Where has the time gone??

I was looking back and couldn't believe I haven't posted anything in over a month!! Where does time go? A little update on our lives....I am staying busy at work. It is better...not a lot but a little. I have realized in nursing there is DRAMA in every job! This month I am thankful for my job. I am thankful for my education and nursing. It allows me to pay the bills, help people and have 3-4 days off a week to spend with my boys.  There are ups and downs in every career but in the spirit of November and Thanksgiving, today I am just thankful I am able to work and that I have a job. Not everyone can say that.
Kirk is doing great in school. He is in finals this week and is SUPER busy studying. I am so proud of how hard he has been working! He is almost through his second quarter and has made all As! Such a smarty pants! We still make time for dates though which has been the only thing getting me...and I would like to think him...through this transition in our life.
Blitz is doing good! He has a girlfriend...she is a springer spaniel named Emma. She is owned by Keven and Katie, our friends that also go to MTSA with Kirk. She spent last weekend with us while K & K were out of town. They had so much fun....and so did we...but whoever said having 2 dogs would be easier is on crack! I didn't sleep at all on Friday (I blame this on the dogs NOT the pot of coffee I drank before going to bed). But they are both house trained and very well behaved so I can't complain! I'm glad he has her...because I would like to think he loves her not because she runs out all his energy so I don't have to :)
Kirk's family is coming to see us on Thanksgiving and we are so excited! I have been scouring all my cookbooks, magazines and the web for the best Thanksgiving recipes. I am of course more concerned with how the table is going to be decorated though! I made a table runner out of burlap...a stolen idea from pinterest of course...but you will have to wait and see it in all its glory in my Thanksgiving post. 
Hope everyone is having a great November and remembering daily all the things they are thankful for. We feel truly blessed and are thankful for all of you!

God Bless!
Emily

 

Blitz's birthday buscuits!

Well, our four-legged baby turned 2 this week!! Which in dog years is 14...so we are going through the terrible twos and teenage stage at the same time!! Hahaha...since I worked on his birthday and Kirk was in school...we had to wait until today to celebrate. We played outside, played inside....and made homemade doggie treats!! I got the idea off Pinterest (of course) but it originally came from this really cute blog. I used the same recipe.

 He was being so patient!!!

 So i let him lick the spoon!!

 I didn't have the cute bone cookie cutter so I made hearts, stars and my own carved bones :)

 Ready to go in the oven!

 He waited by the oven... hahaha ... so cute!

 All done and cooling off!!

 He could hardly contain himself!! He loved them!!!!!

 Yummy yummy yummy!

I pretty sure he was thinking here....I have the best mom ever!! :)

I'm gonna try and post the video...lets see if this works...

Ignore the awful singing!! Blitz had a great birthday...he got a new toy, dentastixs, a bone and homemade biscuits! He isn't spoiled at all!!

Have a blessed day!

Emily

Weekend with Allison!!

I was lucky enough this weekend for one of my best friends to come visit!! I met Allison our freshman year in college and  got to know her better through nursing school. She is by far one of the most loyal, fun and driven people that I know! She juggles work, school and the household and is the best wife and mommy I know! She was supposed to arrive late Thursday night but after a delayed flight and layover in Chicago she finally got here Friday morning. We came back to the house, made some coffee of course, and then got ready for the day! I had to go to a wellness screening at work so I took Allison with me to show her where I worked. After a quick tour and blood draw we went to lunch at Which Wich. Its a sandwich shop in Hendersonville that I love! We then went downtown to the flea market. We found some good finds and some not so good finds. Some of my favorites was a gold watch for $5.00 (Kirk and Allison are skeptical but I love it!) and some good ole Zyrtec for $1.00!!! After a quick nap we went to dinner at Urban Flats with our friend Ashley for her birthday. Thankfully Kirk had time to go to dinner and hang out with us! We then went downtown to the Second Fiddle and Legands bar to hear some good local bands! 

Saturday morning we got up and cooked breakfast! These fun little cups are wheat bread, bacon and eggs baked in a muffin pan. The recipe is from...of course....Pinterest! They were delish!

After spending a relaxing morning on the front porch with our coffee and wonderful fall weather, we got ready for Wine on the River. It was a food and wine festival on the Shelby Pedestrian bridge along the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville. We dressed up in our best cowgirl outfits and headed downtown!

We caught a picture on the front porch before leaving the house.

Pretty Allison

This is the "MASK" guy off the last bachelorette! He owns a winery in St. Louis called "Freaky" so he wanted to be mysterious on the show to promote his business....bad guy!

It was worth a picture though since this is my 2nd "reality tv show" person encounter!

