The Patio is Finished!

I’m sorry for not writing for the past couple days.  This weekend has been a little busy.  Yesterday, I spent the whole day cleaning and hanging up new pictures….

 

 

….such as this one of Fancy….

 

 

…and this one of our sweet Kaylee…

 

 

…and this ridiculous one of Lazarus.

But today, after much procrastination, I finally finished the last 2 curtains and curtain ties, which means that our covered patio is finally complete!  In case you didn’t read this post when I was contemplating between 2 different patio furniture sets, we ended up choosing the blue set, which actually turned out to be a light aqua/green color.  Luckily the pillows and curtain ties I had already made still matched.

It’s been almost a month since I started this patio project, which probably should have only taken a week or so.  But since I’m a procrastinator and like to take alot of breaks, it ended up taking significantly longer.  I’m so happy with the outcome, though.  It looks way better than I pictured it.

So without further ado…here is our new patio, complete with a lovely seating area and hand made curtains and pillows by yours truly.

 

 

 

 

 

There is a screen door that leads out to the yard, but if you look closely, you can see that we had to put a baby gate up in front of the door so that Camelot wouldn’t push the door open.  We had a latch that kept the door closed, but Camelot didn’t let that deter him.  He would somehow push the door open enough for him to squeeze through.  Then he would bark because he was trapped inside the patio.  When I would go out there to let him out, I could never figure out how he got into the porch.  The latch was still locked, and when I would pull on the door it would only open a couple inches.  Definitely not far enough for 150 lb Camelot to squeeze through.  I had a Houdini dog on my hands!

Finally, Camelot must have pushed the door too far, because he ended up breaking the latch.  So now, I have to put a baby gate in front of the door, as well as a door stopper on the other side so that the wind doesn’t keep pushing it open.  We really need to get that latch fixed.  Every time there’s a storm I can hear the screen door slamming closed every few minutes.  Thanks alot, Camelot!

 

 

The kitties like the patio too, because they can experience the outside world without being able to run away.

 

 

We got this cute lantern at the Ikea in Atlanta when we were there for the Pioneer Woman Book Signing.  I thought it would be a great little accessory for the patio.  And get this….it was only $4.99!  That Ikea, man….they have some great deals!

 

 

Here’s a close up of the curtain ties I made.  I’m most proud of the fact that I figured out how to sew a button hole and a button with my sewing machine!  I’m moving up in the world!

 

 

Triple Toe Loop

I had some amazing friends growing up.  And what’s more amazing is that I am still very close with almost all of them today!  Some of these friends were in the nursery with me at the school where our mothers were teachers.  We were practically friends from birth, and we made up some awesome games throughout the years.

One game in particular comes to mind 15 years later.  Every day during recess, my friends and I would go onto the grassy field and “figure skate.”  This field had a large dirt patch that ran along one side of the fence, and was about 10-12 feet wide.  During this time in our lives, Oksana Baiul, Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Tara Lipinski were our figure skating idols, and we would choreograph routines and pretend to ice skate on the dirt.

Our favorite move was the triple toe loop.  This is where the ice skater will skate backwards gaining speed and then sink her toe into the ice and spin 3 times in the air, landing perfectly with her leg in the air.  Of course, none of us could ever even dream of performing this move in real life, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t choreograph it into our routines.  Who cares if we were only able to spin half way around in the air.  To us, we were professional dirt ice skaters.

While one person performed, the others would sing a song for her to skate to.  We didn’t upgrade to an actual sound track until we were at my house, where I was able to bring the stereo out into the garage.  We would strap on our roller blades and do our routines in the drive way.  At least at home we could actually glide around on our roller blades instead of skimming our tennis shoes across the dirt field.

Ahh, the memories.  Of course we are WAY too sophisticated now to make up such a game…..or are we?  Girls, anyone up for some dirt figure skating? 🙂

Here’s the whole gang.  From left to right:  Alexis, Leah, Me, Missy, Renee (front and center), Jessica, and Katie.  Oh and there’s Jason Jamal in the white shirt in the background.  My elementary school crush. 🙂  Nevermind that I was about a foot taller than him.

