A quick update on the dogs: they've both been adopted! Georgia is SO sweet that people were almost knocking down the door to take her. Jake didn't even get a chance. The woman that was going to re-home him for us fell in love. The best part is that the person that took Georgia is a good friend of the lady that was re-homing so the dogs will see each other often! Yay!
Other than that not too much is going on. I did take a knitting class finally. It's something I've been wanting to do for the longest time. It's really fun - and once I got it down it's so easy. I made a kind of scarf for my first project. I say kind of scarf because it's a little shorter than a "normal" scarf. No pictures as of the moment, but those will come.
In other news I'm going to go on a little trip. My father is driving through Atlanta some time today and I'm going to be going with him! Unfortunately he does still have a student - so we'll be sharing an already small cramped space with a third person. Well, I'm the third person but whatever. It will be so nice to spend some time with my dad. I really miss him - and it's a great opportunity to spend a good long time with him before I leave for England. I'm going to be gone for two (ish) weeks. Which, unfortunately, means no internet. Now, that's not going to interfere too much with my blog since I am lazy and don't update regularly. But it's going to be kind of sucky to not be able to keep up with The Knot and Facebook and email. Oh, what an important and exciting life I lead.
Anyways, singing off until I get back from my travels!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Goodbye, sweet babies
Yesterday was a very sad day.
Our family has had too many animals for quite some time. 2 cats, 3 dogs, and a bird. All but one of those animals are rescues. We ended up with them. That isn't to say they weren't well loved. Well, as time went on and the family finances got worse we found it harder to give all of the animals the care that they need. My father then went to work as a trucker and now is gone. This left my mother, my sister, and I to care for them.
I ended up doing most of the care for two of the three dogs. My mother fed them a little less than half of the time and did clean up their mess a lot of the time - but I am the one that gave them the love and attention they need. I am leaving before the end of the year. I know that the dogs will not get the attention and love they deserve from my mother and sister when I go.
My Aunt, Uncle, and his partner came from New Orleans to help us move some furniture and to bring my mother and sister for a visit. I was invited but decided not to go. While my aunt was here she had a conversation with my mother about the amount of animals we have. My mother decided to re-home the two dogs and the bird. My Uncle (an avid bird lover) knew someone that could take the bird, and when he went home on Sunday brought the bird with him. I wasn't very attached to the bird - and quite frankly I don't like keeping birds as pets. Anyways, my aunt told my mother that she knew someone that could find our two dogs really good homes. She's great at finding a home that will love and care for them.
Yesterday they left. I am home alone here, and this morning it felt so strange not to get up and take care of the dogs. I sat on the love seat and did my thing like I do every day, and it was so lonely not having two warm bodies curled up on me. I miss them so much. I know that the choice to re-home them is the best choice that could have been made for them, but it still hurts. I can envision them sitting in some strange house, scared and wondering when we will come pick them up. I can just imagine their heart break when they realize that they've been abandoned. They won't know that we did it because they deserve someone that can care for them better than we can, they'll just think that we don't love them anymore. Which is not true at all.
My heart hurts and I wish I could cuddle with my two babies. I hope that they find a home and an owner with a big heart that can make them happy.
Here they are, my sweet pups:
Our family has had too many animals for quite some time. 2 cats, 3 dogs, and a bird. All but one of those animals are rescues. We ended up with them. That isn't to say they weren't well loved. Well, as time went on and the family finances got worse we found it harder to give all of the animals the care that they need. My father then went to work as a trucker and now is gone. This left my mother, my sister, and I to care for them.
I ended up doing most of the care for two of the three dogs. My mother fed them a little less than half of the time and did clean up their mess a lot of the time - but I am the one that gave them the love and attention they need. I am leaving before the end of the year. I know that the dogs will not get the attention and love they deserve from my mother and sister when I go.
My Aunt, Uncle, and his partner came from New Orleans to help us move some furniture and to bring my mother and sister for a visit. I was invited but decided not to go. While my aunt was here she had a conversation with my mother about the amount of animals we have. My mother decided to re-home the two dogs and the bird. My Uncle (an avid bird lover) knew someone that could take the bird, and when he went home on Sunday brought the bird with him. I wasn't very attached to the bird - and quite frankly I don't like keeping birds as pets. Anyways, my aunt told my mother that she knew someone that could find our two dogs really good homes. She's great at finding a home that will love and care for them.
Yesterday they left. I am home alone here, and this morning it felt so strange not to get up and take care of the dogs. I sat on the love seat and did my thing like I do every day, and it was so lonely not having two warm bodies curled up on me. I miss them so much. I know that the choice to re-home them is the best choice that could have been made for them, but it still hurts. I can envision them sitting in some strange house, scared and wondering when we will come pick them up. I can just imagine their heart break when they realize that they've been abandoned. They won't know that we did it because they deserve someone that can care for them better than we can, they'll just think that we don't love them anymore. Which is not true at all.
