rawr.

rawr.

my cute new bear slippers.

how cute, right?

so. i was at this little thrift store in town.

these are for my room at my parents.

my feet always freeze here.

note: i have carpet. they have hardwood.

my dad got a good laugh.

new'ness

so while im writing, im listening to the tv my dad is glued to. the soft, sweet conversation my mom and i are having. and i feel the coldness as it has once again, consumed my feet and hands. poor little things. they seem to be cold, always. in my defense, i do cover with cute socks and soft blankets.

well...we have found our new vehicle. it was love at first sight. well, after an long, intensive search. i should have it on saturday, if delivered on time.

i love a new vehicle. my last new vehicle was my altima, we bought new in '02.

im excited. about a new product!

a new something i found today, while scrolling through this months Glamour....

they are art pens, by sally hansen.

they are super cute.

they will be a spring, must have!

happy monday!

after our fun dinner friday night at stir-fry, our slumber party was wonderful. old picture. pizza. chick flicks. laughter into the wee hours. we decided that monthly indeed we will get together for a PJ party. its the close times with friends that we all need. im thankful for my super close group of girls....chris, becca, kris, lisa, kendra. i love you. =)

our year has started off fairly decent. the economy has been ruff, as we all know, which result in slow sales for the hubby. we've had a few car problems, the good ole' jeep is showing some age marks. sniff. sniff. i love that jeep. but its getting to the point that its not worth the money to continue making it "feel better". i think we've decided to start looking for a new one. ive sure enjoyed having no car payments for the last few months. but excited about a new vehicle. this is bitter sweet.

look at our baby....

Routan baby, that is.

http://www.vw.com/vwhype/babymaker

definatly templeton eyes. ha!

aaah. someday.

dear friends

dinner @ stirfry was excellent; delicious as always!

i love my dear friends. thanks for a fun friday night!

lovey dovey day

i meant to add that yes, im a nut for valentine's day. although most complain its became a commercialized holiday, i still believe in flowers, cards & dinner. im excited...any cute ideas you could share that i could get for my husband; im all ears. xoxo

snow, new york, this & that

so, the snow is melting. gone. bye-bye. im sad. i loved it. i still have my fingers crossed for a blizzard, though. im not giving up hope. im positive. im positive that we will be snowed in for a week. living on kerosene heaters. food in garbage bags, packed out in the snow. cooking over the fire. playing games til dark. then living only by candle light and the reflection of the kerosene heater. aaah. come little snow...come!



so our girls trip has been set for september. NYC. ive wanted to go always. so much that at one time, some may remember, i wanted to move there. but, i decided that mountains and trees are priceless. and i wouldnt trade it in for the starbucks-bagels-street side flowers-taxi-tourist thing that once attracted me. aaah. downtown manhatan. see ya in 8 more months! i cannot wait!



the past week or so has been pretty slow. not many events, other than our little snow. mom came up today. we shopped. going out with some of the girls tonite, for dinner. then tomorrow, PJ party & chick flick night. how i havent been to one of those since, high school! let's see...what else. reconnected with several old friends on facebook in which im super happy about. my hubby wasnt as onry this week. [he he] & o, one of my bffs, the one that is expecting...her first dr. appt is today.



until next time...think snow; & lots of it!

about me

 i was transplanted to a little farm at the base of the foothills of the great smoky mountains, 

over 8 years ago. 

aaah, i love the country. 

im from a smaller town, but it was all city. 

he is from the base of the mountains. 

so my country boy.

i had my reservations at first;

but 10 years later, i'm still loving it.

we were married in april 2001 ♥

i have the best husband. 

this is our second camping trip of the year.

im total girl, but don't mind trading

in the make-up & shoes for

a perfect weekend outdoors.

take a look, read this

we have one doggie, the best in the world

dusty camping 2009

i have recently discovered my crafty side. 

sewing. knitting. baking.
i guess just making stuff.

i have alot of classes planned to take 

over the next little bit. 

im super excited.

i love to shop. exercise. blog.

travel. cook. talk. 

& i love photography. 

i hope to get really good at it, someday.

my family is my world.

as is Jesus Christ.

although life isn't always perfect,

we are beyond blessed.

& this is my life in blog.

follow our journey as we are "waiting on parenthood @ http://www.justwaitingonbaby.blogspot.com

infertility. trying to conceive. weight loss. PCOS. 

so, we found out that there was nothing the dr's could do for jamie's cousin after all. he will be soon be taken of life-support; and it should be quick. i think i know how self inflicted accidents end, eternally and all, but i pray that i may be wrong. i pray hard.

well, i found out that one of my bestest friends is having a baby. im so excited! ive never got to experience a pregnancy with a close friend before. im so super duper excited.

school is only weeks away. i cant wait for it to get here!

its snowing outside. our first snow of the year. its beautiful. i think i wanna build a snowman. i might just do that.

im almost finished with the 3rd book of the twilight saga. i believe, so far, new moon was my favorite. the movie was a let down. although im glad i can put faces with the characters, it was totally a waste of $9.

