Toothpaste...who knew??

So the other day I was sitting at home trying to keep myself busy. I saw Aaron outside mowing the yard and I felt like doing something domestic-y while he was out doing manly things. I looked over on my counter and saw the silver my mom had just passed down to me. My great grandmother had this beautiful silver - teapot, sugar, creamer, and a bigger tea pot. When I found out she was wanting to pass them on I was super excited!! I love all things old especially if they come from our family. It has so much meaning to it. Now, the silver was not in the best condition at all. It had tarnished quite a bit. I knew there was some way I could clean it without going to the store and getting silver cleaner. I had heard of baking soda mixed with water. I went ahead and tried that first, but it was a long process and I knew there had to be something a little easier. I used good ole google and found out that toothpaste would do the job! I ran into our bathroom and grabbed some Crest - the whitening kind with Scope, if you must know. And I went to town on my silver. I have to tell you, the results were pretty amazing if I do say so myself! I was even more shocked when Aaron walked in and said how awesome it looked. Here's somewhat of a before/after shot. I didn't take that great of a before shot, but you get the drift, right?

Just thought I would share my little secret. I'm sure it's not much of a secret, but thought I should pass it along in case you ladies need to clean some silver in your future :) Are there any other household tricks you all can think of? I would love to hear them!

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Snagged!

I decided to take in this lovely afternoon by doing a little shopping during lunch. We have a super cute outside mall area over here which is nice since you don't have to actually go inside the mall. I have been dying to hit up BR since they got in all of their adorable summer clothes! I spent a while browsing and then started picking up cute tops, dresses and handbags left and right. The poor saleswoman asked me about 5 different times "Would you like me to put that in a room for you?" I definitely made her earn her commission! I struck out with most of the items. I'm not digging the baggy "flowy" shirts. It is not a good look for me at all. It's like throwing a pillowcase over my head. I know you can belt them, but you can only do the belted look so many times before people start thinking that's your only style. I had a couple of dresses with me but most of them had the same issue. Big pillowcase, no shape. Until I tried on the last one. It was a beauty! The Maxi dress!! I have tried on maxi dresses before and they just didn't do it for me. They all flowed straight down instead of having a nice cling under the bust. Well ladies, this one fits awesome! It comes with a bit of a steep price tag, but oh so worth it. I kept thinking how nice it's going to be when we are in FL this summer and I can just throw this on after a long day on the beach. It is a tad long. I can't wear it with flats, but I have several wedges that I can pair it with :) And you want to know what made me even more happy - it was the last one! I snagged the last green Maxi dress they had. That never happens to me! The lady said they have been selling out of these like crazy.

I then went inside Ann Taylor Loft. I was heading out the door when I noticed a super cute ruffle button down top. I picked it up and headed straight towards the dressing room. It fit super cute! Once again, thinking about Florida nights, days, dinners. I tried to find it online but no such luck. This one looks similar, kind of. Mine has a ruffle at the cap of the sleeves. It also has more pronounced ruffles on the front the of shirt. I guess this doesn't really look like it at all. Oh well. Sorry!

I can't believe it's only Tuesday! I woke up thinking it was Wednesday and we were half way through the week. I was pumped until I got to work and found out it was only Tuesday...whaa whaa.

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The Farmer and the Dell

I want to thank all of you for your amazing comments on my Friday post. They really helped, a lot. Sorry for being so down! I need to realize that this whole process is going to take some time and I need to "man up" and not allow myself to get so upset over one weigh in. There are certainly bigger problems out there than this one :)

Onto the weekend! Aaron and I did a little gardening. Yes, you read that right: Aaron and I. I love being outside helping with the yard. I would much rather do that then clean inside! Growing up, my parents would do yard work/garden/plant every single weekend. Or so it seemed. As I got older I started helping out and really enjoyed it. Even pulling weeds...I know, crazy! So I was kind of pumped when Aaron said he wanted my help this weekend. We woke up Saturday and ate a good breakfast to get energized for our activities! After a quick stop at Home Depot, we were ready to go! There is a mulching bed (garden??) in our backyard and lately our grass has been growing into the bed. Not to mention the weeds that popped up. It was not a pretty sight. I really wish I would have taken a before/after pic because it looks SO much better now. After spending all day outside, we were exhausted. We spent the rest of the evening in. Rented a movie and had some popcorn. It was amazing!

