Catching Up!

My first order of business is to post a picture of my little buddy, Zach! Katie and Zach came by my office last week to hang out. I LOVE that they do that! It's such a blessing in the middle of a work day! Zach was was very active and curious. I think he wore himself out though!

Then this past weekend I went to Little Rock. It was my sister's birthday weekend so we celebrated with none other than CUPCAKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm obsessed and it is ridiculous!

Not only did we have some of these on Friday we went and got more on Saturday. They had new flavors that we had to try. I didn't take a picture b/c I figure there are only so many cupcake pictures you want to see!

Before eating cupcakes my dad grilled out and we opened presents. I say "we" b/c I was finally able to open my first wedding present (the crock pot). My dad tried to take a picture but didn't realize you had to keep the camera in place until the flash was finished.

Josh had a present to open too!

I got him these two signs to hang in his office at church.

Then my sister opened presents!

She thought I was getting her a book...

...but got her this bag instead!

Chloe and mom didn't get any presents but we dressed Chloe up like a present.

Last night I met some friends at Market Place Grill to say goodbye to my friend Rebekah. You can read more about it here. One of the most interesting things was how attached Emily (Laurie's daughter) was to me all night. From the moment I got there she wanted me to hold her. Then she wanted to sit in my lap the whole time at dinner.

If you knew Emily you would know why this is strange. She's never taken a liking to me like that. Don't get me wrong she is so sweet but very independent. She's a mover and a shaker! I was thrilled to have her extra attention last night. I think there are two reason she was especially drawn to me. First of all...my braces! She sat in my lap and wanted to touch them. Very mesmerized by them. Second of all was this. Laurie said she shows Emily this picture and she just stares at it all the time. Laurie and I think somewhere in her little girl subconscious she knows I was Cinderella!

Now Open!!!

I had a great start to my weekend with a treat Josh brought me from Little Rock!

Cupcakes on Kavanaugh is finally open! Josh tried to capture my expression when I opened the box. It's a little blurry and a little surprising.

I was a little sad because a few of them had seen better days.

Well let me tell you they were delicious!!!!! I'm going to have to be very careful when I move to LR because I can see myself needing these every day. I might just have to walk there from wherever we live, hopefully 20 miles away, so I don't blow up!

After I calmed down from my cupcake excitement Josh and I went to Mike and Brooke's for the beginning of our premarital planning. We had a great time! They are such a wonderful family and have a lot of great things for Josh and I.

Mike and Brooke

Thomas and Abigail

Me and Josh

Saturday morning was a lazy day for me! When Josh arrived at my house I had breakfast ready for him. I slaved all morning (not even) over the cereal, turkey bacon, and coffee that I served him. Actually Holly made the coffee.

After breakfast and our Bible study (we started studying the book of Romans together last weekend) Josh started working on my lawn mower. Really he was just trying to get to make it fit into his car in order to take it to be fixed. He worked so hard! Thanks, Josh!

That pretty much sums up the excitement! I took a nap yesterday and today so I'm feeling super lazy to start the week! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Every Girl Wants To Be A Princess

It is true isn't? Every girl does want to be a princess! It doesn't really matter how old you are! Well, lucky for me I was able to do just that! I'm sharing the following story with you because it is somewhat the beginning of a beautiful friendship I have with Mike and Brooke. Why am I telling you about them? Well first of all because I love and adore them (as well as their two children) but also because Mike has agreed to perform our wedding ceremony. Not only that but he and Brooke are going to help Josh and I in our "premarital planning." We start this weekend!

Here's the story!

Two years ago my friend Shannon and I were faithful to support our church's softball team by attending the games and cheering them on. One of the players on the team was Mike. I had seen him before because he is very involved in our church. He serves as a deacon, sings in the choir, sings in ensembles, helps with the youth, and pretty much does whatever is needed. Brooke, his better half, was always at the games to support her husband and the other men playing. It was through that she and I began a friendship. I immediately took a liking to her because was spunky, sassy, and funny...just like me! :) I hadn't really known her all that well when she asked if I would help her out with her daughter's birthday party. Before realizing what was really in store I said yes. It was then I realized she wanted me to dress up like a Disney Princess. She kept telling me I didn't have do it and that she knew she was asking a lot of me. Are you kidding? An excuse to dress up like a princess. That doesn't come around every day...unless you're a child and then it is completely acceptable. I kept telling her I would love to and then began searching for my costume. We decided Cinderella was a good choice! I was going to go to the local consignment stores and see if I could make something work but decided it would be easier and much more authentic if I ordered a costume online. And so I did!