A Surprise in the Mailbox

I love getting real mail.  You know, the kind that is delivered by the mailman?  I rifle through all the junk mail, newspaper coupons, and credit card pre-approvals each day, and once in a while there’s actually a little treasure worth opening!  Whether it be a note from a friend or family member, an invitation to a shower or party, or a present (which is the most exciting), those days when I get a real piece of mail bring happiness to my life.  Today was no exception.

A few months back, around Christmas time, I had pre-ordered Karen Kingsbury’s new book Leaving, which is a continuation of her Baxter Family series.  When I ordered it, I was so excited to receive it in a few months and dive right in.  I can read an entire Karen Kingsbury book in a single day.  It’s a little scary.  I’m in a different world when I read her books.  I completely forget about what is going on in my life and escape to the world inside the book.  I don’t think there has been one book when I haven’t laughed and cried as I read it.

Anyway, the months went by and I completely forgot that I had ordered her book…..until today, when it showed up in my mailbox!  Don’t you just love when that happens?

I can’t wait to start reading it!  Normally I don’t like to read two books at a time.  I have to finish the book I’m currently reading in order to start a new one.  It’s the OCD in me.  Right now I’m in the middle of George W. Bush’s book Decision Points, and while it is a very interesting read, it is a VERY loooooooong book, 477 pages to be exact.  I am only on page 254, which means I have to read 233 more pages until I can start this new Karen Kingsbury book.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait that long.  It’ll be going against my nature to start this book while in the middle of the other one, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.  I’m sure ole Georgie Boy will understand.

I’m an avid Karen Kingsbury fan if you couldn’t tell.  Excluding her children’s books, I own every book that she’s ever published.  This is just one shelf in my bookcase.  I have another one just like it. 🙂

To read now or to read later…..that is my dilemma.  I’ve also got the full Twilight series that Steve gave me for Christmas to read, plus several other books that I haven’t gotten to yet.  Looks like I have alot of reading in my future.

My Name is Not Amanda

After Steve and I (and the furbabies) moved to Tennessee, we changed our phone numbers to match the local 615 area code.  It made us feel like official Nashvillians (not to be confused with Nash-villains).  Unfortunately, ever since I got my new Nashville phone number 2 years ago I’ve been getting phone calls for a person named Amanda Phelps.  Now these aren’t just any phone calls.  They’re detectives and investigator calls.  Apparently Miss Phelps has a little check fraud in her background, and, as luck would have it, she had my phone number before me.

Most of the time these phone calls are made by automated voices saying “This message is for.……long pause…..Amanda Phelps (insert computer generated voice).”  And it basically asks her to call back regarding an investigation of complaints of fraud against her.  Like that would ever happen, even if she still had this number.  “Oh yah, let me go ahead and call back the people who are investigating my check fraud.”  Riiiiiiiight.

Anyway, I usually just let any numbers that I don’t recognize go to voicemail, because chances are if I don’t recognize the number, it’s for Amanda.  A couple times at the beginning, I would answer the calls and if it was miraculously a real live person I would tell them to please stop calling this number.  I am not, nor have I ever been Amanda Phelps, and I do not know anyone named Amanda Phelps.  Usually they say that they’ll make a note of it, and then the calls stop for a couple weeks.  But after those few weeks the calls pick back up, and we go through this whole song and dance again.  They have literally called over 5 times a day sometimes.  It gets REALLY annoying.  Especially when a live person leaves a voicemail for Amanda.  I mean, really?  My voicemail says “Hi, you’ve reached JOANNA….” NOT AMANDA…..JOANNA!!!!

So today, I was at work putting e-cig kits together (Steve and I own an electronic cigarette company) and I get a call from an unknown number.  I silenced the ringer knowing it was another call for check fraud lady, but suddenly I had had enough.  This has been going on for 2 years and it needs to stop!  I don’t want to have to change my phone number, which is clearly what Miss Phelps did after the multiple harassing calls each day.