After Wine on the River and a bite to eat downtown we went to the Randy Rogers Concert! My favorite band in the whole world!!!!! It was an outdoor concert and was already dark so the pictures didn't turn out well but I got some great videos to show Kirk since he couldn't go with us :( He bought a ticket but got called into work last minute and couldn't go! Poor guy! So proud of him and how hard he is working in school! 

Sunday morning we took Allison to the Pancake Pantry. The pancakes were as delicious as always unfortunately the service was not so she wasn't as impressed as we had hoped. We then spent a quiet afternoon at home, did a little shopping and headed to the airport. 

The weekend was entirely too short but I had a great time! It curbed my homesickness for a day or so ;) I'm so blessed to have Allison in my life! Thanks again for coming girl!! 

Have a blessed day,

Emily

Success and Failure...

Patience- an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness. Oh how I wish I had more patience. It would have saved my chevron project :( I get a little excited when I have everything I need for a project and want to jump in! So when I have everything I need for two projects I get antsy waiting for paint to dry and get started on another project. Since it was raining in Nashville the day I wanted to do my projects...I was stuck with the garage. I haven't worked with spray paint enough to know it GETS EVERYWHERE! So here is my story....

I bought some cheap white curtains at Target and some cheap yellow paint at Hob Lob....

So I taped off my chevron pattern....which took entirely too long FYI....

And painted it yellow for the living room!! I loved it and was soooooo proud. But then the impatience set in...

I had bought some yellow mums at Wal-Mart for $4.00 and wanted to put them on my front porch. I bought cheap pottery for $2.50 and was going to spray paint them red....

So pretty right??? And far enough away so I wouldn't get it on the curtains! Unfortunately since I was in the garage and there was no ventilation....it went up in the air and landed everywhere! Including on my curtains.... :(

And it went all the way down :( I tried to buy some white paint and touch it up but it didn't look good at all...

The room is dark but you could still see it...It looked homemade and I didn't like it at all!! The Hubs was encouraging and let me know that he didn't like it anyways! He said it reminded him of Charlie Brown and West Virginia...of course! haha....so I hung some red curtains I already had and they look good :)

 I also replaced the H above the mantel to a clock I scored at Kirklands for $5.99! We really needed a clock in here and the H would fall off every time it thundered )

 I did however save the painted curtain and may be able to salvage enough for a pillow...we'll see :)

The pots were a success though and brightened up our front porch!

(Ignore that I had just watered them...haha) Love the mums! So fallish :)

Please learn from my mistakes! Maybe Chevron will make it into my house someday...

Have a blessed day!

Emily

Banana Nut Bread

Since the cooler weather I have made two batches of banana nut bread! It is my absolute favorite fall recipe! When I moved out of my parent's house and went to college I started getting a lot of local cookbooks for gifts. Each and every one of them have banana nut bread recipes and I have undoubtedly tried all of them! This one is by far my favorite and comes out of "Kitchen Klatter Keepsakes" complied by employees at Kiwash Electric Cooperative where my dad works. This last batch I doubled and got 3 loafs out of and was able to give 2 away as gifts. Here is the yummy recipe!

Banana Nut Bread

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. baking powder                                                

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 T. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. chopped pecans

1/2 c. melted butter

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder. 

In a large bowl, combine bananas, sugar, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla. 

Mix well. Add sifted ingredients gradually. Beat to blend. Fold in pecans.

Spoon batter into a greased 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Bake 1 hour or until bread tests done. Let cool in pan. 

Remember this is the batch that I doubled. I made one larger loaf for the Hubs and I and two smaller loafs for friends :)

I couldn't even snap a picture before Kirk helped himself!! I'm glad he likes it!

For the two smaller loaves I bought throw away tin foil with lids. I added a little paper and a bow and viola!

One loaf went to some fellow MTSA students Keven Keller and Katie Baylets and the other went to our new neighbors Eldridge and Kim! Reviews were high! Hope you can try this recipe this fall! Its so easy and totally worth it! 

Have a blessed day!

Emily

9-11-01...We will never forget

I think everyone remembers exactly where they were on 9-11-01 when they heard the news. I was 16 years old in Coach Blackburn's class at Cordell High School. They brought TVs in the classroom and let us watch the coverage and the buildings burning. It is a sight I will never forget. Last year my mom, sister and I got to go to NYC on a girls vacation. We went down to ground zero and got to view the museum. They were currently working on the memorial that was opened today. I have never felt so connected to the event than being there that day and seeing the pictures of the people who lost their lives. Then last month I lost a dear coworker in war. The phrase that "Freedom is not free" never has meant so much to me. Today I am thankful for my country and for all the men and women who fight to defend our country. I pray for all the families who lost loved ones on 9-11-01 and since then fighting for country. We will never forget...

Rest in peace

1st Lt. Damon Leehan

Thank you for your service so that I might live free...