Almost 1 week!!

I have survived almost an entire week without him!

Welcome to the 20's...

Mike's birthday isn't until May 10th, but on that day he will be 20! All of us are now officially in their 20's... does that make you feel old Mom? Also, please note the tea light. We didn't have any candles so we improvised as best we could!

After we ate cake we played some more volleyball...

Then we blew up ant hills...

and had a fire...

and played with the shutter settings on my camera... here's Nick making a heart with a flashlight!

Kyle & I are leaving for some R&R at the Gulf of Mexico today! So I need to go get packed... thanks Madge :)

We are family....

I got all my brothers with me! This is me dancing because Mike & Nick are here! Mike is visiting from Augusta and Nick was here for cheerleading tryouts. :) It was a nice day so we played volleyball outside...

Kyle was really sweaty and tried hugging me.

Sheer frustration because he couldn't figure out how to hook up the net.

It rained a little. But was totally sunny... weird.

April Showers & May Flowers..

She got in a fight with chalk....
and lost...

I can't get enough!

I almost couldn't believe I didn't kill my poppies! Thanks for the advice Mom!!

With the torrential downpours & tornados we have had my flowers are still looookinnnn mighty fine.

Call Me Martha, Contessa, or Paula...

but don't call me the cookie monster. I've been slaving away in the kitchen for a few days making HOMEMADE cookie dough and frosting:

To make these beauties for Jenna & Jonathan's "Stock the Bar" shower I'm throwing with a few other girls...
Martini glass cookies - fit the theme, no? I also have some ideas for centerpieces for some tables outside... I've collected materials in a basket and here's a quick glimpse...

Woodchuck, Vino, Patron.... Hmmm... wonder what it could be!

Rock The Frock && Trash The Dress

Much to my mother's dismay I have been wanting to do a trash the dress session. What exactly is trash the dress?

Trash the dress, fearless bridal, and rock the frock refers to photography that contrasts elegant clothing with an environment in which it is completely out of place. It is generally shot in the style of glossy beauty and glamour photography.
Usually brides decide to have pictures taken on the beach, but possibilities are endless. City streets, rooftops, garbage dumps, fields, and abandoned buildings are only few examples of trash the dress session locations.
Some sources claim that the trend was originally started in 2001 by Las Vegas wedding photographer John Michael Cooper[1]. However, the idea of destroying a wedding dress has been used in Hollywood symbolically since at least October 1998 when Meg Cummings of the show Sunset Beach ran into the ocean in her wedding dress after her wedding was badly interrupted.
A model often wears a ball gown, prom dress or wedding dress[2], and may effectively ruin the dress in the process by getting it wet, dirty or in extreme circumstances tearing or destroying the garment.
It may also be done as an additional shoot after the wedding, almost as a declaration that the wedding is done and the dress will not be used again. It is seen as an alternative to storing the dress away, never to be seen again.

My favorite picture::::

I would love, Love, LOVE to do something like this during the summer time. Maybe if one of the bajillion friends would want to do it with me, I would want to do it more. Literally my wedding dress has been trapped in a closet (R. Kelly style) since 2006. Why not trash the dress???

I know I'm going to get emails from family about this - but seriously, what did you do with your wedding dress? I'm not going to preserve it for a christening gown, burp cloth, or my daughter...

With Love, Lulu & Boog

There was a good chunk of time a few weeks ago when Kyle was gone for training. The dogs told me that they missed him and I told them I missed him too, so we put our heads together and created a sahh-weet piece of art we knew Kyle would appreciate.

Luella & Bruiser got their paws dipped in black paint and walked all over a canvas we had laying around. I think it turned out pretty neat - and they agreed. Kyle liked it too!
Total cost for some pawfect, personalized art - ohh about 4 bucks.

:)

We're goin' to the chapel....

Literally, a bajillion of my friends are getting married. This summer I was going to move home since Kyle will be on "vacation" but there ain't no way in h-e-double hockey sticks I can possibly do that. Case in point:

These two. LOVE EM. Jonathan & Jenna. They are getting married June 20. I have a shower every other weekend until May 20th honoring them that I am attending. I'm not complaining folks, I love free food, wine, and opening presents and ain't missing one of these parties - plus I'm a bridesmaid!

