Pumpkin Patch

This weekend was awesome! It was busy but we had the best time. I wanted to show off some pics we got while visisting our local pumpkin patch. We took Daisy last year - see here - and she LOVED it. We got some really good pictures of her so we knew we would have to take Mr. Chester this year. I mean, it's only fair. We left big sis at home though. We both felt so bad doing this because she loves car rides. You say "Daisy, you wanna go on a car ride!" and she goes beserk through out the house jumping around! So we had to sneak little Chester out. It was really pretty intense, but I think it worked. I can't believe we are having to sneak around our dogs! What has our life come to? Anyways, we got to the PP and there was immediately a swarm of kids around him. He is quite the cutie, so I can understand :) But one kid in particular kept jocking in on my shots with my little man! Hello, where were the parents with this one?? He was literally in several shots with me and Chester, except for the one I posted without him in it! I do believe we got a few cute ones though. Of course, Aaron took the best one and he has since bragged to me incessantly how he took the best shot and I'm the one that's supposed to know how to use the camera better. Whatevs! It happens. I'll let him gloat for now. Behold our second annual pumpkin patch pictures (say that 5 times fast!) 

 

See the kid!!! He was everywhere I tell ya!

      

   

      

  

This dog loved him some hay! He would not stop rolling in it.

Framer!! Yes this is the one A took. Props to you A!

loved this barn....

Aww, I love it! A little poppa, son bonding :)

the loot!

I hope yall had a good weekend! It was beautiful here all weekend. Now it's raining here today. No fun, but at least it held off for Monday, right? It's been a great day so far. Both bosses are out of the office and I just got back from lunch with my main squeeze! Can't get much better than that.

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No more drama!

Mary J. said it best

I've been thinking about this topic for a while and seeing as it has become a more normal occurence since being at my new job I thought I'd share. At my prior job, I worked with a majority of men. Now, I am lucky enough to have a few women around the office and actually work directly with one of them. We've become really close and I respect her tons. There's just one thing. Sometimes women can be a little moody. I know, shocker! I feel like maybe I was desensitized to this matter after working with all men and kind of having to shift my thinking process and hormones around to fit that environment. Not that I'm an over emotional person to begin with, but I feel like I started thinking more like a man after working with all men. Make sense? I'm normally a "go with the flow" kind of gal. Well, the same can not be said for some I work with, unfortunately. I don't know what it is, but when someone of authority asks me to do something my normal response is "sure." Now, some could say I'm a weenie and I need to let someone know when enough is enough, but I would just rather not cause any drama and deal with it. I've never been pushed to the point to argue back with my boss and I hope it doesn't happen. Well work friend (WF) does this. A lot. She tends to get rather riled up and kind of freaks out when she reaches her point. Which is totally understandable, but sometimes I think it's a little coo-koo! And I don't mean little freak outs, we're talking loud, to the point where me and a few others in our offices can hear her. The other day when it was happening I had to walk over to WF #2 and talk with her because I didn't want to hear it anymore. And then when the freaking out is over with, the tears start rolling along with the "I'm going to quit, I can't do this anymore!" Imagine hearing that within your first 3 weeks of being at a new job! Talk about "what in the world did I get myself into??" Now, I love this girl. Honestly, she has the best heart and is the sweetest person ever, not to mention a riot! She is a a single mother so I know she has a LOT more stress than I can even imagine. But I'm worried that all the men that work here might think we are all crazy! "We" being women. Men don't seem to tolerate a lot of whininess and complaining. I should know, I'm married to one! I just hope they don't group me into being like that. I know I can get my feelings hurt pretty easily and I have gotten upset about work things before but I normally just make Aaron listen to it :) I can't imagine blowing off at my boss! She has worked here longer and seems to be closer with both of our bosses so I'm sure that's why she feels like she can say certain things to them or act a certain way. I just worry about what others think (i.e. VP or Pres) as they are walking down the hall. There's just a lot more drama here than I've ever dealt with before! Also, when WF #1, 2 and I go out to lunch it is a constant gossip session. It's always limited to 2 people in our office that they both dislike and I get to hear it all! I get so tired of it sometimes. Can't we all just get along?? I understand being irritated at someone pushing your buttons, but to waste an entire lunch hour talking about them! You've obviously allowed them to get under your skin and they've set up shop for a while. If I don't like someone, I certainly am not going to sit around and spend my time talking about them. That does nothing but piss me off more!  I guess as long as I keep doing what I'm doing and try not to get wrapped up in it all then I'll be fine.

