These are a few of my favorite things...

2012 has arrived...

2012-01-04T15:05:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012, friends!
I can't believe this year is already here! I know I'm ready! Today is my last day of my (almost) 3 week Christmas break. I have enjoyed it tremendously, but as usual, I got sick. I'm feeling much better today and ready to get back in the swing of things!

2011 held a lot of great memories but also some of my least favorite. As a whole, I'm glad to say goodbye.
I hope 2012 will hold a lot of joy and exciting new memories.

My goals this year are to:
-take more pictures
-drink more water
-accomplish my goals
-keep our house cleaner
-go on a fun vacation
-cook more frequently
-blog more, seriously.
-get my lesson plans done in a more timely manner (ha!)
Now this last one is bold, but I hope to not let our laundry pile up.

I think I can do it. Here's to a great 2012!

I'm baaaack...

2011-11-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

I love these as much as the next girl. BUT, seriously? 1lb. of peanut butter cups. Yeah, right. ;) Happy Sunday!

Picture Dump...

2011-09-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been in school for six weeks now! Crazy to think that's the truth. My classroom got a little facelift in the last few weeks that aren't on my classroom tour, so I thought I'd show them here. I painted a rocking chair to be my teacher chair and added a white board next to my smart board and an alphabet/number line for my reading class.

My cutie brother moved away to college and as a family we went and bombarded his new dorm room. It's surprisingly great and for a hot second made me miss dorm life. ;)

Piper {finally!} got a hair cut, I'm embarrassed at how long it had been. but LB was sure glad she was home.
Speaking of dogs my mother in law got a new puppy. He is absolutely precious!!

And we celebrated my wonderful husband's 24th birthday. I hosted my first little birthday party at our house. It was wonderful if I do say so myself. Can't wait to see what the next 24 birthdays are like. :)
OU had their first game of the season (We won!) which means we had our first family watch party, I definitely forgot to take pictures-dang! But I made these, along with guacammus. Both were divine.

Happy Tuesday! BOOMER SOONER!!

I did it...

2011-08-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it! I survived my first two days back at school. The first day- whoa. So heart heavy and emotional for me. I knew this school was a low income school. I knew that these kids were from the hood. People have been telling me that for ages. BUT, I had NO idea. You guys. Seriously, my heart was so heavy on Thursday. Friday however went much better, but I was emotionally drained.
I wasn't in so much shock on Friday, so of course it was much better. I was ready, confident, and I like to think I did a great job. I was asked by three different kids if I could adopt them. I was asked if I was a teenager-multiple times. I was told my room was like "paradise" and that it looked like "a movie." It's just so crazy to think that these kids live not even a mile from my house, but still we live in two completely different worlds. This year is going to be so good for me. It will force me to rely on God for my strength and to really strive to be a huge inspiration to these kids. I think that's what teaching is all about though. The amazing thing is our school is the best part of these kids day. If I can make a difference in their lives, I will have done my job.

In other news we did a Teacher flash mob on Friday for our assembly. We completely shocked the kids. It was classic. All these ghetto kids with SERIOUS rhythm watched their white teachers try and bust a move. Holy hilarity. It was priceless. I'll try and see if I can get some pictures. So funny!

Happy Monday!!

Classroom Tour...

2011-07-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is mainly just for my memory, but I wanted to do a classroom tour of my room. This morning is our first day of school! I cannot believe the school year is already started! Here is my classroom before I left last night. My mom and I painted just about everything in the room. The purple walls, the grey cabinets, there was a lot to be done in here. But I am SO proud of the way it turned out. One day I'll have to do a before post, so you can know what I was working with! Lime green, teal, aqua- you name it-Yuck!

This is what you see when you very first walk in the door. My desk area...

Here is standing at my desk looking at the door that I come in at. All that storage that you see used to be a hot mess. I spent many a long day cleaning out those bad boys. I also painted the cabinets grey and with chalkboard paint with one of my favorite quotes.

This is the door the kids will come in at. It's just to the right of my door. Here's also a close up of the cutie curtains my mom and I made.
My only bulletin board...

And where all of the kids will put their work, divided by teachers last name...

Just to the right of the teacher drawers there is the sink area... and some art work that are picture definitions of some art vocabulary that we will be working on throughout the year...

The smart board and half of my desk...

And my desk area...
I added this random blanket chest thing I painted a few years ago to the side of my desk, it holds my printer and a few odds and ends, but my favorite is the picture of me and Dylan. It makes me smile every darn time I see it, so I figured if I was having a bad day, it would make it just a little bit better if I saw that. :)

AND my favorite part of my desk is this perfect pencil mug from my sweet friend Sarah. Crayola & Burlap. What could possibly make me happier?!...
It makes me happy and is the perfect match to my cute classroom wreath!

Here's to a great first day today! :)

Last day of summer...

2011-07-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we start back to school. Agh! That just seems so wrong. It's a 105+ degrees every stinkin day! AKA- playground duty is going to suck. I am SO excited/scared to death about this first week. Teachers go back tomorrow and the kids come on Thursday. This is the first year our school district is implementing the year round schooling. I think it's going to be a really great thing if I can just make it through the dead heat of summer. I got a new plan book & my Landsend monogrammed tote all cleared out, I'd say I'm halfway ready :)

I've been working so hard this last month trying to revamp my room. The previous art teacher was only there for one year, and I somewhat get the feeling she didn't have the intent to stay. There was hardly anything on the walls and the colors were all kinds of wrong. Needless to say it has given me TONS of things to work on, before it's ready for me.

I have two cutie windows in my room, so I've been busy sewing curtains with my mom.

I have been painting up a storm, chalkboard paint, wall paint, cabinet paint. You name it, I probably painted it. I also had to put my teacher handwriting to use to re-do the cabinets for the kids to put their work in the drawer of their teacher's name.

Thanks to Pinterest I've been inspired to do a million new things, but first on the list was a crayon wreath. (Along with every other teacher in America) I think it's most appropriate for me, being an art teacher-and it's darn cute if I do say so myself. Our theme this year is reach for the stars, so I'm not just star crazy. :)

Today I plan to finish my room and I'll snap some pictures to do a room tour. Happy Sunday!

Work-a-holics, Grill-a-holics...

2011-07-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

I've been working so hard in my classroom trying to get it all organized and clean, I've hardly had any time to blog, but I do have lots to catch up on.

We celebrated my 24th birthday by redo-ing our garage. I enlisted the help of my super handy parents and we went to work! We took out cabinetry, plumbing, a closet and a stupid amount of wood paneling. It looks fabulous! My Mother in Law bought me a shelf for the garage, which was perfect. I will never be able to thank my parents enough for all of their help with all the millions of projects in my life. As if all of that wasn't big enough, Dylan's sister and brother in law gave us a new grill for our deck for our joint birthday present. It is amazing and we have been using it nearly every night!! Our first meal was Hawaiian chicken and asparagus. :) YUM!

Last weekend Dylan had a rare Saturday night off so we had our friends come over and grill out together. It was a blast! The only picture I remembered to take was my banana pudding. (One day I'll get better at that!) I used a new recipe and it was amazing! It definitely stepped up the banana pudding game!

Happy Monday!

hello again...

2011-06-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

Where have I been?! It's hard to follow a post like my last one... and as much as I've wanted to blog, I've still got nothing.. My life is finally starting to calm down, for real this time. I accepted a new job and I have a serious feeling me and this old blog of mine are about to rekindle our love. :) At the end of this month I finish with my current job, and then school doesn't start at my next job until the end of JULY!! I finally have a small hint at a teacher's summer vacation. Hooray! Most of July I will spend organizing my new classroom and making it mine. If you know me at all, this is like music to my ears. I live for taking someone elses mess and turning it into something suited for me. Ha! But really, this new job could not be a bigger answer to prayer. I know I was meant for this. I am so excited for what this next school year will bring!

Now, whats been happening lately you might ask?

We went to Hawaii. O'ahu to be exact...

We visited the Dole Plantation...

Had a shave ice date (They don't say "shaved"- definitely weird)...

My family learned to surf, I sat out, they did so great!!...

Climbed to the top of Diamond Head...

Saw several blow holes. Amazing...

A luau at Paradise Cove...

and spent many a day just staring at the beauty. It's just plain magical.

and much more: near drowning, horseback riding on the beach, spear throwing at a luau, too many cocktails to count, wonderful beach reads, spam... I could go on and on. It was wonderful and I couldn't be more thankful to the people at Make a Wish to the absolutely wonderful trip we were given. That foundation has a serious soft spot in my heart. Vacation is a wonderful thing.

But boy, is it good to be home...

2011-04-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

Sometimes God has a way of teaching you things through heartache. This past week has been one of those times. I went from my highest of highs to my lowest of lows.

And now, I'm trying to find some type of new normal. Which is proving to be much harder.

We went from finding out I was pregnant,to finding out we had an early miscarriage.

To say I'm heart broken would be an enormous understatement. We weren't trying to get pregnant, but things happen. I haven't felt that kind of joy in my whole entire life. I was proud I was pregnant. I wanted to shout from the mountains that this little squishy thing growing inside of me would call me mommy, and Dylan, daddy. We went to my first appt, everything looked good. Then bam. Not so good. It was over.

I wasn't ready for that to be over. I wasn't ready to not be pregnant. That's not what I wanted. I went from not wanting kids for several years, to accepting the fact that I was going to have one, to the heartache of losing something I never even would get to know. It's a weird feeling. It's hard and sad and more than anything I want my heart to catch up with my head.

I know that I'm going to be okay. I know that Dylan's okay. I know that we will move on and get pregnant and have a family one day. I know that there are bigger problems in this world and that this seems so small...

But, to me. This feels like my world has been shattered. I feel like I'm exhausted and I just want to fast forward life for a minute. I feel sad and broken. I feel loved and thankful that I have a family that is here for me. And I feel like I want my heart to catch up to my brain so I don't have to feel this way anymore.

I pride myself on being a strong girl. I can handle a lot of things. And I know, one day I'll be able to handle this too. But right now I feel so small.

I know God has big plans for us. Sometimes things need to fall apart so bigger things can fall together.

So right now I'll be thankful for my husband that loves me even when I'm a hot mess. That he goes out of his way to make my sappy self a smiley self and that he loves seeing me smile more than anything. I'm thankful for parents(& family) that go out of their way to make me feel loved, and understood. I'm thankful for friends that sent flowers to my house to make me smile.

I know God has a plan for our life, so my prayer right now is that I will continue to trust that His timing is far better than mine. I pray for strength and comfort and the ability to get past this little hurdle and be stronger than ever.

And in less than two months I will be here, soaking up the sun and being blessed with a week of stress free family fun... and NOW, I'll have a cocktail in hand. ;)

One of these days...

2011-03-11T20:32:00.001-08:00

I will be back in the swing of blogging.

I'm not sure why I've been in such a rut lately. {and I'm not sure a "rut" is the appropriate word- seeing as how my "rut" has now lasted an eternity. oh well.}

Here's what is going on:

I mulched my heart out and painted our shutters my dad built us.
I may be partial, but I think they look pretty darn cute.

I started growing Basil and Parsley on my kitchen window sill. Both from the dollar spot at Super Target.

My best friend Megan found out she is PREGNANT!!

My sweet friend Erin (and her husband, Michael) welcomed their first baby into the world on Sunday March 6th. Amos Samuel, 9lb. 2 oz. and BOY is he a cutie! SO stinking precious I can't handle it. Dylan and I went and visited the growing family in the hospital on his first full day of being in the world. Here he is with his cute mommy.

This little guy is growing {and shedding} at the speed of light, and I'm trying desperately to keep up. I've decided dog hair will be the death of me. Almost certain.

