Dwight, get out of my nook!

That's what she said! That's what she said! If you know what this is from, you get two thumbs up from this girl!

I, the librarians daughter, have created a reading nook. 

When we first looked at this house, I loved it, but I kept thinking, "What the hell am I going to do with THAT area?" "THAT area" was the formal dining room. I don't understand formal dining rooms. They must get used what, three times a year? I understand some people like big, giant dining room tables to sit and enjoy a meal with their family. But for me, I would get so much more use out of a reading nook. There is nothing more that I love in this world, than a good book. Okay... maybe Petey, but books are a close second, my husband is third. ;)

This reading nook opens up into our living room so I couldn't go too crazy with the color scheme. My living room is pretty dark, with reds, and burnt oranges, so I thought brown would be a great color in the nook, and then that vintagey mustard color to make it pop a bit. I am so happy with the results, here is a looksie!

The anchor pallet I made, finally found a home. I also made that pillow, I painted canvas and sewed it into a pillow. There will be a tutorial later because 

I'm making a few for friends.

Other side of the nook

Other side of the nook, my grandmothers sewing machine on display

I've mentioned this on my FB and Instagram, but my husband has challenged me to "30 Days of Vegan." We are going to give it a try the day after the SuperBowl because let's face it, I want to chow like a pig. So we are going to give it a shot, with one break for the weekend that we're visiting my brother and his family. If you know my brother, Ethan, you'll know he won't stand for fussy eating. If I told him I could only eat Vegan, I'd wake up with a chicken wing stuffed into my mouth while I was sleeping!

So, I tried this salsa recipe off Pinterest and sweet mother, Mary of God! It was so good!!! I made it yesterday, but let it sit overnight in this super cute 70s mushroom Pyrex dish, and I ate it with my husband tonight while I cooked some chili, soon to be vegetarian chili! The salsa is so good that I'm making two servings of it for the marines on Sunday. I bought all organic ingredients too! I finally found what I think is the North Carolina version of Whole Foods - Harris Teeter. It's my new favorite store, I've already been there twice this week and it's 25 minutes away... I also bought those bright raspberries in my red Pyrex dish there as well. I love that Pyrex dish, because well, three Asian ladies were at the flea market debating about buying it for 5 minutes, and then I finally swooped in and took them out from underneath their noses and bought them.

I was making my Target list today, and fat Petey was crying at my feet the whole time. I took him outside, he didn't go to the bathroom. I gave him water, he didn't drink it. I didn't know what his problem was, so I picked his ass up and threw him on the counter in front of me. Love. He wanted LOVE. SO I drew on a blue eyebrow (you can see it on the upper right) and said "F IT" and let my dog lay his pee pee down right where I cook dinner. (The counter has since been disinfected since before I made chili.)

Petey Baby

The next few days shall be busy! I bought fabric for the chevron quilt I am going to attempt to start cutting tomorrow. I also need to make a decision on these unfinished throw pillows I have. My sewing machine is not cooperating in the ruffling department! 

You so mugly!

I've been crafttttttiiinnggggg y'all. I made these lovely lady lumps mugs at a craft group last week. I've had a zillion people ask me where the mugs are from, they're from Target, aka Mecca, aka the greatest place in the world, and they're super cheap. This craft is SO damn easy. You just need porcelain mugs, a sharpie, and an oven. I printed off an "E" and the two states online and then taped them down and traced them. After you draw on them, you bake them at 350 for 30 minutes, BAM! You're done! You can see on the "E" what happens when you try to do more than one line, on the states is one clean crisp line, much nicer!

I always make something for myself before I reproduce it for others or else I get my hopes set on a gift, and it turns out to be whoriffic horrific. These are pretty cute, I need to get my ass back to Target before everyone buys these mugs out and make some for some other ladies I know... :)

You so mugly

It's also been colder than a witches tit lately. On Friday we had sleet? Oh what? You're from California and have no idea what the hell sleet means? Yeah me too, a word that makes WAY more sense is "freezing rain." That was interesting. I didn't leave my house, I was too afraid to! Just ask Sevi, she used to pick me up from college when it rained. Bless her! My guido husband has been hating on me lately because of the Weatherbug app. It will say that the current temperature is something like 34 degrees, but then it says "But feels like 27." So, of course he's been saying, "Today was something crazy like 34 degrees!" and I'll follow up with a "BUT it feels like 27!!!" Every. Time. I'm obsessed with weatherbug, it gives you updates, tells you where the nearest lightning strike is to you, it is soooo cool.

