monday...

just got home from the gym.
i seriously had to make myself go.
but now, i am so glad i did.
ellipitical for 30 minutes.
treadmill (walk/jogging) for 15.
my goal is to start running on the treadmill.
i would love to be one of those people that
can run....and run...and run... (like Brionne).

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday!
Happy Birthday Ms. Beth!

oh, and this is random...
did you know that Sonic has a happy hour from 2-4pm and
you can get drinks half off?
if you have never had a Sonic Diet Coke with Vanilla
run to your nearest Sonic to try one!
They are yummy!
Alan is hooked as well!

I am really appreciative of Alan.
He got my oil changed today.
He took my car to get the transmission serviced.
He pays the bills.
He takes out the trash.
He takes care of me.
He makes his own appointments.
He calls me just to say he loves me!
I was talking with a co-worker of mine,
and she was telling me about the stress her husband
adds to her life. I just can't imagine that!
Alan is a stress-reliever in more ways that one. ;)
So thankful that God has allowed me to do life with him!

And Mondays...they just stink sometimes.
But I am so thankful for my job (most days).
Attitude really is everything.
While I don't share the same morals
as most of my co-workers, we can laugh and have a good time.

And now a bit on more and less...
I have been trying to live with less.

Less trips to Hobby Lobby...
Less trips to Target...
Less trips to the vending machine for D.C...
Less eating out...
Less wasting time...
Less wasteful spending...
Less traveling...

I have been doing this for several reasons...
things are costing more (gas, groceries, D.C.).
i have been wasting lots of time.
i have been wasting lots of money.

God calls us to be faithful stewards of our (His) money,
but also our time too.

I have just felt convicted about being so wasteful.

The neat thing is...

I have spent more time at home.
We have spent less money.
We have spent more time together
I have been drinking less D.C. (I'm addicted).
I have been getting so much more done.
I have been going to the gym 6 days a week for 7 weeks.
Taking care of our bodies as they are temples is so important.
And it is something that I have not been taking so seriously.

It's all about balance.
Sometimes I get off balance.
It is a struggle for me because I am an all or nothing person.

How is your balance?
Are you being a faithful steward?

And because I don't like posting without a picture...

a picture of our phone.

Oh how I love talking on it...

peace out.

dixie-doodle...

such a loyal puppy.

She got a micro-chip implanted so we can never lose her.
that's all...

i should never be bored...

yo-yo's. have made one of these. cute.

make lots of yo-yos to make one of these.

fabric covered bucket. want to make one of these. maybe for Baby Brown's nursery?

fabric labels. need to make these for my dresses.

grass. springy-goodness.

fabric covered ponytail holders. you can also make magnets and thumbtacks! these are the same buttons I put on my dresses.

embroidered felt labels. precious.

bitty booties. i'm so making some of these for baby Brown.

pincushions. gotta love these.

if you combine the yo-yo and the fabric covered button you get this.

totally cute lampshades. I tried to talk Libby into making one of these to match Luke's nursery!

night-night!

makeover...

the blog.
new colors.
new music.
new picture. (well, it's in sepia now)
got rid of some stuff.
changed the size of some of the fonts.
created my signature.

and i like it so much better! :)

if only i could add polka dots!

what's been going on...

week 7 at the gym is over. it's going great.

talked to my old bible study leader and friend from
college, Karen, the other night for a while.
so good to be in touch with her still...8 years later!
total sweetheart. so personal. great memory.
and she is so challenging! (Hi Karen!)

i also heard from my friend Lescoe!
i just love hearing from old friends!
(Hi Lescoe!)

i took the day off on Friday.
i got a haircut.
i ate lunch with Alan.
i sewed...almost done with two more dresses.
promised myself i will take off from work more.
life's too short.

