For Luke.

And always will be.

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

2010 has been a great year. I have a facebook friend who posted this status about the new year:

Not sure how 2011 will top 2010 but

I'm going to give it 365 chances to try!

I like it. And while 2010 has certainly been a good year, I can only hope that 2011 will be even better!

I hope 2011 brings lots of good things to you as well! Happy New Year!

I forgot how much I love Jack Johnson.

A few days ago, I found a CD I made a few years back. (This was after Christmas as I was putting away all my Christmas CDs - still makes me a little sad.) It's funny how songs can remind you of a particular point in your life. I made this particular CD while I lived in Texas. I can distinctly remember listening to it every morning and afternoon while sitting in traffic on my way to and from work. My life sure has changed a lot since that time but something that has not changed is my love for Jack Johnson songs.

Somehow, when I bought my current iPod, I lost a lot of songs (probably because I'm not the most computer-savvy person in the world). I used to have a ton of Jack Johnson songs on my iPod and now, well, I have none. And that's just going to have to change. His songs are lovely. And sometimes they make me sleepy - which is good because I should be sleeping right now. So I'll just leave you with this pretty little tune. Have a good night y'all!

As promised, some of my Christmas faves.

Like I said yesterday, I received so many great gifts for Christmas this year. My family and friends did an amazing job picking them out and I can't thank them enough! I would include more but alas, my photography skills just don't do them justice.

Anthro coat from Luke.



J. Crew cardigan from Mom and Anthro shirt from Luke.

Coach Poppy from Dad and Sherree.

  

Anthro sweater from Luke.

Loft necklace from Luke's brother, Brian and his fiance, AJ.



Cookbook from Luke.

Anthro apron from Luke.
(Think he's trying to send me a message with these last two?)

On top of this, my sister gave me a pair of diamond earrings. (I tried to photograph those, but the camera just wasn't cooperating.)

What are some of your favorite gifts you received this year?

It's my birthday! Well, almost.

So my birthday is less than one week away. On January 4th, I turn 28 years old. (Ah! Someone please tell me how I got this old so fast!) Normally, I don't get too excited about my birthday. It's pretty close to Christmas. Everyone just finished celebrating New Year's. People are kinda over the whole holiday festivities by the 4th of January. But this year is different. I have plans and I'm pretty pumped!

Since my birthday is on a Tuesday, I've taken vacation days both Tuesday and Wednesday. Luke is coming back from Arkansas to take me out in Lexington for the big 2-8. Now this excites me for a lot of reasons:

1. Luke's coming back from Arkansas. Yes, I just said this, but he loves his duck hunting and I appreciate that he's coming back just for my birthday.

2. I love Lexington. I had so much fun living there in college and I think it's one of the prettiest towns out there. I don't get to hang out there too much these days, so when I do, I enjoy it. Plus, Luke's never been so I get to show him around.

3. I'll be having dinner at one of my fave restaurants with some of my best friends. Who wouldn't get excited about that?

4. We'll be staying at a hotel the night of the 4th. I don't know what it is about me and hotels. But I LOVE them. I'd stay in one almost every night if I could. I'm weird, I know.

I'll let y'all know how my birthday bash turns out. I have a feeling 28's gonna be a good year!

It certainly was a very merry Christmas.

I've gotta say, this year's Christmas may just top the list - it was a good one. First, this is what it looked like outside my house on Christmas morning:

Now if that doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit,
I don't know what will!

On top of that, Christmas Eve, Christmas day and the day after were all soooo much fun! In those three days, I had five Christmas get-togethers. Yes, that's right, I said five!

Christmas morning was a lot of fun because my newphew (he's two) is finally getting into the whole unwrapping presents thing. And he was so excited with everything Santa brought!

The tree looked like this after Santa visited.

Aidan loves his new Buzz Lightyear chair.

Ripping into his art easel.

He loves trucks, cars, trains...anything that moves basically!

I managed to come out pretty well with all my gifts too. I plan to take pictures of some of my favorites tomorrow but I'll say this in the mean time: it's going to take me a week to fit all my new clothes into my closet. And that isn't an exaggeration.

Another thing I must point out is that having a blog paid off in the present department. ;) Remember these two bad boys I mentioned in previous posts?

