Day 8: The Best Things That Happened in the Past Year

Well, since we're just now getting through January 2011, haha-- I'm going to do the best things that have happened since January 29th, 2010 to now.

1.) Once again- I lived. And boy did I live! That's a blessing in itself :)

2. The health of my loved ones. That's such an amazing thing that I don't ever want to take for granted.

3. I took a big leap and moved in with Ethan-- we've had our fair share of struggles and difficulties but it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I sure miss my family, but it helped me grow as a person and I'm very thankful for that.

4. We conceived our sweet baby girl, Tayler! We've got to see her grow over the past 7 months.. ultrasound after ultrasound.. kick after kick... she steals our hearts. And as of today-- we have about 47-68 days until her arrival :) We love her more than words can say and are sooo excited to see her one day!

5. I got the privilege of getting my book published! What an honor that is! That someone saw something in the words I had the privilege of writing is just breathtaking. I am so thankful!

6. We got a new house! Yes! We no longer live in a 1 bedroom apartment-- THANK GOD, hehe! He blessed us with a beautiful 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom trailer and I could not be more ecstatic or thankful! I love that we have a place to bring our daughter home to and I'm thankful for such a hard-working husband that makes this all possible :)

7. Speaking of husband-- yes, we got married this past year as well. Our family is officially complete. I love looking down at my wedding ring and knowing we made that vow with one another. He takes my breath away (even when he's driving me crazy haha) and I'm so thankful I have my best friend in my life... forever.

8. Our precious baby girl was given a clean bill of health! God is SO good to us!! They were worried since 19 weeks pregnant about some choloroplexus cysts on her brain and at her 27 week ultrasound the technician said she didn't see anything!!!! Thank You Jesus for healing her and taking care of her!!

Of course, it's only January 2011. There is SO MUCH more to come. I am very thankful for all of our blessings over the past year!! Thank You God for keeping Your sweet hand upon us!

Project 365: Day 424- January 28th

Once again (I know I sound like a broken record haha) my day consisted of homework! :) But guess what? I have 2 assignments left and I'm done with my current class! WHOOHOOO! Then I move on to my last class and everything is completed! I think I could have everything done by next Friday... that's my hope! We shall see. I'm on page 11/15.... not too shabby! :)



And while working on that, I of course had TV shows on. Would you expect anything else? haha! :) Today wasn't "Desperate Housewives" however.. no.. I got our Netflix DVDs and soooo, it was a "Ghost Whisperer" kind of day! :) I'm moving through season 2... and almost done with that! Whohooo! I love being able to watch this series all the way through. I've seen tons of episodes, just not in order, so I'm putting a few puzzle pieces together that I've never understood :)

Once Ethan got home, we had hamburger helper and some mashed potatoes. Mmm! And then we had a few friends come over. Ethan and TJ went to get their iron on (as they call it) hahaha so Laken and I stayed back at the house with bowls of popcorn.....

and watching "The Grudge!"

I don't even know why I do that to myself, haha! I wouldn't even get up and go potty alone, darn it! No more scary movies, Alyssa, haha!!

Cheers to Project 365!

Day 7: Good Things That Happened This Week

1. I lived. I woke up every morning breathing. And there are quite a lot of people in this world that can't exactly say that...  I feel SO blessed :)
2. We got Tayler's car seat/stroller combo! This was one thing that I was worried about getting for some reason and we got such an awesome deal... and I LOVE it :)
3. I got a flat tire... but nothing happened to me, Tayler, or the car! Yea, the flat tire wasn't too thrilling (and neither was sitting on the side of the road hahaa) but it could have been a lot worse! And nothing happened to us! :)
4. We had a great 30 week check up this week! My blood pressure was good, Tayler is moving around. We are SOOOOO blessed!!!
5. I got hot fudge on my brownies. YUMMY :)
6. My mom celebrated her "45th" birthday. I know some people in this world don't have their mommies anymore... I consider myself amazingly blessed to have mine and know that she's healthy, celebrating another year of life! God is good :)
7. I got to spend time with my family (including my brother Corey whom I rarely see) That was awesome!
8. We got our old fridge out of my kitchen LOL! That was driving me bonkers this week, hahahaha! But it's finally gone and my kitchen is back to normal, whoohoo!
9. I got half of my school work completed that I have been working on. My goal is to have ALL of my schoolwork done by the 1st week of March so that it is all done before Tayler is here! (See, my completion date is April 11th... her due date is April 7th, haha!) and I have a feeling I'm going to have a lot more on my plate than just school work those few weeks, hehe :)