I know you ladies have some work drama too! How do you deal with it? Sometimes we all need to do a big Woohsah! Come on, do it with me "woohsah, woohsah!" All better, right?

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Semi-interesting post (with a recipe!)

Hello again!! Wow, I've missed this blog and all my readers...that is if I still have any since I've been a complete slack! I don't even want to go over how many days since my last post. All I know is that it was in September and that is way too long ladies! Sidenote: Whenever bloggers take long breaks I always think they're pregnant. I don't know why, but it's been kind of a running theme in blogland. FYI, I am NOT pregnant in case any of you think the same weird thoughts I do. I've just been a terrible blogger! Sorry!!

This past weekend was a little wild and crazy. My husband is an Aggie. I don't know if there are many ATM readers on this blog, but they are pretty die hard football fans. This past Saturday ATM played OSU. OSU and I go way back. I was born in Stillwater, OK and I have a slew of relatives that attended OSU. In the past I have cheered for OState, since that's what I was told to do or I would be thrown out of the Will! But this year, being the first game we've attended since being married, I decided to support my Aggie husband and I semi-cheered with him. I didn't full on cheer and holler because my sister was sitting next to me, cheering for Ostate, and I was worried about taking an elbow to the rib from her. So I was calm and kept my composure. Poor Ags lost. Either way, I was fine with the outcome! Then we went on to tailgate. And it was quite the tailgate. We had a huge turnout despite the fact that it felt like friggin Alaska outside! When does it ever get that cold in Texas in October? Oh that's right, when I go to a game wearing a very thin sweater (no worries, the Aggie bookstore was there to help as we dropped almost $200 on fleeces between Aaron and me!), and flats where the wet grass and cold air seeped in without a problem. I may or may not have gotten frost bite on my toes. Regardless, we had a great time and it was nice to let loose and have some fun with all of our tailgaters!

Sunday morning I woke up and did my 8 mile run. Yes, you read that right. I ran EIGHT miles! Some of you may remember that I am training for a 1/2 marathon! 8 miles is the most we have done so far and it felt great to cross that run off my schedule!! I felt amazing for the first hour or so and then hunger pains hit and it was downhill from there. I'm actually surprised I was able to keep going. It was the weirdest pain and made me nauseous. I knew I only had a little less than 2 miles to go so I pushed through. But man did I feel awful when I got home. I didn't get sore though so that was a plus. The miles are getting up there which means the race is approaching faster and faster! I never thought I would be able to run 5 miles straight let alone 8 and I did it! It just goes to show that running is a huge mental game and you can do it if you believe it!

I finally got up from the couch around 1 and made cheesy chicken corn soup. It is delicious and an absolute staple around the house when Fall arrives. It's been a favorite of mine and Aaron loves it too now. I decided I would share the recipe since it's one of the easiest soups and it made enough so that we could freeze it and eat again this week! Who doesn't love that?!? 

Cheesy Chicken Corn Soup

3-10 3/4 oz cans cream of chicken soup

1-14 1/2 oz can chicken broth

1-16 oz. Pkg frozen whole kernel corn

2-C chopped cooked chicken

1-10 oz Rotel

1-8 oz Velveeta cubed Cheese - I used reduced fat and it tastes the same

1- garlic clove minced

1/4 t pepper

Stir soup and broth in a dutch oven (or big pot) until well blended; add corn and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over med heat. Reduce heat and simmer stirring often 30 min or until smooth and heated through. You can serve or let cool and pour into containers and freeze up to 1 month.

 

Serious deliciousness in that soup right there! I'm almost craving it right now. Wish I would have packed it for my lunch! I threw a few tortilla chips on top and served it piping hot! I'm sure Frito's would be good too or whatever you can think up! 