Anyways, I walked out my door on Saturday morning and saw this! This is my little fairy birdbath frozen solid. I was not looking forward to my long Saturday morning run in 30 degree weather (but felt like 24 degrees!!) I ran 7.25 miles basically face down looking for patches of ice. That's all I need to do is get 3.5 miles away from my house, fall on my ass in the middle of the road, and limp my way back to my house. I didn't fall, luckily, but there's always this week for that!

As my husbands personal event coordinator, I told him that he would drive me around to get a feel of the area and look for things to do. We headed to Downtown New Bern and looked at some historical homes. I actually looked at houses in this area for us to rent, but it just seemed too sketchy. I couldn't see myself running through the streets, and I refuse to live somewhere where you're afraid to venture out of your own home. Don't get me wrong, the home below is obviously on a nice street, but three streets over? Not so much. But, I still love the houses down there. So much history, so much character. I couldn't even get the whole house in the picture because it was HUGE, with a wrap around porch. I DIE!

It was too cold to walk around today, so I made Dustin do a drive by of the cemetery. This cemetery was a lot like the one I went to in Georgia, you can drive through the cemetery on a dirt road. Fascinating. I am going to go back when it's  little less chilly and do the whole tour and walk around, because it's very beautiful.

This blog should actually be titled "Shit I love from Pinterest." I LOVE snicker doodles. If there is a Corner Bakery Cafe near you, run there and get the snicker doodles, NOW! They're my favorite!!! It's like a glorified chewy sugar cookie that's a lit o' bit o' heaven, and sadly, all the ingredients are in my kitchen 24-7. Here is the recipe. I apologize for your newest obsession, why the hell do you think I had to run over 7 miles on Saturday? To make up for these!!! I suggest when you make them, you don't eat them until the next day, leave them out, and they're just so chewy and delicious, especially in the morning with coffee. This is the only cookie I've ever had that is actually 20 times better the next day cold!

I've been trying new dinner recipes because I'm sick of eating the same things every month. Tonight I made this recipe, chicken FAYYYYjitas! It was actually quite delicious for a gringa trying to make some mexican food. The recipe calls for 1 pound of chicken, but the smallest I could find was 2 pounds so I just doubled the recipe, and now I have leftovers for lunch. I thought it was pretty damn good, totally worth your time making it, and if you double the recipe it's totally enough for a whole fam-damily, and YES I'm using my Pyrex for leftovers. Doesn't that butterprint dish just make these chicken fajitas dreammmmmy?

This week I have to test out a bunch more recipes because we are having a Superbowl party. My husband invited his whole shop over, and I must feed these damn Marines! Let's hope I make stuff worth posting about...

Dog Bed Tutorial

{If you don't want to listen to me gush about my pets, and just want the tutorial, scroll down to the picture of the supplies needed}

I think it's time to talk about my pets. I am one of those weird people that is obsessively in love with their dogs, and is disturbed whenever I find out that others don't love their pets as much as I love mine. These dogs are my babies, my children, my companions. When my husband was gone all the time, it made it easier to come home to an empty house. There were and still are two little tails/nuggets wiggling and wagging when I came through the door.

I got Petey for my 16th birthday. I saw him and sobbed hysterically until my parents bought him for me, little did I know then, that he would end up being the largest Shih-Tzu anyone has ever seen. Smokey has a sweeter story, my husband wanted another dog because apparently it's not manly to be seen walking a Shih-Tzu in public alone. We really wanted an Australian Cattle Dog because I had one when I was younger, and they're just neat dogs. We went online and found one in the shelter, it was Smokey. He is the sweetest dog anyone has ever met.

Petey  & Smokey

Which leads me to this post. My dogs are divas to the extreme, our Oceanside home was all wooden floors, and they don't ever sleep on the floor, so I made sure that we had a dog bed in every room of the house. Well we we moved I tossed them all out, so even though our new house is half wood/half carpet (which I LOVE) my dogs are still used to beds, and refuse to sleep on the bare floor. This leads to them trying to sleep in our bed, or on our couch, or on the pair of pajama pants left on the floor.

