'Round Here

We are super excited for spring around here! My first winter in Alamosa a.k.a. THE COLDEST SPOT IN THE US! Taught me some valuable lessons one of them being

1.        I refuse to take any part of the summer months for granted & I also PROMISE to never complain about the heat this summer.

We have a very busy schedule coming up, that includes almost every weekend until June away from our little house here in the valley.

So I decided to get a head start on the “spring cleaning” only to have it covered with a new coat of dirt from the crazy wind we have been having. Secretly I think it still counts because I DID put in the effort to get it done!

April has flown by, & I will be the first to admit that I don’t actually mind!

The faster summer gets here the better!

So to play a little “catch-up”

 we spent Easter in Westcliffe with both of our families.

Jeb helped me dye hard-boiled eggs the week before and we spent the day shooting guns, eating yummy food & laughing.

It was such a great day to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection.

We also got to sneak in a little family time with my cousins. They had celebrated a special girl’s birthday Saturday morning and we got to see them before they headed back up to Greeley!

Trip has been to the Vet and decided he was not a fan. He had a body part or two removed, I was told that when Jeb went in to picked him up he ran past the vet-tech right over to Jeb peed, and then was ready to “hit the road Jack & we ain’t EVER comin back!”

I felt so bad for our little fella, but I am happy to report his is back to his normal crazy self!

                                         

Since it is warming up down here we have been leaving him in the pin next to our house while we are away at work! He seems to really like it & I think we will be investing in a plastic kiddie pool this summer for him to cool off in.

I can’t believe that this year I went home to beautify my youngest sister for her SENIOR PROM!

ANDDD

That the very same weekend, I helped my other sister celebrate her 21^st birthday!

I am so lucky and so blessed to call those two girls my best friends

I love that I am only a short drive away from them and can be around for special events.

Lately my heart has been aching, like every other American, and hoping that there is still some hope for humanity.

I know that we live in a broken world and what we all need is Jesus, so I will faithfully keep putting my trust in him.

And I will treasure what I have to be thankful for because I am truly lucky to live the life I live.

May, will bring numerous trips to Westcliffe and a few up to the northern part of Colorado for a special graduation tea, a play, 2 graduations and other fun events.

I am going to welcome all these special times with a whole new outlook and appreciation, because you honestly NEVER KNOW. But I refuse to be a hermit because of the evil that haunts this world.

I am going to live this life because God has chosen me to live it!

Bring It!

This word frenzy has taken me draft after draft,

Thought after thought

Day after day

And tear after tear.

I have been thinking about how I wanted to poetically put into words my feelings since my blog in October called “A Little Bit about MUAH”.

And I thought I had it all ready to go full of pokes and pins in all the right places that were sure no leave no question as to who they were directed to.

Until I left it in Word as a draft for about 2 days.

My feelings have been pretty hurt since that post. But not just because of the one bad report that came from it.

I for one was ready to see 2012 walk out the door of my life.

Although there are so many many wonderful things that happened to me this last year, I am beyond ready for a year that doesn’t include waiting, wanting, wishing, hoping & and feeling lost.

And far too many lessons learned to count.

For a brief minute I thought about re-considering my career dream.

After a few different hair appointments ending with less than desirable outcomes (from more than one person.) I thought I might not cut out for the job.

But then Jeb, being the great husband he is, talked me through a few emotional spells and I have decided on a few solutions.

I am hoping to take a step back from doing hair and find a job that will pay me hourly so we can work on gaining some ground on another one of our goals.

I will also attend more than one hair show during this time to work on perfecting my craft.

Instead of letting other women hurt my feelings, put me and my ability down, and make me question my personal goals and dreams, I am going to ignore, put to good use, and quiet their voices in my head.

This year is for me.

Yes, this year I am going to make a conscious effort to become healthier.

FOR ME.

Not because anyone else thinks I need to.

I’m doing it because I want to.

I can tell you right now I am not going to be very good at it at first, but I will work through it and be better and better.

But 2013 is also a year for me to work on not caring what other people (women) think or say behind my back.

This year there is going to be more laughter and less tears

More enjoying and less worrying

More positive and less negative,

And my most favorite,

More muscle and less fat!

Here’s to 2012 and all the wonderful things that happened.

2013, I’m going to kick your ass!

End of October

today is just one of those days.

