my first one

i did it!  i made my very first stamped necklace.  let me tell you i was SO nervous when i swung that hammer, but i'm VERY happy with it! i made it for kylie's cousin's wife.  today is there wedding reception and this is my gift.  they've both lived alone and are now married, so they pretty much have everything.  so this is what i came up for miss angela.  enjoy!

 

 

almost 18 years and still kickin

i really had a picture from when we first met, but i don't and i only have a recent one of us from her wedding(almost 2 years ago!) apparently we need more pictures together, but meet my best friend.

Oh miss hillary.  how she has influence my life.  we met in kindergarten, i don't remember much but she swears i had long hair, i know i did not. but she can believe it ;)  anyway, we've been through alot.  we've had our fair share of fights, but we always make up.  she's like my sister and i'll always have a place in my heart for her.  i don't even know how to write this blog about her.  she's everything a friend should be.  she kind, caring, loving, hilarious, and honest.  she makes me laugh til i cry and cheers me up when i cry.  she would listen to me talk and talk and talk at night until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.  she's spooned me and i've spooned her, we've even woken up holding hands! haha she is my best friend and i'm so very blessed to have her in my life.  no matter where we are in our lives, we always remain close.  right now, my little friend(little because she's very petite) is pregnant!  i can't even express how excited i am!  she called to tell me and i cried.  i will love that little peanut so much.  it's going to be here soon and i just can't believe it.  here is my sweet friend, she thinks she's huge, but she's so not!

her husband and her have decided not to find out what they are having, but i'm hoping it's a girl!  caroline needs a best friend, but a boyfriend will work too!   either way, that baby will be beautiful like it's mom and dad.  i feel like, for a blog about a best friend, this is lacking.  but we have so many stories and memories that i don't even know where to begin.  so here are a few throw back pictures from high school. 

oh band class. i think this is senior year. she made a spit wad and tossed it and it landed right in a girls butt crack.  it was hilarious.  we thought she wouldn't come close but it went right in the coin slot. 

 

nice ears maggie! haha sophomore homecoming.  i had feathers and she had zebra, we were stylin'

 
 

oh disney world for the band trip.  we were sophomores and yes, we got face paint! oh what dorks

oh hill, thanks for the many memories and i can't wait for the many more to come from our kids together.  

i love ya!

If Kylie were

abbie did this with zac and i was intrigued to see what kylie would say, so here are his answers...

If I were a month, I’d be January, "cold and dry."

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Thursday, "not quite the best day (fri) but close".

If I were a time of day, I’d be 2:52pm.

If I were a planet, I’d be neptune .

If I were a sea animal, I’d be plankton.

If I were a direction, I’d be south.

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a rocker recliner, "you want to spend time with me, b/c i rock"

If I were a liquid, I’d be mercury in a thermometer that's about ready to blow b/c it's so hot

If I were a gemstone, I’d be "i wouldn't be a gemstone, that's gay".

If I were a tree, I’d be an evergreen.

If I were a tool, I’d be file.

If I were a flower, I’d be a i don't know a dandelion.
M: I want to know why being a gemstone is gay but a dandelion is not.
K: *laughs* I didn't want to say the same thing twice.

If I were a kind of weather,I'd be foggy.

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a snare drum. (M:"uh that's so annoying")

If I were a color, I’d be gray.

If I were an emotion, I’d be depression(he followed that by laughing)

If I were a fruit, I’d be a peach, because i'm fuzzy.

If I were a sound, I’d be the sound of trying to close a bag of chips when it's late and you don't want to wake anyone up.

If I were an element, I’d be hydrogen, b/c i'm all about some Hiroshima bomb stuff.

If I were a car, I’d be a 1996 red chevy s10.

If I were a food, I’d be cherry cheesecake.

If I were a place, I’d be the buffalo river. (M:"that place had hepatitis" and he just laughs)

If I were a material, I’d be a silk, only in shirt form..no undies (M"oh my gosh K&M hahaha).

