catching up

life has been wonderfully busy. i don't really know where to start. to my family and friends, sorry i haven't updated in a while. i will do better.

my life has totally changed since last year. not only the things within it, but me as a person. i'm so happy. and i have not been able to say that, in a very long time. my career is back on track, which was such a big absence in life, and one that i missed dearly. the way my company found me was totally divine intervention (thanks to the "big guy upstairs") and from there, the blessings continue to flow, as the company and people i work for, and with, are beautiful. i've never been happier. for those i haven't talked too, i am the Director of Human Resources for a Government Contractor. My previous experience was working with contractor's so I fell right back into place; I'm very thankful. it's so good to be back doing what i love.

i posted in, i think early December, that we had joined the church we had been attending for about a year. what a great decision. we love it there! we have made some wonderful new friendships and have quickly became a close part of the wonderful church family. everyone is just lovely there. we are very involved; which is what we were seeking. i teach the toddler Sunday School class, Jamie and I together teach the 4-5 year olds on Sunday nights; which is our Awana program. I am the assistant teacher for the Mission Friends program and actually recently joined the Bell Choir, which I absolutely love. I do miss my Sunday School class but enjoy teaching. I am also building and designing the new church website and will be over it. it's been a wonderful learning curve since I had only worked with blog design but i love the challenge. i will share the address when we go live, which should be in the next two weeks. i am just so happy we found such a beautiful place to be apart of.

we are on tract for 2nd fertility treatment in April. we are shooting to do four attempts back to back (April, May, June, July). hopefully the first will be a success, Lord willing. i begin my pretreatment regiment on Monday. my friend from Idaho is strongly recommending acupuncture, which is supposed to be good when undergoing fertility treatments. i think i am actually contemplating this.

speaking of children, i have a huge update on foster care. the Big Guy upstairs has really been blessing us. early, early december, same week i was "randomly" contacted for my job....i received a "returned call" from a high up with DCS regarding a message i had left her October '08. after talking to her and briefing her that we had gotten no where since the kids had left, she realized that information in the DCS computer had not been changed, thus preventing us from renewing our certification. within a few days, someone had called me back and was assigned to fix the issuse. i am now in weekly communication and we are only weeks away from becoming Foster Parents again. Praise the good Lord. and with this, we will be pursing adoption of one of our previous foster kids. please, please remember us in your prayers as we hopefully will begin this journey again.

we are looking forward to spring. i am chomping at the bit to get out and work in the yard and be in the sunshine. we defiantly have had a gloomy, cold and snowy winter, the worst in years and we are ready for some warm and sunny weather. we are looking forward to our vacations this year, especially our trip in October with a few friends from church. with Jay's job, he cannot take time off between March 20 and June 15. So, our first trip will be the first of July. we are still looking at the Outer Banks in NC and yes, we are still looking for a VW beetle. i found one local, a convertible, that i have fallen in love with but i can't ever catch the owners. hopefully i will soon as i am madly in love with it.

i became a Pampered Chef consultant recently. My first show is March 20. I am excited about this for several reasons. 1) We just redid our kitchen and so i am addicted buying all kinds of new gadgets. 2) i LOVE pampered chef  3) i love, love cooking 4) i love meeting new people and 5) all commissions will go toward the costs of our fertility treatments. plus, i will get lots of free and discounted products; this makes me happy!

i think this catches you up. we are doing so well, are so happy and have been so blessed. its amazing the abundance of blessings we have received over the past few months; to God we owe it all ♥

our fertility journey.

a brief update, we are on go for the February IUI cycle. [insert, SQUEAL]. i will be adding back my previous fertility posts, including our history, over the next few days. i wanted to do the separate blog, but i decided to keep it simple. i will start back Metformin this weekend and just wait for my February cycle, with Femara starting Cycle day 3-7.

marvelous monday.

i.made.my.hair.appointment.today. 


