New House!

Here are some pictures of our new house currently. As you will see, it is going to take a lot of cleaning, clearing out junk, painting, carpet and just TLC!

Here it is!

This is the living room looking into the Office and our Bedroom

This is part of the Living Room

Front Entry (Kitchen on the right//Bathroom on the left)

Kitchen

Bedroom

Bathroom

Bathroom

Office (this is supposed to be moved out before we move in... but Landan won't be heartbroken if it isnt :) But it will be moved into the garage)

Laundry Room (in the basement)

east end of the Basement Living Room (bedroom on the right)

west side of the Basement Living Room & stairs up

Basement..

(hallway bedroom on the left, bathroom in the middle & laundry room on the right)

Garage

Garage

There is is! As you can see.... a lot of work!! But we're very excited to move in and have our own home!! :)

MOVING!!

About a week ago we found out that CitiBank accepted our offer that we put on the house as written!! We are soooo excited, we got such a great deal!!! :) Our closing date it set for February 18th or no later than February 25th. So, we have a lot of work ahead of us!!! But we can't wait!! :) I'll post pictures when I have some!

Christmas 2010 // NYE

We had such a great Christmas with family this year!! Our first Christmas was the weekend before. We spend it with Landan's Family at Stoney Creek Inn. It was a lot of fun! Angela and I got to get Manicures & Pedicures, while the boys went and did some rock climbing. Here is a picture of Landan and I that night...

On Christmas Eve we headed to Jewell to be with my Family. My mom's side of the family all came over that night. We had a lot of fun playing games and talking! Here is a picture of my girl cousins on that side! :)

Faith, Mary, Katie, Kendra, Jenny

Grace, Kellie

On Christmas morning we opened presents with my parents and sisters. It was great to be able to be with them on Christmas this year (last year we were snowed in and couldn't go). Then after lunch my dad's side of the family all came over for the day. Here is Landan and I on Christmas Day.

This is one of my favorite Christmas presents that I received this year!!!! My own sewing machine!! My mom has a sewing machine and surger and has made us clothes and things since we were born. I grew up always having it around. Not living with her has made it hard to get things hemmed or fixed. I was very excited to get my own sewing machine!! :)

My first project: Landan's jean holes. I will say that jeans are hard to sew because they are so thick! Of course I broke my first needle on my first project..... but I got some great tips from my mom on repairing jeans... :)

(Can't say it was the prettiest job i'll ever do ;)

Here are a couple of pictures from New Years Eve! First one of the girls, then Landan & I! We went down to Raleigh's. As you can see, it is like a Barn Bar. Other than it being a little cold, it was a fun night.

Happy New Year!! 2011

Christmas Baking

I LOVE Christmas Baking!!! This year is the first year that I did it alone, but I still had so much fun! I got up at 8:30 that day, started baking at 9:00 and didn't finish cleaning up until 9:00pm!! This is with an about 1 hour break to run to wal-mart! The day just seemed to go by sooo fast! Here is all that I made... along with Fudge & Sugar Cookies! :)













Goodie Bags ready to take to school!!!



Our Christmas Tree!!! I love it sooo much!




House Shopping

Landan and I also having something else exciting going on in our life right now! We have been looking at houses!! We started looking this summer, but really just started getting serious the last couple of months! It's really the perfect time, with the really low interest rates! It will also work out for us because we're just paying rent month by month, so we can be very flexible! Anyways, we put an offer on a house last week!! It was very exciting, but at the same time, we're trying not to get too excited because it could be a very long process. The house is a 'Short Sale.' This doesn't at all mean that it will be quick! It actually takes longer! A short sale means that the house has been taken over by the bank that holds the loan, but it is not a foreclosure. The house has been taken away because of unfortunate events that have forced the owner to no longer be able to pay. Our Realtor has sent the offer to the bank that own it, but it could take up to 45 days for us to get an offer.. So, we're just doing our best to wait patiently :)

2nd Grade

One Monday toward the end of October, I was sleeping in, because I was only subbing in Hartford that afternoon. The principal at Carlisle Elementary texted me as asked if I would be interested in a long term sub job. Of course I was!! So, she asked if I could come in that morning before I headed to Hartford.

We talked and I met the 2nd Grade that I would teach for. She was due with her baby in the end of November. We set it up so that I could shadow her the next day. I did, and it went well!

The next day I was not scheduled to sub, so of course I had my list of things I was planning on doing! Well... 5:45 I got a phone call! Mandy (who i would be subbing for) had gone into the hospital early that morning to have her baby! Crazy timing on this!! So, I ended up starting teaching the day after I shadowed her! Perfect timing!

Anyways, i've been teaching 2nd grade at Carlisle Elementary ever since! I love it! I have a really good class and the teachers on the 2nd grade team are great! They've been soooo helpful and fun! I've learned so much and it has been a very busy time for me! But I wouldn't trade this time for regular subbing any day!! It will be hard to go back to that! I will be in this classroom until the end of January!

It just turns out that Abby, the teacher across the hall, is pregnant with twins!!! A few weeks ago, she asked me if I could also take her long term subbing job!! Of course I am! They will take her babies April 15th if she hasn't already had them, so I will start this second job in March/April!! It will most likely take me through the end of the year! This class has a couple of kids that will be a challenge for me, but it will also give me more great experience with different situations!

Yesterday was our Winter Party... and our last day before Winter Break! It was a crazy day, but went well! I'm definetly ready for the break tho! Below are some reindeer cookies we make yesterday morning :)

Love Fall!!

Oh how I LOVE Fall!! I think it is my favorite season.. right behind summer :)

I love:

*Pumpkin Spice Lattes

*Cool (but not cold) Weather

*Pumpkin & Apple & Cinnamon Scented Candles

*Jean's & Long Sleeves

*Pumpkins

*Having the window's open and being snuggled under a blanket

*Pumpkin Pie Chex Mix

*Pumpkin Pancakes

*Pumpkin Cheesecake

*Pretty leaves

*Being outside! // Fresh Air!

There is one thing that I don't like about Fall.... the beginning of hunting season....

Just Kidding. I'm happy that my husband has a hobby that he loves!! I do get lonely sometimes, but I also enjoy having my own alone time. He has been good about not going out every night, so it has been tolerable :)

I wish we could only have 2 seasons.. summer & FALL! <3

Fall Snack Mix

MMMM.. I've discovered a really yummy new snack mix for fall!! Here's the recipe!

Chex Pumpkin Pie Crunch

1/4 c. Brown Sugar

1 T Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/4 c. Butter

2 T Vanilla

2 c. Cinnamon Chex

2 c. Wheat Chex

2 c. Honey Nut Chex

8 oz Pecans

1. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar & pumpkin pie spice; set aside. In small microwavable dish, microwave butter on high about 30 sec or until melted. Stir in Vanilla. In large microwavable bowl, mix all 3 cereals and pecans. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly distributed. Add sugar and spice mixture and stir until coated.

2. Microwave uncovered 5 minutes or until mixture begins to brown, stirring every minute. Spread on wax paper or a cookie sheet to cool.