All the things in early 2017

It is clearly May, but I want to say life has gotten away from us. 

Just a quick recap of whats been going on.

Christmas Break

Here is our annual Christmas picture thanks to Kelley! We had a great Christmas with both of our families, lots of good time with everyone. 

                                 

Right after Christmas my SIL was out of town and my BIL has some errands to run so I offered to keep their littles. Bryon and Brody don't have a dog and are sometimes scared of them, but they have come around to our Sprinkles. I think Sprinkles liked the little guys and they ended up leaving our house liking her. 

                                

                               

New Year 

Ringing in the New Year in Kansas, because we like to party!!!! The Baker siblings all came together and we celebrated like siblings should, with 4 little boys and fun decorations. 

                       

Kelley and I bought matching pajamas for us gals, why should the kids get to have all the fun?

                       

This was Sprinkles first time meeting their cats, they pretty much left each other alone. The cats were not a fan of hers, they would hiss at her and steal her toys (kind of like the boys, lol).

I made a decision for my New Year goals I would pour more into me and make myself a priority. What a better way than leaning into the Lord. I stole a recommendation from the Mix & Match Mama  and grabbed the One Year Bible and I am loving it. It is written in English, you all know what I mean, really understandable language. 

I also grabbed this book from Emily Ley, Grace not Perfection, soooo good!

I feel a lot of the information and "lessons" I learned from it will come in handy when we have a child in our home. But realizing that I don't need picture perfect anything has been encouraging to our household. 

                  

We helped the Weinheimer family celebrate Samuel!!! They ice skated while us wives chatted and caught up. I really am thankful that we get included in the fun of this family, (Samantha is really like a sister). 

                  

Another of our goals for this year was to try new things, so I grabbed Tim and took him to the new Acai Bar in town. Our first go around we were not impressed, but since then I have been back with the SIL and REALLY liked it. I could go back for sure and will take Tim with me. As Tiffany would say, "you gotta get the right mix", she said she was going several times a week, I feel like she knows. 

                   

We went to the local "personal" airport to see a plane, some family members have recently gotten one and were showing us. Super neat to be that close to a plane that wasn't commercial. 

Tim thinks he a) needs one b) wants to get his license.

 I tell him to have all his affairs in order before he begins. It makes me nervous. 

                                  

Spring Break 

For my Spring Break we headed to Dallas/Ft. Worth area and this little one couldn't go with us. We may not have kids but we sure love this little furry girl and we HATE leaving her. Luckily my parents kept her, she enjoys it and I think they secretly like it too. 

                                  

I have family in Pottsboro and we stayed with them one night on our way through. Now my cousin is a little older than me but her and her husband are a blast. Tim  had a plan for us to go visit a distillery, a high school classmate had started this business. Now, I am not an avid drinker but when in Rome, lol. We were at the Ironroot Republic in Denison, TX and if you are in the area or passing by, stop. If nothing else, it is so interesting to see how they make their liquors. The owner was so nice to us, gave us a tour even while they had a private event going on. 

                                 

                                 

The whole point of going in the direction of DFW was to go down to Waco and see Magnolia Market.  Now, I had built it up in my head that we would show up at 9am go through the market buy a few goodies, get a cupcake at the bakery and get a snack at their food trucks. It was dreamy and wonderful in my brain. Now, ask me if thats how it went down??? It was cold, dreary,  windy, all the things that would send anyone over the edge. I'm pretty confidant it was everyones Spring Break in North America. It was extra crazy, like super packed.  Really, no one wanted to go to a beach, Disney, or Cancun? NO, they all wanted to come to little oh Waco. It was neat to see what I have been looking at on TV for the last few years. I could have ordered what I bought online and I didn't get a cupcake and we didn't eat off a food truck. 

                                  

                                  

Now would I go back? YES! I would love to go and get to hang out there longer. Although, I am pretty confidant it will be crazy busy for a while, everyone wants to see it, but I would go back!

                                  

Tim and I went to Kenzie's track meet. Tim loves that she runs because I think he lives vicariously through her while she runs. And no we didn't get a picture of her, she was in an awkward place in the line up and it was so fast #badaunt

                  

Our neighbors had bees in their tree and some bee lovers came to save the day. Now, this is where it gets interesting: the previous weekend I was with some friends and Brea said "were wanting some bees for a bee farm in our backyard". The man in the A&M shirt is her husband there to collect them. Brea's in-laws live down the street from me and they told her husband there were bees near by and he should come get them. I went out there and we connected all the dots and visited. 1) the bees have a new home and I hear they make good honey 2) our neighbors, Brea's in-laws are precious,  we are so glad to have met them.  3)Brea and her family are the next Gaines'

                                  

                                   

I had heard about putting coconut oil in coffee and blending it. Well I finally tried it and it was AMAZING!!!!! Like I want to invite everyone over to make it for them. I have told everyone I work with and I am convinced that it is my very own "healthier" latte. I feel like it helps my life in many ways!