My heart hurts and I wish I could cuddle with my two babies. I hope that they find a home and an owner with a big heart that can make them happy.
Here they are, my sweet pups:
 |
| Sweet Georgia |
 |
| Cute, goofy Jake |
Friday, July 13, 2012
Heaven. Absolute heaven.
I just got word today that my Aunt and my Uncle and his partner are going to be coming in from New Orleans for a visit. Yeah, no one tells me anything. Gah.
Well anyways, I decided to cook something super sweet and yummy to welcome them properly. I decided to make Heaven. I got the recipe from this blog.
Preheat oven to 350F
It's a very simple recipe.
Press cookie dough into the bottom of your muffin pan. You don't have to use the liners, but I wanted to.
Place a Reece's cup face down on top of the cookie dough.
Spoon brownie batter on top of the Reece's cup. The blog says to fill it 1/4 full. I did a little more than that and it turned out fine.
The blog says to bake for 18 minutes. Mine weren't ready, so I added 5 minutes and they were prefect.
Let cool and enjoy : )
Well anyways, I decided to cook something super sweet and yummy to welcome them properly. I decided to make Heaven. I got the recipe from this blog.
Preheat oven to 350F
It's a very simple recipe.
Press cookie dough into the bottom of your muffin pan. You don't have to use the liners, but I wanted to.
Place a Reece's cup face down on top of the cookie dough.
Spoon brownie batter on top of the Reece's cup. The blog says to fill it 1/4 full. I did a little more than that and it turned out fine.
The blog says to bake for 18 minutes. Mine weren't ready, so I added 5 minutes and they were prefect.
Let cool and enjoy : )
Yes, they do taste as amazing as they look.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
A taste of New Orleans
Alrighty then. When I went to visit my family in New Orleans after the wedding, my Aunt Chesney made me an absolutely wonderful cookbook full of family recipes. Really, this thing is beautiful. When I think about all the love and effort that went into this project it makes me feel all gooey inside.
Anyways, I decided that I wanted to use it and make something yummy from New Orleans. I decided Jambalaya was a good choice. That recipe was so simple. And it didn't even contain anything I don't like! Although, honestly, you could add/subtract anything you wanted. It's not one of those recipes that you must follow to a T.
Lauren's Jambalaya:
Ingredients:
1 can French Onion soup
1 can Beef Broth
1/2 cup Shallots (green onions)
1 small can Tomato Sauce
1 stick melted Margarine
I small box Uncle Ben's Converted Rice (16 oz)*
1 1/2 teaspoons Tony Chachere
1 teaspoon minced Garlic
1 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Parsley
1 teaspoon Thyme
1 lb Chicken**
1 lb Sausage**
**You can also use shrimp, ham, or whatever you have in place of these meats.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
Combine ingredients in a baking dish and stir
Cover and put in oven for 45 minutes
Take out and stir
Put back into oven for another 45 minutes
Be sure not to uncover during cooking except for the ONE time you are stirring.
And that's it. Nice and easy. The recipe makes a lot of food too. But that's okay, because it's great for leftovers. If you're not a leftovers kind of person (like my dear husband) then you might want to half the recipe. You'll have more than enough for two people with half of this recipe.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Why hello, July
So, how did that happen? Things have been kind of crazy around here - plus I've been bummed and had no motivation to write about stuff.
Okay, so first off all Dan got in just fine (whew!) and it was so wonderful to spend time preparing for the wedding with him - even though it was only a few days.
The wedding itself was so wonderful. Everything went SO well! The weather was perfect, and everyone had so much fun!
The next day my Aunt went with us to to bayou for a swamp tour. That was seriously fun!
Okay, so first off all Dan got in just fine (whew!) and it was so wonderful to spend time preparing for the wedding with him - even though it was only a few days.
The wedding itself was so wonderful. Everything went SO well! The weather was perfect, and everyone had so much fun!
So yeah, that was great. The following week was spent playing tourist with my new in-laws. We did all sorts of fun stuff - it's really great to be a tourist in your own town. Then, after my new Sister-in-law and her husband had gone home we (Dan, his mother, his brother, and myself) went to New Orleans for a few days where my Aunt hosted a wonderful party in our honor. It was absolutely wonderful!
The next day my Aunt went with us to to bayou for a swamp tour. That was seriously fun!
Afterwards we didn't do too much, it was just nice to relax and enjoy time with my new husband. Now we're just trying to get the visa together so that I can join him in England. Unfortunately that won't happen any sooner than November - so I'm stuck in that state of limbo waiting for my life to get where it's supposed to be. Pretty depressing actually.
But, until then, I am looking forward to learn how to knit. I am starting classes on Saturday and I just can't wait.
That's all for now!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Cleaning, anyone?
