Double Date

Tonight we went out to eat with Julie and Guy. We went to as Julie referred to it - our constant standby - Chili's. This seems to be where we always end up.
Afterwards we went to Java on the Square to get drinks. I had a german chocolate drink which was SO good. There was a live band there singing Christian songs.

Julie and Guy

Me and Julie

Us

Afterwards we walked around the square to look at the lights but it was cold and starting to sprinkle so we got in the car and drove around a little to look at lights. I just love this time of year! I can't believe tomorrow is December.

Pretty Presents in a Row

I got these cute little present boxes today at one of my favorite stores, the Purple Armadillo. I think they look cute in my kitchen (except for the tacky lamp cord behind them which is normally covered up by vases)(ha!).
Oddly enough, I knew two people today who were having heart valve surgery. One is a man at church who sings in the choir with me and his wife and I are good friends and the other is a sweet blog friend, Tiffani. Thankfully - they both came out okay. I know they both had a lot of people praying for them. God is good!

Early Birthday Present

This week when Scott's mom and I went shopping at some stores in Magnolia - I saw this plate and just loved it. I almost bought it for myself and then decided not to because I need to buy Christmas presents for others instead. But when I was coming home on Sunday, I was wishing I would have gone back and bought it.
So imagine my surprise when there was a big box on my door this afternoon and inside was a pretty wrapped gift with a tag that said "early birthday present - open now". So cute!

Biggest Loser

Tonight after we ate dinner and I put up one of our trees - Scott and I went to the gym to work out. It's been so long since I've been there that I didn't even know how to sign in (they have changed things). And when I put on my tennis shoes, Dawson got so excited because he thought we were either going for a walk or going to the park (the only times I ever put on tennis shoes).
So now after we take showers - we are going to sit down and watch "Biggest Loser". Maybe it will motivate me to go to the gym again!

Today's Little Bits of Happiness

Well, it's been a big day here around hogland. Apparently we are getting a new coach. Nutt resigned at 6:30 tonight. Word is he is going to Ole Miss. Although I am happy he is leaving and we will hopefully get a coach who's playbook is a little bigger than a napkin - I do think Coach Nutt loved this job and the Razorbacks more than any coach ever will and I do believe he loved all of his players (except maybe a few from Springdale). Anyway - I kind of felt sorry for him in his resignation speech........it was very good.
So onto other things...... I have begun the holiday decorations. Here is a little sneak peek at what I've done so far. I haven't even brought the trees down from the attic yet. That will hopefully be tomorrow night. It's looking like it's going to be the end of the week before I'm done.

My stocking - probably my favorite decoration. I LOVE our stockings! (you'll see the others later) (Yes we have FIVE)

A little something I put together tonight.

Hope your Monday after Thanksgiving was equally as happy!

A very Southern Thanksgiving

We just returned from spending the holiday with Scott's family in Magnolia. We had a very nice thanksgiving. We got there late Wednesday night. Thursday we packed up all the food and took it out to their deer camp. They have a bunch of land about 30 minutes away where they go to hunt and his cousins met us there and we ate a big lunch. We stayed out there all day. They guys watched the Cowboys game in the afternoon and Scott's mom and I took a 2 hour nap. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being out in the woods.

Scott and his dad and Dawson riding his dad's new "mule"

Scott's dad getting ready to fill his plate for lunch

Scott's mom and his little cousin Drew

Oh yes- that is me wearing camo ( for the first time)

Scott and his dad played a little football later in the day

A family friend comes each year from Florida to hunt for a week and he finally got a deer (a baby one I might add) that night. So I got to witness my first dead deer and he also proceeded to skin the deer right outside the patio doors. I'm pretty sure Dawson and I are scarred for life after that. I think we both had nightmares.

On Friday morning - Scott and his dad went hunting while his mom and I went shopping. We ate lunch and came home and watched the hogs beat the #1 LSU tigers!!!! I still haven't recovered from that win. It was just unbelievable. I wish I could have been in Baton Rouge. After the game, we met some more of Scott's relatives for fried catfish. YUM!

Scott's dad and his dad's brother have a family farm and his dad has been raising chickens for over 40 years but he is raising his very last batch of chickens so Scott went with him to photograph him in the chicken house with his last bunch of chickens.

Yesterday we went and ate some really good BBQ and then Scott's mom and I napped and watched movies while Scott and his dad went back to the deer camp. Then we ate some good soup and pie for dinner and watched more football.

Deer hunting, Catfish, BBQ, football, and pie..........I would say that's a very southern thanksgiving!

Still thankful.......................

I left this family out of the picture college (I thought they were included) and I had to do a separate post because they are one of the things we are most thankful for. I'm so thankful to have a friend who is closer than a sister and a sweet baby who I love like she was my own. And Scott is very thankful for Steve's friendship.

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow afternoon we are headed down to L.A. (lower Arkansas) to spend the holidays with Scott's family. So this will be my last post for a while.
But I would be remiss if I didn't stop and count my blessings.

