Basketball...

my first game ever!

And I mean ever, I don't recall ever going to high school basketball games.

In all honesty, I prefer football to basketball!

However, tonight, was my big chance.

MY KSU WILDCATS were playing Bud's UT LONGHORNS in Austin!

How awesome!

So I donned my purple and he donned his burnt orange..

and we snuck into the student section to sit with friends!

Needless to say I was practically the only KSU fan in that section.

Also, needless to say I was not very well liked.

I apparently made "friends" with the girl sitting in front of us.

See every time KSU went to make a free throw the UT fans would make all sorts of noise and try to throw them off.

Well I decided that when UT attempted to make their next free throw I would yell, "GO WILDCATS"!

The girl in front of me turned and said, "Your not even supposed to be in this section".

I didn't have to yell during any more free throws because after I broke the ice EVERY OTHER KSU fan took turns yelling during the free throws....it only seemed fair.

Anyways...the game ended with

KSU WINNING!!!!

although all our UT fan friends were sad I was quite the opposite!

Bud was a good sport and promised to protect me
if anyone tried anything after the game.
Which no one did.

Honestly, when KSU won I didn't make a big ruckus.

I just smiled ear to ear and as I left the game and made eye contact with the few other KSU fans we all grinned ear to ear and acknowledged that we didn't have to make a ruckus...our silence was now GOLDEN!

I have been told by a KSU friend that I must go to all KSU games since I seem to be a good luck charm.

As it stands every game that I've watched or been at where KSU plays UT...KSU wins.

They may be onto something here...how do I get the KSU team to pick up my airfare and hotel for all future games?

I hope you all had a Blessed Monday!

It's way past my bedtime.

Blue Man Group

Guess what I went and saw tonight?
Oh...did the title give it away?

The were so much fun!

the beats and colors! 

The characters were so much fun to watch.

And the crowd participation was amazing!

I'm so glad that Bud & TV decided we should go.
I was also amazed that there was actually a meet
and greet!
Say BLUE MAN GROUP!

I hope you all had a blessed Sunday!

Bringing puppy...

We have friends in town!
MP & JP have come down from Dallas to visit.

making themselves at home!

And guess who they brought with them...

DUTCH!
Their NEW 8 week old chocolate lab puppy.

This makes me want a puppy....
but don't worry, 2 dogs and a lizard keep me plenty busy!

He's adorable!

He loves to fall asleep on my lap and trust me I don't mind.

Today we went to JP's Rugby game.

Unfortunately, JP wasn't actually able to play due to some headaches she's been suffering from lately.

staying as involved as she could from
the sideline.

Meanwhile....

Dutch slept on my lap some more...

or let out some energy with his Dad MP

and drew mass crowds of people who fawned all over
him.  (MP & Bud)

After the rugby game we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Matt's El Rancho, where I ate a delicious chicken guacamole enchiladas w/ suiza sauce.  I washed it all down with a fresh squeezed limeade!  It was all so yummy!  

It's been so much fun having friends in town!

Not to mention having a puppy running around the house and giving me more reasons to giggle!

I hope you all had a Blessed Saturday!

Bible Verse Friday #14

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself."~ Matthew 22:37-39

Doesn't this sound like such an easy commandment?
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

And it sounds fairly simple to "Love your neighbor as yourself".
But both of these commandments are so much harder then they sound.

When we are faced with adversity we tend to ask God, "Why"?
We question his love for us.
We doubt that he has a plan for us.
We listen to the ways of the world and allow them to influence us.
Of course we are the ones who are in the wrong.
We are the ones who are told to LOVE the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind.
When we allow the world to influence our mind...
it'll change our heart....
it'll corrode our souls.
Leaving it nearly impossible to love God fully with what is left of our heart.
We don't have whole hearts when we have doubt about his plan.

I'm guilty of questioning his plan and goals for my life.
I'm guilty of not loving him fully.
But he knows this.
He knows that none of us is perfect.
What we can do is stop those doubts in their tracks as they attempt to infiltrate our daily lives.
We have to make a conscience effort to stop questioning him and simply reply, "I love you God.  I want what your will is for me.  Your plan is perfect, I am not.  Mold me".