I have to brag on my amazing husband for a second.
He read my blog post on Friday and knew how
upset I was and he came home with these beautiful flowers!
I was so surprised. That man knows how to make me happy :)

our power breakfast...yes it's chocolate and yes there
are biscuits underneath. It came from the one and only,
Paula Deen! It was just OK. I used wheat biscuits and skim milk.
Tried to be somewhat healthy! I'm sure hers is much better

Proof that I was out working too :)
Pay no mind to the dirty butt - whoops! I spent
a good hour de-weeding that stupid area!

My little girl! She thought she was helping
but she was really making a mess! She loves
running through the new mulch!

Daisy's new love - her tennis ball.
She would not put that thing down all day!!

My new love - I think I'm in love with our new pot!!
It adds so much color to our back porch

the only "good" after pic I have and it has D's behind in it!:(
Either way, it looks so much better!

I started this little game with Daisy and Aaron wanted to try it too.
I'm sure he'll be happy that I posted it! I was waiting for her to
bite his nose or something - ha! She loves popcorn!!

Yeah, we drink wine with popcorn.
Is that a problem?

Yesterday we got up and went to church. We had one of the best sermons! The group Avalon was back and they are just amazing. The music had me crying like a baby. I needed it. Aaron and I went to lunch after church and then to Best Buy and we bought a new t.v. for our bedroom!! We had one when we first moved in, but when we put together our workout room I moved the t.v. in there. I needed something to keep me entertained while on the elliptical! So we bought a cute flat screen for our room. One day, while watching Oprah she said to never put a t.v. in your bedroom because all the romance goes out the window, or something like that. I then told my mom that I would never put one in my room. I mean, Oprah said so, right? Wrong! We broke down. I love it! Never going back :)

Happy Monday everyone!! I hope you all had a great weekend! Thanks again for all of your support on Friday. You all are the best :)

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Discouraged

to deprive of courage or confidence : dishearten discouraged by repeated failure>
(Definition courtesy of Merriam-Webster.com)

Warning - not a chipper post

This morning was not one of my bests. I woke up, felt great. Aaron and I were talking and laughing while getting ready. He says to me "let's call in sick today!" I, of course, got all excited and was ready to dial the # to my office when he chickened out. See, Aaron isn't one to ever call in sick. Ever! But he's had a really rough week and has been working like a mad man so I figured he was ready for a break. Wrong. So I got a little down, but moved on with my morning. I then go to weigh myself. Big mistake..apparently. I was up a good 2 lb's from earlier this week! This really pissed me off. I have worked my ass off all week long. I've done the Shred and the elliptical for 30 minutes every.single.night! I even did the elliptical for 45 minutes last night. I've been watching what I eat and counting every friggin' calorie (myplate calorie counter website - thanks Lindsey!) I don't drink during the week and I've been trying to cook healthier too. I mean, if I have grilled chicken one more night I might scream! I just don't get it. The number is not going down. It's going up. And I am so frustrated! I figured I would have at least lost a pound this week. On myplate you can choose how much you would like to lose a week and it calculates how many calories you should eat daily based on your weight, height, etc. I have been eating that exact amount (sometimes less) and working out. What is the deal! I can try and justify it by saying "oh it's muscle" but like Jillian said on the BL, the scales don't lie. That number that pops up is what you weigh, don't make excuses. I'm not a body builder here so I know it's not muscle. I have struggled with my weight for what seems like forever. I remember when Aaron went off to school I started working out and eating a lot better. He was no longer there to take me for a Mexican food dinner. I lost a lot of weight and felt so good about myself! I was breaking into the 120's...upper 120's, but still. Now, I feel like that number is so out of reach. I feel so discouraged. I know it takes time but I have been busting it for a while now. So I did what every rational person would do. I cried and cried some more. Aaron gave me a big hug and told me he thinks I'm hot and I don't need to lose any weight. That's nice and all, I mean it really is - love you hun :), but I'm sure he would think I was even more hot if I dropped my extra layer around my stomach. I know I will never be a petite thing. I have broad shoulders, a large chest and hips. I'm not going to be Megan Fox. I would just like to feel better about me. And you know what the sad thing is? I could look better and fit into smaller clothes, but if that number stayed the same I would still have a huge problem! Is that messed up or what? Why am I so driven by the number?? It must be something that has been beaten into my brain. Who knows!

