The Weight Watcher's Saga Continues...

We've finished week two of our Weight Watcher's program. I didn't follow my points as well as the first week, so I am up to 208.0 lb. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Smoky Bones. OH MY, was it good. My parents were in town for the weekend, so we headed over to Springfield and ate at this restaurant, which we'd been talking about visiting for a while. I did put half of my onion rings in a to-go box, though. I really wish I had put half of my sandwich in a to-go box immediately, but I didn't. Instead, I felt full all afternoon. Yuck.

2. Papa John's. Yeah, yeah... I know. After my gluttonous lunch with my family, I had the nerve to eat pizza that night. I love garlic cheesesticks. It's a curse.

3. Mother Nature & her monthly gift. I tried to explain what happens to women each month to my husband. He tried to tell me I was making it up as an excuse for my weight gain.

So there you go. I know that I'll have good days and bad days. As long as the good days outnumber the good, I'll be positive about this experience.

!!! IKEA !!!

After a year of talking about it and hours upon hours browsing through the catalog and website, Michael and I finally made the 2.5 hour drive to Bolinbrook to IKEA!

HOORAY!

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you may have noticed that I updated my status more than usual today. I couldn't help it, I was excited! Walking into IKEA, I was like a kid in a candy store. There was so much to see! There were things to see everywhere. There was so much stuff! There were a lot of bright colors.

I. Loved. Every. Single. Minute.

We didn't make it out of the store empty-handed, no sirree. Here are a few of the things we picked up from the big blue box:

Cozy fleece blanket.

I love the color. I also love the price -- $3.99!!! What a bargain! We actually picked this up for our pooches. I put it on their poochie pillow when I got home and they're currently all snuggled up under it.

Stainless steel utensil caddy. Oh stainless steel utensil caddy, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

1. It means I no longer have to use my flower vase for my wooden spoons.

2. It matches the stainless steel canisters that I have sitting next to the flower vase.

3. It's one of the first products I fell in love with when I received my first IKEA catalog.

#3 is 100% true. I don't know what it is about this $5 caddy, but I love it. In the 2009 catalog (the first one I received), I had it circled. Unfortunately, you can't order them online, so I tucked it away to the back of my mind. When I saw it this afternoon, I immediately walked over and snatched one up.

This great chair! Of all the sections in the store, we spent the most time in the chair section. We have an old La-Z-Boy that is nearing the end of its life, so we were ready to find something. The new chair isn't as bulky as our recliner. We also purchased the matching footstool, so we can still stretch out. It's really comfortable and we're really happy with the quality.

Happy Birthday, Re-Pete!

My first baby is 5 years old!

Carlos may be...

...the cutest puppy. Ever.

One Week In

I have officially been on Weight Watchers for an entire week now. As far as diets go, it's incredibly easy to follow and it doesn't leave me feeling hungry. I don't feel awful if I go over by one or two points (hooray for flex points!) and I can eat popcorn as a snack every night if I want.

Of course, since it's been a week, you know what that means. It's time to weigh myself! I am proud to announce that the number is lower than my starting weight! Go, me!

Starting weight: 209.6 lbs
Starting BMI: 30.9

Current weight: 206.6 lbs
Current BMI: 30.5

I've lost 3 lbs so far! How great is that? I'm really happy with that number. Hopefully this is a trend that will continue until I reach my goal weight, though I know that won't be for quite some time.

Anyone else have some health goals they'd like to share? I know that Laura spent the first part of the year losing weight and looks great!

!!!Big News!!!

Okay, so this news isn't that big. I just like to trick you into thinking I'm going to say something profound. Apparently, I am setting you up for disappointment. Sorry about that.

Michael and I have started Weight Watchers. We started Monday. My weigh-ins are on Sunday, so maybe I'll be nice enough to share those numbers with you so you can 'ooh' and 'aah' and tell me how great I'm doing.

Anyway. How did this decision come to pass? Well.... Michael's friend and his wife are on WW. His friend is having some success with the program and talked about it with my husband. Eat what you want? Just count points? Yes, please! So he ordered the at-home Momentum kit and here we are.

