Starting Christmas Traditions

David and I are getting ready to celebrate our first Christmas together as a married couple! I am very excited about this! I have big plans for our first Christmas together. On Friday night we went with my family to see A Christmas Carol in 3D. It was fun to see a movie in 3D. The kids in my class kept saying it was scary and I can totally see why, it is a movie for older kids and adults. I liked the ending, very touching! Today, Saturday, we got up and went to go get our Christmas tree from Barkers tree farm. When we got there David grabbed a saw and we headed out looking for the perfect tree. It had snowed some in the morning so all the trees had a glimmer of snow on them, making the setting perfect. We finally found the perfect tree. David cut the tree down and then we carried it up to the front. Then we headed home, with Christmas tree in tow, to watch the UK vs. North Carolina basketball game. We set the tree up in the house but didn't add lights until the amazing basketball game was over. We won in case you didn't hear! Then we put up lights. I ran to Walmart and Target to return some things and get some ornaments and a tree topper. When I came back I put ornaments on the tree while David studied for his final on Monday. I made taco's for dinner and wrapped some presents. David is getting ready to stop studying for the night so we are going to watch a movie. It was a great day!!

Nice Saturday

Yesterday was a really nice day! It started off early. I got up at 5:30 because I had to be at UK to thake the Praxis for gifted education. When I got there I was informed that cell phones were not allowed in the building. They said that we were informed of that but no one knew anything so everyone had to hurry to put their cell phones in their cars. Once all that fiasco was over we went to our assigned rooms and they gave us assigned seats. Not everyone in the room was taking the same test so it took a while for them to pass out all the different tests. The test was two hours and it was hard. It felt so good to get it over with. When I left it was like a weight had been lifted knowing that it was over and there was nothing more I could do. I came home and David and I had lunch. Then I took Callie to the dog park while David watched the UK football game. I love going to the dog park! It is so enjoyable watching dogs play. Callie loves the dog park and has made some friends, like Syndey and Roxie, who are usually up there the same time she is. Callie and I were up there for about an hour. We came home watched the rest of the UK game and I scrapbooked some. Then David and I went bowling! We bowled 6 games!! It was so much fun! David beat me every game :( We want to go bowling more often because it is cheap and fun. Then we went to Best Buy and walked around looking at all the things we want! Up! was on sale so we got it and wathced it. It was cute!

Now I am sitting on the couch watching the Minnesota Vikings with the windows open and a warm apple candle lit. I love the weekends!!!

PRAXIS

On November 14 I have to take the Praxis for gifted education :( which I am NOT looking forward to taking. I printed off the study guide and it has a section with bullets of topics covered. There are 88 bullets!!!! That is alot of topics covered!!!! The test is 120 multiple choice questions and I have 2 hours to take it. All of this equals not fun times for me. I am starting to make a study guide, wish me luck.

Pumpkin

David and I carved pumpkins this past weekend. We decided to be ambitious and got patterns. I chose the easiest pattern but David chose a hard one. Mine is a skeleton face, I was so proud I was able to do it! David tried to carve a ghost looking out of the blinds, but wasn't able to make all the straight lines for the blinds. He gave up. I am going to try to finish it since I am a master pumpkin carver now!!

Callie and the Bee

Callie got stung by a bee today. This bee must have been huge because poor Callie's face was and still is all swollen. Here is what happened... Callie was at my parents (she goes every Monday and Wednesday) house and my mom had the door to the backyard open because it was so nice outside the dogs could go from inside to outside. A bee flew inside and Callie decided to eat it. The bee didn't like this idea so it proceeded to sting Callie. My mom sent me an email telling me about the event so right after school I called her. She said she called her vet and the vet recommended giving Callie one Benadryl. This helped the swelling go down some but not completely. I called my vet after school and he said to keep giving her one Benadryl every 4-6 hours and if it is not better by tomorrow to take her to bring her in to get a steroid shot. Here is a picture of what she looks like now- 7.5 hours after the sting. Notice the big lump hanging down from her neck, that is not a double chin!

The Best Website Ever

http://www.sporcle.com/games/

David and I have been playing the games on this website for the past 2 hours! We each have our laptops and are sitting across from each other. We take turns choosing a category and then see who can answer the most questions. It is soooo fun and addicting!!!! I am too tired to think now so I need to go to bed. I rocked at the Disney songs and Disney Movies category. I also beat David in categories I would not have expected. We spent most of the time playing games in the movie section. I want to try the Christmas Songs one when my brain is not so tired. Have fun!!!!!