Two of my favorite friends from Texas came to visit us. {No pictures yet, but I'll post some soon!}

I tried King{'s?} Cake for the first time in my life and I was disappointed to learn it was basically a donut? Delicious donut, but still a donut.

I finally got a gel manicure. HOLY fabulousness. I will never pay for a regular manicure again. 10 days without a chip or any sign of wear. Count me in.

...

I'm thinking that's all for now :)

Lambeau Buckingham...

2011-03-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Lambeau had his first Vet visit. He was a star patient. He made so many new friends, and the Vet just kept telling us how healthy and great he looked. It made me feel much better about my status as a puppy mom. I worry we're doing it all wrong, but according to the Dr. we are doing a great job. :)

Valentine's 2011...

2011-02-14T19:33:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

My Valentine is working tonight, but I went up to the station and brought him dinner. His favorite, a cheeseburger. We ate dinner together and worked on his package for the 10:00 show. (So if you're in the area tune in and watch my Valentine too!)

He has a date planned for us on Friday & I am looking forward to a date out more than I can say! :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day! It's teacher appreciation week this week and I'm looking forward to another fun day at work!

Blizzard 2011...

2011-02-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

Let me just say that Oklahoma is wacked out of it's mind when it comes to weather. Which, happens to be one of the reasons I love it so much. I love that we get four seasons. I love each one for different reasons, but my favorite is probably snow. Which is probably the one that we get the least amount of.

This last Saturday, it was 76 degrees and beautiful here! Gorgeous. Today, it is 6.

We have gotten 12.2 inches of snow this storm system and from the looks of it, it's not going anywhere for a while.

Needless to say, we've been doing a lot of this...

And since our backyard looks like this...

Our dogs are forced to have this small space to um, "do there business" {which isn't confusing at all to a in process potty training puppy}...

Here's hoping tomorrow is another snowday. :)

One of these days...

2011-01-25T20:41:00.001-08:00

So here's the deal. I'm basically obsessed with the idea of a gel manicure. I have no idea why. But I must get one. And soon. The problem is, I cannot seem to spend $30+ on myself right now. We are still trying to get settled in and bills are coming, {lots at a time} whether we're ready or not. Just last week we had a leak in one of our water drains and there goes a couple hundred dollars, then I got sick, which caused Dr. bills and medicine...etc. Welcome to the real world, right? Priorities. Got to love them. Guess this means I'm growing up. Bills over manicures. Lame.

Have you had a gel manicure?

I'm failing. Failing miserably...

2011-01-22T10:01:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd be better at blogging in 2011, and some times I still think I will. But I have zero time to sit without being interrupted and this is just a lost cause. Hopefully things will change soon. In the meantime, here's the latest...
We took this sucker home...

We had our FIRST snow day, let me just say- Heavenly...

I've been raking my heart out. I ended up with 11 GIANT trash bags. Never again...
...and watching this little guy run through my leaf piles to chew on them. But it's hard to get mad when he's so darn cute...

I've been baking my heart out all day every day. Something is wrong, I'm suddenly obsessed with sweets. But these are my favorites from Recipe Club, and I can't get enough. Even Dylan's friends love them. They're a good "quick! company's coming" cookie...

Speaking of company coming... We have four guests coming to stay with us tonight. Our friends from Amarillo :) They'll be our first guests, and I can't wait to show them our house and show them our new life in Oklahoma! I hope it's a good time!

Monday Ramblings...

2011-01-03T18:48:00.000-08:00

This year has already started out fantastic. I've decided to not drink diet coke anymore. :) I freaking love that drink, but seriously I could save some serious cash by cutting back. So that's my plan. More water, less diet coke. I'd say in the last 3 days I've done a darn good job! I think I drank like 100 oz. of water today. No lie.

In other news, I made my first batch of chicken and dumplings tonight. My parents, my brother, my sister and brother in law and my nephew all came over to see the house and just have a good family dinner together. Let me just tell you, it was so good and so so easy! It will definitely be going in my recipe collection. Thank you Southern Living, you never fail me.

Tomorrow we start back up at school and I'm already praying for a snow day. How sad is that? I love my job, but it has been so nice to have such a low key weekend. I need to do this more often. It's good for my health. So maybe mother nature will give me a few more free days in the near future. One can hope, right? ;)

Tonight I have to finish painting mugs for McNellies and put our laundry away and pack lunches and pick out my outfit for tomorrow... Oh and paint my nails. These resolutions are legit I tell ya!

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011...

2011-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Dear 2010,
I had low expectations for you. I was blown away by 2009 and really doubted the excitement you would bring. Boy was I wrong. I feel like I was slapped in the face, and now it's over. You were by far the fastest year of my life.
Thanks for all of the memories.

Here are some that I don't want to forget:
Living in Amarillo for almost 8 months- thought it would be horrific. Come to find out, I would meet some really sweet friends, and make memories to last a lifetime. I learned a lot about my walk with God and all things being in His timing.

My brother being diagnosed with Cancer and me praying my heart out that Channel 5 would hire my husband so I could be closer to my family. He didn't get the job. They wanted a girl. Obviously, that's not something we could argue.

But God can move mountains and within three days of hearing the disappointing news about not getting the job, Channel 4 (the number one station in OKC) called Dylan wanting him. In two weeks. It was absolutely in His plan for us to be back home. I serve an unbelievable God.

My brother finished his treatment and is now Cancer free. I will never forget his last Cancer appointment and hearing the Children's Hospital staff singing him the Goodbye Cancer song. I just have chills and tears of joy writing this. My parents were out of town, and it was just me and my brother. What a memory! I love him more than words can say, and I am so thankful that he is healthy. So thankful.

Packing up our life and moving back to Oklahoma so we could live with my parents for a year while we saved for our first home. Needless to say, we bought our first home 2 1/2 months later and rebuilt the whole inside.

We celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary.

We now live in our home that was redone with more love and hard work than I could ever be thankful enough for. I really have the best family in the whole entire world.

We bought each other a Golden Retriever and in 8 days we'll welcome a new puppy into the mix.

I'm sure there is way more that went on than I can even remember right at this moment. This year presented a lot of struggles and hardship and a whole lot of celebration. Through it all I'm more happy right now, at this moment, than I've been in a really long time. I love my family, my husband, our health, our home... I could go on and on, but at the end of the day I am so excited for 2011 and my prayer is that it will be much calmer than the last! :)

Happy New Year!

Lambeau Buckingham...

2010-12-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

As most of us know, my husband is a sports broadcaster. So obviously sports are more than just a passion. He lives.breathes.eats.sleeps.anything having to do with sports.

Specifically his favorite teams:
The Boston Red Sox.
The Oklahoma Sooners.
The Green Bay Packers.
The Boston Celtics.

Since Dylan and I were dating, {quite honestly it could have even been before this} he has told me about his dream dog. It will be a Golden Retriever, it will be named Lambeau {after Lambeau field, where the Packers play} and it will be his. He will love it more than life itself. So being the fab wife that I am, I knew {even when I was just his girlfriend} that I would be fulfilling this dream of his one day. Because I love him. And that's what you do when you love someone. Make them happy, because it makes you happy to see them so happy.

That day has come. January 9th. We will pick up this little guy.

It is a Golden Retriever.

It is named Lambeau.

And it is his.

And I'd say he loves him more than life itself. :)

Merry Christmas, Dylan Ross! Welcome to the family Lambeau Buckingham! We can't wait to show you your new home & introduce you to your sister Piper!

Christmas 2010...

2010-12-27T18:56:00.000-08:00

This year, whew. It wears me out just to think about it. I plan to be better about blogging in 2011. I finally feel pretty settled. The last few weeks have come and gone and I don't even know where to start to catch back up. {what else is new?!}

But why not try?...
-We decorated our house for Christmas like this...

-We mailed our Christmas card with this photo and I forgot to save the digital image, so just pretend...

-Christmas came and went and was absolutely wonderful. Dylan and I just kept looking at each other and thinking how thankful we are for this life. I know I've said it a gajillion times, but really. I love this life I've been given and I never want to take a single second for granted.

I made these for some of my girlfriends and neighbors...

-We spent time with our families and loved every second of it.

-I made more Oreo balls than I care to count. {& probably will never make them again}

-I surprised Dylan with this...

-Which means we are now on the hunt for one of these...

I think that's about it really :) Tomorrow we are driving 2.5 hours away to look at a puppy breeder. I can't wait to potentially meet our newest family member and put our deposit down. Eeek!

The December Chaos Has Arrived...

2010-12-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

It's officially Christmas in the Buckingham household.

I couldn't love it more. Something about this time of year just feels so cozy. I love {more than I ever dreamed} having a fireplace and a home to call our own.

This weekend has been c.raz.y. I had Crafting & Cocktails, our work Christmas party at a pottery studio where I painted this...

I can't wait to see it all finished and fired.

Then I had a baby shower to attend for my cute pregnant friend, Erin. We got her a cloth diaper kit that she and her husband Michael wanted. I'd say it was a success. I still can't believe that my friends are starting to have babies. Unreal. I just don't feel old enough for that. :)

Today we went to church, then to a birthday party then to the grocery store and then I hosted Recipe Club for the first time at our house. I'd say it was a pretty good weekend, but most certainly a busy one.

It makes life so much easier now that we are starting to feel a bit more settled. I hope it only gets better from here!

Ode to Black Friday...

2010-11-26T14:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a wonderful day, but real early this morning...was even better.

I spent the day surrounded by family and fun. Dylan had to work last night, so I came home and finished our laundry and by the time he got off work we headed to WalMart to hit up the black Friday sales. AKA heaven in my world. {Just to clarify, black Friday is heaven. Not WalMart.}

I love love love black Friday. It's really truly my favorite day of the year.

.The crowds.

.The h i l a r i o u s people that take everything so seriously I literally laugh out loud watching them. It's like SNL right in front of your face. Classic.

.The people {mostly young women} that are clearly amateurs and get dolled up to go stand in the freaking freezing cold to get a few towels on sale. I mean, I'm all for a good deal, but please... leave the dangly earrings and lipstick at home. It doesn't speed up the line, or guarantee you anything.

.The women that are so die hard they will physically push carts or people right out of the way to get to where they want to go. Priceless.

But, most of all...
I love that it's our tradition. We do it every year. Last night for instance, I didn't need anything from WalMart, but was I going to skip black Friday? No way. Not this girl. Dylan walked out of there with two new games for his xbox, I got the Blindside for $5, and we got all three seasons of the Big Bang Theory for $30. Which is cheaper than if you were to just buy one season on any other day.

I get that it's crazy and some people don't like it, but I say if you've never done it- don't knock it. It's a darn good time, and most of the memories of the adventure will last you all year long. It's fantastic. :)

On a completely different note, we bought our Christmas tree today and it is set up ready to be decorated when Dylan gets off tonight. I can't hardly wait to see it all decorated, but even just right now, it looks & smells darn good if I do say so myself.

Happy Holiday weekend, hope yours was as successful as ours! :)

2010 Thankfuls...

2010-11-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

I am thankful:
.for my handsome husband. I didn't have any idea growing up how good I would have it in the husband department. I think I won the lottery on this one. He's funny, charming, good looking, dependable, driven, devoted, he loves the Lord and he loves me :) ... I could go on and on, but my most thankful part about Dylan is that I have a partner to go through this crazy life with. I'm more grateful for him now than I ever knew I could be.
.for my amazing mom, who is also my best friend. I love her more and more each day.
.my wonderful family & my awesome in laws. :)
.for my brother and more specifically his health.
.that we live in Oklahoma again. duh.
.for Amarillo. It was our home for almost 8 months & will always hold a special place in my heart.
.for my iPhone. (ha! sad, but truthful.)
.for laughter.
.for a full time job that I love.
.for wonderful friends.
.for a cute brick home to call our own.
.for a sweet little doggy named Piper, who loves unconditionally. everyday.
.for my husband's job that he also loves.
.for three year old hugs. There's nothing like them, and I'm lucky enough to get at least 30 every single day.
.for this life I've been given.

