wordless wednesday

please pray

SECOND UPDATE: becca's husband brad said that becca should be getting off her ventilator today and is doing much better. little hannah had a minor set back when they tried to remove her ventilator so she is back on one, but is quickly recovering. i will let you all know more soon. all you lurkers out there... keep praying and say hello!



UPDATE: becca's dad stated this morning in his update that becca is stable and they expect a full recovery/turn around in 24-48 hours. daddy brad reports that little hannah is currently on a ventilator (which is completely normal for a 28 week baby) and they hope to move her off of it in a couple of days. both of these girls are getting better. thanks for the prayers. keep them going up!


hey everyone! please pray for my friend, becca. she is currently in the hospital (in ICU) with complications from pre-eclampsia. her baby, hannah grace, was delivered at 28 weeks. she is 2 lbs. 3 oz. and 14 inches long. hannah grace is doing great in the NICU. daddy/husband, brad, is obviously sleep-deprived and stressed. i am sure the grandparents and aunt and uncle are stressed and worried, too. please keep them in your prayers. i will post updates as i receive them. thank you!

wordless wednesday

i win!

there are many blogs that i follow and many of the blog authors/blog friends host giveaways. there is a very sweet girl in london, england, named rebecca, who recently hosted a giveaway for some very cute bracelets at one of her favorite shops. she randomly picked two winners and i am one of them! i have never won a giveaway that i have entered and i am so excited. here is a preview of what is coming my way. i get to choose my colors and it includes one bracelet with the pearls on organza ribbon and one beaded pearl bracelet. i think they're adorable.

puppy play days

jay was working on his truck the other day with his friends and one friend brought his chocolate lab over who happens to be cotton and barley's friend... whew! they had a blast having an impromptu play date with ramsey. after some romping around inside and outside, they all finally settled down and i was able to take a few pictures. sweet girls!

#4

today cotton is 4 years old. in human years it means she is catching up with me and jay! not much has changed with our sweet cotton, either. she still loves to lick! she loves playing with barley and sneaking up on the couch when we are gone. she loves to play with her toy balls and loves anything that squeaks. she is too smart for her own good and sometimes for ours, too. we love cotton and can't imagine our home without her. happy birthday, cotton!

january snow

it's another winter wonderland around here... we got 13 inches at our house this time. 3 more than december's big storm. i got to work, thanks to jay, on friday around 5pm and my manager brought me home this morning (sunday) after my shift ended. we got paid to sleep at work, if we were stuck, and received a few free meals, too. after sleeping in my own bed today, i got up to take a few pictures of the snow and the dogs playing...

"master" dave

this is what his mimi (my mom) calls him. dave (and his fur) have been in my life for almost 9 years (the exact date of his adoption was 2/6/01). he was already a "young adult" when i found him at the williamson co. animal shelter, so that makes him somewhere near the ripe old age of 11 or 12. he's not quite as frisky as he used to be but you'd never know he's been kickin' it around this earth for that long. he is still a meticulous groomer. he loves to sit in my lap when it's empty. he loves to lay in the sunshine, too, and can often be found sharing the same sunbeam as barley. he loves toy mice, catnip-filled or otherwise. he tolerates playing with the dogs, however, he sometimes is the instigator. he's sassy, particular, needs a new "meow," and some patience (ha!), but has been a very sweet companion. dave seems to get lost in the blog shuffle, so i thought i would post about him and his upcoming anniversary day a little early, so he isn't forgotten... and who could forget his furry face anyway. (these photos are from today, as he kept creeping up on the camera.)

he looks so mean in these two pictures, but he's so not.

i think this is as close to a cat smile as you can get.

(i think he knew i was posting about him... he is now kneading my lap.)

the iphone

well, it was a hard choice, but we have officially left verizon and made the switch to at&t. we have purchased* iphones and now have service, all without contracts. it is an amazing smart phone and so far, we have been satisfied with the service and maps. i love the features and ease of the system. of course, the apps are awesome, too. this has been the first phone jay hasn't complained about in a months time of usage, too. so far, so good, apple. keep up the good work.

*jay traded his blackberry storm for his iphone. he found mine on craig's list (?), so having our own equipment means no contract... which means if verizon ever gets the iphone, we will likely change back.

i will say the case selection is slim, but i found one i surprisingly really like.

#3

that's right. as of january 15, sweet, precious barley is now 3. in human years, she's legal! thank goodness she's a dog. what has changed with barley? not much. she's lost some weight. she still stays in her "house" when we're out because she likes to eat things that she shouldn't. she loves loves loves to lay in the sunshine as it streams through the windows and will follow the sunbeams around the room. she still absolutely loves to chase dave. she loves to play with her toys and is getting better at playing fetch. she is still our "protector" and barks at strangers and strange cars from time to time. oh, and she still loves meal time. our hearts and home would definitely be empty without her.

feeling crafty

i am in a total bird phase right now. i guess i have been for about a year or so now. birds & owls, too. from scrub tops to blog backgrounds (the birds will come back) to necklaces, they are slowly invading my life. i think it is becoming a bigger trend than just for me, but i'll just pretend i started it. ha!

so, imagine my surprise when i went to michael's yesterday looking for a rubber stamp. i had everything i needed to make thank you notes except something that said "thank you." well, i found a cute little bird version of one for $6.99. not a bad price. so i found a few cute scrapbooking papers and some cardstock and was ready to check out. my grand total at the check out was less than $5. what?! i love finding out i caught a major sale when i didn't even know. my stamp was $1. made me want to price check some others i found in the same section. but i didn't. what i did do, however, was make some super cute thank you notes. check them out. who knows... one may be headed to your mailbox right now!

a noteworthy day

jay and i had our first date 6 years ago today.
we met for coffee at portland brew and after talking for 2 hours he asked me to go to dinner. we went to chez jose's near vanderbilt. (it is closed now.)
i made him meet me at portland brew, which is no where near where i lived (or him, for that matter), in case he happened to be crazy and a stalker so that he wouldn't know where i lived! ha!
obviously that was not the case.
and as they say, the rest is history.

