Thrift Store Prom Night!

I have to say that this was one of the coolest nights of my life! My friend Rachel never went to her high school prom, and one night at Dos Gringos she shared this information with a guy named Nate. Nate being the friend that he is, decided that Rachel really did need to experience this rite of passage. So what did he do? He planned it! It was more like a theme party and everyone who was there had to get their attire from a thrift store. I got really lucky and found a dress at Goodwill that was much like something Brenda Walsh would have worn on 90210. It was BLAST! Even if it was the only prom I ever went to stag...

Danielle turns the big 3-0!

My friend and hair stylist (she makes me beautiful!) turned thirty in September! She wasn't really planning on celebrating until Rachel and I asked what she was doing to ring in the ocassion. Rachel and I were at the last Dimondbacks night game of the season, then we came home got ready and headed out to Zipps to help Danielle kiss good-bye to her 20s and break into her 30s. Danielle has been bustin her butt with Jenny to change her life! You can see in the pictures how amazing she is lookin these days! Congrats Girlfriend...you are bringing in your 30s with a BANG!!

SCORE!!!

So Austin has been paying soccer this fall season and it is his Rookie Season...he he he. He has been really enjoying it and scores goals all the time...We're so proud. Admittedly, getting him on the field the first time for a game an be difficult but once he gets going, he is unstoppable! Each game he has scored at least 3 goals a game, but lets keep in mind that there is only 3 players from each team on the field at a time and no goalie or rules really other than kick the ball to your goal! Even though that is true, we are proud of our little man! Here are some pictures of him in action!

Broncos vs. Cardinals...Preseason game

For the last preseason game, the AZ Cardinals played the Denver Broncos. Any of you who know me and my family know we have a love affair with the Broncos mostly because of the coach! This game was back on August 30th, but we had a blast on the field and Austin and I got to meet Mike Shannnahan for the very first time. Check out the pictures...

The couple in the pictures are my Uncle Rich and his wife Teresa who sat with Austin and I at the game. Mom and Dad were also with us on the field! You will notice Austin is wearing a Leinart jearsy, but that is ONLY because that was the only way we could go down to the field as our passes were provided by the Cardinals! Also, I don't have a crush on a cheerleader, but that particular cheerleader is Neely Woods, who is a fellow Sigma Kappa sister from my days a TCU. When I found out she was here in AZ and also a Cardinals cheerleader, I just had to get some pictures and show some SK love!

Alot of catching up to do...

Hi everyone! I know it's been awhile and I have alot of catching up to do. I hope in the next 2 days or so I can do just that! I have 4 events with pctures to add, so I think I will add slide shows to save time in adding a million pictures.

So stay tuned...

Musings Giveaway!

Oh my goodness! I just went over to one of my favorite blogs, Musings of a Housewife, and she has the most wonderful giveaway going on. The site her giveaway is to is called Swede at Heart! It has the sweetest jewelry that is personalized just for you! You HAVE to check it out! Leave her comment and she may pick you for some free jewelry!

New Tunes...

Last night at the girl slumber party which consisted of only two of us, Rachel and I were browsing MySpace and came across one of her friends pages that had the most awesome song on it! It is by a band called Griffin House. I added two of their songs to my blog playlist for you to hear. Rachel and I decided that the main guy is HOT! What do you think?

We were blown away by the lyrics that just say everything a man rarely says! "I hope you like your man sweet and polite"? "The guy that says goodbye to you is out of his mind"? Well duh, but no man says that!

Enjoy!

I just realized....

I never posted my pictures of Stetson from my trip to Texas! And I have some really cute ones too! What a bad aunt I am!!

Well here he is!!

Isn't he precious? He is such a good baby and so happy! Shay and Scott have done a fantastic job! I always said you too would make beautiful babies and Stetson is perfect! Miss you guys already!

Finally found "THE ONE"

Haha! Bet you thought this would be different than it actually is, huh? I was at work today and my co-worker, Tracey, and I were helping my boss find his wife a Coach handbag for her birthday in October. I told him a little while back that he should get her something awesome and that when a coupon for 25% off came in the mail, I would let him have it so he could do a bang up job!

Here is what we chose, well what Tracey and I said would be PERFECT for a wife and mother of one, who apparently loves pink in a "Legally Blonde" kinda way...


Totally cute, huh?

The story behind this story, is when I went on to look with them, I discovered the jackpot!! My wish list Coach purse is now finally pictured on the website. See??