If I were a taste, I’d be that taste where you take a drink of something and it's not what you expected. like if you think it's tea and it's actually coke.

If I were a scent, I’d be shoe store, leather, mmmm  good stuff.

If I were an object, I’d be the object of your affection, that's the gayest thing i've said yet. haha.

If I were a body part, I’d be the hanging ball in your throat.  (first he said medulla oblongata, then we googled for spelling and discovered it was in fact the lower part of the brain stem, not the hanging ball, so he changed it)

If I were a facial expression, I’d be the look of a kid when they get in trouble and are about ready to bawl

If I were a song, I’d be bohemian rhapsody but not the album version, one by a live cover band because it's one in the world, but not the one you want to take home and play in your cd player. 

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be old man velcros from walmart.

What would you be?

well there you go, kylie's answers.  i've realized he's much funnier than me.  i always thought i was the funny one, but maybe i'm just wittier.

if i were

If I were a month, I’d be October.

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Sunday.

If I were a time of day, I’d be 7:00PM.

If I were a planet, I’d be Jupiter.

If I were a sea animal, I’d be sea horse.

If I were a direction, I’d be south.

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a big dinner table, where meals are served and laughter is around me.

If I were a liquid, I’d be strawberry lemonade(i know you'll like this annie haha).

If I were a gemstone, I’d be topaz .

If I were a tree, I’d be a weeping willow(i'm with abbie).

If I were a tool, I’d be saw.

If I were a flower, I’d be a spider mum.

If I were a kind of weather,I'd be a beautiful fall day.

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a banjo.

If I were a color, I’d be that funny green color, the one you don't know if you like because it's border line terrible, then you realize it's amazing!

If I were an emotion, I’d be laughter til you cry.

If I were a fruit, I’d be a watermelon.

If I were a sound, I’d be baby laughs.

If I were an element, I’d be water

If I were a car, I’d be a beat up truck.

If I were a food, I’d be steak.

If I were a place, I’d be a salon.

If I were a material, I’d be a sweatshirt.

If I were a taste, I’d be sweet.

If I were a scent, I’d be coffee.

If I were an object, I’d be a roller skates.

If I were a body part, I’d be the ears.

If I were a facial expression, I’d be "the rock" eye brows

If I were a song, I’d be country(thanks dad).

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be my pink house shoe boots.

What would you be?

1/2 a year gone

six months ago i looked like this...

 

a glorious 185 pounds and pregnant. 

p.s. i've lost all the weight but 3lbs, so guess what dr. morisetty, i didn't keep 30% of it...so suck it

ok back to it, and this was my baby girl

 

8lbs 8 oz 21 3/4" long 

beautiful and i loved her so much.

now she's this

 

six months old and sitting!

 
 

and sleepy.  

she's more beautiful than the day she was born.  like her father i love her more than the day before.  i just can't believe my baby is so big.  she has the best personality and is just so fun.  her eyes are gorgeous like her dad's and i love just staring at them in awe that they're not brown.  i just can't believe how much my life has changed in 6 months.  life is not as easy anymore, but whoever said kids were easy.  what i do know is that, no matter what, she will make you smile.  you can have the worst day at work, loose a loved one, just be in a dull mood and she will brighten you up.  it's the best feeling.  waking up at 2, 4, 6am, isn't so bad when you have this

smiling up at you.  

it's hard to believe that in 6 more months, kylie and i will be talking about a 2nd baby.  i'm pretty sure i'll be pregnant or nursing for a solid 3-4 years.  depressing to think about, but the reward is SO worth it.  

happy 1/2 birthday "carol bean"

big papa pump and foxy mama

 

there they are.  the two people that made me who i am today.  

i have the most wonderful parents, ever.  that's right, ever.  

they taught me everything there is to know about love, hard work, and laughter. plus a whole lot more!

