Weekend Adventures

This weekend has been amazing so far. I was able to take my mom to Branson for her Birthday. She is always doing so much for me, I'm glad that I could treat her to this. We left yesterday afternoon and were able to stay at a local hotel for a great price. I have to thank our dear friend Rhonda for such good connections!

Mom and I went to the Titanic museum. I've been wanting to experience this for EVER, but Dan always seems to find an excuse as to why we can't make it there...guys. When you first start the tour, you get a boarding pass of an actual passenger on the Titanic. And at the end of the tour you get to find out if you survived or perished. I was a second class passenger, mom was a crew member, and amazingly we both survived. Throughout the whole thing, I just keep saying, "I can't believe this." Its one thing to hear stories from people on t.v. or even to watch the movie, but to actually read the stories and see pictures and real artifacts...its overwhelming. I'm so glad I got to experience it with my mom.

After Titanic, we had a great dinner at Olive Garden. I know, I know...whats new? But really, why mess with success? Our waiter was top notch, and I mean top notch creepy. He had, as my mom put it, "a serial killer's voice" and would ask us if we needed him to get us anything on his way back. This didn't just happen once, but EVERY time he passed our table. I thought he was going to follow us out the front door when we were leaving. Oh well, the food and drinks were excellent!

We ended the trip with a full-blown shopping spree. It's been quite a long time since I went shopping for me and just me. There isn't anything like shopping at the outlet mall in Branson. And let me tell you, there were TONS of great deals this weekend! Good shopping is very therapeutic and calming and its just what I needed.

I'm so thankful that I was able to spend this time with my mom. She is truly one of a kind and I love her more than I can say. Happy Birthday Mom!

Yum Yum

After a long, hard day of spring cleaning I made a decision. And not just to rearange the living room furniture.(which looks great if I say so!). I decided to give in to what my mind was telling my body it REALLY wanted.

Say hello to the new love of my life!

This is how our living room looks now. Now if only I could decide on paint colors I could finish completely.

Birthday Parties and Flowers oh My!

Valerie is the big 2!

We spent the WHOLE afternoon outside because that's where she loves to be.

I think the breeze carried the infectious giggles of a curly headed 2yr old all the way to the sun!

Below are some of the highlights of her party...

The sandbox is a wonderful place!

It's "Mouse" as Val calls Minnie!

She loves her baby dolls.

I LOVE this sweet little 2 year old and can't wait to celebrate TONS more birthdays with her!

This weekend I also made it a mission to start working on my flower gardens again. I was able to buy some beautiful daisys and tulips at the greenhouse. Even though I had to take a break to wait for some muscle to help dig up some overgrown bushes, I never gave up.

I do have an ambitious goal for the front yard this year though...I want to dig up the largest flower bed, thats under our front window, and lay down a patio. I want there to be a place where we can put a couple of nice chairs and be able to just sit outside and enjoy life. Some People think I'm crazy to want to pull this off, but hey who cares? It's my house! Now all I have to do is finalize how I want it to look and then the fun part begins...picking out stones and of course NEW FURNITURE!

Here is a look at what I accomplished this weekend.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE weekends filled with Sunshine!

**20 Things About Me**

1. I am a compulsive reader. Anything and everything, it doesn't matter.
2. I love pasta and can literally go through a large box of elbow macaroni in less than a week.
3. I grew up swimming competitively and wouldn't change a minute of it. If I could still compete, I would.
4. I got my first, and only, tattoo at 2o and successfully hid it from my father for 2 1/2 years. Its a lizard on my right foot.
5. I severely dislike winter. Not just the snow part, all the other parts too.
6. I am not the tidiest person on Earth. Not that we live in filth, I just don't see the need to spend every free minute racing after those darn dust bunnies.
7. I LOVE driving a convertible again and will always own one if I can help it.
8. I wish I was a more outspoken person.
9. I grew up as an only child so I would like at least 2 kids someday.
10. I love painting but sometimes find it difficult to translate what I'm thinking/feeling onto canvas.
11. I hate when people say bad things about marriage. Just because you had problems in yours, doesn't mean I will, or that I care. I LOVE being married!
12. I have a hard time taking compliments at work. The things I do at work are either my job, or to make my job easier.
13. I want to vacation in Hawaii for the whole winter. (See #5)
14. I am terrified of the dentist, but have only ever had 2 cavitities.
15. I highlight(foil) my own hair, to the amazement of most people I know.
16. I love having a flower garden but don't always take the time to keep them looking good. I WILL try harder this spring.
17. I LOVE snacking on fruits and veggies. My fav's are strawberries, grapes, cucumbers, and tomatos. I will usually choose these options over sweets anyday.
18. I like to watch tv. And yes it's on pretty much all the time when I'm home, but I rarely ever sit down and just watch tv.
19. I want to travel the world.
20.I tend to get my feelings hurt quite easily and don't often forget things that have happened or things that have been said to me.

