Project 365

I set out back in January with the intent of completing Project 365. I had the same goal in 2009. I made it all the way to March that year. I'm proud to say that I've actually completed it this year. My scrapbook isn't actually finished because I'm ordering my pictures a few at a time. It gets expensive. But I did manage to take a picture for every single day this year and I hope to have it completely finished by the end of January.

I've been debating on whether or not to do it again in 2011. I enjoy looking back at what we've done over the year, but it is a lot of work. I know that I definitely don't want to "scrapbook" it again this year. That takes way to much time. I don't think I worked on any other scrapbooks this year, because every chance I had to scrapbook I worked on my 365 album.

I really think I want to do it though, because we have so many potential big things for 2011 and I want to record those. So I'm thinking I will start a 365 blog. I will just post my picture and blog each day. Then at the end of the year I will do that blog to book thing. I'm hoping this will be far easier and less time consuming.

One Proud Momma

WARNING!! I'm about to brag on my dog like he is a real child!

I'm so proud. Liam is officially house trained. He has never been a problem because Liberty was house trained. Liam just went out when Liberty went out. But he himself has never been truly house trained. In the past couple of days he has been going to the backdoor whenever he needs to go to the bathroom. When you let him back in, he goes and sits patiently by the treat bag waiting on his treat. I LOVE IT!! Not sure what it was that made all this click for the little guy, but I'm so proud of him whenever he goes to the backdoor. I don't know what will happen if we aren't watching him. Liberty will sit there and cry if she really needs to go. I'm just so proud of the little guy. Before it was hard to just get him outside. He's afraid we will leave him out there.



He's a big boy now!

Lunch With a Friend

I just got home from having lunch with one of my very sweet friends. Her name is Jennifer, but I know her as Slack. Slack is her maiden name. It was how I was introduced to her. And even though she is married now, she will always be Slack to me.

Slack and I met almost seven years ago when we were both working at Sonic. I was a newlywed and going to school. She was in college as well and home for the summer. I tell you this because the first few years of my marriage were not our best ones. Slack was there for me when I was upset with the husband. We got to be very close.

Now even though we live only thirty minutes apart, if that, we rarely see each other. We are both busy girls who just don't seem to take the initiative to get there. We've been known to call ourselves bad friends for this very reason.

Monday I decided I wanted to have lunch with her this week while I'm still on Christmas break. And today was the day. We met, ate, and enjoyed each other's company. After talking longer than we meant, probably making her late back to work, we left with promises to do it again soon. This is how we always leave each other. The last time we made this promise was in June.

This got me to thinking about relationships on the way home. I have a lot of relationships in my life. Some are closer than others. There are still some people in my life that I struggle to be completely open and honest with. Maybe I will never be that way with these people.

I hold a lot in. I keep a lot of things to myself for fear of what others will think. I know that I care way to much about other people's opinions, but I can't seem to change that about me no matter how hard I try. This affects my relationships. There are very few people that I can go to with anything. Slack is one of those people. She has seen my best and my worst and she loves me anyway. For that I love her.

Relationships are a two way street. There have been several times when I've told my husband "So and so didn't speak to me at all tonight." He always replies...then you didn't speak to them either. How true! We get out of a relationship what we put in. Relationships are work, at the least the good ones are. They don't just come naturally.

I have a relationship with God. It fluctuates. Sometimes I feel much closer to him than others. I know this is because of me and me alone. My God doesn't move. He doesn't change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. (Hebrews 13:8) I love that about Him. Don't you? When my relationship suffers with God, it isn't because he isn't trying. He is always there, always desiring to spend time with me. But am I? Do I? Unfortunately the answer is no. More times than I would care to admit, I put my relationship with God on the back burner, thinking I'll do that when I get a free moment.

He should come first. All other relationships, all other things should come after my relationship with God. I've grown closer to God in 2010. I believe that. But I also no there is still so much room for this relationship to grow. My prayer for 2011 is to grow even closer to my Heavenly Father, to know Him a little better, to love Him a little more. Through growth in this one single relationship, I believe all my other relationships will grow as a result.

