Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Being Human

“The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered.  We know that.  And yes, there are certainly times when we aren’t able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like.  It’s called being human.  But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact on the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious.  And for that I am grateful.”  --- Elizabeth Edwards
post signature

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Menu for the Week

Today is Mister's day off....so we're not doing anything exciting.  I'm actually going to get a relaxer and he had to have his car serviced....so let's just say it's a maintenance day!  I put a load of laundry in the wash....which reminds me that I need to pick up some detergent.  But it's cold and rainy that I just want to wrap up in a blanket and catch up on Mad Men from iTunes.  Thankfully Mister did the grocery shopping for this week while I continue to recover from my sore throat.  So without further ado....our menu!!!

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday: Tacos and Mexican Rice

Wednesday & Thursday : Spaghetti, Salad, and Texas Toast

Friday & Saturday : Chicken Stir Fry and White Rice

post signature

Monday, November 29, 2010

November Recap

Let me say now.....I have only taken a few pictures...and my camera is dead....so I'll add them later! (Run on sentence)  So I'm going to document the month in blurbs!  Hopefully I can resume blogging on the regular this week.  I know I've been saying that for awhile...but I'm really going to try.  Just don't expect a lot of pictures ;)

*Mister and I celebrated a birthday at the beginning of the month.  Mister turned 27 and I turned 26.  On my birthday we moved into our new apartment.  Mister had dinner reservations for us and it was a very simple day.  Mister's birthday was over the weekend so we did a bit more.  We went to see the local team take on King James and friends, we had dinner, and just really relaxed!  Now everybody is asking when are we going to get this baby train rolling.  In due time ;)

*During the "bye" week we went to Memphis to visit my inlaws.  While we were there I threw Mister a surprised birthday party.  He was actually surprised!  I was so excited because I rarely surprise him....so I finally got him!!  It was fun celebrating his birthday with his family...and to relax for a hot minute.

*Two weeks ago I went home to see my NFL BFF run a half marathon.  I needed to make the trip to get a few things from home so I stayed 2 days to cheer her on.  I told her afterwards that my marathon watching days are over.  I applaud the runners out there....there is no way I would run further than 2 miles.  And i definitely wouldn't run for longer than 30 minutes!  I was so happy for her...she had trained and really worked so hard (not to mention gotten really skinny)!

*For Thanksgiving Neish and Ginny (my cousin) came to visit during their break from school.  Mister's team played away on Thanksgiving Day so we just hung out and went to dinner at our cousin's house.  Thankfully they won!!!  Mister got home late that night so we had Thanksgiving dinner on Black Friday.  Unfortunately, my dressing didn't turn out well but everything else was very good.

*With tomorrow being the last day of November I'm super excited about Christmas.  I already have our Christmas cards!  I've started generating gift ideas for our family.  Within the next day or so I'm going to get out and find a little tree for our temporary home.  Just to make it feel festive around here!  By the weekend I hope to have a good dent in my shopping.

That about wraps up November 2010!!!  Here's to the beginning of the Christmas season and all that it means.  I hope that I don't get to busy or stressed between now and Christmas that I lose sight of the true meaning of this season!

 

Monday, November 15, 2010

20 Monday Notes

1. Still in my pajamas at 5:31 pm
2. Just watched The Color Purple Reunion on Oprah
3. Actually finished all of the laundry today
4. Went to bed before 1 am last night for the first time in over a week
5. Don't want to eat what I was going to make for dinner
6. Sitting here trying to find something to order for dinner
7. Glad last week was a "bye" week
8. Can't believe Thanksgiving is next week
9. Really want to finish my Esther bible study that I started during training camp
10. Can't get over the fact that this guy butchered my eyebrows last week
11. Haven't watched a full episode of Y&R since August
12. Really miss watching my cooking shows
13. Really miss my NFL BFF
14. Trying to figure out if it's ever going to consistently be cold
15. Need to go to church....guess I need to find one to go to
16. Wishing I could consistently keep in touch with some of my friends
17. Loving all of my friends babies pictures on Facebook...such sweet little people
18. Excited about volunteering with Habitat for Humanity
19. Wishing I didn't worry so much
20. Hope tomorrow I will want to be more productive than today
post signature

Monday, November 1, 2010

Halloween 2010

Since Mister and I are stuck in a hotel in our new city and didn't really get to celebrate Halloween, I'm posting pictures of all of the cutest little trick or treaters in our family.  I wish they could have come to my door!