Yep - that's my day today. Cleaning. I haven't done anything to prepare for Dan's arrival tomorrow. Which is fine, really, because it will keep my mind off of less pleasant things.
Last night I had such bad anxiety that I could not sleep until about 5 am. First I was stressed out about my photography clusterfluck that I'm dealing with. Then I calmed myself down slightly about it by looking at it objectively and taking deep breaths. Some chocolate also helped. Then I started freaking out hardcore about Dan's flight tomorrow.
I mean, there is always the worry that something could happen to the plane, but I feel reasonably comfortable with him flying. The real anxiety is that they won't let him into the country. They have no reason not to, and he has plenty of documentation to "prove" that he's not moving here. It should be fine. If not, I don't know what I'll do.
I'd better get back to cleaning. Otherwise it won't get done. That's the downside to waiting until the last minute to get everything ready - you actually have to WORK.
Last night I had such bad anxiety that I could not sleep until about 5 am. First I was stressed out about my photography clusterfluck that I'm dealing with. Then I calmed myself down slightly about it by looking at it objectively and taking deep breaths. Some chocolate also helped. Then I started freaking out hardcore about Dan's flight tomorrow.
I mean, there is always the worry that something could happen to the plane, but I feel reasonably comfortable with him flying. The real anxiety is that they won't let him into the country. They have no reason not to, and he has plenty of documentation to "prove" that he's not moving here. It should be fine. If not, I don't know what I'll do.
I'd better get back to cleaning. Otherwise it won't get done. That's the downside to waiting until the last minute to get everything ready - you actually have to WORK.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Hump Day is Fun Day - right?
No? What a misleading name.
Anyways, I had a productive couple of days. Yesterday my grandparents called me and asked if I would come over to give my input on their outfits for the wedding. Which is cute. So I went over and they showed me their outfits. My grandfather had a suit - which is cool because he thought he didn't, so now he doesn't have to buy one. My grandmother came out in a dress that looked good on her, but had WOW cleavage. So we decided to go shopping for something to wear underneath. We went to Soma and she bought a Cami Bra - which was good because that's one more "layer" she doesn't have to wear. My grandfather was a little taken aback at how transparent the lace was, though. They almost didn't buy it, I had to reassure him multiples times that it wasn't inappropriate. We left and stopped at Dairy Queen. They had the Confetti Cake Blizzard - which was AMAZING.
By the time we got home the sky had gotten very dark. We got settled in on the porch when the rain started. It was comfortable, sitting on their wide porch while the rain came down around us. It was nice and cool and relaxing. My grandparents decided they wanted to order pizza - but were being mindful of my diet. I told them I had the ingredients to make flatbread pizzas. Cheaper (because we didn't have to buy anything) and better for you (not really greasy). We had pizza and wine, then played cards until quite late.
I got home to find two packages on the front porch. Kind of wish my mom or sister would have brought them in when it started raining, but whatever. They turned out to be my cupcake trees and candles from Wal-Mart. Awesome. I got the cupcake trees assembled and candles put into the "wedding room".
Today wasn't actually as productive as I thought, but productive enough. I filled up my gas tank (yaay) and payed my car note in addition to going to the post office. My eating habits have been crap lately because of wedding stress.
But, having said that, I'm off in search of comfort food.
Anyways, I had a productive couple of days. Yesterday my grandparents called me and asked if I would come over to give my input on their outfits for the wedding. Which is cute. So I went over and they showed me their outfits. My grandfather had a suit - which is cool because he thought he didn't, so now he doesn't have to buy one. My grandmother came out in a dress that looked good on her, but had WOW cleavage. So we decided to go shopping for something to wear underneath. We went to Soma and she bought a Cami Bra - which was good because that's one more "layer" she doesn't have to wear. My grandfather was a little taken aback at how transparent the lace was, though. They almost didn't buy it, I had to reassure him multiples times that it wasn't inappropriate. We left and stopped at Dairy Queen. They had the Confetti Cake Blizzard - which was AMAZING.
By the time we got home the sky had gotten very dark. We got settled in on the porch when the rain started. It was comfortable, sitting on their wide porch while the rain came down around us. It was nice and cool and relaxing. My grandparents decided they wanted to order pizza - but were being mindful of my diet. I told them I had the ingredients to make flatbread pizzas. Cheaper (because we didn't have to buy anything) and better for you (not really greasy). We had pizza and wine, then played cards until quite late.
I got home to find two packages on the front porch. Kind of wish my mom or sister would have brought them in when it started raining, but whatever. They turned out to be my cupcake trees and candles from Wal-Mart. Awesome. I got the cupcake trees assembled and candles put into the "wedding room".
Today wasn't actually as productive as I thought, but productive enough. I filled up my gas tank (yaay) and payed my car note in addition to going to the post office. My eating habits have been crap lately because of wedding stress.
But, having said that, I'm off in search of comfort food.
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