learn that many more wonderful character qualities could be written across these walls.  your spouse is a living, breathing, endless book to be read.  dreams and hopes have yet to be realized.  talents and abilities may be discovered like hidden treasure.  but the choice to explore them starts with a decision by your.

you must develop the habit of reining in your negative thoughts and focusing on the positive attributes of your mate.  this is a crucial step as you learn to lead your heart to truly love your spouse.  it is a decision that you make, whether they deserve it or not."

the love dare, day 7 



"even when i've hated you i've loved you... you know what that means if you're married." - steve carell in crazy stupid love (i know... deep)

i love you.  til death.




31 August 2011

cliches scmiches

when we were first dating grant was sooo excited because 
he brought me a gift.  he held it behind his back with the biggest 
smile on his face and told me that he was so proud of himself 
because he bought me the most thoughtful gift.

"what is it!?!?" i couldn't wait!

it was this book...




he said he wanted to help me because i typically say my cliches wrong. (ok, it's true)

for example:

nip it in the butt
no need to beat a horse
like a bowl in a china shop
play it by year
i'm at the end of my straw


i usually have the right idea.  anyway, thanks honey.
we have referenced this book many times to find out the 
history of different cliches.  it's actually very interesting.
 it helps me in the work place?

actually my recent boss melissa taught me a few new
cliches like "the proof is in the pudding" 
(yes, i looked it up in my book even though i could've used "the google").  
she also taught me some funny old timey phrases/words that
she probably picked up from her cute father... like "hunkerin"?


25 August 2011

bon iver

i was a little anxious so i ran ahead.
then i had to stop in my
tracks to catch grant when he didn't
think i was looking & appreciate him.
he takes care of me.





made it...



































he played my two favorite songs.
(i found them on youtube recorded by a stranger who attended the indy show too.
i took some videos myself but, believe me, no one wants to see them.  i like to groove.  this makes the camera blurry and shaky.  thank you, stranger.  next time, i'll leave the videography up to you.)


blood bank


and, of course, skinny love.
i adore the way he did this live. 
you won't regret watching it.
if you only have 1 minute,
start half way through.


buy his album.  

23 August 2011

won't you be my neighbor

our neighbors are always spoiling us with delicious things.
they have shared things like smoked ribs, home made beef jerky,
smoked salmon, bakers bourbon, chocolate wine, steaks, etc.
they even had us over when dee's chef brother was in town. 
he made this amazing multiple course dinner with alcohol pairings.

while grant was in china for one month not only 
did they have me over for dinner, but they also dropped
off "to go" dinner plates unexpectedly.

check out dee's little foot print. 
she rang the doorbell and ran.
love her.


this year they have had an amazing yield of tomatoes.
and they are SO YUMMY.

here are a few of my favorite tomato dishes...

wedge salad.


tomatoes and cottage cheese.


BLT.


avocado & tomato w/ toast.


tomato snack.


and yes, more wedge salads.


thank you lee & dee!

lee is bo's bff-eva.


speaking of tomatoes...  
this is grant standing next to his mother's
tomato plant back in july.  i can only imagine how 
big it is now! (grant is 6'4")


personally, our tomatoes are still green.  but that's ok :)