Ever Have One of Those...

Days?  Try weeks!  It all started last Monday {not yesterday}, and I guess I was just in a funk the rest of the week.  Boog and I headed out to work/camp bright and early last Monday morning.  Of course we were on the highway, cruising along, and this big jacked up truck gets up right beside us...and was SO loud.  He finally passed us but the noise was still there, and I just kept thinking who needs a truck that loud?  Well, after a few seconds I realized it was me making all the noise, so I quickly exited.  As soon as I put on the brakes my car started to shake, and I thought I was going to cry.  I knew immediately that I had a blowout.

This wouldn't normally get me so rattled, but hubby just so happened to be 4 hours away that morning and with my back I knew I wouldn't be able to get down and change a tire.  I called hubby anyway and asked him who I should call.  You'll never guess what he said...,"call Steven" {my ex-husband}!!!  So I did!  And lucky for us, he was only a few miles away from us so he was able to come help us change the tire out!  Of course, I had to take a picture of my ex-husband on the ground changing my tire!  Hahaha! 

Later that evening, I took Caroline to her cheer practice, and then went to take back some movies.  As I drove up to the drop box and rolled down my window I heard the loud pop and then a screeching sound.  Yep, my window went out!  You have got to be kidding me!!!!  I just about cried.  So I call hubby and tell him, and then I just start laughing...what else could I do?

I decided to look on the bright side and look forward to the trip we were taking that weekend.  The River.  If you're from Texas, you know what I'm talking about!  For those of you that don't, I'll explain.  Down in New Braunsfels, TX or Gruene, TX lies the Guadalupe River, where you rent a tube and float for hours....ahhhh.  It's so much fun!  I haven't been in years and the hubby and I were so ready to just relax and float along.  We had such a nice weekend camping out, floating the river, cooking out, and playing cards! 

We headed home about noon on Sunday so we would be able to get Caroline and have a little quality time before the weekend was over {it's about a 2.5 hour drive for us}.  About the time we hit Round Rock, the shaking started again.  I replaced my tire and couldn't understand why it all the sudden started doing this!  At least hubby was with me this time!  We pulled over, and yep, the new tire was messed up!  Luckily we were right around the corner from Firestone, and they got me 2 new tires put on the back so we could head home!  Then we got stuck behind a wreck and didn't end up getting home until 6:30!  I was so bummed out, and just wanted to curl up on the couch with my 2 favorite people.  Needless to say, I'm so glad last week is long gone!

And the Winner is...

Courtney from Courtney and the Boys!!!

Congrats Courtney!  Just email your address to me at ashee7896 {at} yahoo {dot} com and I'll get your $40 gift certificate to you!

A Little Bit of This and That

Hope everyone is having a good week so far....it's still up in the air for me!  But we'll get to that in a little bit!

Over the weekend, I was working on a big project.  My brothers dad {yes, that makes him my step-brother}  has a girlfriend who has a resale store with one of her friends.  Did I lose you there?  Haha!  The store needs a sign.  My brother is very creative and talented, and he suggested that we work together on this sign.  I was super excited to do this with him!  So, we got together a few weekends ago and got started.  The 1st day we just kinda got our plans together, I sketched out an idea, and we got it all laid out.  Wanna hear the fun part?  This thing is 4ft. tall and 8ft. long {big} and we have to do both sides!!!  Yikes!  So we got to work again this weekend and made huge progress on this thing.

The Sketch

Just starting...

Ron working on the letters

Puppy {I have got to get his face done so he doesn't look like a bunny anymore!}

The kitty cat

The really cool part about the store is that all the proceeds go to a pet rescue one of the ladies owns!  How cool is that?  I think it's such a great idea and I'm glad to be a part of it!

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We went to visit Tab's parents, they also live out in the country, and they were telling us about a creek that was a few miles away from their house.  Of course we had to take a bunch of back roads to get there, but boy was it worth it!  Caroline just happened to have on her swimsuit and jumped right in to explore!  I just love watching her play like that...it makes my heart smile!

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And don't forget to check out my GIVEAWAY!  You could win a $40 gift certificate!!!!  I'll pick a winner later this week!

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And one last favor sweet friends.  I have a very dear friend, Frugal Jen, who is having some serious issues in the last few weeks of her pregnancy.  The latest news is that there may be an infection in-utero, and they are suggesting that they go ahead and deliver the baby.  This is a very scary time for her and her husband, and the rest of their family.  She's only 34 weeks and they had already given her 2 steroid shots to help develop the baby's lungs {she's been on bedrest for several weeks now} in case of early delivery.  So could you pray with me?  I'm praying for wisdom for the doctors, peace & strength for Jen & Josh, and health for their sweet baby.  I know she would also love to hear from people who are thinking and praying for them, so please feel free to stop by and give them your words of encouragement!