This year has been extra special for me. It's been so full of ups and downs and turns and never ever has it been a constant. It's almost December, and I don't think we've been "settled" for even one week during 2010. It has been lots of moving and lots of tugging on my heart strings and I've felt emotions on every single level. Good and bad. But I am, and always will be thankful for the Lord bringing me through everything we've experienced. I am so unworthy of all of these blessings, and I know now more than ever in my life I couldn't do any of these things without Him.

Today we will be celebrating with my side of the family in the morning, and Dylan's side in the afternoon. I wasn't sure we would even be able to celebrate the holidays this year with our families, let alone in Oklahoma, but we do. I will always be thankful for that. :)

A day in iPhone pictures...

2010-11-22T17:39:00.000-08:00

Today I've spent the day trying desperately to get our new life settled.
I am so in love with our home and am loving the wonderful space that we have that is ours and only ours.
I've ordered Christmas Cards.
Addressed them, and plan to mail them on Wednesday.
I've done more laundry than I probably have in the last 3 months. {sad, but so true}
I made my husband cinnamon rolls this morning for breakfast, before he left for work.

I took my mom to get a pedicure, to thank her for being so wonderful. I realize this doesn't begin to cover the things she has done for us, but who doesn't love a good pedicure?! And when I came home, guess who was waiting for me...

I cooked dinner for my husband, which he was able to come home for. I can tell I'm going to love that again.

I saw this out my window while I did my dishes.

All in all it was a beautiful day off. Definitely something I needed after the last few weeks.

And, guess who blogged twice in one week? This girl! Who knows, maybe I'll be back tomorrow with more! :)

This is the First Time...

2010-11-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

I'm blogging from my new home!

I'm sitting in my living room with beautifully painted walls, wonderful hardwood floors, a gorgeous fireplace and each and every detail of our home was done with love. I'm thankful for more things that I can even begin to count this Thanksgiving. It makes my heart smile. I just feel so blessed.

Tonight I plan to accomplish laundry and start getting our home in order. It makes me so giddy to know that Dylan and I are making memories that will last our entire lives. Someday we'll be telling our grandchildren about out first house, and these are the moments I want to remember. That Piper loves her new home and I think more than anything, loves having her mommy and daddy's undivided attention. :) That our first grocery trip cost us $250 freaking dollars. That our washing machine started leaking out our garage and filled the entire garage floor, including our boxes. That our first night in our new house, we didn't have sheets due to the washing machine issue. But most importantly, that we've never been happier or more proud of our first big investment together. We would love a cardboard box, if that's what we could get, but knowing that this whole house is ours... it makes my heart swell. I love this life we've been given. I will never ever take these moments for granted.

Every good and perfect gift is from above.
James 1:17

House Updates!...

2010-11-08T20:19:00.001-08:00

In the past week we have made the biggest investment of our lives.
In (the same) past week we have completely deteriorated just about everything about the home we now own.

We've sledged the floors...

And by "we" I mean, Dylan...

Had to rip up floors...

Removed appliances and had to rebuild cabinetry...

And now, the fun begins. Seeing all of these fugly things...

Turn to pretty things... I'll have more updates soon!

Monday at 4:00...

2010-10-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

In 37 short hours, you can just call me a home owner!

I haven't been blogging very much lately, let's face it. I'm a pretty busy girl.
I've had Recipe Club, went to see my girl crush Carrie Underwood. (& was definitely retweeted on a billboard!) I have found my favorite wine of all time(- thanks, Sarah for introducing us!) I went to my first Crafting&Cocktails session. Which, by the way, is one heck of a good time that might have involved breaking and entering...but, we'll talk about that later. I had a Halloween party with some of my favorite 3 year olds & I bought my appliances. Picked out counter tops, flooring and paint colors galore. I had my hair appointment and practically died my hair brown... but mainly I haven't been blogging because I am garage sale obsessed. o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d. I seem to be hitting the jackpot every single time I go. It's like a cheap glorious gift from above. Times 29.

Some of my favorite recent finds have been:
-A marvelous iron candlestick for ONE DOLLAR. (it is taller than my knee!)

-A 1920's kidney shaped writing desk. ($30-Thanks, Dad!)
-A great bookshelf ($10)
-A magazine rack ($.25)
-A door- which will soon become a headboard for my guest bedroom, like my cute friends the Crosley's had in their master bedroom. ($5)

-A fullsize bed, which(tomorrow)will become a darling bench for our front porch ($25)
-A wicker rocking chair (that desperately needs a mate.) ($5)

I could truly go on and on, but I'm sure you get the point.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow of my new bench! Happy Saturday!

Quick Update...

2010-10-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

We are still on track to purchase our first home. (only 9 more days until closing!)
We are both so ready to get started on all of our projects for the house, and get settled enough to move in!
I have been working lots of OT at work, but at the same time my life has started to kind of settle.
I'm used to being back at home, and more than ever I feel (weirdly) like we never left.
I love my job and Dylan's job and feel SO privileged that we both do what we love and don't have to carry the burden of work at home.
I'm antsy antsy antsy to have my own kitchen again and find my self spending wayyyy too much time organizing my recipes and gearing up for cooking. Watch out, Dylan, Betty Crocker is set for return! ;)
I'm finally starting to paint our wedding plate. I'll post pictures soon!
I'm also starting our Christmas plate. Finally!

That's really all for now. I'll try and blog again tomorrow. (I know, ambitious!)

Happy Saturday!!

Paper, huh...

2010-10-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our first wedding anniversary. To celebrate we are buying each other a house. They say that you should celebrate with a gift of paper for your first anniversary, we figured that a title of a house would suffice. ;)

I think our one short year of marriage must equate to a heck of a lot more than that. We graduated college, moved out of state to pursue my husbands dream, dealt with cancer, moved back to Oklahoma for two full time jobs and now we're buying our first home that one day, we will start a family in. I'm thinking all of this isn't the norm for most newlyweds.

What I've learned in these short wonderful 12 months of marriage is that I never want to know what life is like without Dylan. This last year has taught me what true happiness is. I wake up with a smile on my face, and I go to sleep with a smile on my face. He makes every day a good day. We laugh all the time, from morning to night when we can't sleep and we play goofy games to make ourselves tired. He's my best friend and my love. What could be better? I love that it's not just my life I have to worry about anymore, it's our life. I love that we've learned to really have discussions and we know each others quirks and what makes each other tick. :) I love that we have our life together but we also have separate hobbies and friends. I admire his passion for work and his drive to succeed. I love that we have a dog that we spoil more than life itself. She's ridiculously rotten, and we wouldn't change a single thing about her. I couldn't imagine going into 2010 that this year would top last year, but I have to say it's come in pretty darn close and it's only October.

I love you Dylan Ross, thank you for giving me your name and sharing your life with me. Here's to many more years of wedded bliss!!
Love, Emily Marie

What's New?...

2010-09-25T07:38:00.001-07:00

A whole freakin' lot.
Here's a couple updates on life.

1.My brother is CANCER FREE!!! He's been in remission for a week and a half and I couldn't be happier. God is SO good!!! His hair is already starting to grow back, he has little fuzzies all over. I can't wait to see what it will look like the second time around.
2.I'm so busy I can't even see straight, I'm ready for life to calm down for a second.
3.Dylan and I are in the process of buying a house. It's darling, and I can't wait to finally have our own home. I'm just scared to death something will go wrong in the process, but I just have to keep my chin up and think positive thoughts. I'm pretty sure it's meant to be. :)
4.I haven't even started my book club book, I'm such a slacker. But I did mention #2. (note to self-work on time management.)

I'll try and get back in the swing of things soon! I'm off to look at house stuff. Happy Weekend! Oh yeah, and BOOMER SOONER!!

Saturday Bliss...

2010-09-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Today is finally Saturday. Not too much going on, Jason is done with chemo! Hallelujah! And his body scans were yesterday. We got a phone call that my brothers results have been pushed back until next Monday, with his official appointments on Wednesday. With my parents being out of town I'll take Wednesday off work, and go from there. I'm hopeful it will be good news. I'm ready to say bye to this Cancer word that has taken over the last couple of months! To be honest, I'm petrified of being the adult at the appointment. What if they say it isn't gone? What if they use large words that I have no idea what they are talking about. I guess I'll just handle it when I get there, but yikes. If I feel like I'm having to grow up fast, I can only imagine how Jason is feeling.

On a much lighter note, I've decided to join a Book Club. I couldn't be more excited. It's with several friends from work, and I'm geeking out with excitement. I went to Barnes and Noble last night and spent $18 dollars on a stupid paperback. Then came home to check on Amazon, only to buy a second copy (which is hardback) for a grand total of $3.00!! A penny for the book, $2.99 for the shipping. I.love.Amazon.com :)

We're reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter, it sounds like a good one.

I'm starting to feel so fancy and adult like being in Recipe Club & Book Club. Speaking of which I need to go to Hobby Lobby to buy some scrap book paper for Monday night! I've really missed these girls!

Enjoy your Saturday! Oh yeah, & Boomer Sooner!!!

Thursday Ramble...

2010-09-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends!
It's almost Friday! :)
Can you tell I'm excited?! We had crazy storms today, and I can't say I hated it. I l.o.v.e.d it!! I realize this isn't the safest thing to do while I was driving, but holy black sky batman, it was black outside! It was like 70 mph winds and they said on the news that it was stronger than the hurricane winds. Crazy!

On another note, this has been a great work week. I've had terrible headaches for three days straight, but I'm starting to feel much better. I know several of the kids at school will be gone tomorrow, so I'm thinking that it will probably be a wonderful day! Ha! :) Not that I want them all to stay home, but it's nice to hear that they will be spending "mommy days", or days at the lake with their family. I love seeing them all day everyday, but it's good to know their parents not only want to, but can spend that time with them too.

At work tomorrow we also get to kick off football season by wearing our favorite college football gear, and celebrating with a pizza party. Sounds like a fun Friday to me!

On another exciting note, Dylan found out he's off this Sunday/Monday! Do you know what this means? WE get two days off together to spend with no plans! Except for a family get together on Monday! Hallelujah!!! I can't tell you how excited this makes me! With Dylan's job, we never get two days off together. We're lucky if we get one. And the fact that one of those days, happens to be a holiday is just insane! I can't wait! This hasn't happened in ages!! I'm just so thankful! Monday is going to be a fun filled family day, and I couldn't be more excited!

Also OU's first game is in 2 days!! I can't wait!!! BOOMER SOONER!!!

September Already?!...

2010-08-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

What is with 2010?! Each month that comes just slaps me in the face? Like where the heck did August go? OR July, June, May, April, March, February or even January go? Did I not just move to Texas? Apparently I didn't, we just moved to Oklahoma. I feel like I blinked and this year is practically over. And still I'm wishing for fall! I'm ready to say goodbye to the 100+ degree weather!

Happy September, friends!

It's FRIDAY!!!...

2010-08-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad it's the weekend. This week has really been a tough one. Glad I can put a check mark next to it and enjoy the weekend!

1.Jason had his last round of chemo start this week. He ended up getting really sick, which absolutely breaks my heart to see him hurt that way. I wish I could take the pain away and deal with it myself, but at the same time I know it's good for him to be the one to handle it, and own that he did this on his own. He went to school again today, so he is doing much better. I just hope we are almost to the finish line! He's an incredibly strong guy and I'm more and more proud of him each day. I will continue to wear my livestrong bracelet proudly and think of him and all the other people out there fighting cancer.