 

I hope you all are having a great Monday. Not sure if "great" and "Monday" really go hand in hand, but nonetheless! It's dreary and rainy here and I wish I was back in bed.

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Mi casa es su casa

This weekend I did a little shopping for the house. I had made up my mind that I was going to re-decorate my mantle area so I was on a mission. I was so not in love with what we had and I felt like it was just kind of thrown together without much thought. I was going to go the Pottery Barn route, but thought I would hit up our Marshall's Home Goods first. Umm, have you all been to a Home Goods before?? It's pretty amazing. I took some PB magazine clippings for ideas and 2 1/2 hours later I was standing in line with a basket full of stuff! I went with a whole new theme or style for the mantle than what we had before. I absolutely LOVE it!

I figured while I was snapping pics I might as well invite you all into my boudoir as well :) We got the Morgan bedding from PB for our wedding (white) and then added on some zebra pillows and shams. Then I saw the Simone bedding that came out this Fall and just knew it would be the perfect pizzaz to add to our room. Ya know, liven it up a little. Aaron was very skeptical of my idea, but I ordered it regardless. Now that it's all put together he understands that this little lady just might know what she's talking about. It's probably my favorite room in the house now! Love Love! We painted the back wall or accent wall a deep brown when we first moved in and I think it really makes the bedding stand out. We also added some of our wedding pics above the bed. This was done completely on the cheap. Michaels frames and I printed up the pics (8x10). The two French doors go into our bathroom. I will show that on another day when it's a little cleaner :)

 

More goodies that I picked up at Marshall's. I love the copper pumpkin. I can't wait to get our real pumpkins this weekend at the pumpkin patch! We took miss Daisy Mae last year with us and she loved it so this year we are going to take mister Chester. Can't wait!

   

I just HAD to get this for A when I saw it. He always talks about wanting to go visit Ireland, aka his "homeland" and this book was too pretty to pass up. He of course loves it. And has spent some time perusing the pages and telling me where he is going to take me. One day soon, hun!

I hope you all are having a fantastic week!! I feel like there is so much going on right now and I'm trying to get it all out and posted but the new google picture upload is not my friend....or else I'm just really dumb. Needless to say, this post took me FOREVER to get up and running. I could not seem to figure out the whole placement of the pics. It's kind of weird. Aaron has been on me about waiting too long to blog so I tried doing it last night and 10 o'clock rolled around and I was no further than I was when I started! I'm hoping I will learn all the tricks as I go.

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G's Birthday!

This past Saturday was my beautiful little sister's 9th birthday! I love this little girl so much and I had the best time celebrating with her. She spent the day bike riding with some friends on her new sweet purple bike; which I don't have a pic of, but it was pretty awesome, and swimming. Later, at her request, we went to a little Italian restaurant that just so happens to be the same restaurant Aaron and I had our rehearsal dinner at. She has loved this place since the first time she took a bite of their delicious macaroni and cheese. You can tell from the pics below that she was on cloud nine the entire night. Check out her adorable peasant top and skinny jeans! I had to get her some dark skinnies! She LOVES them. And my mom bought her some stylish black flat boots which completed the outfit! The kid raked in on outfits. Lord knows she didn't need any more toys or games so we were all instructed to go the clothing route, which I happen to love! She has such a fun/funky style right now. Reminds me a little of me when I was her age. I loved the mismatched high tops and sideways ponytails. She also has dreams of being a fashion designer and has actually sketched out some stuff and pulled out pages from magazines as her inspiration. The girl is going places!

crazy girl! mmmm....
dad will hate this pic of him but look how

happy G and my mom are! Too cute!!
cheesecake and cookie cake! what a lucky girl!
black flat boots
silk bubble DKNY dress I found for a steal! She's totally going to rock it

with her skinnies and one of her many pairs of high tops I'm sure :) Gabby and Chester Cheeto

I love you little sis and I hope you had a great and memorable birthday!