Giveaway Friday

I can't tell y'all how many friends I have that are blessed to be expecting a new little one right now!  I also can't tell y'all how many of my friends have darling little girls {and precious little boys}!  One of my favorite things about kids is their little personalities!  Can you think of a good way to show those off?  I can, and I do it far too much!  Decor, as in decorating their rooms!

I've had the opportunity to help decorate rooms for both little girls and little boys, and being the girly girl I am, I love to get a room all fixed up for little girls, mine in particular!  So when I was approached to do a giveaway form a store that has anything you could ever want, like a precious vanity for your little girl, I was thrilled!  

What's the loot you ask?  A $40.00 gift certificate!  This can be used on anything that CSN Stores carries, or you could use it toward the purchase of a cute vanity!  

I'm a little hung up on them lately, {vanities that is} because if your little girls are anything like mine, they can spend hours sitting there playing dress up!  Always wanting to be like mommy and put make-up on!

Okay, so here's what you have to do:

1.   Leave me a comment on your favorite part of your child's room, or something you've seen you would love to put in your child's room.

2.  Become a follower and let me know, or if you already are tell me that too!

3.  Stop by and pick out your favorite vanity and tell me which one you like!

4.  Blog about my giveaway, link back to me, and then let me know you've blogged about it!

So you have 4 chances for an entry!  Remember that you will be winning a $40.00 gift certificate from a great company!

I'll pick a winner next week and let you know who the lucky person is!

***This is a sponsored giveaway***

Little Old Lady

...is what Caroline calls herself when she wears these...

...I love this Little Old Lady!

Independence Day

*****I'm highly ticked off at Blogger right now!  I had most of this post done, then *poof*....nothing was there, it was gone!!!!  So I'm gonna try and get it together again.*****

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day!!  I love this holiday, it just screams American!  HaHa!  I think we forget where we came from sometimes, and the 4th of July just brings that all back.  The hot & lazy summer days, flags flying, kids playing in the sprinklers, cookouts with family and friends...I could go on and on!  I have a deep love for little old towns, all that they are and all they represent.  I love Americana; the culture, the meaning, the passion.  I must move on or I'll keep going on and on about it!

We didn't really have any plans this year, we were supposed to go be with some friends, but those plans changed!  We took advantage of that and just invited my parents over for a good ole' fashioned 4th of July cookout and fireworks in the yard!  Burgers and hotdogs, deviled eggs, baked beans, homemade vanilla ice cream and homemade peach cobbler!  Yummy!!!  And I won't even talk about all the fireworks we had!  CRAZY!!!!!

This cracks me up!!! Notice all the cell phones!!!!

See, I was there too!

Yummy, Yummy!

Caroline & Daisy Mae

This is my sweet Bloodhound, Daisy Mae...isn't she just precious?

Steven {Caroline's daddy} wanted to come and spend the day with her too so he and a friend joined us, and then once his girlfriend got off work she joined us too.  After we pigged out, we sat on the front porch for a while and just enjoyed the evening.  Then we got to business with the fireworks!  Unfortunately, my parents didn't get to stay for the fireworks, and boy did they miss it!

I have to admit, we were not as careful, uh hmmm, as we should be when shooting fireworks, so kids don't ever do anything that you read here!!!!

It really started out very innocently, I promise!  But right out of the gate we had an injury, but only a minor one!  Tab set up an artillery shell and a rocket, he lit them and we all sat back to enjoy...until we heard Steven scream like a little girl!!!  Here's the conversation that took place:

Andrea: {laughing hysterically "that's what he gets, that's funny!"
Tab: "o man, are you bleeding?"
Steven: "yea a little"
Andrea: "well that parts not too funny"...{but she's still laughing}!

And yes, I was laughing the whole time.  It really was just too funny!!

   Oddly enough, I caught Tab lighting the Artillery Shell and the Rocket before it hit Steven!!!!!

The Aftermath

After we all stopped laughing, we kept shooting fire works, and then Steven decided he would get revenge.  He lit a Saturn Missile, turned it sideways where it was pointing at our chairs.  Needless to say we found ourselves being shot at with little flaming fireballs {that was a little redundant I know!}

We waited a little while, then Andrea and I got our revenge on the boys!!!  Tab had been lighting Black Cats and throwing them at Andrea, and Steven had his fun with the Saturn Missile, so we had a plan.  My favorite fireworks of all times are Roman Candles, so I always get a ton of them.  We lit them and started to make them dodge out of the way!  During the whole thing, Andrea had a little chant she said, "Dance Tab, Dance"!!!!!  I cannot tell you how funny this was!  But we were very careful to not actually hit the guys!  Seeing them jump around like that was seriously one of the best laughs I've had all year!  After that we settled down and just enjoyed the fireworks we had!

Hopefully everyone had as good a time as we did!

Day of Blogging Silence for Cohen