Worddles

Today is an exciting day! Exactly 100 days till the big day & I am going to try on my wedding gown today. Hopefully it will fit in a smaller size. I am taking all the extra goodies along...veil, jewelry, shoes, flower for my hair. I can't wait to see how it all looks together. My sister in law Meghan (who recently found out she is pregnant) is also tagging along to try her dress on with the belly bump. That is going to be fun fun fun to see! Since she ordered her dress back when she was not pregnant the real bump may be a dilemma. We will hopefully get it all figured out!

 Have been super busy lately which is totally attributing to my lack of blogging. I survived the 24 day Advocare challenge losing 10 lbs & 12 1/4 inches total. Def reccomend for anyone addicted to sugar, soda, coffee or if you just need more energy & would like to feel better. I am glad its over but so happy I did it. I am totally going all out & speaking the unspeakable here.....telling you all about my weight. I am officially under 200 lbs. The morning I stepped on the scale and saw 198 =happy happy me!! My goal for the wedding day is around 175ish so I am really going to have to be faithful with my exercising & healthier eating habits if I want to make that reality. I do plan on doing the 24 day challenge again with the 10 day cleanse at the end of September. Big Thank You to Darla for doing it with me. I am so happy we did it together.

Back in the wedding world...I have now canned 50 jars of zucchini relish & 30 jars of strawberry jam. BAM!! I am feeling super productive but then I think of the zillion things I don't have done and I feel sick. Last night Rhett said oh my gosh this is ridiculous you are putting way too much into this for 1 day.  Uh uh honey 2 days for this chickie! He was also sad all the strawberry jam was for the wedding and not for him. Today I will be making more jam just for the Simpson household! It is a little ridiculous if you think about it lol but then I think 11 years in the making I deserve it! Please tell me all you other brides felt the same way. All the time, decisions, $, please tell me its worth it!!!

All the little flower girl dresses are in and fit perfectly! We had a little mini photo session one day. They were swimming like little fish in the lake but I drug them out to go shower and try dress on. 

I drew out my reception layout on a science fair board to get a better idea for my decorating. I did get the idea from a fellow bride so I am not the only lunatic out there!! Since I am a visual person this helps a lot. I can count out exactly how many of everything I need. I started putting together different arrrangements for the tables. My spare bedroom floor has been taken hostage by mason jars. I did score a huge container of pecans from my grandma's shed. Thanks Granny!! I love free decor pinecones from our trees, wheat from my backyard, pecans from gma's. My basement has also been taken over by my wheat. Overall it is all coming together but still lots to do.

My sister emailed me these fun little pictures called worddles. She has used them with her math class when teaching. I have no clue what we can use them for but they are super cute! I am sure we can think of something for the shower. Thanks Jme!! 

Today It's All About AMMO

Happy Happy Birthday to our sweet doggie Ammo Carl Simpson. (yes we give our dogs full names). Today he is the big 10 in dog years & 70 in human years. He is by far the sweetest most lovable dog ever. (I am a little biased though) You all know I don't have human kids yet but I do have my furry kids. Our dogs are spoiled rotten & def have a not so rough life.
                                                     


                                                     2nd Birthday Pork Chop meal




Let me take you all back circa August 2002. My 17th Birthday. Lots of exciting stuff happens on my birthday.....new puppies, new eyeglasses, engagements! This is when Rhett lived with his sister Erin still at the  trailer. I pull up from the driveway and to my surprise is an absolutely adorable, fat, poop covered puppy chained to the tree. What a precious chunk from the beginning. I just asked how he picked him out way back when & he actually said that his brother Jeremy was the one who picked him from the litter. Thank you thank you thank you Jeremy!! You sure picked a great one! So when Ammo came to us all covered in poop his name was actually...you guessed it CARL. Hence the name Ammo Carl. No way could we use it on a first name basis but it kinda stuck. We proceeded to take him to Erin's bath tub and cleaned him up. I do remember asking Rhett "ummm did you even ask your sister if you could a dog?". His response "uh no". Poor Erin! She is such a saint bc she didn't kick Rhett or the dog out. Ammo is a lot like his good ol Mom he is sensitive. I cry at the drop of a hat and he can get such a sad face too. If he knows he did something bad and you even give him the slightest look he puts his little head down and it just melts your heart.