2.On to the weekend plans- I think tonight Dylan and I will head to Norman and have a sweet tea date. It will give us some good car time and since I don't have to wake up early tomorrow, I'm more than happy to stay up later than normal to spend time together :) Sometime this weekend I plan on settling in FOR REAL. Get it all done for good. So then next week maybe my brain won't feel so full.

3. I'm so behind on my DVR I can't even see straight. I went from loving my TV shows to almost not liking them. It's the weirdest thing. I think now that I'm busy all day every day, TV doesn't appeal to me or something? I plan on fixing this this weekend, because I do love and miss my shows. Other than Big Brother I am completely behind on e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. Hopefully I'll get that in check too.

4. Also, I don't miss Amarillo, but I am really missing my friends. If any of you guys are reading this, I do miss you! Please come visit us soon!! :)

Happy Friday, Y'all!! If you made it this far, I am sorrrrrry! It's quite a brain dump!

Dylan Ross...

2010-08-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Top Ten-I love you becauses...
.You have the kindest heart I know. You make me want to be a nicer person :)
.You make me laugh every darn day.
.You don't even know how handsome you are.
.You love both of our families. A lot.
.Of the way you love Piper. I can't wait to see you with our own (human) children.
.You not only set goals, but you achieve them. Quickly. Which is so so admirable.
.You know how to love me. Even when I'm hard to handle.
.You are not only smart. But you are silly, you're always making me smile.
.You amaze me. Everyday.
.& Finally.

Because you're my best friend. You make everyday a better day.
I love you, forever & always.
Happy 23rd Birthday, Handsome!

Week One, Complete...

2010-08-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been in Oklahoma for one week now and we still don't have to go back. That is a fantastic feeling! We both have worked half of a week at our jobs, and both of us LOVE them. Dylan is loving his new station, and the other guys he's working with. He made his TV debut on Friday night, and was introduced to OKC. I can't tell you the feelings I had watching him living out his own dreams. I mean it was a big deal to watch him on TV in Texas, but that was never his dream job, just a great job doing what he loved to get him where he wanted to be. For us to be in Oklahoma City, and for him to be covering sports in Oklahoma and watch my husband doing what he was made to do made me feel more pride than I ever knew I had. He is one talented guy, I can't believe all of our dreams are coming true. Everyday I feel like we're going to wake up from this incredible dream we're living. I hope we never take for granted the things that we have been blessed with. This crummy year is starting to take a big turn for the better, and you won't hear me complaining! God's plan is always better than my own. Just when I start to think my way is better he throws me a curve ball and proves me wrong. Like I said before, I am more happy than I probably ever have been.
I am loving being at my old job, and am getting more and more excited to teach Enrichment. I went to Lakeshore and Mardel yesterday and found way more than I needed! I'm pretty sure I could spend an entire day in those stores. I have only two weeks to start planning, and I'm hoping I'll get some good hours in these next few days.

On a completely other note. My mom's birthday was last Wednesday and I was too busy to post about it, but I wanted to wish her a BIG belated Happy Birthday!!! She is the best mom in the whole wide world. I hope one day I can be half the mother that she has been to me and my brother. She is one amazing woman and she deserves everything she ever wanted!

Happy Sunday!!

We...

2010-08-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

are finally DONE moving!!!

We are not quite settled, but well on our way.
...
We both start our new jobs tomorrow. :)
...
We are lo-ving being back home.
...
We are more than thankful for everything that has happened to us in the last 2 weeks.
...
We better get some rest for our big days tomorrow.

More on tomorrow later. Goodnight!

Complete Chaos...

2010-08-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm living in the remnants of a tornado. It's awful. I feel like I'm doing so much, but when I look around it just looks like a complete mess. I wouldn't say I'm clean by any stretch, but messiness starts to drive me mad. So this right now is making me crazy. There's no hope in making it clean, it's just chaotic and down right scary. Dylan and I's moms are coming tomorrow morning, and I'd love nothing more than to have the majority of everything done.. but I just can't seem to conquer this packing business. I'm a terrible packer. I love love unpacking but hate packing. I promised myself I wouldn't complain about getting to move.. but it is wayyy more difficult than I bargained for.

My brain is over flowing with questions- When do I pack my dishes? Will I need them in the next few days? How do I pack books when they are all shapes and sizes? Will I need my purses in the next six months, or will I be fine with my trusty Michael Kors? How do I pack a weird shaped apothecary jar? If I put my enormous collection of earrings that is displayed on my earring frame in a plastic bag will they get really tangled, and how will I untangle them? How am I supposed to put all of our hanging clothes into boxes when we will need to wear them next week?

It.never.stops.

Only four more days... I can do it!

I'm a Deal Maker...

2010-08-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

I know I should be packing, but I feel like laying out instead.
Here's how I justify this in my brain-
If I lay out today, I must pack 10 boxes before I go to sleep.
Deal?
Sold!
Off to the pool I go.
:)

p.s. My brother came into my parent's living room last night with a huge smile on his face and told my mom and dad that he couldn't feel the lump under his chin anymore. This just brings tears to my eyes. The chemo has not only taken his hair, but it's taken his lump, and next it can have his cancer. I'm one happy sister. Praise the Lord.

Moving Mode...

2010-08-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

I'm on a moving rampage.
Instead of things getting boxed and ready, things are getting real messy.
I'm sick.
I can't wait for our mom's to be here in FOUR days!!
I need help.

Just another day at the hospital...

2010-08-04T11:46:00.001-07:00

In the last month I've spent more time in the hospital than I probably have in my whole life combined- and that is saying something seeing as how I am still living in Texas and the hospital is in Oklahoma City. Can you imagine how much time my brother has spent here? Yikes! Wayy more than anyone should, I can tell you that much.

Today is his round two cycle of chemo. Each cycle lasts 7 days, but the 1st day is always the longest. The first cycle we spent 13 hours at the hospital, and today (cycle 2) it's looking like we'll be here just as long. My mom, brother and I are just trying to enjoy our time together and keep my brother's spirits up. I think he gets a kick out of my mom and I's relationship. She is quite hilarious and when the two of us get together it can be pretty entertaining. For dinner my dad and husband will come spend some time with us to help pass the time. Thankfully we all have our laptops, iPhones, a deck of cards, some movies and a TV to help the day go by quicker.

So far so good today. He's been great. Who am I kidding? He's been great through this whole process! I can't imagine any 17 year old handling it any better. This morning we had to re-shave his head, and I'm not going to lie to you, he's looking pretty darn cute! ;)

Just Call Me Mrs. Productive...

2010-08-03T13:01:00.001-07:00

SO in the last 24 hours I have...

-Set up a cancelation date for Cable/Internet
-Set up a cancelation date for our Electric
-Hired Movers
-My husband put in our notice at our apartment.
-Scheduled a Moving Truck
-Cancelled Netflix
-Got my Mother and my Mother in law on board to come next Tuesday to help us speed pack and drive us back to Oklahoma.

Now I must begin gathering boxes. Happy Tuesday!!

BIG NEWS...

2010-08-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

I have been a little MIA this week. I have known something was a brewin' for the last 9 days. Biggest secret of my life, so far.
You ready to know it too? .....

One of the stations in Oklahoma City, has been in contact with MY husband for a potential job oppurtunity there. We have been praying big prayers this summer that some kind of door would open for us. Everything going on with my brother has really been hard on me, and I just needed to be in Oklahoma. We first got contacted a week ago last Thursday,(moments after my last post I might add!) and I knew that this oppurtunity was different than the others. We decided to hold it in because we didn't want to have another potential job come to the table- get our hopes up(everyone's hopes up)-and get them crushed like they have before. But, I just knew this would be different. It was too clear that it was a God thing for me to doubt it for even for a second. The timing is perfect, the job is perfect, everything around it is perfect.

It is clear that this is the path that God has laid out for us, and you bet your bottom dollar we are not doubting it for a second. We are following with sprinting legs and huge open hearts. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." About a month ago I put that specific bible verse on my side bar on my blog. This verse has been really weighing on my heart since I heard about my brother's cancer. Little did I know the true power in that verse and how relevant it would be in my life. It just makes me smile from ear to ear writing all of this. This day, August 2nd 2010, exactly one month from the day we learned my brother has cancer, we found out that we are moving back home! OMG! It's still not real!

I am SO thankful for this day and am so proud to announce that my husband is the newest member of the KFOR Sports Team at News Channel 4 in Oklahoma City! It's the number one rated station in the city, and the best sports team too. We could not be prouder or any more thankful! We could not be more excited! Not only does Dylan have a job, but I will get to work at my old job and we both will be happy as can be! We both will start our new jobs on August 18th. (Which just so happens to be my mom's birthday! Coincidence? I think not.) This is REAL! I can't even handle my excitement. We're really truly moving back to Oklahoma!! :)

One of those days...

2010-07-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today has been one of those days. I might just be hormonal, but I'm also feeling impatient, and cranky and just plain exhausted. I'm running on like 2 hours of sleep so please forgive my extreme crankiness. I feel like everything with my brother has really opened my eyes to what is really important to me. I want so badly to be back in Oklahoma. Today's one of those days when I'm just ready to be there. I'm ready to start our life for real. I want to be with our families. I want to own a home, have a yard, a big kitchen, and a mailbox and a garage and I want a neighborhood to take Piper on walks and I just want all of that now. Ha? Do I sound greedy yet? I want to be content where we are right now in this moment, but today it's especially hard.

These past 7 months in Amarillo, God has really been teaching me patience, and showing me (especially lately) that my plans are not better than his. It took me almost 6 months to find a good job here. It took us a few months to build good quality relationships. I'm learning now, more than ever, that everything is better in His timing. Tonight I pray for my attitude, and for a calmer heart. I pray that my impatience would be replaced with faithfulness. Whether we get back to Oklahoma in 3 years or 3 months, I pray that my attitude remains faithful and that my crankiness will go back to where it came from. I'm forever thankful that my life is shared with Dylan, and more than wanting to be in Oklahoma, I want to be right next to him. I wouldn't go through this with anyone else. We make each other laugh, all day every day. He's my bff, my partner in crime. I never thought I could love someone so much, or that marriage would be so fun. I just have a case of the "wants" today. I hope everyone else has a better attitude than I do this evening. Tomorrow is Friday, and that is always something to be thankful for. :)

Somebody Got a Haircut...

2010-07-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

While we were in Oklahoma this past week, Piper and I got our hair done. Her's is much trickier than mine, because my favorite time of her hair is the halfway point between being groomed and being outgrown. I love when she's scruffy and cutesy, but I can't handle it when it's in her face. Then it begins getting matted, so I take her to get groomed, but when it's just been groomed it's too short. Someone tell me what the heck to do. I'm having serious problems with this.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Ugh. What's a girl to do...

Only 58 More Days...

2010-07-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

I went home last Tuesday to be there for my brother's senior pictures, and for his chemo treatment he had on Thursday, and to just be there in general to support my family. Little did I know, I would be the one taking his pictures. Ha! I am by no means a photographer, but I was an art major in college and love to play with photography and editing pictures. I don't know what is right or wrong, I just know what I like to look at :) Here are some of my favorites.

I'd like to know when he got so handsome and grown up?

Thursday he had his first long chemo treatment. We were in the hospital for 13 hours. Here is me and Jason, I'm wearing my brother's jacket. It was freeeezing in there. Since my brother is only 17 & not 18 he is treated at the Children's Hospital. I had such a heavy heart that day looking at all of the little children who are struggling with something that is probably a terminal illness. My heart ached for this one family in particular who had a small daughter, probably not more than 2 years old. She had her hospital bracelet attached to her ankle, and had a diaper on and would just walk the halls with her mom and dad. It broke my heart to know that I've spent so many days being so upset that my brother was the one diagnosed with this, when I should have been thankful that he's 17. He's going to be just fine. He has the whole rest of his life to live, and only three rounds of chemo and not four or five, or years worth for that matter. We spent our 13 hour day laughing and playing Chinese Checkers, watching movies and eating homemade chex-mix. It was quite the event. I'm glad it's over.
My brother has shown me the kind of strength I hope to have one day. He hasn't complained or gotten sick yet. Today is the fourth day after his chemo, and for the most part he's been so great. He had friends stay the night last night, so he can't be feeling too bad. He has slept a lot, and only asked for nausea medicine twice. I know that God works wonders and has been laying his healing hand on my brother. I also know he's young and his body can handle things and tackle them quickly. We have 58 more days of this cancer treatment stuff, and here's to hoping the fly by! :)

Sillybandz & Oklahoma...

