The 6th Picture

I was tagged twice, but only going to do once

The Rules:
Go to the pictures folder on your computer
Choose your 6th file
Choose your 6th picture
Tell us about it
Tag 6 more people

This picture is from right before Cal got home from Iraq. I was the FRG leader and this is a picture of us working on the Welcome Home Banners. I thought we had the best one=) It said "It isn't everyday that your blessed to witness the homecoming of Heroes" Then all the family members submitted photos to me of their family and I printed it on t-shirt transfer paper and put them on the banner.

Ha, I look at this pic, and I am such a multi-tasker=)

I am not tagging anyone, If you want to particpate, knock yourself out=)

Because Misty said I had nothing better else to do

What is his name? Cal

How long have you been together? 5 1/2 year

How long did you date? about 1 1/2 years

How old is he? 36

Who eats more? depends on what we are eating=)

Who said I love you first? I did

Who is taller? Cal

Who sings better? def. Cal, I can clear a room if I sing

Who is smarter? depends, usually me unless it is about weapons, military, or history then Cal is the genius

Whose temper is worse? Mine

Who does the laundry? unfortunately me

Who does the dishes? Cal

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? looking at the bed......me

Who pays the bills? Cal makes the money, I pay

Who mows the lawn? mainly me

Who cooks dinner? unless we eat cereal, that would be me

Who drives when you are together? Cal

Who is more stubborn? we both are

Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? Cal, I am never wrong=)

Whose parents do you see the most? my mom, thank goodness

Who kissed who first? we both kissed each other

Who asked who out? it was mutual

Who proposed? he did and it was an awesome presentation

Who is more sensitive? of course me, I am a chick

Who has more friends? Me

Who has more siblings? I do

Who wears the pants in the family? Cal says I do

Places I've worked
1. St. Andrews Place
2. Timber ridge
3. i forgot the names of the other places

Movies I can watch over and over:
1. Dirty Dancing
2. Sweet Home Alabama
3. Stand By Me

Places I've lived:
1. San Antonio
2.Hawaii
3.Virginia
4.Port Angeles, WA
5. McKinleyville, CA
6. Eureka, CA
7. El Paso, TX

Favorite t.v. shows:
1- Survivor
2. Criminal Minds
3. My Big Redneck Wedding
4. Comedy lineup on Mondays
5. NCIS
6. Antiques Roadshow

Places I've been:
1. France
2. Canada
3. Florida

Favorite foods:
1. most Hawaiian food
2.French fries
3.dark chocolate
4.good tortillas

Places I'd rather be:
1. camping
2. the lake house
3. on vacation somewhere

Weird things about me
1. I am missing 2 adult teeth.....never had them
2. I can touch my tongue to my nose
3. I have become a smartass since being with Cal
4. I know the alphabet phonetically

I tag whoever wants to

Desert Sunset

At times I miss being on the ocean and seeing the coastal sunsets, but I have to say that desert sunsets are some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I was cleaning up in the kitchen last night and the whole neighborhood had this pink hue. I went into the backyard and this is what I saw...

Open Mouth.....Insert Foot

No, not me!=) So Cal invited over two of the guys that he works with on Tuesday night for dinner, and one of the guys (we'll call R) brought his wife (who we'll call L). They are such an awesome group of people and it was so nice to finally meet meet. Well one of the reasons that R is on rear-detachment with Cal is because he is undergoing treatment for testicular cancer. Cal had told me this and also he may not be able to have children "naturally". He does have sperm collected somewhere when they do decide to have children. Poor guy is my age. So I had completely forgot that Cal had told me about his condition. R, L, and I were inside chatting while Cal was BBQing and L was just all over Alexis.....so of course I was like "when and are you guys going to have children." There was an awkward silence that I didn't realize about until later. They had just responded that they were still enjoying the married life and maybe in a couple of years. When they were leaving Cal cracked a "ball joke" to R and it hit he about why he couldn't have children. ****banging fist against head***** Leave it to me say something like that=)

I was happy though that Cal has finally brought work friends home that have no drama. Some of these couples I have met have such issues. Plus it is a nice perk that L works for a company based out of Houston which is the largest alcohol distributors in El Paso currently. We celebrated with a few awesome bottle of wine that night. I was wondering my head hurt yesterday morning.