Perfect Lunch

I made homade chicken noodel soup for lunch today. It was a perfect rainy day and sore throat lunch! I just wanted to share!!!

Callie's First Camping Trip

Over Labor Day weekend we took Callie camping at my parents farm. They own 100+ acres in Cynthianna, KY and are going to move down there once my brother graduates from high school. They go down almost every weekend to work and hang out. We have taken Callie for the day because she loves to play in the creek and run with Macy, my parents dog. She had a really good time and so did we! We rode the Kaboda and got firewood, built a fire and burned lots of wood, ate a great dinner, and sat around the campfire. It was nice to just hang out and relax.

David and dad bulding a fire

Setting up the tent

Macy resting

Callie wants to do whatever Macy does

Debate

It is 8:21 pm and I am debating with myself as to work on grad school stuff or watch Twilight. David is asleep on the couch with a bad headache (I feel so bad for him) but than means I can watch a movie he doesn't like. I need to work on my paper because a rough draft is due Tuesday, along with chapter readings but I really don't want to! Okay, I have decided Twilight! I do my best work in the morning.

Barbecued Spareribs

Video - SNL: Will Ferrell as Harry Caray

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Whenever I think of spareribs I think of this, I can't help it! If you haven't seen this SNL skit you need to watch it! Well the other night I made a barbequed spareribs recipe that I want to share. I got this recipe from the "Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook."

• 4lbs. country style spareribs, cut into serving size pieces (I used babyback ribs)
• 10 3/4 oz. can tomato soup (1 normal sized can)
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. celery seed
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• dash of cayenne pepper (I didn't add this)

1. Place ribs in slow cooker.

2. Combine remaining ingredients and pout over ribs.

3. Cover. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

4. Skim fat from juices before serving. (I didn't do this)

We liked it and it was very easy to make! Enjoy!

Over the gate

When we leave the house we gate Callie in the kitchen. Yesterday I came home and Callie greeted me as soon as I came in. I looked at the gate and it was still standing, so I wondered how she got out. I thought she pawed at the corner until it swung up and she squeezed through. Oh yeah, there was toilet paper strewn all over the house. Callie had pink all over her tongue and paws. I found a pack of Kool-Aid she had ate. While I was gone she must have been on a sugar high! David made sure to put the gate up tight today when we left from church so she couldn't paw it out. Well when David and I came home, sure enough Callie greeted us at the door. The gate was still up and secure, so we thought maybe she is jumping it. So we put her in the kitchen and watched to see what she did. Here is a video of how Callie escapes!

We are going to have to figure something out for tomorrow. David starts school so she will be by herself during the day.

Callie

Our little baby is growing up! When we first took her to the vet she weighed 4 pounds, now she ways 8 pounds. Her spots used to be light, now they are a dark orange. Callie has more muscles and is fast when she runs. If she ran full speed we couldn't catch her. One good thing about her getting bigger is that she can go for walks now. She used to sit on her butt and I would have to drag her. Now she walks with me and even joggs with me. Right now she joggs behind me but once she gets better I am sure I will get tripped several times. Callie loves people and she loves to play with other dogs. We have only had her for one month but it feels like she has been ours forever! She had her 3 month birthday yesterday!

4th of July

David and I went to Lake Cumberland over the 4th of July with some friends. Good friends of ours parents own a cabin on the lake and have a boat so we went out with them on Saturday and came back Sunday. We left Callie on her first over night trip with the grandparents!

We went out on the boat Saturday afternoon. The weather was overcast but it was still fun to be on a boat and at the lake. We grilled out at the cabin and played Cranium during the rain. When the rain let up we headed down to the boat ramp and let off fireworks. It was nice that the rain let up because the boys would have been dissapointed if they couldn't play with explosives! You should have seen how happy they were to be setting off fireworks. I have to admit, for an amiture show it was pretty good!

David playing with one of the couples dog. She loved the water!