    

Well, Luke did good! He did really good. In addition to about 28 other gifts (I'm not joking about that), I found these two items under my tree. And I must say, they look even better in person!

And I'm now the proud owner of this adorable elephant necklace too! (Thanks to my aunt for this one!)

Seeing people I love. The snow. The presents. The food. This Christmas was perfection. Too bad we have to wait an entire year before it's here again.

Oh well, there's plenty to look forward to in the mean time! Hope y'all had as fantastic a holiday as I did!

Oh...and one more thing!

Here's a sneak peek at the tree! We'll add several more presents in the morning. But I just love it!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. I'll be spending mine with people I love the most. It doesn't get any better than that!

The Christmas Story

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

 ⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20

Christmas candy

Well, I made Christmas candy...finally!

I started out by putting together my peanut butter and crackers.

Somehow they came out arranged like this. So odd.

 And then I covered them in almond bark and, voila!

So yum!

Now I'm just counting down the hours until the big day. Well, actually, until tomorrow afternoon. That's when all my Christmas festivities commence. I plan on listening to lots of Christmas music, watching Christmas movies and just enjoying these next couple of days with Lukas, my family and my friends. *Sigh* Why can't it be Christmas every day?

One of my fave Christmas songs.

I love this song. It's a good reminder of why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

One child can change the world
Christmas Morn’
The King of all kings was born
He reigns forevermore
Let us worship and adore
Christ the Lord

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Camera Question

This is just a question I have for anyone who happens to read my blog. I'm looking for a new camera. I have a digital camera I received as a gift a few years ago. I like it just fine but I'm looking for something that can take better quality photos. Now, you should know, I have zero photography skills. I can aim the camera at my subject and push the button to take the picture...that's about it. I'm willing to learn but I don't expect to become the next professional photographer. With that in mind, does anyone have any suggestions for a good camera that would fit my needs? I'm just tired of taking so-so pictures for my blog with the camera on my phone.

I found this camera at Wal-Mart. I'm not sure if it's a good deal or not because, like I said, I know nothing about photography and/or cameras. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Happy Wednesday! (Only 3 days 'til Christmas!)

I bought a puzzle yesterday.

I'm currently working on this bad boy.
(Guess who helped me pick this particular puzzle!) 

But this is the progress I've made so far:

Thanks to my sister Kim and bff Beth for helping!



So this is going to occupy most of my free time the next few days. I know, I know. My life is SUPER thrilling!

Anyway, on to more exciting things, at least to me. A while back, I posted about some really cute anthro shoes I would love to have. Well, today, I got this picture from Luke:

Yep, he got them for me for Christmas.
It's official, I have the best boyfriend ever.

Well, I'm off to relax a bit before bed. I have one more day of work and then I'm off for Christmas! YAY! Plus, Kevin & Amanda got me in the mood for some candy dipped peanut butter ritz crackers so I plan on making those tomorrow as well. What are your plans leading up to the big day?

Lots-o-food!

Christmas week is here!!! I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I had my first Christmas dinner of the year yesterday. And, as expected, it was wonderful.

Mimi prepared lunch for everyone and it was delish, to say the least. She's literally the best cook I know. We had turkey, ham, dressing, corn casserole, slaw, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, lima beans and all the works. Then, to top it off, for dessert we had custard, jam cake, brown sugar pie, german chocolate cake and fudge. As you can imagine, we all ate ourselves into a comatose state. But it was well worth it.

My grandparents gave me Just Dance 2 as a gift and I LOVE it. After getting the original Just Dance last year, when I saw the ad for the second installment, I knew I had to have it. So before long, I'll be busting out with moves like these:

In addition to opening gifts at my grandparents', Luke and I decided to let each other open one gift a little early. Well, I say one, but Luke actually wound up letting me open five gifts early. I got a coat, two shirts, a bag and a cookbook. All the clothes are beautiful and I can't wait to wear them.  And I love, love, love the cookbook.

My new Gooseberry Patch cookbook. Love this thing!

So, since I have the fancy new cookbook and Luke is staying with me for a few days, I decided to try out a couple of the recipes. Tonight, I made the Marvelous Meatloaf, Garlicky Parmesan Asparagus, Country Potato Bake and Rocky Road Bars for dessert. All in all, I'd say the meal was a success.