2010-07-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

This week at school we are closed due to VBS. There aren't enough classrooms to do both VBS & MDO, so we get the week off! It couldn't have been better timing. My brother starts chemo this week, so I will get to be there for his first chemo session. He's also getting his senior pictures done and we both have hair cuts scheduled. Holy cow I couldn't be in a bigger need for this! I'm so excited! I might even get Piper groomed too, so we're all clean cut and pretty. :) I couldn't be more ready to be home for another few days. I feel so out of the loop with everything, I can't wait to spend time with my family. I just wish Dylan was coming with me. He's filling in for a radio show this week and next week is News Channel 10's Summer Celebration tour, so he won't get a day off for like 14 days. So instead of rushing a trip home, he'll stay in Texas and enjoy two full free days without his girls. I'm sure he'll miss us, but it will be good for him to get to fully relax and gear up for the next couple of weeks.

Other than that, nothing too new is going on. The weather has been great here. I'm thankful for all of the rain we've been getting, but it makes me happy to see the sunshine again!

On another note- I got sillybandz.

Ha! But seriously, I did. Me and my friend Maxine went on a hunt yesterday, and finally chose our favorites. I'm sure my three year olds will appreciate that! Dylan even wears one! {I realize we're really mature.} ;) Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday! Tomorrow's another big day in our house, feel free to send up a prayer for us. :)

A Friday Full of Praises!!...

2010-07-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

So basically the last week has absolutely changed my life. I can't tell you how quickly and how long this week has felt like it has lasted. It's outrageous. Today, the same day last week that I thought my world was crumbling down, Jason finished the last of his first set of surgeries/tests.

Can I just brag for a second? He is being so mature right now. I can't even handle it. He's an entirely new kid, almost as if Cancer has turned him into a man. (weird.) He isn't complaining, he is just ready to buckle up-conquer it and become a Cancer survivor. I couldn't be more proud of him. I was just telling Dylan how if I were in his position, I feel quite certain I would milk it for all it was worth. ;) Ha! Maybe not, but I'm sure I'd be milking it more than he is. He however has just done it. He isn't complaining. He's been probed at and picked at, and cut into, and blood drawn and has been given words I can't even pronounce to explain what he's going through, he has had to wake up early and not eat all day, and be hooked up to machines for entirely too long. And you want to know his main concern? He is sleepy. :) He's thankful he gets to sleep in these next couple of days. He's got a hair cut scheduled and senior pictures the day after that, and then Thursday he starts chemo for a 9 week treatment. (HUGE PRAISE it isn't 12!) He doesn't have to do radiation. (HUGE PRAISE!). And there's huge hopes that he'll be back and feel better than ever by Fall break and finish his senior year even stronger than before. I just love him so much and never thought I would feel this proud of him. He's quite the trooper. :)

This next week is going to be one step closer to the finish line of this whole Cancer process. Thank you so much for your prayers, and for thinking of us during this time. I can't say enough how blessed and thankful we are.

Nooow just for fun, do any of you watch Big Brother? It started last night, and I couldn't be more excited for this season. I love this show. Any guesses on the saboteur?! Ha! Dylan and I are suspicious of Brittany, the little country blonde. We shallllll see! :)

Back to life, back to reality...

2010-07-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

So Friday, when we found out about my brother having cancer, I took several hours and cried my eyes out for not being there. And then I thought to myself -"What the heck are you doing here? Go home!" So I hurried and scatterbrainly (is that a word? Oh well.) packed myself a bag, grabbed Piper and a toy and was on my way. Probably not the safest way to head home, but I wanted to be there. And fast. So I was home until Sunday. (Thanks mom!) It was so wonderful to spend family time, but also made me more sad for not being there more often. I hate missing things with family. Even if it's a simple as a movie date, or a dinner or a birthday party, if I'm not there I just feel like I'm missing precious moments that I'm so lucky to have. So obviously missing things like Dr.'s appointments, and just dropping in to bring my brother a Route 44 grape slush (his favorite Sonic drink) are especially hard on my heart. Living in Amarillo has suddenly become all the more real that I'm not in Oklahoma anymore. I can't just be there in 20 minutes. It's so great we're only four hours away, but that's still two tanks of gas - it's close enough, but still so far away. It's times like these that make me so excited for Dylan and I to work in Oklahoma again. I'm ready to not miss moments like this.

Today Jason had his first appointment with the pediatric oncologist, he'll most likely start chemo as early as next week. Please if you would, say a little prayer for him. I'm not sure how it will be next week, but I know the power of prayer in numbers. I just pray for his doctors as well as him. I pray that he heals quickly and that the effects of the chemo will be something he can handle. Thank you for your kind words and support. I can't tell you enough how much it makes my heart smile.

Also, my mom set up a CaringBridge website on behalf of my brother. She will keep everyone up to date on all the outcomes of the appointments and things like that. If you're interested feel free to stop by here and leave them a sweet comment. :) I know it would make them happy.

Onnnnn a lighter note, (& because I hate posts without pictures...) Piper is by far the BEST car rider I've ever seen in my whole life. She loves car rides and they just put her straight to sleep! She will just cuddle or curl up and be out like a light for as long as you need her to be. She is so wonderful. :)

Cancer.

2010-07-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, July 2nd, we found out my 17 year old baby brother has cancer.

Quite a large pill to swallow, huh?

It's been a huge eye opener to me. In my family alone, cancer is no stranger. My Grandmother and Aunt had breast cancer, and are now survivors. My Mother in law had breast cancer, and is now a survivor. It is only a matter of time before I add my sweet brother to my list of heroes.

He will be a cancer survivor as well. I know it.

He has Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Which is a fairly common form of cancer in the lymph nodes. Although, the form he has is rare. Only 5% of the people who are diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma have what he has. They caught it early. He will beat this.

We won't find out what his treatment will be until early next week. He will have several tests done and will meet with a pediatric oncologist on Tues. I ask that any of you that read my blog please pray for my brother & our family. I know that God is going to carry him through this and do amazing things for Jason. I know in the Bible it says that when two or more people come together before the Lord that He will answer. Thank you in advance for lifting up my family in your prayers.

I don't know what the future holds for us, but I have this sense of peace over me. I know he's going to be okay. I know God doesn't give us things we can't handle. As much as I'd love to question why, I just can't. I'm trusting that God knows what he's doing far better than I ever could. I know that Jason will do what is necessary to beat this. I also know that even though this is a huge deal, there are far more difficult things that people have to deal with every day. Today I pray for all the families out there that are struggling with similar (if not worse) situations.

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." -Isaiah 41:10

23... Oh geez...

2010-06-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday was my birthday. I had already celebrated with my family a couple of weeks ago when I was home for a wedding, so I knew it wouldn't be anything special.
I got lots of calls, text messages, cards, emails and facebook/twitter comments that truly made my day. I wasn't sure how it was going to go. I mean it's my first birthday being married, so being the crazy planner I am, I built up all of these expectations. Little did I know, we wouldn't be seeing our family, Dylan would have to work 12 hours, and we would be poor stuck in a strange new place we call home. Ha!
But wouldn't you know God had better plans in store for me. It completely surpassed my expectations. Dylan and I got breakfast before he left for work, I packed his lunch/dinner and he gave me my present. He got me a beautiful ring. He sang to me and had me blow out the flame from our fire flicker candle lighter thing {classy, I know} but, we didn't have a cake or candles for that matter! Ha! The rest of the day I just hung out around the apartment with Piper and did some cleaning & window shopping and headed to Ruby Tequilas to meet two of my friends from Dylan's news station. They have been so wonderful to have here. Amarillo wouldn't be nearly as fun without them. I thought we were just going to go have dinner together so I wouldn't have to eat by myself, but they both showed up with a gift for me :) So sweet. I couldn't believe it. Megan got me a World Market gift card, which I LOVE World Market. Little did she know World Market is my favorite thing about living in Texas! I'm thinking a nice apothecary jar might be in my future! And Maxine got me not only a trifle bowl but four mini bowls that are so great! I couldn't believe she remembered that I wanted one! I've been wanting one for so long to make cute banana pudding, or dirt, or a pretty salad - anything really! Then Megan bought my dinner and we headed back to my apartment to watch RHONJ. We do this almost every Monday, I just love it! It's so good to have good girlfriends. It was such a great night! Thank you all for making it so special! Dylan and I are both off work tomorrow so we've got a belated birthday date planned to do dinner and a movie. I can't wait! I'm hoping this 23rd year of mine will be a good one! Happy Tuesday everyone!

Toy Story 1&2...

2010-06-25T18:03:00.001-07:00

Is anyone as excited as I am to see Toy Story 3?! I am so pumped! I would've seen it by now, but Dylan and I have wanted to watch the first 2 again to refresh our memories. Clearly we weren't the only ones with this idea, seeing as how NetFlix has such a long wait on TS1&2. So last night Dylan and I ran to Target to grab a couple of things. While we were walking around the store, we walked right by the DVD section. On sale were the DVD's of TS 1&2! We bought them, without a second thought, and watched both of them last night. I love that the 1st Toy Story was made like 15 years ago and is just as great today as it was then. I loved it. I can't wait to see the 3rd! Hopefully we can fit it in sometime this weekend!

Yum-O!

2010-06-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

Ina's Shrimp Scampi Linguine Recipe:

Ingredients

* Vegetable oil
* Kosher salt
* 3/4 pound linguine
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
* 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
* 1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
* 1/2 lemon, zest grated
* 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
* 1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
* 1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Directions

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

This is absolutely delicious, and SO easy. It's my new summer go to recipe, thanks to Erin at Blue Eyed Bride. Enjoy!

iPhone iOS 4...

2010-06-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

Let me just show you my latest obsession.
This is my home screen of my phone. I'm not sure if any of you remember this post but, Dylan accidentally shattered my iPhone in April. So I bought a new one and renewed my contract, then 30 days later I find out that there will be an even newer one, to which I am not eligible for upgrade. Major bummer. Or so I thought... but thanks to the wonderful people at Apple, they have created the iOS 4 update for our phones, so mine is now practically as great as the new one will be. I am in love. It works like my brain, only now I can see it in my hand. Categorized just the way I like it. No new phone needed for this girl. My heart is happy.

Weekend Madness...

2010-06-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night we'll hit I-40E toward OKC for two days! I couldn't be more excited! My brother is having surgery in the morning (feel free to say a little prayer for him). We have lots to do, as usual. It's hardly a vacation...this time on our agenda we plan on doing breakfast with my family to (early) celebrate my birthday. (Since I won't see my family for that) Spend time with my brother of course, and go to one of Dylan's good friend's weddings & partake in a broadcasting reunion with a bunch of his friends from undergrad. Oh and I have a full order of mugs to paint from McNellie's. Ugh. It's going to be a quick two days. Poor Dylan for having to use his "days off" driving & running around crazy. I'm ready to go back to Oklahoma for a second. I miss my family, and just being in Oklahoma in general. I see a Super Target Run in my future. I hate that there isn't ever enough time to see everyone or everything. Is it bad that sometimes I want to just go there in secret so I don't hurt anyone's feelings? Ha. Not to sound selfish, but it's true. I miss my friends dearly. I wish Dylan and I could both go home for like a week and then we could see everyone and not feel so scatter brained. Tomorrow I have a fun day planned of sunning and nail painting, laundry, packing and thrifting. I'll keep you posted on my fab finds. Happy Friday everyone!

