sweet creations.

well, it's pictures of the same hat, but i think it's adorable.  if i say so myself.

weight watchers- weeks 1 & 2

no, i didn't mean to skip either of these.  i have been afflicted with the worst stomach virus ever.  okay.  probably not really, but it's been pretty horrific.  oh, and jay's had it too.  happy valentine's day, honey.  we get to disinfect our house together.  lovely.

anyway...

i have lost a total of 5.2 lbs in two weeks.  yeah!  now, most of what i lost the last week was not by any plans of mine.  and at the end of week one i sprained/strained one of my knees.  nice.  so i actually expect to gain weight next week.  maybe.  it wouldn't be a bad thing.  i am definitely going to have to eat what i can tolerate for the next few days.

anyway...

that's where we stand on the weight loss.  i hope it can continue and that it isn't by the same means as this last week.

for the love of dave

february 6th marked dave's 10th "adoption" birthday.  it doesn't seem like it's been that long.  dave has lived in  4 apartments, 1 condo, and now a house.  he's seen 2 other cats come and go and 1 dog come and go and well, he's stuck with these last two.  (he loves cotton and barley- as evidenced by two of the pics below.)  he's lost a tiny tiny bit of his spunk, but for the most part, he still has lots of energy.  he still loves lounging in the sun and meowing when the water bowl is getting empty.  (he won't drink from a small one.  he has to drink from the 7.5 qt bowl the dogs drink out of.)  he's still sweet and loving and an all around frisky little furball.

 (yes, in the two pics with the dogs, he had been recently shaved.)

GO RED!

today is national wear red day.  

why?

heart disease is the #1 killer of women- greater than all of the cancers combined.  

women are less likely to go to the doctor when experiencing chest pain.

women's symptoms of heart disease and heart attacks often manifest themselves differently than men's symptoms.

help spread the word and awareness.  change your clothes and wear RED today.  

a very merry birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COURTNEY!

today is our niece's 4th birthday.  it seems hard to believe she's already 4.  we don't see her often and i hate that, but i am glad we get to keep up with her in pictures.

haley, courtney, and lindsey (haley and lindsey are sisters and my first cousins)

resolution revolution.

i really hate making new years resolutions.  i always end up breaking them at some point in some form or fashion over the winter months.  i find it hard to keep resolutions when it's so cold and dreary outside.  (well, except for today.  it's sunny and 60.  yes.  60 degrees!)  now, where was i?

oh, right.  resolutions.  i think sometimes we set ourselves up for failure.  even when trying to make the goal easily attainable it is sometimes still a bit unrealistic.  for example, "i will only eat healthy foods."  okay?  who doesn't love a piece of chocolate cake every now and then?  or a plateful of cheese enchiladas.  mmm... mouth-watering isn't it?  you can't deny yourself of all your cravings.  not all of the time, anyway.

i have again been watching The Biggest Loser on NBC.  i have again been saying to myself, "if these grossly obese people can work out and eat right then why can't i?" as i sit and snack on unhealthy foods and tell myself that i'll workout tomorrow.   and when i put on my favorite pants, which are usually my "fat pants" and they fit... well, it made me want to be on the biggest loser ranch with bob and jillian.  well, maybe for just a day.  and certainly to get a cooking lesson from curtis stone.  he's just as yummy as the food he makes.

my problem?  i love food.  i love my favorite foods- most anything mexican, pizza, macaroni and cheese... and you know what?  i don't have to give them up.  i just have to learn newer, healthier ways to make them.  

i am re-joining Weight Watchers.  actually, i rejoined yesterday.  jay has rejoined, too.  i am gathering friends on facebook, and in my town, who are also doing WW or just trying to get fit and we plan to form an "encouragement" group.  it's hard to lose weight alone.  my problem is maintaining my healthy weight once i've lost it.  

my new weight loss journey isn't just a resolution.  it's a revolution.  i plan to make healthy changes and stick with them.  not for a few months this time.  but for good.  and i know that isn't something i can accomplish in a month.  it's going to take awhile.  and i know i can't do it alone.  i want to know i have support from my friends who are also doing the same thing.  and  i want to support my friends in their journeys too.  my weekly weigh-in day is friday.  friday is the only day i have off every week.  so, every friday i will post my weigh-in results.  hopefully they will be all negatives, but we'll see.  i also measured my waist, arms, legs, hips, etc so i can also watch the changes in these as well.  i may post the changes every 2-4 weeks of those, too.  :)

are any of you out there doing the same?  feeling the same?  need some encouraging words?  don't be shy.  leave a comment!!!  

praying for joanne.

joanne heim is a 38-year-old wife, mother of 2 daughters, a writer, a friend.

on january 11th she had a stroke.  she was found by her school-age daughters.  unfortunately she has had serious complications.  she has suffered severe swelling in her brain.  she is ventilated and sedated to the point of having little to no brain activity.  this is how her doctors want it, though they are going to try to start waking her soon.

if you click the "button" (aka her picture on the right) it will take you to her blog and you can read updates her husband, toben, is writing.