The only struggles I am having so far involve what I'm eating. I like the food that I'm eating, but I keep eating a lot of the same thing. Turkey sandwich. Pretzels. Fruit. Give me something different! This is probably why so many people fail on diets. They find something that's low-cal (or, in this case, low points) and stick with it. I've been reading through the books, though, and have found some tasty-looking meals to make.

My starting weight wasn't horrible. Remember my post back in June with my weight? I was 208.6 lbs at that time. My starting weight was 209.6 lbs when I weighed myself on Sunday. I'm thankful that it was only a one-pound difference. I know I've been eating poorly the last year or so, so to see that my weight was only up a pound in two months was a relief. Hopefully, though, the numbers will be on the decline and I'll actually have some good news to post each week!

You Know It's True!

I found this on a message board I frequent online. They're all so true I felt I had to share it with everyone!

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-That's enough, Nickelback.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea was going on when I first saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? (SOOOO TRUE!)

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a *** from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

-It really bugs me when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I'm eating alone. Thanks for making me feel fat before dinner.

The Informant

When we moved here in May 2008, Matt Damon was filming a movie here. It was all over the news and in the newspaper. People were reporting where they had seen him and what he was doing. Of course, there wasn't much mention of the rest of the cast, which was filled with other known celebrities.

Anyway.

The movie is called The Informant. It's about some huge scandal that occurred at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) back in the 90's. The movie is slated to hit the big screen this fall and the trailers are finally out. A gal at work told me that one of our regular customers is in the trailer, so tonight I decided to find out.

I assumed that the customer would just be in the background and that maybe it was actually him and maybe it wasn't. Near the end of the clip, I saw the guy in the background. It was clearly the guy I thought it was. It was a restaurant scene. In the next shot, they showed just the guy and his dinner date.

Holy moly!

Here is a screenshot from the trailer. The older gentleman is in the store at least once or twice a week. It's kind of surreal to see someone I've actually spoken with in a movie.

I Love Mail!

When I was in college, I got mail all the time. My family and friends sent me letters and cards often. It was great.

Now, though? Not so much.

I rarely get mail. Actually, since we moved to our new house in May, I've hardly gotten any mail. I did send out an e-mail with my new address, didn't I? I know I did.

So anyway, since no one sends me mail, I have to rely on things I order online or magazines.

In fact, my favorite magazine came in the mail this week -- The 2010 IKEA catalog! YAY!

I've spent the last two days leafing through its glorious pages, imagining my house filled with brightly-colored furniture. If only I could win the lottery...

What's your favorite thing to get in the mail?

Stranger Danger!

Do I give off a vibe? A pheromone? How is it that I continually attract creepy, shady people?

Okay, here's the back story...

Last night, I realized that we were out of groceries. I decided to make a list and head out to Wal-Mart to pick some things up. I got there around 8PM and wasn't in any hurry to get through my shopping.

As I was walking out of the store, I was behind a man who looked to be around 40 and a boy who might have been 8. I listened as the man said negative things to the boy about someone else. It probably wasn't the most appropriate thing for the man to be doing, but it's not my place to tell strangers how to behave around their children.

I noticed that the guy was parked in the space catty-corner to mine. He was acting a little drunk, so my immediate concern was that he was going to pull straight through his space and hit my husband's car. The guy and the kid must have been waiting on someone, because he wasn't getting into his truck.

As I placed the last bag into the trunk, I saw him walking toward me out of the corner of my eye. My inner Stranger-Danger Sensor went into overdrive. When he got about five feet from me, I moved around to the driver's side of the car, keys in hand. As he got nearer to the car, he said, 'I know this is a weird place to meet people, but are you single?'

Really? Really? People do things like this?

I told him that no, I was not single, unlocked only my door, and hopped in the car. As I was pulling the door shut, I heard him say 'That's too bad, because you sure are beautiful.'

I am 23 years old. This man was in his 40's, dirty, and possibly intoxicated. I felt gross for the remainder of the evening.

I think I'll stick to shopping in the mornings!

