Long Time...No Blog!!!

Wow...I didn't realize how long it had been since my last blog :) So, before I begin my daily/weekly post again I thought I would start with a "update" blog on what's been going on in our lives since February!

SAINTS WIN THE SUPERBOWL!!!

The cooks...

Jack-A-Roo...showing off his new shoes!

Emily is so creative! She made this shirt for the game...

JAMIE AND TY COME HOME!!

We don't get to see a lot of them, but we love when we do...

 Mrs. Beth and Mr. Ricky...my second parents (with their daughters :)

Only Moose...

Ty and Barrier put on a dance show for us...I wanted to attatch the video but I think they would kill me!

PRETTY DAY IN THE COUNTRY...TARGET PRACTICE.

My good looking hubby...

Charlie....

Look how tiny the gun is... it was Bears Great Grandfathers gun.

 

My first dirt bike wreck...I was so proud! On my leg.

POKER NIGHT...

Several couples in our neighborhood (including Bear and I) have started a monthly " Couples Poker Night" and we were the first to host it. We had a blast...can't wait until the next one!!

 Mike and Barrier's Poker Face...

Mandy and Prentiss...

Don't ask...Caleb as the "pant-less cowboy"

YAZOO CITY...

This past weekend we went to Yazoo to visit with the fam and celebrate Bears 28th Birthday!!!

Reeves...He's just PERFECT

Mrs. Angie's little wine glass...

Gooch...

The birthday boy and all his women...

The Steakhouse for dinner...

Johnny and Lindsey...

Bear being an engineer...

KNOCKIN AROUND THE HOUSE

Oh spring is in the air and I could not be happier!!! We have some of the most beautiful old trees in our yard and when they bloom every year I can't resist taking pictures...

This is our "Iron Wood" tree...a type of pear tree. It look like a giant cotton bowl when it blooms and it literally glows at night.

This is my most favorite tree...a Japanese Magnolia

I absolutely LOVE to mowe the yard and I have been waiting for the weather to warm up so I could...this is our pretty yard after my first mowe!!!

My herb garden! I have always wanted one and this year I'm doing it...They smell WONDERFUL and I can't wait to use them for cooking.

Honesty Award

Rules for this Award

1. Must thank the person who gave you the award and list their blog and link it.

2. Share "10 Honest things" about yourself.
3. Present this award to others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.
4. Tell those people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

THANK YOU RAMEY FOR THIS AWARD!I miss you!

1. I am in love with the two T.V. shows: Dirty Jobs and 48 Hours...ok, and the Bachelor (but I have to admit, it’s the cheesiest and most dramatic show ever!)

2. My worst habit is popping my knuckles, back and neck. I'm going to be a crumpled-up old lady.

3. When I was little I loved the taste of dog food.

4. I think about being/becoming a mother on a daily basis.

5. Unless we have a lot of catching-up to do, I am not a big fan of "chatting" on the cellular...many of ya'll already know this.

6. I always, always pay attention to whether or not people have wedding rings on (male and female). I don't know why, it’s just one of those things. For example: I notice a couple in the store holding hands but the guy has a ring on and the girl doesn't. I know it's wrong, but my first thought is "where is his wife... must be at home with the kids. What a jerk".

7. I HATE pumping gas!

8. My most favorite smells are: fresh cut grass, old books and the way Bear smells when he first gets out of the shower and throws on an old t-shirt and comfy pants!

9. I am slightly OCD

10. I honestly, honestly believe I am a great driver. Barrier would not agree...he needs a xanax every time he rides with me.

I now present this award to: KATIE RIVERS

911

This past Wednesday afternoon was my first time (and hopefully my last time) to call 911, so I thought I would share! Barrier was on his way home from a business trip in Louisiana and I planned to (like the great wife that I am) have dinner ready when he got home. I took a shower and as I was "trying" to get dressed...I turned on the heat. Moments later, smoke began filling the house and I freaked!! First I called Bear and of course, since he was 3 hours away, he told me to call 911. So I did (and at this point, I had dropped my towel and was now running around the house naked trying to figure out what was burning). Believe me, it was a sight to be seen! The sweet 911 operator informed me that I needed to get myself and all animals out of the house until the fire trucks arrived. I quickly threw some on some clother and went outside to wait.


5 minutes later.....3 fire trucks, 1 ambulance, 2 police cars, and about 8-9 other volunteer vehicles pull into our front yard! Sumrall is a very small town but obviously VERY well-equipped when it comes to emergencies! Long story short...(from what the firefighter told me) it ended up being a piece of lint that was sucked into the "unit" and that’s what caused the smoke and smell. I felt bad for making such a BIG scene, but I was glad to know that it wasn't anything major.

I'm telling you...the thought of our house and everything in it going up in flames made me sick! I don't know if I have ever been that scared. I am very thankful that it was minor!

Proud Godparents!!

Barrier and I are officially Godparents (we could not be more excited and honored) of the MOST beautiful baby in the world! Phillip and Melissa Gooch were blessed with Reeves Bullock Gooch last night around 10:30. Bear and I are so close to Phillip and Melissa so in our minds, the word "Godparent" just gives a good reason to spoil him rotten! We (and Jam) went to see him today in Jackson...he is seriously a geourgeous baby and as "layed back" as they come.

Introducing REEVES....

Barrier, Phillip (they have been best friends since babies themselves) and Reeves...

The ONLY time he cried is when I held him! Is that a sign????

Very proud daddy Phillip...

