Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #173 -- Cool Treats

Today I'm taking a break from the wedding recaps to do a little scrapbooking!  When I have a few minutes, I love to see what's going on over at the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge blog!  This week's challenge was to make anything with a "cool treat" so I headed up to my scrapbook room and dug through some pics until I found something with ice cream!!  I kept coming across DQ ice cream cakes (a family favorite) but couldn't find any Cricut cuts to go with it and then I remembered this fun pic of Henderson eating dog ice cream!  This is totally unlike me to scrapbook something so out of order, but hey, when you're 3+ years behind what's it really matter right?!

The page is actually an 8x10 and will go in a horizontal Project Life page protector.  The ice cream sundae is cut from the Sweet Treats cartridge and then I used my CuttleBug to emboss the dish.  Eventually I'll add the date to the page (when I figure out what it was!!).  

And.. ironically enough, today is Henderson's 4th birthday!  This big guy brings so much joy to us and makes our family complete.  He and Mason were such good sports for this little photo shoot earlier tonight!!  

Our Wedding Cakes

One of the things I had a lot of fun picking out were our wedding cakes.  I knew I wanted something classy, blinged out and elegant for our cake.  I spent a lot of time on Pinterest looking at "bling cakes" and then sketched out what I was thinking for the bakery that we used.  The cake turned out beautifully!! I loved that we were able to have it on display for the cocktail hour so everyone got to see it (and the groom's cake) before it was moved into the reception.  Our top layer that we saved was chocolate, next was strawberry, then wedding white and chocolate on the bottom.  The cake was so moist and so wonderful!  We didn't even have any left except for the top which we planned to save anyway.  I had a diamond pattern with gems on every other layer and a small rhinestone strand band and on the solid layers, they added a thicker rhinestone strand band.  The final touch was a few soft pink peonies on the top and then some random placements on the layers. 

Adam's cake was a surprise to him and a no-brainer for me on what to get... a Henderson replica!  He turned out awesome!! Hat's off to The Bakery in Athens, TN for creating such an awesome sculpted (yummy) cake.  He was made out of yellow pound cake and butter cream icing.  He really was too cute to cut!!

Can't wait til 10 months from now when we bust out the top!!

Thanksgiving so soon??

How is it possible that Thanksgiving is only 3 short days away?!  Where did this year go?  I am really looking forward to my parents and grandma coming down for a few days!  Plus, I get to meet my new "sister" as my mom likes to call her... she finally got a new puppy!  Her name is Ginger and she's an apricot teacup poodle - she's 3 months old and 1.9 lbs.  I can't wait to see that little ball of fur!!  Here's some of the pics Mom's sent of her.. we Facetime every night :-)

 

This is one of my favorites!  Ginger snuggled down in between all of her "babies" and mom covered them all up for a nap.

 

I had a pretty mellow weekend.  Adam worked over 100 hours from Sunday-Saturday.. he's basically working for free at this point!  It's a shame he doesn't get paid overtime, he would have made a nice chunk of change, that boy is way to dedicated to his job, but I suppose that's part of the reason I love him!  That being said, I was single-moming it with the furbabies.  We've discovered that Mason likes to sleep on Henderson's blanket with him at night, so sweet! 

I had to take this picture of Henderson while Adam was at work.  Henderson willing put himself in his crate and was just giving me the most pathetic expression.  He looked so heart broken.

Who me, spoiled?

 ...and a couple quick cards!  I made the ballerina birthday card for a co-worker's daughter that turned 4.  She started dance lessons this fall so I also got her a cute little leotard. 

 I made myself do something other than "pink" for these shoe birthday cards.  I like the different color scheme! 



My little buddies

Here's some sweet pictures I captured of my furbabies over the weekend.  My cats LOVE to be in my scrapbook room with me because there's so much they can get into, I love when they wear themselves out and nap in empty baskets.  I buy them so many blankets and cat beds but no, they prefer boxes and baskets!  I especially love the picture of Mason and Henderson - Henderson gets covered up every night by his duck blanket and I caught Mason snuggling up to him, he's even started making this a habit!

Trixie started out in Henderson's bed...

THEN she really got comfy...

