MmMmMmmmm... Cupcakes to DIE for.

My super-chocolatey cupcakes...

and look how nice they look (even w/o frosting) infront of my flowers.. :)

Mike's New Little Buddy :)

Here goes a picture of Mike and his little buddy... (Janette's neice)
How cute!! :)

My attempt at an Emo photo.. lol

Almost Friday!

Wow.. it has been QUITE A WHILE since I last posted..
been busy I guess.. (that tends to happen a lot)
You haven't missed anything that exciting though..
Well, last night I kinda knocked our TV off of our dresser and into our bedroom wall... NOT fun.
It was broken on impact. So, needless to say, we were at Wal-mart at about 10 pm last night buying a new TV and a DVD player (just incase the Xbox is broken)
Little did we even begin to think of how we were supposed to lugg this big square box home..
Def. NOT in the Focus.. that's for sure...:
The trunk- not a big enough opening.
The back seats.. wide enough, but the doors don't open far enough.
The front seat... Doors open enough, but the opening is not big enough... figures.
So, after pushing and prying for about 15 mins... I decided to call mom.. "Please! come help us!!!!!!" lol
She did, and we finally got the damn thing home!
Hmm.. not much other than that lately.
I'll write more when I have some pictures uploaded.
Mrs E

Updated Balcony....aka- my oasis

Just a few photos of the upgraded balcony.. Today I will be adding MORE to it!! :)

My mother bought me some delicious looking veggie plants.. so as soon as I get home, I'll be planting my new babies!
Sigh.. other than that..

I am feeling MUCH better than I was yesterday..

I seriously thought I had a miscarriage of a baby I didn't know I was pregnant with.. =-0

Turns out I am NOT pregnant.. and I just needed some good old antibiotics,.... and PAINKILLERRRRRS! :)
Very scary evening though..

Today we are having our "SUPER SALE!" ::cough::.. so all of the weird 'carni' folk are here @ the dealership.. ::gag::

I will sooo be taking the long way around everywhere this whole week lol...

as long as I can avoid that showroom... I will survive this! hehehe

alright.. I better get to work.. (or at least pretending ;0) ..)

Be back later

Mrs. E

Good Morning... :)

It's Thursday morning.... I'm sitting at my desk... and I can't seem to keep myself from falling asleep..
My eyes are SO heavy right now and all I wanna do is go home and plop myself in bed. I have 5 more hours until I'm even close to getting that though.. so I guess I better wake up, huh?!!
Anyways. We went and paid Mike's lawyer costs the other day--he put it on one of his old credit cards-- so hopefully this guy can work some magic and help us out of this rut.
If he does end up guilty (ticket says for 'willful speed competition') then he could lose his license for a year... our insurance will sky-rocket.. etc. So that won't be fun.
***Pray that the whole things turns out well (the court date is August 8th.. So I'll keep you informed.)

Other than that, life has been pretty good lately. I got my hair cut yesterday by my best friend's sister-in-law. She did a really nice job and my hair is so much better:) I've been meaning to get it cut for a while now.. but money and time have been my big issues...
With my hair being so crazy curly, it can take FOR. EV. ER to get done.. not to mention that the place that knows how to do my hair, costs more money than I'd like to spend right now.
I do notice that God works small things out for me alllll the time, though :)

Our house hasn't really changed much recently.. the only new stuff is out on our balcony.. it's looking SO nice right now with all of the flowers I've got out. (I'll have to take some pictures and post them later.) I've turned our balcony into my own little oasis getaway lol.. I go out there at night and just relax with some candles lit... and nothing but the frogs for music :)

Speaking of frogs.. I felt like I was in an invasion last night..
When me and Mike went to the laundry room there were SO many of them EVERYWHERE!
Toads, babies, bullfrogs.. you name it! Some were already run over in the street.. but most were hopping around our sidewalks and doorways.. everywhere you looked there were about 4 or five of them... it was REALLY odd.. (but cool since I like the little creatures :)
The invasion I DID have a problem with were the fire ants this past week.. I swear.. you kill of one trail and they find another!.. They are such a nuisance!
But I eventually got rid of them .. so let's hope when I get home today there aren't a brand new bunch waiting for me!
hmm.. maybe my frog friends could help me out, eh?!!! lol
Alright.. time for some work!!
:) :) :)
Mrs. E

For Now....

Here are a couple from when dad left.. (more to come later :)

aweeeeeee...
mom, dad, me.. about 8 am.. lol

Check back later for more..

Mrs E

Happppppy Sabbath! & TGIF

Just popping in to let you know I'll have some pictures up of my dad and the fam from when he left...

Mrs. E

I never knew there were SO many..

There are SO many orphaned children who need homes... and there is a shortage of foster and adoptive parents..

I mean,,, there are so many celebs adopting foreign children, what about the ton of children in America who have no one to love them??! (and half of them aren't just poor, they have been abused and have no idea what a loving family is)

I can't adopt or foster--because I'm not 21-- but I wouldn't mind taking one in someday(esp. if I can't have one of my own..)

The really sad part is that most of the children being adopted are the brand new babies.. but what about a young middle schooler.. in the most influencial times in their lives?... They have no family to support them...

to cheer them on at baseball.. teach them new things.. hug them whent they're sad,, and kiss them good night...

Yes, there ARE some that are very disfunctional and come from rough backgrounds..(they may need EXTRA care)
BUT there are some who may have lost their single mothers to cancer and have no where to go.

In that case they are just wanting a loving family again.

Here are a few I have fallen in love with:

This is matthew..

He is a 14 yr old..(Ohio)

His family was no longer able to care for him.. :(

He likes soccer and skiing and is in 5th grade...

