A Saturday Afternoon in the Kitchen

I made cupcakes for the baby shower I am going to tomorrow afternoon and thought I would share. I am really excited how they turned out!

I used PD's strawberry cake recipe for these cupcakes and then added Lucy with white icing.

I bought a new cupcake carrier since I make them all the time. I want to find the one that holds more, but this will definitely work for now.

The strawberry cake recipe makes tons of batter, so I decided to make mini-cupcakes! I love how cute these are with the little "L."

I found this idea in one of my favorite cupcake books! These took forever, and I may not ever make them again. (I am sure I will...it will just be a very long time before I do)

I had planned on sewing this afternoon, too, but I was in the kitchen from 12:30-7:30ish with a quick run to HL for a cake box for these extra tall cupcakes. That is way too long to be in a kitchen...thankfully we have a TV in there, and I enjoyed You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle for about the hundredth time this month.

Ready for More Sewing!

I am having so much fun sewing! I stayed up last night working on another project, and I have been brainstorming all day for more fun ideas. Here are some of the fun fabrics I have ordered. I just ordered more last night, too! I love the bright colors!!!

The dots are some of my favorites.

I could not resist the owl fabric!!

This one is just too cute. I ended up ordering more of this fabric once it came in because it is just too cute! I am thinking this fabric would make the cutest pillowcase dress!

C is for Conner

My first "order" was in-house...my mom. She needed a gift for a friend's grandson and asked me to make a boy "taggie." If it looks like I made it in just a couple of hours...that is because I made it in a couple of hours. At least the fabric is cute!

Day of Crafting!

I pulled out the new sewing machine and made my first creation since I had the day off! I have a baby shower to go to on Sunday and thought a little taggie blanket would be the perfect gift. It is not perfect, but I am happy with how it turned out.

I used felt for the "L" and silky ribbon for the "taggies." I love this fun fabric and can't wait to do more with it. I may have to find some more online because I only bought 1/2 a yard. The back is so very soft and cuddly. Perfect for a little nap or a trip in the car!

That Darn Cat

My new lens arrived last week, and I have been practicing since its arrival! Since the cat has made a good subject in the past, I have recruited her once again...she agreed to the fun, dirty looks and all!
One of her favorite spots is the sunshine. Since it is so cold outside, she takes the sun where she can get it inside. Sometimes it is in the kitchen and sometimes she parks herself on the steps where the sun comes shining through the back window! She was cat napping on the steps last weekend, so I could not resist and pulled out the camera with the new lens.

Her most favorite spot is the chair. She gets a little mad when someone joins her and moves her to the side, but she has no problem jumping up in the chair when someone is already there. It does make for a good nap on these cold winter days.

I have the day off because our center closed today, so I did partake in a little cat nap this morning. I was ready for the day before they posted the closing, so I had expected to go to work. Once I didn't have to go, I settled in on the couch for a nap.

The rest of the day will be filled with crafting of some sort. I went to HL last night in anticipation of being off work because of ice and snow, and got some fabric and scrapbooking supplies. I may attempt to make a blanket today with my new sewing machine and also get started on the Disney Scrapbook. Looks like I will be back at work tomorrow since the roads seem to be clear...probably could have gone to work today!

Wordless Wednesday

Grandparents and Union

My mom went to Chattanooga last weekend and brought back 3 Union Yearbooks and a XO newsletter. I have had fun looking through them and thought I would share a few pictures of my Grandparents that are in the yearbooks.

Sophomore year

These two were from the XO pages in 1946.

She was mentioned in the above picture (Janie Murphey)

My grandmother marked all of her pictures with an "x" which makes it easy to find her in the pages of these books!

1947, Junior Year

"Murphey counts the cash" We were both G.N.V. at Upsilon!

"X and a horseshoe"

Senior Year

Pictured here on the XO page as G.H.

Again with the "X"

Union University Graduate!

Granddaddy (James Oakes) on the yearbook staff.

Granddaddy with the "X"

This was the cover of the Upsilon Newsletter. The next few pictures are from this newsletter.

