Our Scary Morning.

This morning, B and I were relaxing and hanging out talking in bed like we do most mornings before he goes to class. Neither one of us are morning people. We might wake up at 8 or even as late as 9 am, but we are most productive in the afternoon, evenings and even into the wee mornings hours. I guess our clocks never reset after college. Sometimes you'll find us awake at 2 and 3 in the morning. That's when I get my best editing done. Anyway, we were waking up very slowly, talking about our dreams that we had the night before and our plans for the upcoming day. We recently started watching Breaking Bad all over again and I had a dream that B and I were hiding a liquified body in a plastic container. Seriously. If you haven't seen Breaking Bad, then you have no clue right now. (Season 1. Episode 2.)

So as we were talking, checking email on our phone, seeing what's happening on Facebook, you know the usual morning routine... we both heard a sad pitiful yelp come from my baby Conner. Any dog mom knows this yelp of helplessness and I pray to God you never have to hear it. EVER. Something horrible was happening to my dog Conner and I had no clue what it was or what to do. The next few minutes were mass chaos, at least in my mind. I'm pretty sure B stayed reasonably calm throughout the entire event. I kept screaming WHAT IS HAPPENING? Conner's jawed was clinched tight. His paws went straight over his face as if he was covering his eyes or something. His entire body tightened in panic and was trembling. I didn't know if he was choking or if he had broken a limb. All I knew was that something was seriously not right. B mentioned a seizure and then it hit us like a ton of bricks. That's exactly what was happening- he was having a seizure right in front of us and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it.

Of course, I screamed, cried and yelled for the seizure to stop, but it wouldn't. I tried petting him, talking to him, rubbing him and when all of that failed, I just sat there helpless and watched as the seconds dragged on.

A couple of minutes had gone by and no improvement. We quickly realized that an emergency vet visit was a must. With tears in my eyes and panic in my mind, I threw on the first thing I saw...which I realized later was an Arkansas tshirt B had bought me, dirty jeans, slippers and a camouflage hat. Seriously, I probably looked like some sort of hillbilly. But at the time I didn't even think of it. I just scooped Conner up in my arms and headed for the nearest vehicle in our driveway. He peed on me on the way to the car, but I didn't care. All I cared about at that time was him not dying. I remember yelling "You're not dying on me, Conner, not today!" So dramatic, now I realize that, but that is how I felt.

I thought my baby was seriously dying in my arms.

I know for all you parents out there, this post may sound silly or dramatic but we don't have human children. Conner, Scooter, Hazel, Charlie and now Lannie Cat are our children. We buy them presents. They even have their own stockings. They sleep with us. I talk to them constantly. I work from home so I hang out with my fur children more than any other human being on this planet and to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. I honestly like my pets a lot more than most human beings...and that's no joke, y'all.

So you see, to lose one of these guys, is exactly like losing a member of the family because to me, they are 100% family. Our animals are what makes up this family. We spend 90% of our time with our animals and we CHOOSE to everyday. So we may be known as the crazy animal lovers but I'm okay with that. Because until you love an animal, you have not experience the kind of love that is 100% selfless, loyal and devoted.

Conner came out of his seizure about the time we were pulling up at the vets office. He was scared and continued to pee on me and every vet assistant in the office but that's a Cocker Spaniel for ya. :) He is now completely better and is sitting on top of my feet even as I write this. The vet told us that epileptic seizures are common in Cockers and for us not to be shocked if this happens again. If this becomes more common, there is some medication we can get him on to prevent seizures. I might have to get MYSELF on some medication if this starts happening more often! I'm not sure my heart can handle another morning like this morning.

I will definitely be more prepared if this happens again but until then, I will continue to cherish every single day I have with him. Like with any person or animal, I know our days are numbered. Events like today definitely make you stop and appreciate the life we have with our furry friends.

I love our little crazy zoo and right now in life, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Adding Another.