8 Months Ago Today...

2010-06-09T19:08:00.000-07:00

I was walking down the aisle to meet my fiance, who would that night become my husband. Our wedding day. It seems like it was yesterday and 100 years ago all at the same time. I can't believe it's already been that long. I'm love him more today than I did in October. Each day I wake up so blessed to be married to not only my best friend, but someone who knows my every flaw and loves me all the same. I love you, Dylan Ross. Here's to a million more 8 monthiversaries. :)

Sunday Funday!

2010-06-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

I think one of my favorite things about Summer is being sun tired. When you know you haven't really done anything to exhaust yourself, but just being or even just laying in the sun makes your night sleep that much better. I love it. Love it, love it.

Today was one of those days. Spent laying by the pool or floating on my pool noodle, just spending hours in the sun. It doesn't get much better than that.

Dylan's work days on Sunday are usually pretty tight, so tonight instead of coming home for dinner he packed left overs from last night. Which leaves me to myself for dinner, so of course I thought I'd do something simple and non-messy like - cereal. Nope, definitely made cupcakes and fresh corn. I'm so weird. But both were equally delicious. :) Hope y'all got to enjoy the sun too! Happy Sunday!

New Job, New Girl...

2010-06-04T19:58:00.001-07:00

I've been neglecting my blog lately. Lots has happened here in the Buckingham household. I got a new job, although only part time it feels so good to have something to go to twice a week. I've been enjoying this heat outside and enjoying lots of fun in the sun with new friends. My sister in law and her husband came to stay with us and we went to the Palo Duro Canyon. I went to my first Amarillo Dillas baseball game, ran around the bases in a race to represent my husband for News Channel 10 night. I've spent some much needed time with my husband after being separated for way too long. I've tried some new recipes and bought three pool noodles & a cute new lunch box. I saw SATC2 with my friend, Megan. I've decided to bring back metallic nail polish, and desperately need to have my hair done. Made 12 new friends who I'll spend the summer with that are all under the age of 3, one of which wants to marry me. Watch out, Dyl, he's pretty cute. ;) I've fallen in love with a precious little red headed girl named Kinley. She has beautifully long eyelashes and perfect blue eyes. I hope our children look exactly like her. She is such a doll. She makes me want one. See? I'm clearly super busy now with my new job. I'm kidding. But, truthfully it's been good to have a break from blogging. I feel like a whole new girl, I definitely have a much better attitude about Amarillo. I still don't want to live here for a long time, but I'm not in control of when/where our life might change. So in the mean time, I'll do my best to make the most of everyday. I'll keep having fun, and enjoy marg nights with the girls from the station, date nights with my husband, pool days and going to work twice a week, and making the most of our first summer as a married couple. I'm loving what God has been doing in our lives, and I'm more than excited to see what the future holds. I hope everyone else has been having a great week, enjoy your weekend! OH! Dylan has his radio show in the morning, so if you get a second, wish him luck. He's really excited!

What the HAIL?!...

2010-05-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

I have lived in Oklahoma for 22 years. I have seen some crazy storms in my life, but none of them compared to what I saw yesterday. May 16th, 2010. Baseball sized hail dropping out of the sky so hard it would shatter and skyrocket back up to the roof to leave these little white knicks in the shingles. It was crazy. It went from sunny and gorgeous, to dark and eerie. My dad, brother and I watched from the garage as the hail came shattering down. I took this video on my iPhone, so clearly it isn't great, but you'll get the idea.
Although we only had minimal damage, lots of people had much worse. I'm thankful we were safe, and am praying for those who were not as fortunate. Maybe Oklahoman's should change the song to April flowers bring May showers instead. Welcome to tornado alley.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom...

2010-05-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

This might be 8 days late, but my mom is worth it. I like to think I have the best mom in the entire world, and each day I grow older, I appreciate her more and more. She really is marvelous and to honor her on this special day I've compiled a list to sum up lessons learned from my beautiful mother.

Top 10 things I've learned from my Mom:
1. Put others first.
2. I before E except after C.
3. If you can't name the things in your closet {or drawer, desk, purse, etc.} throw them away.
4. Nicely curled hair is never out of style.
5. Intelligence is attractive, it is never cute to be dumb.
6. Patience is a virtue.
7. Family is the most important thing.
8. A bargain is always better than full price.
9. Mowing lawns is not only for boys! Girls can tan while exercising-double win!
10. 2 words- Excel Spreadsheet.

Obviously I've learned way more than 10 things from you, mom. But for the sake of this post I picked 10 of my favorites, I hope it made you smile! I love you! :)

Last year I got to double my goodness with a fabulous Mother in Law. Happy Mother's day Moms! I hope you both enjoyed your days! :)

I'm Backk...

2010-05-17T11:22:00.001-07:00

I'm back in Oklahoma from the MQS quilter's convention in Overland Park, Kansas. Although I'm not a quilter, it was a good time, and visually very very interesting. I had no idea the amount of artistry that goes into quilt making. I'm glad I got some quality time with my Aunt Marilyn and her dear friend Lois. Lois is absolutely a doll. She is so sweet, and really just a joy to be around. It was a good week, but definitely tough to be away from my husband that long. Today we'll finally be reunited and have a day date in Tulsa tomorrow to spend some much needed quality time together. I have several posts lined up from the things I missed last week, that way I don't have one long one. I'm excited to get back to Amarillo, and be home again. It's good to get away, but it also made me miss Dylan, our apt. and Piper and I'm more than ready to get back to real life again!

Home Sweet Home?...

2010-05-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

I've been such a bad blogger lately. It's just so hard to come up with things to talk about when I have basically nothing new going on. There are only so many laundry/dishes blogs I can write about. Hopefully soon that will change. I'm in desperate need of change. :)

Yesterday as I went to go pay our rent I came to the realization that next month is our last rent check due on this lease. How crazy is that? We are on month five of this crazy journey. I can't even begin to handle how fast this has gone by. As much as I hate living in Texas, (& so desperately want to be back in Oklahoma) I still can't believe we're almost to the sixth month point. Not to say we're leaving after sixth months, I mean my goodness, only God knows, we'll probably be here much longer.

It just makes me think back to October, right after Dylan and I got married, and he called me frantic to see if I wanted to move to Texas for his job. Our first HUGE decision as a newly married couple. Who was I to say no? I would go anywhere to pursue his dream with him. I think back to December, coming here with my mom and Dylan to look for a potential home for us, and after a ton of disappointment, we found an apartment similar to our previous one, and went with a sixth month lease. At the time, all I remember thinking is, "I can do anything for sixth months"... and I can. I will.

Amarillo is SO not what I thought it would be. We're making good friends, and everyone at Dylan's news station has been more than wonderful to the two of us. It's been such a huge adjustment, and I think I'm finally starting to consider this our home. Not a permanent home, but our home. I think for so long I didn't want to admit to the fact that we live in Texas. Not even a cool part of Texas, but Amarillo, Texas. I kept telling myself it was temporary, and although I still feel that way... We do live here. We have an address, and a new church, and new friends. It's real. We live here. I'm glad my home is with Dylan, still the best decision I ever made. :)

* Off to a quilt show for 8 days. I'll be back with blogs from Mother's Day, and my week of adventures. Get ready! ;)

I'd like to introduce to you...

2010-04-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Fenway Parker Buckingham

Here's a closer version. He's not actually as orange as he appears in this picture.

On a different note, we took Piper to PetSmart today, trying to socialize her a little more. She of course was a trooper, and despite the fact she hasn't been bathed/groomed in far too long, she was quite the little attention getter. She was a hit!

We took her down the toy aisle so that she could get a new one, and she of course fell in love with this giraffe.

Now she is perfectly content with her squeeking giraffe. I'd say it was a successful day.

Art Project...

2010-04-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend while I was home for Megan's wedding festivities, I managed to squeeze in some time to garage sale with my mom and dad. We hit up one of the neighborhood garage sales close to their house, and for a grand total of $5 dollars I came up with this little beauty in an awful chalk mint green colored bookshelf...

Which of course I stained and painted into this...

And Viola' my new bedside table...

The decorations will change, promise. But, at least you get the main idea. That, ladies and gents, is why I love to garage sale. :)

One Week, One Post...

2010-04-26T18:01:00.001-07:00

My best friend is a married lady!!

This last week, I went home for her wedding festivities. It all started with her bachelorette party...
I'd say she had a great time ;)

Then we had the rehearsal dinner...

And then pre-wedding nails & toes...

and then it was go time...Kenzie and I before hitting the aisle

And I'm of course the award winning matron of honor that didn't take a single picture of the happy couple. Fail. I promise you they looked dashing. It was a great night! Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Trower!! I love you both!

Busy Busy Busy...

2010-04-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

With what you might ask? Transforming our home, from this

Don't judge me, I know I put off laundry too long. I just hate it with a passion, but after two days it moved to this

and on the 3rd day, it is back to normal...
...Until next month - when I realize again, how much I hate laundry and I'll put myself through it all over again. But, for now I am happy.

RIP my beloved iPhone...

2010-04-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well technically just the screen... but, still. I'm pathetic. You'd think I lost my left arm. Which practically I did, it's my phone for goodness sake. It never is more than 6 ft. away from me. I officially am ghetto.

Something Borrowed...

2010-04-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Coming to Theaters 2011.

This post has been many weeks in the making, but they have announced who will be playing most of the parts in the upcoming movie "Something Borrowed" based on the wonderful book, written by Emily Giffin. Although not all of the parts are filled, the majority have been, so let me break it down for you:

Rachel White: Played by Ginnifer Goodwin

Darcy Rhone: Played by Kate Hudson

Dexter Thaler (Dex): Played by Colin Egglesfield

Ethan: Played by Jonathan Krasinski

And, it's not for sure yet, but most likely Colin Farrell will play Marcus:

For the most part I think they are spot on. I love love love Ginnifer Goodwin, and think she will do a perfect Rachel. Ethan's character, Jonathon Krasinski is also perfect. So close to what I imagined. Dex's character looks great, and I think Colin Farrell would be a pretty good Marcus. Kate Hudson as Darcy? Eh. I get that they needed at least one big name for box office value, but she doesn't even have dark hair? Hopefully they'll do something about that. I guess it could be worse, she definitely has the personality to make it good.

I have high hopes for this movie. I sure hope it doesn't disappoint. :)

*all photos can be found on google images.

**UPDATE: Van from Reba will play Marcus! How perfect!! :)

Our Day at the Ranch...

2010-04-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

...Cadillac Ranch, that is. Let me begin by saying that I am a huge Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood fan. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out, it's on Oxygen and so good! I think Tori Spelling is absolutely a doll. In the season premier of their show, they rented an RV and drove from LA to Atlanta. And wouldn't you know they'd stop on the way in Amarillo. I feel quite certain it was for me. They stopped in two places, 1. Cadillac Ranch, and 2. The Big Texan. Both of which I have blogged about, here.
Dylan had the day off today, and we ventured over to this Cadillac Ranch thing we've heard so much about. How do I even begin to describe it? It is literally 10 old Cadillacs that are placed vertically in the ground. It's the strangest concept. It's literally in the middle of a field. They are covered in graffiti. (Which is a whole other love of mine). When you go, you bring your can of paint, and you make your mark. It's an incredible concept. It's living art at it's finest. I tried to capture Dylan and I drawing our own graffiti on these cars, and counting exactly which car it was on, so later on in life, we can go back and see if our mark is still there. Which for the record, we marked on the 8th and 9th car counting from left to right. :) Regardless, it was a great adventure and as soon as we move, I will feel proud that we went and saw the 2nd most popular thing in this crazy town.

