Show Us Your Life: Wedding Party & Flowers

This week at Kelly's Korner the theme is: Show us (and tell us about) your Wedding Party and Flowers.

I had an amazing wedding party! My matron of honor was Candice, my best friend since 3rd grade! My other bridesmaids were my sisters Jenny, Becky, and Rachael, and Casey, who I've been friends with since middle school. They are all the best friends a girl could ask for!

Here is the entire wedding party in front of the Dresser Mansion, where we got married.

I loved the back of the bridesmaids dresses.

We had this picture taken of all of our guests at the end of the ceremony. We had a little blurb in the program that said, "Once the wedding party has reached the end of the aisle, please stand, turn, and smile for a group photo." We also had my dad mention it right before he pronounced us. We used this photo for the front of our thank you cards, and added the words "Thank You" in a scripty font in the bottom right corner, along with our names and wedding date. They were a lot of work to make, but everyone absolutely loved them!

Here is a picture of me with my flowers:

And a close-up of my bouquet, which also had a rhinestone cross in it that you can kind of see here.

The bridesmaids' bouquets:

This is inside the mansion...I love this photo.

If you look behind my dad in this picture, you'll see some hydrangeas, which I loved! We actually have them on our back veranda now...I hope I can keep them alive for awhile. My mom's had them the last 3 years but I recently took the reigns...yikes! Wish me luck. :)

That's all for today. Wedding dresses last week was so fun! It's not too late to link up...so come on! Next week is the reception, and then that's it for weddings. I'm off to check out everyone else's fun stuff! :)

Q&A: Answers, Part 2

Okay, here are the last of the questions. I had a few adoption ones posted, as well as a lot of emails about our adoption story, so that will be another post another day.
__________________________

Kristy asked:

Q: Have you rocked the bump-it yet?

A: Fortunately Unfortunately, no - I haven't introduced this fab piece into my everyday wear. I don't think my part of the world is ready for it yet. The day will come though, and I will be sure to document it with photos, including (but not limited to) me having to scrunch down while driving so the top of my head doesn't hit the roof of my car.
__________________________

Polka Dots & Protein Bars asked:

Q: Where are your favorite places to shop?

A: I love a good deal, plain & simple. But I also have good taste, or so I tell myself. For home decor stuff, I love Hobby Lobby & Kirkland's for 3 reasons: great stuff, great prices, and great coupons!
I also love the *look* of Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs, but the price tags make me cringe. Thus the reason I love all these decor blogs! I'm amazed at how people are able to find and/or re-create pieces that look so similar to those stores at a fraction of a cost.

For clothes, I'm all over the place. I love White House Black Market, Target, Forever 21 (though their clothes are made for tiny people, I can usually find something stretchy to weasel my way into), New York & Company, Old Navy, and fun little boutiques with unique stuff. I love to wear dresses & skirts; they really are the most comfortable thing for me to wear even though people think I like to wear them just to be dressy. Trust me - that is so not me. And since you asked, my dear, I have to add that I love your designs at Hems & Hers and hope to add something from your collection to my wardrobe soon! :)
__________________________

jenni d asked:

Q: How did you make that cute lap board?

A: I'm assuming you are talking about this one:

You can purchase the lapboard from Hobby Lobby or Michael's for around $6 bucks. (They come in a variety of colors.) I designed a digital scrapbooking page and printed it out on photo gloss paper. I then used rubber cement to affix it to the lapboard. Originally I used glue dots, but you could see the texture through the paper, so I took that one off and printed another one. I definitely would go with rubber cement or something similar. The final step was to put a glass pour/epoxy finish on it. I used a Pour It On Clear Polymer Finish Kit that I purchased at Hobby Lobby. They have a few different kinds and sizes. The one I got was around $10 (6 with my 40% off coupon) and it took the whole kit to do the lapboard. It has a nice thick finish to it though so I think it's worth it and hopefully will hold up over time.
__________________________

Polka Dots & Protein Bars asked:

Q: What is your beauty routine like?

