It's time for a change

I changed up my blog name and my layout and background. I'm still working on it. I figure I will just start posting my pictures smaller (it's still cutting off the right side) and that will fix that. I mainly wanted to get my full name off my address and get things a little more cohesive.

I am going to "attempt" to get started making cards for sale. A lot of people at work are asking me about it, I've just got to make sure I keep it away from work so I don't get in trouble around here.

I set up an etsy shop a long time ago, basically when I started looking on etsy...but I've never put anything in it. So I'm going to see about getting that started up too.

So stay tuned!

Countdown to a healthier me

So yes, this post is about probably the most famous new year's resolution ever. To lose weight. And please don't go to my archives and notice that I probably made the same resolution last year.

This time I have a goal. It always helps to have a goal right?

We just won a free photo session in the bluebonnets in April from my favorite photographer here in Houston <3 ya Sabrina!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/southerngracephoto?ref=mf

www.southerngracephotography.com

She took our family pics back in September and I had these pics taken.

http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?&id=78659669270&s=12&hash=77daf3784d03048d7ddc4af0d067ba98#/photo.php?pid=2368907&id=78659669270

I love the idea, had the pictures printed and just can't stand to put them on the walls because I look so lumpy in them. So come April I want her to redo these(I'm sure she's excited about that) so I can hang the pics and not feel like I'm hanging a picture of a cow next to my kids.

So April 17th. 15 weeks to lose close to 30 lbs? I know it can technically be done safely (2lbs/week baby!) so we'll see if I can pull it off.

Keep your fingers crossed and a random email/message/FB post/Twitter note to stay away from the sweets is kindly appreciated! I respond well to threats.

Thanks.

Live Nativity and Christmas hayride

Every year our church hosts a Live Nativity play and then a hayride where we drive through the surrounding neighborhoods singing carols and looking at Christmas lights. This year was Jack's first year to be old enough to participate in the Nativity play.

He was so excited about being a Shepherd. Once he got dressed up he was walking around telling everyone, "My name is Jackson, I'm a shepherd." He was so cute!



He has a little bit of a phobia about large animals, dogs, any animal really. So I kept talking to him and telling him that he was going to have to go into the pen with the pigs, goats, chickens, ponies. He said he was okay, he wanted to be a shepherd. So I left Logan in charge of Jack and Peyton and getting them from the inside of the church to the nativity set.

As soon as Peyton saw her Dad she took off for him with Logan chasing behind her dragging her back. So now, they are all walking in line again, and as soon as Jack got to the gate to the pen and saw the animals he stopped dead in his tracks...tripping up the rest of the line behind him. He backed up and started walking away...I had to get up from my seat and stop him. There was no WAY he was going in there with those animals. lol

Maybe next year he'll make it into the pen. :)

Here's some pics from the hayride.





And I just can't decide which group shot is the best...




Sheesh...

Working on a new background

I can't find one I like that doesn't chop off my pictures. Maybe I need to post smaller pictures? Please bear with me during the transition.

Monogrammed tote bag purse

I'm linking up to Infarrantly Creative's Pennywise party. I've never done this before so hopefully I'm doing it right!

I've got a ton of nieces and nephews! Unfortunately, I don't see a whole lot of them very often. Mostly just once or twice a year at family get togethers. I've got four girls all around the ages of 5-8. This is what I came up with as a gift for them. They are filled with little tubes of glitter, bath soap, lip gloss and makeup for all the girls.



I used the little quilting blocks of material. (Fat Quarters I think they are called) They were 79 cents each on Black Friday! I used one pattern for the outside and a coordinating pattern on the inside. So they are technically reversible, but the letters are only on the outside. The pattern I found one day while surfing and when I got ready to make them couldn't find the same one again so I just went by memory. They are basically just little tote bag/purses. The letters are felt and are glued on with fabric glue. Ribbon as handles. :)

So each one costs me less than $3, using some ribbon I already had. That's not counting the inside stuff but all that was from the dollar stores.