I don't think I have mentioned on our blog that we are going to be an Aunt and an Uncle once again. That's right! My brother Craig and his wife Nicole are having a baby girl in about a month. They already have two of the sweetest nephews anyone could ask for: Landon (almost 3) and Carson (just turned 1). My other brother, Chris, and his wife Amanda, have two girls, Makaylan (2) and Hannah (almost 1). It is pretty insane when we all get together. There is hardly any adult conversing going on...like at all. It's crazy but I love it! So why not add one more to the mix, right?

 Anniston Nicole will be making her arriving sometime in July. My birthday is July 19 so it would be neat if she arrived on my 30th birthday, especially since her older brother Landon arrived in this world on our second wedding anniversary, July 5th. Craig and Nicole's anniversary is in July, as well as my mom's birthday. More reasons to love summer and the month of July, my favorite month! :)

Last weekend I threw a very informal gathering of just family so that we could shower Nicole and Anniston with a few gifts. I was a little busy playing hostess, tour guide, auntie, etc. that I forgot to snap very many pics at all.

Here is one that I love: my cousin Lauren, her baby, Elle, and our grandmother, MeMe hanging out during the shower. Such a precious site. I am trying to cherish these years left with MeMe. She is 83 years old, I believe, and her health is failing her rapidly. I am so happy so was able to attend.

I literally snapped this one of little Carson as they were walking out the door. He's growing so quickly.

 And Nicole and her mother, Sharon. They look like sisters, don't they?

We can't wait to meet you Anniston! 

Our Memorial Day Weekend.

Yes, so this is a tad bit late but I wanted to at least document our Memorial Day because it was such a fabulous day celebrating with family. My sister in law Nicole and my brother Craig had us over to their new home here in Ruston and we hung out, ate and were entertained by the kiddos. Here are just a few of my favorites from the day.

Grilling meat is an American way and nothing says Memorial Day like all the guys hovering over a huge flaming grill looking, talking about and drooling over pounds and pounds of meat. In our family it's something that is passed down from Father to Son. It's a man's right of passage and I am so thankful it is. Love me some bar-b-que! :)

 Another tradition it seems on Memorial Day is to break out the pool, floaties and swimsuit because summer is here! Landon and Makaylan definitely enjoyed a little pool time last weekend.

I'm pretty sure Makaylan (or Kay Kay, as we call her) had enough fun for all of us! These pictures MADE MY WHOLE WEEK! I'm thinking about getting them printed off just to smile at them daily.  

It's these simple Freedoms that we love and enjoy and sometimes forget to say thank you for. 

So to all the men and women who gave their time, service, family, mental and physical health and most of all their lives...we say THANK YOU! 

I do hope you had a great Memorial Day and are enjoying your first week of June! Can you believe it's JUNE already?? So many things I want to get done this summer, our first summer living in Louisiana together. :)

Enjoy Life Now.

There are the kind of friends who see you through anything. You know the kind, they still love you no matter what you've done or haven't done. The kind of friends who know you are a pack rat and come over to help clean out my room with heavy duty trash bags in hand. (Yes, this really happened) They stand by you on your wedding day, hold your hand during bad break ups, buy the champagne when life calls for celebration. Lauren and I once had a fight over whether we were first cousins or best friends. Well, in our case, we are both. 

This is her beautiful son, Trey, who just turned six. Lauren, Wayne and their two kids came over last night to brake our newly painted house. Buie grilled burgers. Trey played hard like a six year old does. 

Baby Elle was the perfect guest. Isn't she beautiful? 

The burgers were perfect, babe. 

Trey left us a chalk drawing that I will be enjoying for days to come. 

Hopefully it all washed off okay. ;)

 Fresh flowers on the today.

Even the dogs had a splendid evening. 

 We ate, listened to Buie tell his many stories like he so often does and wished this night would never end. Great friends are so few and far between so when you find them, cling tight and never let them go!

 I hope you are enjoying this Memorial Day weekend with the ones you love enjoying life's simple freedoms.