A: Oh dear, sweet friend. How I laughed out loud when I received your question. Don't get me wrong - it's a wonderful question! It's just that - well, if you knew me, you'd laugh, too. Because the first word that came to mind when I read your question was: nonexistent. I wish I could share my glamorous routine with you and explain how all my tricks and tips allow something like this to be possible for me:

But alas, that would be a lie, and that's just not my style. Unfortunately my lack of beauty routine probably works in such a way that I end up with results like this:

Because who doesn't want to go from looking 8 to 38? Except for the movie 13 going on 30. But that doesn't count. The point I'm trying to make is: my laziness is aging me. So I need to step up my game! Thanks for the swift, yet kind, kick in the rear. Now I will start using all of the products I have stockpiled under my bathroom vanity so I can wax poetic about my glorious beauty routine the next time someone asks.
__________________________

Q: What are a few of your fave recipes?

A: Truth be told, my favorite recipes are the ones that others cook for me. But I know that's not a fair answer, so I'll share some things I know how to burn make.

Here is a great one from my little sister Rachael, who gives me many of my recipes...thanks Rach!

Baked Chicken Parmesan

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 large egg, beaten and mixed with 2 Tbsp. water

2 cups tomato sauce(or spaghetti sauce)

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350. Combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese; set aside. Dip each chicken breast into egg mixture, then press both sides into bread crumb mixture and place into a dish. Evenly distribute tomato sauce and mozzarella over the top. Sprinkle top with Italian seasoning. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until chicken is done. (mine took one hour so I waited until 30 min. into it to put the cheese on).

Here is a recipe from my friend Kappy and I LOVE it and how easy it is to make! :)

Crunch Salad

5 generous Tablespoons of brown sugar

5 scant Tablespoons of rice vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/2 c oil

Mix and whisk.

1 head iceberg lettuce

4 green onions chopped

3/4 c slivered or sliced almonds

1 c sunflower seeds

2 c Chinese noodles

Pour dressing over and toss right before serving.

And one of my personal favorites!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Ingredients
2 (8 ounce) cans crescent rolls
2 (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla, divided
1/2 cup margarine or butter (not spread or tub product)
ground cinnamon

Directions

1. With one can of crescent rolls, line the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with Pam.
2. Stretch dough and pinch holes closed to form a crust.
3. Blend together, with mixer, softened cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
4. Spread cheese mixture evenly over the dough but not too close to the edges.
5. Stretch the second can of crescent rolls over the cream cheese mixture to form a top crust.
6. Melt butter, blending in 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. (or mix the cinnamon in here)
7. Pour evenly over the crust and sprinkle generously with cinnamon.
8. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until bubbling and bottom crust is slightly browned.
9. Let cool and refrigerate before cutting into squares.

__________________________

I hope these Q & A's leave everyone feeling all warm & fuzzy and like you know me better than your dear Uncle Melvin.

Mailbox Makeover

While our house was being built last year, we had a "temporary" mailbox put up so we could go ahead and start receiving our mail there while we were in transition. Well, here we are nearly a year later...and sad to say, the "temporary" mailbox still stands.


Fortunately when we laid sod it kicked me into gear to do something to fancy up the mailbox. We didn't have the money to do anything with brick, rock, etc., so I decided to look at other alternatives. I was shopping at Kirkland's when I stumbled upon this magnetic mailbox cover for only $12.95! This was the perfect solution to my problem. (It came with 3 sheets of number stickers, but I ended up not using them.)


I purchased our house numbers at Wal-Mart for $2 each. They were black, so I spray painted them a champagne metallic color. Then I spray painted the wooden post black, hammered the house numbers onto the post, and put the magnetic cover on the mailbox. How easy is that?! Quick and cheap, and I love the final result!

I forgot to take a picture of the other side, but it has a slot around where the flag goes so you can still raise and lower the flag with ease.

Another reason I got so excited about this magnetic cover is because it matches the flag I put in my garden a couple of months ago!

Thanks for checking out my mailbox makeover! If you have a DIY project to share, be sure to link up over at A Soft Place to Land.

{Mostly} Wordless Wednesday 2

2 more Life Book pages done. Will have to do at least 2 more of just the nieces & nephews b/c they are such a big part of our life! :) On the left side:


And the facing page:

Q&A: Answers, Part 1

Thank you for the great questions! I'm going to break the answers into 2 parts so this doesn't get too long. Side note: If I don't list who asked it, it's because they either emailed me and didn't leave their blog address, or I was asked the question multiple times. So here we go!
____________________________

Q: What program do you use for digital scrapbooking?

