Puppies & Flowers

I have always loved those fabric flower necklaces that so many women have been wearing. So I decided to figure out how to make them.

This was my first attempt....I'm keeping it for myself since it's not the best.

But this one, I made for Anna. A dear friend of mine who is one of the only women I know that can pull off pearls and jeans :)


And, just for fun....pics of my pupps!

How could anyone not love these sweet faces?

Lucki loves anyone who will steal his toy and throw it for him to chase.
Makai is the sweetest, most cuddly doggie ever.
And then there's Chloe...our sweet, yappy, bratty little girl.
She'll bark at her shadow and growl when my foot touches her in the
middle of the night, but I love her to pieces.

Bittersweet

I just received a phone call that the job interview for Friday has been changed to tomorrow. I will be meeting with the same Principal I met with in the last interview for a school that is currently under construction. What I read next was bittersweet....

I decided to do a little research on the school and found out that is being named in honor of a soldier who died in 2006. His name was Cpt. Ian Weikel and he was only 31 years old with an 8 month old baby. He was the quarterback of his football team, which is the other school I am interviewing with next week.

Typically, before an interview I research the school and try to memorize the mission statement, but this time it's a little different. The school does not have a website yet, no mission statement announced, or profiles of staff. It was so emotional reading the articles, stories, and comments made by his family, friends, and fellow soldiers. If I get the position I hope I will be invited to attend the dedication ceremony.

I LOVE A CHALLENGE

Thanks for everyone's suggestions on the siggy. I chose the first one--which won majority--actually it was everyone's suggestion. :)

So today was incredibly boring! I didn't do much except clean out the fridge, go grocery shopping, and walk the dogs.

I did, however, decide to do a 30-day challenge. A girl I know suggested this website that emails you 30-day challenges. They are all spiritually driven and directed towards empowering women. This month I'm doing the 30-day: Husband Encouragement Challenge.

I also signed up for three other challenges; True Women Makeover, Praying for your Pastor, and Praying for your Pastor's Wife. There are a few other challenges, but I am doing one at a time so once those are complete I'll move on to the next.

This is what the challenge says to do for the month starting with Day 1:

*Do not say anything negative about your husband, to your husband, or to anyone else.

*Say something you admire or appreciate about your husband....to your husband....and to someone else.

It also suggests thanking him for choosing you over all other women. I do this often anyway so it was an easy challenge. Some other challenges include how you greet your husband in the morning and when he comes home.

I'm excited to see how much we grow closer with this challenge. He does not know that I'm doing it so he'll either realize what a great wife he has or begin to wonder why I'm suddenly being so sweet ;)

The best part is you get emails everyday with your challenge or you can print the entire month's challenge and put it on your fridge....or mirror so you can always see it. (That's what I plan to do.)

"The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life." (Proverbs 31:11-12)

If anyone is curious or interested in the challenges here's the link.

http://www.reviveourhearts.com/challenge/

My new siggy

I just created my own signature for my blog. I always wondered how people did it and assumed they paid someone to do it so I decided to research how to do it myself.

Here's the result:

or

I think I did a pretty good job. Which one do you like better? 1 or 2?

This was the temperature today! Am I in Colorado or back in Hawaii? My sinuses really don't know ha!

I spent the entire day shopping for the perfect Easter outfit. I went to Target, Dress Barn, Old Navy, Walmart, Kmart, Ross, and Maurice's. I NEVER found that outfit. I did buy a yellow shirt and hope that I had something in my closet that would look good with it. Unfortunately, I don't! I think I'm going to turn a pair of my black dress pants into capris and wear some cute black heals with the yellow shirt. I really wanted to wear a dress, but I will have to settle.

In other great news, I have another job interview on Friday with the same school district I interviewed with last week. This is for a similar position so I'm really hoping it works out. The job that was offered last week is still available, but it's not open until August so I have time to decide if I would like to take it.

Please pray that the interviewees like me and think I am perfect for the position. If that is not what happens, please pray that God will continue to open other opportunities for me that allow me to continue working with students.

Hot Hawaiian....Colorado Day!

It's 75 degrees @ 10am in Colorado. It's like we never left Hawaii!