I am sitting here kicking myself because after the weekend we had, I don't have one single picture to show for it.

Believe me it was one for the books. 

Jeb and I both were able to get Friday (and Saturday for Jeb) off so we could take a road trip up North to see all our family.

We left Friday morning so we could meet Lacy in Pueblo just as she got off of work and we hit the road!

We spent the afternoon at my cousin Kati's visiting with her and her family. She had a baby boy 3 weeks ago and I COULD NOT wait to meet him! 

They had a Halloween party to go to that night so we met up with one of my very best friends and her fiance and Jeb's brother to play BINGO!

We really did have such a good time even though none of us won any money, we went back for the "late night" round to try our hand again. Didn't win anything that time either, but got to spend some more time together!

After watching a few episodes of Duck Dynasty with my Aunt Chris we called it a night.

The next morning we left kati's house after 2 rounds of hugs and kisses from Jackson and headed to my Grandparents

Saturday was my papa Jason's 80th birthday. We spent the morning chatting with him and my grandma about the wedding and all the happenings in their lives. 

My parents and Karly made it to my Grandma's house just in time for lunch. 

Just as we were about to sit down to big plates of nachos my aunt Becca and cousin Jake brought my other cousin Matt's daughter over to spend a little time with us.

She is so cute, it took her a little time to warm up to all of us, but when Jeb and I left to head for Ft. Collins she was being passed from person to person.

My parents, sister and family celebrated my Papa's birthday that night with dinner and a scrapbook full of memories from many people in my papa's life.

We met up with Jeb's parents, brother and girlfriend at Farm House, the fraternity that Tyler is president of. They had just finished up an afternoon snack of cinnamon rolls and hot cider. Perfect for a pre-game snack.

The 6 of us stopped by 5 guys before heading to the game just to make sure we were full to the brim.

The game was so cold! But, THEY WON! it turned out to be a pretty fun game to watch!

Jeb's friend Ian met us for the 2nd half of the game and for drinks at Potts after.

It was such a fun day!

Sunday we met Jeb's brother for breakfast before his alumni meeting and then went over to Buffalo Wild Wings for more food (ha!) and to watch the Eagles loose. Boo!

We had to head south after the game because we had an appointment in Castle-rock to pick up the cutest party favor EVER!

This is Trip! He's already settled right in to our little family!

Today, I am so thankful for my family. And the family I have joined.

My cousins are always inspiring me to be better. At everything, Kati and her family are settling into being a family of 4 and seem to be loving it. Her husband Chris is such a good dad, he even makes changing a dirty diaper into something so hilarious my sides started hurting. 

My grandparents try not to miss a beat in all of our lives, my papa had lots of questions about Jeb's job and how things were going. Both were so excited to hear about all the happenings with my sisters and I.

My mom made sure to send us on the road with some home-made goodies & I have never seen my dad so rested looking and at peace. I really think this fall has done him a lot of good.

My sisters are busy as always it was so good to spend some time with them. Jeb had a good time razzing them too!

Sam and Gail were so fun to talk with. Lots of laughter this weekend and I am so thankful I married into such a wonderful family.

Tyler and Robyn are as busy as my sisters are. It was really nice to see them for the game and evening.

Today, I can't help but want to move. Closer to all of our family. I know we are putting down roots here and the people we have met down here have really made this move easy. The time with our family is always so short lived, and that is why I think I always leave wanting more.

County Road 12 South

This

is our casa!

The place we reside

Where we call home

Our living room, if you look to the left when you come in our front door.

This is the entry way from the kitchen

Our living room

Sorry its such a bad picture.

Zee Kitchen

our dinning room, with our Fiesta ware (which we LOVE!)

Dinning room wall and hall way to the guest bathroom & 2 guest rooms

 

This bathroom might be my favorite room of the whole house, our land-lords told us we could re-paint if we hated the color but, I thought it was perfect for the shower curtain I got on CLEARANCE!!! at Target a year ago (just cuz I liked it so much!)

These are the two guest rooms, Jeb dubbed the smaller one on the west side of the house my "craft room" so it has all of my junk but needs a bed if anyone has one to get rid of!

This room gets so much sunlight & has a direct view to the best neighbors, (More on them later,) But ALSO needs a bed! (wink wink!)

Our bedroom is on the south side of the house, through the door next to the TV

We got to pick the colors for our room & I love it! Jeb does too, but I seriously love turning on the lamps by our bed every evening & really like how cozy if feels in there!