A: I started out doing the bootleg version of digital scrapbooking by designing in PowerPoint and Publisher. It is pretty simply, but also fairly limiting when compared to what you can do in PhotoShop. I recently started using Photoshop, which is definitely the program of choice for digital scrapbooking. However, it is pricey so you might also consider trying Photoshop Essentials, which is considerably cheaper. (You can download a free trial off their website and try it out before you buy it.) If you want more info on how to scrap in PowerPoint or Publisher, just let me know.

For the pages I'm making for our Life Book, I'm using templates (like the ones seen here) that you design using photoshop. They are so, so, easy and I love them! I got a 40 pack of them free with purchase during a sale ScrapMatters was having last month. There are also lots of places you can download free templates - just google "free digital scrapbooking templates". I think these are only for use in Photoshop? But not sure.
____________________________

Q: What are your favorite sites to download/purchase digital scrapbooking kits?

A: Shabby Princess has several amazing kits that are free to download, so I would recommend starting out with them to get the hang of things. I have also purchased quite a few things from ScrapMatters. Their prices are great, and they have sales often.

I also follow quite a few of the designer's blogs, and they give out freebies/add-ons occassionally. Her are some of my favorites: HayNay, Britt-ish Designs, and WM[squared]Designs. I also signed up for the ScrapMatters newsletter, which is is sent monthly and is a wonderful resource full of tips, design ideas, and a free kit. You can also google "free digital scrapbooking kits" and find more stuff than you can ever use!
____________________________

Q: Would you mind sharing your templates for your drink and brownie labels?

A: I'd be glad to! Leave your email address in the comments, along with which template(s) you'd like, and I'll send them your way. Both were created as Word documents and I just dropped in a digital scrapbooking design for the brownie labels, then added a text box over that. I downloaded the fonts for free from Kevin & Amanda's Scrapbooking Fonts. If you have not been to her site, check it out. Amazing fonts - and all for free!! Can't beat a deal like that. (I think I've already responded to anyone else who asked for these, but if I missed you, just let me know!)
____________________________

Kristy asked:

Q: What is your favorite restaurant?

A: As far as chain restaurants, I would have to go with Cheddar's. Love love LOVE their Spinach Dip. And their Honey Lime dressing? Hold me. It even persuades me into eating salad! Accompanied by a Honey Butter Croissant, nonetheless, but still. Scrump.
____________________________

Just Lisa, No Filler asked:

Q: What are you going to do when the baby has been screaming for the last 20 minutes? You've fed him, changed him, burped him, cleaned him, rocked him..... still screaming. What do you do?

A: Great question, Lisa. Unfortunately I don't have an answer for you on this one, but I have a feeling it will have something to do with me curled up in the fetal position rocking in the corner while chanting to myself, "This is what you always wanted. This is what you always wanted."
____________________________

Brodrick Family asked:

Q: How do you put the lines through the words?

A: To put a strikethrough, you put the letter s in the middle of these characters < > before the part that you want the strikethrough to start at, then type the text that you want to have the line through it. When you are finished, put < /s > where you want it to end and it should work. Do not put spaces between the characters; I just did that so it wouldn't actually strikethrough everything I just typed. Make sense? This was hard to explain because it kept picking up the html and not just letting me type the text, so sorry for the crazy explanation!
____________________________

I will stop with that today, but will answer some more tomorrow. Because I know you guys are losing sleep waiting for all of my answers. Ha! :)

A few more Life Book pages

To answer a question I received, yes, this is the actual book that the birth mothers will look through to select a family. Here are a few more pages.

On the left side:

And the facing page:
designed using HayNay's Sugar Pea kit

On the left side:

And the facing page:


designed using Carrie Stephen's Tahiti Treats kit

So I'm making progress! It's coming along a lot quicker now, so that's exciting.

