Say hello to the Mrs.!

That's right folks, I'm now a married woman!  I love referring to my dear sweet Arthur as my husband now.  It will take some getting used to; the other day it took me back when I heard him call me his wife.  It's still so new to us.  But I've never been happier!  I love my Arthur so very much.  Below are just a handful of photos (my favorites) from our wedding day, courtesy of  Erica Sanchez.  She did such a fabulous job.  Thanks again Erica and Orlando for taking time out of your day to be there for ours. 

 My father and I

 My family with Arthur and I.  I would post one with his family, except we never got around to getting that picture. 

 Time to cut the cake!

 My closest pals- I LOVE these gals!

The beautiful cake, courtesy of Janet's Cakery (CC, TX).  It was exactly what I wanted!

 And yes, that's a very excited me.  "We did it!"  I was really thinking, "There's no going back now, Sucka!"  :)   



Goodbye Charlie boy

It is with great sorrow and sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved prairie dog, Charlie.  I know I'm a little delayed in posting this (posting anything really), but I wanted to say goodbye here on my blog as well.  He's gone all too soon, as we only had him for just a little over 4 years.  Odontoma (a common and deadly disease with prairie dogs) took him from us in April; we'll never forget him.  He was a grumpy little thing, but had luckily mellowed out with time.  He became my little buddy, though he wouldn't let any strangers near him without becoming extrememly agressive.  Arthur and I both cherish him and the memories we shared.  We knew the time was getting near; we had received the diagnosis six months prior, and it was not an easy thing to hear.  But he's in a better place, and no longer in pain.  It had always pained me that he never got to live a full life out in the wild.  He would stand at the silding glass door at our first apartment and just stare out the window; it broke my heart that he'd never be out there to enjoy it.  I do believe he's running free and happy now.  My sweet Charlie boy, I miss you.  I hope that I will get to see you again in the next life. 



Laundry Room Renovations

It seems like forever ago that Arthur started on the laundry room; I'll be the first to admit we've both been slacking when it comes to remodeling the place.  He officially moved back two weekends ago, so I do expect us to start doing so much more to the place within the upcoming months.  Though, we're not completely done with the laundry room, I can't help but post pictures of the progress thus far.  I'm so happy with how it's turned out.  It's a tiny space, but it's changed so much.  It's nice to have a man so handy around.  ;-)  Tonight the walls will be primed, and tomorrow I get to paint it!  Who knew I'd ever be so excited to do manual labor?!?  Here are the before and after, as of today.  Of course, there's more work to do.  I can't wait to get this baby finished (painted and shelves installed).  Next project?  Flooring in the kitchen and dining.  Yay!

This is Arthur (fiance) putting up the sheetrock.  Before, this room was another restroom; Arthur had already taken down the medicine cabinet and old light fixture that was above it.  He has since installed a new light fixture on the ceiling.  I love it! 

 

So far this is what has been done.  Walls put up, taped up, plastered, and textured.  I'm super stoked that our laundry room is so close to being finished. 

Introducing Koda and Kenna

Someone contacted me yesterday asking if I'd be able to  take these babies off her hands.  How could I say no.  These puppies were put into a box the day they were born and set along the roadside to die.  I'll never understand some people; why allow your dog to get pregnant in the first place?!?- get her spayed!  So, here we are.  They are now 2 1/2 weeks old; the neighbor of this man very kindly took in these babies and has fed and cared for them until now.  It's a very tough job, and she needed help. 
I have to admit, I was a little hesitant to post about these two little guys.  Mainly because Kenna's health isn't the best at the moment; I'm not sure what the future holds for her.  So far, Koda seems to be doing great.  Koda, if you haven't already guessed, is the little white polar bear of a puppy.   He's always hungry (and very loud, lol).  If I let him, he would seriously down the whole bottle at feeding time.  Little Kenna is the tan puppy, a sweet girl with some health issues.  I believe the woman who had her before me, didn't understand fully how to feed a puppy.  Her breathing is a little fast and she is a little bloated.  The bottles that this woman had, had huge holes in them, making the formula just literally spill out into their mouths.  When a puppy inhales formula like this, it is very likely that the formula will get into their little lungs (which might be the case with Kenna), an infection will follow- pneumonia, and then most likely death for these babies.  While she struggles to overcome her health issues, I'm trying not to get to stressed about it.  It's hard, seeing little innocent puppies suffering.  But...she looked and sounded soooooo much better this morning.  I picked these pups up yesterday afternoon.  I don't know if it's because they're being fed properly or maybe the anti-gas (simethicone) I added to their bottles that has helped, maybe both.  I'm just crossing my fingers for a good outcome for them both.  Wish us the best of luck!  I already love these babies.  Just another week of bottles before it's time to introduce them to solid food aka mush. 

