Friday Confessions

I haven't confessed in a long time! I mean on here at least. I'm not catholic so I don't really know what confessing is all about. I would like to get a few things off my chest.

-I confess that I absolutely hate when I'm with someone and they are constantly on their phone. I'm taking time to hang out with you and you won't put your phone down. Rude.

-I confess that I went three days without a shower. I have seriously had one of those weeks that had me running around all over the place until it was time to go to bed. I showered this morning. FYI

-I confess that I don't really like the taste of coffee. I mean, I like some iced coffee if it's got enough sugar and soy milk in it but come on. It's so bitter! Having said that, I went to that new sporting goods store in cape and got a new thermos mug and have been drinking cappuccino almost religiously. Wow, I never knew how much better you could feel with a little caffeine in your system.  

-I confess that it has been a bit of a vacation for myself with Derek not being home. I get to watch whatever I want on TV. I've been keeping up with the laundry. The dishes are all clean. I don't have to worry about making a huge meal for dinner. It's been awesome. Now, don't get me wrong it'll be nice to have him back home when he gets back.

-I confess that I'm taking a half day at work today because it is simply too beautiful to be stuck in this.

Funfetti Fudge

I found this recipe today on Bri + Co.  This looks SO easy to make and from what I hear it is really really good to eat too. Enjoy this! I'm going to have to try to make this when I get home.


Looking for an easy and delicious treat to make for someone’s birthday? This is a dessert everyone will love. This no bake, no cook, melt in your mouth funfetti cake batter fudge recipe tastes just like cake batter- it only takes ten minutes to make and will definitely help satisfy your sweet tooth!

You can never go wrong with sprinkles and cake batter, and this fudge is great for any occasion, especially a last minute Mother’s Day treat, a birthday party or a bridal shower. You can even personalize the sprinkles to match your theme or occasion (like orange and black for Halloween). These are also great for portion control!
Ingredients:
-14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
-2 ½ cups of white chocolate chips
-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
-3 tablespoons of rainbow sprinkles
-20 mini cupcake liners

Open the sweetened condensed milk and pour into a microwave safe bowl.

Measure the white chocolate chips and add them to the sweetened condensed milk. Microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes (this could vary depending on your microwave). Make sure the white chocolate chips are soft enough to mix together easily.
Remove the bowl from the microwave. Stir every 25 to 30 seconds, until the white chocolate chips melts into the condensed milk. Add and stir in the vanilla extract.
Once the vanilla extract is mixed in, slowly add the rainbow sprinkles. Make sure to mix the rainbow sprinkles as little as possible- the rainbow sprinkles will start to melt if you mix them together too fast!

After mixing, scoop the fudge into the mini cupcakes liners and set on a tray at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.

You can add some extra sprinkles to top it off!

Voila, you’re done! How easy was that? Now you’ve got an easy and delicious treat for all of your family and friends. But don’t say we didn’t warn you – everyone will be begging you for this recipe for years to come!

Concert in the Park

Derek left for Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, TN yesterday so Stratton and I are on our own for a few days. Last night little man and I went to the band concert at Capaha Park in Cape. My grandma and John were there as well as my mom and a family friend John Price. It was hot and muggy and the mosquitoes would have carried you off if you didn't wear bug spray but it was really nice to hang out with family and friends.

The band playing beforehand was a group of men that were mostly doctors (3 out of the 5). They were called the Dochans (I think that's how you spell it) Anywho, they were really good. Dr Branson, the banjo player, used to be my eye doctor when I was younger.  

 John Price came and sat with us last night too. I pretty much grew up with him as a 2nd dad. Him and my dad are close friends. We used to be fishing buddies when I was younger. His brother Keith was the pastor who married Derek and I.

 My mom came with us last night too. I'm so glad she could take some time off from work to spend time with me and little man.

 Stratton of course had to bring his gun with him. He was getting hot so Grandma Marge was fanning him.

 Gosh I just love that cute little smile of his. It really doesn't get much more handsome than that.

 Stratton caught his first firefly last night too. He thought that it was so cool! He gave it a name and carried it around with him until he lost it in the car haha.

After the band concert Stratton, my mom, and I met some of my friends from Jiu Jitsu at Simply Swirled for frozen yogurt. It was such a great night. I really enjoyed getting to have that family time last night.

Switching It Up

Last week I bought a super cute maxi dress from Three Bird Nest. 

 It was only $22!!

I love it! It's super soft and the length is perfect on it. It has the prettiest colors that work well with my pasty white skin.  The best part about it...it has pockets! Every girl loves a dress with pockets. 

If you're crushing on this dress as much as I was when I first saw it you can keep an eye out for it here as it's currently sold out. It was half off when I bought it so that's probably why it's sold out. 