Next, these two. Star & Kyle. She is like my sister, only the less hot version of me! HAHA!!! Literally we had identical measurements when we were measured for our b-maids dresses for the above wedding. They have decided they are getting married September 5 of this year and I'm a bridesmaid again. Lots of planning to do for that, can't miss out. (plus parties involving free food and wine)

Next these 3. They aren't marrying each other. the two on the left (Christopher & Katherine) are getting married July 11 of this year. Immediately after J&J. Can't miss this either because the reception is going to be at The River Club and the food is the b-o-m-b (plus I really like the bride!). Meghan, in the blue, is getting married October 24 of this year. I'm reading in that thing. Her lover is currently deployed (for the past like 8 months now!) More props to Meghan because after the wedding she will be moving here:

Fairbanks-friggin-Alaska, folks! And I will miss her dearly...

Lastly, there's these two. Kayla & Greg. They aren't quite sure when they are getting married and this doesn't effect me coming home this summer, but it's just to prove the point. I have a bajillion friends tying the knot.

Like I said, decisions, decision

I couldn't decide how I wanted to do the top to the dress I made, so I cute off the darned straps and created these little straps so it can be tied on! Honestly, this dress is a mess though - next time I'm heading to Joann's for an easy sew pattern for a toddler dress or something of that nature!

TGI Fridays...

When I think of TGI Fridays my chops water because I'm thinking of these:

Al's Fish Tacos. I want to leave right now and go eat some. Seriously, they are delicious people and if you like tacos I bet you would like these. My Mom would never try them because they are called fish tacos and she thinks that sounds disgusting. But, seriously Holly, they are mucho deliscioso!

Anywho, TGI Friday's is doing their Give Me More Stripes promo right now - you can go online and sign up for it. For signing up you get a free appetizer (I suggest the Jack Daniels Sampler) and a one time jump the line pass! This will work great when we are trying to eat out on a Saturday night with the other 10,000 people in Columbus wanting to eat at Fridays! So sign yourself up and get a free app. and enjoy eating some fish tacos!!! (seriously try them... uhh I want some NOW!)

Super Andrew!!!

It's not nice to give one kid a gift when they are just one of four kids in the house. I learned this lesson every time my Mom would freak out on someone who just brought me a present letting them know that Nick and Mike need something too! So, since I made Sarah a lovely shirt (she is one of four kids) I am making all three of her little brothers superhero capes. This is Andrew's! I hope he likes it :)

Dress to impress...

So... it's a little crooked but I don't think it's that bad for free
handing a pattern, my first time or first dress for that matter!! I'm not sure what I'm doing
about the top... Buttons? Snaps with bows? Hmmm.. decisions, decisions...I'm not sure who is
getting this yet either I might see if it fits Ava for the summer... if not, Baby Kate since she's growing like a WEED.. or maybe I will just keep it and throw it and all it's crookedness glory on my poor child. I just want it on a real human body so I can see how crooked it actually is. :)

Sew, you think can do it?

The desperate housewife inside me has wanted to take up sewing for a really long time. Ok, well since Christmas when my mother-in-law got a sewing machine. So not that long, but anyways I mentioned this to Jenna at lunch one day and she said that her fiance Jonathan had a sewing machine that he never uses! Perfect! Instead of buying one and hating it I figured I would borrow his and get crackin'...er....sewin'!

Sew far (catch the pun?!) I have done two t-shirts. One for Kyle's cousin's daughter Ella who is just OBSESSED with our dog Lulu....

Her own personal Luella t-shirt!

And I also whipped this up for my cousin Sarah...

I hope they like them!

Homeward Bound

Welcome to Corry, PA!

I'm here visiting while Kyle is away @ training in Indiana. This is the view of my parent's back yard. It's pretty, but I don't miss it at all!

Funny Stuff

First of all, this video is so funny. I don't know who I got the link from, but thanks because I laughed VERY, VERY, hard & know what little David was feeling since I just had my own trip to the dentist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

Second of all, I want to share this text message conversation with you that I had with Kyle today. I don't like to bother him a lot during the day while he is in training so I sent him a message and asked him what he was up to. This is what follows (word for word):

Alicia: Hey what are you doin?
Kyle: Eating at a local place called Nick's.
Alicia: Did you take out cash today?
Kyle: The cash is for lunch the done usual only takes it.
Alicia: Done usual?
Kyle: No I meant the truck only takes cash.
Alicia: I still don't get it. The truck?
Kyle: yeah a usual brings fond us pizza and other crap.
Alicia: Ok, I'm just stopping because I have no idea what you are talking about.

So, I'm here confused as ever about some usual truck that brings pizza? I mean, that's what I'm getting out of this conversation. Are you? This is reason # 9384962 I hate texting!

I'm in Pennsylvania & saw this little guy eating out of my grandmas
bird feeder! He's a cutie!