Organization

With every new year, I always want to improve my organization skills. I found this really cool blog called iheart organizing, and I have learned some very helpful tips from reading.

I don't wear a lot of jewelry, but I have a few pieces that I wear every day. I always find myself just putting my jewelry on my dresser or leaving it on the coffee table, and I have wanted to find a good, cute way to organize what I have.

Jen, from iheart organizing, had a picture of this egg crate with her jewelry in it, and I just knew I had to have it! I ordered it here from Anthropologie. It comes in white & this robin egg blue. The blue matches our master bathroom perfectly. I am super excited that my jewelry now has a home! :o)

Another thing I have been struggling with is my filing system. For two years now, I have been using an accordion file for most paperwork & a file box for random things. While I love the file box, the accordion file was not big enough for all of our paperwork! I found the idea for this kind of file box & folders from iheart organizing as well. Oh.my.goodness, I LOVE it! I can fit twice as much in the box as I could the accordion file, and it is so much easier to find something when I need it. The file box came from Wal-Mart, as well as the hanging folders & regular folders.



Happy 25th Birthday, John T.!

Last night, we celebrated John T.'s 25th birthday! I ordered a chicken nugget tray from Chick Fil-A & a cookie cake, and we invited his family & my mom & dad to join us.

 What was left of the nuggets...they were a big hit! :o)

 After we ate & JT opened his presents, we played the Wii.

 After everyone left, we rode the Ranger around the yard because we still had quiet a bit of snow!

 Happy 25th Birthday, babe! I hope you had a great day!



We went out to eat at Outback tonight & saw Country Strong. The food was amazing & so was the movie! I love when JT is off on the weekends!

January Snow

Ok y'all, so this week has been absolutely crazy. Monday morning, I woke up with John T. at 3:45 a.m., looked outside and saw that we had tons, I mean tons of snow. I decided to follow him in to work and then drive on to Lenoir City from Oak Ridge. Oh.my.goodness. I had to be at work at 6:30 a.m., and a drive that usually takes me ~40 minutes took me 2 hours. It was by far the scariest driving experience of my life. I have no one to thank but God for getting me to work safely. I had no control!

Needless to say, I ended up staying at the hospital on Monday night. I spent the night with my mom and dad on Tuesday night, and I finally made it back home after work on Wednesday! It felt great to be safe at home!

These pictures were taken when I got home Wednesday night. It was still snowing, but the main roads were pretty clear.

This is what our front yard looks like this morning. It will probably take forever for everything to melt because the temperatures aren't supposed to get very high for the next few days.

I am off today and getting ready to get my hair cut, then I'm going to Wal-Mart to pick up food, etc. for John T.'s 25th birthday party tomorrow night. I am so excited it! :o)

New Year, New Things

Our first week of the new year has been great!

I already blogged about what I did on New Year's day, but I also wanted to add this little project that I finished on Jan. 1st, too!

We recently laid new tile in our kitchen... JT & his dad did most of the work, and while they were moving a large cabinet we have in our laundry room, they accidently knocked a nice hole in our wall (right below the switch box).

JT patched the hole and painted over it with this cool chalkboard paint. I thought it turned out pretty cute! At first, I was going to use it as a little chalkboard, but then I decided that some kind of wall words would look better. I ordered these words from VinylGraffiti on etsy.

I thought my first little project of 2011 turned out pretty cute! I love it, and I think it is a pretty great way to cover up a mistake! :o)

A new item I purchased last night for the new year is the Shark Stick Vac. I have the steam mopper & LOVE it, so I'm hoping I will love this just as much. We have all hardwood floors & a couple of area rugs, and it is supposed to do great on both. I am actually excited about vacuuming later today!

My favorite new things to share about are these books I purchased last night. One of the things I want to improve on in 2011 is reading more books & watching less TV. I got Crazy Love & Radical for myself and kind of stole Playing with Purpose from JT :o). I have heard amazing things about Crazy Love & Radical, and I am just really excited to read about the lives of these three new NFL QBs & their love for God.

We are having a snowy Saturday, hanging out at home, watching the U.S. Army All-American game & the TN/Arkansas b-ball game. Later, we are going to play in the snow on the Ranger! :o) Tonight, the Colts play the NY Jets in the first round of the play-offs, & I am trying out a new recipe (Beef & Cheese Foldover) that I am pretty excited about making! 



Happy Saturday from our snowy home to yours!

Winter of Snow

On Wednesday, when I got off work at 5:00, this is what I walked out to...

 I always watch Good Morning Tennessee when I am getting ready in the mornings, and the meteorologist only predicted snow for the mountatins. She was definitely wrong! I think the snow took everyone by surprise. It took my mom an hour & a half to get home from work (it usually only takes about 30 minutes!).

I drove from work to my mom & dad's to eat supper, and then I drove home to get more scrubs & my stuff to get ready for the next morning. John T. was on midnights, & I decided to just spend the night with them because I didn't want to chance what our mountain roads would be like this morning!