Testing, Testing

As you can obviously see, I'm still trying out different blog layouts. This coffee one is iffy. I'm not happy with it. However, it's almost bedtime, so I'll be sticking with it until at least tomorrow. I have a feeling I'm going to end up making my own since A) I can't find anything I like, and B) I'm too cheap to pay for one.

Also, I'm taking a test tomorrow.

For those of you whose eyes just lit up like a Christmas tree, wipe that look off of your face. This isn't that test.

I'm taking a test that will determine whether or not I can get into a CNA class in October. I really want to get into this class. I decided some time ago that I want to go to nursing school. In order to get into the RN program, I first have to take the CNA course. So tomorrow I finally take that test. I hope I do well!

I'm not sure when I'll find out if I got into the class or not, but I will definitely update ya'll. I am not a patient person, so the wait is going to be torture!

Great News!

This is my sewing machine. Isn't it purdy? I'm going to be honest with you, I'm fairly certain that this cost $50. It was from Wal-Mart's Black Friday sale in 2005. That was right after I started my first quilt on my mom's gazillion year old, olive green Singer.

I finally got my sewing room set up (photo later after it's cleaned up the rest of the way) last night and did a little sewing. My first little project is a quick apron. It's going to be really cute when it's done. My next project (which I need to start immediately) is a quilt. In the past, I've finished quilts by tacking them together. I really like the look of quilts that are entirely quilted. Unfortunately, I'm not good at hand-quilting (which takes so long to do).

I found a tutorial online that shows a machine with a darning foot attached. It allows you to move the fabric around and do free-motion quilting. I went to JoAnn's the other day and was sad to see that they didn't carry the darning foot.

Darn. (heehee)

Tonight I looked online for the user's manual for my machine. I flipped through the 87 pages until I found the page I was looking for. I had a small pouch of extra pieces for my machine. It turns out that one is a DARNING PLATE! Seriously? Holy cow! This little piece of plastic is the answer to all of my problems. It covers up the feed dogs that I can't turn off. I can still choose to get a darning foot, but it isn't necessary.

I tried my hand at free-motion quilting on a scrap of fabric. It didn't go well. I definitely need to practice before I put a quilt together!

In Transition

My blog is in transition. Again. I have yet to find a background that I really like, so until then, it's going to change every couple of days. I am working on it, though. This means that the things on the right side of the screen may come and go.

In other news, the puppies are crazy. They are tiny, wild animals. Literally. They've been set free in the kitchen (we can close it off) and attack your toes whenever you go in there. If they weren't so cute, it'd definitely be a nuisance.

I bought a new sewing table and it's set up in the third bedroom. I'll post photos as soon as I get the rest of the room straightened up. Just in time, too, because I've started a new sewing project. It actually shouldn't take me very long and I can dive into the other project I'm ready to start. I'll post photos of them as I finish them.

What is He Trying to Tell Me?

I first heard of Beth Moore several months ago on a blog I regularly read. I'd never heard of her, so I went to her website and read about her and what she does. She seems like a wonderful Christian woman.

Fast-forward to yesterday.

I was at Walden Books at the mall. Near the front of the store was a huge display of religious books. There in the center was Beth Moore's face staring back at me. I had read reviews on her books and ended up buying one. Then last night, since I had my book on my mind, I went to her website again. I knew that she did public appearances and conferences, but I assumed they were all in the South. I looked at her upcoming calendar and saw four or five upcoming events. At the very bottom of the list was Springfield, IL! Of all the places in the country she could go, one of them is within an hour of here. Wow. It definitely got my attention. I thought about how I'd like to go, but I'm not sure who I'd go with.

Then this morning, I went to run a couple of errands and turned on the radio. I was flipping through the stations, looking for some catchy music. I stopped on a station while I turned a corner and heard a commercial about Beth Moore.

Whoa. Hold on. Stop the presses.

Why is this woman invading my life all of a sudden? Six months ago I hadn't heard of Beth Moore and in the last two days I've heard mention of her everywhere I go. What's going on?

What is God trying to tell me?

I'm listening.