It's so hot out and dry that our yard looks like a desert. (Few more weeks until we finally have our landscaping complete!) Notice the Arkansas River running through our front yard? ha!

This is a day that will be spent outdoors walking the dogs, running, taking pictures, and making a wreath using twigs from my own neighborhood.

It's clear skies in Pueblo today :)

Today I will admire the beauty God created for us to enjoy.

This is the first time since we arrived here that

I have not seen the mountain tops covered in snow.

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters."

-Psalm 24: 1-2

DWTS & Garage Disaster

I ALMOST didn't have anything to blog about tonight...then, I remembered it was Monday night(actually my DVR reminded me) and the 2nd episode of Dancing with the Stars 2010 was on! I have never been in to this show until this season. (My secret reason for watching--Kate Gosselin) Unfortunately, tonight was not Kate's best....nor was last week, but that's beside the point. I give her credit for getting out there and trying something new. I was amazed at some of the couples tonight, here's who I voted for:

1. Pam & Damian-Because she was so graceful and reminded me of Marilyn--my favorite!

2. Chelsie & Jake-He was awesome and she of course is GREAT as always. (more than 1 vote from me) Let's be honest--he's fun to watch too ;)

3. Kate & Tony-She was a trainwreck, hard to watch & even harder not to look, but I admire her humility ;)

4. Buzz & Ashly-He's an American legend, how can you not?

5. Erin & Maksim- She did a great job tonight & even though her arms (& legs) go on for days she was so graceful & elegant tonight.

6. Niecy & Louis- She's hilarious, confident, and so much fun to watch! I'm curious to see her transformation over the season. I think she'll become even more confident :)

A second exciting part of my day was when a package arrived from my in-laws with a "Happy Easter" sign on the side.....too bad we can't open it for a few more days. What a tease!!!

Then, the most exciting (yet, not happy) part of my day was when I arrived home today I attempted to open my garage door--well, it didn't....all because of this.....

Two giant screws that came out?!

When I would attempt to open it this is what it would do. What you can't see in the picture is that the entire metal frame came out of the wall, it was bent out of shape, and it was incredibly unstable.

When we bought the home (last month) we were told everything--wall to wall--was covered with a one year warranty. I immediately called the garage installer and left a message, then frantically called the builder. They were able to reach the installer and he immediately came out to fix it....only problem is, he's claiming we locked the garage and forced it open so he won't cover it under warranty. But, apparently he didn't listen when I said "I closed the garage from the outside, so how could I lock it?" Please pray that we don't have to pay for this and the builder will cover it. This garage has been giving us problems since day 1 and it finally just decided to break. Lucky for them, our jeep has a rack and it supported the garage doors weight so it did not ruin our roof or sunroof.

Another crappy part of our day was our trip to the DMV to get our Jeep's tags. Unfortunately, the dealership (in Denver--4.5 hours away) did not send the paperwork to our bank to be filed with the county so we could not get our tags. Because of their mistake we are in danger of passing the temporary tags deadline.

My lesson for the day--get EVERYTHING in writing! We are learning the hard way to trust people and companies' word.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great day. I'm working on a few items as gifts for friends tonight so my hands are burnt and scarred from the hot glue gun, but its all a show of love :)

Palm Sunday-New church, new friends

Today Jeff & I attended church for the second time at this particular church. While it's completely different than the church we attended in Hawaii, it's a great church. (We attended a non-denominational Christian Fellowship in Hawaii, and now attend a Church of Christ). The pastor and his family are so welcoming and inviting. The other members are also very friendly. After service we had lunch with the pastor, two couples our age, and three other families. It was a loud and hilarious lunch at this yummy mexican restaurant called Tres Margaritas. We shared so many funny stories and had many laughs with our new friends. It was Dusty's birthday today (one of the husbands) so they sang happy birthday in spanish, made him wear a sombrero, and played a few tricks on him--like pretending to feed him a spoon full of the ice cream and instead putting it on his nose. I did get a picture, but it's on Jeff's phone so I'll upload it tonight. We forgot our camera so we didn't get any pictures of all 22 of us at lunch, but it was alot of fun and we took up alot of room.