We went on a mission when we first got here to find a dog bed, and we bought this teeny one from a cute little local pet store...FOR THIRTY BUCKS! I was in shock, it wasn't even one that I could wash, it had built in foam into it! YUCK! I looked at a few dog beds while I was at the store, and decided to make my own. I made one a few weeks ago and posted about it on Instagram, but I finally made another one with a zipper which is fabulous because I can unzip it and wash it!

So - here is the tutorial! Please let me know if you think anything isn't clear.

Tools Needed

-Scissors

-Thread

-Sewing Machine

-Pins

Time

-New Sewer - 1 Hour

-Old Sewer - 30 mins.

Supplies Needed

-3 Regular Sized Pillows 

- 1 50" x 60" throw

-1 24 inch zipper

(I bought all of this for $8.50 at Walmart, each pillow was $2.50, 

and the throw was on the clearance rack for $1 - I already had the zipper)

Step One: 
Fold the throw in half hotdog style, and find the placement for your zipper. I choose the side because it will be up against our TV stand, so the zipper will be hidden here. You need such a giant zipper because you're going to have to stuff it with pillows.

Step Two:
Pin the zipper down, and attach the zipper on one side. I did not include a how to on the zipper part because I felt that it would make this tutorial crazy long. But, don't hate me yet, I used THIS VIDEO TUTORIAL to learn how to do a zipper when I first bought my sewing machine. I suggest going to that tutorial and watching the video before attaching your zipper, but do not fear, zippers are easy than they appear!

Step Three
After you have attached one side of the zipper, do the other side!

TADAAAA You have a beautiful zipper!

Do not worry, we will fix this bad boy later - I wanted my zipper centered, so I have this little gap on both sides.

Step Four
-Once you have installed the zipper, open up the zipper half way. What we are going to do is sew around the entire outside of the blanket, and then flip it out so the "right" side will be outside, and your ugly seam will be hidden from the world. If you do not unzip your zipper halfway, you will sew your beautiful dog bed all the way closed and have to try to unzip it from the outside. Trust me, NOT FUN.

Step Five
-Time to sew around the outside (marked with washi tape) the left side is folded so we only have to sew a little bit.The folded fabric should have the right sides facing the inside, and the wrong sides should be on the outside (what you see.) Same thing with the zipper, the wrong side of the zipper should be on the outside, the right side on the inside. Sew around the outside at whatever seam allowance you want, I picked an inch because of the fleece fabric, and since it will be a pet bed, I want it to be hardy for my dogs. If you're using flannel, I'd recommend an inch seam allowance as well.

Step Six
-Don't forget to do that baby part on the opposite side of the zipper. Just sew it at the same seam allowance you used for your zipper. I used washi tape to mark how much length I had to sew.

Here is what the bed looks like when you sew around the outside. Once you've sewn the bed closed, turn it inside out.

Step Seven
-Insert three pillows and zip that bad boy closed. You're done, you have a cute dog bed for the price of 3!

Happy Valentine's Day Smokey, don't you look so happy!

I applique stitched a heart on it to add some pizazz to the bed. Petey seems to dig it! It turns out to be a pretty big dog bed!

What I think of North Carolina...so far...

I am a bad blogger. I am very easily distracted. Crafts, sunshine, squirrels, GLITTER, anything will pull my attention away. I am promising myself right now, that I WILL blog once a week, if not more! PROMISE. If I don't, please feel free to verbally abuse me in the comments section below.

It's been 22 days since we crossed the South Carolina/North Carolina border in a 24 foot moving truck, and I have to say, North Carolina has turned out to be better than anything I had imagined. I think I had been mentally preparing myself for the worst, so when I arrived and saw it wasn't nearly as bad as anyone told me, it made it so much easier for me to adjust to. I have to say, I am LOVING living here. I've only been here 22 days, and maybe the "newness" will rub off and I'll start being a typical miserable marine wife who can only talk about how great their home state is, but I'm truly enjoying the east coast. I've always wanted to live somewhere else, and I am grateful that I have this opportunity to live in an entirely different part of the country than where I am from.