several updates

the new year has defiantly been a busy one. a tragic one, really. we lost one of my best friend's mother on the 9th, after a 36 day stay in the hospital. shirley was such a beautiful lady. her heart, so big. she made the best biscuits and bacon and orange kool-aid, ever! she would often send biscuits and bacon in a zip lock bag with becca for me, back in school. if not, she would have some saved for after school. she raised 3 beautiful daughters. loving daughters. im blessed to have shared my life with her youngest, becca, for the last 15 years.

on the same night, jamie's cousin, younger by only a few weeks, was tragically injured, self imposed. lifted by lifestar, the doctors could provide nothing to save his life. they moved him to critical care/trauma unit and kept him on ICU, until family could arrive. the next day, miraculously, he responded to some neurological tests, he shouldnt have been able to respond to. after a 2nd catscan, the doctors discovered that they were going to be able to do emergency surgery. as of now, he is in a chemical coma until swelling in the brain subsides. until that point, and until the point he is unsedated, we will not know the extent of damage or paralysis. so far, it looks as though he has been given a second chance at life. please keep praying for him.

on dec. 31, i was accepted into the nursing assistant program at blount memorial. upon completion of the 6-week course, i would enter into a 2 year contract with the hospital. i was scheduled to complete paperwork on jan. 7, however; that morning, received a phone call saying due to the economy, it would not be in the best interest of the hospital to continue with this class, scheduled for march. i was so super sad. so, i have successfully registered and paid tuition for the nursing assistant classes in knoxville, starting feb. 5.

i'll start back classes for my RN starting in May. i will be taking 4 classes during the summer. which are fast track. which is awesome. which will leave me 7 pre-req courses; 3 in the fall. 3 in spring '10, 1 summer '10. sounds like a breeze, kind of. after that, ill start my concentration courses. im so excited. nervous. & kicking myself in the ass all the while; wondering why did i wait til im 29 to start all this? if i could turn back time.....

with the poor economy, sales have been slow for jamie. but we are doing ok. no new shoes or purses for me, as of late. [which sucks] im anxiously awaiting winter weather this week. i get to spend time with an old friend this weekend. her husband found out his cancer is back, so please pray for him. o, and jamie gave dusty dogg a hair cut. poor, poor, dog.

guess that's an update for now.

sunshine and cranberries

so, i got the perfect day of sunshine yesterday and got to wear my new shades. breifly. i was excited. its rained so much lately. apparantly i like the simple things in life. sunshine and new shades. it perked up my afternoon. o, and to perk up my week....i found that the grocery stores still have sierra mist cranberry free. im stocked! i thought it only to be a holiday drink, coming out before Thanksgiving, ending the week of Christmas. i hope it stays. i love, love, love it.

my school doesnt start until Thursday, March 5th. i think. the hospital website confirms the date. i will find out for sure this wednesday when i go in. but i am kind of bummed. i was thinking it would be next week or the week after. im not looking forward to waiting 2 months. but at the same time, it will give me something to look forward to.


im almost done with the first book in the twilight saga. im not a reader. ive simply read only a handful of books, since i graduated high school, going on twelve years ago. but i cant put this book down. aaah. edward cullen. <3

kind of all over the place

so lately ive discovered that inmaturity is very annoying. is this part of turning 30? im fine with it. just working on how to deal with it and not be grumpy in the process. also other peoples drama, what i used to love to hear about....nothing like a juicy story, right? not so much anymore. it annoys me also. yes, nosey nikki doesnt want to be quite so nosey anymore. im still finding this new part of myself and how to successfully cope.

i got some kick ass sunglasses today on major clearance at TJ Max. im anxiously awaiting now for a day of sunshine so i can wear them. my most favorite pair ever, ever...was lost before i went to kentucky this fall. but i think i like these even better.

i went shopping for scrubs today. super cute. as equally excited as i am to start school & my new career, im just as excited to wear scrubs. be it may that im a dork, but they are cute. we went to a uniform place in town. i found the cutest blood pressure and stethoscope combo set online the other day. i continue studying for the first exam. i cant believe how much i forgot since i graduated. but its slowly coming back. i still have a few weeks. im thankful i have such a brilliant husband. he knows everything. he really helped me alot. so thank you sweet, brilliant hubby.

new year. new beginnings. new friendships.

so, happy new year! i had an awesome new years eve. to many details to list but it was good, good times. thanks to all my peeps for coming.

this year has started off awesome. i got notified on 12/31 that i have been accepted into the nursing program at our local hospital. i dont remember the last time i was so happy. its been a while. i start training for the nursing assistant this month and will enter into a 2-year contract with the hospital, upon completion of the 6-week training. then, in april, i will start working toward my RN, in which I will graduate in July 2010.

since 12/5, ive lost a little over 10 lbs. with the holidays i stumbled a bit but am back on track to a skinnier me. i could def tell id lost in the pics from the party. im so happy. it feels great to be slowly gaining the self esteem i had lost along the way, over the past few years.

im excited to go back to work. im such a social person i miss the social interaction. i miss making new friends. i miss having the working relationships with others. & the bonds that came about, after you spend 40+ hours a week with them. im excited about work. & im excited about making new, adventurous, committed, normal, life-long friendships. & last, im so excited about my new career. helping others. loving what i do. caring for those that will be depending on me. i miss having a goal in life.

yes, im probably the most excited person ever to be going to work.