Those are a few of the amazing things that have happened this week :)

Project 365: Day 423- January 27th

Today marked being 30 WEEKS PREGNANT! :) Yes indeed! 7-10 weeks (or 49-70 days) to go! I LOVE it :) I'm so excited to see her one day hehe! Would you like to see some belly shots? Absolutely!



And here's an upclose of the belly:

And a bare belly shot :)

Can y'all believe we're this far along already? Because honestly-- I can't! haha!

And how did I spend 30 weeks pregnant? LOL STILL working on that homework. I'm on Week 4/Week 6 for my current class and then I'm moving on to my LAST CLASS UNTIL I HAVE MY DEGREE! :)  As I previously stated, I'm trying to get all of my class work done and saved on my flash drive so that I don't have anything to worry about when I'm in labor for Tayler/at the hospital, etc. And while I was working on that, guess what I was watching?

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (SEASON 2) of course!! Yes, I'm addicted. Thanks to all of my lovely friends out there that encouraged me, haha! You've created a monster.

Once Ethan got home, we enjoyed some tacos and Ghost Whisperer.. then I made brownies... and we went to McDonalds and got hot fudge... and yes, we enjoyed brownies with hot fudge dripped over them. OMG. Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!!

This is a terrible picture because I'm using my cell phone, haha, but you get the idea :) It's the hot fudge McDonalds gave me, obviously! LOL

And while eating our brownies with hot fudge, we watched "American Idol" :)

Cheers to Project 365! :)

Day 6: Your Favorite Things... What Brings You Joy?

1. Waking up in the morning. Hey, I get another chance at life. That's a HUGE deal and makes me very happy!
2. Waking up next to Ethan. My best friend. Some people search their whole lives for that... I'm happy I have found it!
3. Tayler's kicks. I don't think there's anyone in this world that makes me laugh like this little girl does. Her stretches, her kicks, her movements. I get a smile just thinking about it :)
4. My family. They're my world and boy oh boy, are they hilarious. Each and every one of them. It's never a dull moment when I'm in their presence, haha!
5. Music. I am a music fanatic! And boy oh boy does it bring me joy. I love jamming in my car, while cleaning, while working on homework... it brings me a lot of happiness!
6. Netflix. Oh, I know, I sound so materialistic, but seriously? haha! I LOVE Netflix. I love being able to watch an endless amount of TV shows, movies, etc for a flat rate per month (that's a lot cheaper than cable, haha!)
7. Sweet tea. Something I have missed dearly since being pregnant. It was nothing for me to drink 7 glasses of that stuff a day.. and now.. I have one a month (if that) haha! It's probably good I got pregnant, though! My addiction to that stuff was the cause of my chronic utis. Thank God, they're gone! :)
8. Watching comedies. Okay, seriously. Tosh.0... The Office. Yes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE stuff that makes me laugh. And these two shoes definitely do it for me! (New "Office" tonight too, by the way. Check it out!)
9. FALL AND WINTER. I am not a summer girl. I hate being hot. Give me fall and winter.. and I'll be happy. I joke around with everyone right now-- if I was "randomly" going to get pregnant... God knew it had to be in the winter.. I'd never make it in the summer, hahaha!
10. Capri Suns. Yumm. That is all :)
11. Taking pictures. If you couldn't tell (since I'm still doing a Project 365... and I'm on day 422, hahaha) I LOVE taking pictures :) I love capturing all of life's little moments. It's an amazing feeling!
12. Writing. It gets things of my chest. It makes me think. It makes me stop and analyze situations... feelings. It's my cleanser and I'd be lost without it.
13. Snow and hot cocoa. I can't have snow without the hot cocoa. That makes the sting of it being so nasty out........ better :) I love a quiet snow in the night :)
14. Walks. There's nothing like taking a walk. I swear, it clears your mind, releases endorphins.. it does the soul and body good :)
15. Friends. I love having them to talk to, to share things with... to cry with, to rejoice with. I'd be lost without my friends, I honestly would and every one of them (every one of you reading this) bring me some kind of joy!
16. Board Games. Yes, I'm that kind of girl, haha! Yes, my husband and I spend hours on Friday nights playing Monopoly as opposed to going out. And yes, we are going to be that kind of family-- FAMILY GAME NIGHTS. I just love the quality time you spend with others... I love kicking their butts ;) haha... and I just love the excitement that comes with it!
17. The Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio. My favorite place on earth... hands down.
18. Jesus Christ. Last, but not least. He's my peace. He's been my strength through every single thing I have faced in this life. He brings me more joy than I could have ever imagined and He has blessed my life in SO many ways!!!