Cooking the asparagus.

Loved the meatloaf, if I do say so myself!
(It tasted better than it looks in this photo.)



And the potatoes weren't bad either.

I think my dinner guests were pretty pleased as well.

Even though it appears that they were just playing with their food here.
Trust me, they chowed down as well.



This cookbook is one of my absolute faves. I look forward to trying many of the other recipes as well.

Well, now we're off to watch Eclipse. (Yes, I'm 27 years old and yes, I'm a Twilight fan. Nothing wrong with that.) Hope everyone has a great night!

How cool is this?

I found this video on another blog I read today. I think it's so cool. I've watched it three times in a row now. It's actually shot in Austin. It makes me miss Town Lake a lot.

Anyway, I thought other people might think it's cool too so I decided to share it. Enjoy!

A week from today.

A week from today is my favorite day of the year. It's hard to believe that Christmas is already here and that after next week, I'll have to wait another 365 days before it comes around again. I'd be okay if we celebrated Christmas all year long!

But the good news is that I finished ALL my Christmas shopping yesterday. Such a relief! So now I just have to give them to the lucky recipients. ;)

Tomorrow is my first family Christmas dinner of the year. I'm really excited. We have lunch at my granparents' house and open gifts afterwards. Luke's coming back from Arkansas for it (which makes me very happy) and I'll get to see my aunt and uncle and cousin that I don't see very often.

Oh, so, guess what...I got my hair cut! I know I mentioned I was going to the other day but my appointment was moved to this morning. It's quite a bit shorter (at least I think so) but I really like it. Here are a couple of pics:

(Sorry about the quality of these pictures. I took them with the camera on my phone - obviously - and I couldn't figure out the lighting.)

Well, I'm off to get some things done. Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

P.S. I still plan on starting my t-shirt scarf this weekend. I'll be sure to update y'all on how it turns out.

Lauren's Craft Corner...ha!

I'm not the craftiest person in the world, but once in a while, the mood strikes me and I think, "Hey, I wanna make something!". Well, that's happened this week. Usually, when I get this hankering, I wander into the kitchen and bake up a cake, casserole or some other treat. But this time, I want to do something a bit craftier. Less food. More crafts.

So a couple of weeks ago, I came across this craft project on another blog I read. And I wanna give it a try.

Check this project out at http://www.kevinandamanda.com/.
(She has lots of great recipes too!)

This scarf is made entirely of old t-shirts. How cute, right?! And it doesn't sound too difficult either. (I'll let you know if it's as easy as it seems after I've finished mine.) Of course, I'll be using BLUE and WHITE (because that's my favorite color, baby!) to show my school spirit. I think this would be perfect to wear to UK games. I'll post a picture once I've finished my little craft project. Here's hoping it comes out as cute as this one!

This got me thinking.

I should be sleeping. Obviously, I am not. Instead, I've been watching some tv online, facebooking and reading some of my favorite blogs.

A couple of days ago, I found myself on Indiana's site: adored austin. It's one of the blogs I've been looking at this evening. I like reading it. She dresses super cute. She's funny. She lives in Austin and I used to live there. And tonight, while looking through her posts, I discovered she has a couple of other blogs as well. The one that really caught my attention is God's Wardrobe. This particular blog is based on these two verses from Colossians:

"Dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it." [Colossians 3:12-13]

That's some pretty powerful stuff. And definitely something to think about and to strive to be like. I know I could do a better job of living my life this way. These verses definitely got me thinking and I think they are worth sharing. Hopefully they'll do the same for you. 

I'm a busy bee!

I am definitely a busy bee this week. Sooo many activities! (Like that, LM?)

Luke left to go back to Arkansas today. It was nice to see him the past couple of days and I'm sad he's gone again so soon. But he'll be back in just a few days for Christmas with my family on Sunday. Now that he's gone again, I feel like it's back to the grind.

This is a rundown of what has to happen in the next 72 hours or so:

**Warning** Some of these are really boring and mundane. I'm including them anyway. Sorry.

-Company wide conference call. Two hours long. Kinda brutal, not gonna lie.

-I get my hair cut! I'm so excited about this one. I'm actually trying something new for the first time in a long while. And I get my eyebrows waxed. Boy, do they need it.

-Meetings for work in NKY, Maysville and Lexington.

