A Few Ideas

Even though I'm not buying a house in the near, near future, it doesn't hurt to look for ideas now does it? I found this picture online and thought it was so cool! I don't think it's something I will ever have in my own home, but a girl can dream, right??

Something I would eventually like to have is a sunken living room. A friend of mine from elementary school had one of these in her house and I thought it was really neat. You don't see them very often. This picture isn't my ideal, but I couldn't find a picture of exactly what I'm thinking...

I've also always loved the idea of a loft. I would love to use it for an office space/craft room/tv room.

So blogging world, I'd love to know what your "must haves" are when you purchase a house. As the pictures above are really nice and would definitely be great to have, they aren't deal breakers for me. What should I not live without? Send me some feedback!

More PICNIK

I've decided that if I ever had to choose another career, I'd love to take pictures and edit all day long on Picnik. I LOVE it!

Old Church Building

Downtown in the midst of fall

I'm S-C-A-R-E-D!

Most of you know that I've been living with my mom for the past couple of years. I was in an apartment for around four years before that, and decided I was tired of throwing my money away on rent and would live with her for a while to save money and buy a house. Obviously, the saving money part hasn't happened quite as fast as I would have liked it to. About the time I moved out of my apartment I needed another car. I had my Altima (aka Peggy) for ten years and the time had come to put her to rest. Of course, that meant a car payment. While the payment is reasonable, it still takes a chunk out of my paycheck. I pay my mom rent- not because she asked me to but because I want to. Add student loans to that, a storage payment, church contribution, and a few other expenses and it makes for not a whole lot left over. Bottom line- I can't buy a house this very moment, but I'm working really hard to pay off a couple things within the next few months, and then want to get serious about some house shopping!

While I'm sooo excited about the prospect of being a homeowner, I'm quite terrified. I know this is a great time to buy a house and I feel confident I could get a really good deal. I'm just nervous that I not only need to pay off some bills now, but I need to establish a big savings in case something goes wrong once I buy. What if the roof starts leaking? The air conditioner goes out? It's overwhelming to think of all the things you have to be prepared for when living in a place that is your sole responsibility.

I guess the purpose of this post is to pole all you homeowners out there....How prepared can you truly be??? Do I just stop analyzing every moment, bite the bullet, and do it? Should I ever feel 100% prepared? Are my nerves to be expected? I'm S-C-A-R-E-D! I'm doing this on my own. There won't be a supplemental income as of now and it's all up to me.

I know you probably could care less about my currect financial status, but I truly am seeking your advice. I know for sure I won't be seriously looking to buy until at least six or eight months. After that, I guess it depends on what you tell me. No pressure or anything... :)

Picnik.com

If you haven't heard of this website, let me introduce you to my new "favorite thing." Picnik.com is a FREE online photo editing website. You can edit colors, exposure, crop, add text and frames, etc. If you know me well at all, you know that I almost always have a camera in my hand and love, love, LOVE to take pictures! Therefore, this website has occupied lots of my time in the last couple of days. Here are a few of my latest projects. These are all pictures I've taken that I uploaded to this website and edited.

Diets and Chocolate

I am finally admitting to the blogging world that I am on the diet train. I've spent my entire life (literally) on a diet but lately, I've been convicted to get it together...FO' REAL this time. I'm trying really hard (yes, some times more than others) to eat better and be a more health conscious eater. I've almost totally cut out fried food and try not to drink anything that's not water, diet, or sweetened with Splenda. Other than that, I'm just trying to cut out most snacks and not eat any later than 7:00. I guess I'm admitting this as some sort of accountability between myself and this computer, which happens to be inhabited by a few readers. Since the time I started about six weeks ago, I've lost 9 pounds. That's not a lot, but the positive note is that the slower it comes off the less likely it is to come back. Bottom line- I'm trying. I'm not comitted (yet anyway) to posting how much I lose each week, for fear of public embarrassment. My first step is this. Say a prayer for me and all my fellow dieters out there. It's possibly the hardest thing I've ever tried to do.

Now, having said that.......Typically, I don't crave candy bars or chocolate. I'm more of a salty kind of snacker, like wheat thins or cheeze-its. However, my mom put one of these puppies in my stocking at Christmas and my life hasn't been the same since.



I am not a Goo Goo Cluster fan, but these are PHENOMENAL! I can't begin to describe the taste. It's a mix between chocolate, caramel, toffee chunks, and a Cinnabon cinnamon roll. It's A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! The good thing is, there's only 4.5 grams of fat, if my memory serves me correctly. If that's not right, it's much lower than a normal candy bar you buy at the store. I've only treated myself once since then, but these things far surpass any other candy bar in my opinion.

So, if you're trying to be good and don't want to eat a whopping 10 or 12 grams of fat worth of chocolate, try one of these! I really think you'll love it! Oh yeah, my mom found it at the DOLLAR TREE! I haven't seen them anywhere else, although I feel sure they're at Wal-Mart or your local grocery store. Enjoy!

One GREAT Weekend!

This past weekend was so much fun! I went down to visit Cortney and Trey and had a blast!

Friday night we had dinner at Logan's with Trey's parents, his cousin Jim and his wife Allison, and their little girl Natalie. It was lots of fun and good for me to get to spend more time with Trey's family and get to know them a little better. They're great people and definitely made me laugh a lot!

Saturday morning, Trey and Camron (Martina's husband) went fishing so that left us girls with some time to go out on the town. We picked up Martina and sweet little Colton and headed to Ragtime Cafe to meet Haley and Mary Ella. While Colton and Mary Ella enjoyed their first date, we were able to catch up on important topics such as the Bachelor and coupon clipping. I think the babies definitely hit it off. About 25 years from now, we may be planning a wedding!




We spent the rest of the day shopping. We went in a new favorite store of mine called Ulta. If you haven't visited there, definitely do so. They have every kind of make-up, nail polish, perfume, brush, comb, shampoo, conditioner, etc. I'm telling you, this store is a woman's dream. We also went into an Accessories Plus. It was also really neat. There were necklaces, earrings, rings, wallets, purses, everything, from wall to wall. Cort and Martina had a little bit too much fun, as you can see. I could have spent hours in there! We cooked dinner Saturday night and watched a movie, followed by a fairly early bedtime because we were so exhausted.

Sunday was church, followed by a quick lunch and the most important part of the day...NAPTIME! I left around 4 coming home.

Weekends like these are ones that remind me of how blessed I truly am. Getting to spend time with my family and close friends- that's what makes me happy. I can too easily get caught up in what I don't have or what I wish were different about my life. But to step back for a second and just enjoy the here and now and the many, MANY blessings of my life was very good for me. I needed that.

The Next American Idol...I'm calling it now.

LOVE THIS GUY!