Most Valuable Member

Stories from the Week

aka Why I love my Job

• Visiting the NICU and NICU follow-up clinic seeing precious little miracles fighting for life and reaching developmental milestones at a slow pace. One little baby girl was so very tiny and had been out of the NICU for a week. I think she was born at 25 weeks. She was smiling in her sleep and it was absolutely beautiful. (I kind of wish I could work there some)
• Teaching a boy with mild autism to tie his shoes. This week he was able to complete the first 3 steps on his own...make an X, tuck under/go into the hole, and pull tight...next week we might just master the bunny ears!
• Watching a child draw a square for the first time
• Seeing a little boy with a heart condition, seizures, etc. smile/laugh throughout the session...this is weekly!
• Referring to therapy as "Jedi Training" to make it more fun for a child who has been in therapy basically his entire life.
• Watching a 10 year old do jumping jacks correctly
• Working with the most precious little girl who talks in a whisper as if she is telling you her most precious secrets
• Seeing a 4 year old come running to sit down at the table in his classroom (He usually has difficulty getting started and is definitely not smiling when we start most days)
• Being thanked 5+ times by a parent during a 30 minute session and seeing this child cry to go home one moment and give a cheesy grin the next.
• Letting a child "graduate" from therapy because he is age appropriate
• Giving a child a paper clip as his reward for doing a good job...this kid LOVES office supplies!!!
• Loads of laughter, just a few tears, and smiles that could go for miles

This one doesn't really fit with the above but deserves to be shared...Witnessing a girl fight in a high school cafeteria first thing this morning.

Not Quite Finished

Well, I know you all probably thought I was finished posting pictures from the best vacation ever...I even thought I was finished, but look what came in the mail today. I went a little crazy and bought the CD of all the pictures taken by FP CM's at the parks. I just could not decide on which one/ones to order, so I went for the CD of all of them instead.
You can edit pictures to add borders, so I did that on a lot to increase the amount of pictures I would have to justify the amount I spent on this lovely CD. Next time the plan is to get more pictures to really make buying the CD worthwhile. Although this time was really worth it because if I had not bought it, I would not have had the group pictures of the family...

...nor would I have the most cheesy of cheesy pics of us holding little Tink! My dad looks kind of confused in this picture. I can't wait to start scrapbooking now that I have these pictures, too.

Also, speaking of mail...I have a ton coming in this week which makes me beyond excited. A new lens is on the way, the best chicken noodle soup kit ever, tons of cute fabric for all of my future creations (I have been ordering since Christmas...I think I probably have plenty to get me started, but I just keep finding more cuteness), and a CD of pictures to make the cutest little picture/slide show DVD ever! So much fun to do...maybe I should rethink my hobbies especially since I have not used my days off to work on these hobbies...maybe when it gets warmer, and I have increased motivation to get out of bed.

Sunday Afternoon Basketball

I went to my first LV game against Vandy this afternoon and it was not a pretty game. The team that started out strong crumbled in the end. I think it is definitely a rebuilding year for this team.

A time-out to try and get the girls back in the game.

Didn't get too many great pictures...I can blame it on the seats and using my "purse" camera instead of the big one!

The highlight of the day was pre-game lunch with some of my favorite girls in Nashville! Thanks for meeting us for lunch!!!

We also enjoyed lunch with all of my mom's XO friends.

Wordless Wednesday

Just Passing Through

Over the break, one of my sweet friends and her husband were driving back to Arkansas and made a quick stop at our house to visit! We love having old friends stop by since we are in a pretty convenient place to stop if they are in the area! It was so nice to catch up with her. We have a love for Disney and Christmas, so it was fun to share about our recent trip and her previous trips as well. We even decided a girls trip was in order and although a Disney trip would be fun it would be alright if it is somewhere a little closer and less expensive! I miss all of my church/youth group friends from Hot Springs, so it is a nice treat when I do get to see them. I don't think I would have survived Jr. High and High School without them!!

Me and Catie

Dough Ornaments 2008

Here are our 2008 dough ornaments! They are so cute this year as they are every year!! Also pictured are some ornaments from Disney World...had to get some since we were there at Christmas!!!

Even though I was only there for 5 1/2 months, I had to get an ornament for my rehab position with my favorite scrubs!

This one is so so cute! (Belmont graduation)

We could not think of any for Jason this year, so since he likes to grill, we decided that would be a good one this year. I think I thought of something else but we already ordered this.

This is Jessica's graduation ornament!

This Mickey is from the Wilderness Lodge where we stayed.

This one was at several parks. I thought it was too cute!

I wanted to get one from Germany in Epcot...had planned on the glass blown ornaments, but we found these and could not resist.

*I have been blogging for a year now*