Look how precious.. :)

I just want to give him a hug!!!!!

This is Amzi..

He's an 8 yr old from Nc!! (what do you know lol)

He loves the outdoors and wants to be a wrestler. :)

This is Nicholas. ..

He's a 6 yr old in Tx.

His parents probably could not deal with his disabilities.. (which are little to none.)

Disabilities:
Emotional: Moderate

Physical: Moderate

Medical: Mild

Developmental: Moderate

Nothing there says severe.. So why is he still without a family?

Don't you want to play video games and watch sports tv with him?.. (his two favorite things to do)

Alright.. I could go on and on.. but there are thousands ... so if YOU want to see more.. check out www.adoption.com that's where I found these *beautiful* children. They may not be babies.. but that doesn't mean they wouldn't love you just as much (or even more!!)

Mrs. E

A day since dad left..

It's only been a day since my dad left to go back to Iraq..
I was pretty down and out yesterday knowing he was going back to that awful place.
I'm just ready for November when he can come home and mind his own business in the comfort of his home.
I think that the stress of sending him back there is what made me SO exhausted yesterday,,
I came home and slept(passed out!) from about 6 yesterday evening until around 7:40 this morning. (and I'm still quite tired)
I think today will be much better,, not really the fact that I have to work almost ALL day, but the fact that it's a brand new--and beautiful-- day :)
Alright, enough for now. I'm off to check out my blog sites and surf the net a bit!
Mrs. E.

My new flowers... and some dinner... :)

Sunday..
Just transferred the flowers ...

Moving things around.. putting up my new wind chime mom got me! :)
Things are looking good...
My lovely chimes in the evening.. *night night*
Monday
mmm,, preparing the chicken..

Sitting on my porch.. eating my dinner.. potatoes, carrots, string beans with tomatoes, and chicken with apricots and oranges...

I was stuffed! :)

Thats all for now!

Mrs. E

My WHOLE Weekend! (In a post.. :)

I am a frog fanatic... I saw this little fellow when I went to grab our mail.. He ended up coming home with me for a while :)
He was TINY compared to the bullfrog babies running around our pond.
escaping~!
Trying to blend in with Mike's shirt..
I'm in love!
hopping toward some socks..
resting on his long journey to the sock cave.. lol
climbing the sock mountain... ::::ugh:::

These are from the night before.. Mike took me to see a movie I've been wanting to see at the cameo.. (our local art house theatre)
The rainy streets...
Cameo sign..
Inside the Cameo lobby.. after closing lol..
My feet.. :)

We went to Rude Awakening next door to grab some coffee with our friends afterward.. Our friend Lives in the loft above.. So this is where we hang out often..

Mike and our Chris'. Don't they all look tired?!!

Mmmm.. This is what I was eyeballing.. lol..

Needless to say.. It was a wonderful day.. MINUS the poor possum I hit on the way home **tear**... I still feel horrible
Alright,, Onto my next post about Yesterday.. :)

Mrs. E

Awerrrz... My dad leaves tomorrow...

I'm pretty down and out about my dad leaving tomorrow..
He's been home 2 weeks.. but it doesn't seem long enough.. I feel like I haven't spent enough time with him... and I can't help but feel like "what if my dad doesn't come home this time"
AHHHH!!! I hate these feelings... Ok, time to trust that God will take care of everything. :)

Onto other things! I have lot's of photos!!!! (so expect a couple posts. :)
-Mrs. E

Happy Sabbath!!!!

(Photo by Troy McCullough)
Too bad it looks like it's gonna rain out today.. how depressing..

But so far it has been a pretty good day.. I'm just ready to get to my house... sit out on my patio and relax.. Maybe go out tonight and do something,... who knows.

I'm sooo in the mood for a little coffee and music --the two best things on a rainy day :)

Alright.. that's all for now!!

Mrs. E

Just a quick one..

I love how hard it is trying to get back into school...
There is so much crap you have to go through,,, ::fhew...:: Then they wonder why so many people don't finish college...


Just a quick rant cause of my frustration.. it's SO discouraging..!

-C

Under Constructions post...

I LOVE to eat.. so making this welcome home cake for my dad was a blast..
I've never actually decorated a cake like this before, so it was quite an adventure making everything from scratch and using new decorating techniques.. :) (fondant..)

My chocolate almond chip icing.... This tasted and smelled awesome. I never made a good butter cream before, but with tips from some of my favorite blogs this came together perfectly.. all I had to do was get creative with flavoring! :) And, boy did the flavor rock my sockz..

Marshmallow fondant. I've never tried fondant before because I've heard that the taste isn't pleasant.. but I really wanted to use it to decorate my dad's cake... AND since I'm no expert.. I wanted something easy.

It was an alternative to the normal fondant and it was SO easy and delicious!!! (I am honestly surprised that any of it made it onto the cake lol.. I swear I was picking at it every five seconds) mmmm... my childhood fantasy... play dough you can eat. :)

Here it is when I first put it onto my cake.. I had NO clue what the heck I was doing!!!! (This is before I trimmed the excess)

mmm.. this cake was amazingly rich and delicious..

It was actually my 2nd cake... (The first one-I spent hours on- fell in the center after I took it out and was half cooked.. --not good--) This was a one bowl recipe I found last minute online and, from now on, will be a regular in my kitchen. (if I can find it again!!!!!)
Here's dad with his cake... :::Big Grin:::
"Our Heart Is Home"

YuM... *sigh* Our half eaten piece of heaven.

Me and my soldier.... Stuffed.

Don't you hate...

When you run out of yarn??!



Definitely happened the other day while I was sitting on my mum's couch.. how sad! :0(