Monday, January 31, 2011

Daddy's Home...for a little while!

After 7 months, my husband FINALLY came home from Iraq...

Unfortunately, it's only for 15 days for his R&R

But we will take whatever time with him we can get!

I kept it a secret from my girls until minutes before he showed up.


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I love the look on my oldest's face when I told them we were there to get Daddy!


Here he comes!!!!!!!!
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My oldest took off after him....my 4 year old was a little hesitant at first, so we let my oldest get the first hugs...
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A big family hug!
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I love this man...and am so proud of what he does for our country!
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We haven't seen him in 7 months, but it only took 7 seconds for it to feel like he never left....

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I am in heaven with my family together again....even if it is fr only 15 days.

We are keeping the girls home from school today to get some Daddy time.....and headed to Chuck E Cheese!!!!  

Until next time....

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Photo Challenge #6

Photo Challenge #6

a photo of someone you would like to trade places with for a day.


Kelly Ripa
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Some people don't like Kelly, but I do.  If I knew her in real life, I think we would be great friends! I love her personality and humor! And she has a wonderful, fun looking job I would love to have just for a day!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Photo Challenge #5

PHOTO CHALLENGE #5

a photo of your favorite memory.


While the  memories of the births of my children are 2 of my favorite memories, I have to go back where it all began.

My wedding day.

July 17, 1999

For some reason I don't have any other wedding pics on my computer except this one....but this was taken right before I walked down the aisle.

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Have a great weekend everyone!

I know I will!

The hubby is on a flight RIGHT NOW headed home for his 2 week visit! Can you say EXCITED?!?!?!?!?

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Photo Challenge #4

Photo Challenge No. 4

a photo of something you would like to forget.

no explanation needed. the photo says it all.


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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Photo Challenge #3...

Photo Challenge # 3

A photo of the cast from your favorite show....


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Candice Olson from HGTV

This woman is awesome!! Wish I had her sense of style....she can take a box and make it look like a million dollars.

Here are a few examples of her work....

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You can catch her show DIVINE DESIGN on Saturdays at 8pm/ET on HGTV

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Photo Challenge Number 2

Photo Challenge Number 2

a photo of someone you are closest to.


So this one was a no brainer....

sorta...

Of course, the person I am closest to is my awesome, wonderful, Godly, manly, studly hubby!!! :-)
I can tell this man anything...he's my best friend. He's my rock. He knows me better than anyone.

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But, I can't forget my best friend.

This is Carolina (on the left), the world's best friend.

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We have best friends since we were 10.

I can go days....weeks.....months....

without talking to or seeing her (we live 9 hours apart from one another)

and we can ALWAYS pick right up where we left off.

She is still the funny, silly, loyal friend I remember hanging out with when I was 10...

yet, she has grown into a wonderful, confident, intelligent woman who I admire so much!

25 years later...she knows me better than any of my girlfriends.....and still loves me anyway! ha!



SO, there you have it.

See you tomorrow for Challenge Number 3

Monday, January 24, 2011

Photo Challenge Number 1

30 DAY PHOTO CHALLENGE

As if I didn't have enough challenge in my life...

Here is another one I thought would be fun to do...

a 30 day photo challenge.

DAY 1
a photo of yourself and 15 facts.

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1.  I am comfortable in my own skin, and love being able to say that. 

2. I married my 3rd grade boyfriend. Yep, that's right. We met in our 3rd grade class, and are now living happily ever after.

3.   I love meeting new people.

4.  I was a slob as a child, but am now a neat freak.

5.  I lost my mom to cancer nearly 6 years ago. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her and miss her.

6.  I graduated from AUBURN UNIVERSITY with a B.S. in Elementary Education (WAR EAGLE!)

7.  I got my Master's Degree from The University of West Florida in Educational Leadership. 

8.  I work harder being a stay at home mom of 2 than I did teaching a class of 22 students.

9.  I love sewing and creating things.

10.  I love exercising....(did I just say that?!?!?)

11.  I love running in 5k races....and was training for a half marathon when I injured my IT band...still trying to get that healed up. ARG!

12.  I have 2 daughters, who are the reason I get up every morning. I love them with every ounce of who I am.

13.  I have the MOST wonderful husband.  My life started when I married him. I can honestly say I have one of the best marriages out there. I love him more than words can express.

