Prayer Requests

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I don't mention religion on here very often, but it's going to make an appearance today. Let me just start by saying that I am a Christian and Jesus is my homeboy. I will be the first to admit that I am not the best Christian and that there are tons of things I can do to better my relationship with God, but I do pray. I lay in bed at night and talk to the Big Guy Upstairs.

These days, I find myself thinking about a lot more things when I pray. I read a lot of prayer requests on other blogs and always take a moment to send my own up on their behalf. Now it's my turn. I have several people I have been thinking about a lot lately and I know that they would appreciate all of the prayers they can get!

My Grandpa. He is in his late 70's and has had more and more health problems in recent years. He was in the hospital a couple of months ago for pneumonia for several days. My mom called tonight and said that he's getting sick again. I just want him to feel better.

My co-workers T and C. Both are currently suffering from different types of cancer. They're both incredibly nice people and it makes my heart heavy to see them suffering.

The daughter of a co-worker. She and her husband have been unable to conceive on their own and have turned to doctors. She miscarried twins last fall and is currently pregnant. Pray that her pregnancy goes well!

Tristan. She's a dedicated reader and she's been having a rough few months. If anyone deserves something happy, it's her!

Things To Do...

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...before we move!

Our moving date is fast approaching, making it more and more obvious that I am falling behind on the packing and cleaning. Ugh, packing. Current bane of my very existence. I am so excited to be moving into our first house, a home that will be ours, a place where we can grow older together.

The whole packing thing is a little intimidating and overwhelming. I will be the first to admit that some of the closets in our apartment are not as well organized as I would like them to be. I'll also be the first to admit that sometimes when we clean for company we just throw things in said closets. "A place for everything and everything in its place" has not been a mantra in this apartment.

Our closing date is quickly approaching. We have 10 days until we sign the paperwork that will make us homeowners and there is still a lot left to do. Here's a short list:

- Pack the remainder of our belongings (I've done perhaps 1/4 of the packing thus far)

- Catch up on laundry (who wants to move to a new house and immediately start doing laundry?)

- Call utility companies to have our stuff switched to the new house

- Fill out change-of-address forms

- Get more boxes

- Resist the urge to drink heavily when faced with the daunting task of cleaning out the hall closet

Notice I didn't put on the list 'scrub the apartment from top to bottom.' Our actual lease doesn't end until May 31st, so we plan on coming back and cleaning after it's emptied out. Of course, we also have to scrub our new house from top to bottom since it has been empty for the better part of a year. Oh, the joys of moving!

If anyone wants to come and help, please, feel free! I will feed you and love you forever and ever.

Tiny Pies

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Wow. I was really excited about finally posting about the little pies I made a few weeks ago. I had forgotten that the photo I took was horrible. I don't have any natural light in my crap-artment, so I have to use a flash. I also made them in a hurry, so the pie filling oozed everywhere.

But they were delicious. They are serving-sized cherry pies. I definitely took an idea from Sandra Lee and they were semi-homemade. Okay, so all of the ingredients were store-bought, but I did build the pies myself, so there's where the homemade part fits in.

What's also great about this recipe is the fact that it has fewer than five ingredients! It actually only has two, so it's even better!

I won't keep you in suspense any longer, so here's the recipe!

- 1 box pre-made, roll-out pie crust
- 1 can cherry pie filling (or apple, whichever you prefer)
- Muffin pan
- Cupcake liners (unless you like cleaning your muffin pan)
- Biscuit cutter

- Place cupcake liners in muffin pan (my attempt made 10 pies)
- Roll out one of the pie crusts, cut out circles using biscuit cutter and place in bottom/sides of cupcake liners.
- Fill each crust with cherry pie filling (try not to eat half of the can like I did)

Since it's a cherry pie, it needs a top crust. I cut tiny strips using my pizza cutter and made a lattice top. It didn't go as well as I had hoped. I'll have to rethink my top crust.

- Follow baking instructions on the pie crust box.

- Gobble up.

On a side note, I love cherry pie filling. What else could I use it for?

Any ideas?

Bueller?

Water Tower

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As is obvious from the video, they took down a water tower! This water tower was on the property of my high school and had our mascot painted on the side. I found this on a friend's facebook, but don't know yet why they took it down.

Blast From the Past

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My brother-in-law, Chris, is at his senior prom tonight. Seeing the photos of him and his lovely girlfriend made me think about my own senior prom, which was five years ago this month. My wonderful boyfriend (now my incredible husband) was my date. We went out to dinner at a nearby hotel, which I had been wanting to try for some time. I was not disappointed. I had the chicken alfredo.