Anywho, I love love love this dress but Derek just isn't a fan of maxi dresses. I have no idea why and I'm not going to start to try to figure out his girly fashion sense. So, in order to make him happy but not mess up my beautiful maxi dress, I did a little pinning. (and I don't mean on pinterest) 

I couldn't find any safety pins in my house so I took out a needle and thread and just sewed up four corners with a little black thread. I made the stitch loose enough that when/if I want it to be a maxi again I can just cut the thread. 

So here it is in all it's short dressed glory. Derek likes it a lot better now and to be honest its the perfect length for me. Not too long and not too short.

Not to mention it's super cute with a denim jacket on for when your office is cold enough to hang meat in.

I'm Back!

It has been way too long since I blogged last. I have had so much going on in the last year that it's hard to catch up with everything. This post is going to be mostly a picture dump because I have a lot of really great pictures that are worth sharing. As some of you have probably noticed, the layout of my blog is A LOT different. Much simpler and much easier to navigate through. So, hopefully it will bring more people to my blog and get some of my old readers to come back and start reading again.

Here we go!

2013 started off just lovely. We celebrated the New Year with a new addition to the family. Her name is Zoe and she is a schnoodle. My friend Erica brought an adorable baby girl into the world January 15, 2013 and I was lucky enough to be in the delivery room with her to take pictures.

  Welcome to the world baby Sawyer Kate Haff 9lb 21in born at 1:15am

Derek left for the NAMM show like he does every year the week of my due date. It was hard on me not only because I was alone on my due date but poor Stratton got sick the night that Derek left.

 I set him up a little spot on the floor so he could sleep without being too far from the toilet.

 He bounces back so quickly. The very next day he was up and dancing around the house.

We baby sat Sage for a little while while Derek was gone at the NAMM show because I needed some more pets around the house. Haha. Zoe loved Sage but Sage didn't really want much to do with her. Poor thing.

  Groucho of course was usually found curled up in a ball trying to stay warm.

 January 26th Stratton and I went up to the Show Me Center to see Uncle Marcus and his robotics team compete.

 Lets just say it was a whole room full of dorky/really smart people.

 Sage slept most of the time that she stayed with us. That's what happens when you get old.

 Stratton absolutely loves having Sagey girl around to snuggle up with.

 Before Derek came home from NAMM Stratton and I of course had to go get Golden Gate without him just to rub it in a little bit.

 Zoe got her first haircut and they even put little bows in her hair. She looked so much different from when we first got her.

 My mom signed Stratton up for art classes at Cateye Glasses Studio in Cape this year. He is such a boy, he hates painting and coloring. Which kind of breaks my heart because I'm an art major. One of these days I'll get him to start coloring.

 Stratton's best friend Keegan happened to be at Le Bounce one day when Derek and I took Stratton there. Him and Keegan are a few months apart and go to the same baby sitter. Keegan is such a little cutie.

 Stratton was so happy to have Daddy home from the NAMM show. We went out and ate dinner at Apple Bees to welcome him home.

 This winter was finally cold enough for me to break out the bibs and go to a bon fire.

 Dad invited me and Stratton down to the Jackson pond to trout fish.

 He caught a few while we were there but it was SO dang cold we didn't stay too long.

 Nana Lisa and her babies. Stratton, Cobie and Payne

 Stratton loves to cuddle up with daddy at night when he sleeps.

 We finally moved up to an actual booster car seat now. It was a little scary but he loves it because it has cup holders. We all know it's a much now a days.

 

 I've been working my little booty off trying to get back in shape. I joined a gym and even started to eat healthier. GASP! No more sleeves of Oreos for me. (well maybe a few)

 This was my progression.  Left to right: day 1, Day 30, Day 60, Day 90.

 Three months of working my butt off and I finally saw some results.

 Stratton has been falling asleep in his car seat a lot lately. I thought the way he was sitting here was just hilarious. He woke up with a huge line across his face from the seat belt.

 Stratton has certainly became a bit of a ham. I was taking a bath and he decided to come in and give me some attention. Like I needed it. He lined up all his cars along the bathroom door and was doing karate for me.

 My sister and my mom have gotten him into taking baths with goggles on now too. He loves it obviously.

 Derek and I took the day off for our anniversary and made a day of it by going out shopping and going out to eat. I have seriously been looking for this backpack for ages. I feel in love. Too bad it was like $35

 We had Shogun's for dinner which was pretty awesome as usual. This was the first year we celebrated sans Stratton.

School this year was full of some really fun projects. This one was by far my favorite.

 I collected a ton of cigarette boxes and cartons and sewed this dress together.

 I'm lucky enough to have a beautiful friend that models for a living to show it off for me.