(my fave pic from our honeymoon)

an all too familiar sight

un-decorating

someone is going to be very sad that this tree will be gone soon. he's the reason we can't have ribbons and bows on presents. i was lucky to have ribbons on the tree. he only tried to climb it a few times, that i know about, anyway. i think Christmas is his favorite time of year. he gets more excited about the tree than the rest of us...

he's already sad his toys (i.e. ornaments) have been removed. i bet he'll be even more happy when i take him to get his fur removed (i.e. shaved). but that'll be another post for another day.

mister bluebird's on my shoulder

i really need a bluebird house.

new reality tv addiction

this year i may skip watching american idol. *gasp!* i just don't know how much work i can ask my dvr to do. i am totally into watching a (new to me) reality show. it's completely inspiring and proves that if you put your mind and heart into it, you can accomplish your goals. i started watching the biggest loser about midway through the last season and i found myself pleasantly inspired.


the contestants work out every day, learn healthy eating habits and not only a new, healthy lifestyle but they also come away with a new outlook on life. they battle the weight and what was causing them to gain it. they work so hard and it made me realize that i have no excuse when it comes to not wanting to work out or complaining about that extra 10 pounds i carry around. i can't wait to get rid of this cold/infection/whatever so that i can get to the Y (which we joined right before the snowstorm, Christmas, and the sinus/cold infection from hades) so i haven't even been yet. i haven't been officially tracking points during the holidays and have maintained my weight without exercise. yeah! but i am ready to get back to it and come away with some good, healthy workout habits. and i plan on watching the biggest loser when it starts back, too, to inspire me to keep going! fyi... the new season starts january 5 on nbc 8/7c. :) i encourage you to watch it, too.

it's the little things

you know, i never give much thought to the things we have, that we use every day without thought, until i don't have it to use. our street has been having trouble with our water pipes- bursting and such. so we spent Christmas day without running water. our neighbors had their yard dug up and part of their driveway, too. thanks to the men who worked on Christmas, we had water again by 1am Saturday morning.

we were driving home from our friends' house down the street tonight and noticed the all-too-familiar site of a heavy flow of silt-laden water running down the street and realized another section of the pipes have busted. so now, at 12am Sunday morning, we are without running water again. (and we are so glad to be heading to kingsport for a few days...)

all of that back story to say... you never think about the simple things we do every day that require water: washing your hands, flushing the toilet, taking a shower, filling up your pets' water bowl, making coffee or tea, doing a quick load of laundry, running the dishwasher... almost everything we do day in and day out requires water. what would we do without it?

we never seem to think about how blessed we are until we are without. you can show me countless commercials about third world countries, well, i've seen enough poverty in person to know about it. but i don't really think about it. my friend jen gash is in uganda right now, showering orphans and other children with beds and mosquito nets. beds. a mosquito net costs $8- it's not only to prevent itchy bug bites. it prevents malaria and death. $8. two cups of starbucks you-name-it lattes. we are blessed to live where we live.

so, as it is come back to my attention, i would like to bring it back to yours. find a cause in this coming new year (and decade). it can be local or global. (it might even involve clean water, which i learned about here, on jess's blog. i don't know jess personally, but having been following her story, and praying, for almost the last year, i feel like i do. and if you venture over there, grab some kleenex before reading cora's story.) it can cost a lot or very little. set a little aside every week or paycheck. but find a way to give back.

⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

it isn't always easy to give. i make excuses not to do so all the time. but next time i want some starbucks, i'll make myself a cup of coffee or tea at home and set aside $4 for someone else instead.

that's my goal in this new year. well, besides losing 10 more pounds. but that's another blog post for another day.

santa claus has* come to town...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

from Santa Paws and her trusty Reindog!

frolicking in the frosty firmament

cotton wants to know... what would a foot of snow make you want to do?

-stay inside in the warmth

-sip hot chocolate or hot peppermint tea or, better yet, peppermint hot chocolate

-find gloves, hats, fleece, and down jackets galore and go play in the snow

or how about all of the above?

or you can do what she and barley did...

-have a full-force wrestling match

-grab cotton in a barley headlock

-search for (snow) balls thrown by their owners

-really wish you could find that ball

-walk in snow up to your chest

-make sure your feline brother doesn't miss out on the snow action

-finally find that ball



-come charging, full-force, when your mom calls (really focus on barley)

-play with your friends

-or happily by yourself


-are you watching? here's what cotton would do...


-make labrador angels!


-and bury your face in the snow.


-get ready to attack the snow balls

-get some belly-scratchin' lovin' by your owner's snow recliner!

that's what cotton and barley would do. how about you?

they got it right.

the weather folks, that is.

got it right.

the forecast.

the snow.

who would have thought they would have been right?

i was really hoping they weren't (because i had to work. i did not make it in friday. i worked 17 hours sat/sun.).

not only were they right, they were about 6 hours off on their start time, too.

it started about 6am friday and asheville had the largest amount of snowfall in 24 hours in their history. but don't quote me on that. it ranks about 5-6 in all time records, which encompass a 48-72 hour time period. asheville got anywhere from 15-18 inches. here in fletcher, we got about 10-12 inches. not 10-12 snowflakes, which is what we typically get when snow is in the forecast.

i chronicled a short timeline of how quickly it accumulated with pictures, of course.

8am friday morning, shortly after i returned home from work.

2pm friday afternoon, shortly after i woke up.





6pm friday night, about 12 hours after it all began.

10am saturday

almost all the bushes were covered in snow