The pallet.....

So I have been talking about getting this hung up for about a month now and my amazing BIL finally had time this weekend to do it!! I'm so in love! All I did was get a free pallet and hang it backwards on my wall! The hubby.... and well everyone else... looked at me like I was totally crazy when I told them what I was doing but now they all love it too!! Free home decor is my favorite! Woo hoo!

WILW

This week I am loving:

• that the hub's surgery is over! Now we are just working on the recovery :)


• that my birthday is tomorrow! Yay for being 24!


• that my trip to the DMV yesterday only lasted 30 minutes!


• that I get a 3 day weekend! Woo hoo Labor Day!


• and as always I am loving this amazing life I am blessed with and all the incredible people I enjoy it with!
  

Little catching up....

What an eventful last few days this has been...

• Friday- I got some shopping done, came home and made dinner, then my Mom and Papa came over for a little visit and tech help. It is so nice to visit with them :) Our friends Brittney and Dustin came over as well. We just sat around, ate some pizza, and went on a late night frozen yogurt run! I really adore having friends that we don't have to do something eleborate to have fun! (It's save money so we can have a tiny human time!!!)



• Saturday- I got up bright and early to go teach my jazzercise class. Went on a quick run to Target to return a card (short story on that.... Our niece Kennedy started school on Monday, so I bought her a little Winnie the Pooh pencil box and matching pencils along with a "Yay for Kindergarten" card. Well what I didn't know is that K is SOOOOO smart she skipped Kindergarten and went straight into 1st grade, so I had to get a "Yay for 1st grade" card instead!!! We are so proud of her!) Then I did some cleaning and took a nap.
  

We decided we would go out for my birthday dinner on Saturday instead of this week to Justin's knee surgery. So when my alarm went off to get up from my nap I DID NOT want to get up!!! But Justin was being really wierd and MADE me get up, so I did.... started getting ready, taking my sweet time :) Then Justin gets all wierd again and starts rushing me, I'm thinking "It's not like we are going to be late to dinner with OURSELVES!!" Well little did I know my entire amazing family along with some super great friends were waiting to suprise me at Toto's (delish little mexican place in Boulder City) It was such a wonderful surprise! I feel very blessed to have such amazing people in my life, and what an incredible hubby I have! I know you are all jealous :)

Then we went to play Bingo with Britt and Dusty.... and Justin won!!! Woo hoo! I think it was my birthday luck!!

• Sunday- Because it was the last day Justin would be able to go out we went to breakfast then did some shopping. It was so nice to just spend time with eachother!!




• Monday- The big surgery day!!! We had to get up early to be at the surgery center by 9am then we waited FOREVER (or until 11:30) for them to take Jam back into surgery. I waited for about 90 minutes before the doctor came out (such a nice guy!!) he said everything went GREAT and I would be able to take him home soon! About 45 minutes later we were on our way home :)

• Tuesday- I started my morning at the wonderful DMV (nothing like waiting until the last minute to renew your drivers license) I was in and out and home within 1 hour! Woo hoo! Hung out with my incredible hubby for a little while then headed to Hobby Lobby for a new birdhouse for my collection, then a quick stop at the grocery store. I did some quick decorating and redid my jazzercise set.
  


• Today- I am back at work missing my husband terribly and counting down the minutes until I get to go home to him :)



• Tomorrow- Is my actual birthday. Still can't believe I am 24! Yikes!!!

Tipful Thursday... on Friday... again.

I wish I had a good excuse as to why I am posting on Friday, but to be honest I was slow at work and wanted to watch Ally McBeal (I'm on episode 79 of 111, I'm almost finished!) I apologize for not putting you all first.

I have one word for you... Norwex. I went to a party my SIL hosted a couple months ago, and honestly I was only going out of support for Carissa. I mean come on "special" microfiber cloths that make cleaning soooo much easier?!?!?! Nah I 'll stick to my "normal" and "cheap" cleaning cloths.... or so I thought!

These things are seriously AMAZING!! You never have to use cleaning products again! Just water.... yep you read that right, water! I clean my entire house (minus the floors) with these cloths and a spray bottle of water! I know what you are thinking.... NO WAY Meagan you are full of it! I'm not I promise, I was once just like you. Doubting the power of the Norwex. Just trust in me, find a party, and go!!!

WILW

I am loving:

• that my birthday is almost here! Just 8 more days :)


• that my amazing friend Brittney is willing to go to Costco with me on Friday so I can get the great deals without having to pay for my own membership! Yay for awesome friends :)


• that I have been eating so healthy this week! I feel great and hopefully this will help me shed those pounds!