I'll be back later today to answer some of the questions you guys asked last week! :)

Car Seat Handle

I'm an hour into a 90 minute wait to ride the Titan at Six Flags (with the niece & nephew - late bday gift for him). So I thought now would be a good time to post another {non-controversial} car seat question. Tell me about the carrier handle. Most car seats I've seen (in stores) have just a normal arched across handle. However, I've seen some that have like the triangle thing at the top (I'm sure there's a technical name for it). Which kind is better, and why? Thanks again for sharing your words of wisdom!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Life Book: Page 1

So I finally got to work and finished the first page! I have a general outline so think it should go a lot faster from here. I'm going to do a printed cover for the book that will have our picture and names, so I thought I'd just start the first page with us meeting. We've basically been told to keep the following things in mind when creating our book:

• Write at approximately the 8th grade level.
• Don't use too much text as most birth mothers won't want to read your whole life story, but just get to know you in general. Many of them won't take the time to actually read it all, and we can always share more information when we meet with her (if she even wants it).
• Do not use a lot of "scripty" type fonts, but fonts that are easy to read.

Obviously these things wouldn't necessarily apply to every agency, but some are still good things to take into consideration.

So here's what I have so far: (click on image to view it larger)

The picture on the right is scanned and not great quality...unfortunately I can't locate where I saved it digitally originally...I'm afraid it must have gotten lost in the shuffle when I switched computers. :( I'm still looking, but I might just have to have some grainy pictures! Nevertheless...

One down, 19 to go! :)

designed using HayNay's Summer in the Hamptons kit...all her kits are FAB!!

Show Us Your Life: Wedding Dress

I thought it'd be fun to jump in over at Kelly's Korner with her weekly "Show Us" blog carnival. This week's theme is: Show us your Wedding Dress.

Patrick and I got married on April 8, 2006, at The Dresser Mansion in Tulsa, OK. My dress was big and poofy as I'd always imagined for my fairytale wedding. (yes, I'm that girl.)

Here's a picture with my sweet Daddy just after we'd made it down the stairs...about to give me away!

My dad married us and it was soooo special. Here we are during the hand ceremony. And of course, he made jokes! For those of you who don't know, the hand ceremony says something like, "These are the hands that will love you through tough times, blah, blah, blah"...you know, sweet stuff. Dad slips in there, "These are the hands that will love you when you're 30 minutes late to your wedding." :)

My dress was one of my first purchases shortly after getting engaged. It's Oleg Cassini from David's Bridal. I loved it, but shortly before the wedding I decided I needed something else. So I spent the day before the rehearsal dinner driving around Waco trying to find a laundry mat that was still open so I could dye my petticoat. 8 cycles through the washing machine, 3 trips to Hobby Lobby, and 1 trip to Michael's later, it turned pink! I guess I really should've followed all of the directions from the get-go. It's a total weakness of mine.
My husband is the greatest. This is one of my favorites from the day.
And we're off!
Thanks for looking, and I hope some of you jump in and participate, too! Next week is Show Us Your Wedding Party/Flowers...so stay tuned.

Q & A

Thanks for all the comments on yesterday's post. The email really didn't upset me; I just find it funny that someone would take the time to send something like that. No skin off my back though! I am glad I have such a great group of people who read my blog, and I want to thank you again for caring enough about what I have to say to not only read it, but to comment as well! For now, I am staying public. Once we have our baby....well, time will tell.

Anyway, I have been getting quite a few emails lately with different questions, so I thought I'd open up a little Q&A here. Have a question you're dying for me to answer? How did we come to the decision to adopt? Perhaps you want to know how my hair is always so frizzy sleak & shiny? Or how to strikethrough phrases like I just did? Maybe you want to know how I deal with the paparazzi? Or what program & sites I use for digital scrapbooking? The list goes on. So leave a comment and I'll answer the questions (if there are any) and post them along with a few of the questions I get emailed about the most. Consider this the Dollar Spot version of Dear Abby. Sound-off below!

{Mostly} Wordless Wednesday

My garden in May:

My garden today:

Thanks, mom, for developing my green thumb! :)

Ugh.

Just found out our home study has been cancelled for Friday b/c it's not going to work for our case worker to make the trip here that day. (We're 2 hours away.) All these late nights cleaning, fees paid to overnight documents, and barking at Patrick to keep his stuff picked up for nothing. I kid, I kid, we all know I never bark at Patrick - only whisper sweet nothings in his precious little ears. And I know my work's not completely wasted, but still. I'm ready to have this thing over with! We're looking at dates in August now.