I can't wait to see their faces. I think they will really like them!

Now to just figure something out for the boys!

I need one of these...

OMG.

How long do you think it would take me to talk Mike into making one of these???

http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/idea-library/projects/Craft_Table_0708.aspx

Life=Crazy

I'm gonna post something a little longer tomorrow. My computer is going s-u-p-e-r s-l-o-w tonight so I just got this one pic from this weekend edited.



I love these guys so much!!

Fall decorating

So I finally got some of my fall decor out and set up. I found this idea on another blog, of course I read so many of them that I can't remember where I saw it. But here's my version...



and here's a pic of my collection of pumpkins...it keeps growing as I find more unique ones everyday.

Weekend baking

I decided to try out some cookies I've been drooling over for a few weeks. I got the recipe here...

http://picky-palate.com/2009/09/14/white-chocolate-cinnamon-toast-crunchers/

Here's how mine came out...



They are DELICIOUS! I had to make myself go to bed last night so I would stop eating them! I brought them to work and have so far resisted them. But I'm sure by the time those 3 pm munchies hit I'll attack what is left.

Fall wreath

So I got another project (almost) off my to do list.

In the midst of all my decor/craft blog reading, I stumbled upon a bunch of fall wreaths and decided our new house needed a fall wreath. So I went to my home away from home (Hobby Lobby) and picked up these things...



And this is how it turned out...







I haven't decided which end is up so I was trying to get some different shots of it.

I hot glued everything to the wreath. I think I'll use some ribbon to hang it on the door. I bought the raffia and wire and I didn't even end up using them.

wreath = $2 (orig $3.99, 1/2 off)
flowers = $10 (orig $19.99, 1/2 off)
yellow babys breath thingys = $3.50 (orig $6.99, 1/2 off)

I looked at some wreaths at HL while I was getting all this and they were priced at $50-$70!

One down, 867 to go...

So that piece of furniture I found on craigslist yesterday was already sold. Bummer.

Anywho...here is one of the fall projects I've been working on.

Faux Mercury Glass Pumpkins



I got the idea/inspiration from this blog...

http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/2009/09/week-1-diy-show-off-fall-festival.html

I think they turned out pretty awesome. Now I just need somewhere to put them.

Hopefully we can get some landscaping/clean up done in the front yard this weekend so I can show off another project!

Projects in Que

I've been searching all day (in person and online) for a short, long, skinny side table or dresser of some sort for my entryway. The few antique stores and thrift stores I visited were way overpriced. I think I might have found something on craigslist. Now I'm waiting to hear back from the seller. They just listed it yesterday so hopefully they haven't sold it. I'm super excited about it so I'm gonna be bummed if that happens. I'm not even sure if it will work like I want for the space but it's such a good deal that if it doesn't work then I'll use it somewhere else.

When I told Mike about it he asked if this is the last project we'd be starting before we finished the rest of the ones we have?

I told him that was a silly question.

Of course not! lol

I'm hoping to post some pics of one of my finished (semi finished projects) tomorrow.

A little bit of color

So we've got this huge wonderful new king size bed. My super garage sale find of a sleigh bed frame to lift it up. And some super boring shams the color of the bedspread.



Then last week I was strolling down the clearance aisle at Wally World and found these cute pillows on clearance. Actually I found a whole treasure trove of stuff on clearance...but I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's our new bed after $12 worth of pillow awesomeness!



So I guess I've inadvertently picked the color palette for our bedroom.

I'm in the midst of lots of fall/halloween projects that will be coming soon!

Home Improvement projects

So we are finally past the house nightmare.

Here are a few pics of some of the projects we've started in the new house.

new king size bedframe...before:


after:


This bed is heaven. and huge. Our first king size bed.

Living room/den walls before:

that paneling is what we are focusing on here

during:




Still waiting on a complete after photo...we still have to get the crown molding up.

Mike's off today and working on changing out our interior doors...they were old flat ones and we are replacing them with the nicer 6 paneled ones.