-Dinner and spending some QT with EV. (I haven't seen her since Luke and I went up for a Reds game in the summer. Too long!)

-Finishing up ALL my Christmas shopping. My goal is to get every gift purchased by Friday night. That's pretty ambitious but I think it's doable. Hey, what can I say? I like to aim high.

-And a lot of driving. And I mean A. LOT.

Now, with all that said, I'm a bit worried that Old Man Winter is going to ruin some of my plans. We're expected to get snow, freezing rain, sleet...all the good stuff. I love snow. I do not love freezing rain and sleet. And I'm really not going to love it if it keeps me from getting my hair cut and/or making the trip to Northern Kentucky tomorrow. (Old Man Winter, consider yourself warned.)

Changing the subject, did you know Christmas is a mere 10 days away?!! I'm SO excited! The way I anticipate Christmas, I feel like I'm 7 years old as opposed to 27. I'm watching Elf and my sister wrap presents as we speak. I seriously cannot wait.

Oh, and changing the subject again. My dog Bennett got his hair cut today. He has eyes again! He wouldn't cooperate very well for a picture so this is the best I have.



Benny rockin' his new hair-do.



And now, before I go, I'll share some pretty things with y'all. I mean, who doesn't like to look at pretty things?

I LOVE all the color in this room.



Lovely, isn't it? Get it at anthropologie.



I'd like to try and make something like this. I found it at Southern Living. 

Alright, I'm off to make lists for my upcoming shopping trips. Night y'all!

I made it!

For those of you waiting on the edge of your seat to hear about my drive to Tennessee yesterday, you can rest easy. The drive went without a hitch and I made it in regular time. My boyfriend, however, was not so lucky. Like I mentioned before, he was driving from Arkansas and wound up being on the road for 12 hours, just sitting on the interstate for 6 of those hours. But alas, he made it home and I was really glad to see him.

This week is gonna be a busy one. I'm spending some time with Luke before he heads back to Arkansas and I head off all over Kentucky for work the latter part of this week. I have a couple conference calls, a hair cut, my dog's grooming appointment and a lot of driving to fit in too.

I'll be staying with EV, my best friend from college, on Thursday night. She lives in Northern KY and I have a meeting there Friday morning, so I figure I'll combine work and play and spend some time with her before heading out Friday. Once I wrap up my meeting, I'm determined to finish all my Christmas shopping that day. I don't have much left but nonetheless, the thought is a little daunting.

And I have my first family Christmas dinner of the year this weekend as well. I'm looking forward to all the good food, gifts and QT with the fam.

Before I go, I'll share this little gem with you. This is Luke earlier tonight. Yes, he's crazy. And no, he doesn't normally dress or look like this. Oh, and that's his cat Abbie. She's even giving him the "What are you doing?!" look.



Alright, I'm off to read a bit before bed. I'm currently reading "Mum's the Word" by Kate Collins. I'll throw it out there again that I'm looking for new book suggestions (I'm not above begging, people). So if you have any, let me know!

Driving in a winter wonderland.

So today I drive to Tennessee to see Luke. And of course, this is what the weather map looks like:

But I think I'll be okay to drive. It doesn't look too bad outside right now. Plus, I don't actually have to leave for several hours. Surely road crews will have had time to work their magic by that point. I hope! Even though the snow and winter weather can make for worrisome driving, it sure does look pretty.

I'm excited to finally see Luke anyway. It's been about two weeks because he's been in Arkansas doing this:

But today he is coming home and that makes me very happy!

Okay, I'm off to get things done before I head out. Happy Sunday to everyone!

What's in my bag?

I actually saw this on another blog and thought it would be something fun to do. I know I'm pretty nosey at times and figure others are too. So without further ado, here are the contents of my purse. (I know, I know...you're dying to see this!)

Here's my purse. (Another gift from Luke - thank you, LM!)
Everything below can be found inside.

1. A pair of gloves. So far this year, it's been REALLY cold here. And a winter storm is headed our way. I'll definitely be using these the next couple of days.

2. A couple of TJ Maxx recipts. I told you I've been Christmas shopping.

3. Ibuprofen. No one wants a headache.

4. My hairbrush and a hair elastic (wrapped around the handle). I never leave my house without these.

5. My fave ink pen. I l-o-v-e pens, pencils and any type of school supply. It's what I miss most about being in school.

6. CO Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint. This stuff if actually pretty old but I came across it the other day and have started using it again.