Super cute Batman (Daylen) and Super sweet Robin (Bryce)

Darling little Princess (Autumn)

Sweet Star Wars Yoda (Shane)

Sweet Baby Giraffe (Jaxon)
post signature

Monday, October 25, 2010

Transition

Mister and I am in the midst of yet another transition!  Fortunately, Mister has been picked up by another team.  We are so excited and so thankful....but it definitely adds so many things to my "Things To Do" list while Mister spends his days with the Pigskin.  So needless to say I have had little time for blogging, emailing, or much of anything  other than settling here in this new place.

So, even if I were blogging it would be no fun! I forgot my camera at home so I haven't taken any pictures in almost 3 weeks. I should be back on track in a couple of days and I can really sit down and recap what's happened over the last 3 weeks....it's been quite a whirlwind...but such a blessing! ;)


post signature
P.S. -- Just to put it on the record, we lost yesterday.  :(

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Bear With Me

I know I've been on quite a hiatus...but this blog hasn't been far from my mind!  I should be able to sit down an catch up tonight or tomorrow.  Here's what I have on deck:

1. Welcome Home
2. Stir Fry Dinner
3. Show Us Your Life - Master Bedroom
4. Show Us Your Life - Kitchen
5. Family Birthdays - October
6. Breast Cancer Awareness  - Tribute to Aunt Karen
7. Update on the Mister's NFL stuff

So please bear with me...I'm going to come alive here!
post signature

Sunday, October 3, 2010

October

October, you have no idea how happy I am that you are here!  
post signature

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Designs By My Father In Law

Over the summer my inlaws came to visit us for a few days.  Decorating is my MIL's hobby!  She has an amazing eye for color and she's always looking for new ideas.  Though our styles are very different, I enjoy browsing stores and looking at model homes with her.  She always notes the details, while I'm keeping my eye on the "big picture".

My FIL on the other hand has a thing for all things floral!  When the Mister and I started dating he was an avid yardman.  He really enjoyed planting flowers and would spend many Saturdays in Lowe's and Home Depot.  Then he tried his hand at floral arrangements to add to the decor of their home.  Let's just say the MIL and FIL make a great decorating team.  Now he's turned this hobby of his into a business, Designs by Charles Taylor.  And I happened to be the beneficiary of a few of his pieces!

This one sits in a niche in our entryway...while they were in town I found some iron pieces that matched the vase perfectly.  Now they hang on the wall about the niche going up the stairs.


  My favorite!  It sits in a niche in one of our hallways.

My runner up!  This one matches our kitchen perfectly...it usually sits on top of our fridge.

In a little niche on our bedroom...the splash of yellow comes from paintings hanging above our bed.

Mister's favorite.....our mantle piece!  It ties together all of the different colors in our rug and the throw pillows on our sectional.  

Mister's parents during their visit this summer.  

Many, many thanks to Mister's mom and pop for adding an extra touch of love to the humble abode! 
post signature

Monday, September 27, 2010

TV Update

What's on my DVR?  I'm glad you asked!

The Young and Restless - I'm finally all caught up!  I'm glad they are over the dark story lines...and it's starting to make a little bit more sense.  We'll see if they keep it up....in the mean time I keep watching!
Oprah Winfrey - This is her last season.....
Down Home With the Neelys - They are about to lose me!  I used to love them, but I find that she's a bit much sometimes.  I'm also not really finding the recipes appealing.
The Good Wife - Season 2 starts tomorrow!  I watched the last episode of Season 1 this morning and I hope the writers can keep it up.
Undercover Boss - I've always wondered it the execs really knew what they were asking of their employees.  After watching this last season....it's obvious they don't.  I liked it!
Mad Men - I don't know how you couldn't like it!
The Real Housewives of D.C. - They are definitely not my favorite cast...but I can appreciate a classy African American woman!  Especially since there are so many that aren't and they get plenty of TV time.
Barefoot Contessa - At first I thought she was boring and then I started to like her music.  Some kinda way I've grown to love her!
LaLa's Full Court Wedding - I had to support the "Athlete's Wife".  I didn't know much about her away from MTV...and I think I really like!  She seems so down to Earth!
Keeping Up With the Kardashians - I had to throw some trash t.v. in there somewhere!  Not to "hate" on them, but I'm still trying to figure out what you call their "career"?
Fantasia For Real - A HOT MESS!  That about sums it up!
Biography on CNBC - Mister watches this....it jolts his entrepreneurial spirit!
American Greed - See "Biography on CNBC"