I answered the phone, and the voice on the other end said: “Hi, can I speak to Amanda?”

Me: “If you’re looking for someone named Amanda Phelps she is not at this number.  I have had this number for two years and I keep getting calls for this person and each time I tell them that I am Joanna, not Amanda.  Please STOP calling me!”

Investigator: “Well I called the other day and the voicemail greeting said Amanda.”

Me: “Umm, no it says Joanna.”

Investigator: “No, I listened to it yesterday and it clearly says Amanda.”

Me: “Look, it says Joanna.  Wouldn’t I know what my own voicemail greeting says since I’m the one who set it up?  My name is Joanna Pentland, NOT AMANDA!”

Investigator: “Well if this is Amanda, you have a warrant for your arrest regarding check fraud–“

Me: “Well, I’m Joanna so I don’t have a warrant and you can stop calling me.”  —Click

He called back 2 seconds after I hung up but I let it go to voicemail.  I’m sure he heard that it did indeed say “Joanna” because he didn’t leave a message.

On a happier note, there was a large box by our garage when we arrived home this evening.  And guess what it was……..

Our patio furniture!!!!!!  I still have to make 2 more curtains and curtain ties until it will be complete.  But doesn’t it just look beautiful!!!!?  I love it!  Just in time for spring!

 

First Mow of the Season

Steve mowed our lawn today!  The first mow of the spring season.  Living in California my entire life, until 2 years ago, I never knew that you didn’t have to mow your lawn all year round.  From what I think I remember, you normally have to mow your lawn in the winter in California.  Or at least, I can remember being woken up every Wednesday around 7:30am from the gardeners mowing our large backyard.  We had an abnormally large backyard for the San Fernando Valley.  Almost an acre to be exact.  You can’t get a yard that size anymore.  Luckily my dad bought the land in the 80’s, when land was still relatively inexpensive, and built our family home.

Over here in Tennessee, you don’t mow your lawn in the winter.  How convenient!  The grass just doesn’t grow when it gets to a certain temperature (a temperature it never gets to in CA).  I’m sure many people who don’t live in sunny CA are rolling their eyes and thinking “Duh, where have you been?”  Well….in CA, that’s where!  I’m just learning about the different seasons over here in the South where there actually ARE seasons.  Ahh snow, how I love thee!  Autumn, you are gorgeous too!

Our grass was getting pretty long.  I picked up the dog poop yesterday and could barely see it through the forest of grass!  And let me tell you, the dog poop is usually not hard to miss with our beasts of dogs!  It’s like picking up human poop out there!  Sorry if that was a little bit too much information.  It’s just that I hadn’t done it in a couple weeks and I was pretty much up to my eyeballs in poop.  It was not a pretty situation….nor a pleasant smelling one either.

Steve loves our riding lawn mower.  Sometimes I like to mow the lawn too, since that thing is just so fun to drive, and I have to put up a pretty good fight for Steve to let me take the reins….or wheel as it were.  (By the way, those brown patches on the right are courtesy of our dogs.  They enjoy relieving themselves in the perimeter of our patio, which completely killed the grass there, and it’s now completely hard, compacted dirt.  We’re contemplating if we should just leave it until we try to sell the house, or if we should put sod in and try to fence off the area until it has grown in.  Suggestions?)

We even got a free pressure washer with our mower when we bought it!  That has really come in handy since we have dogs with muddy feet that like to stain our concrete brownish red from the clay dirt on their paws.

We actually got an upgraded pressure washer because they were out of the one that was supposed to come with the mower.  Score!  That reminds me, I really need to pressure wash the patio before Elizabeth’s bridal shower next month.  Put that on the “To Do” list.