Is He trying to tell me that we really need to find a church to attend? Is He encouraging me to get involved with the Beth Moore Bible studies? I'm not sure. He's giving me enough clues, though, that I should be able to figure it out soon!

Show Us Your Life -- Wedding Reception & Honeymoon

It's that time of the week yet again! Kelly has called for reception and honeymoon photos. Unfortunately, the hubs and I have yet to go on a honeymoon vacation. We did, however, have a wonderful wedding reception!

This was our phony cake. Our cake topper was a CAT tractor in honor of Michael's (at that time) new job.

We, of course, did the traditional arm-linking to drink our wine. We had silly glasses with a veil and bowtie on them.

We shared our first dance to George Strait's 'I Cross My Heart.'

My dad and I danced to Steve Kirwan's 'My Little Girl.'

Here we are with the folks who caught the garter and bouquet. Ty, the best man, caught my awesome Mizzou garter and Melanie, my new sister-in-law, caught the bouquet.

Getting To Know You!

Someone tagged me in this note on Facebook. Since I'm not big on doing these things on there, I thought I'd post it on here. I'm not going to specifically tag anyone, but I'd love to read other's answers!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:15. It was storming, which was a perfect reason to sleep in later than I had planned.

2. How do you like your steak? I don't like steak. I'll eat it, but it has to be cooked through and covered in barbecue sauce.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I saw the new Transformers movie on Friday with the hubs and my father-in-law.

4. What is your favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? I would live somewhere different each month. The mountains, the beach, you name it, I'd live there!

6. What did you have for breakfast? A breakfast burrito!

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican

8. What foods do you dislike? Chicken rice-a-roni. Michael likes it, though, so I'll eat it.

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Buffalo Wild Wings

10. Favorite dressing? Ranch

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? mid-90's Mercury

12. What are your favorite clothes? Shorts and a t-shirt

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Europe!

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Most days the cup is half-full.

15. Where would you want to retire? Someplace relaxing

16. Favorite time of day? Whenever Michael and I are home at the same time

17. Where were you born? central Missouri

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Tiger football!

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? Well since I'm not actually tagging anyone...

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? See #19...

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Refer to #19...

22. Bird watcher? No. The hubs mentioned getting a bird feeder. I told him that bird feeders attract birds, which then eat, digest, and poop all over our porch and sidewalk.

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? I'm an all the time person... unless I've had Tylenol PM... and then I'm half-asleep until 11AM.

24. Do you have any pets? We have three chihuahuas -- Re-Pete, Penelope, and Wally. We also currently have four chihuahua puppies -- Maria, Rosita, Carmen, and Carlos.

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Last night I had a dream that I was having a baby and it was twins.

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A mommy

27. What is your best childhood memory? Anytime our entire family was together. My dad had to swing shifts, so he wasn't there as often as some dads were.

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Dog!

29. Are you married? Very happily married!

30. Always wear your seat belt? Always!!!

31. Been in a car accident? A small fender-bender

32. Any pet peeves? Too many to list

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Sausage and Pineapple from PG back home.

34. Favorite Flower? Any flower that my husband gets me.

35. Favorite ice cream? vanilla

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? taco bell and W-town DQ

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Zero!

38. From whom did you get your last email? Melissa

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Lowe's

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Nope

41. Like your job? I am fortunate to have a job in this economy

42. Broccoli? yes, please!

43. What was your favorite vacation? Florida in high school

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Michael and my father-in-law

45. What are you listening to right now? Watching The Little Couple

46. What is your favorite color? red

47. How many tattoos do you have? Just one

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? See #19...

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 11:52PM

50. Coffee Drinker? Not so much. However, I do enjoy the occasional caramel frappacino

Ideas, Please!

Hey readers, I need your help!

I've been thinking about the kitchen renovation a LOT today. I've received great input from a couple of co-workers and ideas to help keep costs down. However, I am at a loss as far as the counters go.

We currently have the white Formica with the gold flecks on it. Yes, very vintage. When I looked it up online, I found a site that made reference to the year 1968 when talking about it. Oh, boy. It's definitely time for a change!