(no, i do not know her.  in fact, i had not heard of her until i was reading another blog asking for prayers for her.  please join me in praying for joanne.)

♥ barley. ♥

it's that time of year again.  doggie birthdays!  

barley's comes around first. she was born on january 15th 2007.  she is now 4.  

the girls actually spent the weekend at At Play with Sparky.  they love "sparky's."  their ears perk up with the mention of the name.

today they are still thoroughly worn out.  and they are clean after having baths before coming home.  tired + clean dogs = a great combination.

  

yes, i still make the dogs wear a party hat every year.  they seem to be getting a bit used to it by this point.  i think barley partied too hard this weekend, though...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BARLEY!  

we ♥ you!

the post where i talk about more snow.

yes.  more snow.  although, i think a lot of you also had snow this time around.  and despite the warmer temperatures and sunshine over the weekend, we still have snow on the ground.

and i do hate the old wives' tale.  you know the one... "snow that remains on the ground is just waiting for the next snow."  have you ever heard it?  it seems, most unfortunately, to be true around here.  i am ready for more sunshine but it seems that may not happen until the weekend.  when i work.  so i will get to enjoy it through the windows.  sort of like the way i enjoyed the snow last monday.

 i pulled out the camera and cotton thought she needed her picture taken too.  we enjoyed the warm fire as we watched the snow fall.  all.  day.

(p.s.  barley says it's almost her birthday!)

we, of course, had to measure the snow.  jay tried to get an area that wasn't so vulnerable to the wind to measure the amount so he chose the grill.  we pulled out the handy "buy the foot" macy*s ruler from my high school days.  (we sold these to raise money for our trips to NYC when we were in the macy*s thanksgiving day parade.)

so at that point it measured about 6 inches.  we had about 7 inches by the end of the day.  yep.  we did take the dogs out to play but we didn't get any pictures of them playing.  hope you enjoyed your snow.  well, if you got any.  ☺

let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!

(*the caption is to quote my dad last night.  don't ask what i said in response!  or do.  i might tell you.)

all of those who wanted a white Christmas got their wish alright.  i think the snow may have finally stopped- for now.

i worked on Christmas (and Jay worked a few hours at his job, too) and was happy that the snow didn't start until after i drove in (Jay wasn't so lucky).  however, they activated our severe winter storm policy and those of us at work that were also scheduled today had to stay overnight.  those who weren't there yet and were scheduled to work today also had to come in last night if they didn't think they could make it this morning.  did you follow that?  but we did get paid to sleep overnight and we did get real beds to sleep in and a couple of free meals so the only complaint is that i/we didn't sleep well at all and it was Christmas.  and we didn't get to enjoy the snow except what it looked like through the windows (which i must admit is beautiful).  but we were able to send almost all of our Christmas Eve babies, and some a day or two older, home today and extra staff were allowed to leave too so after 34 hours i was able to come home.  just in time for sunset...

yes i took them from inside.  it's much too cold to stand outside for long!  and i didn't have any plans to go outside but the animals decided they needed to, ahem, "go" so we switched gears and went to the front of the house and they decided it was time to play so i quickly bundled up and snapped a few pictures of our blowing snow.  (yeah, who needs a snow blower when the winds are forecast to blow with gusts up to 50-60mph?)

 dashing

 through

the

snow

cotton decided she needed to eat some snow!

jay and i had our Christmas on Christmas Eve.  he totally had me fooled about my gift.  i have been wanting a pandora bracelet and he had me going that no one had them in town and all the jewelry stores were sold out and made me make a new list just a few days ago of things that i might like.  little did i know my present was hiding in the Christmas tree!  jay got some things on his list he wanted and some things that weren't on his list that he also liked just as well.  cotton, barley, and dave each got a new stuffed and squeaky (or chirping!) toy and are quite pleased.  i have pictures of the pets and toys but our internet is running quite slowly so they will have to wait for later.  (the snow pics took an hour to upload.)

we hope you and yours had a lovely and white Christmas.  you know, if you like snow and all.  

a Christmas story.