Lauren had a doctors appointment on Friday.
Baby Brown is doing well! As are momma and daddy!
Only 27 more weeks!

we bought a new tree for the front of our
house today. i didn't take a picture...
but i will soon.

today we went to r. wood studio.
i loved it.
i love their pottery.
i read about them in Southern Living and also
Mary Englebriet's Home Companion.
I want a piece of their pottery.
one of the brightly colored scalloped platters.

we also drove around the Botanical Gardens.
the weather was a bit unpredictable so we didn't get out
of the car. the daffodils were amazing though.
we are planning to go back soon.

getting ready to celebrate our 3rd anniversary in May!
Alan asked me what i wanted.
he wanted to get me a wrap for my engagement ring, but i
want a new wedding band something like this...

Lexi and crafts...

He loves this little girl...and can you imagine
what it will be like when we have one of our own?

Wreath form, red ribbon, and gold and red ornaments...

details to follow...

Two more dresses in progress... (oops...they were upside down).

longer post tomorrow...I'm tired and ready to go to bed!

look at this fabric...

found this website tonight.

This makes sewing even more fun!

rambling...

totally need to buy the stuff to make some personalized
labels for the clothes I have been sewing...
found a tutorial here.

i love polka dots... i love platters...
i love this polka dot platter!

tomorrow starts week 6 at the gym! Amazing!

Cade turned 7 yesterday!

I love my husband! I love our relationship!

Night!

exhausted...

so, so, so tired today...i can barely keep my eyes open.
there is something about being woken up at 1am and
not getting back home till 4am, that is just not pleasant.

I have worked 22 hours in the past two days...
plus daylights savings...

i'm going to bed...

and this is what I love about spring...and my camera!

funny story...

A little background first...

Cade will turn 7 on Saturday.

Taylor will turn 10 on April 6th.

So they have been asking for a trampoline,

and Paige and Zack agreed to get it for them

if they were okay with not having a party.

They explained to them that a trampoline was

a big present and it costs more than what they would

normally get. So they were cool with no party.

Paige told me that Saturday at the family

reunion Cade was telling everybody that his
birthday was coming soon, but his mom

couldn't afford a party!!!

Leaving out the fact that they

were getting a trampoline.

He is so precious and funny!

meet Bella & more dresses...

here is Bella Brown.

Lauren and Chris' puppy.

She is so cute, and she has warmed up to

Alan and I finally.

I snapped this picture yesterday!

And here are the dresses. Number 1 with bows!

Number 2 not completely finished.

Remember it's messed up...or I think it is.

Still needs to be hemmed.

Number 3 that I made from start to finish this afternoon.

I am planning to add bows to the last two as well.
I really enjoy sewing.
It's neat to start with a piece of fabric and
hours later you have a dress.
I still want to sign up for sewing classes!
There is so much more to learn.

I am also really enjoying my camera!
It is so convenient and easy to use!

Also, if you will notice the buttons on dress #2 and#3.
They are fabric covered buttons.
I saw these when mom and I were at Wal-mart.
I wanted these because number one, they are cheap.
4 buttons for $1.57.
Also, I won't have to search for buttons to match.
Which is very important to me because
I want things to match exactly.
But anyways Mom told me they weren't as easy
as I thought they were gonna be.
Well, to my surprise. They are super easy,
I love the way they look.
and they only take 1 minute per button to make!

Hobby Lobby had patterns on sale for 99 cents last week.
If you don't know anything about patterns, they are usually

7-15 dollars each. So I was excited. I bought three new ones.
One of the patterns is for a romper or a jon-jon for a little boy!
I bought light green gingham fabric.

And I can't wait to make it!

And would you just look at my counter to the right...

and y'all don't leave comments...

people it's snowing

what on Earth. I knew they predicted it, but didn't think it would really happen.

I just decorated for spring, and I have an Easter egg wreath on my door.

I'm ready for Spring time...

finally friday

just ordered this bag in hot pink. got free shipping.

you can too, just use the code below.