How are your relationships?

Open for Business

Well it's official! I've opened an etsy shop. Of course it is empty right now, but I have one. My plan is to put together some premade scrapbooks where all you do is add the pictures. I have no idea if they will sale or not, probably not, but I'm goign to give it a try.

I went to a scrapbook store while we were in Alabama. It was amazing store. I haven't been in a true scrapbook store in what feels like forever. It's a wonder I didn't spend every last penny and then some in that store. I found so many things. I came home with some cute ideas that I can't wait to get started on.

It's how I plan to spend my day tomorrow...locked up in my scrapbook room working away. Hopefully tomorrow evening I will have things to share with you and at least one item in my etsy store.

Our Getaway Week

The husband and I have been in Gulf Shores, Alabama since Saturday. I'm a little sad that we have to head home tomorrow morning. We have really enjoyed the past few days.

We haven't done anything extraordinary, just shopping, eating, and exploring. It's just been so nice to spend a few days just the two of us. This week has been all about taking it easy and enjoying some much needed time together. I have enjoyed every minute of it.

Next week it is back to real life. Though I'm happy to say that I should have my husband home full time again, at least for a while. For the time being, he is finished with travelling. Can I just say that again? He is finished with travelling. This thrills me!! We've definitely learned to live with the travelling and even to make the best of it. I do believe that all his travelling has been good for our marriage in some ways, but I also know its much better to have him home.

The next few days are going to busy ones for us as I'm sure they will be for everyone. we will be spending time with our families and enjoying that time together. In just a couple of weeks we will be celebrating our anniversary and I will be headed back to work for the second half of the school year.

I have nothing else to say so I'm going to abruptly stop this post and pack my bags. Heading out early tomorrow morning.

Christmas Break Is Here....

And I couldn't be happier about it. School ended at 11:15 today and it wasn't 11:16 bfore I was out the door. I've been looking forward to this two week break for a long time. Yet I have to say, where has this first semester gone? This year is flying by!!

A big part of the reason I've been looking forward to Christmas Break is because the husband and I are going to the beach!! Yeah Baby!! He is on his way home right now and we are packing up and heading out in the morning. We are Alabama bound.

I'm really looking forward to this trip. It's a full week with my husband and now work. Plus we won't to check out the area. We've been doing some serious praying and we both feel like we aren't suppsoed to be in our current location anymore. We feel God calling us to something different. As of right now we are looking at Alabama as that some place different. I've been praying that God will reveal his will to us this week. Where and how specifically does he want us to serve.

Sometimes being a grown up is hard!! One moment I have such peace about Alabama and the next I'm filled with fears about it. One thing I know is that I firmly believe about two months ago God told me to get ready to move and start fresh. So we'll see.

Either way tomorrow the husband and I are taking a getaway trip and I'm really looking forward to it.

An Early Christmas Present and a winner

My laptop has been falling apart for quite some time now. I've been so subtly dropping hints for a new one. To be honest, I didn't really think I would get one for Christmas. We hadn't looked at any and I didn't know when the husband would find time to buy one with his crazy work schedule.

Saturday afternoon right after we got home from our nephew's 3rd birthday party, I was going crazy turning the house upside down for a coupon. I wanted to go right then and buy gifts for a couple of friends. As I'm going wild through the house, the husband says he has to go get something out of his car. he goes outside and comes back in all while I'm in the back bedroom. When I walk into our bedroom, a new laptop is sitting on the bed. EXCITED!!! He said he thought about waiting until Christmas, but he wanted me to have it for our vacation next week.

I love it!!!! It's a Gateway and is huge. It is much bigger than what I'm used to because it has a 10 key. I know I'm going to love that when I'm putting grades in the computer. He really is the best.


And now for a winner.....I'm so excited to share Holiday Inn with you. The husband was shocked that some of you haven't seen this movie. :)


I used random.org to choose a winner.

The winner is Shelly!! Shelly, I will give you the movie this week at work. I hope you enjoy it!

