Family Vacation 2011

We just got back this week from spending a week at Big Cedar Lodge with Patrick's family. They have been going there since 1990. I joined in the year we got married. I absolutely love going there, and hate to leave when it is time to go. It is such a relaxing and beautiful place. It is right outside of Branson, MO, and it right on Table Rock Lake.

The third day we were there we rented a pontoon boat, and went out on the lake. We do this every year, and it is one of my favorite things to do there. We usually ride around first, and then pick a spot to tie up to so we go swimming. This year my mother in law bought some floats so we just hung out in those. It was so relaxing, but they always say you can have too much of a good thing. My sunscreen wore off and my back got burned. It was worth it because the water felt so good!

The next day we tried out a new activity they have at their nature park Dogwood Canyon. We went on an atv ride through the park. It was so much fun! They just started it this year, and they created their own trail for it. We got a little dusty, but it was so worth it! We stopped at this really pretty place that had a huge hanging rock and a stream for pictures. Then on the way back the guide took our pictures when we splashed through a stream.





Throughout the week we also went on a garden tour, and my MIL and I even went to Zumba one morning! Saturday afternoon my MIL, her mom, and I went to the Sights and Sounds theater to see Noah. It is an awesome show! The ark is around you on three sides and you feel like you are on it. The use real and animatronic animals, and the acting was great! The show has been there for three years, and this is the last year. I am so glad we took the chance to go.

New Orleans

My Mother in Law was asked to judge Louisiana Farm Bureau's Miss Farm Bureau Contest. Since she did not know if she would still be taking care of her mother I went in her place. I have never judged a beauty contest, but I never pass up the opportunity to go to New Orleans!

So Patrick and I left on Wednesday to stay with our friends Brad & Amanda. They live in South Mississippi so we try to visit whenever we can. We always have a great visit, and no matter how long it has been we always pick up right where we left off!

Thursday we got up and made our way to New Orleans. We checked in and then went walking around.


Patrick loves it when I take his picture.. not. Oh well he should be use to it now.

Even though I lived in New Orleans when I was younger I never get tired of going back to visit. I absolutely love all the beautiful architecture in New Orleans! Shooting in manual is still a very long work in progress for me, but I am enjoying the learning process.






I probably could have taken so much more pictures, but the heat and hunger won. We wanted to eat at The Gumbo Shop. My friend Stacy had taken us there before, and we both loved it. But the line was long so we wandered around and finally picked Pierre Maspero's. It was pretty good.

The next morning my judging duties started early. We spent about 5 hours interviewing all the girls. A big part of the Miss Farm Bureau contest is the contestant's knowledge of the Farm Bureau organization. We had 28 contestant's to interview, and they were all very impressive young ladies.

We had the night free so Brad & Amanda came to visit us. We went to Drago's to have some yummy charbroiled oyster's. We spent the rest of the night walking around and talking about old times.



The next morning I attended the ladies brunch. The contestant's had a fashion show, and we got to hear from the current queen about her year. That night was the contest. The girls were all beautiful in their gowns. We picked the top ten, and then they had to answer a question. Then we had the hard job of picking who would represent Miss Louisiana Farm Bureau for 2011-2012. I think we picked a beautiful young lady who no doubt will not only do an excellent job of representing LA Farm Bureau but agriculture as a whole. It was a very hard thing to do. All the girls were so sweet, and so very smart. My faith has been restored in the youth of our country.


Sunday we got up and had a wonderful Jazz Brunch at the Palace Cafe. Then we set on a adventure to find Plum Street Snowballs. We had seen them on the Food Network, and knew we needed to try them out. They for sure did not disappoint us! Overall it was a great weekend that Patrick and I got to spend together!

Catching Up

Lots of things have happened since I last blogged. So things have been good and some things have been bad/horrible. I think I will address it bullet style!

* We are hopefully getting closer and closer to starting fertility treatments. Waiting to hear back from the nurse. Lately I have had such a peace about it all. But that came only after being down in a very deep valley. I am just glad to have something to look forward to and not be in limbo. So I will continue to update on that.

* Things on the sewing front have been slow. I have lots of ideas and projects I have bookmarked. All I need to do is go pick out all the fun fabrics!

* My mother in law and I went to Baltimore for the American Farm Bureau's Women's Leadership Conference. We had a great time learning new things, touring interesting places , and hearing inspirational speakers. If you ever have the opportunity to hear Patrick Henry Hughes and his father speak please go! He is a very inspiring young man!

* Patrick's grandmother has been in the hospital for a week. She was having trouble breathing last week. They found out that she had blood clots in both lungs and her right leg. She also found out she has COPD and is diabetic. Poor thing has had a lot thrown at her in a short period. Hopefully she be discharged tomorrow and will go to my MIL house till she gets her strength back.