Let's talk about the weather. In California, there is usually only about a 5 degree difference from day to day. Last week it was anywhere between 75-80 degrees here, and I was in hog heaven. I am a true sun worshiper, much to my mothers chagrin. I trying to stay out of the sun, but there is nothing more in this world that I love more than sunshine. If it's 75 out, I'm in jean shorts and a bikini top...in my backyard soaking it up. I live for days where I can read outside in the sunshine. The great weather gave me an opportunity to ride my beach cruiser through the neighborhood. I love to ride my bike in neighborhoods and get a looksee in the windows of my neighbors... Don't call me a Peeping Tom! Sometimes I see kick ass antiques! I can tell that riding a beach cruiser near a river isn't the most normal thing in this neighborhood, but I've never cared what people thought of me before, and I definitely don't now, so I can't wait to do it all summer with the humidity and bugs!

Beach Cruisin along the Neighborhood

Fast forward to this week, and it's 37 degrees outside. Yeah, I don't get it either. The weather is positively bipolar. I'm all about exploring this area. I keep trying to convince my Guido to drive me around for hours exploring. I found this location below when it was warm, and I had to bring the dogs back. Smokey was out of control at the beach as usual. Here it seems to be even worse because I think he smells the animals. I kept screaming at my husband to go get Smokey because he would take off after something into the swamp! Definitely not going there by myself with the dogs ever!

River with the pupperonis

We went and walked around the downtown area of the city we are living in, New Bern. My most favorite thing about living in North Carolina, is the scenery. I think my friends, family, FB friends, and fellow Instagrammers are sick to death of the pictures I keep posting of the trees here. I stare out the window whenever we drive anywhere because I'm just not used to it. The scenery here is like something I've seen in a movie or read in a book. For some odd reason, when we were in DT New Bern, I kept picturing the movie "Hocus Pocus" where all the kids are running from house to house in the middle of the street on Halloween? Ever since I was a kid, that was my favorite part of any holiday movie. What an odd reference right? But it was bizarre to me to see such an old historical area with homes from the 1700s, there was even a home still standing that George Washington visited! The historical aspect is fascinating.

Tryon Palace 

*The sun was in the wrong place when we went and my pictures are too dark : ( 

But please google it, because it's beautiful!

People here LOVE  are infatuated with their firearms. There are gun shows, gun pawn shops, guns at Walmart, and we can constantly hear gunshots coming from the woods in our neighborhood. When we first moved here, it was just after that Sandy Hook incident, and all of the stores here were out of handguns and ammo. People are stocking up! I've shot a gun once before, and it's pretty fun. I would say that I would never go to shooting range if my husband didn't have experience with guns. Not that he runs around in his underwear with a revolver strapped to his hip, but he has had to shoot a gun for military ish. (Not even going to try to explain their quals.) So we went to an outdoor shooting range! It was a different experience because there is someone right next to you. Not sure how all indoor gun ranges are, but the one I've been to before, you're almost in your own little room. This one was just straight up open. Weird. The guy next to me was shooting one hell of a handgun, and the shells were popping out of his gun and hitting me while I was shooting. Yeah. That's safe. I'd like to be more gun safe, so shooting a baby revolver was for me. I LOVED it, I just wish they had a safety on them. I don't like that aspect of that gun at all.

Sweet outfit girlfriend

I have been craffffttttiiinnnggg Y'ALL! I have been wanting to make something out of pallets forever. I was a frequent visitor of the Long Beach Fleamarket in California, and I've seen a ton of different people make things out of pallets and put a pretty hefty sticker price on them. I've become quite a cheap bitch lately, funny how times have changed. I just CAN'T buy anything that I think I can make. We have been furniture shopping for our new house, and I can't seem to make up my mind on anything because I keep thinking "Screw that price. I'll make that shit, and it will be better." At one flea market we went to, a lady was selling anchors on pallets for $100. I REALLY wanted it, but I couldn't pay that. I just couldn't. I knew she got the pallet for free and paint is cheap, there was no way I was willing to pay that. I saw that pallet about 3 months ago, and finally got around to making one myself....anddddd I'm proud to say it turned out better than anything I ever imagined!

I am seriously SO impressed with the results because sometimes my ideas end up a Pinstrosity!! I got lucky, we found a kick ass pallet on base here. We grabbed a total of three, but this one had the best weathering, it also came with what could have possibly been the largest, furriest spider in the world on it, so I knew it was extra special.

Per one of my best friends that's also a crafty bitch, Sevi, I will be making a tutorial for this. I'm not going to lie. It's ridiculously easy to take apart a pallet and hammer it back together, but the key is getting whatever symbol you want mathematically correct, and symmetrical as all hell. You have to be willing to sit for a hour and draw and redraw that ish. I'll explain more later, but you've been warned!