my dad is the hardest working man i know.  he's a farmer, but works more than the usual planting season and harvest.  he has cattle, and cattle need attention everyday.  not to mention the many many side projects he has going on and the jobs he does just helping out family and friends.  he literally works 7 days a week.  he loves his job, even in the below weather temps and snow on the ground, he loves it.  growing up, helping dad was fun.  i won't deny that it totally sucked sometimes, but most of the time it was fun.  not a lot of girls grow up fixing fences, scooping poop, feeding cattle, grinding feed, chopping firewood, and washing combine windows.  but my sisters and i did.  it taught me a lot about hard work.  not everyone wants to do it, but someone has too.  i always knew that when the work was done dad was proud of us (plus we got candy bars and coke!)  dad didn't just drag us around to work, he taught us important life lessons too.  he taught us to stand up for ourselves when we needed too (i'm still working on that) and to admit when "it is what is is, sis" and you can't change it.  he has taught us what to look for in a husband, and we all found it.  our husbands are some of our dad's best friends.  they work with him on the weekends and he teaches them everything he knows, one saturday at a time. 

 

my dad is the best.  he loves my sisters and me, our husbands, and our kids.  he's proud of us all.  but really without him and mom, we wouldn't be who we are.  so thank you dad for all that you are and stand for and for wearing vests at christmas!

 my mom is fabulous. she is my best friend. growing up my mom was a stay at home mom, i loved it.  she's not the "sit on your butt watching soaps mom" either.  this woman literally vacuumed EVERYDAY!  she made beds, dusted, swept, did laundry, made lunch, did dishes, vacuumed, watered flowers, made dinner, repeat.  she's nonstop on the go and her mouth is the same.  she talks so fast and never shuts up.  she's made me and my sisters the way we are today.  we all get home from work or shopping and instantly pick up our houses and put away our goods.  it drives our husbands crazy! and just like her we all talk way too fast and also never shut up, unless you're me and annie then we get shy around people we don't know.  but abbie, never shuts it.  i am very close with my mom.  when my sisters were in the "maggie is a dork" stage, my mom was there.  i spent lots of weekends and nights just hanging out with mom and dad.  3rd sunday market was my favorite time.  i got to work on furniture with mom all month then go set it all up at a big show with her and dad.  it was a weekend of just the three of us, i don't know if they loved having me on their weekend away.  but it was the highlight of my summers. 

my mom is simply amazing.  she's taught me the girly things in life that are important for a woman to know, but has also taught me other things too.  she's a woman strong in her faith and has always taught me the importance of having God in your life and always having a close relationship with Jesus. she also has a huge heart and has taught me about giving to people in need.  i've grown up very fortunate in my life and if i can ever help out someone less fortunate than me, i am always willing. 

my mom is a great gift giver! oh my, the woman almost doesn't know when to stop on a gift.  i'm sort of the same way.  i think because even if the amount of money you "said" you were going to spend, is spent, and the present looks lacking, we fill it up more.  $30 just isn't enough sometimes for a fabulous present. sometimes those amazing pair of $30 sandals just don't look as good as the sandals, nail polish, foot lotion, and a foot scrub does.

all in all, my parents are amazing people.  they love all of us girls and our families.  but most importantly, they love each other and they taught us to love our spouse like that.  thank you mom and dad for being the most incredible parents i could ask for.  i love you.

 

BOGART

This is called The Bogart.
It means you're really going places, Baby.
You'll still be blogging about your great adventures 10 years from now,
and I'll still be reading them.

The Rules:
Link back to the blogger who sent you the award.
Post where you would like to be in 10 years.
Pass this on to 10 other special bloggers.

I was tagged by my friend Elise! from Elise is...Content.

I was pretty excited when I saw this, but now that it's time to write, I feel blank.  Hang in there, as this random mess comes together as a blog!