Perfect, right?! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the red! But in the mean time I also found 3 other things to add to my wish list from the Coach website!

I have expensive taste lately huh? Well not just lately I suppose, but I like pretty things! And these are pretty!

A girl can dream....

Hmmmm...

Well Hello!

I know it's been awhile, but I promise to go a Craft Room/Office update soon! The furniture is almost done, the drapes and table skirt are completed, thank you Moma, and the wall decor is coming along! It's going to be a work in progress for a little while. I have decided to collect H's on one wall, Mirrors on another, and add to my cross collection on yet another. I am looking for a panoramic picture or saying of some type to go above the french doors, and above the window. Ikea has provided a few nifty little hardware pieces that I am going to turn into crafty decor around the room. I need batteries for the camera, but once I get them I will post some.

I have found a couple of cute little sites and fun stuff from others I have bumped into. The first has already been added and it a is a blog called "Go Fug Yourself". It a blog that basically rips apart of of the fashion don'ts our celebrities have sported! Thank you Rebecca for the fun tip! You always know the fashion ups and downs to find over the web!

I will add the other soon enough that I got while browsing some other blogs. I need a really good post to show you how fun it is! So stay tuned...

Update...

Hi everyone! I know, I know...

It's been a week, and busy one at that! Between school and work and redecorating, I have been hiding from the world. Though not necessarily on purpose. I am not going to bore you with the gruesome details, but it was nuts!

So on to the good times. Monday, Mom and I went shopping at Ikea, AGAIN! She helped me to find some other ideas that will come into play at a later date due to straining finances, but wonderful ideas at that. I also aquired a good-as-new, or good enough, Hon 2 drawer filing cabinet for the bargin price of $25. Gotta love Craigslist. I am planning to paint it red. Any good tips on that? Mom and I had a great day and it ended up with her coming over to help me begin cutting the fabric for my super-hip tableskirt. Can tableskirts be hip? Oh well, it will allow for more hidden storage in my den/office which has no closet. And those of you who share in my crafting preoccupation, you'll get that! Hopefully I will have pictures for you guys soon!

Friday afternoon after work, 15 of us girls from work and others (mothers, daughters, etc.) went to see Mamma Mia! on opening day/night! We all LOVE, LOVE, LOVED it! Who knew Meryl Streep and Pierce Bronsnan could sing? Definately not me, but I can admit when I am wrong.

So here it is Sunday night and I am watching Army Wives, dreading going back to the office. Not because I don't like my job but because I am going to back to my desk which I abandoned on Thursday and Friday while I was in training. Sometimes when you are gone, it can be a little scarey to see what you will come back to. I did keep up with my emails at night, so I am going to hope for the best! This is all is added to my impending business travel to Texas, for my very first supplier visit...AHHH! And to add to that...my boss is leaving tomorrow too on travel leaving me at my own vices to try and conquer my fear of the business overview powerpoint. Confusing, I know but it's true!

Back to happy, rather than scarey fearful girl! My Godmother and her husband are in town and Thursday I am going to Texas for business, yes, but even better, I get to meet my best friend's baby boy, and hopefully the other one's too!

So everyone...

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Oh what a day...

This Saturday started early, and I still don't feel like I have gotten much done! We woke up at 7ish and got ready for my 9 am hair apointment, where I went to my hairdresser and friend, Danielle, begging her to teach me how to fix my hair to stay put while I travel for work to the super-humid climate of Fort Worth, Texas in a couple of weeks. She taught me how to fix it up with lots of hair gunk and make it more likely to not be plastered to my head when 120+% humidity makes itself comfortable around my head.

After that, Austin and I ventured to one of most favorite places for cheap, cool home stuff....IKEA. Let me back up for a minute. I got a wild hair up my hiney on Thursday while I was home to redo, or should I say do for the first time, my craft room/office. Once upon a time I went to the trouble of aquiring 2 poster size pictures: one of Audrey Hepburn and the other of Marilyn Monroe, of course, and had always planned out a red, white and black room. Well I think I lost my mind at Ikea but sure enough, just about everything is just that, with the addition of birch wood finish.

So back to the day, we were at Ikea from 10 am to 1pm. Yes, you really can get lost in that place. And given the long amount of time we were there, Austin did pretty good. Although he did get yelled at, and inadvertantly I did too, by this old bag who thought I wasn't watching my child while I was in line to get him a hot dog for lunch. Of course if you know me, my eyes never left him during that time. Some people should just mind their own business, but it did make me feel like a bad mom for about a minute or two. I'm over it!