As if that is not hard enough we are also told to love our neighbors.
Oh my!
This can be so difficult.
Co-workers, friends, strangers, actual neighbors, etc.....
We judge.
We aren't supposed to, but we do.
Another conscience effort we must make when those judgmental thoughts corrode our hearts.
When we allow ourselves to judge we lose the ability to love as God loves.
We take on a role that is not ours.
Why does it seem so simple to judge?
Give up judgmental attitudes.
We will never know a person's story if we live this way.
So I challenge you as you start your weekend that instead of commenting on someone negatively try to find the positive in people.

Although these two commandments are so easy to read and comprehend they are two of the hardest to put into action.
I have faith in all of you.
I too will be working hard to change my attitude.
Let's help each other!
I hope you all had a Blessed Friday!

Brightly colored kitchens

So I haven't had much to write about the past few days and for that I apologize.
But while I was loading up my vehicle post grocery shopping I started thinking about dream kitchens.
Silly.
I know, because once Bud commissions in 87 days and once we move my kitchens will be government issued.
Not that I'm complaining, but I am going to have to get creative to bring in a little of my own flair.
Here is one sign I recently saw that I want ever so badly....

Brown Chicka Brown Cow Sign

I guess I always want to think of the kitchen as a fun place..a place where Bud will stop me while I'm cooking to dance and be goofy while our kids watch in awe.
I already have a few colorful touches...

My Target Dishes...

Someday I'd love to replace it all with
Fiestaware!

My beloved mixer!

and my teapot we use frequently.

Here are some wonderful ideas for my dream kitchen...

I'll take this in a cobalt blue...

Hmmm...I'm thinking fire engine red please!

I don't think I need a pitcher in every color

So many fun colors!

These are just a few things I'm dreaming about tonight.

I hope you all had a BLESSED Monday!

Bridesmaid Diaries Part 4

Welcome back for another installation of Bridesmaid Diaries!
I have officially purchased both dresses which makes me feel better already!

I have been in cahoots with bridesmaids and maids of honor regarding Bridal Showers and Bachelorette parties all which are quickly approaching!
I have finished 1/2 of my crafty items for one of the bridal showers:

Which is a relief because my beginning quilting class is about to suck up the rest of my free sewing time!
There are 103 days until TV & KS wedding.
There are 110 days until CP & DE wedding.
All in all everything seems to be falling into place and right now my biggest task at hand has nothing to do with either wedding.
I have about 6 weeks until Eric's last ROTC dining out.  I think I found my dress & I need to get it ordered soon, but I'm really trying to decide on a color, maybe you can help me.

Blue

Yellow

I don't know if I can pull off yellow or not, I'm pale with dishwater blond hair.
My favorite part about dining out isn't just the dress, but it's the entire day!
This year my day will start out with refreshing my highlights (sssshhh...I haven't touched them since they were done nearly a year ago) and instead of a fancy updo this year I'm going to have her curl all my hair and keep it down.
After that I get to go have a pedicure and then I slide into my new dress and enjoy a lovely dinner with my wonderful hubby and a room full of cadets!
Any suggestions on what color I should choose?
I need to order soon because it'll take a few weeks for the dress to get here and if I need any alterations I don't want to leave it to chance.

I'm off to bed soon, I had a busy Monday afternoon that involved purging a few bagfuls of clothes from my closet, cleaning both bathrooms and the kitchen, and vacuuming.
I hope you all had a Blessed Monday!

Busy Sunday!

What a busy Sunday we had!
Church was wonderful and the message was fabulous!
It was all about how we should stop comparing ourselves to others and only compare ourselves to God.
Also, we discussed becoming the masterpieces God intended us to be.
It can be painful letting go of some of our own flaws, but the end results will yield beautiful masterpieces!
Bud & I had to run a few errands.
I went to David's Bridal and ordered my dress for one of my weddings:

It should be in by May 15th and then it'll take approximately 2-3 weeks to get all the alterations done, meaning it'll be done just in the nick of time for the wedding!

After that we hit up the mall so that Bud could get a new pair of basketball shoes, he's been playing with ROTC guys on Monday nights against other teams.

We hit up Target for a few items that couldn't wait until Tuesday's typical grocery day and upon coming home we were surprisingly beat!

A glorious 1ish hour nap and we were refreshed again to hit the ground running.

We took the boys for a walk, picked up Bud's car from getting an oil change and I tackled the rest of the laundry....