From the beginning Ammo of course chewed a lot of stuff up. A few specific things that ring a bell....Nintendo  cords, shoes, blinds (at the 2nd trailer), carpet, wood door frames, bumpers. I think the list could probably go on & on. He still gets into the trash. It would probably happen daily but I always place our trash cans on top of the island counter top when we leave. Every once in a while I forget and lo & behold if their is something yummy smelling he finds it. Once he got into a pan of brownies on top of the stove, ate them, knocked over pot of veg oil, & canister of flour in the process. Boy that was a mess. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of that.

From the beginning Rhett took Ammo with him everywhere. He would load him up in his 89" white mustang gt and away they went to work. Once we came home and he was no where to be seen in the little shed where we parked our vehicles. Then all of a sudden we saw it, the chain was draped across the front of the mustang & went into the window. He had jumped into the car and was just relaxing. He would ride in the tractor too. Ammo has literally never been in a kennel ever. We used to attempt by throwing a ball in and he would scoot his front body in leaving butt & back legs outside of kennel retrieving ball. At the first trailer we lived in their was a huge bush out front. Rhett & his friends would throw a ball into the bush and Ammo would take a running leap into the bush to catch it.Thinking back I can not believe they used to do that. Ammo loooooved to retrieve anything so he wouldn't even think twice about jumping in that huge bush. His favorite toy was a Frisbee. We went through many old navy Frisbees until they stopped making them. Once I bought like 5 at one time so we were stocked up. 

enjoying his souvenir doggie doughnut from Gatlinburg 

He also has had his fair share of roaming trips. When we lived at Bitz's trailer he would leave our house constantly go across the field to my in laws. That was not a big deal but he would also go across the road to Jeremy's too. One time he visited Meghan's house about 1 mile away from where we lived. He had never even really been to her house so I am not sure how he ended up in her neck of the woods....silly dog. She called us to let us know he was there. In the process of waiting for our arrival Ammo got scared and Meghan tried to catch him. He managed to knock her down and she got all scraped up. I sent her flowers at work to apologize. (I swear I am not making this up!!) While working on our house one day when it was being built we look out the living room window and who is in the back yard....Ammo. Guess he was bored at home and decided to come check out the future pad. He had probably only been to the house a few times in the back of the pick up truck. I swear that dog is so stinking smart for his own good. He really is! Once we moved into our house now he used to leave and go to my in laws for a swim in the lake. Now we have our own lake so he can swim whenever he wants.

These days are pretty low key for Ammo. When we leave he stays upstairs inside the house because going up and down the stairs to the basement is too much. He has arthritis so he does not play fetch much at all. Occasionally if I know he is really feeling good Rhett or I will throw the toy a short distance for him.  He does still like to swim but doesn't ever venture out on his roaming trips anymore. Every day he gets a glucosamine chondroiten pill wrapped in a piece of cheese to help his joints. He is still the sweetest most lovable dog ever. Our nieces & nephews could climb all over him and he just lays there good as gold. When I drive up our lane getting home from work at night he still greets me pretty far down. The day when that doesn't happen any more will be a very sad one. I know Rhett could write a book with hunting stories he shared with Ammo. So I hear he was a pretty awesome hunting dog. He has been proud daddy to 60 puppies with Dakota. All cute & lovable just like him. I hope people out there with one of our puppies know how much our dogs mean to us & that we loved those puppies just as much! In my heart I know that we will always be a dog family and my kids will grow up loving a dog too.

Happy Birthday Ammo! We love you!!!
I have never actually made a birthday cake for any of our dogs so this was the year!!! They all loved it! 

Wedding Weekend Cont.....