Our moms' found the comforter and pillow set on sale in PA last summer, & my dad made us the night stands as part of our wedding present! The dresser below was the third piece. Jeb started it in High School wood shop & my dad finished it for us!

our bathroom and WONDERFUL closet is on the south west side of the house

Our bathroom is the only room in the house that isn't remodeled, so we hope if we stay here long enough our land-lords will let us tackle the project!

AND the best biggest closet I have ever had! 

Now, meet our neighbors!

I refer to them as "the girls" 

These two are my favorite! They are so friendly.

One last thing, I need to introduce you to "the beast"!

This was our wedding gift from Jeb's parents and we LOVE it! Grilling is our favorite way to prepare meals!

Here are a few more pictures from our place

 

 And lastly, my favorite part of Jeb's job

Lookie Lookie Lemon Cookie!

So, I found my first “license required” job about a week ago. So far business is slow but today was the first day this ad ran in the local paper.

Other things:

We have yet to receive our professional pictures from the wedding but as soon as we do, I will be sure to post them for everyone to see!

We are quite moved into our little home and loving it! Our bed room is being painted this weekend so you can expect to see our casa soon! For now I’ll leave you with this little preview.

Jeb has been at a horse show since Monday, I can almost, almost, ALMOST say I’m taking it gracefully but I’m blaming slow business & I’m going to drive down to Pueblo this weekend to see my cowboy, sister & HER new digs, & make a trip to Sam’s. (Maybe a bit boring tmi but I’ve been braving the world on my own the last few days.)

Blogity Blog Blog

I know it has been absolutely way to long since I wrote last, BUT! I have a few Instagram photos to share that should make up for it!

And, may I just say that um, HELLO Instagram is by far the coolest phone app you can ever have! I feel like a real life photographer most days I get the chance to use it!

Oh, and something else, WHERE DID APRIL GO?!? Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love that time is just FLYING BY but seriously?!? Wasn’t it just St. Patrick’s day?

Tomorrow marks 75 days until my wedding.. I have been making myself stay away from my i-tunes account and blank CDs to hopefully not drive everyone crazy with all the oldies that have to do with wedding bells, chapels, & “I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go…”

My Pandora on the other hand… is about Wedding-ed out!

Country wedding

Oldies Wedding

Wedding songs

Love songs

BLAHH you would think I am a sappy lovey dovey person or something, in all honesty I totally am.

I’m such a sucker for romance!

 Alright so things that have been happening for real:

Still loving my waitressing job

Invitations are waiting to be addressed and stuffed into envelopes but other than that are completely done!

I have done more hair in the last two weeks than I ever remember doing  since out of school (AND LOVE IT!!!) I totally miss doing hair every day all day.

Jeb and his boss, Blue, have been working on finding us a place to live in and have almost 100% got something figured out! It’s a 3 bedroom 2 bath house close to an older couple’s home whom we would be renting from. I haven’t had the chance to go down and look at it yet, but Jeb did a great job filling me in on all the details. Here’s what that conversation sounded like:

Me: “So what did you think of it?”

Jeb: “It’s really nice! They have been working on re-doing all the inside, I think you really will like the kitchen.”

Me: “Really?!? (Sheer excitement) what does it look like?

Jeb: “Well they have all pretty new appliances and dark brown cabinets; you know that silver look that looks so clean... That’s what the oven dishwasher and fridge is like”

“Oh! And the guest bathroom is painted green, like the green you like! Not dark green or forest green and not neon either just like you like!”

That’s just a taste but I won’t bore you with the rest J

One of the best parts is that they are willing to drop their rent per month if we agree to do some work once a month.

It’s almost like a dream come true, I CAN NOT WAIT to start projects and Jeb is just as excited he keeps talking to both of our very handy dads about things that we could do and things that the woman we will be renting from has asked him if we could do

.

Now we just hope they let us have a dog. And if not I will put my dreams of naming our bull mastiff Skynard on hold for a few years.

Now for my many DIY projects I finished this month:

These are obviously not a project, these are my wedding boots!

the beautiful "S" my Dad carved 

"Red-neck Wine Glasses"

Bridesmaid bags

Tags on bags

insides include:
A button down shirt to wear the day  of
necklace and bracelet
pearl bobby pins