Brain Spill...

2010-04-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

1. Kate Gosselin, is bad. Real bad. Actually, she is atrocious.
2. Tori & Dean is back on, and this season looks better than ever. She's such a good mom.
3. My body is killing me, but tomorrow is a new day. Day four in fact. :)
4. I layed out today. Red doesn't begin to describe my skin color.
5. I think my new book comes in the mail tomorrow, can't wait to read it!
6. Poor Butler.
7. I got to wear a spring dress today, and I can't tell you how happy that makes me.
8. I'm starting Season 1 of Glee tomorrow, and can't wait!

That's about all, goodnight! :)

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

Not only is this our first Easter as a married couple, but it's our first Easter to be away from our extended families. I guess that's part of growing up and establishing our own little family. I wish we could have been surrounded by our loved ones, but I'm thankful for Dylan and our love for each other.

These last several holidays we've spent completely on our own are going to be the ones we look back on, and I hope are the ones that we are most proud of. I've tried really hard to start traditions that we will still do on our 50th year of marriage.

I went and met with the Pastor of a church here in Texas last week, and got really excited to start going to church here. I've been so hesitant lately, I love going to church, and miss our old church home so terribly, that I don't even want to go through that whole process again. But, it's been so long Dylan and I are ready. So we found a church here that we really liked, and were looking forward to going today. However, last night Dylan got really sick, and we were up until 6 this morning. :( It was awful, and when we finally woke up at 9, I wasn't feeling well either. So needless to say, we didn't go church this morning like planned, but the rest of the day has been great.

Dylan started feeling better this morning, and snuck out of our room and hid the Easter eggs we had painted Friday around our apartment, then came in to wake me up and told me the Easter Bunny had come and hid some eggs for me to go find. (I love Easter egg hunts!) We might not be able to afford darling baskets, and extravagant gifts like previous years, but I wouldn't trade the morning we had together for anything. Cost free. These are the times that I want to look back on and know that we can get through anything together, with smiles on our faces.

Dylan went off to work and I still wasn't feeling well but was determined to still make us an Easter dinner even if it was so simple. I went with Easter Pasta (Please note the little bunnies, carrots and egg shapes.)

and Vodka Sauce, which was so delicious!

I also made little peanut butter heaven truffles for dessert.

Delicious. Not tempting at all with my stomach upset, but Dylan loved them, and I'm sure his co-workers will too. :)

I'm thankful for an ever loving God. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend.
"Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow."

Egg-a-Palooza...

2010-04-02T22:26:00.000-07:00

This has been an exciting night at Casa de Buckingham. We spent the evening decorating Easter eggs. We decided it would be our little families tradition to decorate eggs on the evening of Good Friday. :)
Here are the highlights-

The Spread...

The Details...

The Mr...

The Mrs...

The Patient Witness...

The TaDa...

John 11:25

Let's Recap the Week...

2010-03-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

My Gparents and I hit the road on Thursday to head home to see my family. Although it was mostly a heavy trip home, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Let me break it down for you:

On Thursday, our oldest family dog passed away. She was almost 14, it was hard, but it was like she waited for me to be there, and I feel really blessed to have been home with the rest of my family. We had a little doggy funeral that would have put Marley & Me to shame. We were pretty cute, I'm not going to lie. Here is Annie the day that I was surprised with her for my birthday
And this was her most recently cuddling with Piper, which is quite shocking, because as Annie got older, she definitely got crankier, as most old women do, but Piper even won her over at times :)
We'll miss you Annie Varmint! I hope you can bark at lots of doggies and bask in the sunshine uninterrupted!
In the mess of the whole Annie ordeal, my brother dropped his phone in the pool, which led to an early birthday celebration.

On Friday, we headed to the Apple store to buy Jason an iphone for his May birthday. He was a happy guy! We're so excited he's finally in the iphone club, he was the last one of our family to get one. It was about time. I also got to meet up with a couple of my dear friends I used to work with. It was wonderful to get to talk with them. I miss them so much!

On Saturday, in true fashion, my parents and I went out to hit the garage sales. This has been a Saturday tradition in our family for two years now? Wow! We all came out with something great, but the best find of the day, was this vintage coffee cup of my husbands favorite basketball team
to be used as his pen cup at work. For a whopping $.50 you would have thought I brought home a brand new car! That afternoon, after making the most beautiful veggie tray I've ever seen, we headed to my best friends bridal shower. She got lots of goodies, and it was definitely a good time. Here are two of my best girlfriends, Megan the soon to be bride is in the middle

On Sunday, I met up with Dylan's mom for her to give us our Easter presents, the best jelly beans in all of the land
Then we headed to this little guy's 4th birthday Party! Can someone please tell me where these last 4 years have gone?!

I got to finish reading my book
I am anxiously anticipating the next one.

I spent lots of quality time with my mom, which is always a plus. I really love her a lot. She's quite possibly the cutest mom of all time. I wish we lived closer. One day we will :)
Sunday evening, my mom and I headed back to Texas for a mini girls road trip to take me back home, and it was the quickest 4 hour car ride of our lives. We got in town just in time to see Dylan on TV, and catch up on the latest Kendra episode.

Monday morning she headed back to Oklahoma. Oh how I miss her so. Less than three weeks til' we get to do it all over again. Not that I'm counting or anything! :)

Now it's back to the grind, last night I made homemade barbecue chicken pizza, omg. Yum-doesn't even begin to describe it's goodness!

Blah, I'll try not to store so much information before next time. That was entirely too long! :)

Check...

2010-03-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

Tuesday To-Do List-CHECK!
Not only did I conquer my list - but I'm not going to lie to you, I really outdid myself. ;)

This weekend I get to go home, and I couldn't be more excited. I wish Dylan could come with me, but I know he'll enjoy a fridge full of homemade leftovers to indulge in to feel like I've cooked for him, and some quiet time without me and Piper. I will miss him so much, but missing him makes me that much more excited to see him. So I guess it's not such a bad thing!

My grandparents came into town today, and as I type are sleeping soundly in the other room. I'm really blessed to have such a close knit family, that I know would do anything for me, as I would do for them. I hope Dylan and I can be the same kind of influence on our grandchildren that they have been on the two of us. I will never get sick of hearing them tell a story, and not be able to complete it without the other one helping them fill in the holes that they have forgotten. That's what 51 years of marriage will do to you. They are truly wonderful.

Tuesday To-Do List...

2010-03-23T14:15:00.001-07:00

I think someone once told me if you write something down, you will do it? Or perhaps that's just my wishful thinking :) However I'm really having trouble getting motivated today, and with my lovely Gparents coming tomorrow, this is really not the time for me to have a lazy day - so here goes nothing:

Emily's Tuesday To-Do List:
1. Vacuum
2. Make Dinner
4. Clean up after Dinner
5. One (measly) Load of Laundry
6. Work Out
7. Bake Cookies (haha, to apparently cancel out #6)
8. Clean the Guest Bathroom Mirror
9. Clean Up After Freshly Baked Cookies
...
I'm sure there is more?
Off to conquer my list, somehow reading that makes me feel pathetic? Maybe that's key in completing your written down list!
Happy Tuesday!

My Handsome Husband!

2010-03-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

Check out my Handsome Hub, doing what he was made to do! And looking darn good if I do say so myself! ;) This is him and his boss Jacob, doing a photo shoot for one of the publications they are featured in this Spring! I'm such a proud wife, my goodness he's talented! I can't wait to see where God takes us next!

Only 2 more days!!...

2010-03-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, these two will arrive! I love them both so much. My wonderful, Gma and Gpa. :)
They celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary last December! I love them both dearly, and they are coming all the way to Texas to spend the night with us, and take me back to Oklahoma with them for my best friends wedding shower this weekend. I can hardly wait. The only thing that could make this trip better, would be if Dylan could come with us. But, being the hardworking man he is, he is going to stay here and keep working for our little family. How did I get so lucky?! Lot's to be done before Wednesday, I'd better get back to our laundry! Happy Sunday!

Spring, Really?...

2010-03-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

Today is (technically) the first day of Spring. But here in Texas, this is what we have to look at
And instead of taking Piper on walks outside on gorgeous Spring days, like this

I'm forced to drag her through the snow, while she looks at me, like this

Needless to say, I'm ready to wear my cute sandals, and paint my toenails, and wear spring dresses, and wear my sunglasses again. Spring, if you're out there... Bring.It.On!

Where oh where have I been?...

2010-03-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you where I've been...
Two of my favorite girlfriends came to visit me. We had a 24 hour long girls night, and it was much needed.
I am really thankful for them. We had chips and guac, salsa and queso, and homemade sangria. It was delicious and probably the perfect girls night dinner. (I don't even want to begin to add the calories!) Regardless, it was perfect! And homemade sangria is surprisingly easy to make!

I broke one of my salad plates, and had a wee little melt down. Ok fine, I was devastated, but I know it can be replaced, so it's not THAT big of a deal.

I've been spending time with Dylan, on his days off. We had a date night and went and saw She's Out of My League, it is pretty cute! I definitely won't be buying it, but I'm really glad I saw it! I really was pleasantly surprised, and even more inspired by the main character, Molly's, figure. Omg. As if I didn't already need a healthy kick in the pants to jump on the healthy train, that movie did it.

So we've began our lets get ready for summer diets, so if anyone has any healthy recipe ideas, send them my way! :)

Tonight I made Light Chicken Enchiladas, yum! The best part is you can have 2 enchiladas, for a whopping 267 calories! That's right, 267!

Don't those look delicious? Now this picture is from online, but mine looked practically the same. :)
I did do a few variations, so here is my adapted version:

Light Chicken Enchiladas: 3 Servings
2 frozen pieces of chicken breast, thawed and boiled.
1 tbs. of EVOO
1 tsp. Minced garlic
1/4 cup of flour
1-2 tbs. taco seasoning
Salt & Pepper
1 cup of chicken broth
6 small corn tortillas
1/2 cup of monterey jack cheese

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan boil the chicken in salted water.
2. While Chicken is cooking, spray a square baking dish with cooking spray, and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Remove chicken, shred chicken with two forks, and place in a small bowl.
4. In a different medium saucepan, heat olive oil and garlic until you can smell the garlic cooking (about 1 min.)
5. Then add flour, and taco seasoning, chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water, and whisk while the sauce thickens.
6. Pour 1 cup of the sauce into your bowl with the chicken and leave the remaining sauce on the burner to simmer, whisking occasionally.
7. Wrap your stack of 6 corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and heat in the microwave for 1 minute.
8. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and strategically place them in the baking dish seam side down.
9. Pour remaining sauce on top, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees until cheese and sauce are bubbly, about 15 minutes.
Yield: 3 servings, 2 enchiladas per serving

Enjoy!

T Minus 19 Hours...

2010-03-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

These two are coming to town! I can't even contain my excitement. Lots of fun will be had, sangria, polish changes, wedding invitation addressing, catching up, giggling, did I mention sangria? ;) Needless to say, I can't even wait!

Bisquik Banana Bread...

2010-03-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

2 1/2 cups Bisquick Mix
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup mashed banana
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
*You may also add, nuts, raisins, chocolate chips..etc.

Mix all ingredients, pour into a greased bread pan.
Bake at 350 degrees, for 50 minutes.
Enjoy!

Seriously, best banana bread I've ever had. Yum!

My new love...

2010-03-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

I am a HUGE fan of perfectly painted fingernails. I love nothing more than a fresh mani/pedi or a home done paint job. Either way, I definitely paint my nails more than is probably healthy. For the last 2-3 years I've been in a goth phase or a bright red. For goth I'm normally an OPI kind of girl, but after going through four bottles of THIS
I decided I'd rather mix it up a little, and what do you know? I found this little gem. It's called "Navy Baby" by Sally Hanson, and it is divine!