This is courtesy of Camelot this morning.  I had the dirt and Miracle Grow mixture all nice and leveled out yesterday in my raised vegetable/flower bed, and this morning, after leaving Camelot alone in the backyard for a couple hours, I found this lovely sight.  At least I hadn’t planted the seeds yet!  Then I would have probably been alot more upset.  Luckily this is an easy fix.  We’ll be getting a little fence to go around the vegetable garden so this won’t happen again.  Camelot usually doesn’t jump small fences (or baby gates) unless there’s a thunderstorm and he’s trying to get to us because he’s scared.  The little pansy.

Look at this boy.  He doesn’t exactly scream “ferocious” with this face.  He likes to put on a mean front if you’re a stranger ringing our doorbell, but inside he’s just a pansy boy.  Your secret is out, Camelot!

I installed these stone tiles that lead to our hose today.  We still have to put either mulch or gravel in between them, but at least part of it is done.  It always gets so muddy back there, and it’s such a hassle trying to get the hose out, so hopefully this will help.

I also dug out several of our dead bushes in the front (Steve helped) and raked the old mulch into piles that have yet to be disposed of.  See, we didn’t have any heavy duty trash bags to dump it into so we just had to leave it there over night until we could get said trash bags.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!  My beautiful peonies will go in this large spot in the front.  I can’t wait until they start blooming!

Another accomplishment today was putting the bricks and top soil around each of the two trees in our front yard.  I think it looks so much better than before!  Unfortunately I didn’t take any before pictures, but just imagine that those bricks aren’t there and that the roots are sticking out of the ground.  We still have to put some mulch on top of the soil, but it already looks 100x better than it did.

Did I mention that I love spring?  Look at these blossoms!  Gorgeous!

I love when the earth comes back to life after a long flowerless winter!

I think this deserves to be framed.  God’s creation is so pretty!

This tree is a thorn in my side……except in the early spring when it looks like this.

Oh glory, if only it could look like this all year round!  Except during the spring, this tree is exceptionally ugly!  It hardly produces any leaves, and the branches hang downwards like a frown.  We were planning on ripping it out and planting some rose bushes or something with a little more color, but then I saw the blossoms.  Oh how these blossoms nurture my soul!  I’m sure in a couple months I’ll want to rip it out again, but for right now, it’s just so pretty to look at.

Teriyaki Chicken & Pineapple Bowls

I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for more chicken recipes.  And when we don’t want to go out to a Japanese or Chinese Restaurant but still want some teriyaki chicken, I make this delicious teriyaki chicken & pineapple bowl.  But if you think I just throw some chicken and pineapple in a pan and pour on some teriyaki sauce, you’d be terribly mistaken.  I make this teriyaki sauce with chicken stock, honey, sesame oil, and finally, the ingredient that is this recipe’s namesake….teriyaki sauce!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup white rice (or brown if it suits your fancy)

1 cup chicken stock (choose low sodium stock if you’d like a healthier option)

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp sesame oil

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

Can of pineapple chunks, drained

 

 

Start by pouring the chicken stock into a small sauce pan.

This is the stock I use.  It’s unsalted, cuz who needs more sodium?  Pretty sure Americans get way more sodium than is healthy, and plus, salt makes you retain water and feel bloated, and lets face it…..bloated is not a good look for me.  (Was that a run on sentence?)

Bring stock to a boil.

Then add the honey.  I’ve found that it pours alot easier if you take the cap off.  Thick honey and that tiny little pouring hole do not go well together.

Next you’re going to add the sesame oil.  You can find this on the international foods aisle at your local grocery store.  Don’t skip it, cuz it add a really nice flavor to the sauce.

I poured it in without measuring, but if you’re not a good eyeballer make sure you measure the sesame oil because a little goes a loooooooong way!  It’s a very strong flavor and if you add too much it could overpower the sauce.  Since you probably will only use sesame oil for a couple recipes you might want to keep it in the fridge.  It’ll keep longer that way.  But don’t worry, it lasts for a pretty long time.

Now add the teriyaki.  Normally I don’t use this particular teriyaki sauce.  I like to use a thicker sauce that has the consistency of ranch dressing or something like that.  Sorry, that was probably a bad comparison because teriyaki sauce and ranch dressing taste nothing alike, but just keep the thickness and consistency in mind when you are looking for a teriyaki sauce.

