FLOWERS!!!

Today marks the last day of my vacation, and these last 10 days have been great!! Originally Brad was going to take off last week as well, but he started a new job about a month ago, so asking for a week off right away probably wasn't the greatest idea ever. Therefore, I was home alone all week... well, for some of the week. Mom wound up driving up late Tuesday night and stayed until Friday afternoon. We had a great time just hanging out, doing a little shopping, eating out and working in our flowerbeds.
I had been itching to get out there and brighten up our flowerbeds with a little color for a while, but since this is the first spring that we have been in our house, it's the first time I've ever had to work on flowerbeds and I had no idea where to start!! I'm a girl who has to have a plan, so on Wednesday we started searching through the garden centers at Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe's. It was a pretty nasty, rainy day, so we knew we weren't going to be able to plant anything just yet. Mom helped me figure out if I wanted annuals, perennials, etc. I also had three dead bushes that I had to replace, so I found some ideas for that as well. I took notes as I noticed things that I liked, then we went home and mapped out a plan as we looked over the flowerbeds. I figured out which flowers I wanted to put in which spot. Like I said, I HAVE to have a plan. I can't just put random things here and there... that's just not how my brain works. OCD? Maybe!! :)
Thursday morning we went back to Lowe's and Walmart, picked up the items on my list and went home and got our hands dirty. A few hours later ....... TA DA.... we have COLOR!!! I love it!!
This is the front flowerbed. The two new bushes are on each end. I decided not to add any color to this bed just yet. I want to wait and see what it looks like after we get those two geraniums in the background hanging on the porch above these bushes.

I LOVE these geraniums!! SO pretty! I have two hanging pots that are going to hang on the front porch. We don't have the hooks up there quite yet though.

We potted these two dahlias. They are sitting on either side of the front door, so they bring color to the front porch area as well. I LOVE the vibrant colors of these flowers!!





This is an overview of our larger flowerbed in front of the office window. I've added a little color throughout with knockout roses and azaleas.

Here are some close-ups of the roses and azaleas.

Here's hoping I can keep everything alive!! Only time will tell. I'm so excited about watching everything grow!! Now we have to mulch both beds to kind of pull everything together and make it look a little nicer. I'm loving everything so far, and I'm so thankful to my mom for helping me figure out what I wanted or didn't want because I definitely would have been lost otherwise!!

Kari's Bridal Shower

The future Mr. and Mrs. Clark!!

I guess wedding season has officially started with the first bridal shower of the year!! Kari Smothers and Matt Clark are getting married in just a little over a month on June 11. I went to UTM with both Kari and Matt. Kari was also in my hygiene class at UTHSC and Matt is almost finished with dental school in Memphis. They are such a cute and sweet couple and I'm so excited for them.
Earlier this month the other bridesmaids and I gave Kari a bridal shower in Dyersburg. Abigail, who also lives in Nashville and who is also a bridesmaid, and I rode together and stayed with Kari the night before the shower. We had a great time working on wedding details and planning. The shower went really well!! The food was yummy, the decor was cute, and she had a really great turnout with great guests and great gifts!!

The cupcake tower! Delicious!!

The Hostesses

Some the food layout

Kari and me

Table full of gifts. They got some great stuff!!

Growing Like a Weed

Lola is four months old now and man is she growing fast! I took her to the vet for her last set of puppy shots on Friday and she weighed 44.5 pounds.

It seems like only yesterday she was a little 9 week old, 19 pound ball of fur. She has been such a good puppy! She is doing an awesome job with potty training. She goes and stands by the door when she's ready to go out, and if we don't see her, she comes up to us and whines and then goes back to the door to let us know, "Hey!! I'm waiting patiently for you to let me out!" She still has an occasional accident, but that is mostly when she's in the middle of a crazy, hyper, playtime mode, and it's like all of a sudden she goes, "Uh Oh, I gotta go NOW!" And so she does.

She has also done a great job learning her tricks. She can "sit", "shake" and "lay down", and we have been working on "turn around". She also knows that "Go to jail" means that it's time to get into her crate. And although it's not her favorite thing to do, she will begrudgingly "go to jail"... for a treat of course!

 Brad and I are talking seriously about getting a fence put up around the backyard soon since Lola loves to be outside so much. I'm sure this will change after the temperatures start to warm up, but she sure loves to run around on these cooler days. It would be so nice to be able to leave her out there to play as much as she wants until she's ready to come back in. So, hopefully we will be able to proceed with that fairly soon!!

Miss Lola has definitely kept us busy and on our toes for the past couple of months. Toys are EVERYWHERE, I can't keep the back sliding glass door free of nose and slobber marks, and her curiosity gets her into everything, but we have truly loved it!! She's a sweet baby girl who is growing up so fast!!

Chocolate Footballs

I was feeling a little festive for the Super Bowl this year. Mom and Adam were in town visiting, and Brian came over to watch the game too. We had some yummy finger foods like chips and dips, wings, pigs in a blanket, etc, but I also wanted to try something new. So I attempted the football cake balls from who else, but bakerella?! They are just like her cake balls, where you mix the prepared cake with a can of frosting and shape them into whatever you like, and then dip them in melted chocolate and decorate. They were  fairly easy to make, but I can definitely use some practice in shaping them. I have to give mom some credit too, because she helped me shape some of these footballs. We took some down to our neighbors who were hosting a Super Bowl party, and the kids were excited about them. Even though they didn't turn out perfectly, they still tasted pretty good!