Christmas Cinema

I will never forget my first Christmas as a married woman. It's one of those stories that Andrew and I will share with our children when they get married. It was a true test of our love for one another. Maybe I'll share it with you sometime. Let's just say for now it was a White Christmas and here in Arkansas white means ice not snow. That not so wonderful ice meant we spent the night with Andrew's parents on Christmas Eve. Don't get me wrong, I love my in-laws, but I wanted to be with my family. I was a little homesick.

There I go getting into this story that I wasn't going to share with you quite yet. Let's move on. So there we are at the in-law's house on Christmas Eve. A couple of Andrew's siblings were there along with there spouses. It was a Weaver tradition to just hang out and eat chili and drank apple cider. This particular year, my father-in-law was begging everyone to watch It's A Wonderful Life with him. No one wanted to watch it. They all claimed they had already watched it once that year. Some even claimed they had watched two or three times that year. Maybe they had. I was still a fairly new Weaver and being the shy girl that I am, I was just sitting there quietly taking it all in. Finally my father-in-law asked me if I had seen it this year. I remember meekly telling him that I had never seen the movie. His face lit up. He was so excited that he was going to get to share this with me. We watched the movie together as everyone drifted into another room to do their own thing.

Yes, before marrying my husband, I had never watched Its A Wonderful Life. Truth be told, I had never seen a black and white Christmas movie. They weren't on the list of must see movies. I was young and assumed that all black and white movies were boring.

Christmas movies are another one of those things that Andrew and I very rarely agree on. You see I love those cheesy made for TV Christmas movies. Every year I look forward to The 25 Days of Christmas on ABC Family. The husband...not so much. We do agree on a few good ones such as Charlie Brown Christmas, The Santa Clause (all 3), Polar Express, and one or two more.

A few years ago he introduced me to White Christmas and Holiday Inn. I LOVE these movies and they are now on the must see list every year. Next week, I'm going to see White Christmas in the theater. I'm really looking forward to it.

I have Holiday Inn set to record on my dvr as soon as it comes on this year. And even better, I have a copy of Holiday Inn on dvd for one of you. I want to share this classic with you. If you have never seen the movie, you are in for a treat. If it is one of your favorites too, then you know it needs to be added to your collection.



For a chance to win Holiday Inn, blog about your favorite Christmas movie(s) and then leave a comment with a link to your post. If you don't have a blog tell me about your favorite movie in a comment. The blog will end this Saturday, December 11 and I will announce the winner on Sunday.

A Hint of Christmas

As of this moment, our house shows no sign of Christmas. The usual red and green C9s that adorn our rooftop are still packed away in the attic where they will stay for at least another year. Keeping them company is our tree, ornaments, and all other Christmas decor.

The husband has been gone all week and will be gone for the next two. He decided he didn't want to scale our rooftop to put up lights that will triple our electric bill when he won't be around to enjoy them. While this makes me a little sad, I see his point.

As for the tree and all the things that happen inside the house. They are just at the bottom of our priority list this year. I honestly don't think we will put up a tree this year. I know I can't believe I just typed those words either. And believe it or not, this is coming from me. The husband didn't pressure me into feeling that way. I just feel so overwhelmed with everything that needs to be accomplished that I can't seem to bear the thought of adding decorating to that list.

Maybe I can come to your house and enjoy your tree for a couple of hours. :)

But their is a hint of Christmas in our home. We received our first Christmas card in the mail this week. I absolutely love getting Christmas card. It thrills to me to see which card everyone picked out and who we will receive cards from. Of course I don't have my usual display for the cards, but that's okay.

We also received our cards in the mail this year. I ordered them from shutterfly and am really happy with how they turned out. Now I just have to complete the daunting task of addressing the envelopes and getting them in the mail. I really hope to have that all finished by the end of this next week. After they are in the mail, I will share them on here. I want to wait though so that it will be a surprise to those getting a card.

I still have quite a bit of Christmas shopping to do. For the most part I know exactly what I want to get everyone, I just have to go get it. I love shopping for the perfect gift for my family and friends. It blesses me to pick something out just for that person. Giving is definitely better than receiving.