Let that simmer for a little bit while you prepare the chicken.

Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces.

Add a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) to a pan and heat to medium high.

Add your chicken and some salt and pepper.

Once your chicken is fully cooked, add drained pineapple and toss into pan with the chicken.  Pour enough of the teriyaki sauce mixture onto the chicken and pineapple to coat the bottom of the pan and surround the chicken.  Bring it to a bubble.

Cook for about 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  You want the chicken and pineapple to fully absorb the flavor of the sauce.

Put some white (or brown) rice in a bowl and spoon the chicken and pineapple on top.  If you want ALOT of flavor, pour some of the left over sauce on top of the chicken and let it soak into the rice.  Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top, and you’ve got yourself a nice Asian dinner without the restaurant prices!  Now who doesn’t like that?

 

Wedding Mania

Yesterday marked the 4 month countdown of our wedding.  I can’t believe how fast the time is going by!  (I apologize to all the English teachers of the world for the preposition at the end of the sentence).  Yesterday, Steve and I met with our wedding venue Historic Cedarwood in Nashville to finalize all the details of the ceremony and reception.  We chose flowers, food, decorations, table linens, invitations, and music (I use the term “we” here very loosely.  Steve was basically there for moral support.  Although he did pick out our table cloths, some of the food, and the monogram for our napkins.  Great job, love!)  It’s so great to have a venue that takes care of everything except the photographer and minister!  Makes my life so much easier not to have to run around town to several different places to get everything I need done.

We’re getting married at a beautiful antebellum house on several acres that was built in 1835.  Luckily they have several rain options in the small chance that it rains on our wedding day.

Here is the front of the house.  The reception will be under the covered patio on the left.

The ceremony site is right behind the patio.

I don’t think I could have pictured a more beautiful setting.  Planning everything yesterday just made it all so real!  I can’t believe I’m going to marry my best friend in 4 months!

We also booked our honeymoon cruise yesterday!!!  We almost didn’t get the cruise we wanted.  Princess cruise lines has a limited number of cruises to the Caribbean during the summer, and the only one that happened to be close to our wedding was July 28 leaving from New York.  That was perfectly fine by me since I had never been to New York!  Steve and I would drive up a few days early and stop along the way to see the sights.

Yesterday, when I went to book the cruise, much to my dismay it said “No cabins available” for our July 28th cruise!  Oh no!!!  The next Caribbean cruise wasn’t until Sept 29th, and I didn’t want to wait over 2 months after our wedding to finally go on our honeymoon.

Luckily, both Steve’s brother and sister in law work for Princess.  They were able to open up a reservation just for us on the ship we wanted.  Phew!  What a close call!  I was so grateful!

Now we just have to wait 4 more months until we are man and wife!  It can’t come fast enough…..well,  as long as I can lose these last 10 pounds, that is. 🙂

Just Ridiculous

This evening, Steve and I were hanging out on the couch doing what we do best, watching TV.  The Biggest Loser and V to be exact.  Oh how we love those shows!  Nothing like a good alien lizard to get your blood pumping.  (“Anna” on V that is, not Jillian Michaels.  I actually happen to like Jillian, except all her product endorsements.  Those can get kinda annoying).  They ended this V episode with such a cliffhanger!  Augh!  Hate when they do that…but I love it at the same time!  Keeps me interested, which I assume is their goal.  Pretty sure the goal of any TV network is to keep people interested.

Anyway we look over in the midst of our TV watching experience, and what do we see?  Well lets just see if you can figure it out.

Do you see anything peculiar?

How about now?

Here, I’ll make it easy for you.  LOOK AT THAT PAW!!!!  That is not a front paw as you may think.  Oh no!  That, my friends, is his back paw.  Please tell me how in the world that is comfortable?  I swear, this cat can sit in any position and be perfectly content.

Just ridiculous.  The more I look at it, the more it freaks me out.  Does anyone else share this feeling or is it just me?