• that I get a 4 day weekend! Not too excited for the reason, but still extra days off :)


• the song "Amen" by Eden's Edge! Super cute song!


• that I found a big wooden window shutter on the side of the road... not sure what I am going to do with it yet but still excited! Just imagine me in a skirt and 5 inch heels trying to load this super heavy shutter into the trunk of my car.... needless to say I got A LOT of funny looks!


• and last but most definitely not least I am loving this amazing life Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I have a good job, a beautiful home, clothes to wear, and food to eat. Two crazy and loving little pups. Little sisters that I am so proud of and love so much, you should all be jealous that they are not your sisters. A beautiful mother that is like my best friend. A Papa Bear that stepped up and loved us all like we were her own. An amazing husband to love and support me. Life is just so great :)

Tipful Thursday

This weeks tip is Lemi Shine. Let me tell you, living in the desert with this TERRIBLE hard water does awful things to my dishes. I was embarrassed to let people see my dishes. They had this terrible cloudy look to them, I could promise until I was blue in the face that my dishes were clean but they NEVER looked like it! Then I found Lemi Shine. I buy mine at Target in the dish soap aisle, I think it is about $5 for the bottle which usually lasts me about 2 -3 months. Just follow the instructions on the bottle and TA-DA you will have B-E-A-UTIFUL crystal clear dishes :)

Backyard progress...

There are still a few small things we would like to do to finish up our B-E-A-UTIFUL backyard, but here it is in all it's glory! I can't wait for the weather to cool down so we can sit outside and enjoy all our hard work:)
I would like to thank our families for all of their help with this project. I unfortunately didn't take any "before" pictures, but just imagine the EXACT opposite of what it is now. Without the help of our families we NEVER would have been able to get this done. Love you all!

WILW

This week I am loving:

• that we started playing BINGO with some friends last week. We went again on Monday and I totally won!! It was only $24, but still I got to yell out BINGO!! Big thanks to my amazing husband with his Eagle Eyes! I had missed a number and wouldnt have won without him noticing :)



• that we are almost totally done with our backyard! (I will post pictures soon)



• the new vinyl I made for our shower door.

• that I am totally keeping up with this years photobook! Everything we have done so far this year is in the book... now if I could only finish the books for 07-09! Yikes!



• my birthday is in 15 days! Woo hooo!



• that our girls weekend to see The Little Mermaid in St. George is almost here too!



• and of course I am loving my amazing husband. I feel so blessed to call him my husband :)

BINGO! and Home upgrades :)

Last Monday Justin and I went to BINGO for the first time with a couple friends.... we are now addicts! It is so much fun and super cheap entertainment! We ended up going Friday and Saturday too... we are also going tonight! The plan is to start a Monday BINGO team. We haven't won anything yet... but it's still totally fun!

This weekend I was able to get a few things done around the house that I had been seriously putting off! For instance my craft room has looked like a war zone for at least a month now, not anymore! Woo hoo! Now maybe I will actually use it :) A few posts back I had mentioned that my mom helped me figure out how I can make the side of my cupboard a chalkboard without ruining the cupboard... so what I did was bought a roll of contact paper at Walmart for $4, cut a piece to fit my cupboard, painted it with chalkboard paint (I had to paint a coat let it dry completely, then paint another coat), Stuck it up on my cupboard, added vinyl, and TA-DA! My very own chalkboard menu! I totally love it and love my momma for helping me with the idea :)

I also got around to hanging these adorable teal shelves I bought at Target a couple weeks ago. I was able to almost fill them with things I had been hoarding! This process also renewed my love for spray paint. The bottles on the top shelf are old Orange Crush bottles I took out of our recycling, the little candle holder in the middle shelf used to be hot pink, and the little drawer thing is something my sister Britny gave me a million years ago. Took a can of gray Valspar spray paint to them and they are like a brand new item :)

Tipful Thursday.... on Friday

So my tip for this week goes along nicely with last weeks! I read online some time ago that while painting, instead of rinsing out your brush and roller in between steps you just wrap the brush/roller in aluminum foil. I thought this sounded to good to be true but let me tell you it totally works! I am currently repainting our bathroom but due to my crazy busy life I can sometimes only paint for a few minutes at a time. So instead of rising my brush everytime I just wrap it in aluminum foil, push out all the air and set it aside until I have time to paint again. Saves so much time and paint :)

WILW

Currently I am loving:

• the stripes in my hallway... and now in my bathroom! I told you I want them every where now!



