Project 365: Day 375- December 10th

Today was a fun day for Tayler! Why? Because she got lots of things today from some of her mommy's friends... and her mommy and daddy, haha! First on the list was this onesie which we were absolutely STOKED about. She even has a headband and hat to wear with it :)

Is that not the cutest thing EVER? hehe! I just adore it! And I can't wait til she can wear it in the Spring/Summer!:)
After that arrived, Tayler got her very own package. Yes, it was addressed to her.. and it was SO surreal to actually see her name where someone else wrote it. Adorable!

And what was in this package? A picture frame my friend Kat made us, hehe! It matches her bedroom and even has her name wrote on it! We absolutely LOVE it!

Now it's deciding what picture to put in it. Hmmmm. Any suggestions?? 
AND, we got our ornament in the mail from our Secret Santa gift exchange with my Plurk girls. Kat got me in the exchange and bought us this ornament:

Can you tell who our family roots for? haha! Bring on that Sugar Bowl, brothas! :)
Ethan finally got home, we grabbed some food, and I started working on putting together the stand my parents got us for Tayler's room. Unfortunately, I didn't have a screw driver so I put together what I could with SCISSORS (yes, I put the edge of the scissors in the screw and twisted it... ridiculous, haha) and then once Ethan got home, he put the rest together, bless his heart. We put it in her room with her picture frame and this is what it looks like:

The white spaces are for pictures which means we've got to pick those out too! Decisions, decisions, haha! We'll see what we come up with. In the mean time, I think it looks great! We love it and her room is FINALLY starting to come together!
After that, we had such a lazy night, but funny story-- Tayler hardly moved all day today. She usually kicks like 50 times a day and I got maybe 7 today, haha. Well, Ethan came home and started telling me about Ke$ha's new song "We R Who We R..." (He knows I can't STAND her music LOL) and he starts playing it.. and wouldn't you know it... my daughter starts going crazy in there! He stops the music, she stops. He plays the music, she goes crazy again. All I can say is it better have been kicking and moving in PROTEST of that music, haha!!
Cheers to Project 365!

December 10th- WISDOM

December 10 – Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway) 

  The wisest decision I made this year was finally getting the guts up to send my book in to be published. I have been working on a book for about 2 years and Ethan kept telling me it was good and motivational.. so, I finally found a company that I trusted and sent it on in! I really hope to change someone's life with it... I just want to make a difference in someone's life!

December 9th- PARTY

December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. (Author: Shauna Reid) 

 Well, if this were AFTER Christmas, I would definitely say Christmas. It's always a fun, exciting time, but I guess the social gathering that rocked my socks off was my mom's birthday this year. We went to a local place on the river... and we drank and ate some YUMMY food. Ethan was there, my sister, his brother, mom, and dad and a few of their friends. I drank sour amarettos all night and by golly, were they amazing! PLUS, I had bourbon fries and the muddy burger. So freaking good, haha! Here are some pictures of it:

(Mom and Dad)

(Ethan and me)

(My sister and me) 

 

Project 365: Day 374- December 9th

I woke up this morning and realized it was a Thursday which meant I was 23 weeks pregnant today :) Wahooooo! Here's our 23 week belly shot with my shirt down, hehe!

(That's one of the shirts my momma bought me!)
Our Tayler Bug is certainly growing! And here's a shirt shot with my shirt pulled up a bit:

And a full body shot. I thought it looked pretty festive considering Christmas is right around the corner, hehe!

I absolutely love being pregnant. We have seriously been SO blessed.
After taking a few pictures, I got ready to go. Mom and Dad picked me up and we went to The Depot for lunch :) Dad had to go to the doctor this morning to get his leg checked and get his staples out. All went smoothly with that, but he still has to keep his leg brace on for 2 more weeks :( He wasn't too thrilled about that, but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry, right? Anyways, we went and enjoyed some great food and good conversation! I love spending time with my parents :) Here's a picture of daddy in the car. Mom came in to see the Christmas tree, but it would have taken dad a few minutes to walk that far poor fella.