[i am uber excited]. it's Thursday after work at the Aveda in Knoxville. i'm nervous. ive always got my haircut at a local joint. but, it's with a master stylist and it's a guy, so i'm really excited about that. so, maybe i think i'll look totally marvelous, post cut. i mean, doesn't all the makeovers on TV, post 'a la fruity, walk away with perfect model hair?

today, i was super busy at work. and i came home and hubby had cooked a super yummy [and healthy] dinner and got a movie. how's that for a perfect ending to a busy Monday? i really needed to clean the bathrooms and finish up laundry, but eh, they can wait. for now, i'm on the couch, snuggled up; no where else i'd rather be.

me busy at work, tee-hee.  (random, by E)

snowed in

i'm kind of bummed. see, i reported yesterday that we didn't get a lot of snow, but there was enough to maybe build a small snowman. but, i had been down with my back since this past Wednesday [post-break] and we didn't even get to do that. booo! so, hopefully i will be healed and ready come our next storm, which i heard from a little birdie, could be next weekend. [think snow. snow. snow]

Jay did get to take sweet dusty for a ride.

this week, it's mandatory i get my hair done:  oh-my-geez!

the deal-e-o: so i went to this salon for years, but the last time i went, she totally ruined my hair. so, i let it grow out and found another awesome girl. called to get an appointment, she is no longer there. i think rule is, they have to tell you where they went. it seriously was the best hair cut i had ever had. so i am going to call tomorrow to beg see if they will give me the salon she went to. if they cant, i suppose i will try the Aveda salon. They are a bit pricier but for the perfect hair cut, i will pay whatever. plus, i am seriously thinking that i might get some color. perhaps i will wait 'til the spring. i really like my brunette, it's hard to part.

hey, you! come here!

i added my weight loss blog link over to the right.

so, maybe you should check it out.

and help hold me accountable.

just sayin.

back to normal.

our lives. after a very ruff year, we are back to normal. how i love our 9-5 lives. i think mostly, i love being able to come home, cook and have dinner together. for so long, we just didn't have that. i really missed it. even on days Jay is super tired and don't have much to say, were together...at the table...eating a meal that I cooked. i even have my laundry on a cycle again. as much as i used to loathe laundry, now i enjoy it. perhaps i am loosing my mind.

today is a major couch day. we as Tennesseans were sadly disappointed, when the winter snow storm, the first in years, left us, leaving only a slushy mess and maybe an inch of snow. i was ready to play. we hadn't played since probably 2002, when we got about 4+ inches. its when we lived in our lake house in my home town. christy, one of my bf's, came over and we played outside for hours, on our homemade sleds. i still have hope that this winter will bring a huge storm.

i got my pampered chef packet in the mail yesterday. i am looking forward to this. my first show, is late February. this will be hosted by my leader, to show me the "what to do's". i'm not shy, but am nervous about getting up in front of strangers, in their kitchens. i know after the first or second show, i will be great. i love cooking. i totally love awesome cooking stuff. this is ideal for me. and it will be good for me.

speaking of cooking, i finally joined weight watchers this past Tuesday. i am proud of myself! i have done perfect on plan this week. this is my 2nd time on WW and i hope i do as well as i did the first time around. my mom and i are doing it together, and as much as we talk - its great motivation! she has lost sixteen [16] pounds in about five-weeks. our offices closed early yesterday, due to the threat of inclement weather and i thought soup would be perfect. i whipped up a simple WW friendly potato soup, recipe courtesy of my mom's leader, and it was delicious, only 2 points per cup, and that's a lot of soup! [i'll post recipe at end of this blog]

i think i might venture out in what snow we do have, even if i only throw one snow ball, on the walk to get the mail. silly Tennessee weather.

to good to be true potato soup


1 pack dry onion soup mix
1 pack original country gravy mix (2 cup size)
1 28-oz back shredded hashbrown potatoes
3 cans chicken broth
1 cup warm water

Mix dry soup mix with warm water. Combine all ingredients and cook 30-min, over medium heat. Salt & Pepper to taste.

Makes 10 servings

2 WW points per cup.

inspiration.

my craft room is perfect. perfect vibe touched with vintage. 

im in love.

my second project is in the making. along with several girls from my work, we are going to start getting together a few times monthly, and work on a quilting project. i have so much to learn, hopefully once started, i will have inherited the traits that my granny and mamaw had, when making quilts. my sewing collection has grown tremendously since last fall. i love all the things my mamaw gave me, from her sewing room. i have a ton of vintage goodies. 

update: (here)  the color scheme, i am almost finished and will post pics soon. 

cute stuff.

cute. wanted to share.

go here.

enjoy!