Be My Valentine

Lambert and I had planned a romantic night out for valentines Day weekend. We were going to go to The Zaza for a date night massage and then head out to a new french restaurant I've wanted to try. After the Zaza and dinner we planned to hit the bookstore (we love to do this on date nights). His mom was going to keep Hoot for us. We figured this would be our last night out together for a while... (11 more days!!) Well Nanna came down with a bad cold so we canceled our reservations and decided to skip the romantic massage and nice meal and take Hoot along with us for dinner. We headed to Houston for P.F. Changs... Hoot loves their Mongolian Beef and Cucumber Noodles minus the cucumbers.. however at 5:30 the wait was 1 hour and 45 minutes. We took the buzzer, did a little shopping in the strip center and then decided to have mexican food at another restaurant in the same strip center... (not a good as Changs). After fajitas we headed to The Container Store (get ready for this) to get my valentines day present.... I know, how romantic are we? The lid on my trash can broke about a year ago and I have fiddled with it, taped it and finally kicked it so it was time for a new one. The one on my wish list was pricey so I knew it would have to come in the form of a gift.( I'm not the chocolate type or the flower type or the jewelry type give me an appliance or kitchen gadget and I'm yours!) The floor model had a dent in the side of the lid. Lambert asked if I thought they would sell us the damaged model at a reduced price. We're all about bargain treasures. I swooned over his stealth negotiating skills (the reduced price was marked on the back of the can) are you ready... we stole if for 1/2 off.. (scandalous) He pulled the dent out when we got home and it's good as new!!! Does it get any more romantic than this my friends? I think not... I think not. I may have a future in romance novels. This was pretty steamy!

Happy Valentines to all you lovelies! SAL

Feb 25th!

Well... we've booked our flight. She's packed (almost I add stuff daily). Everything has been crossed off the list of things to buy except for Cheerios (everyone says pack them)and discs for our video camera. I'm sure we'll forget something, but we are counting down the days! Her room is filled to the brim with girly things. It's overflowing with wonderful gifts friends have dropped off. We haven't figured out how were going to communicate while were in China, but were working on it.I just learned that in First Class they offer BEDS for travelers!!! Who knew. I guess that's how the other half live! We had dinner with two lovely couples that have been there done that... One of the couples shared that little First class tip with us. Her boss paid for their round trip tickets to fly first class to meet their daughter. My boss didn't offer to pay for our tickets nor did Lambert's (he is the boss) so were in Coach... Lambert may re-think that when the "leg room" reality sets in. He may ask to upgrade HIS ticket to First Class and leave the rest of us in Coach! HA! He's got some long legs!

My friend just gave Libbie the doll house and the pink GRAND piano. She's going to be spoiled!

Preacher Man or Highway Man...

We've decided Hoot is either going to pursue a career as a preacher, proclaiming the gospel with his every being or he's going to be a Highway Man... He can quote scripture and sing the hymns, but he likes a little country too. He's got a rowdy streak in him just like his momma. I've always wanted to be a rebel, and part of my soul truly is. One wouldn't know it by just looking at the cover. I drive a station wagon for goodness sake. I'm scared of most everything but, deep down way deep down, there is a honky tonk cowgirl that longs to break free. She keeps quiet most of the time, but when I get a hankering for a little Willie or some Cash she comes alive... Hoot's little ears usually only hear the sound of Christian music in the Bat Wagon, but sometimes when I'm feeling a little rebellious.. I crank up the 70's country. Hoot can call out any Willie song that comes across the radio as quickly as he can identify a Chris Tomlin or Toby Mac tune. He knows Cash and Dolly and likes a little Waylon too. Lambert and I watched Walk The Line this weekend and I must admit I was envious of June Carter. I loved Urban Cowboy too. I think it's something about the bad boys. In real life, I would never be attracted to a pill poppin musician or a mechanical bull rider, even though Bud had crazy dance skills. However, in my fantasy life, I am an urban cowgirl.

New Camera Bug!

HELLO LOVER...




I've got the new camera bug REALLY bad. I have been bitten by the photography bug and I can't shake it. I currently shoot with a Nikon D60 and have several lenses. (lambert has purchased all for me!) I'm really wanting to take a class this summer offered by Lisa at:

http://thelongroadtochina.blogspot.com/. There is so much to learn and I think I'm going to dive into Photo Shop for beginners... (if there is such a thing). I'm ready to get out of auto mode and kick it into manual... YIKES. After seeing the amazing photos Lisa and Marla captured of China, I am longing to invest in an upgrade! I tried Kim's camera (D700) from Three Peanuts this summer and loved it. I think it's the shutter speed that makes the difference... so with all that being said... has anyone ever sold a camera on e-bay? Or know of anyone looking for a D60 in excellent condition? I'll have to sell what I have before I take the big plunge.