Then... Mason kicked her out because she looked so comfy

326 Days & Counting!

It is absolutely crazy how fast time is going!  I can't believe we are down to about 10.5 months till our big day!  Since I last posted it's like I blinked and time flew by.  I've also started our "wedding" website and you can check out all things wedding by going to Ashley & Adam. 

I've only been home 1 week out of the last 4 so I haven't made as much progress as I should have on our wedding plans but I have lots of ideas swirling in my head.  My parents did come down for a quick visit this past weekend and mom and I went to a bridal show in Chattanooga.  It wasn't very large but I did meet with a couple vendors that I want to follow up with more (videographer, DJ/speciality lighting and florist).  I also made 3 appointments to try on gowns at some local boutiques in the coming weeks.  Also... I tried on dresses for the first time!  Saturday morning mom and I had an appointment with my wedding coordinator who also runs a linen business so I wanted mom to see everything she had available.. then we ran by Hobby Lobby because I've decided I want to make our invitations.. (why pay someone to do something that I love to do?!).. and then... I decided to run into a bridal store to see the colors they have available for bridesmaids and the bridal gowns were calling to me.  They carry the line that I really like - Maggie Sottero - so I decided to bite the bullet and try on a few.  The third dress I put on I think could possibly be THE dress.  It even fit perfect... meaning.. no alterations!! I've never bought a speciality dress that didn't need something altered!  Maybe it's a sign.. I'm not ready to "say YES to the dress" quite yet though. 

Adam and & I spent 8 days in Michigan over the 4th of July.  It was BLAZING hot.  We had a lot of fun and I came back with an awesome tan.  Our baby boy also swam in the pool for the first time!  Cutest thing ever!  We ordered him a life jacket for next year because he seems a little bottom heavy, funny thing is, he can stand up on his back legs in the shallow end and he's like my height!  Some of the most exciting news that we've known for a few weeks now but couldn't share is that his sister Ashleigh & her husband Drew are expecting their first baby in January!  We are really excited for them and they will make wonderful parents!

I've got lots of pictures from Michigan just haven't uploaded them yet - here's some from my iPhone:

As you can tell, our baby boy LOVES spending time at his grandparent's house.

Where did Ashley go???

Disclaimer: I had FINALLY taken the time to catch up my blog, well thru New Year's Eve anyway, and went to post the blog and somehow it was all deleted!!!  So, while it was funny and detailed the first time.. I can't make any guarantees the second time around!!!

So yes, I have been MIA.  I thought after all the crazy travel slowed down in September I would take the time to get back into the swing of blogging, well, then the holidays hit!  I've actually missed blogging.  As a lifelong journal keeper, blogging just makes sense to me.  My journals have always been more of "what I'm doing" vs the deep dark secrets and with blogging, I can add in pictures, which are the key to my heart.  So, it's a win win.

How many of you thought I disappeared because we didn't survive Thanksgiving at our house with both families?? Just kidding.  We actually had a great time, even though it was exhausting!!  I don't think I've ever spent so much time in the kitchen in my life.  I probably sat a record for the most times the dishwasher was run in a 4-day period.  All joking aside, the meeting of the fams went way better than we could have imagined.  I look forward to many more years of family-togetherness.  Mom and I even managed to sneak away for some shopping!  We hit up Michael's Thursday evening (which is becoming a tradition for us) I wanted to get the new Cricut II which was on an awesome sale.  I'm not sure I really like it though, could have to do with not having the time to really learn all about it yet though.  Then, we caved and went to Wal-Mart for the sale that started at 10pm and ended up not getting home till about 1am!  We had a blast though and I have to say, the shoppers at the Ooltewah Wal-Mart were 100x more pleasant than the shoppers we usually encounter in WV!  I think it has to be because there's a lot more options for people to go shopping here than in WV so the crowd is a lot more spread out.  Here's some pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend:



My pretty new dining room table all ready for Thanksgiving!  (That's my WVU tree in the corner!)

 

Adam with his turkey!  I was so proud of him for taking on the turkey and it turned out so yummy!!



All 14 of us!