Honey Chicken

If you’re looking for a chicken recipe, this one is amazing.  Steve’s mom, Toli, gave me this recipe per Steve’s request, and I have made it many times much to his delight.  If I can’t think of what to make for dinner, I usually go back to this since I know it’s a winner.

Here’s what you’ll need:

boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup honey

1/2 cup yellow mustard

1 tbsp seasoned salt

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 (1 stick) butter, melted

Pre-heat oven to 375°.  As if you needed a picture to show you what to do. 🙂  Hey, what can I say?  I like to be thorough.

Fill a measuring cup with 1 cup of honey.  You’ll want a large measuring cup so you can add the other ingredients on top of the honey and still have room to stir it around.

Next, add the yellow mustard.  Oh, by the way, this is a portion size for about 2-3 people.  You can double or triple the recipe as needed depending on how much sauce you want.

Add seasoned salt….

….and curry powder to the honey and mustard.

Give it a good stir so that all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Next put a stick of butter in a coffee mug, or another microwave proof glass

and melt it.

Pour melted butter into a baking dish.

Then pour honey/mustard mixture onto the butter.

Mmmm, look at that heart attack waiting to happen!

Place chicken breasts into the dish and coat well with the sauce.  Don’t be afraid to get your hand nice and sticky.

Bake for 30 minutes.

During this time you can upload and edit the photos you’ve been taking throughout this entire cooking process, paint your toe nails, watch an episode of Friends, walk your dog, run around the block, go on facebook, check to see if your photo has been picked as a finalist on The Pioneer Woman’s Photography Assignment (which it hasn’t…yet), or snuggle with your significant other.

I’ll leave it up to your imagination to decide which one I chose to do. 🙂

When your timer starts beeping at you after 30 minutes, take the dish out of the oven, turn the chicken breasts over and spoon sauce over each piece.  Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.  Then lay your finished chicken on a bed of rice.  Make sure to spoon a bunch of sauce over your rice as well!  Yum.  Make a side dish of your own choosing.  Enjoy!

The Pioneer Woman Book Signing

This weekend Steve and I drove 4.5 hours to Atlanta, GA for the Pioneer Woman book signing!  She was there promoting her book Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, which is the story of how she met, married, and started a life with her husband “Marlboro Man.”  It was a long drive, and I wanted to leave early enough so that we could get there in time to be towards the front of the line.  So I set my alarm for 9:00am.  Yes…what an early riser!!!  But that is early compared to our normal waking hour of 10:00 – 10:30am.  Now if you’re mouth is hanging open at this point thinking, “how can they possibly wake up that late every day?”, let me assure you that we make up for it by going to bed between 2:30-3:30am every night.

So anyway, I woke up at 9am, hoping to leave by 10am, but when I woke Steve up at 9:45 he gave his famous line of “give me a few more minutes.”  Ahhhhh!  Doesn’t he know that it’s THE PIONEER WOMAN we’re going to see!?  There are going to be hundreds of women there and we have 4.5 hours to drive….plus an hour time difference between Nashville and Atlanta.  WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!!!

We finally ended up getting on the road around 10:45, and we had to stop by Barnes & Noble to pick up her cookbook because I didn’t want to get to the Borders in Atlanta and have them be sold out.  We also had to drop our house key off with Rustin, since he and Elizabeth would be taking care of the fur babies while we were gone.

For most of the drive to Atlanta we listened to Fox News on our Sirius XM Radio, listening to the news of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  After the president’s speech and Q&A it started getting pretty redundant so we switched to some tunes.

Then finally the country farms and pastures started diminishing and traffic and high rises started coming into view.  We were almost there!

Downtown Atlanta!  Woot woot!!!

When we exited the freeway, I noticed these beautiful blossoming trees and I just had to snap a picture!  Spring is finally here!  If only that horrible truck wasn’t there ruining a perfectly good picture.