Enjoy life now.

Guest Room/ Guest Bathroom:: Before Pictures

I'm almost embarrassed to show you these pictures. Almost. I would be embarrassed if I would have chosen this paint color or put this wallpaper on the walls. Sorry was that harsh? I have to keep reminding myself that this house and this decor and paint colors were all chosen over two decades ago. Maybe they were like the cool kids back in the day. Is that possible?

The guest room is painted a purplish gray. At first glance you think "Oh that's not so bad" but then you realize it's not so much gray as it is purple. And yes I still have boxes from our move in our guest room. Don't judge. 

Now, moving on to the guest bathroom...Well, it just needs a total transformation: rip down the wallpaper, new flooring, new cabinets, new faucets, new lighting, the works!
But for now we're just starting with fresh paint and oh what a difference it makes. I can't wait to show y'all the after painting pics.

Buie's Office: Before Pics

Check out this wallpaper, y'all! I was NOT at all sad to see this room go. This room was a sad mix of nautical print, sad lighting and beige trim. My husband said he could "deal with it" but I, however, could not. 

This room needed an intervention and we gave it one. Stay tuned for the AFTER pics. :)

My Mom

My mom:

She's superwoman dressed as a Southern lady. She has been my caretaker, my organizer, my educator, my cook, my alarm clock, my travel agent, my nurse. She has been my moral compass when mine wasn't quite working. She has been my prayer warrior. She has been my counselor time and time again. She has been my interior decorator, my fashion coordinator, my event planner. She has been and will always be my shopping partner, my friend, my mom. 

Love you, mom. 

Dining Room: Before Pics

I went back and forth on whether to use the dining room as an actual dining room. In our old home in Arkansas we probably used our dining room a total of 5 times in the 4 years we lived there. We have a breakfast table that seats 8 so most of the time when we had company over, we would just sit at the breakfast table. If you'll remember I had plans to convert our dining room into a studio in our old home. I hate having a room that we don't utilize so we put some serious thought into making this into something else: a studio, a sitting room (which sounds silly and less useful than a dining room), my office... But when it came down to it, we thought with family living so close we will probably get more use out of our dining room. So our dining room is going to be a dining room but a much prettier one than the pictures you see below. 

Once again, I just wanted to document our home with BEFORE pictures so we could see the transformation that took place over the next few weeks, months and even years! We wanted to remember how our house looked when we moved in. So here it is. The dining room is painted a dark red, almost a burgundy color, but what makes it so unappealing is the WAY it was painted. Like our living room area, it was painted with some sort of sponge paint technique. It almost makes the walls look dirty. So we knew the red paint must go and soon. Like the yellow paint in the living room, breakfast room and kitchen, this red color was driving me mad. 

This room did come with some great built-ins which holds extra dishes, serving pieces and pitchers. These will be painted white and the rest of the room gray. The painters are finishing up things in this room today so stay tuned for the AFTER pictures! It's amazing what a couple coats of paint can do for a room!

Project Veggies!

The last few weeks we've been planning and talking about several projects, including but not limited to, painting our house, building a raised bed for veggies, building a pergola, staining our fence...and the list goes on. As with any "new" house that is actually not so new, the project list is soon to follow and is growing longer and longer by the minute! Since we hired out our painting to save our sanity, and quite possibly our marriage, we decided this would be a good week to tackle the veggie garden project. While the painters have been inside getting high off the paint fumes, B & I have been outside in the fresh air dreaming of the day when we can literally walk outside of our back door to go grocery shopping. :)

It might be a weird dream but I have always wanted my own garden. There is something so satisfying about getting your hands dirty, about growing something from a tiny seed and then enjoying free healthy food right from your own backyard just as God intended. It's exciting to see your dream become a plan and your plan become a reality. The first step to having our own veggie garden is done! It may sound silly but I'm so proud of us. :)

I also want my own chicken coop but that is for another day and another project.