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9 years

On September 16, 2000 at approximately 11:45pm, my now husband asked me to be his girlfriend. We had met the year before in Biology class. I was the new kid. No one and I mean no one wanted anything to do with me. The girls at our high school were pretty horrible. He asked me to come be his science partner and told me to come sit at his table. From then on we were great friends. He asked me if I wanted to take drivers ed with him that Summer and of course I said yes. I loved hanging out with him. We were pretty much inseparable that entire Summer. He came to me one night and asked if we could talk. He told me that he liked me and had for a while. I was so nervous and excited at the same time. A couple weeks later we had some friends over and were watching movies. He had to leave by 11:50 in order to make his curfew of midnight. We were the last 2 left in my parents game room. I could tell he was nervous. He sat me down and asked me if I would be his girlfriend. Seriously one of my most memorable days. He gave me a kiss, a real kiss, my first real kiss to be honest :) and I walked him out. I could not stop smiling. I remember running into my sister's room and telling her all about it. It all seemed like a dream, as corny as that sounds. He called me as soon as he got home and we talked until the wee hours in the morning, because that's what you did when you were young. From then on we have been a team. We got caught trying to skip school together. He walked me to all of my classes daily and said goodbye with a kiss. I remember getting so excited when he would hand me a letter that he had written in one of his classes. I actually have 2 Dr. Marten's boxes full of all the letters he wrote me. He would always include some illustration with it too. I called him Aar-Bear so he would draw a bear wearing the same clothes that he was wearing on that day. Cutest thing ever! He came over to my house and hung out every night and weekend. I went to his football games and cheered him on as loud as I could. I was such a proud girlfriend! I still get butterflies thinking back on all of this. Such fun times! We've been going strong ever since. Even with going to different universities. No breakups. I'd be lying if I told you it was easy during college. There were times I'm sure we both wondered if we could make it. Luckily we were close enough so that we could see each other on most weekends. Even though we are married now and have our wedding anniversary, we will always celebrate September 16. It's a very special day to both of us. I received an email from my amazing husband that he has made us dinner reservations tonight at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in our area. I could not be happier! I feel so lucky to have literally married my best friend and to have such fond memories to look back on. I love you so much A! Happy 9th Anniversary!!

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What were we thinking?

  

 

 

 

We got another dog! Can you believe this? I can't. We've had the fella for a week and 2 days now and the fact that I'm just now getting around to blogging about him should tell you something...He's a little turd, but I love him. We were on our way to church last Sunday and A made the split decision to go visit a breeder 2.5 hours away and buy a puppy. Men! Of course, I didn't say no because I didn't want to be blamed for crushing his dreams. He is a golden retriever and his name is Chester. Now I have to say that this was ALL my husbands idea, name and all. I mean, who really names their dog Chester? We've already heard the grade school name "Chester the molester" from about everybody we tell. So if you could spare me from having to hear it again, that would be great :) The name is starting to grow on me a little. You have to understand though that I love nicknames, love them! And I'm having a hard time coming up with one for him. Chesty doesn't really work. After all he is a boy. I'd like for him to keep some of his manliness in tact if at all possible. My husband has come up with "Chester bester" which honestly, can it get any worse than that?

This whole experience has opened my eyes to the fact that I am no where near ready for little babies! I love my sleep and the fact that I haven't had my full allotted amount makes me very cranky. He's gotten 100 times better since the first couple of nights we had him. The crying and barking was driving me half insane. I can not wait for the day when he decides to stop peeing/pooping on my nice living room rug in which I step in because I have not yet adjusted to the fact that we have a little runt that goes every 30 minutes. But I do have to say I am pretty smitten by our little guy. He is the sweetest thing ever and such a little lover! He loves to cuddle and loves to give kisses. So I guess that makes up for all his messes.

Daisy is in the process of adjusting as well. She's not sure what to think about this new little sausage running around. She has beaten him up a few times. We keep telling her that it's likely he will be bigger than her one day so she needs to watch it.

There it is! Our crazy life just got a little crazier. Our house feels slightly like a circus at times, but it keeps things interesting.

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend! I promise to be a better blogger as soon as I learn how to juggle all of this.

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