On another note, Alexis has been doing well in her new bed. She loves her room. She went back to her room yesterday and I hadn't seen her in a little while, so I went back to check on her. She was just chilling and hanging out in her bed. it was so cute. Nap times are still a bit of a challenge because she wants to get up and play with all her toys. She did take a nap by herself the other day, but I have bee having to in there and lay with her and rub her head and back until she goes to sleep. But she has been sleeping great at night, so no complaints there.

Other than that, not much else going on.

Oh that makes me remember about the day of the BBQ. What crazy weather we had.....it was snowing and was crazy windy. Well I was at home Tuesday afternoon getting ready for the BBQ and I look out the window in the kitchen towards the backyard......what do I see.....the lid to a BBQ, and it wasn't ours. So I go outside and was peeking over the fences to see whose it might be. It belonged to our backyard neighbor, diagonally across from us in the back. Their house also sits on a downward slope from our house. That was one huge gust of wind that sent that lid soaring to our yard. I took it back tot he guy yesterday and he was laughing about it. Crazy!

Okay, I think that is all.....until next time

Alexis' Room

We finally got her room done! I still need to get an area rug for the middle part. Because as you can see we have lovely light beige carpet. I was still going to wait until next weekend to put it all together, but Cal wanted to do it yesterday. Well he wanted to do it, but guess who put everything together=)
Alexis just absolutely loved it. We put her in her pack and play for her nap in our room, while we finished hanging everything up and when she woke up, she did not want to leave her room. I told Cal we should rearrange her room every couple weeks, instead of buying her new toys.
She also went to bed great. Put her down and didn't here a peep from her. I was a little worried she would be scared of the "big bed", but I swear this child will sleep in any bed. We'll just have to wait until nap time today. I am afraid since she can get out of her bed, she'll decide to play with her toys instead=) I'll keep you posted

View from first walking in the room. The quilt hanging on the wall is the one my aunt made that I was designing the room around

Her bed still looks a little bear. They didn't have the matching shams for the quilt at the store, so those will be ones that I will make in the next week or so

I had originally had her name on her wall and painted green above her crib. Luckily the green still matched so I just painted in the flowers

These are the signs I made

She is so happy to be in her "Big Girl" bed

I Love Sales!

All I have to say is, "Yeah for me." I went out this morning to get Alexis' bedding. Actually, I was only going to buy some sheets and a mattress pad. Well I went to Target and they were having a huge a sale. Originally, I was going to make her a duvet cover for the comforter we already had, because I couldn't find exactly what I had in my mind. Well, as I browsing around, they had a beautiful quilt that matches the colors in her room exactly........AND it was 50% off. Same with her sheets and a set of cute bins I bought for the room. I also had to get her a toy. We haven't bought one for her for a while and they had this cute pink shovel and rake set. I know she'll get good use out of it in the backyard. I also got her a little outdoor chair that happens to match our patio furniture we have. I will be sure to take and post pictures of her with her new toys=)
I also found curtains that matched, but they were also on sale, but they didn't have the size I need. I was thinking about it though and I may still make those. Hopefully we will be doing her bedroom next weekend. I am so excited. I love projects=)

Computers Suck.....sometimes

Wow, what a crazy week. Sorry I have not been online much. Gotta love computer viruses, or whatever the heck I got. For the most part, I am pretty anal about keeping info off my computer, but when something happens to your computer, like mine, it is amazing to realize how much info I actually kept on my computer that I may have lost. Thank goodness all my photos were saved. We as a society rely so much on computers. i.e. when my computer went down I called a few services places to see who could fix it. I found one place and called the man. I had asked where the store was, and he was like here is the address, can you mapquest it. Um Hello, I don't have a computer to look that up. It made me think about all my bills also. I have switched to getting all my statements online to "be green" and save on that service charge companies are charging to send bills now. If I don't have a computer I can't get to my bills. Luckily, for that one, I do have all the account information on all bills, insurance, etc. typed out and put in our safe. But it is crazy, like I said before, how much we rely on computers. Well enough about that,

Alexis had her first tumbling class yesterday. She was so freaking cute and had a blast. She was one of the few kids that threw a fit because the class was over and we had to go. And she crashed and took an awesome nap afterwards. I don't have pics, because I had to be so involved and help her do all the tasks. Hopefully, Cal will be there next week to take pics of her.