 Little girl, Kenna

My polar bear cub (little boy), Koda

Long Time No See

...But I see you now, my dear blog buddies. :) So, I rarely am on the computer these days, obviously. But since my new job and the access I have to the computer now, I am back on board (even if only for a short time).  So this year has been a big year for me- lots of changes. First of all, I became engaged on May 11th; we will be married at the end of the year on December 1st, 2012 (12-1-12). Lots of ones and twos in there. And I recently left my job as a bank teller for a new one. And though it's been tough adjusting at first, I can now say that I'm getting the hang of things and enjoying it. I mean c'mon, I'm at work right now. I've applied for several positions here in the past, but finally got a position here. It's been really exciting! Where do I work, you ask? At the Texas State Aquarium (accounting). I have really enjoyed the folks here, they've been very welcoming and friendly. It's one big happy family over here. And I have really loved spending my lunch breaks downstairs, walking around and/or sitting down admiring the beautiful creatures- otters, fish, dolphins, and sea turtles, etc. Arthur (the fiance) and I have been working on our new place (apartment), doing little renovations here and there. Next on the agenda is new flooring for the kitchen and dining area. We've already picked out the laminate planks we will be putting down (hopefully sooner than later). It's a really beautiful color of "wood" aka laminate- Soft Plum from Lowes. It's been a lot of work so far, but it's looking great! I'm very happy with how everything seems to be falling into place.  Until next time y'all!

So this is the apartment we are currently fixing up.  This was the before, wood paneling and all.  Yucky!

This is the apartment (living room) as of today.  There's so much left to do, but I feel so good that we've done a lot of work already. Hopefully by December, it will be ready for Arthur and I to move into.  Yay!!!  And enjoy some random aquarium shots below.  

There is something very calming about jellyfish.  I love just watching them move in the water.

Long Overdue

So, I meant to post this back in September, oops. I think it's clear I'm not really the blogging kind anymore; I'd like to at least try and blog maybe once a month though. I feel awful for slacking, especially since I actually had things to post about. :/ So here we are, photos of the day (and days following) the birth of Ammon. Just my mom, me, and the three little ladies for a little while. It was great to be able to be there and to spend time with them and to be there when Ammon arrived.

I can't remember exactly what day this was, but aren't they gorgeous!?!

And THE FORT. We all crawled and had a blast in this fortress of pillows and blankets. Even I had lots of fun in it. That is, until my fat booty got stuck somewhere near the toybox. Cali was not sympathetic. She just wanted me out of her way. LOL

Here's Miss Ella making her way through the maze.

Silly faces anyone?

Aubrey and I

Me and Ella

And me and Cali, doing what Cali loves best- eating candy. :)

Ella and my mom

And while the older kids were in school, my mom and I took Cali to the mall. We wanted her to have her own special day, as she was really missing her mommy and daddy by now. She loved playing in the kids' play area and even made a special friend that day.

Holly and Joey finally arrived home with the newest addition to their family, Ammon.

And finally, Joey and his son. How sweet is this picture! I asked Holly how easy the delivery was this time around, this is what she had to say:

Holly, don't kill me please, lol. The only photos I had of you were apparently all a little like this. Good times, good times. And just to show what a good sport I am, I'll post a crazy one of me too. hee hee

I got a little carried away with the candy corns. Hey, at least the kids thought it was funny. ;)

Thanks to Holly and Aubrey!

Okay, so Holly and Aubrey decided to get creative and made this little ditty the other day. Personally, I love it! Thanks you guys. It's pretty funny. :)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Happy 29th Birthday Nicole!!! (again) tee hee hee

So, I won't say exactly how old Nicole is today (she might strangle me if I do...), but I will say it is her birthday! So Happy Birthday to my bestest friend in the whole world!!! :) Last night, a few of us gathered at Joe's Crabshack to celebrate with her. BTW, let me just say this- the necklace she is wearing is fabulous, is it not?!? She didn't want to wear it, she said it was too much; but I didn't give her a choice. I pretty much glued it to her neck. I think it is a perfect accessory to any solid colored top! So there, Nicole! Ha! And the song I chose for this special occasion I chose for a reason. When I hear this song, I always think of her.

Ain't she perdy?!?

And here's all of us but Dallas (he took the picture, thanks dude). From left to right: Misty, Katie (her butt is being grabbed by Nicole, hence the shock on her face, lol), Nicole (the b-day girl and butt- grabbin' friend of mine), and myself. Happy Birthday girlie poo! Hope today is wonderful!
Question Nicole, why did you choose Katie's bum over mine? I may never know...but I do know this- I LOVE this picture of Katie. hahahahaha

Happy Birthday Aubrey!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful niece, Aubrey Ann! Today she turns 9 years old; I can't believe it's been that long since she was born. And what a wonderful little lady she is growing to be! Aubrey, you truly are a special spirit, and I feel so lucky to be your aunt. I love you so much and hope today (and everyday, of course) is just wonderful. Love always,
Aunt Tara

Welcome Baby Ammon!

AMMON DAVID
Born 9/1/2010

Of course, most everyone knows by now that my little nephew has made his debut into the world. But I still have to post it, lol. Here he is (I stole these pictures from my sis, I know she won't mind me using them), Ammon David born on September 1st (12:41pm), weighing in at 9lbs. 5oz, 21 in. long. A big healthy baby boy! I'm so in love with this little guy, he's super cute! And already letting his mommy and daddy get some sleep. He was already sleeping 4 hours straight (mom had to wake him up to feed him, lol) after just a few days. Now that's a good baby!

Mommy and baby (I LOVE this picture)

Holding Ammon for the first time

Ready to go home!...er, I think.

Click Click Click

Nicole and I went a little crazy taking photos today, oops. We gave eachother makeovers (don't we look divine?!?), and snapped away. Nice comments only allowed! lol ;) Enjoy! I know we both did.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mother's __ th birthday. Don't ask how old, I could get hurt for answering that kind of question. ;) I love you, Mom and hope this day is perfectly spectacular. Happy Birthday!!!