14.  I am not a morning person.

15.  I LOVE the blogging world!!!! It has given me the opportunity to "meet" new people and get wonderful ideas! Can't live without my computer, Facebook and my blogs!!!!


So there you have it...15 facts about me.  

Here are the upcoming challenges....


Day 2 - A picture of you and the person you are closest to
Day 3 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 4 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 5 - A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 6 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.
Day 7 - A picture of your most treasured item.
Day 8 - A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 9 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the silliest things with.
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 - A picture of something you love.
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.
Day 21 - A picture of your favorite night .
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 - A picture of your favorite day.
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss


Won't you join me?!?!? I would love to know more about you!!!!!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Deployment Project #62...Master BR Closet

If you have been reading my blog you know I am (trying to) follow Toni's Organization Challenges over at A Bowl Full of Lemons. I have been doing well getting them finished....just not so well about blogging about them!

Recently, this past week, her challenges included the laundry room, under the bathroom sink, medicine cabinet, Master BR closet and the freezer. I am proud to say I have all of those areas taken care of....I just don' t have pictures of all of them.

So, I will show you what I DID get pics of...


Under the bathroom sink....
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The Laundry Room
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The laundry room is not actually a room...it's a walk through area coming from the garage....but on the wall opposite of the washer/dryer is this wall. I hung bead board wallpaper and hooks. You can read about how I did this project HERE


Okay... now for the BIG project of the week.

The MASTER BR CLOSET!

Oh. my. goodness.

What a mess it was.
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But, now it's sooooo nice. I can actually walk in it!!!

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I now have color coded clothes.....does this  mean I am OCD??? ;-)

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Strange as it may sound....I LOVE having a clean closet!! I didn't realize how happy it would make me!!!!

So, those are the latest projects. I will have more pics of the other challenges soon.

The BEST news is....my hubby will be here next week on his 2 week break from Iraq. The girls and I haven't seen him since JULY...and he will be here next week! I am so excited and growing more and more impatient to see my sweet hubby!!! 7 months is just too long to go without your spouse.....the 15 days that he will be home will go by fast....and then it's back to Iraq until July.  These year long deployments are NO FUN! 

So, this week I am working on my Master Bedroom. I HAVE to get it ready for the hubby's arrival!!! SOOO EXCITED!!

Have a great week....if you need me, I will be in my bedroom stressing out to get it completed by next week!!! Yikes!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Deployment Project # 61...Painted Curtains

This was a FUN project to take on.


I am currently giving my kitchen a makeover.


After months of searching for the perfect shade of beige for my walls, I finally found it at Benjamin Moore. It's called "Brandon Beige"

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I repainted my walls, and saw THESE curtains over at The Nesting Place.

I didn't want to hunt and hunt for striped fabric that matched perfectly AND was in my budget. ( I did find one fabric with stripes, but it was over $25 a yard, and I needed 5 yards of it).
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So, I went to my local Target and bought 5 solid white curtains, and spent about $45. You will see why I needed 5 panels in just a bit.
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I measured each stripe to be 8 inches wide and taped it off with painter's tape.

Then I used the exact same paint that I used on my walls and filled in every other stripe.
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Of course, for 2 days I had a curtain taking up my entire floor space in my kitchen....
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I wanted to hang my curtains higher than 84" but the panels only come in 84", so I bought a 5th one and used it to make each curtain a little longer, and sewed on the extra fabric to the bottom of my painted curtains.  

See, you can't even tell, can you?!?
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I never thought I would like drapes in my kitchen, but I am LOVING how they look!!
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So, here is what they looked like BEFORE....with valances and pale beige walls...

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And here they are AFTER...with the Brandon Beige on the wall and the new curtains!

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I LOVE my painted curtains!!!!!!

More to come on the kitchen reveal...still waiting on a few finishing touches....so stay tuned!




Sunday, January 16, 2011

Fixing pesky wires...Deployment Project #60

Do you have wires from lamps sticking out anywhere??

I do.

And they drive me crazy.


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I came up with an easy  little 5 minute solution.

I got one of those plastic hooks you can get at any store for very cheap. 

I stuck it up on the back side of the table. (and these remove easily without ripping off any paint from the furniture or wall)
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I just wrapped the wire around it and tied in on with a little twisty-tie.

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Now the wire is hidden!!!

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Happy Sunday!!!!