I could seriously list SO many more things that bring me joy, but these are the things that come to mind right now :) What brings you joy?

Project 365: Day 422- January 26th

Once again, I spent my day working on stuff for class. I'm still trying to get extremely caught up and I'm slowly but surely getting there :) It's actually kind of relieving to know I won't have to work on stuff once I get it all done-- then I can focus on my child.. and having her :) And while I'm working on homework, you know I ALWAYS have to be watching something. Today's poison? Desperate Housewives Season 1-- STILL, haha! Sorry, there are 24 episodes! I'm almost done though... one left :) I'll work on that tomorrow (then it's back to Ghost Whisperer for a few days, haha!)



And guess what we got today? Tayler's car seat, base, and stroller! Now, now, now... before anyone says "You're having a girl right? That's not very girly"... it was only $100 for both at Walmart. A great sale on a great item! :) And it's jungle themed-- my daughter will likely be a crazy monkey (she is in the womb, haha) sooo it fits her perfectly. There's a hint of blue in it, but there's also yellow and orange. It works :) And I LOVE IT. And guess what? I put it all together myself! WAHOO! Another accomplishment under my belt LOL!

How cute is that?? :) I know, I know! I'm SO happy, hehe! :)

And guess what else happened today? I got new glasses! :) I know, I have like a thousand pairs, but I can't help it, haha! I'm always looking for a new style or something. Here they are:

(MY MOM glasses, haha)

(And some fun glasses!)

And I have to say sorry for the quality of my pictures! :( MY CAMERA BROKE. And yes, I am devastated. We don't really have the money to buy a new one right now, so I guess my cell phone is just going to have to do. I'm heartbroken :(

But anyways, last night we went to Toms Ice Cream Bowl for dinner with my parents for my momma's birthday! She turned "45" yesterday.. and doesn't look a day over 30 hehe! :) Here she is with one of their hats on for it being her birthday:

And that's her Tin Roof :)

And here's dad with his chocolate ice cream, hehe!

Ethan and I got a hot fudge sundae (with chocolate ice cream) and he got marshmallow on the side, haha! We had a great evening! We headed home, watched American Idol, and went to bed!

Cheers to Project 365! :)

Day 5: Books You've Read

This is going to be TOUGH to remember all the books I've read LOL We'll see how many I can recall...

1. The Bible

2. Speak

3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

4. Twilight

5. New Moon

6. Eclipse

7. Breaking Dawn

8. Finding Purpose

9. To Kill a Mockingbird

10. Are you There God, it's me Margaret?

11. 1984

12. The Confident Woman

13. I Dare You

14. Look Great, Feel Great

15. 21 Ways to Finding Peace and Happiness

16. Battlefield of the Mind

17. Beauty for Ashes

18. Do it Afraid

19. How to Hear From God

20. Me and My Big Mouth

21. Peace

22. The Shack

23. The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word

24. The Face on the Milk Carton

25. Holes

26. The Canyon

27. Hamlet

28. Pgymalion

29. Lord of the Flies

30. Of Mice and Men

31. The Crucible

32. Farenheit 451

33. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

34. The Odyssey

35. A Midsummer Night's Dream

36. Great Expectations

37. The Outsiders

38. Julius Ceaser

39. The Canterbury Tales

40. Where are the Children?

41. On the Street Where You Live

42. Before I Say Goodbye

43. We'll Meet Again

44. Pretend You Don't See Her

45. Moonlight Becomes You

46. Silent Night

47. Let Me Call You Sweetheart

48. The Lottery Winner

49. Remember Me

50. I'll Be Seeing You

51. Loves Music, Loves to Dance

52. While My Pretty One Sleeps

53. Weep No More, My Lady

54. The Cradle Will Fall

55. A Stranger is Watching

56. Gone With the Wind

57. Beowulf

58. Uncle Tom's Cabin

59. The Things They Carried

60. Number the Stars

61. Our Town

62. The Importance of Being Earnest

63. Island of the Blue Dolphins

This is all I can remember right now.. if I think of more, I'll update it :)