Bear is going to be such a GREAT daddy one day! Can't wait (well...maybe another year or so!)

Uncle Jam was a pro! His nickname for Reeves was "Nugget". Only Johnny!

Sweet Jam with Reeves...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY REEVES!!!!!!

Prine

Everyone gets onto me for posting more about Harley than I do Prine so I thought I would honor Prine with a blog post...Prine was adopted June of 2007. When I told the lady at the humane society that he was the one I wanted, her comment was "Honey...he has to be the ugliest dog we have here. He has a broken tail. Why do you want him???" I told her "if I don't adopt him, no one else will". I could not have made a better decision!!

Anyone that knows us... knows Prine (Barrier named him after John Prine)!! He is literally the greatest dog ever and very unique! He has wiry black "curly’s" (don’t ask me what they remind me of), a natural white Mohawk, a white mustache, a red goatee and a hook tail. He is beautiful. At least to me he is. Barrier swears that if anything ever happened to him, I would be lost. Its the truth!

Prine can be found wherever I am...bath, car, bed, etc. He's my little shadow and has become pretty famous over the years and acquired many nicknames which I had to share:

Prine Shrine
Little Mister
Master Splinter (John Allan)
Co*k Blocker (Barrier often calls him this)
Shrine Prine
Ugly (A lot of people)
Hook Tail
Mr. Needy (Barrier)
Cheetoh (inside joke)
Shriney
Erin's Boyfriend (He is in LOVE with Erin)
Little
PERFECTION (what I usually call him)

And we often get the usual question "What is that??"
 

This is a few days after I adopted him....back in the day

This pic is Prine (recently shaved) showing off his "hook tail"

Wedding Pictures!!!

For those who want to see our wedding pictures...click on the link below to view our album.

http://www.jcarawayphotography.com/Albums/Jen&Bear10.10.09

Tie-Dyed Sugar Cookies and a Whole Lot Of Love

Tie-Dyed Sugar Cookies: (Makes 2 dozen)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons brandy, or milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated. With mixer running, add egg, brandy (or milk), and vanilla; mix until incorporated.

Once your dough is ready, split it into 4 parts (or more, depending on how many different colors you would like to use) and add food coloring to each portion of dough. In our case...we used red, green, yellow and blue. Once this is mixed, take a pinch of each colored dough and roll together creating a "tie-dyed" look.

Roll each cookie in sugar before placing in a lightly greased baking sheet

Bake @ 350 until lightly golden. About 10 minutes

Transfer to cooling rack

Add a perfect little sister to the mix and you have the the most wonderful cookie!!

We made caramel apples too!

Harley likes to help but this is where she likes to lay...in the middle of everything.

We saved this one for her!! She eyed it the whole time we were cooking!

Harry

While I was feeding the cats this morning (in 20 degree weather!!) I thought about our little "Harry" incident
that happend about this time last year and couldn't help but laugh! Many of ya'll have already heard this story, but for those who haven't....

Two years ago I came across 2 kittens (brothers) at a nearby vet clinic that needed a good home. Not being able to split them up, I adopted both of them and they soon became known as Bert and Harry. Barrier and I have never been "cat" people but we soon fell in love with our two new additions (Harry has always been our favorite because of his very loving personality). Anyway...they have always been outside cats that you rarely see during the day but at night they come to visit. Last year while driving home from work on Hwy 589 (a busy hwy not far from our house) I spotted a deceased cat on the side of the road and freaked out when I stopped and realized it was our beloved Harry! I immediatly called Barrier crying and when he got home, we went to remove our cat from the side of the road so we could give him the proper burial. The conversation between Barrier and I went a little something like this:

B: Baby, I don't think this Harry...it looks like this cat has been here for several days. Plus Harry never leaves the yard.

J: I know for a fact it's Harry because now that I think about it, I haven't seen him around the house in a couple of days. I bet he was chasing Hazel (a female cat that was in heat at the time) and wandered to 589 and got ran over.

(Mind you that this conversation is taking place on the side of a busy highway as we try to decide whether the cat is ours or not)

B: I don't know Jenny...this cat doesn't look as harry as our "Harry" is.

J: Barrier, it's Harry. I promise. I know my own cat from someone elses. Let's just get him home so we can bury him. Oh my gosh! Do you know how upset Bert (his brother) is going to be??? He'll be lost without him. They have never been apart!

B: Okay. I think I'm going to throw up.

So...we get back home with our poor poor Harry and give him the proper burial he deserved. Then we bring Bert inside and dote on him for a couple of hours (because we feel so bad for him that his brother has passed). As the night went on we tried to take our minds off the horrible accident...while Bear was playing the guitar, I decided I would water the plants on the back porch. After being outside for a good 30 min or so I heard a "meow" coming from a near tree. "Uh!!!" I thought...It's that da** female cat that got our sweet Harry ran over. I walk to the tree with the intention of running the cat off so the same thing wouldn't happen to Bert. As I approach the tree I immediatly start crying from shock! Sitting comfortably on a big limb is the one-and-only HARRY!! And he's alive!! You have got to be kidding me?!?!
                    I grab Harry and run inside to tell Barrier the good news. You should have seen the look on Bears face when I walked in with this cat in my arms! He seriously looked like he had seen a ghost...a cat ghost that is. And this is how that conversation went:

B: What in the hell?!?!?

J: I know! Can you believe it!!!

B: Oh my gosh thats great! But, wait.....if thats Harry then who's cat did we spend and hour burying in our backyard???

J: Uhmmmm...

Harry is the one on the left.