Friday was a good start to our trip in Eureka Springs but Saturday was even busier. My hair appointment was scheduled for 9 am, first appointment of the day! I know some people do a trial run through for wedding day hair & since I am not going to have my regular hair dresser with me......I def had to do the run through. The Crescent Hotel & Spa is a popular venue for everything wedding in this little town in Arkansas. We were visiting the salon! I was quite nervous but also very excited. I had printed a picture and found several hairdos I liked in a bridal hair magazine so I kinda had a vision in my head. Here are a few pics! Overall I was very happy with the end result. Summer my hairdresser was nice & will  be doing my hair on the big day! I also made an appointment with Maria (who is doing Jme's hair) for my make-up.

After my hair was all done up we decided to go check out the chapel where Rhett & I are getting married! I had already been there twice, my Mom once, but it was going to be Jaimee's first time. I brought along my pew bow as well to make sure it was going to look ok. Let me tell you this bow almost didn't survive the trip. My florist Britney Biethman made it for me & she did a wonderful job! She added some curly willow to the top & bottom of the bow. I removed it from the top because I just felt like it was too much. The bottom had a lot more willow hanging than in the pic bc every 5 seconds a piece got broke off. She told me to be really careful because it was fragile. Lol we did a bad job at being careful. It was actually quite funny each time (mom & jme) broke off a piece. Now on the wedding day....whoever handles all these pew bows must be extremely gentle!!! That is if they all survive the trip there. Overall it looks great and will work just perfectly. I spoke to the priest who will be officiating our ceremony so that was lovely. I also got a bunch of questions answered. After leaving the church we ate out in downtown Eureka Springs at Local Flavor. I had fish tacos & they were yummy!!! Last appointment of the day was with the photographer Susan Storch. We had a long detailed discussion of the who, what, when, where & established an itinerary for the wedding day.   When I think of the pictures I am most nervous. I just want everything to be captured beautifully! 

this is a picture that hopefully will be recreated with Rhett & I on our wedding day! My photographer took this so fingers crossed!! 

this one too!!!! 

We were done with wedding stuff around 3ish so we headed to Branson for the evening. We drove the strip, shopped at the outlet mall, ate out at Olive Garden, & then headed back to the hotel. It was a long, exhausting, but productive day!

Wedding Weekend Getaway

Good thing I took off work on Thursday at the last minute. Wednesday night I get home from work at 9 pm and this is what is waiting for me. 5 gallon bucket full of zucchini Rhett picked from our garden. He wanted to spray them with pesticide but was afraid it might kill the zuchs already growing so just picked the plants clean. O my gosh was not expecting this when I walked in the door. I immediately set to work on shredding them so they could soak over night to make relish the following day. I had to shred 12 cups. It took a while but wasn't horrible because I used my amazing multiquick food processor. That thing is wonderful. I use it for every & I mean every thing. I never ever have all the ingredients when I go to make something so sure enough once I got started realized I was short on onions. I needed 4 cups and only had about 1/2 so I boogied on over to my mother in laws and stole some onions at 11:30 at night. Since everyone was sleeping I quietly snuck in & out leaving a note and zucchini as payment. God love her bc I borrow a lot of ingredients! She also got a jar of relish once it was done. Thursday morning I rinsed & drained the mixture and combined all remaining ingredients to cook. Canning is very easy just a tedious job. I have never used this recipe so lets hope it is good! I normally make relish from cucumbers. I don't even eat relish either lol so I have to take other's words for it. This was my first canning session for the wedding favors so now I have 21 jars done many many more to go!!

Once I am done with all the canning (which is hopefully by end of July) I am going to enlist my bridal party to help decorate the jars with little labels I made and this will be end product. Thank you to Sarah from Living on the Blind Side for letting me borrow the cute stamp. It is perfect. Thanks!!!!!!

What a wonderful and productive weekend I had in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. First off I have to say a huge THANK YOU to my Mom & sister. They both went along and helped me with everything. I got a little bridezilla a few times but for the most part I think I stayed mostly sane and calm. Lets start from the beginning of the trip. We left Friday morning 8ish and seriously arrived at our destination like 4ish. Normally when Rhett & I go to Branson it is pretty much a straight shot no stopping. We made a lot of stops..in our defense though 3 women (who wouldn't stop multiple times) We also stopped at Wal-Mart, got gas, & ate lunch. From Branson it is another 1 hr 15 min to Eureka Springs. I don't know if any one has been to Arkansas but let me tell ya it is hilly & curvy. Definitely makes for interesting driving.

