Nothing New...

I just flipped through my calendar to see what we've been up to since the last time I posted. Lots of things have happened. Brad left on Friday, the 22nd, to go to Arkansas to duck hunt with his friends and I was left home alone (again) most of the weekend. That's typical during hunting season though! So I spent time cleaning and doing laundry (boring!) and then I was lazy for a while. I also got addicted to a new show on USA called White Collar. It's so funny- I even heard Brad laugh once while watching an episode.

Then Saturday evening, my brother-in-law, Brian, Courtney, Chloe, Mom, and Mama Lynn picked me up and we went to Tupelo. First stop was Cracker Barrel for some food and then it was time for the Rodeo. The "entertainment" was having an off night so we didn't get to see much "action", but it was still fun. After it was over and we were walking back to Mom's Yukon, Chloe said "this was my best night ever!" Then she said on the way home "Aunt Cassie, when I get taller, I'm going to be a barrel racer!" Yeah, I'm sure she had fun.

Sunday was the day Mama Lynn, mom and I went to the furniture market in Tupelo. I knew exactly what I was looking for and went straight to it and bought it-- the media center that matches our bedroom suit I bought in August. Luckily, they were discontinuing that style so I got it $80 cheaper than I was expecting! We left and went to Lowe's to buy a dolly and straps then went back to get it. Can you imagine a great-grandmother and a grandmother and me loading this huge, heavy thing on this dolly and hauling it across a huge building, thru a parking lot and then into the bed of the truck?! We got some serious looks and at one point a man asked "where are your husbands?" We politely told him we didn't need a man to help us and then I said "and my husband doesn't know I'm here buying anything. I'm going to surprise him when I get home!". Yeah, they got a kick out of that! We got it loaded up fairly easy then down the road we went. We did get Brad to help us unload it once we got back to my house. :) I'll leave out how happy he was that I surprised him with that when he kindly begged me not to buy anything, but I snuck off anyway. Oh, the joys of marriage.

The next week was pretty standard-- things like who gets to go home at lunch and let Amos out, cooking, cleaning, tv, working on banking school homework, paying bills, etc... except for...
Friday, we got a nice little ice storm type thing in our area. It started snowing around 8am and it was SO pretty. Then it turned cold and icy and by 10 the road were getting slick. The next thing I know the bank is closing at 11 so we can all get home before it gets worse. Wrecks were reported everywhere (but NO ONE in this area knows how to drive!) It took me about 45 minutes to make my 20 minute drive home. The "sad" part is that once the town shut down and almost everyone got home (Brad was still working) then the rain started and melted/washed everything away! HA! Oh well- it wasn't like we were going to all go back and open up again.

Friday night and the first half of Saturday was spent cleaning and picking up around the house, doing laundry and being lazy. It was nice. Brad didn't get to go to Arkansas for the last weekend of the season because of the weather so he was stuck with me! Poor thing! After lunch Brad decided we'd go to Tupelo. Yep, shocked me but you better believe I was up and ready to go in about 30 minutes. We went straight to Outback and then stuffed ourselves with way too much food, then to the mall to find Brad more jeans, then to the pet store. I was too full to shop for myself. Can you believe that? Plus, the mall was full of people. It was insane and I doubt we go back on a Saturday evening!

Sunday was church the grocery shopping for me and Brad got to fly from Corinth to Tupelo to Oxford back to Tupelo and back to Corinth to get in a cross country plus x amount of landings. He was excited. He probably hadn't flown in a month. I started reading Twilight and read over half of it Sunday evening/night. If I would known how into it I was, I would have started reading it earlier so I could have finished it in one day! I finished it today and I really liked it. I plan on watching the movie Wednesday. Brad is in charge of the remote tonight since I got to watch Bachelor last night. I really hope he doesn't force me to watch the History channel again like he did Saturday. If I hear "Mayan calendar" or "Nostradamus" one more time I might scream!!

