#2 Scented Oils

Like most of my friends I like to burn candles in my house. There are few things better than a great, not too powerful, candle. It's quite cozy! However, I have found something I like even better. I'm a big fan of scented oils and the cute decorative burners that go with them. All you have to do is light a tea light candle, put a few drops of the scented oil in the dish on your burner, and you're good to go. They have all kinds of different oil burners. The one I have is very plain but you can get one for almost any decorative style.

They also have TONS of different scented oils. I only have ones from Bath & Body Works and from The Body Shop although I'm sure you can get them at different places. A few of my favorites are:

Tobacco Flower------Gingerbread

Fresh Apple Pie--------Fresh Linen

I hope to try a few new scents soon. I have my eye on Egg Nog, Peppermint, and Fresh Baked Cookie. I might even try one for stress relief or energy! Who knows if it works but it might be worth a try. Some of the oils are on sale at Bath and Body Works right now for $4.00 (regular $7.50) so I might have to splurge!

#1 Sprinkles

Over the next few weeks I've decided to share with you "A few of my favorite things!"

#1 Sprinkles Cupcakes

I guess I should start by mentioning that my favorite dessert is cake. I really like it in the form of cupcakes because I get one all to myself and don't have to share! My first experience at Sprinkles was a few years ago. The Hogs were playing USC in California so my friends, Shannon, Kelly, Scott and I decided we needed to go show our support (it was an embarrassing loss but we won't talk about that). As we were picking out what we wanted to do for that Friday afternoon I mentioned wanting to check out this cupcake bakery I had heard about along the way. I didn't receive any opposition with my suggestion so we mapped it out and headed that way. Let me just say we were NOT disappointed! Not only did we indulge ourselves that day but we went back the next as well!

I'm a huge fan! Since then the only other one I've eaten at is in Dallas. They were indeed delicious but still need some work to turn out like the originals. They have several locations around the country so I encourage you to stop in and try one. They have different flavors on different days so I suggest doing your research first. I've e-mailed multiple times asking if they would ship the cupcakes but they don't. You CAN, however, buy the cupcake mixes and prepare them at home! My friend Laura bought me some for my birthday this year! What a great gift! They only have select flavors in the pre-packaged mixes but I'm sure you can find one you like! They even have a few special ones for the holidays!

Holcombe-Faye

Holcombe-Faye is the name of my Christmas tree. Yes, I realize that naming a tree is a little strange not to mention the name I picked out. It all started with my old roommate Megan. It was the first year in our apartment and we wanted to put up a tree. Neither of us had any money to spend on a nice one so we went to Target and got the cheapest one we could find. It was a beauty! We were watching a football game while decorating it and we kept hearing the name Ray-Ray mentioned over and over. We decided it was the appropriate name to call our tree. Ray-Ray brought much joy to our Christmas celebrations for years to come. Then the time came for Megan to get married and me to buy a house and get my own tree. As I was decorating it, instead of watching a football game I was watching a basketball game. The name Holcombe-Faye was announced multiple times and I just knew it had to be the name of my tree. It was more of a tribute to Megan and Ray-Ray than anything. But each year Holcombe-Faye brings new Christmas joy to my house. Yesterday it was time to get him out of his box and let him stretch. Josh helped me get him into the house but after that it was all me.

Josh read most of the afternoon...

...while I worked on the decorating.

I tuckered out before it was all finished so I still have more to work on later today.

Battle of the Boot

***Updated***

Today at 1:30 pm CST the Arkansas Razorbacks take on the LSU Tigers. This match up always happens the Friday after Thanksgiving and is aired on CBS. The meeting between the two teams has been labled The Battle of the Boot. Being the Hog fan that I am I would love for us to beat up on the Tigers. We are definitely the underdog going into this game but to be honest anything can happen. I think that's probably the motto behind this entire season of NCAA football. It's certainly been a weird one! I'm not going to have unrealistic expecations going into the game but I'm going to hope for the best! Unfortunately I have to work today so I'll be cheering at my desk while listening to it on the radio. If you are bored today and don't want to fight the shopping maddness you can tune in at 1:30...but only if you know how to "call the Hogs!"