On another note, should I go private? I really don't want to because I love meeting all of you and connecting with people I never would in real life. However, sometimes I wonder if I'm too 'out there'. Do I share too much? I just don't know. I DO know that I enjoyed the hate mail I got from someone who questioned my readiness to be a parent since I'm 'selfish enough' to consider putting my child in a used car seat. That was fun.

Gotta head into a meeting now. Toodles!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

I'm baaaack!

I've not been a great blogger lately....oops. Last week was CUH-RAZY!!

First of all, thanks for all the great feedback on the nursery! I'm really liking it and am so glad to have it done.

Last Wednesday I made a spur of the moment decision to go to Oklahoma City to surprise my sister Jenny. She was being announced as a Top 12 Finalist for Oklahoma Teacher of the Year the next morning!! Here I am with her, her son Hayden, and my mom.

We are SOOO proud of you, Jen!! :)

After her ceremony & press conference (yes, my sister is a big deal!), we went out to eat then headed to Tulsa and did some shopping. They live up that way, but the reason I went to Tulsa is because we had a support group meeting for our adoption agency that night, so Patrick just met me there.

Let me just say...it was amazing!! I really didn't know what to expect as this was our first "in person" interaction with anyone from our agency. But I loved it. Most of the couples there already had their babies, so it was so neat to hear their stories and how things are going for them. Everyone was so honest with their feelings and emotions that it was so reassuring. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one who worries about certain things, so it was great to hear that I'm not alone in many of my concerns. The great thing is that everyone was so encouraging! After problems/fears were shared, others would give advice or encouragement on how to best deal with it. It just reaffirmed what I already knew: we are blessed to have such a great, supportive agency! I have no doubt that the Lord definitely guided us to it as it perfectly meets our needs/desires.

I am so excited and inspired to get to work on our Life Book now. :) I am setting a goal to order it by August 3rd - Patrick's birthday - which is 2 weeks from today! Plus they have free shipping on them until then, so perfect timing, huh? :) Will you guys please keep me accountable though? If I haven't posted a few pages from it by later this week, call me out on it so I'll stop being such a procrastinator!

So Friday is our final Home Study and we have been working working working to get the house in order! This is actually good because it's motivated me to get completely moved in, never mind the fact that we moved in 9 months ago. Yikes. Slacker much? Oh well, we're making progress now, mostly thanks to all my mom & dad have done to help us out! We're pretty much ready other than dusting, mopping, etc. Oh, which just reminded me (don't ask why b/c it's not really related) I haven't purchased outlet covers for our home study yet. Our case worker said we didn't have to have them in all the outlets yet; just have them there at the house to show we're ready to go. Anyone know the best place to buy them?

Different Trips to the Same Place

One of the adoption blogs I follow posted a link to this essay that they received from their agency. I thought I'd share it for those of you out there who are adopting and/or experiencing infertility. I want to say again that this preparing & waiting time has been so special and I feel like it has taken my faith & trust in Him to a whole new level, so I am very thankful for that!
_______________________________
Different Trips to the Same Place

Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You’ve heard it’s a wonderful place. You’ve read many guidebooks and feel certain you’re ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip.

So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you’ll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait-and wait- and wait.

Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, “Relax. You’ll get on a flight soon.” Other people actually get on a plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, “It’s not fair”.

After a long time the ticket agent tells you, “I’m sorry, we’re not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat.”

“By Boat!” you say, “Going by boat will take a very long time and costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane.” So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat.

It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three times, marveling about each trip.

Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite that you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than by air.

People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel only once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, “Oh be glad you didn’t fly. My flight was horrible, traveling by sea is so easy.”

You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.