Homeade and Delicious

Ok so if you ask anyone that knows me, they'll say that I'm probably not the greatest cook out there. Its not really that I can't cook, its more like I get bored cooking the same thing all the time. This usually results in whipping up something quick, usually from a box. Most of the time, if I don't know what to make, or if Dan's working, I'll just make a cup of macaroni and cheese and call it good.

I know Dan gets tired of this, so every once in a while I try to make it up to him. Thats why I'm glad its getting warmer outside. This means we can grill outside and I can make some of my favorite foods. Although, I must admit that I only recently started "craving" meat again. The difference has been this steak seasoning my mom bought us for Christmas. This stuff is magic!

So in an effort to cook something that my husband will really like, and that doesn't include a bowl of macaroni, this is what's for dinner tonight at the Carter table...
Steak, homeade mashed potatoes, and corn. And of course all great dinners must have dessert. This one wouldn't be complete without some angel food cake and fresh strawberries... fat free whipped cream included! Gosh am I going to be stuffed after eating all this! But its worth it...now if Dan would hurry up and get home so I could eat it all.

Picture Perfect

So I'm trying to create a picture book of our wedding day photos. Now, I've always thought of myself as pretty creative...but this is more difficult than it looks. First I have to go through ALL of the pictures and narrow it down to my most favorite. Then I'm supposed to figure out which ones go well with each other and at the same time pick out a layout for each page.

Thankfully, I found a really easy website. www.blurb.com is a lifesaver. They have a free program that, once you download, you can open and work in anytime you like. It lets you try out all your different pictures, re-arranging, sizing, and even deleting if you don't like the look. And, the best part, the books are fairly priced. (And trust me, I've checked around.)

I've got all these ideas in my head, of what I want this book to look like, so maybe Ijust need to take a step back and trust that my vision will come together in the end. It is afterall, a birthday present for my mom, so I'm sure she'll love it no matter how it looks.

The Game of Life

Have you ever thought, If I could play the board game "Life", how would my game end? I know its just a boardgame, but what if it could be a mirror to reality?

First you start off by either going to college or starting a job. Of course there will be roadblocks along the way, but you can count on gaining worthy life tiles, as well as many, many paychecks. The second part is getting married, buying a home and if your lucky, soon a little bundle of joy will come. The next half will be full of ups and downs, winning prizes and paying taxes, but you'll always have your partner with you. If your lucky enough to get through the game without hitting too many roadblocks you'll be able to retire in the lap of luxury.

But unlike the game of life, real life doesn't always happen quite like you plan. Sometimes I question if, while growing up, I made the best decisions for myself. Of course I like to think I did, but sometimes I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I love my life right now, I just can't help but wonder. Sometimes I wish I was more outgoing and more able to speak my feelings to others. I tend to retreat into myself when emotional battles surface because I don't like sharing that much detail and possibly hurting others in the process. My wonderful husband has helped me to start dealing with this, but old habits die hard I guess. There are still things that are very hard for me to share with him and I think part of it is because I don't want to open myself up to humility and ultimatley rejection. So hopefully, this blog will be an open window for me. A way to let things come and go. A way to share and be open.

But the ultimate reward is knowledge... because no matter what you've done in the past, if while in the present you wish to change, you can. Because the future is yet to be written.