Project 365: Day 421- January 25th

I woke up this morning and fortunately, I had "Ghost Whisperer" Season 2, discs 1-2 in the mail from Netflix, so guess what I did today? Laid out all of my homework and worked on week 2 discussion forums and projects.. and I read the 2 chapters I needed to read in my book. I'm trying to get as caught up as I can so I can have ALL of my work done before Tayler arrives :)



And I said all of that about "Ghost Whisperer" to say that I watched the first 8 episodes of Season 2 while I was working on my homework yesterday :) Gotta have something to pass the time, right? haha!

And guess what? At about 3:00PM....... THEY FINALLY CAME TO PICK UP THE FRIDGE! haha! Bless God Almighty! My kitchen has returned to normal and boy oh boy does it feel good!

Doesn't that look lovely? hehe! And since the fridge finally moved.. I cooked some dinner last night! We had breakfast for dinner :) French toast, toast, scrambled eggs, and canadian bacon :)

YUMMY! :) Then, Ethan and I cuddled up with some blankets, popcorn, and the movie "Takers"

Good movie, but gah-- the ending made me SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO mad haha! I seriously felt like I just wasted my time... made me so mad.. so mad! LOL

Cheers to Project 365!

Day 4: Places You WANT to go

1. The Statue of Liberty

2. Alaska

3. Arizona

4. California

5. Colorado

6. Connecticut

7. Delaware

8. Florida

9. Georgia

10. Hawaii

11. Idaho

12. Iowa

13. Kansas

14. Maine

15. Maryland

16. Massachusetts

17. Michigan

18. Minnesota

19. Montana

20. Nebraska

21. Nevada

22. New Hampshire

23. New Jersey

24. New Mexico

25. Oklahoma

26. Oregon

27. Rhode Island

28. South Dakota

29. Utah

30. Vermont

31. Washington

32. Wisconsin

33. Wyoming

(Yes, I want to visit ALL of the states)

34. A cruise

35. Sandals Resport

36. Bahamas



Project 365: Day 420- January 24th

The day started out normal-- I had a project due for class that I worked hard on... I watched more episodes of "Desperate Housewives.." then, I got showered, got ready, and got in my car. We had our 30 week doctors appointment today at 2:10. I drove up the road and got to where I was driving 55mph. I thought I heard something, but figured it was just the snow falling off my car... that happens a lot in the winter.. and I just kept driving. Well, I noticed the cars behind me slowing down... which confused me. Usually they blow past me... then I turned down my music and I heard a lot of "clunking..." Well, I wasn't in an area to pull over so I drove a little bit further, then I drove over in the grass. Well, guess what? I happened to have pulled over in the ONE SPOT on that road where I had no cell phone reception, haha! So, I drove a little further up the road, stopped, carefully got out of my car, walked to the right side, and sure enough-- flat tire... SMOKING. At 1:50PM. *smacks head* haha! :)



There's where I was parked, haha! So, I called my mom and told her what happened and she drove from work to pick me up, bless her heart! Then, I called my husband and he told me to stay calm and he would leave work as soon as he could and head home to put my donut on. (He works about an hour away from home...) After about 20 minutes, my mom came and we headed to my doctor's appointment. Oh, we were about 15 minutes late.. BUT, that didn't matter. The doctor's office was running about 45 minutes behind schedule *sigh* haha! Story of my day LOL!! Well, we finally had our appointment. Everything checked out great! Tayler's heartbeat was a nice 144. She has a consistent heartbeat, let me tell you :) We're measuring a tad bit ahead of schedule (whoohoo) and we scheduled our 32 week appointment :)

Ethan picked me up at the doctor :) (Thanks mom and Ethan for carting me around, haha!) and we headed back to my precious car so Ethan could put my donut on. It wasn't in the *best* area to change a tire, but he was attempting to make it work. Then a lovely state highway patrolman came by and turned on his flashing lights and boy did people start slowing down, haha!



