Everything Loved in January

These are my new favorite shoes for the year, Mossimo's Vassie Snip Toe Pump. I have them in black and in the tan/brown color. I love the snake like print that the leather is made of. They are so cute and pretty comfortable for a heel. I got them at Target, love that store!!! I might just have to go buy another pair in the black because I have been wearing the heck out of them, LOL! Sorry the picture is blurry.

So we have been painting like crazy in our house these past several weeks and this product has saved my sanity, Premium XL Painting Accessory Pad. It is great! I got it at Sherwin Williams but they are sold at most other places that sell paint. It does wonders when painting the walls, around base boards, crown molding, bull nose edges, straight edges, corners and around nails. It is very smooth to use and easy to handle. I have hardly had to tape anything off because of this handy dandy rolling paint device.

My mom told about this glass cleaner and naturally I had to try it out for myself because my mom usually knows what she is talking about. It is wonderful!!! Hope's Perfect Glass Cleaner has a no-reside formula, is ammonia-free and 100% streak-free. It cleans glass and mirrors crystal clear and leaves my oven and microwave spotless! It can be bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond.And we can not forget about mine wonderful Wine Buffet that I scored on Sale this month and our awesome new Entertainment Center in our living room!

The Joys of Being a Patient Wifey...101

How to get candle wax out of carpet.....? Ohhh, this is the magic question that I was asking myself this past Sunday evening after my sweet, sweet husband accidentally knocked over our WoodWick candle that sits on the bar, onto the carpet in the living room. I tried my best to keep my composure.....but I still had 'that look' in my eyes (all of us women have 'that look', you know what I am talking about) that inside I was furious. I had been burning this candle for atleast 6 or 7 hours, so there was a lot of wax to say the least that was slowing sticking itself to the (what I still consider fairly new) carpet. The first thing that came to my mouth to say, well...I kept my mouth shut, then came the "Are you serious? How in the heck did you manage to do that? Ughhhh, you have got to be kidding me, you have had too many beers... and so on" speech. The hubs of course at this point was trying very diligently to get candle wax off of his hand and wedding ring, while I at the time am having not much remorse. Several minutes later came the guilt from my hubbs and the "I am so sorry, it's ok, I will clean it up, not sure how, but I will take care of it babe, don't worry". Yeah, I have heard that line before. So being the patient wife that I am, I know I have got to figure out how to get this wax out of the carpet. I tried to think back at my teenage years when I know this has happened before while having an all night chat sessions with the girls. Nothing came to mind...except the wonderful world of the internet and google. Here's what I learned and did: It worked too!

1. Let the wax harden (this should not take long). If you can, scrap off the excess wax with a dull knife.
2. Place part of a paper bag (any kind--shopping, grocery, sandwich) over the wax area. You can also use paper towels, a clean cloth or newspaper ( I used the paper bag method).
3. Using a warm iron (on low to medium heat) press gently on the paper bag. Be careful not to leave the iron in one place too long or you may burn the carpet fibers. Rub the area where the wax is and you will notice that the wax begins to melt and soak up onto the paper bag.
4. Continue to do step 3 until all the wax is melted up. You may use several paper bags depending on how much wax is spilled.
5. Rub your fingers over the spot where the wax was and if you still feel some wax on the carpet continue to do step 3 until it is all melted up.

To remove stains left from colored wax, try gently dabbing the stain with a rag dampened with rubbing alcohol. If the alcohol doesn't seem to work, try using dry cleaning solvent.

The hubs was very impressed with me getting the wax out of the carpet and was also very apologetic. I really was not mad at him just re-iterated to him to be just a little more aware, LOL! It's times like these when I think both spouses can appreciate the roles of husband and wife!

Christmas in January!

Take a look at our new beauty that now stands up perfectly on our huge, blank canvas of a wall in our living room; Our much anticipated entertainment center!!! This was our big Christmas present this past year and we finally got it delivered. And get this, it's from Sams of all places and is about half the price of what you would pay at Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel. We purchased it online, never seeing it in the store, just hoping that it would look as great in person as it does online! And to our excitement, it is even better than what we ever imagined. I did do my research on this piece of furniture though; I read many reviews on it and others like it from Sams and we did go to our local Sams to check out the quality of all their furniture. It came in three huge boxes already put together and was packaged very, very well. All we had to do was un-wrap, wipe down and re-run all the wires for the TV in the corrct spot. The picture below is from the Sams website. Pics from our home to come soon.

We have also been very busy this past week and half doing alot of paiting... in our living room, hallway, entryway, dining room and kitchen. The walls look amazing now, so much warmth and color!!! It still amazes me how paint can make such a huge difference on how a room looks and feels! We used Sherwin Williams paint for all rooms. Pics to come soon on that too!

Ahh and before I forget, I have to brag about my wonderful hubby; he did put together for me my beautiful wine buffet from Target last week. He put it together the same day I brought it home. He was occupied doing that (which I find difficult for me, reading instructions and all) while I was painting. We have been very productive this past week and half... and it feels so good!

Better Late Than Never

My New Years Resolutions.....I know, I know...we are already 23 days into the New Year and I am just now getting around to posting these. I tell myself each year I need to be more realistic about my resolutions and goals and actually stick to them; easier said than done in my case... So I decided this year I was going to take my time when making my list in the hopes of being more serious about them.