I had always had these preconceived notions of Atlanta being super ghetto and dirty and unsafe.  But when we arrived, that was not the impression I got at all.  First of all, when we exited the freeway we had to drive through this multimillion dollar neighborhood with these gigantic stately homes.  Then, when we got to the main road the buildings were beautiful.  There were nice cars everywhere, and it wasn’t what I expected at all, which was a nice surprise.

Finally, we had made it!  And I wanted to be one of the first people to spot The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond!

Instead, I was the first to spot her husband, Marlboro Man, and her 2 sons, Bryce and Todd.  It was just about as exciting to see them as it was to see The Pioneer Woman herself!  They are in almost all of her pictures, so to meet them in person was really special.  I don’t know what I was thinking, but after Steve took this picture of us tons of women crowded in asking to take pictures and getting him to sign their books.  Why hadn’t I thought to ask him to sign my book?  He was, after all, one of the 2 main characters!

So I asked the boys to sign my book. 🙂

And then I waited…..

….and waited….

….and finally, it was my turn!   Again.

Yay!  Look at me!  My name is Joanna, and Marlboro Man is signing my book!

Thank you Romance Novel Cowboy!  It was so nice to meet you for the 2nd time in one day!

Here’s a close up of Bryce, Ree’s oldest son….but 3rd born child.  Look at his cute cowboy belt buckle!

Steve tried making friends with Todd, Ree’s youngest, but he was pretty shy.

Todd seemed like he was getting pretty bored.

So did Bryce.

How cute are these boots?  I had to take a picture of them!  And then I had to make everything else black and white so that they would stand out even more. 🙂  Boots are definitely a must for when I have kids.

This is Marlboro Man.  He is a REAL cowboy on a REAL ranch in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma.

He is the cowboy that swept Los Angeles girl, Ree, off her feet so that she abandoned her plans to move to Chicago and settled down to be a country ranch wife instead.

These are their 2 beautiful boys (their 2 daughters were back home in Oklahoma).  Aren’t they cutie patooies!?

And look!  They’re holding hands!  So sweet!

Now back to business.  I was at the front of the line at this point, and had already been waiting for 4 hours.  There were still this many people behind me in line!  I can’t imagine what time they got out of there.

It’s almost my turn!  Only a few people in front of me at this point.  My back was really hurting by this time, but at least I had her book to read to pass the time.  Unfortunately when there was only one person in front of me, Ree decided she needed a potty break.  Sigh….why did it have to be right before my turn?  I know, I know, when you have to go, you have to go!

Oh my goodness!  I’m next!!!

Waiting patiently….or impatiently….I’ll never tell.

Then finally, it was my turn!  “Hi!  I’m Joanna and I’m your biggest fan!!!”  Just kidding, I didn’t say that.  But I was pretty nervous.

But she was SUPER nice, and gorgeous!

I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to think of anything to say, but she was very good at asking questions and keeping the conversation going….and actually seeming interested in what I had to say!  That had to be hard after meeting so many people in a row and still being able to make each person feel like they were the only one in the room.  Thank you for that, Ree.

Here I was telling her about our e-cigarette business and she said, “Are those those things they had on the Real Housewives of (insert city here)?”  And I was like, “Umm, I have no idea cuz I don’t watch that show, but I know you do!!!”  She mentions the Real Housewives show often in her blog.  We both had a good laugh about that. 😀

It was a great birthday weekend!  And I’m so glad we went!  Thank you, Steve, for making the 4.5 hour trek with me to Atlanta to see my favorite blogger, The Pioneer Woman!  You are amazing and I love you so much!

We couldn’t leave Atlanta without going to IKEA!!!!  We finally got a coffee table for the bonus room!  And several picture frames.  Oh how I love Ikea!  How do they offer all those items for such a good price!?

When I got home, these pretty buds were waiting to greet me.

Spring has officially come to Nashville!  Oh how I have waited for you!

Then I had to ruin the day by burning myself while making dinner that night.  I did this by lifting the lid off a boiling pot of water and allowing the hot steam to burn my wrist.  Sigh….