 I think it turned out amazing and I'm so lucky to have such a great friend to help me out.

 Stratton has been learning how to draw and color at this point. We are working on writing his name and drawing people and buildings.

 Unfortunately, Stratton has also been plagued with some cavities this year. 

 He covered Minnie's eyes from the bright light.

 We got to introduce Zoe to her first snow this year.

 It was hilarious watching her run around and play in it. She had it all over her muzzle and would drench our couch every time she would come in the door.

We had some more trout fishing before the weather got too warn for it. This time Derek and Stratton both came.

 Stratton loves fishing.

 Here is Zoe after her second grooming. She looks so pretty.

 Stratton and Derek cuddling again.

 I got a new nephew this year on June 7th this year. We celebrated Steph's "last supper," as we like to call it, at Tractors.

 Harris Wayne Williams was born June 7th weighing 9lbs 12oz and 21 in long. Just for the record, Aunty Em guessed his weight spot on!

 Steph looked beautiful even after just giving birth.

 Big brother Payne holding baby Harris for the first time.

 Great Grandma Mona, Harris, and Payne.

 Finally my turn holding the new baby. Aunty Em loves her nephews.

 He is SO precious.

Harris had a few complications we found out a few days after his birth. He has a condition called Hirschsprungs Disease. I won't go into detail about it but it was something to do with his intestines not working properly. He was flown to St Louis to Children's and was fixed up and ready to come home less than two weeks later. He's happy and healthy now and Aunty Em just loves kissing on those chubby cheeks of his.

 Another new baby is the fur baby that my sister and Marcus adopted. His name is Oswald. He had a rough first few weeks with my sister and Marcus. He came home from the Humane Society with Parvo. He was really sick for a while and lost a lot of weight but he too is on the mend and is a happy healthy puppy now.

 Stratton has been obsessed with hats recently. Even sleeping in them.

 Stratton loves his Zoe girl. He calls her Zo Zo

 Oh Oswald. You have the sweetest face around.

 Oswald and Groucho didn't hit it off very well in the beginning. Groucho hid while Oswald tried to play with him. Poor guy. He just wanted to be friends.

 Stratton is now finally starting to color....with his left hand of course.

 A coworkers husband brought this beautiful car into work last month and was kind enough to let me take a few pictures of it. It was a '55 Chevy. My favorite color too, blue.

 Round two of Stratton getting cavities filled wasn't as easy as the first. He had to have a shot to numb him this time and did not like the numbing feeling. He cried not from the shot but from his mouth being numb.

 He got through it really well but not without a few tears.

 I had a garage sale in mid June that was a total success. Oswald was obviously a huge help during the whole ordeal.

 He slept the entire time.

 I of course had to pick on him.

 Oswald loves to mess with Casey and Marcus's mats in their bathroom. He's kind of a spazz about the memory foam mats.

 Stratton had his first Zebra gum and I of course had to show him how to do a tattoo on his tongue.

 This is what happens when you're in the bathroom too long at my sisters house.

 Derek's Uncle Jimmy, his wife Shana and little Jimmy came in to town that weekend also and we got to let the little boys play together.

 They are both obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

 This is what happens when you take a 4 year old shopping.

 So, just to give my sister a little bit of an anxiety attack I decided to send her a picture of my desk. She was not pleased to say the least. 

 Here's another project that I got to work on this year. This is part of what I do at work. I design different labels and packaging for different products. This was a snake that was specially designed for a line called Passion & Excellence. I think it turned out pretty great.

 So this happened the other day. It was like a month expired. I drank most of it and then felt sick the rest of the day.

 This little guy was wandering about in the shop at work so I picked him up and decided to put him in a cup to show Stratton.

What I didn't realize was that it would do this to a Styrofoam cup.

I of course had to take it down to the light box at work and give it a photo shoot.

 Stratton and I visited a new daycare place in town last week. He seemed to really like it but was nervous about all the other kids that were there.

 He is so precious. Such a clean eater too. He never had food on his face or on his clothes.

The many faces of Stratton:

 June 22nd we did a photo shoot at my grandma Marges house to celebrate her birthday and also to learn how to make her famous angel food cake. 

This was my Aunty Pams mixer that she has had for YEARS! #vintage

Stratton was the only boy there. Poor guy. So much estrogen in one room.

Grandma and John have cacti in their basement. I'm always so intrigued by their plants. I can't seem to keep any of mine alive.

 My handsome little man. Love him so much.

 The lady of honor with the one and only recipe for the sacred cake.

 My cousin Beth lost her mom when shew as only 18 months old. The charm bracelet belonged to her mom, my Aunt Linda, so Grandma Marge gave it to her.

 We also found REALLY old new papers.