Chatting with the girls

The boys spent at least an hour skipping rocks

Our friends and Rocky (the boxer)

Honeymoon

We went to Sandals Dunn River in Jamaica for our honeymoon. It was wonderful! It was an all inclusive resort so we didn't have to pay for anything. We made payments on our trip before we left so while you are there you feel like everything is free. The weather was overcast but still warm and we still got some sun. Here are some pictures of the exciting things we did on our honeymoon.

Scuba Diving

My Hubby and I

Dunn's River Falls

Callie- our new addition to our new family

David and I drove down to Alabama on Monday to pick up the most adorable puppy ever. Why Alabama you ask? Well Brittany's are used as hunting dogs so they are only bred in places where people hunt phesants, quail, and other birds like that. Alabama has a big quail hunting population so Brittany's are bred there. We spent several days looking on the internet for the perfect puppy and we found her in Alabama. So anyways, David and I headed down Monday and stayed in a hotel Monday night. Tuesday morning we picked up the puppy and made the long drive home with her in her crate in the back. She did so good! She didn't cry, bark, wine, throw up, or have an accident! Here is a picture of Callie with her sisters. She is the one closest to the camera.

We decided on the name Callie on the ride home.

This morning she started to whine around 4:30 am so David got up with her and took her outside. Then I woke up at 7 am to feed her and let her out of her crate. At first she was wimpering but now she is playing up a storm! She even fit a tennis ball in her tiny little mouth! Here are some pictures of her playing this morning.

Honeymoon pictures will be coming soon!

One Week

Wow, well I get married in one week! I can not believe how fast it has come. I feel like it was just yesterday that David proposed and we announced it to our family and friends. Now it is hundreds on days later and we are down to 7 days. Last Sunday I was at church and I looked at my mom and thought that I won't be here until rehersal and wedding weekend. That is when it really hit me. Tonight is my bachlorette party in Louisville. I am driving up with some friends and we are meeting at a friends parents house who lives up there. We are doing dinner, games, and other festivities. My maid of honor got me a shirt that says BRIDE on the front in rhinestones and on the back it says Future Mrs. Ames. I am not sure what bottoms or shoes I will wear with it so I will have to try on several options. My friend, Alyssa, did a practice wedding day make-up earlier this week with Mary Kay products so today I am going to practice. Hopefully I can do it too!

Timeline

• 4 days of school left
• 7 days until I get married
• 8 days till I go on my honeymoon
• 11 hours until my bachlorette party

Wow is all I can say!!

Wedding Hair

The veil will be be farther back then it is in the picture. It will sit closer to the curls so it is not so puffy on the top.

A french twist with curls on the top.

Grad Class

I just finished my graduate course portfolio! Yahoo, now all I have to do is drive it to Georgetown after school tomorrow and I will be finished with this course! Now all I have to do is focus on school and wedding plannin!!! On Saturday I am going for to my hair dresser for a wedding day hair run through with my veil. Then I am off to my cousins so my aunt can fix the bussel on my wedding dress. I will put up pictures!

Gall Bladder Out = Blahh

Okay so I jumped the gun on my first post about my gall bladder. I think I was still heavily medicated which is why I felt so good because once the meds wore off so did my good feelings toward the surgery. On Tuesday I felt okay until the evening when I got this awful attack of pain. They had to pump m stomach with air so they could get to my gall bladder- well this means that I get gas bubbles that travel up my right side to my shoulder. They hurt and bring me to tears. Our dog, Macy, has been sitting with me and every time I cry she goes crazy. She straddles me and gets close to my face and makes noises. She is being protective. Wednesday was a little better but I couldn't eat anything because I was so nauseous. I got the attack again twice Wednesday night. Thursday was the worst day so far. I woke up feeling sick, stayed awake for an hour and then slept for two more hours. I took more pain medicine and felt okay but still could not eat anything. While on the medicine on Thursday I was able to go to the cake place and finalize wedding cake details and go to Walmart and pick up pictures. David came over and we went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to add things to our registry (it is my favorite thing to do!). When we came home I was tired and started to not feel good again. Thursday night was rough. The thing is I don't want to take my pain meds because they make me tired and I can't think straight but when I don't take them I hurt. As long as I am taking my pain medicine I am not allowed to drive, so by Monday I have to be off of them to be able to teach. I guess I thought I would be able to recuperate fast but I was wrong. I am calling the doctor today to see if they can prescribe more nausea medicine because I was not nausea Monday and Tuesday but Wednesday to now has been bad. All I have eaten all week is toast and pretzels. I have been able to get grad school assignments done, which is a positive.