Point is, I feel like I have been working really hard to lose some lb's and it's not coming off. If I would have at least maintained this week, I would be fine. But to gain. That's not OK. I'm going to keep it up with what I've been doing. Maybe in the next week or two I'll notice a difference.

Thank you all for listening. Sorry it's not a very exciting post! I am just down and I wanted to put it out there. Don't want you all to think that I never have any problems. How real would that be?? :)

Happy Friday ladies! I hope you all have an awesome weekend!! And if you have any weight loss tips, send them my way!

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Cel-e-brate good times!

Another busy weekend down! We had one last celebration for Mark and Alison. Mark's mom and dad hosted a second reception for them in a very small town where they have now retired. It was a BLAST!! We got in Saturday afternoon, changed and headed for St. Mary's Hall. If you're wondering, yes, you can drink in St. Mary's hall and believe me, there was plenty of drinking going on. These folks in this small town knew how to have a good time! I had to keep an eye out on Aaron (Beau) as he thought he could keep up with some of the older men....didn't end too well! We danced all night, again! We had so much fun and it was great to get to hang out with everyone again! Never a dull moment with our group :)

{Aaron and me}

{miss AliB - now AliT :)}

{Lauren (Ski!) and Tyler}{Dance Party! Must have been a good song}

{Tyler giving Aaron advice on dancing/drinking?}

{Mark, Tyler & Aaron - why the mean face hun?}{Ali, Lauren and me}

We drove back in on Sunday and picked up Daisy at my parents house. They were nice enough to watch her while we were out of town. It also let us see my Momma on Mother's Day! It was such a good day. The whole fam was out by the pool when Aaron and I got in and then we started preparing for the feast: steaks and all the fixin's! Of course, mom was right in the kitchen with me. I told her to relax and sit down, but she refused. She is so selfless. She will rarely let you do something for her. She always put us first in everything. I loved having her in there with me though. We have always had the best times in the kitchen together. I try to learn all of her cooking techniques from her. I'm still learning people...she has a lot to share! Finally the steaks (bravo PappaT!) were done and everything was delicious!! I stuffed myself. So worth it though! My dad made his famous dessert, banana's foster. He makes this every anniversary, mother's day or whenever my mom asks for it! It was their dessert they had on their wedding night so it's special to them. And sooo good!! I know I'm a couple of days late, but Happy Mother's Day Mom! You are truly a blessing to me. Thank you for answering the phone when I call 12 times a day, listening to me vent about Lord knows what, buying me cute tops just because and for being such an amazing mother and wife that I too, hope I can be one day!

{funny card from dad - I have an 8 yr old sister so this made us all laugh!}

{present!! what could it be??}

{A little DY :) Love it!!}

{So pretty!!}

What a great weekend it was! We are still recovering from the late nights, but I think we're almost back in business. I think this weekend we are going to be pretty low key...looking forward to that! Oh and Biggest Loser is on tonight!!! - Season Finale :(

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Ashley Brooke = Amazing!