I plan on posting a few pictures this week of the rodeo, Chloe dressed up in her dance outfits and Amos! {We caught him on the couch several times this week!}

Nothing!

I've got nothing new or exciting to tell you, but I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I'd try to get something going... let's see...

Amos hasn't been going to "doggie daycare" for the last two + weeks! Luckily, Brad's been working around that area or passing through most days so he'll stop by and let him out at lunch and check on him. Days that he can't, I go on my lunch break. Amos seems to enjoy the play time and not to mention, he's standing by the back door when I pull up the drive. Hopefully, we won't be driving back and forth twice a day to let him out for much longer. I must say, though, that my car stays a lot cleaner with him being home- even if I am doubling the mileage on my car every day!

I took him back to the Vet Wednesday. He's on his third ear medicine. The first one ($16) didn't do much and the second one ($16.50) turned his ear bright red and had tiny blistery bumps come up. Now we're trying a powder ($21.50) that has some "good medicine" as the vet put it. Let's hope this works! We're also still dealing with his itching. He's on an antihistamine TWICE a day, but he still itches and scratches most of the day. Seriously, I'm tired of the issues; I know he is too!

Hmm... back to drawing a black...

Oh, Whitney (an ooooold friend from years ago) and I are joining a gym?!?! Yes, I'm joining a gym. Sort of freaked out by the whole idea, but I'm going to give it a shot. We found a place (not that Corinth is overflowing with options- there are now 4) that will let you do a three month contract so we go Monday to join. Whitney either gets off early (3-4pm) or works late (6-630pm) and I always get off at 430 so it's hard trying to find a time that either she's not waiting on me or I'm not waiting on her. Let's hope this works out! Speaking of joining a gym--- I have nothing to wear! I haven't worn gym/workout clothes since I was in high school and I'm about, oh, about 30 pounds heavier and those old shorts aren't working anymore! I plan on doing a little shopping this weekend after I dig through my clothes to see what I have. I lucked up on some new tennis shoes last year. My mom and I were walking around downtown Oxford and walked into this store looking for Chloe something for t-ball (the best I can remember). Anywho, they were having a big sale on their tennis shoes and I got some great Nike shoes. I plan on breaking them in this year :)

Brad's leaving this evening going back to Arkansas. He went last weekend too. Next weekend is the end of the season so I'll have my husband back for about a month until Turkey season opens and my house turns into a bed and breakfast for his Arkansas friends. Oh, don't worry, I'll have plenty to blog about then. Imagine my house holding 2-4 stinky camo'd turkey hunters for a few days. It gets interesting. Back to my original train of thought. I have plenty of things lined up for him to do (like finally putting our Christmas tree in the shed- please do not ask where it is now).

This weekend is the furniture market in Tupelo and Brad has politely whined and begged for me not to buy anything. My thoughts on that? Too bad sweetie! :) I'm also going to the rodeo with my mom, dad, sister, brother in law, and niece. Should have some great stories and pictures from that. Let you know Monday, maybe. Next week is going to be NUTS for me!!

Comparison

I left out one picture in the "2009 year in review" part I did the other day. It's a comparison between a picture I took in January and one I took in December. Enjoy!!!

Brad and Amos, January 2009

Brad and Amos, December 2009

Now, if any of you would like to donate to the "feed the dog" foundation, please let me know! :)

FYI

I so bought the one and only and last box of Christmas Tree Cakes K-Mart had yesterday!! I went in to look for socks and mittens for Brad and honestly, I just happened to walk by their food section (on my way to the Christmas section) and thought... "wouldn't it be funny if they had them out since I posted about it today??" so I turned my head and WAM! there sat ONE box. They were on an end cap-- I didn't even have to walk down an aisle-- and there was one box. I dug through my purse to find my camera, because honestly, I was super pumped and tickled that they were there, but then I remembered I took my camera out THAT morning because I knew I wouldn't need it. I snatched that box up, looked for what I came to look for then proceeded to the checkout with only my Little Debbie box. The lady gave me a funny look, rang it up and sent me on my way {$1.92}. I held them close and went straight to the car. I thought about ripping the box open, but I decided not too.