In ten years, Caroline is going to be 9 1/2!  It's crazy to think about that.  Hopefully, she'll have two more siblings and the youngest will probably be between 4-6!  We want to have three kids but if we have a set of twins, possibly four kids. Sounds crazy, but I want a bigger family.  I grew up with two sisters, and I want that for my kids.  I always had a friend. 

In ten years, we will have lived here for 7 years! 

I dream of when it's done and I live there.  I'm constantly looking at books and magazines and getting inspired for the big build.  I'll be neighbors with my sister and our kids can play together in the woods.  It will be amazing. I'm so excited for it.  Annie is one of my best friends and I can't wait to be just through the woods from her.

In ten years, I will be married to Kylie for 13 years and together for 15!  I know our marriage will be stronger than it is now.  We will still go on dates, and finally have "us" time because our kids will be 5 and up! We have both grown so much since we first got married.  I love it.  I love watching him as a father, and he's a great dad.  He's become quite the handy man too!  In 10 years, my husband will still be my very best friend. Oh and he'll be 36! I bet he will be more handsome than he is today!

(this is from our honeymoon)

In ten years, I hope that I have either bought/built a new salon.  I'm currently renting, but really want to open a fresh new place that is all MINE!  I hope it's one of the top salons in town and that it is even more successful than it is now.  I also hope I'm still working with the great girls I am with now.  Love you two!

 

In ten years, I pray that I am walking closer to God.  I am working everyday to have a stronger relationship with Him. .  I pray that I'm more involved in my church and that my kids LOVE going to church.  I pray that Kylie and I can be good teachers to our kids about Jesus.  I pray that I'm more knowledgeable, and I can teach others about His love for us.  He is my Lord and Savior, and I give my life to Him everyday. 

In ten years, I want to have more time to craft things I love.  I want to still work on furniture with my sisters. I want to be a great wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, boss, and daughter of Christ.

I tag my friends who have not been tagged. 

a unfamiliar path

i'm entering it, and i'm scared.  for months i've thought about buying this...

 

it's a metal stamping kit.  it comes with the alphabet, disk punch, and doming block.  it's used for making jewelry and such.  i received a  personalized necklace when caroline was born with her name on it.  it is one of my favorite necklaces.  i thought it would be great if i made them because everyone compliments me on mine.  not only would it earn me some extra cash, but it would make me try something i've never done before.  so after a couple months, i took the plunge and bought the kit.  i immediately got stressed.  i bought the kit yeah, but not the rest of the tools, and not to mention all the jewelry parts (chains, beads, head pins, etc.)  plus i have to be creative!  so i texted my dear friend casey who is a jewelry making machine.  she's helping me find all the things i need and is going to help me in jewelry making 101. haha, i'm really excited about it, but still very nervous.  what if i'm terrible and i invest all this time and money into a flop.  but casey encouraged me and told me a woman on etsy has sold 2300 in stamped jewelry.  so that is huge!  i'm not expecting it at all, but i live in a small town and i think it's something that could go over really well!  so say a pray for me and newest craft.  now gawk at my inspirations.

 

adorable. i love the teardrop shape.

 

that bird is so cute!

 

the pear is adorable.  looks like it's wearing a crown.  plus i loved the hammered look and the dome shape!

 

so cute for a mother or grandmother. 

i can't wait to get started, but i think i need some cute stamps!  etsy here i come!

help please

i have a dilemma on my hands.  at work i have cabinets in my shampoo room.  they are painted lime green to blend in with the walls. 