Some Favorite Photos I took last year:





None of these photos have been edited. they are straight from the camera.

PS this is a winter project I worked on for my stepmom. she's a goat lover (owner) so I made this for her for Christmas... it was LATE because I couldn't get it right. But I love the way it turned out. I'm not an artist, but I really enjoyed breaking out the paint brushes. It was quite theraputic.
No judging. I'm not an artist.

China Here We Come

We received TA earlier this week and confirmed our airline tickets yesterday! We're leaving on the 25th and will meet Libbie on the 27th. So... were buzzing around like bees wrapping up all the loose ends and getting everything ready. We'll fly from Houston to Tokyo and then right into Guangzhou... The weather in Guangzhou is much like Houston. Were trying to pack light (I don't know how that is possible). Libbie's bag is packed, now were working on Hoot's and then we'll get ours ready.

More details to follow soon! Thanks for your support and prayers throughout this amazing journey.


Isaiah 43:5
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

Isn't She Lovely?

Grandma would love the fresh slip that covers her favorite rocker... I couldn't bring myself to re-upholster. I just couldn't. I can still see Edna sitting sweetly in her little rocker. It's funny to me now... the rocker is soooo very tiny and I don't ever remember it looking to small for her. It fit her perfectly. Me... not so much. I love the lines of the slip and the all the little details in the inverted pleating and the mother of pearl buttons. My friend is very talented. I couldn't be more pleased with the way she turned out. Grandma would be happy to know that her little rocker will be loved and used for years to come. She was a frugal gal that Edna. I love her so very much and I will love to see Libbie curled up in grandma's chair... I plan to have her monogrammed in the future.

Nesting

We got the news that our TA would be processed before the CNY (Chinese new year). The CCAA will be closed this week, but worked on Saturday so.... our TA was either mailed Friday or Saturday. Our agency called to inform us that it was on the way and asked if would we be prepared to travel... Feb 18th!!! Are you kidding me?!?!? YES. That has been our hopeful date through this process. We are so excited... So... if our agency receives the TA on Monday, they will immediately contact the Consulate to schedule our visa appointment. The CCAA usually responds in one or two days which means we won't hear back from them until after the CNY (the week of the 7th) So we won't be able to purchase tickets until we hear back from them. As soon as we have an appointment we'll know we can purchase the airline tickets and be on our way to CHINA! Hold on Sissy, your family is coming. We went out for dinner (Chinese) with friends last night and get ready for this... my fortune read, "Be prepared for your plans to change." Are you kidding me?? I don't want plans to change unless it means were departing sooner!

With news of the fast (19 days away!!) approaching travel plans, I have been in crazy nesting mode. Yesterday we woke up and I decided, I could no longer tolerate our disorganized, dirty looking pantry. I've cleaned it numerous times, but it still looked filthy. It needed to be painted and it had 30 YEAR OLD contact paper attached to every shelf. When we had the floors put in we removed the RUBBER base board... yes rubber. (long story) and we haven't replaced it with new trim. When the rubber was removed the black nasty glue was left on the walls... TERRIBLE. So I woke up yesterday morning ready to wage war with the pantry... Hoot played all day and kept asking if I was going to get the mess cleaned up before dad got home... it was that bad! I didn't have a budget for this project so I shopped the garage... I had some left over paint and 4 burlap potato sacks left over from Hoot's Halloween party. I had a plan!
The Befores... I've always been transparent so NO Judgement... It's bad!
Just a little paint and it looks 1000x better

The paper was so old it couldn't come clean. I even tried Comet...


This is the worst of it... at some point there must have been a water leak. These stains have grossed me out since we purchased the house! Our washer and dryer is on the other side of the wall so I'm thinking leak... Isn't the rubber glue lovely.. would you want to store food in this pantry??


I took EVERYTHING OUT... Hoot could not beleive the magnitude of the mess I made


The after... I'll pick up some cute glass containers for things, but at least it's clean for now. I lined the shelves with the burlap sacks.. They cover the paper and it will work for now!






When Lambert got home, Hoot said mom made a terrible mess today, but I didn't.... He totally ratted me out!