* The worst thing that has happened has been all the tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.. We had quite a few in Mississippi one of which was an F5 in Smithville. Of course the huge tornado in Tuscaloosa as well as other parts of Alabama. Some of the videos look so horrible it almost looks fake. Like they were out of Twister. Sadly it was all too real. Very scary! Big huge horrible tornado that destroyed people's homes, businesses, and took innocent lives. It just breaks my heart. All the devastation is too much to bare. I can't imagine all the people from those towns trying to put their lives back together. I have prayed daily, and will continue to pray. One of the girls from our church is a student at Alabama, and thankfully she was safe, and now she is helping out by collecting items to take back. I plan on getting as much together to send as possible.

* And on a final note today I went to my gym today to sign up for the Advocare 24 Day Challenge. I have my box of goodies, and will start it all tomorrow. I also signed up for the six week slim down they are doing. So hopefully I will report back with good results!

My First Sewing Preject!

I mentioned a few weeks back about buying my sewing machine, and sewing with friends on Fridays. I went last week and had a great time! I started my dish mat that I previously mentioned. Well I got almost half way done before it was time to leave. I thought it would be no problem to finish it at home. Well I pulled it back out on Monday. Lets just say my machine and I did not get along. I calmly walked away and left it till today. Well today I finally finished. Pretty sad it took me two Fridays to finish it. But I am slow at sewing plus we talk a good bit. I will say it might not look excellent, but I love that I finished something. Plus it is my first project so when I get really good I will have something to look back on. Also it only will ever see wet dishes so it does not need to be perfect..haha. So her she is.. I don't recommended looking really close especially if you are an expert at sewing. :)


Here she is doing what she does best.


Overall it was not a bad choice for a first project. I would probably do some other things before I make one for someone. I am currently on the lookout for a new project. We shall see what it I will pick.

32 & Counting

Nope the Duggar's did not adopt more kids, and there is not another family trying to beat them. I just happened to have turned 32 on Wednesday! I can't really believe it myself, because it seems like just yesterday I was turning 21. But I definitely don't feel older, and most people still think I am in my late twenties.It was a rather uneventful day to say the least. I woke up feeling pretty bad so the early part of the day I spent in the bed trying to feel better.

When I was in the bed my wonderful mother in law dropped off a present! She got me another piece of Etta B pottery which I love! It is a really cute bowl that I can use at our upcoming social at our house.


My friend Amanda got me a cute Vera Bradley Loop Keychain in the Baroque pattern. My gift from Patrick is currently MIA. I told him in January I wanted an Ipad for my birthday. Well a few weeks later we heard about the Ipad 2 coming out. So we both decided I should just wait to get that one. I never imagined it would be so hard to find. Or at least the one I want is hard to find. I want the 16gb Wifi/3G in black. So we are currently signed up to get some emails from a few places when they get them in stock. Why do I have the feeling it might turn into a Christmas present..haha

When I was finally feeling a little better I got up and got ready. We went by a cupcake shop and each got a cupcake...ok so maybe I got one for later too. :) We then went to eat dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant. My birthday was finished with a trip to Costco and Target. Sounds like a glamorous and exciting birthday huh. lol But I actually enjoyed the low key day. I got to spend a whole day with Patrick doing whatever I wanted. That was probably the best gift I received that day. They are starting planting season full force. So that means he leaves early , and gets home after dark. The next night my mom, sister, Patrick, and I all went out to eat. We had a really good time, and ate some yummy Italian food!

My 31st year was a year full of ups & downs, fun times & sad times, building new friendships and rekindling of some old friendships. It was a year where I grew in so many ways. I learned from all those time, and I hope this year is filled with some great things as well. I will do my best to write about it all here.

I found my old posts!

As I said before I was really frustrated that I had lost all my previous posts. Well when I really want to do something I just keep trying. I finally found out how to find them! I typed my blog address in Google along with a title I had managed to remember. I found it and hit cached underneath, and I was able to go to a cached version of my blog. Of course I had to go one by one and find them. I also had to make new blog posts. But you know it was so worth it to have those posts and memories back! Now by no means are the greatest posts ever, but like I said I hope to look back at my blog in years to come to see how far I have come.

I think I can.. I think I can

A few weeks ago I decided that I would like to start sewing. Now let me just fill you in on some things. I know a lot of women had moms or grandmas that sewed, but neither my mom nor grandma sewed. I actually was the one that would sew on a button for my mom if one came off. Which was with a needle and thread, and it probably came off again very soon. So I am not sure what possessed me to buy this machine.




There she is in all her glory. I was so excited to unbox it, and look at everything included. I still have no idea what to with it. I did buy some fabric remnants to try it out. There is light at the end of the tunnel though! I found out the same week I bought it that some of my friends meet at our church to sew on Fridays. Tracy R. has been sewing forever so she is going to help me! My friend Amanda went last week, and she made something cute.

So with luck and my friends help I will hopefully be making the super cute dish mat from Fly Through Our Window. Of course I will have to use some Amy Butler fabric. And you know I will come back to post about my day!