Our Four Legged Family Members

It's no surprise to anyone who has read my blog for a while that we love our furbabies, Emma and Fishy. The last few days I have seen a few posts from friends that have lost their pets or are getting a  new pet and it inspired me to write this.

To be honest I really didn't want pets as an adult, I was happy to not have the responsibility. However, when my parents dogs were having puppies I said yes, but my request was to have the first born girl. Welcome, Emma! She has been my little sidekick since the day she was born and from the moment I brought her home I knew she would always be my little companion.

My ex-husband didn't like her, he thought she was annoying (it was him that was annoying) and never gave her attention so she was not a fan of men. That all changed when Kyle and I got married, she was his dog, she was his baby and always gets so excited when he gets home from work. She is spunky and has so much attitude, she still acts like a puppy at 11 years old.

Next, enter Fishy. I found him when he was 5 1/2 weeks old in an abandoned house in my neighborhood. He had a severe upper respiratory infection and was near death. I never had a desire to have a cat, I just didn't see myself as a cat person. Again, that all changed with him. When my ex and I split up I actually threatened him when he said he was going to take Fishy.

He is a far cry from that sickly kitten and is hilarious. He gives love when we wants to and is the silent and sassy 7 year old observer in our house.

When someone says that the love of a pet is unconditional and without reservation they are absolutely correct. Emma and Fishy have been there to snuggle and love us through deployments, moves, deaths, miscarriages and everything in between. I truly believe that an animal can tell when something is askew in their house. We celebrate their birthdays (with cake and all) and include them in every holiday celebration. :)

They even like each other...well sometimes. lol.

I cannot imagine our life without them, they bring so much happiness and joy. I am a far cry from that person that had no desire to have pets and for Kyle to go from living by himself to having a wife and two pets in a matter of 2 months is pretty amazing.

I am thankful for their constant presence and funny little personalities, they are family.

I hope you all have an awesome weekend!

What's Up, Wednesday?!

I am finally in week 8 of my current classes!! I just have 2 forum responses and half of my final exam to finish and I'm done until next week when my final class begins. Woo! I am also trying to decide if I want to stick with my current plan of starting my Masters in October or put it off until January. Decisions, Decisions! Then there is the decision of finally going back to work (my goal is a school psychologist job) after finishing my Masters or going for my Doctorate (or both). Who would have thought that this girl would be interested in so much schooling haha.

Most of my nights look like this...lots of Chopped, lots of tea, and lots of school. I am ready for a break.

Lately I've been trying to find new recipes that I can incorporate into our daily lives, Kyle loves the Nature Valley Oatmeal breakfast bars and I decided to find a recipe to make our own. I found this recipe and they are to die for (oh and healthy!).

On Monday for Memorial Day, I ran my miles for the Wear Blue Run To Remember foundation and it was really awesome, there is nothing quite like being outside and alone with your thoughts that lets you reflect like that. As I was running I realized that Fort Polk doesn't have a local meetup for Wear Blue. After I got home I realized just how much that bothered me so I got online and submitted an inquiry about starting one here. I can't wait to hear back because I know for certain it would get a lot of interest here.

The next few weeks for us are going to be busy, between our trip to New Orleans, having our niece and nephew for a week, our anniversary, and then block leave. It's going to be crazy but awesome!!


Hope you all have a great day!

Memorial Day

Today we honor and remember all those that gave their lives in defense of this great country.

Honor and remember them in whatever way you feel, whether that is having a moment of silence or spending time with friends and family.

Today I will be honoring all those amazing heroes by committing 8.2 miles through the Wear Blue Run To Remember foundation. I know 8.2 miles sounds like an odd mileage but I am specifically running for all of the paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division that did not come home. Kyle spent the majority of his career so far in that division and we knew soldiers that did not come home, CPT Ed Chaffin and SPC David Hickman.

If you want to commit miles you can still do so through tomorrow morning.

All Gave Some, Some Gave All

Friday Favorites!

It's time for another Friday Favorites! :) Here are some of my current favorite things.

1. Amazon Prime! I signed up for a 30 day trial and I'm obsessed now! I'm going to start purchasing household items like paper towels, toilet paper, etc through them and it's already proving to be much cheaper than Walmart.

2. These shorts from Old Navy! Seriously how cute are they?! I'm not normally a fan of patterns but these changed my mind.

3. Homemade Nutri-Grain Bars. I make them all the time and they are the perfect snack. recipe

4. The rainy weather we have been having, we have had a few good storms and it's nice to just sit back and watch the rain fall.

5. These new Essie colors!! I wanted some new colors for summer and these are perfect for me.

What are some of your favorite things lately?

Have a great weekend!

Coaster Tutorial

I have to say that making coasters is one of my favorites things to do because you can use almost anything to create a design. Make sure you do this in a very well ventilated area, because the smell is strong. Here is what you will need:

Clear Casting Resin w/ Catalyst (I purchased mine at Hobby Lobby, it's the best one I have used)

Mold Release Spray

Molds (any shape will work but make sure they are okay to use with resin)

Measuring Cups and Stir Sticks

Your choice of design elements, for these I used scrapbook paper but you can use fake flowers, bottle caps, etc.

I traced the mold onto the scrapbook paper and cut it out.

Clean the molds and then spray with the mold release, let it dry and then repeat. Let it dry completely before starting.

Measure out 6 oz of resin (I would make 2 at a time)

Add approximately 20 drops of the catalyst and mix together

Pour 2 oz of resin into the prepared mold

Add your design element and pour an additional 1 oz of resin over top (if you use bottle caps or flowers they will shift so just use the stir stick to move them back into place)

Repeat the process with the remaining molds. Let them cure overnight before attempting to remove from the molds.

Once completely hardened they will be relatively easy to remove from the molds and they will look like this!

Have fun making them!!

Giveaway Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway! It was so amazing to see all of the support and comments regarding blogging. 

Congrats to the awesome Kait on winning the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On a side note, thank you to everyone who encouraged me to walk in my graduation ceremony next year. It's definitely going to happen! :) 

Have a great Tuesday!

Weekend Musings

Monday.....for once I don't mind that you have shown up again.

Can I just say how jealous I am seeing all of the graduation photos floating around social media! I graduate college in August and if I want to walk in a ceremony I have to wait until June 2016. If you were me would you walk in a ceremony 10 months after you graduate?! I would love to walk in the ceremony but I don't know if people would view it as pointless, then again I've never really cared what people think. ;) 

I have picked a few more races to run this year to include the Pensacola Half Marathon and Houston Half Marathon. I also FINALLY picked my next marathon...New Orleans Rock and Roll Marathon 2/28/2016! I can't wait!

The coasters I made came out perfect!!! It's amazing what you can do with casting resin, fake flowers and scrapbook paper. I'll be posting a tutorial later this week. :)

I spent most of the weekend watching the live showing of the Rock on the Range concert that was happening in Columbus, Ohio. I am in desperate need of a live concert haha! That is the only thing that sucks about living in a smaller town, most concerts are 2-3 hours away and during the week. Boo!

The other half of the weekend was spent writing papers that are due next week. I have a 7 page art analysis paper due on Sunday and it has me a little stressed out. I know I'll get it done but my heart really isn't into it. Oh well. I'm roughly 3 months away from graduating so I just need to push through and get it all done.

 Hope you all had a great weekend!

If you haven't entered my giveaway make sure you do! I'm announcing the winner tomorrow. :)