I'm trying to get away from watching so much trash t.v. and really watch some shows that have story lines. I was just telling my Momma the other day that I have fallen behind on so many of the dramas that I loved to keep up with "reality TV circus".  So I guess I'm trying to wean myself from so much r.t. and get back to Grey's, Private Practice, and the likes.  Maybe before this TV season is over I'll latch on to The Undercovers....it looks like it may have lots of promise.  We'll see what kind of reviews it gets!  Happy t.v. watching!  
post signature

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

6 Years

the day before we became official - 2004

We were juniors in college, 19 and 20 years old, who had been doing the long distance, talking on the phone thing for the past 8 months.  So I flew home for my sister's birthday and we all went to the Indiana-Kentucky football game.  "We all" meaning my family and his family....interesting!  It was there that the Mister and I decided that we would likely become a little more than friends.  The next day he asked me if I wanted to make it official...making September 21, 2004 the start of this little love story!  

I still can't believe that it's been 6 years....before we started dating I had never had a boyfriend for longer than 6 months.  He really got me!  The past 6 years have been a lot of fun...here's a timeline of some of our milestones.

2004 - the start
2005 - celebrated our 1st Valentine's Day, Mister graduated from college
2006 - I graduated from college, Mister started his NFL career, we got engaged
2007 - I moved to Houston and started my first "real" job, Mister had knee surgery, we bought a house
2008 - we got married, Mister was released from his team, Mister turned 25, 
2009 - Mister signed with a new team, Mister had shoulder surgery, I turned 25
2010 - hasn't been nearly as eventful as the others...but it's only September
post signature

Monday, September 20, 2010

Happy Birthday Neish!

 21 Things About Neish:
1. She's the athlete of the family
2. She's crafty
3. She was short as a kid...and somehow grew to 5'6
4. She's a wild sleeper
5. She loves to bake
6. She is so strong and she doesn't even know it
7. She is very spontaneous
8. She's a dog lover
9. She bites her nails
10. She loves the country (Fairfield)
11. She's really good with little kids
12. Mister says she should be a dj because she loves music
13. She loves to drive...and it drives me crazy
14. Everyone thinks she looks like Lisa Turtle from Saved By The Bell
15. Now people thinks she looks like Zoe Saldana

16. She cries when she gets sick
17. She's moody when she's hungry
18. She thinks she can save the world...one good deed at a time
19. Her nicknames are Tootie and Fufi
20. I picked the name Karneisha
21. I love her soooo much! 


Today is my little sister's 21st Birthday!  I can't believe she's a junior in college, legal, and becoming a little woman!  I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday...I was a little bitty 4 year old who was anxious to have a baby sis.  I got exactly what I asked for!  Hope you have a super FAB birthday Neish!!!!

post signature

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Teal Toes



September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.  Teal Toes aims to spread the word about ovarian cancer awareness.  Ovarian cancer is also known as the whispering killer.  Teal is the ovarian cancer awareness color.


Why raise awareness?

* Too many women with ovarian cancer do not get diagnosed until their cancer has spread. Their survival rate is 45%.
* The survival rate improves greatly - to 93 percent - if the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage before it has spread. Only 19 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at this local stage.
* Approximately 75 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage after the cancer has spread beyond the ovary.

More info can be found at Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. 



Mary S. Banks
1928 - 2003


Today Mommy, Neish, and I went and got pedicures and in honor of my Grandma we had our toes painted teal!  








post signature

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Smiley Bycie


I got a message today from Colorado from the cutest little smiling baby!  He's away from home nursing his Daddy back to health.  This was his way of saying his Daddy's surgery was a success and they had a good day post-op!  I'm sure Bycie is holding down the fort, big brother Daylen is leading the troops!  So many prayers going up for Bycie's Daddy...for a fast recovery!  And plenty for Bycie's Mommie too!  ;)
post signature

