Don't Leave

This is what I am forced to watch as I drive out of the driveway in the mornings. It's so sad!

Before and In-Between and Inspiration for After

So I told you guys that I was trying to finish our front door that I was stripping. (If I ever say I am going to strip anything again someone please talk some sense into me.) I finally finished, well sorta, I got tired of it so I just decided to stain it like it was with 99% of the paint gone I figured it would be fine. Well...the stain did not go on very evenly. Fortunately we still really like the way the door turned out. It looks like a pair of old cowboy boots. If anyone asks, we meant to make it look that way! We also decided to use that stain to darken the shutters that were a little orange. I am so happy with the way it looks. I think it looks a lot better! We haven't totally finished because we have to finish the post on the front porch. (It is going to require some sanding first) I wanted to show you what we have done so far and also show you some of my fall inspiration for outdoor decor this year. I will post pics when I get things finished and decorated.

Here is the BEFORE with the door stripped. It was previously painted dark chocolate brown.

Here is a close up of the door stripped. It was the color of the trim around it.

Here is the before and after of the shutters. I was very happy with the color, especially because we didn't have to take off the original stain first. We just added the darker color over the old.

Here is the in-between picture. We still have to stain the post and I need to clean up the flower beds and decorate for fall!!

Here are some pictures that are inspiring my fall decor this year. Fall is my favorite season. Of course these are from the all-knowing Martha Stewart :) check out http://www.marthastewart.com/ for more ideas!

Hope this inspires you too! I would love to see your fall decor. I will post pictures of my inside decorating when I get that done too!

Am I the Only One?

Why do we live to work because we must work to live to only turn around after all our hard work and have to continue to work, or realize we have worked our lives away and there is nothing left to enjoy. In a 24 hour day, we get up get ready for work, are in transit to work, spend 8 hours at work, drive home from work, some bring work home, we cook dinner, get ready for bed, and sleep so we can go to work the next day. 5 out of the 7 days of the week. We cram everything we can into the one day that we have left and then Sundays most of us are busy with church and then getting ready for work the next day. Are we really supposed to just work our lives away? Isn't there more than this? At best, during the week we have about 3 or 4 hours a day with our families or the ones we want to be with. Compared to 9 or 10 of those hours being work related. Wonder why families and marriages fall apart, why kids are so messed up these days, why time seems to go by so quickly...I think it is because we are a society driven by work and we don't know anything different. This is something I think about everyday. I see people at the grocery on Saturday and think to myself "the one day you have the entire day to see your family, is the only day you also have to get things done so you can get through the week" its sad to me. Many of us have no other choice. I know I don't want to wake up one day and realize that my whole life has passed and I have just worked it away. I don't want to work until I can retire. I will be too old to do many of the things that I dream of doing. Im not saying its wrong to work, or that everyone should feel this way. These are just some of the thoughts that go through my head. I just feel like there is so much more to life than this rat race, this monotonous zombie-like cycle that we get caught up in.

Delicious Nutritious Dinner Idea

I made dinner in no time last night and it was so quick and healthy and yummy, I thought I should share.

The menu:

Lime Garlic Tilapia Filets

Roasted Tomatoes

Asparagus

Broccoli and Cheese Rice

Preheat oven to 375
Line 2 pans with foil.

Lay Tilapia Filets on one pan, sprinkle with garlic salt, pepper, the juice and zest of one lime.
Cut a few pats of butter into fourths and place on filets also.
Put in the oven for 12-15 minutes

Place asparagus across other pan sprinkle with olive oil salt and pepper
Place whole tomatoes on other side of pan
Place in the oven and cook while fish is cooking

I used Knorr rice last night so I just followed the directions and it was all ready in 15 minutes!
The tomatoes need to cook until they burst and start to shrivel. When you take them out sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper. They are delish!

Let me know if you make this. It took NO time to cook, or clean up because I used foil on the pans!

Happy Cooking!

Pride

I read this this morning in a devotional and it was so good I wanted to share. It is such a reality check! I hope you find this useful in some way.

My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
I cheat you of your God-given destiny...because you demand your own way.
I cheat you of contentment...because you "deserve better than this".
I cheat you of knowledge...because you already know it all.
I cheat you of healing...because you're too full of me to forgive.
I cheat you of holiness...because you refuse to admit when you're wrong.
I cheat you of vision...because you'd rather look in the mirror than out a window.
I cheat you of a genuine friendship...because nobody's going to know the real you.
I cheat you of love...because real romance demands sacrifice.
I cheat you of greatness in heaven...because you refuse to wash another's feet on earth.
I cheat you of God's glory...because I convince you to seek your own.
My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
You like me because you think I'm always looking out for you.
Untrue. I'm looking to make a fool of you.
God has so much for you, I admit, but don't worry...
If you stick with me.
You will never know.

Ive got the itch...

I have been feeling very creative lately. I have been very busy and I think that, plus the change of the seasons is giving me the bug. I feel like I have been stuffed in a box and need to break free. The bad thing about this feeling is that I have a strong desire to rearrange our entire house and Hobby Lobby will be the death of our savings. I have also signed up for Martha Stewart's Fall craft newsletter and they just sent me a shopping list...of the 5,000 supplies I need...I have scissors. Maybe this weekend I can tackle a project or 12 at the house and feel better. A few months ago I started stripping the front door I finished all but about 10% and havn't returned to it because I exhausted myself, scraping and spraying over and over for an entire Saturday. Needless to say, that should be the first thing on my list of things to do this weekend. But that doesn't sound as exciting as starting something new. Chances are I will start something and then get busy with other things this weekend and the house will end up in more of a mess than it was when I began. I will post pics of the door when (if) I finish it.

Growin like a weed....

Paisley is getting bigger by the second! Everytime she takes a nap I think she grows an inch. We have been busy socializing these last couple of weeks. Here are some of the things we have been doing...

Meeting Baby Kate (they were SO sweet to each other!)

Sleeping....

Meeting Scotty Potty and having a blast!

...and sleeping...

Cleaning out the kitchen cabinets

...and sleeping...again....
Getting the sweetest kisses from Jaci

Napping with PawPaw after his 90th birthday party!

She has had so much fun meeting all her new friends and family! She is going to be huge before we know it. She is learning to accept that being in the kennel is just part of life right now but will take any chance she gets to snuggle up and sleep when she can be near us outside of the kennel. Here is one of my favorite pictures. I love her sweet nose and lips...Here is a kiss to you from Paisley girl!