BUT, when in a hectic state we forget to rinse our color gloves before touching the cabinets resulting in stain.

  i've tried painting again, but it just comes back or happens again.  so blog world, what is your advice?  i need something fantastic AND stain resistant!  i've thought about decoupage or decals, so tell me what to do...please!

less is more?

or more is more?  i'm a product junkie of any sorts.  from cleaning supplies to hair supplies, i love it all.  i've notice recently that i use ALOT of it too!  i've read you are to use like a quarter sized amount of shampoo and dime size amount of dish soap.  this is just crazy to me!

i feel like if you don't have suds bubbling up off your head or overflowing in the sink, then you my friend are not getting it clean! dime size? how about palm sized?!  ok, so i know i'm crazy and i'm being SO wasteful.  so, i'm trying to cut back.  it is extremely hard too!  i've tried just a little shampoo and a little conditioner, but it's really hard when i get to body wash.  i love me a loofah full of suds!  i've also tried less dish soap and i just am not feeling it.  i've notice at work i pump the shampoo a good 4-5 times before i'm done and i'm talking a gallon sized pump!  how terrible is it?! it's so bad.

so my goal is to kick this habit to the curb!  don't hold me to it in a month from now, but i'm working on it.  i'm learning that my dishes are clean with hot water and a little squirt of soap and my body is still just as clean with a quarter sized amount vs. a big healthy squeeze full.  i'm hoping i'll see a difference in buying my cleaning supplies as well as personal hygiene products too.

so, do you also have a problem with products? or do you under-use your stuff? will you join me in a fight for change! haha

is this a personal question?

now that i have a baby, people often say "this might be personal, but do you breast feed or bottle feed?"  i don't really feel like it's a personal question.  but yes, i breast feed.  i feel like in this era it's so shocking to hear a mother say they breast feed.  what ever happened to "what?! you don't breast feed?" i'm not going to lie, i totally hated it in the beginning. but from the moment i got pregnant i knew breast feeding was what i was going to do, no questions about it.

 

(this is after 30+ hours of labor, at 2am, i learned to feed her at 3:30am after a 5 min nap.  she was a champ and so was i.  i look terrible, but i was so happy)

now, i would be lying if i said oh it's amazing, it's so easy, and i just totally love it.  so here is my list of pros vs. cons of breast feedings.

PROS                                                                                                                                                   

 free!
very healthy for baby!
close bond with baby!
when with family, it's your only chance to hold your baby!
did i mention FREE!
weight loss without working out! (burns 500 calories/DAY!)
no clean up

    CONS
painful for first couple weeks
very hard to adjust
uncomfortable with public feedings(for me at least)
stressful when baby is struggling
pumping!


okay, so most of these you already know, but this is how i feel.  i really didn't mind it in the very beginning but when i went back to work it stunk.  i hate pumping!  it was really hard then because she was eating every 2 hours and it was really hard for me to remember at work.  then my 'tot', haha, would be so engorged with milk it would be so painful.  i feel like no one told me about the painful part.  annie says she told me about it, but i didn't remember.  i knew it would be rough, but i guess i didn't comprehend the whole "milk coming in" part.  but i figured it out.  and now, i wouldn't change it for anything.  feeding her is so simple and so FREE! she can eat in like 5-10 mins and we're done.  i can feed her and not have to worry about covering her up b/c she's so big now you can't see anything.  now i just have to keep her focused, she's so easily distracted.

for all you preggers and mothers out there who have not breast fed, i highly encourage you.  i'm not telling you it will be easy, but DON'T give up! there were several times of pure screaming from her and tears of frustration from me and kylie, but don't be tempted by the ease of a bottle.  it not only makes you closer with your baby, but i never thought it would make me closer with kylie. who knew i would need him to hold my nip! haha, tmi? but in all seriousness, it is so beneficial for your baby and their immune system.  and God made us with breast for the purpose of feeding our children, not just for our husbands to stare at.  lets make this decade a decade of breast feeders!

prancer

our shop mascot, in a sense.  he is a beautiful deer that my mom gave me as a birthday gift.  my heart melted when i opened it.  he is perfect! but because of my short 7' trailer ceilings, he lives at my salon.  he's perfect there.  we named him prancer because well, he's kind of fruity.  see examples below.

here he is at christmas. this is my favorite of him.

he was bare for a month or so and SO boring, but i just jazzed him up today

yes that is a feather boa and a tulle bow in his "hair"

i wanted to show you his heart earring too.

he's precious.