7. Bobby pins. You never know when you'll need one.

8. Icebreakers mints. Um, Luke, I think you actually left these in my car one day and I've helped myself to a few. Oops.

9. My iPod touch. Gotta have it to listen to my tunes while I'm driving and this way, I won't forget it when I head to the walking track either.

10. My business card holder. I love this thing. I received it as a gift when I left United Way in Austin. It has my name printed on it and everything.

11. My camera. It rarely gets used these days because I tend to just grab my phone and take a picture with it instead. (All the photos on my blog have been taken with the camera on my phone.)

12. Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm. Seriously, who doesn't love this stuff?

13. Keys to the P.O. box for work. Boring stuff.

14. More keys. But these are my personal keys. And my Panera, Dick's Sporting Goods, CVS and Kroger cards.

15. The attachable light for my nook. This way I can read in the car after dark. It's just easier to keep it in my purse all the time.

16. A little notepad for to-do lists and to jot things down on-the-go.

17. And finally, my wallet.

I've had a nice little Saturday. It's so cold outside, it's been the perfect day to just stay inside. I've managed to clean, hang out with the bff, Beth, pack for Tennessee tomorrow (Luke, are you happy?) and I'm watching the UK game now. We better beat Indiana!

Oh, and speaking of Beth, she's actually started her own blog. (I'm such an inspiration. Ha!) You should definitely follow her too. http://www.bethsbitsyblog.blogspot.com/

Alright, I'm off to cheer for the CATS some more. Catch y'all later...and stay warm!

Lazy Saturday.

Thank the Lord for days like today. Besides the usual plans of cleaning and straightening up, I have no plans today. And I'm so happy about that.

Yesterday, I headed to E-town with my mom, best friend and nephew after getting a bit of work done to mark a few more things off our Christmas lists. I'm soooo excited about one present in particular. We picked up everything we need in order to make the gift. (Yes, that's right...a handmade gift.) Once the holidays have passed, I'll be sure to post a picture of this mystery present. I don't want to ruin anyone's Christmas surprise though so it'll have to wait.

Now that I have all these presents, they've gotta get wrapped. I wish I could take credit for this part, but alas, I'm one of the world's worst wrappers. Luckily, I have a mom and sister who happen to be some of the world's best wrappers. Just look at these packages they wrapped for me.

Our tree is full of packages wrapped up like these.
And I have to admit, I have had absolutely nothing to do with that.

Alright, well I'm off to enjoy my day of nothing-ness. These two guys just hopped up beside me to watch some tv.

Aidan (my nephew) and Bennett (my dog).

Oh, and one more thing before I go. (Because I love to share all my wish lists with y'all.) I think these are the cutest!

Anthropologie is the best!

Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Today was a good day.

I was all over the place today. Literally. I left Campbellsville early this morning and headed to Frankfort, Georgetown, Winchester and wrapped up the day in Lexington before heading home again. I took these pictures as I traveled today.

If you ask me, the snow and the horse farms are the perfect combo.

After I wrapped up my meetings for the day, I managed to fit in a few fun things. I picked up several Christmas gifts. I'm getting closer and closer to finishing my shopping and I will be so relieved when it is done. I did figure out gifts for a couple of those I-can't-think-of-anything-to-get-them people on my list. And I also found some pretty good deals. Double score!

After shopping, I met up with my best friend (shout out to Beth!!!) for some super delish sushi at Malone's. The next time you're in Lexington, I highly recommend stopping by and having the crab rangoon roll. You won't regret it.

This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice.

And here are a few random thoughts to end this post and my day:

-I'm so thankful the weekend starts tomorrow. I plan on doing a little more Christmas shopping, taking it easy and heading to Tennessee on Sunday to spend time with Luke (my bf). He's been in Arkansas duck hunting and I FINALLY get to see him. I plan on squeezing him a lot!

-I cannot WAIT to get my hair cut. I have an appointment next Thursday and it just can't get here fast enough.

-Being in Lexington today sure made me miss college. It always does. *Sigh* Those were the days...

Okay, my bed is calling my name. Goodnight all!