Don't mind the dark roots!

I wish I had a picture of my other partners in crime! I'll try to get it scanned in so you can all see it. My friend Sarah was Snow White and my friend Audra was Belle. It really was a great party! And of course Brooke wanted each girl to feel like a princess but she also wanted them all to know that being a princess means we belong to The King! Our roles as the featured guests were to read this story:

Uneventful

As far as my weekend is concerned it was pretty uneventful! Which these days is a HUGE blessing!

When I got home from work I saw that my order from Amazon had arrived! I was soooo happy! It was only one day earlier I got the confirmation e-mail it had shipped so I really wasn't expecting it for another day or so. I ordered 3 things but I can only show you two. The third one is a surprise for my bridesmaids! Here are two things I am very excited about:

A Maui guide book and a cupcake cake pan!

HELLO?!?!? How great are these? First of all, Kelly told me this book would be very useful in planning our honeymoon to Maui. I'm very excited to go through it! Oh, and a cupcake cake pan! Are you kidding? How great is that?!? I can't wait to make my first cake. I'll be sure to post pictures.

And then on Saturday, another surprise!

Josh and I were sitting on my couch using our laptops. Dueling laptops is what I like to call it. He was working on his church calendar and I was messing around on the world wide web. Of course I decided I needed to check my registry to see if anyone had purchased anything. I was making my way through them when I squealed with excitement! Someone had purchased us the crock pot I picked out.

I shared my excitement with Josh then called my mother. I think my mom was more excited than Josh was. She can understand how great a crock pot is. And how great getting my first mark in the "purchased" category on my registry is. After I got off the phone I talked to Josh about who I thought it could be. During our conversation my mom called me back. Guess what? They JUST delivered a package to me! Wooohoo! My crock pot had arrived and Josh's family in Texas were the ones behind the great gift! I was, and still am, so excited! I can't wait to go home next week and open it!

Sorry for the lack of excitement and pictures from this weekend! I'm sure I'll make up for it soon! My weekends are about to be full of excitement for the next 5 months. Ready or not here it comes!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

OK...so it isn't May yet but when I arrived at home yesterday after my water aerobics class i.e. H2O Mixer I had a wonderful little surprise (don't mind the very poor picture quality).

My first bloom of the season!

jj

I was so excited yet so sad because I knew what was coming...bad weather. I was worried it wouldn't survive out there all by itself! This morning as I was leaving for work I stopped to check on my little flower and this is what I saw:

It was standing just as proud today as it was yesterday!

I just had to stop and think about how awesome God's creation is. I mean, this beautiful tulip out there by itself in the middle of high winds, hard rain, and some hail and it didn't budge! So delicate yet so strong! I love it!

jj

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20

jj

Speaking of the weather it was quite interesting. All week we had been warned about the storms we would be having. Sure enough the weathermen were right! The only problem is the they didn't know if they would turn into tornadoes or not. They said at any time one or more of the storms could indeed turn into a tornado and that we would be experiencing storms all night. So since my closet is the innermost part of the house it has become mine and Holly's (my roommate) safe place. I got it all ready in case we had to take shelter. Just as I was about to settle in bed and watch the radar Holly shows up with her pillows and blanket in tow and jumped in bed with me...where she stayed all night.

Holly snuggled up all cozy.

This is what we watched ALL night long.

We went to sleep pretty well but then both woke up at 2:30 and watched the weather for a bit. Fortunately the storms up here didn't turn into any tornadoes so we were safe.

On a totally different note...well not completely different...

In 2004 both my great grandfather and my grandfather passed away. For my great grandfather is was quick but for my grandfather it was a long hard time for my mom and my family. They ended up both passing within a month of each other. It was tough, of course, but knowing the suffering had ended for my grandfather made his death more bearable. And know that my great grandfather wouldn't have to bury a child made his death bearable as well. When they died my mom's friend Cynthia had two dogwood trees planted in my parent's backyard in memory of my two Papa's. The trees did not adapt easily at all. Part of it was because we had a couple of really late freezes in the years to come and the trees showed little, if any, life at all. I actually kind of forgot about them because I assumed they would never bloom.

