Tuesday, February 23, 2010

My Pantry Decrapification

I think I would be lost without Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick.   I can't go a day without looking on her blog to see what she is up to!!! Check her out. You'll love her too!

Recently she posted about cleaning out her pantry.  She called it "decrapification".....and who doesn't need to decrapify their pantry?!?

 I ran to the Dollar Tree and grabbed a few baskets, came home and went to work!!

This is what I had to work with.....yikes!


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Yes, I know. It's pitiful.

No excuses.

BUT.....after 30 minutes, I had it looking like THIS....

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I even made little labels for things and tied on to the wire...this way, my husband has excuse for not putting something back in it's place! :)
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Now, I even have extra space!!! YAY!
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Now, it's your turn to get your decrapification ON!!!!!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

R.I.P. My Sweet Tobie....

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Tobie
July 21, 1999 - February 17, 2010

Yesterday, we suddenly lost our Yorkie named Tobie.  Ryan got Tobie for me as a birthday present the first year we were married (1999), so we had Tobie with us 10 and 1/2 years.

Without going into alot of detail, Tobie was fine yesterday morning....he cuddled up next to me on the couch as I did my blog, Brooke and I threw his toy for him over and over mid morning, and he played in the backyard whie we ran errands around lunch time.  Around 12:30 we returned and Brooke was finishing up her nuggets from Chick Fil A.  Tobie was doing all he could to try to steal one out of her hand.   Within 5 minutes, Tobie was gone.
Brooke found him laying on the floor by the back door (a popular spot for him to rest). I saw her petting him saying, "Awww, mommy look. Tobie is sleeping."

I called the vet who let me bring him in to do an examination.  My first thought was that Brooke fell on him. When I asked her what happened, she kept telling me he was sleeping when she found him.....when we heard from the vet he said there were no signs of trauma to his neck or back (ruling out that Brooke had any part in his death).  It appears he had a heart attack......my other thought is that he got one of those nuggets from Brooke and choked on it....we may never know.

All I know, is my little buddy is gone.

My first "child".

Sorta.

I am taking this alot harder than I ever thought I would. I am missing his warm little 8 pound body curled up next to me as I type this, and his sweet gurgling-like sound he would make when he was happy to see you. 

We were buddies.

He loved me.

...and I loved him.

But I have some great memories of Tobie over the last 10 years.....

and I hope he's in doggy heaven right  now with fond memories of the family that loved him so for over 10 years.

R.I.P. my sweet Tobie.

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Tucker , Faith and Tobie in 2003
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Brooke giving Tobie a hug in 2007
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I took this as Tobie was a headed out to the groomer a few months ago
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Tobie loved hanging around Brooke when she was eating....he knew she would eventually drop something for him....
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Miss you Mr. Tobes!!!!



Wednesday, February 17, 2010

FREE DIY Plate Hangers!!!!

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Recently, I repainted my kitchen and changed up it's look (pictures to follow soon)

I have seen several blogs where people have hung plates on the wall, and I had never tried it.

I went to a few places looking for plate hangers, and couldn't find any for less than $3 a piece...and I had 8 plates I wanted to hang....that's at least $24 for plate hangers.

I am too cheap  just couldn't see spending all that $$$ on something no one would ever see.

So, I came across Diane's blog at Inmyownstyle .  She showed me how to make a DIY plate hanger!! Thank you Diane!!


All you need is a hot glue gun, paper clips and sandpaper!!!

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Just rub some sandpaper on the back of the plate in the spot where you want to put the paperclip ( this helps the paperclip and glue "hold" on to eachother better).

Bend the paperclip just a little bit and hot glue one side of the paperclip to the plate.

Let it dry.

Put another layer of glue on the dried hot glue.

There  you have it.....a FREE plate holder!!! What could be better than FREE????


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Stay tuned for pictures of my completed kitchen....still waiting to find a few more decorative items....



Monday, February 15, 2010

Running & Playing In The Snow

WHAT A WEEKEND!!!!

This weekend was a big weekend for us.....after months of training, it was the weekend for Ryan's first half-marathon.   For those of you who don't know, a half marathon is 13.1 miles......that's alot of running, and takes months of training to be able to do it. 

So on Friday, we headed to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for the Dasani Half Marathon.  Friday night they held a 5K, which is what I like to run. I am not a fast runner, and after 3 miles I start to get really bored, so I really enjoy the 5K's. 

We got to the start line of the race on Friday night and the snow started falling...just a little bit at first. Here I am with my girls at the starting line...

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You can see a few snowflakes in the picture, but not too bad....

Then the race started....and so did the heavy snow.

Now, keep in mind I have been training on a treadmill since December because I hate running in the cold weather....yep, that's right, I'm a wimp.....

But there was no turning back, so, the race started and I made up my mind that this was probably the ONLY time in my life I would run in a race with it snowing.... so, with a smile on my face I took off running...and I don't think I quit smiling for 3.1 miles!!!