And here's momma and me inside the house:

After that, I came home and cleaned up and waited for Ethan to get home from work. I got a text message before he left work that said "Hey sweetie, you have been working really hard on the house this week, on cooking dinner, and the dishes. How about I pick up dinner tonight and we watch a movie and cuddle?" Oh, of course I was all over that, hehe! And I picked WENDYS to eat! And-- a little back story here-- Ethan has a car that does not have a radio or CD player in it. So, on his way to work, he listens to his Zune using headphones (haha, dork LOL I love him). Well he calls me on his way home from work and says, "Hey I was thinking about buying a speaker for my Zune to put in my car until I can get something installed in here.. I think I'm going to stop on the way home...." Well GUESS WHAT I BOUGHT HIM FOR CHRISTMAS, hahaha! So I told him to just come home first. He kept asking why and I said "JUST COME HOME." When he got here, I told him no more buying things until Christmas and had to give him his present early!! 

We tried it last night and it has some amazing sound with it! Verizon makes the speaker and boy oh boy does it sound good hehe! Ethan really likes it and I am soo glad!! :) We were jamming out on the way home from the store last night haha!
When we got home, we checked the mail and I had something in there from the publishing company that is publishing my book. I joked around with Ethan and said "This better be some MONEY!" haha Even though my book isn't even published yet, haha! I opened it up and sure enough it was a check for $1.00. They said it was my first check to show that my book was a serious project and they were excited to be working with me :) Either way, that baby is getting framed haha! One step closer, thank God!

After that, we cuddled up and watched "Iron Man 2." What a good movie! Robert Downey Jr. is absolutely hilarious and his chemistry with Gwenyth Paltrow is remarkable :) I LOVED it.

Cheers to Project 365!

Project 365: Day 373- December 8th

I had a lazy day around the house today. I wasn't feeling the greatest... it was freeeezing outside (which meant cuddling up on the couch hehe)... and I was just really tired. So, I relaxed.. tried to get in to a new TV show (that was a bust)... and waited for Ethan to get home from work :) Once he got home, we had taco salads. They were super yummy-- especially because I was craving them, hehe!

I had jalapeno chips, taco seasoned hamburger, lettuce, cheese, onions, and ranch dressing :) Yum!
After that, I cleaned up the house, did the dishes, and we settled down to watch "Inception." I'd heard what a great movie it was... and it was! However, it was brutally confusing... at least for me! I was shocked by the ending and I've yet to figure it all out in my brain, but I definitely recommend it :)

Cheers to Project 365!

December 8th- BEAUTIFULLY DIFFERENT

December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond) 

 I'm weird. And I'm alright with that. I'm a bit of a homebody. (I'm just not a fan of crowds...) I'd rather cuddle up on the couch with the love of my life and a cup of hot cocoa than go out to the movies or something. I just enjoy the little moments I suppose. I have an obsession with quotes. I love collecting movies and books, even if I never watch them or read them. Although I don't enjoy crowds, I absolutely LOVE people. I LOVE making people smile. I enjoy cracking jokes. I enjoy telling stories. I enjoy knowing that people's spirits have been lifted.  I try and light people up through uplifting statuses on FB. I try and light people up through compliments. I try and light people up through SMILING. Most of the time when you're walking through a store, if you smile at someone, they will indefinitely smile back. What a great way to change someone's life :) I enjoy doing kind deeds for someone. I LOVE giving. It's something that is so simple, but so empowering! 
During this time of year (and every month of the year)-- try doing something nice for someone. Buy their groceries. Compliment them. Encourage them. Change their world.

Project 365: Day 372- December 7th

I spent a good part of my day CLEANING. Yes, as I always state-- this house was a complete mess after the weekend. I don't know why we let it get out of control, but it happens, haha! So, I spent today vacuuming, scrubbing, lighting some candles, doing laundry, doing dishes... oh, it was totally a fun time, haha! 

Oh and can I just say I LOVE my swiffer jet :) So much better than mopping, haha! 
After cleaning, I got a summer dress for Tayler from Target. Eek! I absolutely LOVE it hehe!

I focused in on the little bow on the dress because it's ABSOLUTELY adorable hehe! :)

And after that, I cut up some green peppers and onions for dinner. It was a chicken stir fry kind of night! :) I got the chicken cut up, cooked it in the skillet, added the peppers and onion, and this is what we had:

And we had that all over brown rice. Not to toot my own horn as I always say, but it was yummy hehe! It's my momma's recipe :) SUPER good. 
After that, Ethan told me it was OUR night. He turned off his phone (people are ALWAYS calling it) and we laid around on the couch all night watching "Home Alone 2" hehe!

