Check out what I did yesterday...

...Finished this blog (with these super-cute pictures, I didn't have much of a challenge)...

...finished MY CLASSROOM website! ( I am so excited about it, and I think it turned out really cute!)...

...cut that jungle of a backyard you saw in yesterday's post...


...and spent some time with these guys.

I love productive days!

Last Days of the Cruise

The last two days, we did a whole lot of nothing. We ate, we laid out, we ate some more, we slept...that's about it. The pictures really are much more interesting than the events.

Those two days were my kind of vacation. :)





I mean really, what's more entertaining than watching a grown man in a carnival cruise shop costume do the cupid shuffle?



This guy was funny. He's one of the retirees on the ship (a lot of people retire to cruise ships because they're cheaper than living in a nursing home). He had a name tag on that said "Old Man Wiggle" and did nothing but go eat and sit at this penny slot machine the WHOLE time. What a life.






Forgot to turn Autofocus on for this picture...it could have been so good. :(

With our waiters.

With our table. (Sidenote: If you're from the Hattiesburg, Mississippi area, apparently the guy in the orange is a celebrity. He did the "Super Discount Furniture Warehouse" commercials there. I have absolutely no clue who he is, but Noah was just like starstruck that we were at the same table as him.)

Our Maitre' D - everybody called him the Indian Clark Gable!


We got back into cell phone coverage area the last night of the trip, and I turned on my cell phone to see this. I just thought that was a lot of emails. Turns out I had over 100, and the iPhone will only show 50 at a time.

(And yes, I have the Price is Right game on my phone. It is awesome, and you should get it too.)


And, of course...towel animals. A monkey and a turtle were our last two.

If you're ever been on a cruise, you know the last day is just plain out not fun. You WAIT, and WAIT, and WAIT. At least they let us eat and wait by the pool!


My last meal on the boat. :(



Our view for most of the morning - until they kicked us out and made us go wait in line.

I would have gotten some pictures in the US Customs line (where we were for like 2 hours), but I'm pretty sure I'd be in federal prison somewhere right now...so the pictures weren't that important. :)

So there you have it! We had the time of our lives, and definitely have the pictures to prove it. I already wish I could go back (or at least have a plate of Warm Chocolate Melting Cake).

My Kind of Combination

A morning full of playing with a beagle puppy...






Plus Olive Garden leftovers for lunch...




Then an afternoon of playing in the backyard...




Makes for one happy family.


(Dog included)

PS - Yes, we still have a jungle in our backyard...it is now getting cut tonight (and if you were in Alabama and knew how STINKIN' HOT it was right now, you would understand why we're waiting until tonight).

PPS - "Rest of the Cruise" post coming tonight...stay tuned!

I'm Re-Blinged

I have cleaned all day today.


You know what this is people?? That is an empty laundry basket. CAN I GET A HALLELUJAH?


And that would be a clean kitchen...complete with all dishes clean. CAN I GET AN AMEN?



And that would be...a ridiculously uncut backyard. I'm getting there - that's for tomorrow morning.

Tonight, we had to go to Birmingham to pick up my wedding/engagement rings. I haven't had them for a couple of weeks because they had to be replated (FYI - White gold isn't actually all gold - it's regular gold plated with rhodium, and has to be replated every few years). So I finally got them back tonight...

Don't they look good?? I loved my ring the moment he gave it to me, and I still love it (after having seen probably 100's of rings since this - it's still my favorite). It's so nice to have it back...girls that have rings they wear all the time (and I guess guys too) can relate to me, you feel naked without your rings! And there's just not much better looking than a professionally cleaned piece of jewelry. I've tried...I just can't get it this clean at home.


I leave you with a few of the pictures I got of my Hardy this morning. What a handsome little guy. :)

This SO counts as a child's bedroom...right?

Ok, I had to get creative for this one.

At first, I was a little bummed that I would not be able to participate in this week's edition of Kelly's "Show Us Where You Live" Friday. After all, I have no children to have bedrooms to write about yet.

Or so I thought.

Turns out, I already have a child that has several spots in our house he calls his own. And he would be very offended if I didn't consider him enough of a child to write about his space.

I also already have every minute detail of my future children's nurseries picked out. So I figured, why not just tell you about what I have so far??

Meet Hardy, my furry child.



He thinks he owns this whole house, but we have been able to hold him back to only actually owning several parts.


Hardy's "official" bedroom - his crate. It's in the corner of our bedroom, and Hardy stays here when we're out of the house. He also used to sleep in here when he was a puppy, but now we can trust him not to tear up/use the bathroom all over our room.

He has his own little rug in here, which used to be my kitchen rug. He quickly claimed it for his own though, and I finally just gave up and let him have it. He also has his own blanket that stays on top of the crate. He chews on it incessantly, and we leave it over his crate when he's in there to help him sleep.


Another spot of Hardy's in our house - his toy bin. My husband will be the first to tell you that he's a spoiled brat, and the fact that he has a whole laundry hamper full of toys doesn't do much to disprove that.

I wish these toys stayed in the bin. However, they are usually spread all over my house like they were this morning...



...sigh. Another battle with Hardy that I've finally given up on.


And, goodness, how could I forget the "Hardy Chair." This is a chair in the corner of our living room that Hardy has taken over, hence the name. You'll find him here, sleeping, at least 8 hours out of the day. You can also see this in my living room edition of Show Us Where You Live Friday.

And on to the children of the human variety...

Now, Noah and I will eventually have (real) children...anywhere from 2-4 years from now. But just because it's going to be a little while, doesn't mean I haven't planned it out!


This will eventually be our nursery. It is currently the guest bedroom I talked about in this edition of "Show Us Where You Live Friday."

The jury's still out on whether or not I want to paint the room when we have a baby. Our entire house is this color (and I am just obsessed with it), but I don't know if it would look right in a nursery. So we'll see.

I want a white crib, whether I have a boy or a girl. This is my favorite one that I have found so far...it turns into a big girl/boy bed, and it's from Target, so it's fairly inexpensive!

It also has BEAUTIFUL furniture to match...


The two pieces on the right are just precious to me. The piece in the middle could hold a TV - something I'm thinking I might need for those late night feedings!

I actually got the idea for my crib bedding from Kelly...these pictures came from the same company that made Harper's crib bedding. I LOVE these ideas, but I am going to try and make everything myself, since I know how to sew.

What I like for girl's crib bedding - except instead of the curly 1-letter monogram, I want the 3-letter monogram in a fancier (if that makes sense) font.


What I like for boy's crib bedding.

I'd LOVE to have a glider like this one (I found it here), but I want one that doesn't completely break the bank. I'm still searching for a good mix of cute and cheap.
What's a cute nursery without cute curtains?? I love this style (but with our colors, obviously), and I think I could actually swing making these too!

I also have a collection of dolls from when I was little that I will put up if we have a girl. They are mostly Madame Alexander, but there are a few other lines too. I have a TON of collector Barbies that I am saving if we have a girl!

You know, not that I have every last thing planned out or anything. :) Seriously, I'm perfectly ok with this guy being my only child for right now.

But isn't it fun to plan???

Now that I have been thoroughly launched back into baby fever mode, you can head back over to Kelly's Korner and enjoy the rest of the nurseries/children's bedrooms!