FaceLogic

Some good friends of my sister Megan's, Doug and Michelle Christian are opening up a new business in Kennesaw. For all of you West Cobb folks I think this is going to be a real treat!! They are scheduled to open July 12th.

Check 'em out...
http://facelogic.wordpress.com/

Before and After

Well, I have the morning off from two of my classes and rather than working on school work I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to share what we have been doing in the house. We have lived here for a little over 3 years and when we bought the house Michael and I loved the layout but there was not a lot that had been done to it. The people who owned it before us where British and had no children living with them. The house was immaculate except for the 15 Glad plug ins we took out when we moved in! We are still trying to get the Orchard Blossom smell out of our house! We have painted almost every room, replaced light fixtures, hardware on cabinets. Michael has renovated the front and back yards (that's a post for another day), replaced the spindles on the deck, stained the deck, tile in the bathrooms, hardwood floors, we have replaced both heating and air units and I think we will be looking at painting the house in the next couple of years!

I have been waiting to do this until I knew my house would be clean, but that never happened, so you will have to see my house dirt and all. But I like the saying that says "If you came to see me, come on over. If you came to see my house, make an appointment!" All of the "before" pictures where taken when we did the inspection of the house.

So here is the kitchen. We love our kitchen. It is big and bright and open. We love to entertain and people seem to congregate in the kitchen. We did a lot in the kitchen. It had wallpaper, which we took down and had the kitchen painted. We had new countertops and backsplash, new appliances and new floors!

So here is before:

and after:

The "formal" living room is used as our home office. I have thought about moving it upstairs into the bonus room many times, but since Michael and I spend a lot of time in here on the computer it is nice that we are on the main level with the kids. Plus a formal living room is such a waste of space for our family!! The paint color in here was awful. During the day it was the color of urine and at night it turned into a pea green color. Michael really fought for this blue color and I in turn fought back, but I gave up and he won. Now that it is painted I really love it. We are actually going to paint our bedroom the same color because it is such a peaceful color!! This is one of the rooms that we definitely live in the most. We have our desk, which is where I study, do reunion stuff, blog, talk on the phone, etc. and Zack has his easel, and the boys will read in the red chair. So it is well used, so excuse the mess!!!
So here is before:

And after:

Here is our dining room. We never use our dining room except on special occasions and even then I prefer to eat in the kitchen. So I use it as "catch all" room. If I'm not sure of what to do with something I put it there until I'm ready to deal with it!!

Before:
And after:

This is one of my favorite rooms. The boys bathroom. All of our bathrooms had carpet in them when we bought the house. That made Michael almost not want to buy the house. Since then, all three bathrooms have been tiled and he is much happier. I think if Michael could scour the whole house in bleach that would make him happy!!!

So here is before: (not a very good shot)

and after:
And even though all we did to the boys room was paint it, it shows you the difference in how the previous owners lived and us! The boys share a room. I said as soon as Carter was old enough they would. They are too young and small to take up two whole rooms in my house. I'm not sure how much they like it, but they don't complain! The room is so big that we not only use it for their bedroom it is their playroom as well. So I have to just get over that it doesn't stay clean!
Before:

and after:

We still have lots we want to do. We are getting new carpet in the den/sunroom sometime this summer. Hopefully in the winter we are going to replace the wood spindles on our staircase with iron ones. We still have some painting to do, but we hopefully have many more years in this house!!

Thanks for looking!!!

Catfish!!! UGH!!

So I am posting from Smithville, Tennessee in the comfort of my in-laws beautfiul lakehome overlooking Center Hill Lake. We had a great day on the lake, playing, skiing, tubing and EATING!!!

For someone who is on Weight Watchers this is NOT the place to be. I have had more fried food in the past two days than I have had in the last 2 months!! I had catfish for dinner last night, lunch today and dinner tonight. I'm not kidding. I feel like I am about to EXPLODE!!!

And to make matters worse we are headed to a family reunion in Kentucky tomorrow and you know there won't be anything that will keep the weight off.

But Monday is a new day and that's what I love about Weight Watchers. I haven't been really strict with myself in the last month, but I'm still losing a little bit of weight. Not much, but at least I'm not gaining!! I really love having this 20 pounds off and I have gone down a size, so I know if I work hard I will see results.