I have two pallets outside weathering, but if I find one that is weathered right now, I'll make a tutorial sooner!

Anchored at the Heart ;)

Not bad for $13!!! (I only bought paint)

I have also been wanting a new TV stand, we'll since we bought the one we have...7 years ago. Back then everyone had intense DVD collections, so the one we have now is great for storing shit. But nowadays, I don't even remember the last time I bought a DVD. I watch everything on Netflix or OnDemand, so I want one more for some decorations. The one we currently have is super lower, and since there is a giant ass blank beige wall staring me in the face everyday behind our TV, I want a taller one to help me not feel like an inept interior decorator. Here is what we are making. There aren't any helpful directions on that blog, but I do thank the creator for the pictures, that helped us the most. The only thing I'm having a hard time imagining is the staining. I LOVE the white and the stain, but I don't know if that will look good with our furniture...I have stain for the whole thing, but I keep bouncing back and forth debating on what to do. Suggestions? Help a sista out!

Make us a TV STAND!

I promise to blog more often or else my posts just get too damn long!

Pom Pom & Bunting Flag Craft

Even though I am sitting around the chaos of moving, nearly a full week after we have moved in, I took some time out of my day to make a craft. I don't know what it is about this house that is making me procrastinate decorating and organizing so much. I am a very organized person, but I just can't seem to find the time or want to sit and organize a linen closet! We need some furniture for this reading nook I am creating that is next to our living room, so I'm a little hesitant to hang anything because I don't want to mark up the walls, and then have to move decorations and have ugly holes exposed. Or maybe it's because this house has such an open floor plan, that if one thing is out of place, it makes me think the whole house is unorganized.

Anywho. Today I was dead set on doing a Valentine's Day craft! I don't know what the "rules" are on Valentine's Day decorating. Are you supposed to put up V-Day decor February 1st or in January, and then take it down after V-Day and put up the Saint Patty's Day decor? No idea... But I've had this bunting flag idea in my mind for a while. I'm not going to lie. A lot of the time, Pinterest inspires me, or let's be real, I can pretty much recreate anything off Pinterest. A true artist, or "crafty person" in my mind, is someone who can create from nothing. People who can pick up anything and make it into something beautiful. I'm not really usually that type of person, but I am proud to say that I actually came up with my own little bunting flag idea! : )

It all started with these pom poms... Remember this glass thing? It was sitting empty after I took those cute little reindeer out. I held on for as long as I could to those reindeer, because I loved them. I was seriously tempted to keep them out year round!

So much rustic, vintage decor and style is so IN right now. I have been seeing how to make pom poms on Pinterest for a while, and when I was shopping at the local Wally World (sidenote, in the south, the Wal-Marts are KICK ASS in the craft department, they even have FABRIC!) I saw some pink and red yarn and decided to give it a shot, annnddddd they are crazy easy to make!

Here is the tutorial I used. I was going to make my own, but why? If it ain't broke, don't fix it right? Pom Pom Tutorial

All you need is a fork and some yarn, and it's very easy to do. I will tell you that I did something a teeny bit different. I cut yarn the length of the fork, and then slipped it in the middle teeth, and THEN tied the yarn around the whole fork. It creates little tendrils from the poms that make it easier to tie on to things, like the bunting flag below. I found this easier than trying to tie the beginning and the end of the tail together. Make sense? If it doesn't let me know and I'll do my own tutorial. I literally made probably 100 pom poms, so I experimented with my own little technique.

Valentine's Day Bunting Flag

So there you have it! My bunting flag. I love bunting flags. I'm disgustingly obsessed. I'd have one in every room if it wasn't overkill. I am seriously considering making one for every holiday? Is that tack, tack, tacky or what? 

If you would like to make your own bunting flag I highly encourage you to do so! It's SO easy, and cheap. I think I'm going to make one for my nephews for their birthdays. Since I won't be at their birthdays this year :(, I think they'd like to have something with their names on it, specifically for them for their birthday. 

Pom poms can be used for so many different things...Here is what I'm thinking of doing with them...

Bookmarks!

Wrapping Presents

A rug!