Oh, I am excited, Alexis' bed came in yesterday.....about a week sooner than planned. I still to get a few more things and make some stuff, but hopefully her room should be done in a couple weeks. I am so excited. I think I am so excited because Cal is the decorator for the house. He did everything, decorating wise, so I think I am happy that I have my own project=) He'll have to hang all the pictures, because I have an issue of always hanging pictures too high=)

Well I'll close this up with a pic of Alexis and her new beanie. No, i didn't make it. I know a few people have asked where I got it at. You can find at www.etsy.com and search for the Portland Beanie Company. She makes such cute hats. A little spendy, but you have to splurge on your child every once in a while. She is so funny with this hat. She loves it. Last night she saw it sitting on the counter and wanted to wear it all night before she went to bed=)

The Weekend

Not much going on here. Saturday was very uneventful. Cal had to work from 3am-7am and then back to work from 4pm-7pm. Alexis and I stayed in our PJ's until about 3pm, when I decided to get dressed and be somewhat productive=)

Sunday we went to a Gun Show. The did some stuff around the house. I had to stain all these wood pieces that I am painting on for Alexis' room. Oh, I found a bed, finally. I don't have a pic, but I think I will keep what it looks like a surprise until I finish her room=) I told Cal I want to have everything for her room before we put it together. I think we are heading to Target this week to get sheets, mattress cover, toy box, and maybe a rug. Our carpet in this house is light beige and where she plays in her room is looking worn, so a nice area rug should work.

Oh, I also wanted to share this awesome recipe I found, but then adjusted it to how I like it.

Baked Broccoli

(Amount of ingredients is adjusted to how much broccoli you use)

Fresh broccoli, cut into chunks

Olive oil

Lemon Juice

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan cheese

Put broccoli in zip lock bag. Coat and toss with Olive oil. Toss in lemon juice, to your taste. Let sit for 30 minutes. Drain out excess marinade, and toss with salt, pepper, and cheese to coat. Layer on baking sheet and bake at 400 for 10-13 minutes. Depending on how crunchy or mushy you like broccoli.

This was yummy!

Well I will leave you with some pictures of Alexis from yesterday.

Ouch!

My body is killing me today! At the gym I go to, they are now offering a new "aerobics" class called Bootcamp. I tried it out yesterday and am paying for it today. I do aerobics and spinning classes 4X a week, plus walking with Alexis throughout the week, but this workout made me aware of muscles I never knew I had=) Unfortunately, I can only attend this class 1 X a week, so hopefully I won't be this sore every week after taking this class.

Not much else going on here. I have some FRG training I have to attend this morning. I have already taken the classes, but I took them online when Alexis was 2-3 weeks old......so my mind was completely on the task at hand. I am actaully doing the classroom classes this time around. It is nice though, because they provide free childcare and it is a way to get out and have a little adult interaction without Alexis. It is a nice little break.

I also got Alexis enrolled in a Mommy and Me tumbling class called Wiggles and Giggles. I love that name. We will be go every Tuesday in Feb. I will be sure to take pics. Especially since for her to do the class she has to wear a leotard=) Should be cute.

Well the monster is waking up, so I better wrap up. Have a great day!

Furniture Shopping......again!

Aaarrhh! So the person that I tried to buy the bed that I posted previously about had already sold it. So I thought I would just get on Ikea website to buy the same bed. The bed was $170.......and shipping was about $250.......You have to be freaking kidding me! So that is a no go. So we went back out to my favorite stores (hint of sarcasm there) and Nothing! So Cal has decided he is going to try and make the bed. You have got to love the internet. I swear you can find anything that you want to make. So I'll let you know how that goes.