Cheers to Project 365!

December 7th- COMMUNITY

December 7 – Community Prompt: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris) 

 My online community is absolutely precious to me... they are my ladies from www.plurk.com. We have developed our own "world" there. I love each and every one of them from the bottom of my heart. We have grown so close to one another and I appreciate it more than words can say. They have been there through the hard times, good times, blessed times, disappointing times...  they are truly my best friends. Having said that, in 2011 I would also like to create the same group of friends in PERSON. I would love to have a circle of friends that I can trust and rely on that live near me. I miss having that, but I just rarely have good luck with friends. Many girls are all about back-stabbing... and drama. I'd love to find friends that live near me that are mature and grown-up. 

Project 365: Day 371- December 6th

I spent my day resting. I was suppose to clean the house today, but I had strict orders from the love of my life to lay down and take care of myself and Tayler. He's such a sweetie. He said "If I come home and see a clean house, I'll mess it all back up" hahaha! So, I followed his orders... I worked on my project for class and laid down on the couch to watch some movies :) Oh, but I slipped in some Christmas wrapping, hehe! And FINALLY all of our presents are "wrapped" and under the tree. Yes, most of my wrapping consists of gift bags. Don't be hatin' haha! I am a terrible wrapper lol!

I just love our tree! And I'm soooo excited for everyone to open their presents, hehe! :)
After wrapping presents, I made some dinner for us :) We had steak fajitas tonight. I know we have these at least once a week, but they're Ethan's favorite, haha! 

After dinner, Ethan went to play basketball, and I made some dessert and curled up on the couch to watch "The Office" hehe! :) Wanna see the dessert??

It's a peanut butter yogurt dip. All you do is mix 1 cup of non fat vanilla yogurt with 1/2 a cup of peanut butter. Then you just dip some fruit in it. SO YUMMY! Tayler and I enjoyed that with a  cup of orange juice hehe! Super yummy! Once Ethan got home, we played a few games of putt putt and hit the sack :)
Cheers to Project 365!

December 6th- MAKE.

December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin) 

 The last thing I made was-- toaster streudels. Oops... that's not really making something is it? haha! Well, if we're talking about MAKING something, I suppose I could say that I "made" the letters and polka dots for Tayler's wall in her bedroom. I actually bought the circles and letters, but I painted them and connected them together. Want to see? Sure!

I'm so excited! I just LOVE it :) I hope she does too hehe!
And I want to "make" or I guess continue making the scrapbook for Tayler. I just need a better work space and more supplies to do that. Soon, I hope. Soon! 

Project 365: Day 370- December 5th

We got up this morning and headed to my parent's house. Ethan offered to help my dad hang up the Christmas lights on the outside of the house since he can't go up a ladder due to his surgery. What a sweetheart, right? :) And I helped mom decorate their tree. They are going with an old school theme.. it's gorgeous. Here's a shot of the tree:

And here's the finished product:

So adorable! Mom has such a knack for decorating and craftiness :) I just LOVE it. We had a little helper with us too while decorating, haha--

He's such a cutie haha! Mom even put on his Christmas tie haha How cute is this?

He's such a cutie hehe! :) 
Mom made us an amazing dinner-- beef and noodles, twice baked potatoes, steamed vegetables with cheese. It was so good! We stayed there for awhile and watched the Cleveland/Miami game, then we packed up and headed home just before the snow started to hit! THANK GOD (cause I was driving lol and I'm terrible at that) While on the way home, I started feeling really sick. I went home and fell asleep for about an hour or two and when I woke up-- I was even worse. I had a fever, was achey, sore throat, sore neck, and a headache. Ethan got me some tylenol, Sprite, and Halls throat drops. I wasn't feeling any better by bed time, so we hit the sack-- fortunately, my fever  dropped! That was relieving. While going to bed we watched the VH1 Divas "Support the Troops." :)
Cheers to Project 365!

December 5th- LET GO.

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley) 

 I let go of  my past. I think that's simple enough to say. Although most of you don't really know what all my "past" consists of, just know that it was a GREAT thing for me to let go of it. I feel like 2010 gave me another chance, another opportunity... a clean slate. It was JUST what I needed after what 2009 handed out. But hey- that's life. You have your ups, you have your downs. It's just important to recognize when it's time to grab hold of something.. and when it's time to just let it go.