We met two couples that are our age and have no children--which is hard to come by these days. They are not military, but we had alot of other stuff in common--religious beliefs, political beliefs, and hobbies! (Yes, we figured this all out at a 2 hour lunch.) The guys exchanged numbers and scheduled a hunting and fishing adventure and us girls discussed sewing and hobby lobby! Dustin (the birthday boy) also works in education as well as one of the other wives. So that was so exciting to discuss that with them.

We are planning to have all of them and the Pastor's family over for dinner in the coming weeks. I'm super excited to finally have guests and the chance to fellowship. I hope this church remains our church for a long time. I can get used to the super traditional stuff because the Pastor was amazing.

So now the rest of the day I will be cleaning the house and doing about 6 loads of laundry. Jeff is fishing and locating places for his hunting adventures.

One last thing before I go-- I am so thankful for the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for our sins. I am grateful that as a sinner he loves me and forgives my sins. A few days short of a year ago I commited my life to Christ and was baptized in the Pacific Ocean. I have not been the perfect Christian, but because of what Easter is all about I know that I will spend eternity in Heaven because of His perfection.

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." John 11:25-26

A Girl's Best Friends!

I wanted to brag on some of my best friends today.....

As we walk our path of life,

We meet people everyday.

Most are simply met by chance.
But, some are sent our way.

These become special friends.

Whose bond we can't explain;

The ones who understand us.
And share our joy and pain.

Their love contains no boundaries.

So, even when we are apart.

Their presence enhances us.

With a warmth felt in the heart.

This love becomes a passage way,

When even the miles disappear.

And so, these friends,
God sends our way,

Remain forever near.

I love my girls and I miss each one of you.

Lily, Roxy, Krissy, Carrie, Melissa, Anna, Pam, and Jessie

DIY Frame Makeover

Time to spruce up a boring frame.....

I bought this frame 2 years ago from a thrift store and it was an ugly brown.
I painted it white and roughed up the edges with sand paper to give it a distressed look.

Today.....

It needed some girlie flair!
I think it looks so much better now.

TGIF take 2!

Tonight we went to Barnes & Noble so Jeff could find a book on Colorado Hunting.

While we were there I spotted a book I have been wanting for a while....

I wanted to get this......

But, I had to get this to prepare for my Praxis II next month :(

Hmmm....maybe next time.

Then, we went to my favorite place ever (besides Hobby Lobby) SONIC to get my favorite snack (besides Cheesecake) a creme pie shake!

I also decided to splurge and get a Cherry Dr. Pepper. Only problem was, I only got two sips.....why you ask?

BECAUSE OF THIS!!!

He's a soda thief!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TGIF!

**UPDATE** I made a change to the rose ball! I think its much more girlie now!

Here's what I've been up to today:

I found these cute rose balls here: http://http//houseofsmiths.blogspot.com/2010/02/hanging-roses-i-was-browsing-blogs.html and I just knew I had to make some. So, this is my first one. I made it for my best friend's new baby's nursery. Her colors are green and pink MY FAVORITE! I still have to make the pink one, but I thought this one turned out so great I just had to share. I plan to make a few for some other friends and of course some for our house too. I'm thinking some dark blue and brown (if I can find brown streamers) for our guest bathroom.

So, here's a few pictures from every angle. ;)

They are so simple and fun! I got all the supplies from walmart and it cost a total of $4 to make.

Then, here's what the kids have been doing today....


They manage to find the only spot in the house where the sun is shining in and make themselves comfy! I guess the one thing they miss about living in Hawaii is the sunshine...oh, and lack of snow :)

Does anyone else have any fun DIY crafts to share?

More Pictures from Jeff's Birthday!

This is how we spent the rest of Jeff's bday.....

We visited his favorite store, EVER!

Dick's Sporting Goods

He was given a gift card so he bought himself a few items to fish with including these lovely waders:

Then, I made him his favorite meal:

Steak, Potatoes, Corn, & Garlic Bread (Just like Chili's--well, almost!)

Then, my homemade birthday cake did not turn out very well (it tasted like cornbread) so instead we had cheesecake with strawberries :)