 This is a picture of my great grandpa. Isn't he so handsome.

 The almost final products. Letting them cool down is the hardest part of the whole ordeal.

 Sage enjoyed laying in the grass while the cakes cooled off and we had pictures taken.

 Aunty Pam and I in our antique aprons.

 Grandma Marge and I. I love her so very much.

 ...and the sacred angel food cake pan that apparently the granddaughters have no idea how to buy. 

 Ahhhhhh! The final product. How amazing does that look?!?

 Then there is Marcus and I being goofy.

 

 Zoe has been such a great addition to our family. We really do love having her around. Not to mention her and Groucho are best friends now. I love watching them play with each other.

 Me and the Grouchy Cat. He started barking at the birds literally seconds after this picture was taken.

 Stratton is a huge fan of taking naps over at my sister and Marcus's house. He gets all snuggled in and sleeps for hours!

 Then he wakes up looking like this. Seriously, how cute is that face?

 A couple weeks ago we had a big storm roll through town that caused some flooding and even gave us some funnel clouds and tornadoes in Jackson.

 The clouds and the lightning were amazing.

 This little guy was found in the shop at work so now every time I walk through it I think about him and it freaks me out. Thank you little green snake.

 This happened. Haha. He said it was his machine gun. We're just going to save this for when he gets older.

I started doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this year also. It has been so much fun. I'm really loving it and the people are great.

 It was hard to root for anyone during this match because both girls are really great people. Precious (the dark haired girl) is from St Louis and Karly (the blonde) trains at the same school I train at. Karly did awesome and won! Precious and her husband own Kozen. They design and make awesome gi's.

 YAY KARLY!

 Garrett another guy that trains with me did awesome and won all of his matches. We actually went to Jr High together and hadn't seen each other in years before I started training.

 Kendra competed and lost her match but I was SO proud of her for getting out there. She did amazing and was up against a girl that trains in STL with some really great teachers.

 Cole, another guy from the gym, won all of his matches. The guy he competed against here was a really super nice guy.

 Bjorn, Garrett and Koty with their 1st, 2nd and 3rd place medals.

 Precious and Karly with their medals. They both did so well.

 Then Cole fought his no gi fight and did this to the guy. They think he broke a few ribs.

 I have been growing my hair out and trying new makeup. This was the final product of using a curling wand and trying out some new lipstick from Kat Von D.

 Stratton is turning into a tiny teenager the way he sleeps now a days.

 The 3rd of July was spent at Derek's step brother Josh's house. Him and his wife Ashley do a party each year and it is SO much fun.

 Stratton is obsessed with this helmet. I have no idea why.

 He loved the fireworks but the noise was a little bit too much for him.

 

 This little guy was in our front yard on the 4th. Stratton and I played with him for a little bit then let him go. 

 This happened.

 Kendra and I hung out with Stratton on the 4th and even did a little rescue mission.

 We set this little box turtle back on the right side of the road so he wouldn't get squished.

 Stratton was tuckered out along with Zoe after all the excitement from the fireworks.

 I bought a longboard last week and it finally came in the mail. I'm hoping I don't break anything on it but so far it's REALLY fun to ride around on.

 Stratton is finally sleeping in his own bed. Thanks to Groucho being a snuggle buddy he stays in his bed all night long. Thank the Lord.

This past weekend Derek's cousins Ashley and Whitney came in with Ashley's husband Justin and their son Jackson.

 Whitney and Ashley just LOVED holding the new baby. Harris is such a good baby too. He never cries and just sleeps all the time. It's great!

 We got all four great grand babies together for a picture. I'm so surprised they all say long enough for it.

 Uncle Garrett couldn't resist Stratton's awesome helmet.

 Baby Harris finally let me take a picture of him with his eyes open.

 Stratton wanted a tattoo (tattoon as he calls it) so I drew one for him with my eyeliner pencil.

 Groucho wouldn't let me read my nook the night before last. He kept standing on it and then once I started reading he say right in front of my face until I put it down and started petting him. He was happy after that.

 

 I had to make a trip to the DMV yesterday. My plates were 2 months expired. Whoops. Thank God Derek's grandpa pointed that one out before I got a ticket.

 Mrs Zoe girl had a vet apt yesterday and tested negative for heart worms and also hot a booster show. Yay!

My friend Emily is back up in the hospital so I went and visited with her last night. It was late and hospitals freak me out. She is going to be ok, they are just treating an infection. She is in and out of the hospital regularly so it's nothing new for her. She is so very tough and I admire her bravery. I am a total baby when it comes to needles and throwing up. She does both like a champ. 

So, there you have it. The last 6 months in one post. Now that I am back at it the posts in the future shouldn't be as long. Haha. I'm glad I'm back.