More to come..stay tuned.

Fishing at the park

This past weekend we went to a nearby park and did a little fishing. Our church was hosting a Family Fun Day at the park and we all had a lot of fun, despite the hotness that has taken over Houston this past week. (We've have temps in the 3 digits for the past week solid!) Here's some of the pics...I had to hijack my friends camera because mine died like 2 minutes after we got there (horror!).



Mike and Logan baiting the hook...Jack eagerly looking on





Logan luring the duck with a piece of bread...do you see that look on his face?! lol





Jackson and Peyton





My little studmuffin...with Lana





Peyton and Chris



Jack caught the biggest fish...on the smallest pole.


Peyton, she did NOT want to touch those worms...lol


My little fisherman


Logan's fish


How freaking cute are they together?!

Packing...

I think we are going to need to pack soon. That's Mike's plan for his day off next week. To pack up the stuff we won't need until after we move. I'm kind of nervous about packing cause I know as soon as we pack something up I'm going to need it for some random odd reason. He said he was going to pack up all my clothes except for 7 outfits, one for everyday of the week. Yea right! He can do that with his clothes, not mine. lol A friend of ours is going to let us borrow his truck too...I'm a little excited about having access/driving a truck again. I know Mike misses his truck and I do sometimes. There is just something about driving a vehicle that no one cuts you off in and that has a horn that doesn't sound like a squeeky toy(the Toyota). Ahh...big trucks.

Better get back to work...on the farm that is.

My newest addiction, Farmtown on Facebook. OMG.

Round 14 or so with Citihomes and the crappiest realtor on the block...

So once again, just when things were starting to settle down and work out for us good ole Keith Griffin and Citihomes throws a wrench in our plans. I have never in my life had to deal with so many unethical, unprofessional, liars, cheaters and all around crumbags as the people with Citihomes realty.

They still have the survey that we furnished them for our file while we were under contract with them. Our new realtors have been trying to get it back, because it BELONGS TO US.

Everyday Keith Griffin tells her he is emailing it, he was just about to email it, etc. And of course, everything that comes out of his mouth is a straight up, bold faced LIE. Now he is willing to "trade" OUR survey for the citihomes sign. The one that he told us to put out by our garage and he would send someone to pick it up the weekend after we terminated our contract. The one that has been sitting by our garage door everyday for a month since. The one that just "happens" to be gone the one day he says that someone came by to get it.

I keep having to edit and revise my complaint letter to TRAC because everytime he breathes he does something else to try to screw us over and he and Mary Rothenberg don't know how to speak without lying.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Logan's birthday party

We celebrated Logan's birthday party this past weekend. We have always had a pool party since it's in the middle of summer and HOT. This weekend was no exception...it was a scorcher!! Here's some pics...



oh yea!






put on your sunglasses...






this one cracks me up...don't they look like they are up to something??


Logan's summer haircut...

30

I have a birthday rapidly approaching. I know it's just a number and there are so many things to be grateful for in my life...and that I only have that many more things to look forward to. But it's still hitting me hard. I think for my birthday I just want to be alone and cry.

Logan's growing up and getting wise to the ways of the world...

A few years ago, we were driving past some of the chemical plants on our side of town. You know the ones where there are random flames and smoke stacks blowing smoke into the air. Logan was probably 4 at the time. As we were driving by one of the plants that was blowing smoke in the air, he said, "Mom look, that's a cloud plant. It's making clouds." Such a cute and funny kid thing to say...I just laughed and said yep, they sure are.

Then the other day we were driving past this same plant and he tells me. "Mom, those plants aren't making clouds. They are putting pollution into our air." Oh my, how he's grown. Mike told him that it was actually just steam so it wasn't really pollution. But man, I'm not ready for my kid to grow up and know about pollution and such wordly things as that. I want him to be a kid and like to look at the Cloud Plants.