Mom & I followed each other to work this morning, and we made it just fine; however, while walking to my car at their house, I slipped on some ice & slammed my right hip on the concrete! It hurt so bad, and I have a huge bruise as a reminder!

Most of the snow was melted by this afternoon, but they are calling for more this weekend!

2011

New Year's Eve day, I met up with JT's mom & sisters in Knoxville and picked up Jayden. We went to Old Navy, the Cup in Turkey Creek to pick up some yummy cupcakes, did a little shopping at the mall & then did some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.

She had been begging to spend the night with us over her Christmas break, so we decided that New Year's Eve would be a perfect night! I fixed baked spaghetti, salad & garlic bread, and Lorrie came over to eat with us.

We had cupcakes & sparkling grape juice for dessert!

I thought these bottles that Target had were so cute! I hated to throw it away!

 We got the Cupcake Sampler as well as two of our favorites, Tuxedo!

 Jayden, John T. & Lorrie

 Jayden LOVED the cupcakes!



John T. had to be at work the next morning, so he had to go to bed pretty early. Jayden & I stayed up playing the Wii & watching Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve, but we fell asleep around 11:15 before the ball dropped. We were exhausted, but we had a really fun night!

New Year's Day, I took Jayden to Minnie's, where we met the rest of JT's family to eat hog jowl, black eyed peas, fried potatoes, fried cabbage & cornbread: a New Year's tradition! It was all so yummy! (except the fried cabbage...I do not do cabbage of any kind!) I came home, caught up on the DVR & waited for John T. to get home so he could eat his new year's leftovers!

Today, I went with one of my best friend's, Ashley, to visit Faith Promise Church in Knoxville. It was amazing...just what I needed! I am really looking forward to going again and taking John T. when he isn't working. I am setting a goal for myself for 2011 to live my life more for God, to have the faith & the confidence to give all of myself to Him...to get back into Bible study. I am so thankful for the life he has chosen for me, and I will say it again...I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store! I am so excited!

2010 in Review

2010 was a great year for us! I love spending each year with John T., living & learning and loving each other more and more each day.

January 2010

This was taken 1/1/10. We had snow on the first day of 2010, and we had a traditional lunch at Minnie's of hog jowl, black eyed peas, friend potatoes & cornbread.

 On 1/14/10, we celebrated John T.'s 24th birthday!

 At the end of the January, we had more snow, and I remember being snowed in all weekend, while John T. worked.

February 2010

The Indianapolis Colts played the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl! The Colts lost, but we still had a great time watching the game with our friends, Tim & Amber Bolden!

March 2010

We saw Justin Moore, Miranda Lambert & Brad Paisley in concert at Thompson Boling Arena in Knoxville! It was out favorite concert that we have ever been to.

April 2010

In April, we celebrated Easter & lots of birthdays, including Lorrie's, my dad's & my mom's. I also went to the Orange & White game with Donna Isham. My dad also completed his third 1/2 marathon.

May 2010

Jayden graduated from pre-school & we took a trip to Pigeon Forge to celebrate my 24th birthday.

 My birthday cake at mom's

June 2010

We did lots of yard work & finally put up my poppy's old front porch swing on our front porch.

July 2010

We went on our first summer vacation to Hilton Head Island, SC. We had originally planned to go to Ft. Walton Beach, FL, but because of the oil spill, we had to change our plans. It was a fabulous trip!

Eating at the Salty Dog Cafe

 We stood in line to eat at The Lady and Sons in Savannah, GA!

August 2010

Our first "friend's baby", Brayden, celebrated his first birthday. He loved his cake!

 Me, Whittney, Ashley & mommy Christina

September 2010

In September, I went to my great friend, Jessica Riley's bridal shower in Greenbrier, TN. John T. & I saw Luke Bryan in concert at the Tennessee Valley Fair, & the highlight of September was going to Indianapolis to see the Colts play the Giants in the first home game of the season!

October 2010

October is another month of birthdays! We celebrated my nanny's, Taleah's, Jayden's, Minnie's & Tim's all in one month! October 4, 2010, we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary by going to the Chop House and to see the movie, You Again. I <3 anniversaries!

October 9, I was a bridesmaid in Jessica Riley & Troy Pearson's wedding in Clarksville, TN!

November 2010

November 6, I hosted a baby shower for my best friend, Brittany Smiley & her baby boy Easton. John T. & I went to the TN vs. Ole Miss Homecoming game & we celebrated Thanksgiving at my aunt Sharon & uncle Daryl's.

December 2010

December was full of lots of work, shopping & parties! We enjoyed a white Christmas & brought in the new year with cupcakes & sparkling grape juice with our favorite 6 year old little sister. :o)





We wish each of you a very happy new year! 2011, we can't wait to see what you have in store for us!

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

2 Corinthians 5:17