At checkout, on the Billing Information page,

go to the section labeled

“Source Code” (below the credit card payment box).
Enter the Source Code BLOOM and the

PIN 487901283 in the space provided.

want to plant grass like this for Easter.

and dye eggs, since I didn't do it last year.
Alan made fun of me for wanting to do it,

this year I don't care.

have been wanting to make my handwriting into a font...
you can do it here for a mere $9.00.
or you could possibly get a free handwriting font here.

want to make pillow covers for my rocking chairs on

the front porch with the fabric from

the tablecloth I made for Libby's shower.

going to Milledgeville tomorrow on a spur-of-the-moment
trip. i get to see Lauren again!!! she is already 10 weeks!

she said she has been eating pickles this weekend.

so maybe she will want to go to Scoops for some

ice cream too.it is so cute in there,

and the ice cream is so good!

and for you local people reading my blog,

there is a new Scoops in Watkinsville.

we have officially completed 4 solid, consecutive weeks at the gym!

have a great weekend!

it's beginning to look alot like...

Spring time at our house!

I bought the precious little tablecloth two Fridays ago
in Madison when Lauren and I met for lunch.
I just love it!

Then I had to change out the candles on the center of the
table. Hot pink pillars from Hobby Lobby!

And of course the hurricanes that I constantly change out...

filled with eggs, with candles to match!

I love decorating for the holidays!

This weekend I want to stay home and...
sew,
make cards,
organize,
make a Christmas wreath,
go to the gym,
go to the Botanical Gardens and take pictures,
and hang out with Alan!

I wish it wasn't too soon to plant flowers!

And if you have been following American Idol...isn't David Archuleta
just adorable.

quiche from the other day...

just thought I would post the picture since I took this just for the blog...

saturday...

Lauren and Chris came over. They brought Bella, their miniature dachshund.

Lauren and Chris also brought some pictures of baby Brown! Lauren had her

first ultrasound on Friday and the MD said everything looks great! Praise the Lord!
Libby and Ken came over and brought Luke, the cutie pie in the above picture.
We ordered Mellow Mushroom and hung out around the house.
The girls and Luke took a trip to several stores around Athens.

We went to Rattles and Rhymes first, and you will not believe who we saw...

Jamie Deen!!!

(pictured here on the left)

Paula Deen's son! I was so excited! I didn't want to make a big scene, but I did tell him "Hey!" while grining ear-to-ear. Later, he started a conversation with Libby about Luke. Libby played completely dumb. She asked him if he had children, she asked the name of her child, etc.
All the while, I am answering all Libby's questions to him in my head.
But he was totally cool. We never mentioned anything about who he was even though I was dying to! Alan told me I should have asked him where his Momma was?
We figured if he was annoyed by my goofy, star-stricken "hey" he wouldn't have talked to us.
Alan said he probably likes talking to fans like us!
He clearly knew that we knew who he was, but we didn't make a big scene!

If you know me well you know that I love Paula Deen.

I have her cookbooks, I get her magazine, I get her online newsletters, and I Tivo every one of her shows on Food Network. I think she is hilarious! Her recipes are delicious even if they

have a pound of sugar and 2 sticks of butter in them. In fact I made her mini peanut butter cup cheesecakes on Saturday. They were very fattening, but so yummy!

Well, enough about that. I made two bows for the green and pink dress.

Let me just tell you...A-d-o-r-a-b-l-e!

I tried to finish dress #2, but I think I royally messed up the button holes.

Paige swears we can fix it. (Ummm...she hasn't seen it!)

I bought more fabric to sew another dress. It's aqua and brown polka dots.

I hope to start it later tonight.

And speaking of Paige...she made these cute overalls...

She put them in a kids clothing sale called Sweet Repeats in the town where she lives.

She went to Saturday to shop for her boys and she looked to see if the overalls were still there...and one pair was gone! I'm so proud of her!

Well, it's gym and tanning time...

cute flag...

a random picture of my "S" flag that is our front yard.

dinner is in the oven...

ham, spinach, and mushroom quiche.
I changed the recipe I had for broccoli quiche to make this one.
It looks yummy so far!