Great Memories and New Beginnings

Since I skipped blogging at all for the month of February, it's time to get caught up!!

February started out a little bittersweet. We made a trip to Brad's grandmother's house in St. Louis to help her pack and get ready to move out of her house. Brad's grandfather died in 2007, and since then his grandmother has lived in the country on 20 plus acres of land by herself. The family started talking to her about moving closer to town and closer to her family a few years ago, and she just wasn't ready at the time.

It's easy to understand her resistance seeing as how she has lived in that same house for 55 years. It's where she made her life and her family with her husband and children. It's where all of the family got together and celebrated different milestones and events. And quite simply, it's just her home!!

However, I can also see the point that the rest of the family was trying to make. She was at least 45 minutes away from any family in case something happened. And things HAD started to happen, she fell a couple of times and even broke both wrists. It was also too much for her to upkeep...I don't even know that I could take care of 20 acres out in the country with an older house and an in ground swimming pool.

So, last year, the family finally won her over and convinced her to sell the house and move, and it sold earlier this year.  We made the trip up there so that Brad could help load some of the heavier things on to the moving truck and so that we could be there for moral support. All of her children and most of her grandchildren were there for the final weekend in the house. There was a lot of talking and laughing about good memories and good times. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Brad's grandmother though, as all of her things were being moved around and gone through, and she had to leave some things behind. I can't imagine what she must have been feeling. She has many great memories to take with her though. And the family that bought her house is using it as a weekend getaway for his kids and grand kids, so I think that made her feel better too...to know that they would use it to celebrate family just as she and her family had done. While I'm sure it wasn't easy for her to say goodbye to so many memories, I know that she is thankful to have so many great ones to take with her!

Here are a just a few pictures of the house and family over the past couple of years:

Grandma, Brad and me

Grandma with the grand kids and great-grand kids on Thanksgiving 2009

Better late than never

New Year's Resolutions. Almost everyone makes them, and almost no one actually keeps them. I am DETERMINED to keep mine this year! Yes, I'm getting a bit of a late start, but a couple of weeks isn't too bad. That just means that I've really put some thought into them, right??!!!...

1. Of course, I have to make a resolution related to being in shape and healthy. And I think I've figured out a realistic goal for myself. I am going to run a 5K this year. I know it's only 3.1 miles, but I will admit that I am NOT a runner at all!! I will most likely NEVER run a marathon, but a 5K I can handle. I have made resolutions to eat better and exercise regularly in the past, but I think that this gives me more of a specific goal to work towards. I am in the process of finding a race to sign up for so that I can go ahead and register and start training!! I would also like to go back to the Insanity workouts and actually complete the 60 day program, but first things first...5K!!

2. I also want to work on my blog. I would like to blog more often, and be a little more creative. It's fun to write about what's going on in the little world of the Jones house, but I'm sure that can be a little boring for my loyal readers after a while...all two of them. Haha! Anyhow, I'm thinking that I might branch out and dare to let my thoughts and opinions be heard...maybe blog about something controversial or something that I love or enjoy or something that really makes me mad! I'm just thinking out loud, but it sounds kind of fun!

3. Scrapbook, scrapbook, scrapbook!!! I haven't done a single scrapbook page since we have lived in this house!! And I have absolutely no excuse. I have a craft table that my dad made for me, I got an awesome organizer for Christmas, and goodness knows that I have enough pictures and supplies to make something happen. I've only done one layout for my scrapbook of Memaw, so maybe I should make a resolution to finish it by the end of the year. That's a reasonable goal!!

4. Last one...and this one is kind of simple and silly, but I HAVE to take advantage of our neighborhood pool this summer!! It's Olympic-sized, within walking distance from our house, and pretty much amazing!! We probably only went about four times last summer....pitiful!! You wouldn't think that I would have to remind myself to go soak up the sun with a good book and a sweet pool, but for some crazy reason that I can't really put my finger on...I didn't do it last summer. So, that's it, I MUST use the pool, and use it regularly!! Maybe resolution number #1 will get me more motivated to keeping this one. ;)

And there you have it! Though they really aren't extraordinary, these are my goals for 2011...and I WILL meet each one of them!! Updates on my progress to come...

Lola Update

I promise that every post from now on will NOT be about Lola, but I thought I would add a little more info about her than I had in my last post. I was just itching to get some pictures of her posted on here as soon as I could!!
Lola's name is short for LOis LAne. Of course, this comes from Brad's love for superman! :) She is ten weeks old today, and she weighs almost 20 pounds. We have already had our first visit to the vet, and she did great and had a clean bill of health. Lola is from a litter of 13!!! There were six puppies left when we went to pick her out. She was the most timid puppy of them all, and the biggest one of the remaining puppies. She wouldn't even run out and see us like the rest of her siblings. And although she was pretty shy for the first day or two, she has definitely started to come out of her shell!!

She loves her toys, she loves naps, and she loves to give big sloppy kisses. Luckily, potty training has gone really well so far!! She is sleeping through the night with no accidents, and she goes and stands by the door when she needs to go potty. Sometimes she likes to stay outside and play for a little while before coming back in...she LOVES the cold weather, and she had a blast with the snow when it was on the ground. Brad even got her to fetch some of her toys when they were playing outside today. We are also trying to get her used to her collar, and we're working on "sitting" on command. She's doing great with both so far.

We are so in love with our new addition, and we are so proud of how well she is adjusting to her new home and learning new things!! We better love on her and hold her while we can, because it surely won't be long before she's too big to sit in our laps!!