                      

Ok- this is my cousin Jill- she is awesome!!! She was a traveling nurse and was living in Hawaii for a while and learned to love the islands. She met her husband and they decided to do a destination wedding. Now this is a lovely idea, until you realize they are only inviting immediate family. Her pictures are dreamy and everything a wedding in Hawaii would be. I am hopeful to see her soon to see all her pictures and hear about their even more exciting honeymoon. They went to Bora Bora and Tahiti, who wouldn't to visit these destinations. 

If I wasn't already married this would be #weddinggoals

Tim and I are nearing our 3 year wedding anniversary and we are so excited to see what is to come for us. We are having a HVAC reno happening as I do this blog, so hoping all will be 100% for the summer. Is this what adult life is like? I work with middle school and high school kids on the daily, they keep me young and help me forget I am actually quit a bit older than them. 

And to leave on a #tbt this gal and I have big things this next week
we have been through a lot together, Best of luck Danielle!!!!

Friday Favorites

I am linking up with a few other bloggers who like to share goodies on Friday's- completely ideal!

So this moisturizer has been a FAVORITE layered with this one.  It has been doing wonders for my skin. My only concern is that the foundation I am using (I think) is making my skin in the daytime super dry.  So I will continue what I am doing until I figure out what to change next.

 

I ordered this pair of booties and have worn them sparingly, but they are a FAVORITE and I do love them. I wore them to Tim's Christmas party and they were a hit.

I have been obsessively watching Hallmark Holiday Movies and Netflix like a mad woman like the FAVORITE they are.  I have watched the Gilmore Girls: A year in the life, that will rock your world if you were an avid watcher. I do hope that the random rumors I have seen are true, that they will be back in some format. #agirlcandream

I have also been re-watching all the Grey's Anatomy, why???? Once I get started I can't stop #I'mnoquitter  And I do like the original cast the best, but I do like a good Dr. Avery #eyecandy

And a friend convinced me to watch Revenge, that was a wild ride.  I did tell my sister to watch it and that I felt like I was personally stronger and that I could defend my self if needed.  I'm pretty sure she finished it in a week.

Another FAVORITE has been the Tony Moly sheet masks. One Saturday morning I couldn't sleep, it was 5am so I decided to get an early start to my day with some oil pulling and sheet mask wearing before the hubby and pup got up to make fun of me. 

I had ordered Sprinkles a new container and its her new FAVORITE to hold all her treats, the girl likes options. On Zulily I had seen this tin and it was perfect. Then when I got it, it was smaller than I anticipated (I never look at dimensions and then surprised by the size of things). It is serving its purpose and I think my nieces would love it. 

On Tuesday I had to pick a prescription that was near by so I took my little FAVORITE with me- she may be a great driver but she has no manners when it comes to going through a drive through- eek! The pharmacist probably thought I was a loon for taking her out of the house. 

#butshescute

Also on Tuesday, Tim and I had our FAVORITE time of year -Christmas Program Extravaganza 2016, ok so it wasn't really called that but, our nephew Bryon and niece Bella both had programs. He was the cute guy in the reindeer costume, I think Tim and I both enjoy seeing children's programs because they look so dang cute. It was a great program, then we headed to my niece's orchestra concert for middle school. The auditorium was crazy full, so we stood out in the lobby listening, it was unfortunate that we didn't even get to see her up close.

We have a fun weekend planned with a little ones birthday party and family fun! It is supposed to snow tomorrow, I hope its a joke #aintnobodygottimeforthat

Since Forever

It has been a long while since I have gotten on here. Life has been crazy, I have spent the last year, August 2015-December 2016, working on my Masters in Guidance and School Counseling with Angelo State University. I was completely surprised at myself along with my abilities to go back to school and still live a daily life. I "graduate" next week, so Tim and I are praying that God will allow opportunities to open up when necessary within this field. 

Any-who, lets take step back in time!

At the beginning of August my sister Samantha and her family were all baptized at church. Tim and I, along with my parents all went to witness this. It was pretty amazing to see my sister and her husband make the declaration for the Lord, but also the kids. I feel like this is a Brady Bunch moment, afterwards we went and celebrated an awesome beginning with ice cream. 

With the start of this new school year my assisgnemnt was to do 160 hrs of practicum or observation hours. I was lucky enough to be with a school counselor at 2 great schools every afternoon. (At my campus there is not a counselor so I had to go elsewhere for this part.) So I worked half a day with my original school with lots of teachers (and lots of older kids) and spent my afternoons working in my passion.  

A couple of years ago I decided at the end of every week I would go to Starbucks and named it- Starbucks Friday, it was of a weekly reward for surviving the week. Any other teachers out there know what I mean by surviving the week. Well for my first Friday of the year I wanted to try a new coffee shop, Palace Coffee, it has more of a small time feel, and they make great looking drinks like this. 

#coffeeart

This one- Sprinkles always finds things she's not supposed to have, this morning she found a pen.  I think she does it because she gets my attention and it usually ends with a treat.