***HOGS BEAT LSU!!!!!!!!! I hope you all were able to watch or listen to the game b/c it was awesome! Most of us Razorback fans are still a little shocked! It's been a wild season and what a way to end conference play. And now the Golden Boot gets to come back home!***

Baby Zach

Today at 7:41 am Baby Zach was welcomed into the world. His proud parents are one of my very best friends Katie and her husband Jason. I have been anxiously awaiting his arrival for a while now, 9 months to be exact! Well, that's a lie! I've been awaiting his arrival much longer than that! I'm just thrilled he's finally here. I was privileged enough to get to see him today at the hospital. He's quite a looker! Ok, that's not really a fair statement since he didn't even open his eyes once while I was there. I'm giving him some slack since he was only about 5 hours old when I went to visit. Regardless though he's precious and I already love him!

Birthdays and Donkeys

This weekend I went to Clarksville/Lamar to hang out with Josh! We had a lot of fun. On Friday he made dinner and then we went to Wal-Mart to get a few things. On Saturday we watched some football and then went to the church for a birthday party. Josh's cousin Camden had his first birthday party.

Camden opening one of Josh's presents. He loved all of the ones Josh picked out for him. He especially liked the soccer ball.

Josh and I entertaining ourselves while all the kiddos played with the toys.

After the party Josh and I went back to Wal-Mart. He had to get a few things for the church and I had spotted a coat the night before that I wanted to look at. After a lot of thought and some pros and cons I decided to buy me a coat.

Isn't it cute? Only $10! Can you believe it?!?!

After our second Wal-Mart adventure we got geared up for the big weekend event...

I don't know if y'all have been to one of these before but this was my first! A donkey basketball game? Who woulda thunk it?!? It was a fundraiser for a club at the local high school. Students and teachers take turn riding donkeys while "attempting" to play basketball. It was pretty funny. Each donkey had it's own personality and would do "tricks" to get mess with the rider. It was quite an experience.

Hahaha!

Here are the teams in action!

Putting a diaper on the donkey!

So, there you have it! Those are the highlights of my weekend. I hope you all had a great weekend yourself!

For Your Information

My friend Kelly tagged me in her post a few days ago and I'm just now getting around to responding. Apparently I'm supposed to list 7 random things about me and then tag 7 other people to do the same. The only thing is I don't have 7 blogging friends yet. I know that's a little pathetic but I'll get there. Just you wait and see! Give me time and I'll have so many blog friends I won't know what to do with all of them! Ha! Yeah right! So anyway, even though I don't have anyone to tag I figured I could still list some random things about me! Some of you might already know these things but others of you will not!

1. I still sleep with my baby blanket(s). When I was born I had a blanket I slept with every night. At the age of two I had worn it out so my parents bought me another one. I have slept with it every night since. A few years ago in an attempt to get me to retire it (it's old, stained with who knows what, and gross) my parents bought me a new one. Instead of getting rid of my "binki" now I sleep with two blankets! I know it's a little strange but Dr. Phil did a show about this sort of thing a couple of years ago and he said there isn't anything wrong with it! Thank goodness!
2. I'm allergic to raw apples. I've only come across a few other people that are also allergic to raw apples. It's very strange. It wasn't so bad when I was younger but as I got older it got worse. Pretty much when I eat them my gums and throat start to itch. I haven't had other side effects other than that but I hear that usually leads to the throat swelling, etc. For whatever reason I can eat apples if the are cooked or process (like apple sauce). I think I'm probably allergic to some heat sensitive mineral.
3. I work at a bank but my degree is in nutrition. Most people that meet me at this stage in my life have no clue that my degree is in nutrition but it is. I hope to do something with it again one day. I used to teach nutrition education classes in elementary schools. I loved it! unfortunately they got rid of the grant so I had to stop.
4. I have a weird obsession with shopping carts. When I return a shopping cart to it's rightful spot in the parking lots I HAVE to make sure all of them are pushed together. Sometimes if its obvious that I'm just being obsessive and others are around I can refrain. But in that instance I usually have to psyche myself up for it. I think it all has to do with me liking puzzles, packing, organizing, etc. Everything has a spot!
5. This leads me to another random fact, I love to pack! Most people don't like to pack their bags for trips or boxes to move but I love it. I like to see how many things I can fit into a small space. I must say, I'm very good at it! I come by it naturally though because my dad is the same way.
6. I have a tattoo on one of my toes. Most people wouldn't peg me for a girl who would have a tattoo but I do! It's a small blue, pink, and yellow flower on the second toe of my right foot. I got it at the end of my freshman year at Baylor. Some friends that it would be fun so I went along with it. The guy at the tattoo parlor said he didn't like doing them on toes because they usually faded. Both of my friends' tattoos faded but not mine! It still looks like it did 8 years ago. WHOA!!!!!!!!! The end of my freshman year was 8 years ago! That's so sad! Anyway, I don't regret my tattoo. It's small, cute, and you can only see it in the summer when I wear sandals.