Monday, September 13, 2010

A Kid Who Watched TV for 25 Years


I can't believe this is Oprah's last season, she was a staple in my childhood!  When I think back to being a kid I always remember her show being on when I got home from school.  My momma used to watch her while she started cooking dinner.  Anybody around my age associates Family Matters and Full House with T.G.I.F. on ABC.  You know how a specific smell or a certain song can take you back to a special place.  When I hear the music for Monday Night Football it reminds me of the Cowboys, the Emmitt Smith, Michael Irving, Troy Aikman Cowboys!  Or when someone parts my hair it makes me think of Dallas...the t.v. show because my mom always watched that while she combed my hair at night before bed.
Image: www.art.com


Oprah is one the few things that survived all of the network shuffles, year after year.   It's one of the few things that I can say has been around longer than me.  Unlike, cell phones or laptop computers.  When E.R. wrapped 2 years ago...it was sad!  My momma and Aunt Princess used to have weekly Thursday night phone calls to recap what Eric LaSalle, George Clooney, and Juliannna Margulies were up to.  A few weeks ago Mary Hart from Entertainment Tonight announced that she would be retiring.  It never dawned on me that she was old, and definitely not old enough to retire.  She too has been on t.v. forever, and she and John Tess were the excitement that came on after the evening news.  Channel 8 in Dallas was always on at my house.  I even remember the news reporters!


But it has hit me that I'm am getting older!  I'm no longer a kid who watches whatever my momma has on tv when I get home from school.  I get that what is on t.v. now hasn't really been on that long.  This Oprah thing is kinda like the changing of the guard.  That what I grew up with will be considered history for my kids.  (I still haven't gotten over the fact that I'm married and old enough to have kids.)  Kinda like phones with cords or televisions with a big back.  I'm only 25 but when you're a kid everything is new and you haven't been around long enough for anything to happen.  Saturday I was watching the replays of the September 11 reports and it dawned on me that Katie Couric was on the Today show then.  That September 11th, 2001 was really 9 years ago....I was a senior in high school.


I say all of this to really say that I'm going to miss Oprah!  Not because I won't have anything else to watch....but this ends the chapter of one's said childhood.  I'll be 26 in November and although I do adult like things (married, homeowner, etc.)  I'm still a kid trapped in the body of a grown woman!  Thanks to reruns of the Cosby Show, Fresh Prince, America's Funniest Home Videos I can still take myself back to that place.  Oprah's Farewell Season has made me realize that I need not be so nostalgic when it comes to my past but really embrace my future!  Not really think so much as to how much t.v. has changed but really look at how much I have changed!



post signature

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Just A Thought

 "Character is what you really are. Reputation is what other folk think about you." -- Dr. Tony Evans
post signature

Friday, September 10, 2010

Nature

Daddy, Mister, and I were outside this afternoon watching our Thanksgiving turkey out in this open field.  I'm all for organic...I just haven't gone this far yet!  The weather here has cooled off so they were just out for a brisk stroll through the woods.  It was interesting to see the biggest turkey lead them all.  











Every time I see nature in motion...I think...."if you didn't already know,there has to be a God"!

post signature

Monday, September 6, 2010

Waiting

"Whenever God closes one door He always opens another even though, sometimes it's Hell in the hallway." --Unknown

As I mentioned before it's "cut" weekend in the NFL...and well....we got CUT!
So now we WAIT!
Wait for the next TEAM.
Wait for the next CITY.
Wait for GOD to turn the page to the next chapter in our book.

So while we believe that He has a plan...we just don't know what....so we'll WAIT!

"...then you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who WAIT for Me."  
-- Isaiah 49:23 NKJV

post signature

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Lazy

This is what our Sunday looked like ;)
post signature

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Maxed Out!!

The Mister is sick!  I'm running on fumes!  And it's cut weekend in the NFL.....we're whooped!

This is the "sick station"!  

Sick Station Contents:
2 bags of Ricola Natural Cough Drops
1 bottle of hand sanitizer (for me)
1 ear thermometer
1 cell phone
1 bag of Luden's throat drops (because he hates the real thing and these taste like candy)
1 box of DayQuil and NyQuil caplets
1 bottle of Sunquist soda (because he's not a fan of orange juice)
1 box of Kleenex 


Happy Labor Day Weekend....we'll be in recovery mode!




post signature
 
SITE DESIGN BY DESIGNER BLOGS