Mandy and Jace

So we finally did it. We moved out of our apartment and into our very own house. Jace and I have been looking at houses for sale for a long time and we got very close to getting a couple of houses but nothing felt right. I can’t really explain it, but I just new when we walked into those other houses that they weren’t MY house. So about eight months ago the opportunity came up to get a house built by Mark Payne Homes and we jumped on it. The great thing was we were able to watch our house being built. I loved getting to see where everything was going to be and the process of picking out the colors and designs. The entire process was smooth as silk and it is exactly what we were looking for and more.

We are now in the process of moving in. Thanks to my family and our very good friends, Chad and Jamie we are officially moved in. Now, I’m trying to get all of our stuff unpacked and in a designated spot. I never dreamed we had so much stuff. I was sure that I would have no trouble getting everything into this house and now as I’m putting it up, I’m not sure if it’s all going to fit! Be on the look out for a MAJOR garage sale, because I’m getting rid of lots of stuff we don’t need.

I think my favorite part of the house is the kitchen. I love the counters we chose and they look beautiful with the cabinets. We set it up first because I hated the idea of eating fast food all week when all of our cooking equipment was right there in boxes.

While I was working on the kitchen, Jace put together our TV and all the little boxes that comes with it. All I know is it comes on when I push power so I’d say that was a success.

After I got the kitchen together, I put together the living room, bedroom and our bathroom. I know, my priorities are a little screwed up. The unpacking process is coming along quicker than I thought it would, and all I have to do now is work on the office and guest room. I am planning to have an open house in the next month or so so you all can come and see our new house. We love to show it off!

I took TONS of photos. Too many to fit on here so you can find all the rest of the photos here on Flickr.

So, I know I should have done this at the beginning of the year but honestly I really wasn’t thinking about it then. I have lots of goals I want to reach by the end of the year and I have come to the realization that if I don’t tell someone about them, I won’t get them done. I have already conquered one goal but the rest I haven’t even thought about yet. So here is a list of my goals for this year.

Read more books
Learn to drive a standard transmission
Bake more breads
Learn to shoot (and look like Angelina Jolie doing it)
Learn photoshop
Climb the alpine tower at Lone Tree
Eat more candlelit dinners
Find a piece of seafood that I can stand to eat

I’ll post my achievements as I get them done through out the year. I’d love to know what your goals are, and if you don’t have them I encourage you to get a piece of paper out and write some down. You never know what you can do until you try and the pride that comes with conquering your goals is priceless.

I hate to admit this but I hate thunderstorms. I don’t know why but the mere mention of a thunderstorm in the area makes me nauseous. I think I’ve figured out what makes them so scary. Tornadoes. I am terrified of tornadoes. The funny thing is I remember exactly what started my fear. When I was in 2nd grade my teacher thought it would be a fabulous idea to call in a local weatherman to talk about tornadoes. He showed us this horrifying video that showed all the damage they cause. He gave death statistics and all, TO 2ND GRADERS! From then on I have these visions of little me getting carried off by a huge tornado and being thrown into another county or I see a photo of me with my beautiful Louboutins sticking out of my head (at least the red sole would match the blood). If I could just remember who the weatherman was I swear they would be getting a nasty letter from me.

So, Friday I went home for lunch and happily turned on the Private Practice episode that was on the DVR and ate lunch. All of a sudden the clouds opened up and God said “I hate you, Alfalfa”. Not really, I just had to throw that in there; I looked on Facebook and saw people talking about tornadoes in the area. Trying to be calm I turned on the TV and saw, lo and behold, they were heading straight for me, and I was alone. Panic hit and I immediately called Jace at work, balling and squealing. He told me to go in our downstairs bathroom and wait it out. SURE! I’ll do that! Just go have a seat and wait, cause that’s doable. I grab every pillow on the couch and our duvet and run into the bathroom. After a couple of seconds just sitting there I decide that maybe I should have some other things in there, you know, JUST IN CASE I DIE.

So, a normal person would grab a flash light, water, food, or even a radio. Not me, of all things the only thing I could think of was the Mac and my iPhone. Apparently my subconscious wants everyone to know that I’m a Mac and not a pc. Oh and the cat, I tried to get her in there but she was preoccupied and couldn’t care less if I died or not. Anyway, after sitting there for a while I emerge from the bathroom and see that everything was OK. After the scare, I had my brother come get me and I sat at mom’s house until the flood of the century was over. Turns out that Midland still doesn’t have good drainage. Huh. Maybe we should do something a couple of years ago to prevent cars floating away in Scarborough draw? Nah, that’s too much work.

Needless to say I’m alive and breathing. I’m sure if there was an actual tornado I would die of a heart attack before the tornado gets me. For the out of towners, here are some of the photos of the flood.

I haven’t done one of these in a very long time so I decided to do another one. Anyone who spends even a little bit of time with me knows that I am a shopaholic. I love to find new things whether its for my hair, clothes, music or a new cooking tool. Here we go!

I found this de frizz serum a couple of weeks ago and I fell in love the second I put it in my hair. It is Bumble and Bumble Defrizz. I have very thick, course hair and this stuff makes my hair look thinner and VERY soft. Just put it in while your hair is wet and then blow dry. I also use it after styling to tame my flyaways.

Jazz vocalist and pianist Melody Gardot’s new album My One and Only Thrill is my absolute favorite album right now. I have it both on my iphone and on vinyl. I love to come home and put it on while I am cooking or cleaning. The problem is that I end up listening to her and getting nothing done. There are a couple of songs that will make you melt. The best song on there is a song called ” Our Love is Easy” I can’t begin to explain the emotions that go through me when I listen to this song. The other song I love is the title track “My One and Only Thrill”. It has the prettiest arrangement I have heard in a very long time.

Last but not least is for the kitchen. A couple months ago I bought an Acai Berry Smoothie at a local shop and loved it. So the next day I went and got another one and watched closely as they made it. I went home, got my Magic Bullet out and recreated the amazing smoothie. (I’ll post the recipe in the next couple of days) This little machine is great. It is small enough to sit out on your cabinet and not take up too much space like a blender would. You can also make the smoothie in the mug you will drink it in so you don’t have to do a million dishes every time you want a smoothie.

Today we celebrated Easter with our wonderful friends and family. We went to church this morning where we watched and were privileged to meet our guest band The Crabb Revival. They were amazing. We were expecting the normal Crabb family southern Gospel but what we actually got was an anointed and very talented group of musicians. Jace made the comment that not only was the Holy Spirit in the building but so was the holy spirit of Stevie Ray Vaughn. The guitarist was very talented.

I watched all the kids at church hunt Easter eggs and sat and talked with friends for a while. Then we went to eat at Memaw and Papaw’s house for lunch. I was surrounded by friends and family all morning then, I just relaxed with my husband this afternoon. Now, I am sitting here overwhelmed by all the blessings God has given me.

We are learning now more than ever that when you are faithful to God, He will be more than faithful to You. We have been blessed more in the last two weeks than we ever have, and it’s all because I know we are right where God wants us. I am sitting here now thinking about the wonderful friends and family we have and fighting tears. He is an amazing God who never ceases to surprise me when I think nothing can be done. What a great day!