Not much else going on this weekend. Cal had a crazy weekend with work issues. All the guys in his brigade are at NTC (National Training Center) in Ft. Irwin, CA. With the wife issues we dealth with this weekend, I am so afraid for this upcoming deployment. I swear, I do not know what goes through these wive's minds. If they are freaking at right now wen their husbands are only gone one month, I can't imagine what they are going to do when they are gone 12 months. Only time will tell.

Well here are some projects I have been working on this week.

Here is a pic that I painted for Alexis' "new" room. I am doing a cute girly hawaiian theme. Mainly becuase I have this beautiful quilt my aunt made for me and I want that to be one of the highlights in the room. I have been looking at Hawaiian decor, and they are so expensive. This sign cost me $1.50 to make. Well I just had to buy the board, I already had all the paint. I am doing about 6 pictures like this, hanging ribbon off the top and doing a collage type wall piece.

Also, here is a pic of my homemade swiffer duster. This one actaully goes onto the Endust brand dusters. Easy to make and works great.

Furniture Shopping

Have I said how much I hate furniture shopping. The saleman can be worse than car salesman. Anyways, Cal and I went to a couple furniture stores yesterday trying to find Alexis a new bed. I actaully found one I loved at the Furniture Row, but it was bugging me that the bed alone cost $500 for a full size. Orginally I was going to find a twin bed for her, but Cal wants to get her a full sized one. Plus, if we get a full size bed we don't have to buy a mattress because we can use the mattress that is on our spare bedroom. We were planning on getting a daybed w/a trundle for the spare room anyways. Well it got a me a little frustrated the prices for beds. How can something that has so little amount of parts to it, be so expensive.

Well to my suprise, I come home and was looking at Craigslist. And low and behold, what do I find. A bed I was orginally looking at online through Ikea. A military family bought it a year ago and have now decided to buy a bigger bed. So they are selling this one, with the attachable nightstand for $100. Score! I am crossing my fingers and hoping the sale goes through.

Here is a picture of the bed (without the nightstand):

Here are some new pics of Alexis also. She was playing so cute in the backyard, but, as you can see in this picture, she runs to me when she sees I have the camera=) She couldn't get to me fast enough

Finally got one of her playing with the rocks

And this picture crack me up. She has the Little People animals stuck to her face. She looks a little annoyed in this picture, but she was actually loving it. Just squeeze the animals, apply to face, and they stick. I was doing at first on her stomach, but she liked them on her face. You should have seen the little red rings on her cheecks when we took them off. Oh BTW, don't mind her boy PJ's.

Pot Holder

So as promised, here is the picture of the wood hanging plant holder I will be making. Please do not mind my dead plants in the pots=) Planted them and then a really cold cold front came through and killed them. They will look nice in the spring when I replant new plants.

This plant holder is wonderful. It hold the terra cotta pots in place. Even with the super strong wind we get in El Paso, the pots stay in place. You are supposed to the terra cotta drip plates also, but all they had were the plastic ones at the store when I purchased them.

Also, went to the fabric store today and found the fabrics that I will be using to make Alexis' t-shirt quilt.

Alexis' Hat

Here is a hat that I had made for Alexis.

And Cassie, the pattern is McCall's #M5253 (Sorry it took so long, I just found the pattern)

Crafting Phase

So I have been in this crafting mood for the last couple of months. I am so afraid I am going to spend way too much money, but I have been enjoying it. I also haven't had that may "tools" to complete them, but now I am ready. Cal just got a work bench, saw, and jig saw so now I have the tools for my wood crafts. The main wood craft that I have wanted to make are these awesome plant holders. I will post a pic later of the one that I have that I want to make.

Cal also bought me a sewing table for Christmas. My sewing projects include ( I might add that if i get enough of these certain ones done in a large amount, I might try and sell at local craft fairs....I hope this doesn't make me sound like an old lady):

-Making a t-shirt quilt of all of Alexis' onesies that I love and some blankets. I found this fabric that you can put through your printer and then sew, so i think I will add one pic of each month up to 1 year of Alexis into the quilt. I am so excited about this one.