In other exciting news, I become a Scentsy consultant in October!  I have always been business minded and love the idea of one day having my own business, so for now, this is the perfect opportunity for me.  I fell in love with the idea of Scentsy (flameless/wickless/sootless warmers that are safe alternatives to candles) before I even smelled the first sample and signed up to be a consultant.  I've REALLY enjoyed my time as a Scentsy consultant so far even if Adam says I'm spending everything that I make in buying more Scentsy for us!  You can check out my Scentsy website here http://www.ashleykidd.scentsy.us/

I had a booth at a show around Christmas at a church in Ooltewah.  The turn out was way low and I ended up with a lot of inventory because I had ordered extra hoping for a big turnout.  Oh well, live and learn!  Wasn't my display cute though?!

   

 That same evening, Adam and I had to go to his work Christmas party in Cleveland.  (Which is yes where I also work but since I'm a division employee and he's plant, the party was only for plant employees but alas I was his date)  It was semi-awkward for a couple reasons (1) everyone by this point pretty much knows we are together (hello-- it's no surprise it's been over 3 years) but they still were gawking when we walked in.  (2)  We were overdressed.  My theory is better to be overdressed than under!  We weren't even that dressed up!  People were there in jeans!  The party was at a nice museum downtown so I was thinking semi-Cocktail but I guess others just donned their best jeans...  Oh well, we were good looking!



Our pretty tree!  Now I can't remember if it was 9 or 10 feet?  I love seeing trees with all the pretty presents around them.  Too bad Mason ate a lot of my bows!



The weekend before Christmas we headed to Michigan for Adam's brother's wedding.  It was on a Friday so we had to leave right after work Wednesday to get there for the rehearsal and whatnot Thursday.  Somewhere along the way I picked up a cold and didn't feel too hot due to that.  The night of the wedding someone dropped my camera after taking the first pic of us all dressed up so I was cameraless all evening.  I felt naked without a camera on my wrist!  My sweetheart took me to get a new one the next day though!  Here we are at the wedding:

   

Adam was staying in Michigan through Christmas so I flew back to TN to pick up the cats and head to WV to be with my family.  I was super sad to leave Adam!  Hopefully that will be our last Christmas apart.  We had to get a picture of Henderson in his new monkey sweater before I flew back, he is such a big boy!

 

Christmas was different this year.  Of course it was the first Christmas without the Grandpas and that was hard on everyone.  I did enjoy my time with my parents and Grandma, and LOVE getting to play with Abbie - she is changing so much/so fast.  We had a little family drama that I really could do without but I guess it's not the holidays without the drama.  I think that's why I enjoyed Thanksgiving so much, no drama!  

We also had a mini-crisis Christmas night.  Mason accidentally got outside (during some drama nonetheless).  I about had a heart attack/panic attack all in one.  It was so dark and cold out and all I could hear were dogs barking in the distance.  He was probably only out 10 minutes but I was a mess.  I couldn't imagine how we were ever going to find him, plus, he was in uncharted water!  He eventually jumped up on the deck and came strolling over like he was the king of the castle. 

Adam and I came back to TN after Christmas and spent New Year's together.  We had a nice dinner at Outback and then watched the ball drop from the comfort of our couch, surrounded by our furbabies, a perfect start to 2012!

Happy New Year!

 

Happy Birthday Furbabies!

August is a fun month around the house for Adam and me because it's all 3 of the animals' birthdays!  As many of you know, we are crazy about our furbabies.  It's so hard to believe the cats are already 3 (August 4th) and Henderson is now 2 (August 14th)!  Where does the time go?!  I can't imagine when it's kids that are growing up that fast how hard it must be on parents!!!

I am thankful everyday that I have my little adorable cats - no matter how annoying they are at 4am every morning when they are wanting to be pet.  They both have such distinctive purr-sonalities (haha).  Mason is my curious George, happy-to-meet everybody, will talk to strangers, playful, sweet, loving, handsome, wonderful little boy.  Trixie is all about her momma and daddy and basically wants nothing to do with anyone else - including Mr. Henderson who has a huge crush on her.  She is the softest, fluffiest cat ever and has plenty of her own sweet moments.  If someone comes to the house you can guarantee you won't see Trixie for several hours, even after they have left.  She is very uneasy around new people and loud noises.

Henderson is our big 95 pound baby boy.  He and Trixie are very similar in that they don't like strangers!  Henderson can bark with the best of them but luckily, he doesn't bark much.  He doesn't like to be pet by strangers (or looked at) and is very uneasy in new places.  He is so sweet, handsome and playful.  We love to watch Henderson run around like a crazy dog in his big fenced yard, especially when he does his crazy rolls. 