I got a new table to use to make the work surface into a psuedo-corner desk, 2 shelves that look like they are coming out of the wall, red, white and black accent items, a round red rug, and a few other little things.

I even bought yardage of fabric (did you know Ikea sold fabric?) to make a very modern tableskirt to hide storage and other stuff from the living room. Once Austin and I got home around 1:30 it was naptime for him, and apparently for me as well. I fell asleep and woke up when he did! We just had dinner, and now we have to go back to Ikea to return some stuff. Hopefully this will be a project I can complete and I can post pictures soon!

My dad is going out of town this week so maybe I can bribe my mom to come over here Monday to help me. Then maybe I can bribe Dad to come over next weekend to hang stuff for me, which means even more cleaning for the rest of the house...

Guess I better get to cleaning the rest of the house then huh? I will post new pictures once it all starts coming together!

HAPPY SATURDAY!

What a find...

I got a phone call late this morning from my best friend, Shay, who recently had her very first bambino!

She was calling to ask me if I knew of any websites she could order Stetson's birth announcements from. I never quite found a website to order Austin's from, so I ended up making them. I told her to give me some time to look around for something. If you knew my best friend you would know that something plain wouldn't work. She is super hip and has a special flair. I had to find some thing extra-ordinary to fit her style.

AND I DID!! I just started searching through the few blogs I had stumbled on until I found these...

This is from The Belle Prints. There were a bunches more too! I immediately texted her the site as she is in Texas, and I am sure she is in bed! I hope she loves the find as much as I do!

They also have other types of things too. Invites, candy wrappers, waterbottle wraps, and much much more! Check it out!

And the results are in...

Summer 1 for school is officially over and the grades are posted!

I got an A- in my Advanced Research communications class

-and-

I got a B in my Courtship & Marriage class. (Holy poo! How did I pull that off??)

Summer 2 started today and I am taking 2 classes; Parent-Adolecent Relationships and Music History of the Beatles. Wish me luck on those too!

After the summer I have 5 classes left to finish and I will officially hold a B.A. in Human Communications from Arizona State University! Whoo hoo! May 2009...WATCH OUT!!

Week One!

As previously mentioned (ever so briefly), I have been dieting, yet again, with the help of the folks of NutriSystem.

Those of you who know me are well aware of my bad habit of yo-yo dieting. My weight is something I have regretably fought the majority of my teenage and adult life. I used to be quite active in my 12 years of skating, but once I hit college with no real regimine to follow after my long hours in the rink, I ballooned. I wouldn't say it happened overnight, but I would say it has been a steady climb to reaching the heights most of us women, and some men, never wish to obtain.

Now that I have gotten to a point where I weigh as much as I did at the height of my preganacy, I am fed up with the excess weight I carry around each day. So once again, I turn to others to help me find the way. This time I chose the NutriSystem program for the sake of simplicity. As it has been mentioned before, my life is SUPER jam packed and leaves little room for cooking and always making the proper choices, not to mention my lack of self-control if a Dr. Pepper is anywere in a 100 yard radius on my body! Dr. Pepper has proven to be my largest downfall! UGH...

This is where I will add a before photo, embarassing as it might be to me, but I feel it will help me to show myself at it's lowest point and allow me, and the rest of the blogging world, to see my progress.

Can we say...YUCK???!!!

This by far is not a recent picture, but it does show off some of the things I would like to change about myself! Notice the flabby arms, the double chin and the back fat! This was actually taken about a year ago, but is a good representation of how I DON'T want to look! And who knows, last week I may have even looked worse!

Moving on...

Well it's offically been a week since I started NutriSystem, and I am already down 4 lbs! That can't be a bad thing right? The food is actually pretty good, and the motivation is definately there to make myself feel better, healthier and prettier over all!

Each week my goal is to report my loss (and I hope it's loss) and possibly share a picture of how I look now. I would take one tonight but I am just too tired to do that, so maybe I will take one in the morning.

WISH ME LUCK!!

Celebrating the 4th!

Since last night's blog was so long, I didn't get the chance to post anythng about the 4th of July festivities. So here they are!

Austin and I went to Mimi and Papa's house for lunch then we all, including our family friend Mike, went to the Diamonbacks game, with fireworks afterwards.