-I am redoing Alexis' room so I will be making her curatins, duvet cover, bed skirt, and pillows for the bed. I will probably make a lot of the wall hangings, since the ones I have found are not exactly what I had in mind or are way too expensive.

-Spa bags......filled with rice and can be microwaved or put into the freezers. Soothes achy muscles and can keep you super warm.

-Boppy covers

-I found a similar pattern, but I changed it to make Swiffer refils. Using microfiber cloth I can make the dusters that go onto the swiffer 360 handle and pads for the Swiffer Sweeper and Wet jet mop.

So those are projects I have going for now. Usually something new pops up here and there.


Just a side note, most people don't know that I self taught myself to sew, crochet and a bunch of other hobbies....mainly by using the internet to "figure it out". I think I may start adding some of my favorite craft links to this site. I also have a few sites that have a ton of sewing/knitting/crocheting patterns for free.

So as these projects progress, I will definitely post pictures.

2009 is going to be Crazy

Wow, 2009 is already starting out crazy!

Alexis had her 18 month well appt. last week. Everything is going good. She is 23.7 lbs and 33 inches long. According to her percentile she is tall and lean like daddy. I think she is creepy into that terrible two's stage. I have been having my work cut out for me=)

Cal went to back to work on Monday and we both have been adjusting back to it. His complaint...."I just can't get a snack anytime I want now." I am glad that is his only complaint. With him going back to work, I am getting back into working out. I have been doing an aerobics class then a yoga class on Monday and Friday and then on Wednesdays I have my spinning class, which I absolutely love. Alexis is in daycare while I work out. I am glad she is back in for a couple hours a week. I need that small break from her, as much as I am sure, she needs it from me. Plus, I think it helps so much in building up socialization skills and her immune system=)

And to add to the crazziness, Cal has volunteered me to be the Rear-Detachments FRG leader. I didn't really want to do it, but no one else is wanting to and the FRG is so important. For those that don't know what it is.....FRG stand for Family Readiness Group. It is a group for each company in the Army where the spouses get together to pass information and to support each other during deployments. Fortunately for me, Cal is not deploying this year becuase of his back, but he is now the head rear-d guy for his batallion. Rear detachment is a group of soldiers that stay at the homefront while the other soldiers deploy. Most of the time rear-d is made up of guys for various reasons cannot deploy (like Cal with his back). So overall, my job is to take care of the spouses whose husbands are on rear-d and also new guys checking into the Brigade. I'll have to orientate their spouses to the base, area, and Army lifestyle before their soldier deploys. I have my work cut out for me, but it will keep me busy and then when I do finally go back to work, it will look great on the resume.

Well to wrap up, here is a pic of Alexis and I at Chuck E Cheese's yesterday for a little girls birthday that we are in a playgroup with. Alexis was being a crank butt and didn't want to take this picture. And then I thought the pic was done being taken and looked up to see what it looked like, and as you can see the picture wasn't done being taken. I couldn't get Alexis to get another one done. So here is our end result

October through December

Sorry i have been terrible about updating this. I check it everyday, but have yet to sit for a few minutes and write.

This has been a busy last couple of months. To start, Cal had his back surgery at the end of October. They fused L4, L5, and S1. He was hurting for a while and still is, but he is doing a heck of a lot better. He has to go to PT 2X a week, which is helping him with his flexibily.

November brought Thanksgiving at our house. Cal parents and daughter flew in from Washington and his grandparent came from Arizona. It was a crazy week but we made it....barely=).

December brought Christmas. We drove through the night to San Antonio to my mom's house. Had a blast.

And now the New Year.

Here are some new pictures since my last post.

And Misty, I promise I will be better

Alexis helping Cal push his walker after surgery
Alexis with her 'Cheeseball Smile"

X-Mas Card
At Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio

Chillin'.....are you suprsied Daddy actually dressed her this cute=)

New Years Resolution

UPDATE BLOG=)