These are the things I'm most thankful for this year:

My sweet husband that God hand picked for me

My wonderful parents who have love me almost as much as they love God

My sweet in-laws

Having a house to live in - I'm so thankful just to have a roof over my head as I go to bed each night

This cute little ball of fur

Our wonderful church and church staff

My job

All of the wonderful friends that God has blessed me with ........and all the ones who aren't pictured here. This is probably one of the best treasures I have. I am so thankful for all of the very special people that God has allowed me to be friends with. They make my life so rich!
(I'm thankful for all my new blog friends too and letting me read about your life!)

I'm also thankful for my health, for being able to live in America, for having plenty of food to eat and plenty of clothes to wear, and the list could go on forever. What are you most thankful for this year?

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thes 5:18

Turkey

Guess who got a haircut today and a cute orange scarf and is ready to start eating some turkey?

Where is Martha Stewart when I need her?

I decided to postpone my holiday decorating for a week - even though I feel very pressured to have it done right now. :-) Since we were gone all day yesterday and church most of today - I just needed some time of rest and to catch up. I can start the week after Thanksgiving.
But I did start making this little wreath that I'm going to hang in my living room for a little whimsy. I still have to put balls all on the side of the wreath.
But I need help from all of you creative people. I am going to need something to fill in the gaps and cover up the foam wreath - what should I use? I was thinking maybe some red or green tinsel? Any better ideas?

Who let the Dawgs Out?

Today we traveled down to Little Rock with our friends Nathan and Elizabeth to watch the Hogs vs the Dogs. We left early so we could stop by and visit Elizabeth's cousin at Children's hospital who had surgery this week. And then we needed to have a quick lunch so we ended up somehow eating at Wendy's in the GHETTO. That was quite an experience but we made it out alive.
The game was great. Great weather, we won, and it was Nutt's last game coaching in Arkansas. We ran into our friend Kacy (who's husband is a Miss St grad but he had to miss the game due to work - I'm thinking he's probably glad) and the Nortons!
After the game - we went and ate at Macaroni Grill and it was SO good.
We had such a fun day and did a lot of laughing on our drive to Little Rock and back. Scott and Nathan did a lot of imitations for us to keep us rolling.

Nathan and Elizabeth (I think I've talked Elizabeth into starting her own blog - so keep an eye out!)

Scott and I before we devoured our Penne Rustica

We had a great waitress, Nina, who Elizabeth made friends with and she took our picture!

Decor8

So I put up only one decoration tonight. The rest will have to wait until Sunday afternoon or Monday. I got this swag at Hobby Lobby and it's hard to tell in the pictures but it goes great in our family room.

I'm not going to show many Christmas decorations until December 17th - because that is when Boomama is having her annual tour of homes. If you don't know about this - this is how I originally found Boomama and really got into blogging. A year and a half ago - I read my first real blog and they linked over to her because she was having a tour of homes.
On that day - she will have a post and you can put a link to your blog showing your home all decorated for Christmas. And then anyone who comes may visit your blog and the most fun - is you will get to "tour" homes of hundreds of women. It's SO interesting! It will literally eat away hours from me in December because I love looking through them all. So you will have to mark that day to feature your home and to visit other homes! SO exciting!

Tis The Season

Today at lunch I went to Hobby Lobby (LOVE that place) and got a couple of Christmas decorations on half price. I think I will start decorating tomorrow night. Maybe even tonight.

Then I went to Sam's to buy our pallets of diet coke and picked up this (Sam's sells magazines for 30% off the cover price - yeay!). It has a ton of holiday decorating ideas and recipes that sound scrumptious!
So - yes - I am now in the spirit. I was also driving around listening to a CD of our choir Christmas music that I am hoping I will know by the time we sing.

Oh - it's beginning to look a LOT like Christmas!

Random Facts

A girl, a boy, and a Pug tagged me with this. I'm supossed to list out 7 random things about myself. Don't Judge me! ha!

Here's the rules:Link to the person that tagged you.

Share 7 random or weird facts about yourself.

Tag 7 people with their links at the end of the post then scout them out and let them know they've been tagged (I may or may not do this step - so if you reading this and I tagged you - surprise!)

Here goes:

1. I hate eggs (they make me gag), milk (ditto) and hot dogs (double ditto).

2. I don't like talking on the phone. If I know you and never call you - don't be offended - I am just not a phone person. I prefer e-mail. This is true in my personal and business life. Honestly, I would rather have to eat eggs than call someone I don't know well.

3. I weigh myself EVERY day at least twice a day (first thing in the morning and last thing at night) and have as long as I can remember. You would think I would be skinny or have an eating disorder - but no - I just like to know how much I weigh. Even if it makes me shudder in horror.

4. I have always had a secret desire to be a waitress. I've never been one and probably never will be but I want to be one so bad. And I think I would make a really good one. Maybe one day.......

5. I have to make the bed every morning no matter what. I can't stand an unmade bed. It's the first thing I do every morning. I'm a freak about it. I used to hate Sunday mornings because I went to church before Scott and when we got home - our bed was never made. Sometimes he would surprise me and make it. He loves me.

6. I can not keep plants alive to save my life. I have a black thumb. Scott gets mad at me because every plant I get dies. It would help if I would ever remember to water them.