 Once we reached the Best Western hotel it was just in time for our first meeting at 4:30. Our mini reception after the wedding is being held at the convention center at the hotel. It is less than 5 minutes away from the chapel which makes it so convenient. It also has the hotel right there which is nice for who ever chooses to stay at it. We met with Cathy Handley who is the kind lady I have been dealing with at the hotel. She answered multiple questions I had. We also got to sneak a peek in a couple rooms set up for receptions the following day. That really made me feel much better because I am totally a visual person. Seeing it in person gave me a better idea of what my reception will look like. I don't want to give everything away but here are a few minor details.....

1. Rhett & I get our own sweetheart table (which is just a fancy way of saying we get to sit by our selves at our own table right up in front of everyone else) Sweetheart table still sounds good to me though!
2. We have a fancy cake table which includes almond crush punch, nuts, & mints
3. No DJ just my ipod & no dance floor (it costs extra) so we do with out!
4. Our wedding party is not going to be announced just Rhett & I when we arrive. Ahhhh I can't wait!!!!!
5. The weekend we are getting married is corvette weekend in Eureka which means we might get some pictures with some awesome cars.
6. We are having a buffet loaded with lots of food!!!!!
7. The room where our reception is being held is the Red Bud room.
8. I don't really have to decorate much just bring a few small items to spice the look up. Rhett thought I was dragging a ton of stuff down there. No way!! I am taking as little as possible. 

Overall I am so excited my Mom & I found this reception site when we visited back in October 2011. It was a blessing finding it.


Next time I will fill ya in on our Saturday! These are totally random but so me. Had to share! Have a great day!

Wife to be of the Year

Here is a text conversation Rhett & I shared a few weeks ago......

I picked up lunch for myself from The St. Louis Bread Co and was planning to head to White Castle for him.

Me: I am in Fareview Heights would you like anything to eat

Rhett: Sure White Castle

Me: Great I was already planning to go there for you

Me: How many Burgs would you like?

No response no response no response so I get him 10 hamburgers

Rhett: 10 please

Me: Man I am sooooo good that is how many I got you

Rhett: No you are not good you are the BEST! 

Boy did that make me feel like wife to be of the year! What a sweet thing for him to say.

Right now I am doing a 24 day challenge with my eating. I can only have lean meats (chicken, turkey, fish) veggies, fruits, very few carb. No sugar, no lunch meat, no alcohol, no dairy. I am taking lots of vitamins. 

So our garden is doing great. Thanks to Rhett!! He really does it all and I just watch. We have huge zucchini right now. After 3 days of 1 sitting on the counter Rhett said pleeaaaase make me fried zucchini. 

This should really win me wife to be of the year award

As he is sitting in his recliner chair in living room wailing on his goose call loudly and continuously. For those of you that don't know what that sounds like here is an example.

Watch 30 seconds and you will see how lovely a sound it is to listen to.....(NOT!!!)

I am making him fried zucchini that just looks delicious & I can't even eat it. Ughhhhhh

Day # 25 that is first thing this chick is eating. It was difficult to not eat any but I did it!!!!!! He was very appreciative that I made it and he graciously ate the whole batch I had cooked up. 

Onto wedding updates...Last week I stopped by Darla's house and checked out all the decorations her daughter has for her wedding. We both have a rustic theme so I am going to borrow several items. Thank you thank you thank you!!! This is just awesome that I am going to be able to use some of their stuff. I have been going over music for our big reception. Trying to decide what music we will enter to, throw the garter, cut the cake... I did make Rhett help also. He is sitting at his computer googling deer mounts & I am sitting at my computer googling wedding music. What a pair we are! In 3 days at this time I will be on my way to Eureka Springs Arkansas!!! My mom, sister, & I are going for the weekend to do wedding stuff. I have all kinds of appointments set up. Can't wait! Hopefully work the next 2 days flies by. I don't really have any other wedding stuff going on right  now. After this weekend though I will have lots to fill you all in on.

Here is one of the videos I found that I just love & makes me laugh 

Happy Wednesday!