   

 

 

 

"If you want to see the sunshine you have to weather the storm."

This weekend was such a welcome after everything that’s been going on.  Adam came up on Wednesday evening because he had an interview here Thursday and Friday (yah!) so we got to see each other for a few extra days in addition to the weekend.  We had lots to do to get ready for the weekend because we were having company!!!  Adam’s sister Jess and her 2 girls and his brother Jon and fiancé were flying to FL and decided to have a stop over with us Friday night.  I put Adam to work putting together a couple bar stools before they got here which look great in the kitchen!  We hit up the grocery store Thursday evening and got a ton of food because Adam thought everyone was staying until Sunday but we quickly found out that wasn’t the case (after we had stocked the pantry).  Oh well, more food for us! 

We picked everyone up at the airport around 7pm and came back to the house.  I had decided to start dinner before we left for the airport and it was ready by the time we got back.  Timing worked out perfect because they ended up getting in about an hour later than we thought they would and were hungry when they arrived.  I had made a big pot of my Grandma Panashy’s Macaroni and Tomato soup and it seemed to be a hit.  Well, for everyone but his nieces and I think it was too spicy for them so they had tacos.  We could barely keep his nieces at the table because they LOVED playing with Mason and snuggling with Henderson.  Mason hasn’t gotten that much exercise in a while.  He definitely slept good Friday night.  We had a good time entertaining our guests and just hanging out at the house.  Brooklyn and Sidney got to be the first ones to make something in my scrapbook room too.  They each wanted to make a card with my Cricut and Cuddlebug.  They said my scrapbook room looked like Michaels haha 

Saturday morning we made eggs, bacon and toast and then headed downtown to the Chattanooga Aquarium.  The Aquarium was fun and brought back good memories for Adam and me.  That’s where we went on our first date when he came to see me for the first time in TN in 2009.  It was funny because the whole time we were at the aquarium I was looking for the penguins and we NEVER saw them.  We went thru the whole building and nothing!  A couple weeks later I was talking to someone at work and told them how disappointed I was that they had penguins on their advertisements but then there weren’t any at the aquarium.. she was like, “Wait – did you go in BOTH buildings?”  So, alas, Adam and I had missed the whole second building of sea creatures the first time we went.

Adam and me with his niece Sidney

Big ol' crab!

Hello Mr. Otter

Some of the Grays :-)

After the aquarium we had to head back to the airport because they wanted to take off close to noon to continue on to Florida.  Adam and I headed back home and he surprised me with a Dairy Queen ice cream cake for my birthday (it’s next week but we won’t get to see each other).  It was so yummy and the perfect treat for the rest of the weekend. 

Happy early Birthday to me!

 Last weekend when I was in Princeton, mom gave me here Wii!  Adam hooked it up and we spent a couple hours playing Mario Kart and Wii Fit.  Oh, and we had a couple battles with Wii Sports.  (I beat him in bowling and baseball and then to get even he knocked me out in boxing.)      

Sunday morning we decided to head over to one of the TN State Parks for a little hiking with Henderson.  At the exit there’s a sign for Harrison Bay State Park so I’d wanted to check it out.  It was probably 15 miles off the exit and really pretty – especially Sunday when it was gorgeous weather anyway.  We had about a 4-mile hike to the bottom of the trail and back.  Henderson was so funny jumping over the tree stumps and wading out into the water.  We were the only ones on the trail which made it even better, especially for Henderson who isn’t a big fan of strangers. 

Beautiful day with my sunshine :)

Part of the late at Harrison Bay State Park

My boys

Jump, Henderson!

After Harrison Bay, Adam wanted to show me a lake he had found while hiking the new trails at the new Volkswagon Plant so we headed over there for some more physical fitness fun.  Two miles later we were walked out and headed back home for some more Wii madness.

I made tacos for lunch (luckily we had more than enough since we had bought enough for 8!) and we spent the rest of the afternoon just lounging and hanging out with our critters.

Bad Mason.. no matter what I do he won't stop climbing :-(

Got my stick!  Let's go!

Double Trouble

Princess Trixie