This is about 2/3 of the laundry.
I'm so embarrassed.
I think it's I can get rid of some clothes
because our closets are still full even without
this stuff!

I also gave both boys a bath:

You can't even really tell that they are still wet from their baths...so fresh and clean!  I love a clean soft dog!

This promises to be a very busy week too.

We have friends coming into town Friday night so I have to get my cleaning done this week as well as my quilting class on Wednesday night in which I'll get to start working with this fabric:

I picked this up this weekend too.
I'm really excited to see how it turns out!

Thursday night will be our small group and then of course last minute tidying before our friends and their new puppy arrive for the weekend!

I hope you all had a BLESSED Sunday!

Berry Good!

Today was my Ladies Luncheon!
AT & I have been working on this for a few weeks & I was very happy to see it all come together.
The point of the luncheon was for all the girlfriends/fiances/wives of AFROTC and AFIT (Air Force Institute of Technology) Students to gather and share information that may be helpful for others as they begin or continue their lives in the Air Force.
It is a nice way also for everyone involved to find that sense of unity.
The AFROTC & AFIT students have their group of people as their support group, but as a wife/girlfriend/fiance it's important to find a group where you fit in.
There were all sorts of yummy dishes.
Miss Anne made a pasta dish and caesar salad.
There were chocolate cupcakes and a fruit tray.
AT made some yummy spinach pinwheels type goodies.
I borrowed a deliciously simple recipe from The Mother Huddle!
Sweet Berry Puff Pastry Bites were a hit!

Aren't they pretty?
Thank you so much The Mother Huddle for sharing...with only 4 ingredients and a quick prep I'll definitely be looking for a reason to make these again!
I hope you all had a Blessed Saturday!

Bud Singing!

In lieu of our regular Bible Verse Friday, I'm taking this post to brag about my awesome husband!
Today he was granted to opportunity to sing the National Anthem at the UT Baseball game.
I apologize for the skip when they announce who is singing the national anthem, but I didn't really want to advertise our last name all over the internet.
It's kind of hard to see him but if you look towards the corner of the Orange Jerseys & Grey Jerseys you'll see Bud wearing his Air Force Uniform!

I promise to be back with Bible Verse Friday next week, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to brag about Bud's big opportunity!

God truly blessed him with a voice that makes a joyful noise.

I'm such a proud wifey!

I hope you all had a Blessed Friday!

Beginners Quilting #1

Last night I started my Beginner's Quilting Class!
We will meet 3 more times.
Each time is a Wednesday night from 6:30-9pm.
It's a 30 minute drive both ways so I'm not sure how many Wednesday posts will be going up the next few weeks.
Anyways in our first class we talked about fabric, needles, batting, cutting mats, rotary cutters, rulers, and so much more.
We practiced getting a straight edge.
And then she gave us some 2 different kinds of practice fabric to cut into 3- 2.5" strips

After that it was time to practice 1/4" seams.
I'm pretty sure those will be the death of me!

We then sewed 3 of our strips together.
Our teacher then checked our work to see if center strip was an even 2" all the way down.

After that we learned to iron "uphill" folding the dark fabric onto itself.

Finally she sent us off with homework.
We are to practice sewing our 1/4" seam and ironing these strips together.

We will bring them back to class next week to show her how we did.

Our other homework is to get fabric for our 36" square 9 block baby quilt.
She teaches people how to make the lap blankets because they are a simple way to learn all the basics.
I really enjoyed the first nights class & I am hoping to perfect this 1/4" seam.
There are a few sewing feet out there that can help since most feet cover the 1/4" line on your sewing machine.
This one, as you can see, juts in so you can lineup the 1/4" line on your machine with the edge of your fabric.

1/4" sewing machine foot

This one is clear so you can see where the 1/4" line is...and they are normally marked on the clear where the 1/4" line would fall so you can line up and see through your foot.

clear sewing machine foot

So it looks like I get the joy of visiting my first quilting store Saturday afternoon and picking out fabric.

I think this 1st quilt will go to my youngest cousin Ava...you have all met her before, but just to remind you here is a more recent picture:

She's 6 months old now !

That aught to keep me busy between weddings, graduation, commissioning, luncheons, and work...don't you think?

I hope everyone had a Blessed Thursday!