Tomorrow is Terri's (my friend from work) birthday!
I have some cute little surprises up my sleeve for her!
I've got to put the finishing touches on everything,
but I can't wait to give it to her!

We will be off to the gym in a little bit!
I started reading a Beth Moore book called
Breaking Free last night at the gym. So far, so good!

I can't wait to watch American Idol tonight.
I totally think the young David is going to make it far, and so
is the Australian dude from Atlanta.
Love having Tivo so we can fast forward through all
the commercials. They are ridiculous on AI!

Tomorrow we are meeting with our financial advisor and
friend, Todd. I always look forward to visiting with him.

And Friday is a day I have been looking forward to for
days...Lauren and I have a date in Madison!
I can't wait to see her and talk about all things baby!

My tooth is fine today. A little sore. I was told today
I would need to come back to the dentist after the root
canal is finished for a cap! Are you people kidding me?
And I don't think this will ever end!

And to leave you on a happy note, and because I don't like
posting without pictures...
Here is a picture of a vase that my sister gave me
before she left on Saturday.
She said it was a hostess gift! How sweet!
And isn't it adorable!
I love that it is white and you can change out the
ribbon. I think I know where I can find some ribbon.
Now I need some flowers...

I saw God today...

Alan and I love us some George Strait.

His new song "I saw God today" is precious.

Alan always talks about "his little girl",

and when he heard this song he told me how sweet it was.

Only the Lord knows if we will have a baby girl.

Here are the lyrics for "I Saw God Today"

Just walked down the street to the coffee shop
Had to take a break
I'd been by her side for 18 hours straight
Saw a flower growin' in the middle of the sidewalk
Pushin' up through the concrete
Like it was planted right there for me to see
The flashin' lights
The honkin' horns
All seemed to fade away
In the shadow of that hospital at 5:08
I saw God today

I've been to church
I've read the book
I know he's here
But I don't look
Near as often as I should
Yeah, I know I should
His fingerprints are everywhere
I just slowed down to stop and stare
Opened my eyes and man I swear
I saw God today

Saw a couple walkin' by they were holdin' hands
Man she had that glow
Yeah I couldn't help but notice she was startin' to show it
Stood there for a minute takin' the sky
Lost in that sunset
Splash of amber melted in the shades of red

I've been to church
I've read the book
I know he's here
But I don't look
Near as often as I should
Yeah, I know I should
His fingerprints are everywhere
I just slowed down to stop and stare
Opened my eyes and man I swear
I saw God today

Got my face pressed up against the nursery glass
She's sleepin' like a rock
My name on her wrist
Wearin' tiny pink socks
She's got my nose, she's got her mama's eyes
My brand new baby girl
She's a miracle

I saw God today

You can hear the song here.

root canal and the gym...

If you have been reading my blog for while you probably remember back in September when I was having all the mouth issues. I was "diagnosed" with TMJ, or so they thought that is what it was. Well, the symptoms that I was having then have persisted. To have pain, pressure, tightness, and sensitivity all the time on "tooth 14" for the past six months is not fun. (Upper left side of my mouth, second molar from the back, for those of you that don't know which one is #14:)). Well two weeks ago, it all came to a head literally! Over the weekend I developed a rather large swollen pocket that was squishy, on my gum line. Common sense told me something wasn't exactly right. So I showed it to my co-workers first thing Monday morning. And immediately someone tells me "Hollie, you have an abscess." Really, an abscess, you are kidding me. I went to the dentist that afternoon. I was started on antibiotics. I went back to the dentist on Wednesday to have this area opened and drained. That was really fun! Then I went back to the dentist the next Wednesday to have the stitch removed. I had already done them the favor of removing it myself...with my sewing scissors. :) So then I am referred to an endodonist (someone who does root canals all day long). He tested the tooth, and then tells me my tooth has died. Really, because now I am realizing that tooth suffered a long, slow, painful death. I wish someone could have put it and its owner out of misery sooner. And the really sad thing is...the funeral costs $1150.00. He put me on another round of antibiotics because "young lady, you have a severe infection going on here. " GREAT! Well, after lunch today I feel the area along the gum line with my tounge and if I don't feel another soft, swollen, squishy area. I go look in the mirror... and what do you know it looks similar to the one I had opened and drained. GREAT! My appointment for the root canal was at 2:00. So Dr. Golden (no pun intended, but someone will be golden when they are finished with me) started the root canal today. My next appointment is on April 15th, the day before I am going to my regular dentist for my regular preventive cleaning. So needless to say I have been to the dentist/endodonist 10 times in the past 6 months and I am tired of it! And I have two more visits in April!