I was lucky enough to have the oh so fabulous Ashley Brooke design some flat cards for me!! I contacted her on Tuesday and told her what I was interested in and she sent me the proof on Wednesday and I placed my order immediately after I saw it! Talk about some amazing turn around time! I have seen her designs all over the blog world. I first noticed them on Erin's blog: Blue Eyed Bride. I about died when I saw how cute the card was with the dogs and stroller!! I knew I had to have some! Of course, I didn't need anymore stationary around my house, but Ashley's work is so much better than any regular stationary. I LOVE the way they turned out! So perfect!! And miss Daisy Mae looks pretty sweet if I do say so myself :) By the way, I totally want this outfit that she put me it....

Thank you so much Ashley!! I can't wait to work with you again! Soon, very soon :)

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Cinco de Mayo - Ay ya ya

I love Cinco de Mayo. Especially when it's on the weekend and we go out to our fave Mexi restaurant (Tiempo!) and party it up with our amigos! This year, with it being during the week, I decided to have our own fiesta en mi casa. OK, I'm done, promise! We had tostadas, guacamole, and chips and salsa. I made the bucket of margaritas from this post but I forgot the limeade :( They weren't as slushy as they should have been, but still did the job! It made quite a few. I had 2 and Beau had...well, who's counting right. He may or may not have had a couple, few or several of his favorites, whiskey and coke, after he finished off the margs. Egh! Makes me sick just thinking about it! Needless to say we - and I say "we" because I couldn't go to sleep - were up until after midnight. Beau went to the study and started blaring all sorts of songs from Limewire! Anything from screwed rap (oh boy!) to Evanescence? He's so weird! It was quite the list of songs. And they were blaring! I'm amazed that he was able to get himself up this morning for work. I did hear him rummaging through the pantry for Motrin. That must have been some headache!

Love this dress. I bought it at Anthro a couple of years ago and have only worn it once! I decided to bust it out for our dinner. I love putting on a cute dress for dinner at the house with the Mr. :) It somehow makes dining in a little more special! I don't think he minds one bit....

Food!

Digging in!

I hope you all had a great Cinco de Mayo! So excited that tomorrow is Thursday!! Getting closer to the weekend. We are heading out of town again this weekend for a party/bbq/second reception for our friends that got married a couple of weeks ago. Lots of food and dancing!! Should be another fun weekend. And ladies, don't forget your mommas on Sunday! We're lucky enough to have my parents so close, so we are dropping miss Daisy off before we head out of town and picking her up on Sunday. That way I get to spend the afternoon with my special momma! :) Just picked her present up today and I LOVE it!

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Concert and Baseball game

I can't believe I am just now getting around to posting about our weekend! It was such a great weekend too. Friday night we went to a Dave Matthews Band concert. We had a blast!! I can't tell you the last time I went to a concert, but I was definitely way over due. We hung around a group of highschoolers...or should I say we spied on them? It was so fun watching them. They seemed so young. It's amazing how trendy kids dress these days! Seven jeans, driving around in Escalades, and that's just the boys! I was cracking up watching them try to score some alcohol. I didn't get a ton of pics because let's face it, after Beau has had some drinks, the last thing he wants to see is me bust out the camera :)

{look at him toting my bag around...what a man!}

{it was SO hot...excuse the nasty hair!}

Saturday, we hit up a baseball game at Beau's alma mater, Texas A&M! Now I didn't go to ATM, but I was up there almost every weekend going to games. I love College Station! There are always a few spots that we have to hit up when we go back. Koppe Bridge - best burgers/fries around and Shakes - the most incredible shakes EVER! So we went and had a burger, fries and a pitcher of beer and then headed to the game. Ags won, 7-2!! I have to tell you all a little secret...I LOVE baseball players. I do love college football, but there's just something about baseball. After the game we went through Shakes and I got my fill of chocolate goodness! I also talked Beau into taking me through Rosa's Cafe!! He's so good to me. They have, by far, the best drive thru queso and tortillas. Like mouth watering good. I was first introduced to Rosa's when I lived in Midland (bless you if you know where that's at!) and I thought I was in Heaven despite the fact that Midland looked/felt like a desert. I was happy as a clam sitting there with my bowl of queso and tortillas! It probably helped the ole' waistline moving away.