If the husband thought that we were going to get pallet crazy with home decor, he should check himself, because we're about to get POM POM CRAY CRAY!!!

xoxoxox

Gidget

Unpacking & Exploring

We have been unpacking since Wednesday. It's crazy to think that we had THAT much stuff crammed into our Oceanside house. Dustin has been teasing me all week, he had three boxes to his name. Three boxes labeled "Dustin." I will say most of the crap in the garage IS his,  it just wasn't in a box, and it wasn't labeled, so there! He has a lot of stuff too!

We do have a lot of stuff, and we need even more. Houses here are just gigantic, it's so hard to get used to. I will say that it's so much easier to be organized in this home. I am having a fun time organizing each room, I think that is why it is taking us so long to get unpacked. I did the kitchen the first day that we got here, and thank god I did it first, because it took FOREVER. There are so many stupid little items that belong in a kitchen.

We have been going to so many different places to get different items, we need a lot more stuff in this new house. I am enjoying driving around and just looking at the trees. It's just such a different atmosphere than what I am used to. I am infatuated with the scenery. I can't get used to all the trees everywhere. We literally live in a forest. When I would google directions back home to my house, Siri would say we were in the "Croatan National Forest." How neat is that? I would love to go exploring in the woods, but today when I went out to my car, I heard a gunshot coming from the direction of the woods, so there goes that idea! We went and looked at some guns the other day, and my lord. People love their guns here. When we were talking to one guy about different rifles, someone came in looking for ammo. The shop we were in was sold out, so they told him to try Wal-Mart, and guess what? Wally World was out too! SERIOUSLY!? OUT OF AMMO? How does that even happen? Bizarre.

I am really enjoying it here, I am surprised at how much I am liking it. I guess everyone just set me up for the worst case possible scenario, but it's not a small town at all. There's a Starbucks, how hick can it get?

I love me a good antique flea market! There is one in Long Beach, on the third Sunday of every month, if you are ever in the area, you MUST check out. Anyways, I went to an antique store the last time I was here and asked someone if they had anything similar, and they told me there was a Newport Flea Market. So we decided to give it a shot on Saturday, and WHAT an experience. Flea Markets here, are NOT what they are in California. For example, the picture below is of a fine item that can be yours for only $25! If you're lucky, it might be there again this Saturday if you really have your heart set on it.

We also went to a little beach community in Atlantic Beach. It was so weird being that cold at the beach, plus all the stores are closed for the season. They all reopen towards the end of February, I think for spring break? You could totally tell that this was your typical southern tourist town. Dustin has told me about Myrtle Beach before, but it's hard to imagine, beach towns like this. We have touristy spots at beaches in California, but NOT like this, where the town actually shuts down. I can't wait to come back down in the summer and see the tourists! I love some good people watching!

Oh! And people here are obsessed with oysters, they're so obsessed with oysters that you can recycle the shells here! They have a place where you can bring your oysters to! Apparently it's an eating epidemic because there are shells everywhere. Our neighbors use them like mulch, this was in some random parking lot. Oysters aren't that good people!

We also went and explored Beaufort, North Carolina, and it's like your total Nicholas Sparks movie. It's so beautiful. It's from the early 1700s and a lot of the history is still there, and most of the houses have the year that they were built listed on them. They all faced the water, and the harbor. I would DIE to live in them. One was for sale, and it's crazy to me that you can get THIS for half a million dollars in North Carolina. I'd die to live in one of these houses.

We are starting to decorate and I'm having a hard time finding where to place things. Most of the stuff we own was bought specifically for our Oceanside home. Our Oceanside home had a funky little feel to it, and since it was a retro home, it looked good that way, so it's hard to not place things exactly how they were. I've been trying to switch my decor around, but it feels weird not being the same. I finally set up my sewing room, so I am hoping to make some things to help with my decorators block. :)

Unpacking

We made it! We are here! We are unpacking and living on Dunkin Donuts! We have more room than we know what to do with!

We are happy. :)

Here are some pictures! I'll post later about unpacking, BUT we unloaded an entire truck ourselves! Take that TMO!!!! :)

Happy New Year!!!!

My newsfeed on Facebook, Instagram, everywhere is flooding with people's thoughts about 2012, and their wishes for a better new year in 2013. I always find it funny that EVERY New Year's Eve people make the same claims, that the current year was dreadful and that the new year will be better. Same thing, every New Year's Eve! So I guess I'll hop on the bandwagon!