7. Most people know this but my hair is 100% gray. And has been since I was 25. Bless my hairdresser for keeping me from looking like an old woman. I just wish I had all the money back that I have spent coloring it. We could buy a second home in Hawaii.

Don't feel pressured to do this - but if you have a little time......I tag Hillary, Meredith, Jessica, Megan, Rachel, Tiffani, and Pink Mommy.

Sprucing Up

This is how I spent my Sunday afternoon - I re-mulched our landscaping. I don't know what made me want to do it. It could be because it is the middle of November and it was in the mid 70's. Also, all the work we did in April was starting to look a little shabby and I just wanted our house to look nice going into the holiday season and winter. So I spent all afternoon spreading out mulch. We use black mulch and it stained my hands. They still look horrible. Oh well - it's worth it.
And speaking of going into the holiday season - I'm trying to figure out when I'm going to decorate for Christmas. I hate to do it too early (although I have friends who already have their trees up and TWO of my neighbors now have lights on their houses) but we will be out of town Thanksgiving and when we get back - December will be in full force and I have something going on nearly EVERY day. So I'm thinking this weekend I will have two goals - to take our Christmas picture and get my cards ordered and to decorate our house. That way when we get back from Thanksgiving - Christmas is here! Luckily I am about 80% done with my Christmas shopping so I can leisurely finish that in the next few weeks.
When are you decorating????

High Profile

All of my life, one of my most very favorite things has been the Sunday newspaper. And this is really for only one reason. High Profile (the Arkansas society section). I love reading about parties and seeing all the brides and the new junior league class and the debutantes. And the other great thing is they always feature one prominent Arkansan on the front page and write a story about them and then over to the right is a box with "high profile questions". When I was in college (before e-mail) during the summers - Laurie and I would always write each other letters and we always cut out the high profile pictures and answered them for ourselves - just to make each other laugh.

So for kicks - I thought I would answer yesterday's High Profile questions. (I merged the Little Rock version and the NWA version)I tag any one who reads this to answer these questions for yourself!

Date and place of birth: December 22, 1973. Dallas, TX

Family: husband Scott and Dawson the dog

My greatest weakness is: trying to be a people pleaser

I have a yearning for : becoming a mother

The modern convenience I’d most like to do without is: Texting

Favorite sports figure: Peyton manning

If I’ve learned one thing in my life: God’s timing is perfect

If I could change one thing about myself: I would be less shy

The turning point of my life was: Getting married and joining the church we are in.

All-time favorite movie: Steel Magnolias

My favorite place in Arkansas is Fayetteville

The four people I would invite to my fantasy dinner party are: Paula Deen, Beth Moore, Susan Goss (a lady in my church) and Laurie

The menu for my last meal would be: Steak, hashbrown casserole, and my mam-ma’s chocolate pie

One word to sum me up: Blessed

Adventures in Baby Sitting

Tonight Scott and I kept Emily so her parents could have a night out. We had a great time. Her favorite thing was when I sat her in front of Scott's Mac and we took pictures and made videos. I realize I sound crazy in this video - but I thought she looked so cute and I know her mom and Mimi will appreciate it!

Weekend Part 1

Last night we had a "Guess who's coming to dinner" dinner for Sunday School. They divide us up into a few homes and we are told what house to go to and what to bring and the hosts are told what to make but not who is coming. So we went to a new couple's house who we had never met. We have been in a special class for the last 10 weeks so there are a few couples who have come recently that we haven't met yet. Laurie and Steve were there also and so were Robert and Lindsey - some other friends. We had chili and dessert and then we played a game - Rate your Mate. It was a lot like the Newlywed game - pretty fun. Scott and I came in 2nd place so that we were happy about that.
Today we met some friends at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the game. Some of our friends are Mississippi State fans and they were playing Alabama at the same time we were playing Tennessee so we were able to watch both games.

Needless to say - the Miss St fans were happy.....

And the AR fans were not..........

So anyway........FIRE NUTT!

New Digs

This has been kind of a slow blogging week because there is just not much going on out of the ordinary. But you know that you are way into blogging when your husband e-mails you during the day and says "Kelly's Korner needs an update". Ha!
So far the highlight of my day today was I finally went to the new T J Maxx in town! It opened on Saturday and I've held out until Thursday - pretty good. I'm so excited that I can have some lunchtime escapes to T J Maxx now! Oh how I love that place!
The only other exciting thing happening this week is due to some changes at work - I am getting a new office! We have to have a domino effect of moves because I am moving into the the only empty office and then someone will move into mine and so on and so forth. So I'm going to try and start moving this afternoon and tomorrow.
Below is what my new office looks like now. I'll post an "after" picture once I'm fully settled. It's pretty blah right now. Any suggestions on how to make it look like home? I wish I could paint the walls. I have a feeling if it was Jessica - she would have stripes or diamonds in there in a flash!

MOOOOOOOOOO

A lady in my office sent out some pictures today from when we went to Maryland. This picture made me laugh because the first thought I had was "which one is the cow?" (I really need to diet).
And I also like the way the cow is kind of looking off rolling her eyes like "why is this girl talking to me in baby talk?"