After getting home, I put them on the table with the other bags of groceries I bought. While I was putting things away, Brad walked in the door and spotted them. I noticed where his eyes were looking and before I could open my mouth, he grabs that box! I then threatened his precious life and told him that when I was ready, I would share. Unfortunately, we had to start supper and then we had company come over (and I was stingy and hid them in the cabinet). Maybe tonight I'll get to eat one while watching Mercy?!?!?!

Not (Completely) Holiday Related

I haven't done a "Friday Five" in a while so I thought I'd so a little random posting today. Plus, I'm getting a little tired of the Christmas/New Year talk that's floating around. Not that I'm ready to just rush this year away, but that brings us to point #1...

1. I've noticed Valentine's Candy and things already on the shelves. Those shelves were straight across from the Christmas shelves. Do we really need Valentine candy out this soon? I'm trying to stick to my resolutions, but that's just hard to do.

2. It's so stinking cold in north Mississippi right now. We go from warm weather to freezing cold weather in one day. People's pipes are freezing, grocery stores are being emptied, talk about snow floating around, people needing their heat worked on are coming out of the woodwork this week, etc... Today is probably the warmest it's been in about a week, maybe. It's been staying in the low 30s in the day and the single digits early in the morning and again in the afternoon. Poor Amos HATES cold weather. Have I told you the funny stories already?

3. I plan on starting the ..... dum dum dum..... Twilight books this week or weekend. My sister gave me all four plus the first movie several weeks ago. Sadly, they've only been moved once and that was because I was trying to find somewhere to put them! Ha! I'll let you know later when I start the first one. Everyone keeps saying that when you pick it up you can't put it down, and let's face it people, when do I have time to sit and do nothing but read??

4. I'm so super excited about all of my shows coming back on!! I watched Biggest Loser last night (and was not happy about the outcome). Tonight is MERCY!! Then I'll have House and maybe CSI if I stick to it. Monday, a friend told me to turn it on to the Bachelor. Let's just say those girls are CRAZY. I didn't get to finish the show, but I saw enough to know they're crazy! He's a little hottie though so I plan on watching it again just to see how things go. I have watched two seasons of Bachelor and both did NOT end the way I wanted them too so I quit, but it might be time to check it out again. Do you remember Andrew Firestone and Travis Stork (the doctor from Nashville)?? Yep, they're why I quit watching that show.

5. I JUST realized that I did NOT get ANY of THESE?!?!?!? Holy Cow! How did that happen? I am usually obsessed with that box of goodness. This should show you just how hectic things have been lately. The sad part is that I just realized it... it's the sixth day of January! How could I forget?

I mean, would you look at that?? Who doesn't love these? I seriously can NOT believe I did NOT get ONE single bite. NOT ONE. I might just hit up the local bent and dent and see if they have any, because seriously... the stores have already cleared the Christmas and put out Valentine things.

P.S. I honestly didn't intend on this list having "five" random things on it, but that's just what happened. Now, I've got to get back to work...

Happy New Year!!

I realize I'm a few days late, but I have a good excuse! I think I killed my laptop :( I had it worked on a couple of months ago and the man told me what to do every day and monthly to keep it running. I have to update definitions daily and run a scan once a month. Easy enough, right? Wrong. I completed the definition part and the scan; two things were found on the scan so I was asked to delete the two which I did. Then it asked me to reboot, which I did. Then it rebooted to a blue screen!!! D.E.A.D. I turned it off and back on and it was blue. I turned it off and on and it was still blue. I did this for about three days before I broke down in tears and admitted it was gone. Unfortunately it was during New Years so the repair place was closed. I'm taking it today on my lunch break!