Ode to Super Target...

2010-03-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

Let me first start out by saying this post was going to be dedicated to my love of Super Target. Since I hate posts without pictures, I went out in the world wide web to bring you THIS
Which is the Oklahoma City Super Target, which is near and dear to my heart. I used to visit it almost daily, and now can honestly tell you (I'm so ashamed) I have not step foot inside since Christmas Eve. :( In my defense, Amarillo does not have a Super target, only a regular, which in my opinion... Is stupid. Therefore I don't go.

Anyway, on my quest to find that picture, I stumbled upon THIS
Can I just say OMG?! Looking at those two pictures my OKC Super Target looks like a dud! How cool would it be to shop here? I vote Amarillo needs this! It would definitely stop all my negative thoughts! ;)

On another side note- I can't even wait for REAL HOUSEWIVES tonight. It's a double wammy, Season Finale of the OC ladies, and Season Premier of the NYC ladies. I better be on the treadmill for these two.

Happy Thursday!

Oh he did...

2010-03-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

He chose "the sausage." As sad as I was to watch sweet Tenley's heart break, I must say that she deserves much better than Mr. Jake Pavelka. He did truly seem happy with Vienna, so for that I wish them the best.

P.S. I'm not even going to bother telling you I won't watch the next one, because I know I will. I hate that I watch it, but I can't stop. So I'll own it. I am a reality TV junkie.

Welcome March...

2010-03-01T12:18:00.001-08:00

It's a new month! Can you believe it is already the THIRD month of 2010? I can't even handle how fast life is flying by. Some days I feel like we've been in Texas for 37 years, and other times, I feel like it's been a week. Either way, it's flying and I'm definitely ready to welcome the Spring! Maybe next Spring I will have a garden, so I can look at these everyday.

One of my favorite passions...

2010-02-28T19:54:00.000-08:00

With all this free time on my hands, I am just dying to pick up a paintbrush. I have loved painting my whole entire life. I love all things crafty, and I love nothing more than turning something plain and ordinary into something beautiful. Something with a new story to tell. This past year, I have been on an unintentional painting hiatus. With wedding planning, and then our actual wedding, and graduating from school, and moving to a new state with my husband, painting has gone on the back burner, for probably the longest time in my life.

I woke up the other day with this strong desire to just create. With Dylan and I being on a tight budget, and it definitely not being garage sale season, I'm on a limited reach of what I can do. Which is probably why I made a dog bed for Piper, with left over material. Which worked just fine, but I know one day soon, I will get to do something about that itch. For the time being, I will just re-visit my most recent project (from last summer)...

Before:

After:

What to do on a Friday afternoon...

2010-02-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

Several months ago, Dylan and I were out shopping for Christmas gifts for our family. We stopped at TJMaxx, and I of course fell in love with this darling bed for PIper. It was round and just truly divine, but in the spirit of Christmas giving (and our budget) I passed on this dog bed, and have regretted it ever since.

So today, I decided I would make my own. I'm a pretty good pillow sewer, so it isn't uncommon for me to whip up some simple square covers to vamp up a room, but why I never thought to make one for little Piper girl is beyond me.

I spent my morning looking at this...

Voilà! I must say, I think she loves it... and of course her little reindeer friend...
Happy Friday!

The Big Things...

2010-02-25T20:45:00.001-08:00

Big things could be happening in the Buckingham household. If you get a second, send a prayer up for us, as we try and make the right decision for our family.

*That picture can be found here.

My Little Family...

2010-02-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

It's days like today that I am all the more thankful for these two. I love Dylan's off days. I especially love when his off days really are just that, lazy days where we can hang out and enjoy each other. It's no surprise that Piper is a cuddle bug, but it makes my heart smile to no end when I catch them cuddling, just like this.

I love my three person family.

The Little Things...

2010-02-22T20:03:00.000-08:00

Let me give you the play by play on what just occurred...

It was about 9:52 p.m.
I took Piper on our nightly walk to go check our mail box.
(Although tonight, it's a blizzard, so we ran.)
Anyway, we check the mailbox, and with my freezing fingers, I manage to get it open.
I looked inside and I saw two letters addressed to "Agnesia Norton"... who by the way, fills up about half of our mailbox, most days out of the week. Clearly I find this annoying.
Then with a closer look I spy a package.
(Now Dylan and I rarely get packages, but when we do, it's like Christmas!)
Only today's package came from my sister.
We ran back to the apartment and began to open it, and this is what we saw...
2 wrapped presents with a post it attached to it, that read:
"Sorry I am so late in getting these to you,
_____________________________________________
Merry Christmas
Happy Kwanza
Happy New Year
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Happy President's Day
Happy Valentine's Day
Happy Mardi Gras
I love you,
Julye."
And what might those two packages be, you might ask?
2 movies. One for Dylan, 1 for me.
I love my family.

Now that single handedly made my entire day, better. Tomorrow is a new day. Let's all be thankful for the little things.

Tomorrow is Monday...

2010-02-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

I start my new job tomorrow. I'm feeling tons of mixed feelings about it, hopefully I go and am pleasantly surprised. I feel like for months I have been complaining about my lack of a employment normalcy, and now that I'm going to be heading back to work, I all of a sudden had this burst of "Super Housewife Powers" and am dreading tomorrow morning? What is wrong with me!?

-I have spent the day finishing/catching up on our laundry (which Dylan does for us, but for whatever reason I wanted to do? I hate laundry.)
-I put away all of our laundry. (Again, shocking! I .n.e.v.e.r. do this part, which is why Dylan so wonderfully does.)
-I gave Piper a bath.
-I have a spotless kitchen, empty dishwasher and immaculate floors.
-I hung up and ironed all of Dylan's dress shirts.
-I showered and got my hair ready for the morning.
-Packed both of our lunches.
...I could go on and on, but I'll save you the time...

Honestly, what has gotten in to me? I think I'm trying to prove to myself that I should've been a better housewife, while I had the chance... But oh well, tomorrow I'm off to work... I am thankful to begin the week with a clean fresh home. That is something I love so dearly, but rarely ever happens. Blah. Say a prayer for me... This could be interesting! :)

Wishful Thinking...

2010-02-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

It seems I've been doing a lot of dreaming and wishing lately for things that I can't possibly make happen. So why not make my wish list here...

1. I wish to live here-

2. I wish to have two of these for Piper, so she will quit dumping her water bowl and carrying it through our house-

That's really all I can think of for now...

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday!

Dylan Ross Buckingham...

2010-02-13T18:59:00.001-08:00

You're my better half. My source of laughter and most importantly my best friend. I am so lucky you are mine! Happy first (and fourth) Valentine's day, my love. :)

PW's Chicken Spaghetti...

2010-02-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, Dylan's mom got me the Pioneer Woman Cookbook. If you haven't seen this, or heard of it... Quit reading this post, and go buy it. Now! Or at least check out her website, here.
It is the greatest thing of all time. It is written by Ree Drummond, a self proclaimed accidental country girl, who cooks delicious food her cowboy (AKA Marlboro Man) will love. Everything I have ever made from her book has been nothing short of divine. Tonight I'm trying her Chicken Spaghetti, which I have heard so many good reviews about! I did change a few things, so here is my version:

Serves 4: Preheat Oven to 350'
Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
2 cans of Chicken Broth
1 2 oz. jar diced pimientos, drained
1 small onion
1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
1 can 98% FF cream of mushroom soup
salt, ground pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
2 cups of reduced fat 2% shredded monterey and cheddar jack cheese
1/2 box of linguini, break noodles in half

1. Trim and cut up chicken breasts into small bite size pieces and place into a small pot of 1 can boiling chicken broth, heat until well cooked.
2. With the same pot, pour in the other of chicken broth, and one can filled with water and boil, then cook the noodles.
3. While your noodles are cooking, set out a medium sized bowl, mix together, chicken, pimientos, onion, green pepper, can of mushroom soup, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and 1 cup of cheese. Taste to check spices, and set aside.
4. Drain noodles, and mix in with other ingredients.
5. Pour into a small-medium sized baking greased baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake until cheese is bubbly.

So Delicious! Definitely will go in our Family Favorites book! :)

YUM-O!

2010-02-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

Made these yummy treats by chance, making them again-by choice!

I shall name them- YumBites, Dylan wants to call them- Nu-Bu-mmms. "NuBums". :)...

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup Nutella
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour

In large bowl combine softened butter, peanut butter and Nutella. Add in sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat in 1 egg and vanilla. Gradually stir in flour.

Shape dough into small ping-pong size balls, and place on greased cookie sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes at 375'.

Seriously, Heaven in your mouth!

I've bet you've never seen these...

2010-02-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

Many of you have probably heard of "Cadillac Ranch" in Amarillo. It's one of the biggest attractions in our bazaar city. Anyway, it was created by a millionaire mad man, named Stanley Marsh III. He is apparently a crazy man who has more money than he knows what to do with, so he puts a lot of it into random art projects around town. And when I say random, I mean RaNdOm. For example he has allegedly, paid high school students (who are referred to as the marsh pack) to drive around old cars with weird things attached to them, like a chicken, or huge antlers, and he makes moch street signs with bazaar sayings and gives money to people to put them in their yard for others to see. For example, here are some of the weirder signs Dylan and I have found around town (also a good chunk of the signs around town have serious profanities on them. But don't worry, I didn't put those on here ha!)...

"LOVES ALWAY'S BEEN MY GAME"

"DOG'S BARK"

"FLYING WIENIE"

"I ROAM THE PURPLE EVENINGS ALONE"

"AGING, RICH, AND OVERFED"

Weird, huh? So who's coming to stay first? :)

Seattle giveaway...

2010-02-02T19:17:00.000-08:00

Friends! Check this out and enter to win a Seattle Vacation Giveaway! :) Good luck!! Just click HERE!

Pure Enjoyment...

2010-02-02T16:50:00.000-08:00

There are few things I like better than a perfectly cleaned home, crawling into a freshly made bed after a long day, and going to sleep knowing that the dishwasher is empty and all of the dishes are put away. I'm sad to say this does not happen as often as I wish it did, but when it does, I am in heaven. I took some pictures of our cutie apartment for those of you back home to see. The pictures don't do it justice, but you can at least get a glimpse into our Texas lifestyle...

Here is our living room, you can see the front door to the left, and our bedroom to the right.

Then here is our living room from the other side.

Here's my kitchen.

And our bedroom.

And our guest bedroom/office/Dylan's sports room.

Blizzard 2010...

2010-01-30T20:27:00.000-08:00

So here is our home, for those of you that haven't seen it. :)

And here is the outcome of our blizzard snow fall. Not nearly as bad as we thought, but still more than I'm used to. It was fun to see snow flakes as big as a dollar coin! A whopping 14 inches!

And as much as I love having a beautiful blanket of snow right outside our window, it is causing me insane frustration! Our dog, bless her heart, absolutely refuses to do her business on the snow. It is like a confusing surface to her, and she just won't do it. Maybe it's because the snow is deeper than she is tall, which I can't hardly blame her, that would be a tricky situation, but either way. I'm going to go crazy. She's probably going to have a bladder infection, because she hasn't pooped in 2 days, and she has only peed once. Cool.

Oh Dear Lord...

2010-01-28T10:25:00.000-08:00

This is from yesterday, today they are saying 2 feet. I will post more pictures as we get them.

I'll be there for you...

2010-01-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

Dylan and I have been making our way through all of the seasons of Friends over the past month, and I am not ready for it to come to an end. I still believe it is the best sitcom ever created. As many times as I've seen some of the episodes, they still never get old. We are supposed to get hit with 15 inches of snow tomorrow, so we will begin Season 9, cuddle and continually pray for power. Stay warm everyone!