Austin eating peanuts!

Ummm...those are backwards Honey!

Mimi & Austin...when she's around, I'm chopped liver!

See? Told Ya!

He is still all smiles, even at 10 pm! Almost time for FIREWORKS!!

They DBacks organization did a fantastic job honnoring those who fight for our freedome, both past and present. I have nver been so proud to be an American as I was that night looking at the men and women who serve our country to make our lives what they are today.

The game was really slow and the last 2 innings were downright painful. The Diamondbacks lost, but the fireworks were amazing! They were set to music and lasted longer than most shows do! An amazing finale too!

Hope you had a Happy 4th!!

The list...

Being the girlie girl that this Chick-poo is, I have a "list". This list is comprised of the wants that us women tend to have when it comes to what we want. My moma would tell you that from even my younger years, I was a girl who frequently used the phrase. "I want, I need, I have to have," about whatever the little trinket might have been. She would also tell you that I could, "walk into a hardware store and find something" I wanted.

Over the years, my tastes have changed and, as a result, they have gotten far more expensive than that of the little girl who could walk into that hardware store and find a keychain I couldn't live without! Now that I have a child of my own, I get it! I understand the pressures of a little one giving you those puppy-dog eyes and saying, "Please Mommy."

But back to the subject at hand, my list. Over time you will see me add my new little wishes so keep an eye out, you might add some them to yours too!

Last week I went to the Chandler Mall with my mom and aunt to partake in a little retail therapy, where my mom took me into Brighton (ahhh, I sometimes miss that job. Yes, I was a Brighton girl in my former life) to show me a little purse she had her eye on. While it wasn't my style it was hers, but I convinced her that Coach (ahhh...Coach) had some that were a little less expensive and WAAAAYYY cuter!

We went down to the Coach store, and that is where I fell in love! Yes, fell in love with my future handbag!

Take a look and see what you think...

Pretty, isn't it? The one I like most is actually the red leather trim, but the Coach website seems to be having technical difficulties. The center section is like one of those coin purses that clicks together. It is actually bigger than you would imagine it to be. I remember looking at it on the website a few days before we stopped in the store that day, but it was true love when I laid my hands on it!

The 2nd item on my list, well maybe I should say is most recently added, was sighted on the 4th of July, while I was looking for Austin and I t-shirts to wear to show our patriotic sides in the spirit of the holiday (not that we aren't always patriotic. You get what I mean, right?). Anyways, we were on our way out of store going down the middle isle to get to the registers (after finding a toy for Austin of course) and I spotted it! There she was...

She caught my eye as I passed the isle and I was drawn in. Since I haven't previously mentioned on this blog, I will fill you in.

There are two women from Hollywood history that I deeply admire, but for two very different reasons. The first is Marilyn Monroe! She was beautiful and was so in a way that the world today seems to forget. She was voluptous and yet the world then saw her as perfect. She was a size twelve and was considered beautiful and sexy and still to this day, many still see her that way. So why does the world see beautiful as super skinny today?

Back to the reason for posting this...The second hollywood icon I admire is the woman in the picture above. Audrey Hepburn! She was beautiful, but she was more than that, she was classy! She exuded beauty, femininity and sophistication. These two women are the theme behind my craft room. They inspire me and remind me that being a woman is about being strong, standing up for what you believe in and loving who you are exactly as you are. They remind me that I am who I am and I should be proud of that! All that from a few pictures, right?

Now the third thing I want to add to my list is not specific. I have even promised myself that I may just give it to myself after I graduate from ASU. I have always had an interest in photography, even though I haven't been properly trained, so what I have always wanted was a good, no wait, awesome, camera to explore my inner photographer. I am a scrapbooker, so it does kinda make sense to want a more than decent camera to archive the life and times of Heather and Austin.

This isn't necessarily the specific camera I want, but it does at least fall into my price range (well not quite yet but hopefully). I am not too sure exactly what I am looking for yet, but if anyone can help me narrow it down or offer suggestions, I am all ears!

Last, but not least, is a far less expensive item that I saw on another blog recently. On Chic Critique, Mel (Box of Chocolates) posted about a product that has always intrigued me, but I have yet to buy. It is from Philosophy. They make bath and body products. I have tried their Hope in a Bottle and the Candy Cane lip gloss is to die for and sure to get you in the holiday spirit for the months of November and December, but I have yet to try one of their yummy scents for the bathtub! And you can pretty much guarantee I will be getting myself some to indulge in soon enough!