Prom was amazing. The dancing, the time with friends -- one last hurrah before graduation.

A Day at the Park

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Friday I went to the park with my friend, Jodi, and her two little girls. On my way to the park, I saw lightning and thought our fun was going to be rained out. The storm stayed south of us and we only had a few minutes of rain. The park we went to is only a couple of blocks from our new house, so it was really nice to become familiar with a new part of the city.

Jodi's three year old was excited to see my camera. She kept asking me to take her picture every few minutes. I was more than happy to oblige and was thrilled with some of the shots I came away with. I love the bows she always wears. Jodi makes all of the bows the girls wear.

There was a jungle gym that she played on while we were there. I followed her up and took her picture as she went down the slide. How fun is this picture? The look on her face is just pure joy.

This is Jodi's four month old baby. Isn't she precious? After our last lunch date, I thought she hated me because she cried TEARS while I held her, but this time she was happier. She laid on a blanket before taking a nap.

We've lived in this city for almost a year now and it's really nice to finally have friends to spend time with. When you don't have family close by, friends are so important!

Easter 2009

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I have finally uploaded the photos from my camera onto my computer and can blog about our trip to Missouri! Since Michael and I were back home, my parents took the opportunity to celebrate my brother's 20th birthday a week early. We had barbecue chicken with my grandparents.

Just a warning, these photos are out of order and I'm not in the mood to move them around. Sorry.

We celebrated with our annual DQ ice cream cake. My brother doesn't like actual cake. I think this is a serious indication that he may have been adopted, dropped off by aliens, or found under a rock. Oh, and no, he did not turn 8. We needed a candle and that was the first one we found.

My mom and I went to the parade on Saturday morning. Oh, it was beyond lame. The weather there has been pretty rough, so I guess the usual parade participants didn't want to risk building floats or anything. We didn't stick around to watch it come by the second time.

Being back home is crazy now. I always see someone I'm related to whenever I go out. I saw at least four relatives (this number includes my mother) during the twenty minutes we were there.

My baby girl! The pooches had been running free in the yard, but she was tired and went back onto the porch.

Me and Grandpa! Can I just say something? I absolutely adore my grandpa. He is seriously one of the coolest guys and one of my favorite people on this planet. He was watching the parade from his truck, so I went and watched it with him.

Friday my mother and I started a home improvement project. My parents got carpet when I was in the first grade. They had great hardwood floors, but decided carpet was the way to go. It has become obvious in recent years that it has seen much better days. My parents were ready to rip it out. It's a huge undertaking, though. Their carpet was the kind that had the pad attached, so when the carpet came up, the pad stuck to the floor. We used putty knives to get the pad up, but then this thin coating stayed on the floor, which we then had to spritz with water and peel up.

It took several hours, but we finally got most of the living room finished. My parents are hosting Mother's Day lunch at their house, so they have only a couple of weeks to get it finished up!

My mom, looking glamorous. This is her 'getting-ready-for-family-dinner-and-grilling-barbecue-chicken' look. This is right before we jumped on the trampoline. We are very grown up.

Me and Grandpa -- again! Ready for cake!

The 'birthday' brat. I had none of the ice cream cake. I'm sorry, it is not cake. It's a tub of ice cream that you slice. Anyway. Every time I see my brother, his head is a different color.

I Like to Change My Mind

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My blog is changing once again! Heather's blog has really inspired me to do something more than what I was. Sure, my background was cute, but it wasn't very original. What I am working on now allows me so much more freedome with the colors and layout. I really love the new buttons under the header. If you want to see posts about my pooches, simply click on the 'pet' tab and it'll pull up everything in that category. The same applies if you're looking for posts about our wedding. The 'photography' tab, however, will take you over to my other blog.

I don't love how it looks. Yet. I really don't like my header and I'm a little iffy on the background. Until I find something that I really love, though, it'll stay. You may see it change colors a few more times before everything is all said and done. So be patient and continue to comment! I love checking my e-mail throughout the day and seeing all of the wonderful things people have to say!

Evening News

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How sweet is this? What an incredible way to get engaged!

I ♥ Faces Week 15

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Self-Portrait -- Adult Entry

Big Blog News

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Introducing, Collins Photography!

I've wanted to do this for a while now, though I'm not entirely sure what was holding me back. I love my Sony SLR and love taking photos. As soon as I get the blog where I like it, I am planning on posting an ad on Craigslist offering my services. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that with the current economic situation, more people will be looking for more reasonably-priced photographers (that's me!).


So if you live in central Illinois, spread the word!

House!