 Here I am at the 1.6 mile mark!!!
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Seeing my husband and girls at the half way point really gave me a GREAT boost to continue on!!!  LOOK AT THE SNOW!!!!!!!
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Believe it or not, running in freezing cold temperatures was not bad at all. After the first 5 minutes I wasn't cold anymore.  The worst part was sucking snowflakes up my nose and getting poked in the eye by them (that hurts!).....

I actually finished with a great time (for me)..29:13

However, the snow got really heavy (who would have thought it would SNOW at the beach??) and by late Friday night, they made the decision to cancel Ryan's half marathon.....needless to say, he was very disappointed. All that training for nothing!!!! So, we are looking for another half marathon close by for him to run in!


Our next race is the Cooper River Bridge Run on March 27th. It's a 10 K (6.2miles) and 1 mile of it is uphill. YIKES!!! My training for it starts today!


Instead of running in a half marathon on Saturday, we bundled up and headed out in the parking lot of the hotel where we were staying. We found some snowy areas and let the girls play in the snow until their hearts were content. This was the very first time either girl has seen snow, so they were just beside themselves!!

Brooke was a little hesitant at first....gotta looks a deer caught in the headlights..

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But she quickly warmed up and was all smiles!
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Faith was all excited about making snowballs and throwing them at everyone!
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Even Brooke got into the snowball fight....
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Look at that look on her face.... I am pretty sure I got hit with that snowball in her hand just a few seconds after I took this....
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They did hand stands.....
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....and flips....
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....even took a little break to eat a little snow....
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I'm not sure who had more fun....the girls, or me watching them have fun. The smiles on their faces is priceless!!!!
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Have a great week!!!!!




Monday, February 8, 2010

My Soldier

The hubby is away at 3 weeks worth of Army training right now, preparing for a year long deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan (we aren't sure which one yet).  In June, he will head over the pond for, yet, another year long tour of duty.  He's only a National Guardsman, but I am not sure there is any real difference anymore between guardsmen and active duty soldiers, since the guardsmen/reservists are deploying just as much as the active duty.  This will be the second time he will spend 400 days away from me and our girls....and the second time I will be absolutely lost and heartbroken for 400 days.  
Between now and the next 3 months he will only be home a week or two at a time between various training exercises, so I am extremely aware that our time together is short before heads off to war...again....so literally, EVERY second I can spend with him, I will...
I really wish this was a bad dream I could wake up from.  My heart breaks thinking about not having my husband home for over a year....it's just not fair...and I know I sound like a child....but it's just not fair.

So, please say a little prayer...for him. for me. for our girls...and for any soldier you may know out there.  For every soldier at war, there is a family back home missing them and praying for their safe return.

In the mean time, take a peek at my handsome soldier during one of his training exercises...he's the one on the far right.....
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Friday, February 5, 2010

A Book Worth Reading Over & Over

I am in love with my new book....
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Shutterfly always has a deal going on....and they always do a good job AND ship your item to you fast!!! I HEART Shutterfly.
Recently, I compiled all of the pictures I had taken in 2009...well, not ALL of them since I took so many, but I did pick out my favorites from throughout the year.  I uploaded them to Shutterfly, and created a photo book titled "A Year In Review".  Books range in price from $12 - $55 depending on the size you want.  You can add or take away pages to the book, and pick out backgrounds. It even allows to you add text to the pictures.  It is definitely a book I consider special and worth keeping forever.
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Once it arrived I even went back through it and added text to it to describe some of the pictures....
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Now I can keep this out on my coffee table for all to look at... I have even looked at a dozen times. I LOVE IT!!

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!!!!!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Filling Empty Space

A couple of weeks ago, I showed you this picture.....


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...and asked you to help me fill the empty space with something....it just looked so plane jane.....

And thank you to those of you who gave me suggestions. Y'all had some REALLY good ideas..some said put plates up, a table, some pictures of different shapes and colors, etc....all wonderful ideas.
I decided to try to work with what I already had, instead of going out and buying more
"stuff"....so I rearranged some pictures in the house....and this is what I came up with....


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The pictures you see on the wall were already hanging in different places in my home, I just played "musical picture frames" and moved them around. 
I found the "P" at Michael's for about $2 a month ago and spray painted it black.  I actually just set it up on the picture frame to see if I liked it...well, it sat there for a few days, and now I kinda like it just sitting up there..maybe I will actually HANG it...or maybe not....
The lamp was an old lamp we had here with a shiny brass base that I spray painted green (I am trying to bring a little more color to my den) and set it on a few books I stole off my husband's bookcase   I already had.  The flower pot was a $1 Goodwill find a few weeks ago. I spray painted it black and added some fun doo-hickies....what on earth is that potpourri stuff called???

It's actually inspried me to redo another wall in my house...stay tuned for that!


HAPPY HUMP DAY !!!!!