And wouldn't you know it-- as soon as Ethan started changing my tire... IT STARTED SNOWING, hahahaha! :) I took a picture... you can't see the snow, but you get the idea LOL

And here's my husband being such a sweetheart :)

I got out of Ethan's car and the police officer jokingly said "Why aren't you down here changing this?" LOL :) It was pretty funny, haha! Once we got that done, we went home and changed, headed into town to run some errands, and then we came home and watched "Pretty Little Liars."

Cheers to Project 365! :)

Day 3: Places You Have Been

1. Ohio (obviously, haha)- I live here!

And I'm going to go ahead and list all the states I've been to :)

2. Indiana
3. Illinois
4. Pennsylvania
5. New York
6. Virginia
7. Kentucky
8. West Virginia
9. North Carolina
10. South Carolina
11. Tennesee
12. Mississippi
13. Alabama
14. Texas
15. Louisiana
16. Missouri
17. Washington D.C

And now for the countries
18. France
19. Germany
20. England

And random FUN sights (in the states I have recorded, but still... they're FUN things haha!)
21. Kalahari
22. Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley field
23. top of the Eiffel Tower
24. the Louvre
25. a play in an opera house in London
26. Niagra Falls
27. Texas Rangers game in Texas
28. St. Louis Arch
29. Cedar Point
30. Kings Island

Project 365: Day 419- January 23rd

I woke up this morning, grabbed some breakfast with Ethan, then came home to this MESSY HOUSE and got started CLEANING. I literally almost had a nervous breakdown when I woke up this morning because of how NOT put together our house was. Just the week and weekend caught up with us and it was tragic, haha! Sooo, while Ethan left and went to work out and ref a few basketball games, I got the music cranked up, my cleaning gear on, and got started. I vacuumed, dusted, swept, mopped, did the dishes, scrubbed the counters, changed out my Scentsy lights, cleaned the bathroom, and cleaned our bedroom.. plus did a load of laundry. I was worn out, but boy oh boy, does our house look better! :)

After the cleaning was done, I got a shower because we were going out with my family for dinner, and then I RELAXED. :) Oh yes, I propped my feet up and watched about 4 episodes of "Desperate Housewives" season 1. As I previously stated-- I AM HOOKED. There is no denying it, haha!!

And finally Ethan came home. He got ready and we left to meet my family at Tumbleweed. Ethan just loves that place, haha! While we were there, it slipped that mom's birthday is Wednesday so guess what she got? Yes, a strawberry sundae type deal.... LUCKY! haha :)

I got a yummy chicken fajita wrap, fries, and a salad :) It was soooo good! After dinner, we took some pics outside with the soon-to-be Birthday GIRL! :) Here's Corey and mom:

And dad and mom:

Ethan and mom:

And mom and me :)

We were yelling at dad because he was TOO close LOL!! So, mom's laughing hysterically and I'm talking through my teeth, haha!! :) Here's our futher away photo LOL

Happy almost Birthday mom! :) LOVE YOU!

(Oh and random fun fact-- if you go to my blog post for January 23rd, 2010-- we went out for her birthday that night too. Weird, huh? LOL)

Cheers to Project 365!

Day 2: Things You Are Grateful For

Oh, this list could be REALLY long :)

1. LIFE. First and foremost-- I'm thankful for every breath that I breathe! I'm thankful I had the privilege of waking up this morning :) Sadly, not everyone gets that opportunity and I am fortunate enough to get it every single day!

2. My family-- that's every one of you out there! I would literally be lost without my family. They have all helped make me the woman I am today. They have instilled in me good morals, a good heart... I am SO blessed to have them in my life!

3. My husband, Ethan-- He's my best friend. We do everything together. I couldn't imagine my world without him in it. He takes care of me, works hard for us.. I feel so blessed to have him!

4. Tayler Serenity-- She isn't here yet (obviously) haha! But oh my heavens, my life has been blessed since the day I saw 2 pink lines on our pregnancy test. She has changed my entire world... she's changed my desires.. my actions.. the way I think. I've never been more in love with someone I haven't met. I am so thankful for the beauty she has brought to my life!