However, we're leaning away from the incredibly-affordable laminate counters and steering far clear from the over-priced granite. That definitely leaves us in a pickle. What kind of material should we use? We'd love something affordable, but don't want something cheap.

Any ideas?

Dream Kitchen Renovation

We have an old house. Really old. Like, built 90 years ago in 1919, old. It's a given that various things need updated. Some rooms only need a couple of things, while others need quite a bit.

Okay, so only one room needs a lot.

The kitchen.

Oh, it is dated. The cabinets are quite old, as is the countertop. There are so many options, though.

So many options that cost so much money.

Ugh.

So I've been planning. What can we do to cut costs? What in the kitchen can we salvage in order to save money? Why can't I get a winning lottery ticket?

Then I had a flash of brilliance: do the project in phases! Yes! That's what we'll do! We'll do chunks at a time to not only save us from feeling overwhelmed, but so that we can save up, do a little, save up, do a little, etc.

So here's the plan:

PHASE 1:
-- New cabinet doors/hardware. Keep the body of the cabinets, sand down and refinish to match cabinet doors.
-- New countertop. The big question here is -- what material?

PHASE 2:
-- Tile backsplash
-- New range hood to match appliances (possibly sell range hood)
-- Paint walls (this can actually be done at any time)
-- New faucet (ours doesn't function correctly and is u-g-l-y!)
-- New outlets/switch plates (the current ones are beige.. yuck!)

PHASE 3:
-- Tile floors

PHASE 4:
-- Pantry -- bi-fold door to replace current door (can't open it all the way because of the radiator), shelves
-- Curtains
-- New back door
-- Under-cabinet lighting
-- Dish towels and oven mitts to coordinate with new decor!

The list of maybes includes:
-- New light fixture
-- Ceiling (there is a strange texture that looks like meringue)
-- Radiator cover (we'd love to do this for all of the rooms)

Here's a dream rendering of the room that I made on Lowes.com. Isn't it cool? I was in and out of the kitchen with a tape measure for an hour.

Let me explain a few things. The upper cabinets have frosted glass, not a huge white space. I don't know that I like it as much as I did earlier, but it was a big hassle to change it. Also, I have another row of upper cabinets above the upper cabinets in the photo. It wouldn't let me do a backsplash either. Amazingly enough, when I showed this to Michael, he liked it, including the color! We rarely agree on something like paint color the first time we talk about it.

So... what do you think?

SHOW US YOUR LIFE -- Wedding Party/Flowers/Ceremony

This week over at Kelly's Korner, people are showing off their wedding parties, flowers, and ceremony photos. I know that I've shown a few of these before, but I never get tired of looking at them and love having an excuse to show them off!

Our wedding was wonderful. For late June, the weather was incredibly comfortable. The humidity was much lower than it had been earlier in the month. I was definitely thankful for the break.

We were surrounded by friends on our wedding day. Two of Michael's oldest friends and one from college were his groomsmen. From left to right: Colt, Wade, and Ty. I had three of my girlfriends from high school stand up with me. From right to left: Sarah, Kara, and Chantel.

All of the flowers were beautiful. My bouquet and Michael's boutonniere were the only real flowers, the rest were silk. The morning of the rehearsal dinner, my mom and I went to Wal-Mart and bought three dozen red roses for $10 a dozen. Our caterer put the bouquet together for me. I had so many wonderful comments about my flowers.

Here's a side view of my flowers.

I really love this photo of my dad giving me away. If the preacher was talking, I have no idea what he was saying. See the absolutely joy on my face? I was looking at Michael. I definitely had tunnel vision. I saw him and nothing but him, for better or for worse!

We lit our unity candle to 'Love of a Lifetime' by Firehouse. Oh, yeah. We also played 'Keeper of the Stars' by Tracy Byrd earlier in the ceremony.

Oh, and behind me you can see another flower arrangement. It's silk and we left them for the church to use. Funny story -- I looked through the book of wedding arrangements at the florist and couldn't find anything I liked. I found this arrangement in the funeral section of the book and loved it!

I couldn't stop smiling all day. This picture shows just how happy we were that day.