2012 was actually better than 2011 for me! I heard or read once that your New Year's Eve is important, because it sets up your tone for the rest of the year. For instance, I spent my 12.31.10 NYE with a future sister-in-law that I didn't like, and thought was shady...anddddd it turns out my 2011 was full of her bullshit drama, and lets just say I am down 1 sister-in-law. Thank god for that! My 12.31.11 NYE was spent I think sleeping in bed with Dustin because he was in the middle of a cycle, and I saw a lot more of Dustin this year than any year when he was a drill instructor before!!

So, I spent my 12.31.12 NYE in a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama asleep with my husband and dogs. I think this means a year of traveling, and hopefully with our dogs! (Pending squeezing that fat shih-tzu into a carry on!) I am not a NYE type of person anyways, that song they play? Auld Sang Lyne? Depressing!!!!!!! Perfect example? Sex & the City where Carrie runs to Miranda. That song ruins any sort of drinking fun for me!

Anyways! I decided to make some New Years goals, that will start February 1 because I am too busy until then!!!

#1 - Make something new from Pinterest, once a week. Whether it's a recipe, craft, or as big as a furniture project. And take pictures and post a tutorial or a link to whatever tutorial I used.
#2 - Eat healthier and learn more healthy recipes. I eat like a fat kid. I can't help it, I love butter!
#3 - Find a cross fit gym and give it a shot! Fit is the new skinny!
#4 - Run the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point half marathon in less than 2 hours on March 23!!
#5 - Get my teaching credential, just need to get accepted!
#6 - Go to Puerto Rico, California, Arizona, and Maryland to visit friends and family! I have 6 months until my maybe credential program starts! I'm hoping to sell some of my sewing items on etsy to buy my plane tickets, so email me for requests!!! rageagainst1sewingmachine[at]gmail[dot]com
#7 - Be a nicer person. I'm very quick to judge, and I'm hoping that some of that southern hospitality might rub off on me long enough to make some friends.

Here's to hoping I can keep my resolutions!!! :) Happy New Year!!

Trip Two: Day Three (Dallas - Birmingham)

Yesterday we went from Dallas to Birmingham, Alabama, and it was our shortest trip yet! I am actually very happy that it ended up that way because we needed a break! The dogs were horrible yesterday, and if you know our dogs, they're the laziest dogs in the world. Usually our dogs sleep 23 hours a day, but not yesterday during the drive. We kept changing their spots in the truck, between on the seat between us and on the ground to get them to stop moving around so much. Every time we stopped, I took them out of the truck, and ran them up and down the truck stop to get them tired and it worked because they slept at night! Smokey is having a harder time than Petey, most likely because he is smarter and knows something is up. I'm hoping that they snap out of their funk tomorrow when we are in our new house and calm down and eat. They've been refusing to eat, and I fret over those two dogs!

We arrived at I think 5ish yesterday in Birmingham, and I immediately put on my workout clothes and hit the treadmill! You have NO idea how good a treadmill feels after three days of being locked up in the truck! We then went to eat at an Applebee's in the parking lot of our hotel because if I ate another burger or something fast food, I was going to flip! Applebee's was an experience! People in Alabama have THICK accents, they are actually pretty cute. Applebee's was so busy, it might have been the only restaurant in this little town we were in, and our poor waiter was getting shit from everyone about their food. The lady next to us, if you can even call her a lady, was ruthless!!! She was there with a friend, and when they got their food she immediately said "Is our food even warm!?" and then bitched that she didn't get her appetizer. The waiter apologized profusely and went to go get their appetizer. I then proceeded to watch Jabba the Hutt put a mound of butter in her potatoes the size of a fist! I mean it was an astronomical amount! Don't get me wrong, I slather butter on rolls and food a lot, but this was LITERALLY a mound of butter the size of a baboons heart. She then proceeded to get the trio appetizer, eat that, and then took a dessert to go! They badgered the poor waiter the whole time too demanding everything be free. Don't get me wrong, she ordered something and should have had it, but it was New Years Eve, they were ridiculously busy, and this poor kid was literally running around the restaurant. I hate people who are rude to waiters and waitresses, it's so uncalled for!

We got some good sleep last night! I love it when your head hits the pillow and you don't wake up at all until the next day. I am going to need all that sleep because we are going to be in North Carolina tomorrow and need all the energy we have to unpack!