If you read Mel's post above on Chic Critique, you will see that "You are my Sunshine" is a great summertime pick for all of the bubbly-bath lovers on you life! And they are a 3-in-1! Shower gel, shampoo, and bubble bath...WOW!!

Hmmm...Which one should I try first?

Well, I think that is it for this install ment of "the list". But rest assured that there will be more, there always is!

Let the craziness begin...

So it's Tuesday...

And the week is already turning out to be CRAZY!!

I am slammed at work, it's finals week and I got some disturbing news this weekend about my ex-husband. I can't disclose exactly what that is since I am pretty sure he wouldn't want the info broadcast to the world, but I can say that it will effect mine and Austin's lives for the time being if not forever. Enough about that...

Work...
It's all catching up with me, and it's making me crazy. Anyone who knows me, knows I am one who like to stay on top of things, and if you don't, now you do. I have problems with seeing the paper stack up on my desk and even more with feeling like I am letting my customers and co-workers down, even if I know I am busting my tail to prevent just that! It can make a girl hyperventilate at night while she blogs when she should be working or even...

And now the third iron in the fire, studying for my finals! Yes, that's right, it's FINALS week for Summer 1! I have 2 classes that I have been taking over the past 5 weeks and now it is all coming down to 2 tests. One Thursday and another to be taken sometime between Thursday and Friday.

So how do you decide what to do first? Is it more important to do work or to study for one of the two exams? It's 9 pm, is there time for all of it? And to get a good night's sleep? UGH!!

So, here is my plan of attack...

I am going to begin getting my powerpoints for my internet class together and then work on my work, I suppose!

Wish me luck!!

Oh, what a weekend...

This past weekend was a busy yet relaxing one. Is that possible?? I suppose so!

After the last couple of crazy weeks at work with just about nightly logins to my work computer from mi casa, I decided to give it a break for the weekend. Knowing that I had a paper due Saturday and it was my Aunt's last weekend in town, I figured that was more than enough to keep me busy.

Friday, I left work early! I had my 40 in by 8:30 am so I still got a little over time, but I left at two and did a little retail therapy with the fam. Shhh....don't tell Austin I left him with the babysitter to spend some time shopping. He will think I don't love him...ha ha ha...like that will EVER happen.

Saturday, Austin and I got up and went to Mimi and Papa's house to go swimming with Aunt Gail after we got him a hair-cut with Miss Danielle. We got there and when Papa got home Austin helped him wash all the cars in 112 degree heat! But hey, it is their favorite thing to do together. Then Dad (Papa) came and swam with us too! We were outside for close to 3 hours.

What did I learn from this experience?

WEAR SUNSCREEN!!! I was the only one who didn't and I am the only one who is bright red and regretting it! Good news is I will be nice and tan soon! Whoo hoo!

We spent the rest of Saturday evening playing cards and spending time together. Austin decided he wanted to spend the night with Mimi & Papa, so I went home and turned in my paper. Thank you Dr. D!

Sunday, I went grocery shopping , because as of today, I am on NutriSystem! I had planned on blogging about this and how I feel about it, but oh well, maybe later! We also swam and made dinner and played more cards to spend time with Aunt Gail before she headed home to TEXAS!

So now its Monday, the weekend is over so let's look what this relaxing, busy weekend got me...

Did I relax? YES
Did I get some sun? YEA...too much!
Did I hang out with the fam? Each and every day!
Did my house get cleaned? NO
Did my laundry get done? NO
Did the pantry get re-organizied to allow for the oodles of NutriSystem food? NO
Did I get the fridge cleaned out to allow for a plethora of fruits and veggies? Actually I did, but it was after 9 pm and only because if didn't want all that food to spoil!

So my next question is...

Why is it that if you choose to relax and enjoy your weekend, you start off the week behind?

UGH!!!

Two Baby Boys!

In the month of May, two very special little boys were born.

The first is my best friend, Shay's baby.

Name: Stetson Allen Stavenhagen

Born: May 13th, 2008


Proud Parents: Shay & Scott Stavenhagen

The other is of my other best friend, Amanda...



Name: Michael Ryder Sims

Born: June 4, 2008

Proud Parents: Amanda & Dallas Sims

Congratulations Friends! Those two babies are beautiful, beautiful little boys!