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Hello, house! I miss you and cannot wait to see you again. Michael and I drive by every few days to make sure you haven't burned to the ground or had a pack of vandals come by and cover you in graffiti. We cannot wait to pull into the driveway and know that we are home. We cannot wait to turn the key for the first time, unlocking the door as homeowners.

See you soon!

Happy Birthday!

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Happy 20th birthday to my baby brother, Clint!

Cute?

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I received a sewing machine for Christmas several years ago from my parents. My first project was a full-size quilt that I use every winter. I've tried my hands at a few other projects, including a dress last fall. For the last several months, I've wanted an apron. I've seen several in various stores, but never found any that I liked. I finally decided to make my own. This is the silly thing I came up with:

(Sorry for the crummy photo, it's from my phone)

Is it cute? I'd love to open an Etsy store, but I'm not sure if anyone would actually buy anything. I'd love some suggestions for crafty things I can make to put in my store.

A Proposal

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Working retail, I run into some strange folks. Some days, it feels like the crazy and deranged are attracted to me like a magnet. It has definitely been one of those days... all week.

A few days ago, the owner of a local hotel came to the garden center. He wanted to redo the landscaping around the hotel and needed plants. We ended up filling two big rolling plant racks and one flat cart with a variety of bedding plants, shrubs, and roses. He ended up spending just over $1,000. At one point, he invited me to come back to the hotel and help him plant the mess he had just purchased. I politely declined.

The next day, we were all outside looking through the 28 racks of shrubs that had just been delivered. Suddenly, we heard a car honking and saw a black sedan slowly driving by. It was then that we noticed the owner of the hotel leaning across the passenger seat of his car to wave at me.

Ugggh... Not cool. I do not need a middle aged Indian man seeking me out each and every time he is at the store.

Then there was yesterday.

I got to work at 6:30AM. At 7:15AM, a customer appeared out in the garden center. This generally doesn't happen because, let's be honest, who wants to go shopping that early in the morning?

Anyway.

I went up to talk to him and found out that he needed to purchase chain link fencing to go around an in-ground pool he was having built. He was actually quite nice and had written out all of the supplies that he needed thanks to a brochure we had hanging next to the fence hardware. Since it was so early in the morning, I was still yawning. The guy said I must have little ones because I look like a mom. I told him I just had a husband and pooches at home.

I must have been really nice to this guy. He told me later that if I ever got tired of my husband to give him a call and he'd marry me. This guy had to be in his mid-fifties. I quickly thanked him, told him I would keep him in mind, and wished him a nice day.

I spent the rest of the afternoon watering, which, thankfully, kept the crazy people at a safe distance. I wonder if they were worried I'd spray them?

Groom's Family

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Michael, his step-mom, and father

Michael's mom, step-mom, and dad

Michael, his parents, five siblings (Chris was at boot camp), and nephew

Michael, his mom, three siblings, and nephew

Michael, his dad, step-mom, brother, nephew, grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin

Greetings from Missouri!

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I'm blogging from the great Show Me State this evening. We arrived in Missouri last night after a rainy, five-hour drive in a car filled with canines. Because we're relaxing and spending some quality time with our families, blogging shall be brief. We'll be home Sunday evening, at which point I will *hopefully* return to regular posting.

Happy Easter!

Wordless Wednesday

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Cleaning Schedule

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We are going to have so much more space when we get into the new house. Oodles more. Our house is so much larger than our apartment, that it's going to look empty once filled with what makes the apartment look cluttered.

I posted quite some time ago a cleaning schedule for our apartment. Have I ever followed that schedule for more than a few days at a time? No. I keep the apartment picked up, but always manage to get behind on laundry. As much as I love our washer and dryer, it's really inconvenient to have it in the tiny kitchen just to do the wash.

So I've come up with a cleaning schedule for our new house. I've broken it down by room and shouldn't have to spend more than half an hour or so cleaning, so long as we manage to pick up after ourselves. In fact, the new schedule actually allows me a free day once a week.

Here's the new schedule and a breakdown of what each day entails:

Monday
~Bathroom (everything!) ((Yes, it says 'everything!' on the handwritten version))

Tuesday
~Living room & Dining room (dust, pick up, vacuum)

Wednesday
~Kitchen (counters, stove, floors, inside and outside of fridge)

Thursday
~Basement (sweep, wipe down washer/dryer, clean toilet [I'll explain later])

Friday
~Bedrooms (dust, pick up, vacuum)

Saturday
~Free day! (ha ha)

Sunday
~Kitchen (same as Wednesday)

Everyday
~Laundry (one load, bedding on Saturday)
~Pick up (duh)
~Dishes (load and/or unload dishwasher)

No, we will not have seven loads of laundry each week. I think if I have the mindset to do a load of laundry each day, I may be less likely to get behind. I hate falling behind on laundry. It makes me feel like I have nothing to wear and no hope of ever getting caught back up.