My mom and I had an idea of making Sprinkles costume this year for Halloween,  so while we were looking for material I told her I wanted a bandana/necklace for her. This is what she made her. Sprinkles likes it ok, I do catch her trying to chew on it sometimes, but she hates wearing accessories so it doesn't last long.

For her 3rd Birthday we took Sprinkles to get a treat and a new toy from Yellow City Pet Supply, it is a cute little pet store (I only saw dog and cat items).  She picked out some peanut butter cookies that are made with legit only normal ingredients, so if I was stranded and needed to eat one I totally could, and she also picked this pink flamingo- she is my daughter!!

For Tim's Birthday we went to Kabuki (Hibachi style) for a dinner date since it was a Tuesday. We were seated with two workers of BNSF and we can make friends anywhere so we visited and they did a Sake Bomb together, I sat that one out. 

It was fun celebrating this guy!! 

Along with my spastic schedule I wanted to try a food box service, I chose Blue Apron. It was definitely interesting for sure. 

This is a cauliflower steak on a bed of grain and arugula with a topping of a hazelnut grape reduction. Ok- the meals were good but maybe too fancy for me. Now, I can appreciate a good meal and don't need it to be chicken strips with macaroni and cheese, but I am naturally not a cauliflower eater so I think I did well with things I don't normally eat. I don't think Tim was sold on this food box service.

In mid-October a special gal, Jordi, was getting married out of town but before she left I was able to go to her shower and afterwards it was hot and miserable. Like maybe early summer miserable so I put on shorts and headed to family game night at my parents. This necklace is my favorite necklace ever, it was my wedding gift from Tim, my new initials.

#patternmixing

Ok- these two littles are an odd couple. One day Spencer likes Sprinkles and the next maybe not. They are funny together. If one looks the other doesn't, I think moms of several small children can relate.

At the end of October I was told of a greenhouse that sells flowers to the community at discounted prices. Now I have tried to have a green thumb but I think since I don't consciously think about it I forget to water them, oops.  These have already died in their pretty flower pots. Tim might have been angry at me for buying them and then letting them die, but I did try to keep them going. He said I can't buy any more, my response was, "I paid $6 for them, its fine".

For Halloween I wanted Sprinkles to be a Sheep, so cute an fuzzy. Well Nana tried, I searched for fabric that was similar and my mom found a pattern online. She made it and gave extra room so she wasn't a sausage, it was still a fail. Her front paw wouldn't go in, it could have if we broke it but I am not about to break limbs for a costume. I felt bad that there wasn't time to fix it so she wore her necklace my mom made her and I said she was a Park Ranger- she likes parks and she likes to make sure she's in charge. 

#itworked

Early November we had a day of running to lunch and just hanging out, when we were done we met up with some other men of the family. Jim took this picture of us, I think it captures us pretty well- 1) we love BWW and 2) we like to be near each other. I talked while they watched the Tech vs. Texas game, I bet they enjoyed that.

I like to take pictures of Sprinkles and I then send them to Tim at work. Now, I don't know if he appreciates them, is annoyed by them, or even sees them but I would say at least once a week he gets one. I have coined the term #Sprinkatime, like Sprinkles and Erica time, he didn't totally get it. We sure do love this pug!

It was nearing Red Ribbon Week and my mentor and I were in charge of creating the week of dress up plans for kids. I quite enjoyed this part of it, but one of the days was "I VOTE TO BE DRUG FREE", so naturally we needed a Trump/ Clinton mask for our delegates. Tim was a big help, he picked them up for us when he was in Lubbock. Now I have two masks that we will never wear, but a cute reminder of our hard work (Wendy did most of it, but I helped cut out letters).

Tim had to leave town unexpectedly but I had already planned a girls night with my bible study girls for a meal.  We did soups and salads and played a game Say Anything, I enjoyed it so much that I bought it on Black Friday and we played it with family that weekend. But, Sprinkles was so distraught with us ignoring her she laid in her bed, that never happens. 

The day before Thanksgiving I was up with a list of things to do- although I still for some reason waited till the morning of to make a dessert for Tim's family that totally could have happened on this day- but while I was baking I watched This Is Us, and snuggled with you know who while Tim and the guys went golfing.

Thanksgiving Day we had 2 lunches, so we made one for lunch and one for dessert. I totally appreciate a good holiday meal, we were satisfied with our family meals.
Again with these two- always at my chair hanging out. I did tell Spencer to give Sprinkles a kiss, so he was trying to kiss her back, it was too cute. 

Auntie Kelley brought Sprinkles a little gift (maybe it was a miss you gift?), a LARGE flamingo. She loves it. She will drag it around and chew its legs.

Tim was gone for the most of a week and I tend to enjoy one night of random girl stuff but a week of it is too much. But I get to eat more of what I want. Bread and cheese!! 

Anything Caprese is a win in my book!

I am going to end with this cute gal! She does make our days brighter and keeps us entertained. We are excited for the holiday season to continue- tonight with Tim's work Christmas Party!!!

Happy Holidays!