-Author Unknown

Nursery Reveal

Okay, let me preface it by saying this: my goal for this project was to do it as cheap as possible. The main reason being that this will probably be a temporary nursery for us. I KNOW if we have a little girl I'm going to want it to be more feminine than a gender neutral nursery would allow. There were a few color palettes I could have gone with that would have allowed me to take the nursery either way once we learned the gender of the child we'd be getting, but I decided against that for 2 reasons. A.) I wanted something that would photograph well for the Life Book, and 2.) Everything else I had found as possibilities was either too girly, too boy-y(how do you spell that? boyee?), or was really nice, so it would have required spending a lot more $$ now, and like I said...I wanted to wait to make a full commitment to how our nursery would be decorated. So without further ado, here it is:


I set a budget of $75, and was actually able to come in under that. (I'll price it out below.) The room was inspired by the canopy, which I found at IKEA, and then when I saw the little quilt that matched, I thought it'd be perfect! They actually had a show room at IKEA using this canopy in an adorable shabby-chic girls room (and an amazing chandelier!), so I think it can definitely be taken that direction too.

So back to the goal: a big bang for a little buck. I saw the idea to use scrapbook paper to decorate your wall at Spearmint Baby. I thought this would be a great way to add some color without painting and committing to a color scheme. So I decided to pull 4 colors from the quilt, which at the time I thought were pretty subtle. Now that I have them on the wall they are much LOUDER than I anticipated. :) Though the colors do match the quilt perfectly.

Pricing Details:

Crib - FREE (thanks Mom & Dad!)

Bumper - $14.99

Green Blanket - $9.99

Sheets - FREE (thanks Rach!)

Quilt - $14.99

Canopy - $19.99

Mattress - FREE (thanks Jen!)

Scrapbook paper & glue dots - $15

Grand total: $74.96 (and now I've got 4 cents burning a hole in my pocket.)

Soo...what's the verdict? Love it? Hate it? Dizzy? Is it too much going on at once? Sometimes I love it and sometimes I'm not so sure of myself. If you were a birth mom, would you want your baby to live here? Sound off below please!

Vegas, Anyone?

I'm feeling lucky! And you would be, too, if you were me. Let me explain. I've won 2 things in my life.

Exhibit A (yes, this is a rain gauge...only difference is mine had a bank logo on it. note to people who purchase promo items for their company? stay away from the rain gauges. or at least don't give them out when the other prizes being given away are a $100 Visa card and a flat-screen TV. I'm just sayin.)

And Exhibit B

Yep, that's right! Yours truly won this awesome giveaway from TomKat Studio! If that isn't like going from a clunker to a Cadillac, I don't know what is! Thanks so much, Kim...I can't wait to catch up on my correspondence....ha! Let's not kid ourselves. This will probably be that stationary that I really only pull out on special occasions. When I really want to impress someone and let them see how fabulous my taste is.

AND as if winning the giveaway wasn't enough, Kim was so sweet to post about the Sip & See!

Oh and it was also featured at Spearmint Baby! That is another great blog for nursery & design ideas....so go, go, go and get inspired! (Not by my Sip & See. I know you've seen that a bazillion times now and are ready to move on. You have my blessing to do so.)

I just love feeling the bloggyland love. :) All this makes me think of one of my all-time favorite Office quotes! "Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked, I enjoy being liked, I have to be liked, but it's not like this compulsive need to be liked. Like my need to be praised." That is like the story of my life right there summed up by none other than the brains behind Dunder-Mifflin, Michael Scott!

Thanks so much for all the comments about the car seat...I didn't even THINK about the fact that it could have been in an accident before!?! Oh my gosh, I feel like an unfit mother already. Some days I feel like I'm totally clueless to all this baby business, but everyone assures me it will all fall into place. Thankfully, I have you, my loyal readers, so I won't go too far astray! Now who would like to volunteer to take my phone calls at 3 a.m. when I am dazed & confused?

Car Seat Controversary

Okay, it's not really a controversary, but I thought that title sounded catchy. It hooked you in, didn't it? Anyway, as I have mentioned before, our agency/case worker said we need to get a car seat. I want one of those stroller combo thingys, but really don't want to drop that kind of $$$ right now since we don't know how soon we'll actually need it. So I'm thinking of buying one off of Craigslist. Don't judge me. It's just that if I bought the fancy-schmancy one I want now, we would have to take money out of our saved adoption fund to purchase it, and we really don't want to do that. So, I figured if I could get a nice, clean looking one off of Craigslist for $30, we could just use that seat as the one that will always stay in Patrick's car, and we can buy the one we will use regularly once we're closer to having the bambino. It seems like I've seen car seat covers out there...I haven't searched what all there is yet, but what do you guys know about these type of things? Will it cover the whole seat or just parts of it? Are they a pain? Educate me, please!