A couple of weeks ago my mom was outside feeding the ducks (not theirs but ones that live around the neighborhood and visit every day) and out of the corner of her eye she spotted something...

One of the trees bloomed!

It didn't bloom fully but what blooms it does have are beautiful. As you can imagine it was an emotional experience. At first I was just so thankful! I thought it was something my mom really needed at the time. But then I started to realize what a lesson there is in it! When things look to be hopeless don't give up! Just wait! And let God bring His plan to life!
jj

P.S. Here are a couple of the ducks...

... playing in the pond.

Registered

So sorry it has taken me a while to post! I hate to let my readers down (Caroline and Kelly) so here you go!

This weekend was the weekend to register! Let me just say for the record, I am NOT a fan of this process. I know for some it is so much fun but for me it wasn't fun at all. That's probably because I don't like making decisions about things that I may or may not have for years to come. It totally stressed me out and I had even done research on lots of products already. We didn't get around to everything but we sure wore ourselves out trying!

This is what Josh looked like a lot of the weekend.

He had fun with the gun.

I'm surprised I had a smile on my face after this exhausting day.

My dad and Josh found plenty to do to entertain themselves.

My parents graciously came with us to help lend some much needed opinions.

After a long day we went to Sam's. I love this place! Too bad I can't register there!

Josh bought me my first wedding gift. Isn't he sweet?

As far as the registry goes I still have a lot to get done but we got a good bit out of the way. We mainly focused on kitchen and dining. Here's a glimpse at some of the things I picked out:

Vera Wang Platinum Grosgrain

Kate Spade Larabee Dot Accent Plates

Vera Wang Classic Iced Tea Glasses

Lenox Continental

My everyday dinnerware gave me fits. I wanted something plain and something colorful so I registered for two sets.

Pottery Barn Emma (but I chose cereal bowls and mugs)

Misto Dinnerware...4 settings of each...colors are much more vibrant in person.

And being the nice fiance that I am, I let Josh register for a few things. He chose:

An Egg Plate

Microwave Bacon Grill

Tortilla Warmer

He also chose a microwave omelet thingy, and a hamburger patty maker!

Ace of Cakes

One of my favorite shows to watch is Ace of Cakes. I'm sure that comes as a shock to all of you! For those of you who aren't familiar with the show I'll tell you a little about it. It comes on The Food Network where cameras go inside the Baltimore Bakery, Charm City Cakes. This isn't your ordinary bakery. They known for making very extreme yet realistic looking cakes. Every week I am blown away by the cakes they make! Some of my favorites are:

With Arkansas Razorbacks, of course!!!

Not only can they make anything you can possibly imagine they have about any flavor you can possible imagine as well! It's insane! Some seem a little crazy for a cake but I think I would enjoy them all...with a few exceptions.

Flavors:

Almond amaretto cream*almond poundcake*apples and cinnamon*banana caramel*bananas foster*black forest*blackberry sourcream*blueberry muffin*brownie*beurre noisette*butterscotch walnut*cardamon and pistachio*caribbean black cake*carrot*cheery and almond*chocolate*chocolate cherry*chocolate chip muffin*chocolate espresso*chocolate mint*chocolate orange*chocolate rasperberry*dulce de leche*egg nog*ginger and green tea*italian orange and vanilla*lemon curd and berries*lemon poppyseed*lemon poundcake*marble*mudslide*orange and ginger*peaches and cream*peanut butter and jelly*peanut butter cup*pear compote and ginger*pear spice*pecan pie*pineapple coconut*pumpkin chocolate chip*pumpkin and cinnamon*red velvet*smores*strawberry shortcake*thai iced coffee*thai iced tea*tiramisu*white*white chocolate ganache*white chocolate raspberry*yellow

Now, don't run out to Baltimore and expect to order yourself a cake! They are booked up until 2010!! And they don't do a waiting list.

OK, so after watching this show and dreaming of a Charm City Cake to call my very own I sat around this weekend and tried to decide exactly what I'd want them to make for me. After much thought I think I would want a giant cupcake. One with a silver cupcake liner, colored icing, and fun sprinkles. As for the flavor, this was the toughest decision. If I were in the mood for chocolate (which is most of the time) I would pick the brownie but if not I'd go for strawberry shortcake.


What about you? If you could have then design any cake in the world for you, what would it be? And what flavor would you choose?