Wedding things I have accomplished this week:
1.) Picked up garter, pen, and unity candle (Wed. my mom and I went)
2.) Finalized cake details at Tinkers- 3 tired square cake with watermelon colored ribbon on the bottom of each tire and fresh pink and yellow rose petals all around the cake. David's grooms cake is in the shape of a baseball hat (Minnesota Twins Logo) on a home plate.
3.) Finalized the guest list
4.) Started getting every one's addresses
5.) On Sunday my mom and I went shopping and I got my jewelry for my wedding dress, 3 dresses for events/honeymoon, and 1 skirt.
6.) Wedding Invitations have arrived!!! I ordered black bows for the tops of the invitations so I am still waiting on those to arrive.

Gall Bladder Taken Out

Here is a picture of the four holes I know have in my abdomen. I have to keep the gauze on until Thursday. Here is my day:

• 5:20 got up and ready for surgery
• 6:30 left the house
• 7:00 signed in a registered
• 7:30 took me back and put the iv in. Now this is the part I hate the most because it is always an ordeal to get an iv in my arm/hand. The nurse tried my hand first but it didn't work so then she tried my arm and it went in on her second try. She did a good job and it didn't hurt that much.
• 7:45 met the anesthesiologist and he told me that recovery is about 2 hours. I started to get nervous because I don't recover well. I always get sick from the anesthetics. He put a patch behind my ear and loaded me up with nausea medicine.
• 7:50 a nurse anesthetics gave me medicine to relax. She said it would make me laugh and smile but my mom said within 10 seconds of taking the medicine through my iv I was asleep.
• 8:00 took me back. One doctor rubbed my arm while the other put me to sleep. They said that they were sorry for waking me up just to make me sleep again. Then they put the mask on my face and that is all I remember.
• ???? woke up in recovery. I did not get sick!!!! No throwing up or anything! It was wonderful. I woke up in pain and groggy but I would take that over nausea any day. My mom was with me. The nurse let me sleep longer and then woke me up to eat a cracker. She said once I ate and went the bathroom I could go home. My mom helped me get dressed and rolled me into a different room. I then got nausea so they gave me smelling stuff to help.
• I went home and slept until 1:30- waking up occasionally. David came over after class and sat with me for several hours. I floated in and out of sleep.
• My stomach hurts because they had to stretch it out but other than that I feel so much better than I thought. I was expecting to have a rough recovery but so far it has been okay.
• I can not eat anything that is greasy, fatty, or spicy for ten days. I am not aloud to do anything strenuous (no more gym) until after April 14th. I have to get up and walk 2-3 times a day.
• My wonderful mom bought me flowers and is taking excellent care of me!!!
  

My Wonderful Weekend

I had a wonderful weekend!

Friday

On Friday night David and I played Trivial Pursuit and watched a movie with a couple friend of ours. The first time we played Trivial Pursuit we stunk now that we have played it a couple of times now, I actually get questions right!

Saturday

My mom and I went to my cousins house for lunch and bussel fixing session. I am wearing my cousins wedding dress and I don't have to get it hemmed or anything because it fits perfectly! The only thing that has to get fixed is the bussel. My aunt (the mom of the cousins whose dress I am wearing) is an excellent seamstress so she is going to fix the bussel for me. My mom and I brought lunch and had a wonderful afternoon with family. I got to try on the dress again, which is always fun, and my aunt went to work. She was not able to fix it because she did not have the right hooks so we are going to get together again to finish.

My mom is in the yellow, then me, then my cousin, and my aunt

Working on the dress (nice socks)

Saturday night David and I went to Applebees to celebrate a friends birthday and then we went to his parents house and got in their hot tub. It felt so nice, I was totally relaxed!

Sunday

After church I went to my parents house and had lunch with my mom. Then we went to David's Bridal to look at veils. I tried on several and then had to narrow it down to two. That was the hard part!

Veil 1

Veil 2

I chose Veil 2!

Then my mom and I went to Shoe Carnival and I got my white wedding shoes and a pair for my cousins wedding. It was a fun wedding planning afternoon!

Later that afternoon I went with David to the mall and helped him pick out new clothes.

Now I have spent a good half hour or more posting so I am going to bed!