Well, me and all the catfish are headed to bed. We have to be up bright and early to head to KY. Hopefully, they won't be serving catfish!!!

Frustration

Somedays I don't feel like being me anymore. I'm tired of being responsible, being the person that always gets the job done, that always makes the plans and arranges things.

I wonder what it is like to just show up to an event, having not planned anything, to show up to a presentation in class and know that even though I did nothing I still was going to get a good grade because of my peers' hard work. What would it be like to ignore what is good for my children and just do whatever was easiest?

But that's not how God designed me, thankfully. My plate is pretty full right now, and it's nothing I can't handle, but somedays it makes being me pretty hard. God called me to be a daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, wife, mother, friend and now teacher. And God didn't call me to be these things in only a half-hearted way. He wants me to give it my all. God gave me gifts that have allowed me to be a unique person. I am the only me and even though somedays it makes me tired and it makes me want to forget all of the planning and go get in bed with a good book, I would not be honoring God at all.

I know this is season of business for me right now and I will look back on these days with joy because they were full of following God's plan for my life. But as Carter had a complete melt down in Target today and behaved like a two year old. I wanted to be someone else. My prayer for today is that I will allow God to remind me of who He created me to be...nothing more and certainly nothing less. I am so grateful that I have Jesus in my heart to guide me and make being me, more graceful than being me on my own.

Oh My Yumminess!!!

I tried this recipe last weekend and it was great!!!

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

Prep Time:20 min
Total Time:6 hr 20 min
Makes:12 servings
4 cups fresh strawberries, divided
1 can (14 oz.) EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
8 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. butter, melted

LINE 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Mash 2 cups of the strawberries in large bowl. Add condensed milk, juice and 2 cups of the whipped topping; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.
MIX chopped cookies and butter. Spoon over whipped topping mixture. Cover with ends of foil and gently press cookie mixture into whipped topping mixture. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.
INVERT dessert onto serving plate when ready to serve; remove pan and foil. Spread remaining whipped topping onto top and sides of dessert. Slice remaining 2 cups strawberries; arrange over dessert. Store leftovers in freezer.

I made it lower fat by using fat-free sweetened condensed milk, fat free cool whip and reduced fat oreos. You cut this like a loaf and it is SO SO GOOD!! Very refreshing summer dessert!!

Back At It!!!

Well, school is back in for me and I am STRESSED!!!! I am sure this has nothing to do with my hormones being a little wacky. I'm in school four days a week and I can't catch my breath!

Yesterday, I spoke with someone about a private school loan I was trying to take out. They said I was approved but pending a co-signer because I was unemployed!!! That was the WRONG thing to say to me yesterday. This poor lady got a teary earful about how I didn't need a cosigner that his money was my money, etc. etc. My feminism took a beating. I didn't want to have to use my "husband's money" to qualify for a loan. We don't do "his money" and "my money" because, first that's not how we roll and second well, I would be destitute!

So I went crying to Michael about how I needed a co-signer and he of course didn't see the big deal. How could he not understand how this was terrible injustice that I could not get a loan on my own. Sometimes I just feel downright sorry for Michael for having to deal with me in my heightened hormonal state!!!

After three days back in school I realized this summer is going to not be very fun for me. Not much time at home and not much time with the kids. Plus we will be gone AT LEAST every other weekend. I just keep telling myself that this my last stinky summer!!! If I EVER EVER EVER say I'm going to go to graduate school will you please hog tie me??? My family would be ever so appreciative!!

xoxo

Veggie/Bean Salad

My sister-in-law made this salad last weekend at the lake and it was dee-licious!! I had some with almost every meal I ate there and it is really filling. There is a lot of chopping to do, but it will last awhile and can be enjoyed throughout the week!!! Here is my version of it today...





Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try...



Chopped Vegetable and Bean Salad (Serves 4)

For the dressing:
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
2 TBSP olive oil

For the salad:
1 large head romaine lettuce
1/2 cup peeled and diced cucumber
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup peeled and diced carrots
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced black olives
3/4 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp chopped fresh basil
3/4 cup diced tomato
3/4 cup cooked white beans
1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans
1/2 cup chopped hearts of palm

1. In a small bowl, combine red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Add olive oil and beat well with a wire whip.
2. In a large bowl, combine salad ingredients. Add salad dressing and toss lightly. Divide equally into large salad bowls.