Speaking of New Years... did you do anything fun? We went to Brad's grandparents for our Christmas dinner then back home at 9pm. Brad went back to town to help his brother and dad move some heavy pieces of furniture into a trailer. He was back home by 10:30 and we were asleep by 11. Yeah, that's how we party... ha! Technically, it was New Year's in New York so we just celebrated with them I guess.

New Years Day was nice too. I took down all of my Christmas decor and lounged around. I think we should all only work four days a week. We need Friday to rest before the weekend starts.

Saturday was fun. I met my mother, sister and niece in town to do a little tutu shopping. No luck at our first stop so then we headed to the theater to watch "Alvin and the Chipmunks". I think we enjoyed it more than she did. However, I did not enjoy spending $4 for a bag of skittles, BUT Chloe really wanted them. I was glad to buy them for her, but seriously people... it was a rip off! I won't mention the price of the drink and pretzel. Ha... I'd rather not recall it. After the movie we headed to Wal-Mart to do more tutu shopping and grocery shopping. We had a little luck with leotards and leggings, but that was it. I bought a car charger/radio transmitter for my iPod and then finished up grocery shopping. I think I ended up with milk, grapefruits, bananas and a frozen pizza. We'll probably starve this week. That, or I'll go grocery shopping again. I made it home to watch the 4th quarter of the Cotton Bowl (Hotty Toddy!!) and then Brad and I went to some friends' house to watch the Arkansas game and eat. I felt terrible for East Carolina's kicker. I hope they didn't make find his own way home!

Sunday was busy, as usual. Church in the morning then Tupelo in the afternoon. Brad went flying with a friend and I did a little shopping. I spent $21 on my niece and $19 on my dog. I spend zilch on myself (unless you count that Brad and I ate at McDonald's on the way home). While in Tupelo, I ran into one of the Wal-Mart stores and picked up another leotard, skirt thingy, and shoes. We still need to find an actual tutu. Sounds like we need to go to Memphis! After we got home we went to visit Brad's grandparents. While we were there a friend called to tell us that his truck had broken down in Tupelo and asked if we could come get him. Folks, it was 7pm and we had just got back from Tupelo. Of course, Brad wanted to help though (I did too). We went home to get Brad's truck, then Brad went back to his grandparents' to get a car hauler then met a friend to ride with him to Tupelo. They got the truck loaded (broken tire rod?) then drove it back to town, dropped the friend off, unloaded the truck and he made it home at 12:38am this morning. For the most part I was awake! I tried really hard to stay awake. It was hard to get out of bed this morning!

Just in case you were curious what my house looked like on New Years Day...

And yes, I was watching a hockey game. It came on after the Dean Martin infomercial and that was after the parade! That's what I started out watching while I was undecorating. I'll be honest, I will probably download a few of Dean's songs to my ipod once my laptop is up and running...

Do you need a close up of my clutter???

Dont' be afraid! It's all neatly arranged in tubs now.

Taylor Family Christmas

Every year on Christmas Eve, Brad's grandparents host Christmas at their house. This year his grandfather was in the hospital with a severe stomach virus so the Christmas dinner was postponed until last night. His grandfather is feeling better and they were glad we could all get together again.

Brad's grandmother, Mrs. Violet, cooked turkey and ham and plenty of other dishes. YUM! We all stuffed ourselves first then sat around talking and sharing stories. My mouse story seemed to be the most popular story of the night. We also talked about work (since his grandfather started the heatin and air business that now his three sons run). Finally we got off that subject and it was time for dessert. We had chocolate cake with chocolate and pecan icing, caramel pie and chocolate pie.

We didn't take many pictures, but we got a few...

Mrs. Violet and Brad's aunt Linda

Brad's granfather, Mr.Bill

This was the end to our 2009 Christmas. I took down all of my decorations today and I'm waiting on Brad to get home to put them in the shed. Not looking forward to that part, seeing as I might have bought just a tab bit more. Not sure if all of my tubs will fit back in the shed! We might have some new red and green endtables and nightstands after today. HA!