Friday Fragments

Since I have so many random tidbits, I thought I'd participate in Friday Fragments & Friday's Freewrite!
________________________

So I always look forward to Wednesday's because I know that's the day Mama Kat posts her Writer's Workshop prompts for the week. Wednesday morning I was driving to work and decided to check Google Reader on my Blackberry to see if the prompts were up yet. Because every good driver reads blogs while driving. Sure enough, they were there! I read over them trying to decide which prompt I would choose this week. Made a note to self to check out the inspiration behind her prompts when I got to work. Fast forward a few hours. I hop on to Mama Kat's site, and start clicking on the blogs for the people who inspired, and suddenly when I got to number 3, my blog popped up. "Stupid computer," I thought, as I hit the back button and clicked the link again. "Oh wait - it says Sarah M. -- that's me -- could it be?!" And sure enough my friends, it was! I squealed. Out loud. And I'm not lying. I love being famous. Had I known it was going to be such a big day, I would have worn my Hollywood BumpIt to be prepared when the press showed up. But I think I still looked pretty great for my close-up considering I didn't have time to head over to hair & make-up for a quick touch-up. Thanks, Mama Kat! You're my {blogging} hero!
________________________

And if that didn't make me feel the love enough, my Sip & See was featured over at Everyday Celebrating! That blog is amazing for party ideas & decorating inspiration...be sure to check it out. And my sweet friend Katie even recognizes commented that I'm famous. What a week!
________________________
As you can see, I'm really getting into this whole blog thing. It's so fun! And I've met so many neat people. Most of the blogs I read are decorating/party ideas or adoption blogs. Recently I found another adoption blog that was great, Life and Adoption, so I started following it. Kellie and her husband are pretty close to being in the same stage of the process as we are, so it's always fun to have someone to talk to that's going through the same stuff you are. Well, the more we started talking, we realized we live only 40 minutes apart...isn't that crazy?!? So we're getting together next week...how fun is that?! I heart bloggyland. Anyway, their adoption profile is getting ready to "go live" next week, so be sure to keep them in your prayers! I'm so excited for them and just know they will be selected super fast! And go check out her blog, too...it's great! :)
________________________

I'm not gonna lie; I love me some comments. If you comment me, I love to come visit your blog (if you have one) and/or email back and say thanks for boosting my self-esteem, blah, blah, blah. However, many of you do not have an email address associated with your blogger account, so if I don't email you back...that's why! So thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to comment me. :)
________________________
And I'd like to wish Kim at The TomKat Studio a very Happy Birthday! I know you've heard me gush about her site many times, but if you haven't yet, you seriously need to check out her work! Not only is she creative, but she's so sweet that she's even hosting 3 giveaways in honor of her birthday! Go enter. Only rule is, if you win - you have to give your prize to me. I kid, I kid. But seriously, you can just ship it to my home address.
________________________
I just found Step-Fabulous through Katie's blog...they are both great and you should check them out! She tagged me with Lists, Lists, Lists, so here goes!

8 Things I am looking forward to:
1. Seeing my hubby this weekend! He's been working a TON lately.
2. Hanging out with my parents this weekend while they're in town to help us do some house & yardwork! :)
3. Getting the crib put together & putting the bedding in it.
4. A birthmom picking us...I will probably faint when that happens. I have ordered Patrick to have smelling salts on hand.
5. Going to Six Flags with my nieces & nephews and staying with my sister & her kiddos while there! (Yes Rach, we're planning it soon...get ready!!)
6. Moving into my new office when the re-model in our building finishes. It really cuts into my blogging working when the power keeps going off every other hour. So rude.
7. The day my neck & head stop hurting (see #5 in the next section).
8. Getting together with Kellie next week! :)

8 Things I did yesterday
1. Got up early Thought about getting up early for an intense workout.
2. Had a consulting appointment with a client who has a pet crematory. I'm learning something new everyday, people.
3. Left my energy drink on the top of my car when I left work and screamed when something red started pouring down my windshield.
4. Went to the water park with my sister, niece and nephews.
5. Nearly gave myself a concussion at said water park when I rode the "toilet bowl". Let's just say it was so bad, that even the lifeguard said, "Whoa!" when she heard my head crack.
6. Finished the wall in the nursery...aren't you excited for the big reveal?!
7. Made scrumptious Rice Krispy Treats. No burnt pans or anything.
8. I can't remember...did I mention I bumped my head?