 And the great thing about this dream is that it is totally doable. B & I are NOT super handy people. B has no skill in carpentry (sorry, babe) but he rocked this project! Basically if you know how to use a drill, you can manage this.

We chose an area in our yard that gets the most sun. This was a task in itself because we live in the middle of the woods. Literally.  I'm still a little nervous about whether our veggies will get enough sunlight but we picked a spot that gets about 6-8 hours of sun. (Please ignore the weeds in the bottom left. That is another project.)

 I'm so grateful B was totally on board with this project because it's good to have some muscles especially when you are pounding the stakes in the ground. Not only was he on board but he practically built the whole thing himself. I did my part by handing him the appropriate tools he needed, taking pictures and keeping the dogs out of the way. I think I had the harder job. :)

 We followed the plans on the Pioneer Woman's website. She lays everything out so clearly and has a picture for each and every step which is super helpful for visual people like myself. Honestly, it's pretty easy so don't be intimidated! If you've been wanting to build a garden, go for it! If you don't have a few hours to dedicate to the project- just do what we did. Divide it into a two or three day project. Day 1: Go buy your supplies. Day 2: Build the framework to 1 bed. (This parts takes about an hour or two depending on your skill level.) Day 3: Go buy soil and seeds. You will need LOTS of soil. This will be your most expensive part of the entire project but good soil is the key (so I've been told) so don't skimp on good soil. Day 4: Plan where your veggies will go and get to planting!

Here is our first finished raised bed. As you can see in the background, we have the wood laid out for another raised bed. B is planning on building that one today. If you break it down into smaller projects, it's not so overwhelming. :) 

I can't wait to get some veggies growing in here! I'd love to hear your tips and secrets. This being our first garden, I'm sure we could use all the help we can get! Happy Gardening!

Big D Bucket List!

Well, I'm finally get up a post about our fun weekend in Dallas! My mom, Zuzka and myself loaded up Thursday morning and headed to the big D with BIG plans! Zuzka, an exchange student from Slovakia, has been living with my mom and dad since January and has become my adopted little sister. She's so full of life and energy. Secretly she makes me want to be 17 again but then I remember all the broken hearts and trial and error I had to go through to make it to 29 and I'm perfectly happy where I am. It is fun to watch her though, so exuberant and uninhibited. 

Zuzka had a bucket list when coming to the states, many of which she has accomplished. She attended her first prom ever, ate crawfish, ate beignets in New Orleans. Zuzka had a couple of things on her bucket list that required a trip to Dallas, Texas. Well, who are we to keep a gal from marking off things on her "to do" list, especially if that list is a FUN list! :) 

Stop #1: She met several of our Texas cousins. I'm not exactly sure this was on her bucket list but we made it happen anyway. :)

Stop #2: The JFK Memorial and the Sixth Floor Museum. This one I was most excited about because of my obsession with conspiracy theories. If you don't know much about the JFK conspiracy (which I'm not sure how you wouldn't know), google it. Interesting stuff. I have been to Dallas a thousand times and have never taken the time to walk around on the grassy knoll, read the plaques and markers on the buildings or to go to the museum. The sixth floor museum which used the be the book depository where Oswald supposedly took his shot has a very informative tour. Of course it never touches on the second shooter or any of the conspiracy theories but it was still an informative tour. 

Stop #3: SIX FLAGS! I've never ever in my life seen someone so excited about going to an amusement park. I quickly realized that Six Flags is probably close to the last place on earth I would want to spend a day. I don't do rides; they give me migraines and vertigo. I don't do crowds...for many reasons. I can't eat any of the food there- I'm gluten free. Oh and probably the most important, I HATE people dressed up in animal costumes. So you're probably thinking, why in the world did you go? Good question. The answer is simple. To see the look on her face. It was all worth it. Zuzka even got me on a couple of rides. :) 

I'm going to miss this girl. So glad we had this time to spend together. Will cherish the last few times we have together before she heads home to Slovakia.