• my new hair. Well its not really new, just the color! But mostly I love that I have an incredible little sista that is willing to make my hair beautiful for me. If you are looking for an amazing person to make your hair B-E-A-UTIFUL give Alexis @ Diva Studio a call. (and tell her I sent you)



• that I have so many fun plans coming up in the future! San Diego with the hubster and our good friends the Ericksons', girls trip to Utah to see The Little Mermaid, and a girls trip to Disneyland! So excited!



• that I get to spend all night with my husband. It's so nice to sometimes just forget the rest of the world and just relax with the one you love.



• but mostly I am loving this amazing life Heavenly Father has blessed me with :)



• 
  

The stripes...

As promised here is the picture of the stripes :) The only problem with finding such an incredibly easy way to do this is now I want to paint them every where!

Tipful Thursday...

My tip for this week is a REALLY good one :) I have been wanting to paint stripes in my hallway for a while now, but was putting it off because they are such a HUGE pain!! Then I thought to myself..."Self, why don't you post on FB if anyone knows how to do it?" So I did and guess what?!?! Someone did! Well actually two someones.

So here is what you do:

• Tape off the wall (I suggest the green Frog tape, it is cheaper than the blue painters tape but works much better. In my opinion!)
  


• Paint a thin layer of the original wall color on the edge of the tape. This will create a seal so the new color won't leak through.



• Let that dry completely. Then paint your new color. Let dry completely!!!



• When you peel the tape off make sure you peel it down (like into the painted stripe). I only had 2 very small places to touch up!
  

Seriously the easiest thing I have ever done! Too bad I didn't know this little trick when I painted my laundry room! I will post pictures as soon as I get everything back up on my wall :)

Thanks for stopping by! Much love :)

WILW

This week I am loving:

• that I started Weight Watchers again! I am hoping to lose 25 lbs by the end of the year. I have a jazzercise meeting in Cali at the beginning of October and would like to be down atleast 10 lbs. I totally think I can do it :)


• that I joined a running group (something I never thought I would say) with some of my girl friends! We are training to run a 5k in December! Ahhh!! I'm really hoping this will help me drop the weight quick!


• that I am finally starting to finish some of the projects I have been wanting to do for our house :) Slowly but surely this will become my dream home!


• that I am going to be an Auntie again very soon! Ashlee my sister in law will be having her little nugget any day now!!


• that I am finally redeeming my Groupon for a 55 minute massage on Friday:)


• that I have a brilliant momma who helped me think of a way I can make the side of my cupboard a chalkboard without ruining the cupboard (we want to sell this house eventually and don't want to make any changes that might upset the next buyer) I will post pictures as soon as I finish the project :)


• and most importantly I am loving my amazing husband. He works so hard for us and loves me in all the craziness!
  

Camping

(Victoria and I playing games)

This past weekend I went camping with my family and friend Brittney. I asked myself many times during the weekend "What is so appealing about sleeping in a tent, on an air mattress that KILLS my back, not being able to shower, and being completely sleep deprived for 2days?" but then I realized, it's the memories. We still talk about our camping trips from years past. So besides the fact that you get to eat junk food and no one judges you, play tons of games, be loud and totally dorky, S'mores (enough said) , hiking,.... these are times we will remember forever.

As soon as we got on the campground it started raining. And then it rained all night. But Saturday was B-E-A-UTIFUL! All of the "kids" went for a hike at Robber's Roost, it is a short hike but challenging at the same time. Once we reached the top we got to watch a couple rock climbers do their thing! We were all amazed... and a little scared for their safety! Back at the campsite we played games, went for another walk, ate a delicious meal, cooked more S'mores, then sat up all night talking and laughing! It was a GREAT escape!

I was so happy to have my friend Brittney there with me. The hubs knee is a little broken right now so camping was not something he could do. My back up plan was Britt and I am SO glad she came. We have only known each other for a few months but I seriously feel like we have been friends forever. We are like the same person and our hubbys get a long so well! She is crafty, funny, caring, smart, beautiful... It's like describing myself! (just kidding! toot toot!) I am so grateful to call her my friend!

It was a great weekend but I am so glad to be home with my amazing husband. Its amazing how someone can become your comfort. Justin is my comfort zone, he has my heart forver and it is a little broken when we are apart. Sunday we just relaxed, we watched tv and played games, and did alot of cuddling;)

(The group at the top of Robber's Roost trail)