5. My friends-- It'd take me forever to list all of you out there, but you definitely know who you are. You encourage me every day, you uplift me, you make me smile. You make moments spectacular. You make me laugh. It's a blessed life when you can have angels here on earth that bless your day... every single day :)

6. A home-- I am SO blessed to have a beautiful house. We have all of the luxuries because I have an amazing husband that works SO hard to provide for us! We have running water, electricity, cable, internet, food in our fridge, heat... God has been so good to us. That is for sure!

7. An education-- He provided a way for me to have an education and for that, I'm grateful! I love knowing that I have skills and knowledge to one day change the world-- some how, some way. Not everyone has the chance to read... to write.. to learn, but I get that opportunity every day :)

8. A running vehicle-- My oh my! We live in a world where it's almost a necessity to have a 2-vehicle home.. and we have one! Ethan has been blessed with a wonderful 4wd truck and I have a beautiful 4 door car that is big and I feel so safe in it!! :)

9. LOVE-- I have love in my life. I have happiness! And that is something MONEY cannot buy. At the end of the day, we may not have enough money to afford some things, but oh my heavens, we have laughs.. we have giggles.. we have tickle fights.. we have a family. And that is what matters!!

10. JESUS CHRIST-- He's last, but certainly not least. I wouldn't have ANY of the stuff I previously listed if it wasn't for Him. God has been my saving grace in this life. He has blessed me beyond measure.. not just in material items, but also with the intangible things. He's blessed me with peace.. with health.. with love.. with comfort.. with happiness. He takes care of me and I am so thankful!!

 

Of course, this list could go on and on.. I have SO much to be thankful for!! What do you have to be thankful for? :)



Project 365: Day 418- January 22nd

We woke up this morning, got ready, and headed to Dawes Arboretum where we were getting our maternity pictures taken. According to http://www.weather.com/, the temperature was suppose to be about 24 degrees today, BUT guess what it was when we woke up? -10. Oh, I'm serious. We tied the record low. Leave it to my husband and I to pick the coldest day of the year to decide to do maternity pictures.... OUTSIDE hahahha! :) We froze... he complained.. but we had SUCH  a good time and our photographer was GREAT. We obviously got tons of pictures taken... here's an example of one. All rights are reserved to J. Barber Photography.. I just want to show a great example of her work :)



We survived though. Might have got a bit of frostbite, haha but it was SO worth it. We had SUCH a good time :)

After maternity pictures, Ethan and I went to Wendys. Now, allow me to tell you a story. I had to potty really bad, but I was also STARVING. So, I ate my chicken sandwich and fries first.. and then headed to the bathroom. I used the potty, grabbed my things, and walked out to the sink to wash my hands. I looked down part of the time and then I looked up into the mirror as I was scrubbing and I saw the stall behind me in the mirror-- and the lady was using the bathroom... with the door open... pants all of the way to the floor. Oh my gosh! I was SO embarrassed. I didn't even finish washing my hands. I grabbed my things and quickly made an exit! I ran out and told Ethan-- he said my face was beat red. I was like "Yea.. well that was REALLY embarrassing." Not for me.. but I was embarrassed for her... and a little confused why she was doing it and looking at me like I was the weird one looking in the mirror.. oh, what a great way to start the day, let me tell you, hahaha!

Once we got home, we napped then headed to my parent's house :) Ethan was going to the OSU/Notre Dame hockey game with my dad and I was hanging out at my parent's house with my momma and working on baby shower invitations! My mom bought all of the things to make the invitations and she put the first one together. Here's what it looked like:

Of course it matches her room, hehe! I appreciate my mom SO much. She did such a good job on it :) So, mom, Makala, and me worked on the making the invitations, writing out address, and stuffing envelopes :) We had such a good time. Here was our work space while we watched "Ghost of Girlfriends Past" and "Blades of Glory"-- and enjoyed some Pizza Hut.. OF COURSE!

And here are us ladies together :) We were SUPER tired when this picture was taken, haha! And forgive my hair, I was a wreck, haha!

We had such a great night and we got everything done! Thanks mom and Makala :)

Cheers to Project 365!