So to sum it up. I do not have TMJ. They are thinking that in September the tooth was dying, and it has taken six months for the infection to get bad enough and surface. That is why I was having severe facial, tooth and jaw pain!

Lauren and I used to (and still do sometimes) play the "glad game". To play the glad game you must be upset, disappointed, or frustrated about something. (Check, check, check) and you must complete this sentence as many times as you can.

"I'm glad....

I have 32 teeth to worry about.
I have dental insurance to help with the costs of all this craziness.
my tooth could be saved.
I don't have TMJ.
we have medicine to help infection get better, even if it takes two rounds!
this is almost over!

And I hope this never happens to me again!

And I hope it never happens to you!

About the gym... Alan and I joined Anytime Fitness.
It is a 24 hour co-ed gym about 10 minutes from our house.
It is very reasonably priced.
It is clean (very important to me).
It smells good.
Tanning is included in our monthly feel.
It is safe.

We went four times last week "for a free trial week".
And we joined last night.

We are going sometime this evening when I can feel my face again!

I am very excited to get in better shape. Lose some weight. And get tan.
Alan and I have really enjoyed spending that time together as well.

Until next time...

busy weekend...

I had a very busy weekend!
My sister and her boys came to spend the weekend!

Paige and I made this cute little dress pictured
below! I am so thankful that she was
able to "supervise" my sewing. I wouldn't have been able
to do anything like this without her help!
I have already bought fabric for dress #2 (see below), but I am
a little apprehensive about starting without
Paige her to help. (And, Paige I know you will be getting
on the blog to look...so thanks again! I love you very much.)

Below is a picture of Cade in all his snaggle-tooth wonder!
He is an absolute joy to be around!

The reason why there isn't a picture of Taylor...he didn't want to cooperate!

Better luck next time!

maggie

this is my little sister.

precious.
crazy.
funny.
unique.
stylish.
lover of God.
absolutely beautiful.
strong.
passionate.
real.

so blessed to have her as my sister.

she, along with a group of people from the
Villa Rica area are going to San Diego this

spring to plant a church called Elevate.

i am so excited for her!
i am so proud of her for allowing God to use her!
i want to ask all of you blog readers to add her and

the Elevate team to your prayer list.

You should go check out their website!

It's been one year...

since I started my blog!
I am definately going to continue blogging!

Especially since I have "my secret" to blog about.

Lauren and Chris are going to have a baby!

We found out on Thursday!
They are due on October 9th!

I am so thankful that God has answered our prayers,
and that He has faithfully provided!

I added a ticker to the bottom of my blog.
If you scroll down to the bottom you can see it!

I have been telling everybody that I am
going to be an aunt...again! I am so excited!

BB (AKA-Baby Brown) is going to be spoiled rotten!
I have already bought BB a sweet little something!

more pictures...

Terri, my good friend from work, gave me this antique Christmas bell!

It is so cute!

This is my scrapbook desk, covered with stuff. It's proof that my house
isn't perfectly neat all the time!

Sweet little pincushion that Maggie gave me for my birthday!

playing with my camera today...

my ribbon collection!

antique christmas ornaments!

my polka-dotted purse!


the bulldog Alan got me for Christmas!



what you would see if you were sitting on my couch looking into the kitchen...

a picture of a picture of my best friend and I about four years ago.
the tags I ordered in November finally came the other day. How cute!
gotta love the polka dots!

And I'm off to take more pictures!