{We sat right behind the plate}

{Me, huge sunglasses and Beau}

{Homerun! Whoop!!}

Happy Wednesday! I am going to start working on my Cinco de Mayo recap next!! Dinner was awesome. And we had plenty of margaritas, didn't we hun ;)

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Recipes, come get your recipes!

First of all I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you amazing bloggies out there who stopped by my sister's blog and made her feel so welcome! She was on cloud 9 :)

Ok, now onto the enchilada recipe I promised!

Enchiladas

Ingredients:
Olive Oil - enough to saute onion in skillet
1 md onion
1 pound of either ground beef, chicken, or turkey
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 can mexi-corn or plain corn
1 can diced green chilies
2 cans of red enchilada sauce
10-12 tortillas
1 pkg shredded jack cheese

• Saute onion in olive oil in a skillet. You don't have to use the whole onion.
• Add your meat to skillet and cook.
• Add the taco seasoning packet to onion/meat mix.
• Next add mexi-corn and diced green chilies to the mix.
• Add 1 can of red enchilada sauce to that mixture.
• Open the second can of enchilada sauce and put 1/2 in a pie pan to dip the tortillas in and save the rest to pour over the top of the enchiladas once they are rolled and in the pan. Be sure to put a little sauce in the bottom of the 13x9 pan before adding the enchiladas.
• Dip each tortilla in the enchilada sauce, fill your enchiladas with the meat mixture and add jack cheese and roll.
• Place the rolled enchiladas cheese side down in a 13X9 pan.
• Once the pan is filled, pour remaining red sauce over the enchiladas
• Bake with foil on top for 20-25 min at 350 degrees.
• When done, remove foil and sprinkle jack cheese over top and put back in the oven to melt.

You can add more/less ingredients to your enchiladas. I have a bit of a picky husband who despises onions and can find even the most hidden diced onion, so I was only able to add onions to the top of my enchiladas after baking. Like I said, they are super easy to make and even more delicious!

What's on tap for this weeks menu?
Tonight: Summer Chicken Burgers - I love avocado on my chicken sandwiches! And it's perfect weather for grilling.
Cinco De Mayo: Ground turkey tostadas, homemade salsa, guacamole, and margaritas! Since we don't have a blender, I am improvising. They are still frozen, but it's more like a slush. Fine with me :)
Wednesday: BarBQ chicken on the grill, baked beans, fruit for me, chips for Mr.
Thursday: Hot dogs with fixins'- easy peasy!
Friday: Leftovers or out to eat

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Monday! I still need to do a recap of our exciting weekend. We went to a Dave Matthews Band concert on Friday night and then Saturday we went to an ATM baseball game. So much fun! It was just me and Beau the whole weekend. Perfect! My pics are still trapped in my camera, but that will change this evening :)

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Salt & Vinnies!

Not sure I've expressed my love for salt & vinegar chips, but I am pretty much in Heaven while eating them. I just devoured the ones I brought with my lunch today! So delicious.

That's all....now off to eat my rice krispie treat!

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Boy are you in trouble!

So, I was at lunch and got this panicked text from Beau. I won't go into details b/c it's probably TMI, but it was something along the lines of a bulldozer backing into a porta potty that he happened to be occupying and "stuff" going everywhere. Now re-reading this it seems like a joke, but you see, he works in construction as a Project Manager so I was assuming he was out visiting a job and the urge hit. And believe me, he ain't picky about where he goes! So I of course start to freak out a little and call his cell and Blackberry and get NO answer! Hmm. I'm thinking he's trying to negotiate some towels from the workers so he can clean up. By the 4th time I call he answers and starts chuckling in the phone.....OMG! Not even going to say what I said to him, because it's not blog appropriate, but I was mad! This is NOT a funny joke mister. You, my friend, are now in the dog house. How's that for funny?!?

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