8 Things I Wish I Could DO
1. Take a nap.
2. Travel more. Europe, Tahiti, I'll take the works, please.
3. Sew. I vow to know how by this time next year. And by "know how", I mean I will be able to at least sew the button back off my shirt if it falls off.
4. Clean my house. I'm talking like actually dust and stuff. Ugh.
5. Watch an episode of "The Office" being filmed.
6. Have a baby.
7. Make adoption cheaper.
8. Cut a straight line.

8 Shows I watch: (haven't watched TV lately at all really, but here's what you'd find on my DVR)
1. King of Queens
2. The Bachelorette (embarrassed to actually admit it)
3. The Office
4. Ellen
5. American Idol (I know it's over, but I think I have a few of the last ones on there.)
6. One Tree Hill
7. Law & Order: SVU (don't know why b/c it gives me nightmares...but my hubby and I like to watch together.)
8. Lots of Random TLC shows.

5 Friends I am tagging: (sorry, I know some people hate these...so only do it if you wish!)
1. Kellie
2. M.
3. Rebekah
4. Jodi
5. Wondraful Baby
________________________
Happy weekend, friends!! :)

Project Nursery - Stage 1

My little elves sister, nieces, and 2 nephews came into town yesterday for an appointment my sister had to go to. Little did they know, they would get to head up Stage 1 of Project Nursery for Baby Martin. I have to say - those boys can work! Check out Zackary & Hayden - how cute are they?!The boys and Gabi were a little hyper and were excited to help get their soon-to-be new little cousin's room ready!

So I put that energy to work, and we got to movin'! Everything you see in the picture above was moved elsewhere. So now that wall looks like this:

This is where the crib will go. And I have big plans for this little piece of wall. Actually got started on it last night, and made some great progress! I'll leave you with this clue of what I am doing. Any of you who follow some of these nursery or DIY blogs might have an idea of what I'm planning. :)

Stay tuned for the big reveal!

I'm Only Teasing

It's Thursday...which can only mean one thing: Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop time! Love it, love her. Jump in and participate if you haven't yet! This week I'm going with prompt #2 as I thought it'd be a nice way to work in the BumpIts review that my tens of readers have been demanding. So without further ado:

When I grow up I want to be like...

Blame it on my Mama. Obviously not just any girl can rat her hair and use 12 cans of hairspray to make it look that full and fab. Enter the Bumpit. No doubt this photo probably inspired the inventor of the BumpIt.

And Mom, while you do look stunning...WOW that's a whole lotta hair and a whole lotta volume. Just sayin. But if it weren't for my desire to be just like you, mother, I probably never would have purchased the BumpIt.

So as you guys know, I can't resist spending money on junk I'll never use a good deal. You may recall the moment we first met in the flesh. I seriously thought we would live happily ever after. I would always smile at it while getting ready for work in the morning, and would think, "one day we'll take it to the next level...I'll give her a shot and see if she meets my needs."

Well, the moment of truth has come, my friends. I finally unwrapped the glossy package.

Hmmm....those things are Huh-UGE!!! Oh well...I'll give it a shot. So I slap the big BumpIt on my head and do my best to position my hair over it so it's not noticeable. And here we are.
Raise your hand if you think it looks like I have a tumor growing on my head. That many of you? I would have to agree. You may put your hands down.

So clearly the big BumpIt wasn't meant for me, so I thought I'd try the small one and see if we were a better match.

Much better. (Sidenote: I have never taken pictures of myself in the mirror before and have no clue how you people do it.) I would possibly wear this small one because I think it gives me just a nice little "bump". However, I'm not quite confident enough to wear it and hope it doesn't slide down the side of my head in the middle of a meeting. I'm not sure I could convince somebody that a piece of plastic just fell from the ceiling. So until I can have someone help me put this in, this beauty is going back in it's package and into my pile of infomercial fails. But until then, I'm only teasing.

Thanks for being my inspiration, Mom...I really do want to be just like you in more ways than this silly one! :)