Logan's 8th birthday...part 2

So Friday night we took Logan to the Astros game as part of his birthday present. Me and him went to the ballpark early to hang out and walk around. He wanted to go play in the Squeeze Play before the game got started so we headed that way. When we got there, there was a cameraman asking if some of the kids wanted to be "Squeeze Play kids" and get to be in video that would play on the big screen in the park. So he taped Logan running the bases and we got to see him waving and running on the huge tv before the game started! He was sooo excited about that...of course I wasn't ready so I just got video of him running away...and I'm so not blogger educated to add a video to this. So, onto the rest of the night.

He got to eat all his favorite stuff at the ballpark, cheese pizza, popcorn, frozen lemonade and ice cream in a helmet. We got to see Carlos Lee hit a Grand Slam (and some lucky punk in the audience won $25,000 because of it)! During the game they will flash people's names across the jumbotron with messages, like Happy Anniversary/Birthday etc. And then we saw this...



After we were done whooping and hollering for Logan's birthday wishes on the screen, the guy sitting behind us gave Logan $5 for his birthday! See there are still genuinely nice people in this world...

We capped off the night with some fireworks after the game...



We had a lot more fun this weekend and this week I'll be frantically getting stuff ready for Logan's birthday party on Saturday.

Logan's birthday...so far...

Logan has one heck of a birthday celebration this past week. It started on his actual birthday, June 4th, when we went out to dinner with Mike's family to celebrate all of our June birthdays. My sister in law, Laci, on the 3rd, Logan on the 4th, Mike's brother Aaron on the 5th and Mike's on the 9th. That's one busy week in the Lines family, huh?! We had planned on going to Joe's Crab Shack in Kemah and then letting the kids play on the boardwalk while we enjoyed the band. Then when I was leaving work I got a call that Joe's was on fire! So change of plans, and we ended up at Ichibon...which in my opinion is way better!

Logan working the chopsticks


Jack working his chopsticks...lol


Jack drinking Miso soup with a straw...


The June birthday celebratees...


Then some fun in the water with a few of the cousins...


I'll end this post here at the end of Birthday Celebration day number 1 so it's not 7 pages long...

to be continued...

Those things that make your blood boil...

So I've written a letter to the Texas Real Estate Commission to complain on our former jerk of a realtor, Keith Griffin. I've posted a little about it on here but not too much because I'm waiting to post the letter in it's entirety and I'm a little afraid of screwing something up with the house stuff until we have signed the dotted lines and are standing in our new house with the keys. I've kind of just gotten past it, trying not to think of it much because it's in the past and we are moving on. Then out of the blue I get an email from someone who found my blog by searching "Keith Griffin Citihomes reviews."

You can also find my blog my googling "Citihomes sucks", just in case you were wondering.

So I'm a little weary of spilling my guts still for that fear that something will go wrong and I'll say the wrong thing.

Then I get a text from my friend who left Citihomes...Keith Griffin basically STOLE over $2000 from her for past referrals and sales she made when she was at Citihomes. Real peach of a guy huh?

So then I opened up a chat with this guy that emailed me to let him know what problems we had with KG. He said he's having the SAME problems. Who says people learn from their mistakes? Apparently KG thinks that we are just one little person and one little commission and he doesn't give a damn. Well, word of mouth is spreading like wildfire...

Nicole's Wedding shower

This weekend was my cousin's wedding shower...I hope everyone had a good time. I did. And I got to hang out and just talk with my friend Shirley cause she helped us out with the food and came to the shower too. It's been a long time since I just got to sit down and chat with an old friend. Here's some pics from the shower...

Mom, me, Nicole and Aunt Susan


the cookie buffet...Shirley made ALL these cookies. She is a machine, a wonderful, well oiled baking machine! I think it turned out awesome!!


Nicole got a panini press...


and another one...


and one more just in case...


LOL

I'm excited for her to get married...her fiance is a great guy and she totally deserves him!
I'm also excited about the bachelorette party and getting away (Austin prob) for the weekend. Yay for weekends with no kids/spouses...I am in serious need of a girls weekend.