To be honest I'm at a loss for the 7th random fact. I'm sure there are lots to share but I simply cannot think of one. Give me some time and I'll get back with you!

Hairspray

I have been looking forward to last night for a LONG time! The Broadway musical Hairspray was showing at The Walton Arts Center and my friend Shannon and I went to see it. I've been a fan of the original Hairspray with Ricki Lake since it came out in 1988. My roommate blessed me with the DVD of it this year for my birthday. I had it on VHS at one time but I'm not exactly sure what happened to it. Although I'm not sure anything can be better than the original last night's experience was wonderful! I loved the music, the dancing, the costumes, all if it. There are a few things about the original movie that I wish would have been part of the musical i.e. The Roach but I was more than willing to over look that small detail. I appreciate their differences and I thorougly enjoy them both. If you are a fan of musicals and haven't seen this one I encourage you to do so. As with most musicals, and all entertainment for that matter, there are a few "adult" situations they could do without. I'm not really sure why they felt the need to add a little shadiness. The singing and dancing are enough to sell the show! But anyway, I had a great time! Not to mention Proctor and Gamble gave away "goodie" bags with some interesting items. A fun show and free stuff? Does it get any better than that?!

Weekend Fun

This weekend was full of excitement! Ok, so not really "excitement" but still it was a lot of fun. After work on Friday I headed to Clarksville to meet up with Josh. From there we drove to my parent's house in Little Rock. We didn't do much of anything on Friday night because we were tired. On Saturday morning we got up and went to Mimi's for breakfast. I had the pumpkin pancakes! They were soooo yummy!!!!

Aren't they cute??

After breakfast we went to Lifeway because I needed to do a little shopping. I love shopping in there! I could have been in there for hours. We didn't have long though because we were hurrying to get home in time to watch the Razorbacks play the Volunteers. If we knew then what we know now we could have spent more time shopping and less time watching the game. Anyway...Dad, Josh, and I made our way upstairs to "the hole" to watch the game.

I captured their smiling faces before the game. Goodness knows no one was smiling when it was over. To be honest after the Vols scored AGAIN in the 3rd quarter I went down stairs and helped my mom in the garage. I couldn't take it anymore!!! When the game was over we all just enjoyed a lazy afternoon. Josh and I packed up the car to head back to Clarksville while my mom and dad got ready to go to a function.

When Josh and I made it back to Clarksville we spent the rest of the night unloading the car and getting things ready for Sunday. Not only was Sunday the Thanksgiving potluck at Josh's church it was also a youth discipleship/fellowship. After church we all ate a wonderful Thanksgiving feast and then the youth stuck around and "fellowshiped" at the church. There was...

A little stretching...

A little ultimate frisbee...

A little hanging out...

A little guitar...

And a whole lot of fun!

After a fun filled day with Josh's kiddos I made my way back up "the hill" to my house. At this point I'm about to unpack my things and go to bed! I'm exhausted and I have a busy day tomorrow of NOT working!!!! Woohoo!!! Happy Veteran's Day!

The Biggest Loser

Am I the only one that watches and loves this show? I've always liked it but this year I've really been into it. Maybe it is because I'm undergoing my own personal "biggest loser" adventure. I realize I don't have nearly as much weight to lose as some of the people on this show but when it comes to weight loss its less about the numbers and more about the problem. The problem for me is my love for food and my lack of self control. I realize self-control is a fruit of the Spirit and its mine for the taking. Weight has always been an issue for me but I'm praying for freedom from the bondage of it. Satan knows food is a weakness of mine and it is an easy target for him. I say all of that just to say that this show helps keep me in check. I know that sounds a little dumb but I think if they have the courage to bear all on national television and work out and eat right then I can too! And it certainly helps to know that I'm not alone! Again I don't compare myself to them in terms of weight and measurements. I just think we all share a common bond. I'm thankful to say that I am losing. Praise the Lord! Unfortunately it is a slow process. And I'm trying really hard not to get so focused on the weight loss that I lose sight of the real lesson. Learning to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and allowing HIM to be my daily bread! Sure anyone can go on a diet, exercise, and lose weight. But for me it's a spiritual battle and with the help of the Lord I intend to win!!

So...just for the record, the black team is my favorite! Most people don't like their trainer Jillian but I do! I think she's awesome! And I'm really rooting for one of her members to win it all!