Introducing: Our House!

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Meet our new house. Isn't it beautiful? I think I've posted this photo before, but since I don't get tired of looking at it, I'm going to post it again. I love the huge window on the right, it lets SO much light into our living room.

Here's a photo with the same big window on the right. We love the fireplace and the two built-ins. We've been experiencing a shortage of storage space for our ever-growing collection of dvds, so we were really happy to see these when we first walked in the front door.

Here's a shot from the other side of the living room. It's actually quite a large room. It runs the width of the house. We agree that the hideous carpet has to go as soon as possible. We're grateful for how well the previous owners cared for the property, but what were they thinking when they chose this carpet?

Here's a slightly blurry photo of the kitchen. It is probably eight million times larger than our current kitchen and has approximately eight hundred more cabinets. The cabinets and countertops are a bit dated. I would love to buy new cabinets, counters, floors, and appliances, but money doesn't grow on trees (darn). We are both really excited about the appliance in the middle. We both despise washing dishes by hand, but are more than willing to load and unload a dishwasher.

This is our backyard. It's actually quite a large backyard, and we know our dogs are going to love running around and playing back here. My vegetable garden is going to go behind the amazing two car garage.

I have several more photos, but that's a post for another day. I cannot wait until we move in and I can post photos of our house full of furniture!

Penelope!

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Here's Part 2 of the Dog Surveys I started at the beginning of March.

Meet Penelope!

Breed: Chihuahua
Age: She was born November 9, 2007
Fur Color: Penelope is a strange dog. She was pretty light when we got her and her fur began to get darker soon after. She know has a black stripe down her back.
Eye Color: Brown
Size: She weighs approximately 5 lbs.
Favorite thing about her: She's such a happy, snuggly dog. She also "talks" back. Most of the time, this is cute. Michael talks to her and she replies. He always says the most random things to her.
Least Favorite thing about her: She's yappy! If she hears a noise, she barks. A shadow, she barks. If the wind blows by her in the wrong directions, she yelps.

Where did you get her? I bought her from this white trash woman in western Missouri. She was literally trailer trash. Michael tells people that I saved her. It's true. She was covered in fleas and had a sore on her neck from so much scratching. Oh, and worms. Yuck. I felt so bad for the animals there that I took her home, cleaned her up, took her to the vet, and never looked back.
Runt of the litter? I have no idea.
Where's her mother? Probably back in the trailer park. Poor dog.
Spayed? Not yet. As much as we loved having puppies, we are considering having her fixed.
Any injuries/illnesses? This dog is a walking accident! Less than two weeks after we brought her home, she crawled under the recliner in our living room. Not realizing she was under there, Michael lowered the footrest, catching her ear in a spring. The cartilage plate was broken, giving her an always-floppy ear. Then, earlier this year, she split a toenail and had to have it removed. She has a flair for the dramatic.

Does she bite? She gives crunchy kisses. When you bend down to let her kiss your nose, sometimes she nibbles instead.
Jump on people? Just like Re-Pete, she's a bit anti-social. Once she gets to know a person she is friendly, but until then she barks and stays away.
House-broken? She's pretty good. She hates going outside when it's raining, cold, or snowing, though, so that's when we have problems.
Bark? UGH....
Chew up anything special? She eats paper and dryer sheets.
Sit on command? Sort of. Rather than sit, she lays down and stares at you out of the corner of her eyes.
Obedience School? No, but she certainly could use it!
Play nicely with others? She and the other dogs love to play!
Special Tricks? She plays fetch!

Where does she like to sleep? She loves sleeping in our bed, but since we now have three dogs and a brand new bed, dogs have been kicked out. They stay in a big crate together now.
Favorite food? She'll eat anything.
Favorite toy? A little puppy toy and her tennis ball.
Favorite place to run around? Outside, though here she has to be on a leash at all times. So right now her favorite place to run around is at my parents' house in Missouri.
Favorite Owner? Se loves us both, though I like to think she loves me more.

Calm or Hyper? She's a little hyper
Explorer or Couch Potato? She's always getting into something.
Does she learn quickly? I'm sure that if we tried to teach her something she would.
Stubborn? Yes. Try taking her outside in poor weather!
Does she like to swim? She used to love getting in the bathtub!
Is she a cuddler? Yes! She's snuggled up next to me right now!