• Stay optimistic with our Country and our new President
• Eat healthier (more fruits and veggies on a daily basis; I am good when it comes to protein and fiber)
• Drink more water each day (and no this does not mean 8 glasses a day...who made that up anyways?...)
• Seriously loose 20lbs to 25lbs (ohh how badly I need to make this happen)
  
• Workout more - in anyway or form, atleast 4 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes a day
  
• Take clothes out of the dryer and immediately fold them and put them away (this is going to take a lot of effort...I hate putting clothes away)
• Do one house project a month (this is also considered working out; projects are exhausting)
  
• Cook something new at least twice a month
• Really watch un-necessary spending
  
• Create a feasible budget for the hubs and myself

Have a Little Bit of Respect, Please

I was not going to post about the recent election or inauguration of our new President but I feel I really want to since this is however a place for all of my thoughts, opinions, suggestions, concerns, etc...and I will try to be as brief as possible.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009, I was completely engrossed in watching all the Inauguration events that I could while still being at work and doing my job. I have enjoyed watching previous inaugurations for our former Presidents backing up to being in elementary school and all the way through college. I was fortunate to grow up in an outstanding school district that knew the importance of exposing and teaching us 'kids' about these historic events.

I am a proud American and feel very blessed to live in this wonderful country with all the freedoms we have from which many hundreds of thousands of men and women have lost their lives fighting for. I did not vote for Obama nor am I a Obama supporter, but I was anxious as he too took the oath of office to become our 44th President of America. With this said and yes I know we all have the freedom of speech, but I was appalled and saddened though at this Inauguration when Former President Bush was announced during the ceremony and when he went off in the helicopter at all the booing, negative and rude remarks that were made. Have a little respect please!!! Come on now, grow up and show some decency and have some class. Any and all people who live in this country should have respect for the President and any Former President no matter who they are. People do not have to like Bush or agree with his stance and policies, but have respect for the title in which he held. I would never boo or stoop that low to our President whether it be Obama or someone else. President Bush has had a rough past couple of years with all that is going on in this country and the world. He has been faced with a lot of very tough decisions to make especially with the terrible tragedy of September 11, 2001 when our country was so viciously attacked. I believe to the best of my knowledge that everything Bush has done has been for the greater good of this country, our lives, safety and well being. I hope and pray too that Obama has the same, good intentions of keeping this Country on it's feet. Any person who becomes President and takes on the responsibilities and stress of that job should have their country's respect if anything. I respect President Obama because he is my President.

And being the Proud Texan that I am and always will be, a very heartfelt Welcome Back Home to Texas former President Bush.

My First Exciting Purchase of the Year

Introducing to you my proud new purchase from Target today and on sale might I add. I have been eying this buffet table for a long time now, probably around 6 or 7 months or so, and it finally went on sale for half off! I am so happy I decided to walk down that aisle. Words are beyond me on how excited I was to see it on sale. It sells for $249.00 on-line and $199.99 in store. Today I purchased it for $99.98!!! It will go so nicely in our breakfast room; I actually have two different spots where I can put it. I will post pictures as soon as I can get the hubs to put it together for me; that in itself is another task. I also plan to spray paint the hardware on it to a bronze or black color--the contemporary chrome is not too much my style.

Looking Back at 2008

Looking back at 2008
January

• Annual Old Girl Besties Christmas Party
• Baby Payton Williams is born
• I host Southern Living at Home party (and get lots of great loot for our new house)
• Crawfish Boil at Christie and Dustin's house

February

• Super Bowl Sunday with Old Girl Besties at Jessi and Wes's
• My father in-law's surprise 60th birthday party at Saltgrass Steakhouse
• My baby twin girl cousin's 1st birthday and party
• Walk through, close and move in our new house at the very end of the month

March

• Finish moving into our house
• Go to Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo four different times (it's a big deal here in Texas)
• Easter and egg hunting at my parents house with family
• Our very close friends Mark and Jenn close and move into their first house together

April

• Surprise 50th birthday party for my best friend Shelly's dad
• Hubs goes to Nascar Race at Texas Motor Speedway
• Turning 25
  
• My Company's 12th Annual Crawfish Boil

May

• Friends Kristy and Jason's engagement party
• Astro's baseball game
• Best friend Dayna, her husband Eric's coming home from Iraq party
• Frio River for a long Memorial Day weekend vacation

June

• Friends Nancy and Shaun's wedding couples shower
• My handsome hubby's 28th birthday and party

July

• 4th of July at close friends Jessica and Brett's house
  
• Hubs plays in the Buzz's washer fest tournament

August

• Astro's baseball game

September

• Friend Tracy's baby shower
• Astro's baseball game
• Hurricane Ike storms through Galveston and Houston
• My cousin Laurens bridal shower in San Antonio and dinner with my parents in Gruene, TX at the delicious Gristmill
  
• Our 1st wedding anniversary
  
• Grey's Anatomy 5th season premier

October

• Robinson annual Fish Fry (Yummy)
• Five day vacation in Las Vegas for my cousin Lauren's beautiful wedding at the Belligio

November

• Friends Brandy and Phillip's couples baby shower
• I present our Blog
  
• Our 7 year dating anniversary (Yes, this day does still count)
• The loss of my dear friend and co-worker
• Thanksgiving at my parents home with lots of family
• Our niece's 2nd birthday

December

• Friends Kristy and Jason's holiday party
• Tailgate and Texans football game
• Our First Annual Christmas Party
• Christmas, my favorite holiday
  
• Visit to our family farm in south Texas

We had such a fun, exciting and emotional 2008 where we made memories that will last a lifetime. As we rung in 2009 we both were so very grateful to be coming into the new year together happy and healthy and anxiously await what the oh-fine 2009 will bring. Here's a toast of champagne to oh-eight and a hearty welcome to 2009!