Luke 2:8-20 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
 ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
 ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

wordless wednesday.

evergreen.

it's a girl!

Maggie Danielle Stooksbury

Born December 4th @ 8:12pm

7 lbs 8.4 oz    18 inches

Proud Parents:  Mark and Rachel

Please keep them in your prayers.  Rachel was re-hospitalized with a uterine infection and just got back home yesterday (Wednesday) and Maggie is allergic to lactose and Rachel is having to cut all dairy out of her diet.  (Thanks for the prayers in advance.)  I can't wait to meet this little sweetie!

it's coming on Christmas...

jay and i had a great time this year picking out our tree.  we have enjoyed a live tree every Christmas since being in our house.  this year we went to Boyd Mountain Tree Farm to pick out our tree.  we went last sunday on a lovely (freezing cold) snowy day.  when we got there Santa himself* informed us of the way it all works: should you be super adventurous, you can take a saw with you and find and chop down your own tree.  um, no thank you.  next option- you still venture up the hill to and find your "perfect" tree and then someone will come and cut it down for you.  then they take it down the hill/mountain for you and bundle it up.  you then head back down the hill/mountain and enjoy some hot chocolate or hot apple cider (while you pay) and some sweets and warm up under the heaters in the tent.  then,when you are ready, they will tie it onto your car.  it was muddy and cold but it was really fun to find our tree where it had been growing for the last few years.

they also have cabins on the farm that you can rent.  this is one we passed on our way.

jay up ahead...

if this is the view to the main house, imagine their view from it.

our "perfect" tree

we posed with the chain saw- we did not get to use it.

our tree being cut down... stay tuned to see it in our house.

ta-da!

after some malfunctions with the garland hanging of the garland, it finally is secured and up.  it still needs some finishing "fluffing" but our entry way is mostly completed.  (i added a little bit more hot glue to the C on our wreath.  you can never have too much hot glue when it comes to crafts!)

getting in the spirit

i thought the blog could use a little holly and jolly.  and i thought the picture was a delightful blast from the past.  (that is from the first Christmas we lived in NC.)  barley was only 10 months old!  enjoy!

planning the perfect picture.

you can very rarely get the perfect picture for your Christmas card without planning it.  i mean, really, how often does that happen?  i have a picture in mind for this year's card but i am planning to try to stage one as well.  and then i know i'll at least have a back up.  we have been sending out photo cards since we got married and especially since we moved.  i love the personalization of photo cards.  i love getting photo cards, too.  i love watching families grow and change year after year.

shutterfly has some great choices for holiday cards this year.  i really love all the Christmas card choices and i am having a hard time choosing what sort of card i want this year.  

we could do something fun and cute...

...or something a little more formal...

...or even something a bit more classic, with room for more than one perfectly planned picture.

there are so many options!  there are plenty to match everyone's personal style.  they even have great ideas for gifts, too, like these wall calendars.  

i don't know about you, but i plan to hop back over to shutterfly and start trying to decide on what our Christmas cards will be this year.  if you are a blogger too, check out how you can win 50 free cards this season.  http://bit.ly/sfly2010  they have "holiday" cards and cards to wish joy to those in the new year.  so if Christmas isn't quite your thing, follow the holiday card link above to see if there's something out there to fit your needs.  i can almost guarantee there is.  happy shopping!

breaking my own rule.

i hate when people decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving.  usually.  growing up, we would decorate Thanksgiving night or the days after but never before.  i have tried to do the same... i even complained earlier this month when i was driving home and passed a house with full lights and decor out.  it was the 3rd.  houses were still decorated for halloween.  seriously?

but this year my work schedule prevents me from having much time available for decorating this weekend.  we're taking a one day trip to knoxville for Thanksgiving and then i work the entire weekend.  i would rather be decorating.  or napping.  or, you know, not working!

so i started a little early this year.  just a day, really.  i made a new wreath today as last year's cute yarn wreath fell apart after the wind from one of our blizzards shook it all to pieces.  i knew there was no way to get it back together so i decided to start fresh.  i have also started getting the mantle decorated and even hung the stockings.  but there's still a lot of work to be done.

i did get this year's (and hopefully more to come) wreath idea from another blog.  you can see their picture here.
but here is what i came up with.  i even made the bow- i did not get any bow-making skills from my mother.  (it's most unfortunate.)