Tag You're it Pt. Dos!

favorite artist/designer: Chanel 
I love to create using: my camera. 
what inspires me: jesus and the love of my husband. 
favorite medium besides my own: wordpress, wish it was a free site. 
most inspirational city: Madrid, Spain. 
ideal weekend off: a trip to the beach for lounging and relaxing w/ my Husband.
favorite color: pink 
favorite musician: (of all time): tough call... I'm going to have to go with Celine Dion
favorite movie: love reese witherspoon & sandra bullock... i pretty much love anything they have ever done. But, I'd say Miss Congenality is my ultimate fave! 
favorite song: of the moment.... "I Will Not Be Moved"- Natalie Grant. 

favorite song lyric: geesh..... that's a tough one. 

If I could have any other job it would be: I probably would want to plan fabulous events and get paid for it!

I wish: I had endless amounts of time and resources to travel places with Orion, get my Master's degree, take classes and be with my family. 

Okay peeps, here's who I'm tagging: Jessie, Kait, Mrs. B, Alicia Marie

Decor Don'ts!

Recently HGTV did an article on the Top 25 Decorating Don'ts! I love decorating and after reviewing this list I've discovered that I've broken a lot of these rules! YIKES! :) How about you? How many of these have you broken? See my commentary and review of the list below:

25. Toilet rugs

Oh my gosh!!! My very first apartment after college, I was living on my own and it was my first attempt as decorating "my own place" I bought matching RED rugs for my bathroom! I still have those rugs but no longer use them. Probably should get rid of them.

24. Too many photos

Guilty as charged! My husband reminds me of this often. I'm a photographer, what can I say?

23. Ignoring the foyer

We don't have one of these, so that's easy!

22. Undressed cables

21. Out-of-place themes

20. Outdated accessories

19. Lopsided furniture arrangements

18. Keeping something you hate

17. Too formal

16. Uncomfortable dining chairs

15. Lack of traffic pattern

14. Everything matches

Guilty again! Just about everything in our living room matches. Now, I am realizing that it's perfectly ok for things not to match. And getting more inspired by vintage pieces I want to add to our room.

13. Following fads

12. Furniture that doesn’t fit

11. Too many colors or patterns

10. Floating rugs

9. Improper lighting

8. Frames hung too high

I've done this a few times!

7. Tacky couch covers

My first apartment in college I covered and outdated flower power couch with a waffle patterned cover. I don't think it was tacky. It was a much improvement from the flowers!

6. Pushed-back furniture

Oh, I've done this too! :)

5. Ignoring windows

4. Fear of color

I think we've been guilty of this a few times or two! Have you seen our house?! :)

3. Knickknack overload

2. Too many pillows

1. Fake flowers

Oh goodness!!! So guilty! I love the look of flowers but they are to expensive to keep in your house all the time, right?!!! I have a arrangements that are fake as The Hills! But, I love them and don't really care if I break this rule! :)

*****

What do you think? Which ones of these have you broken on this list? As many as I have?!!!

Free Tip of the Week: RedBox

If you haven't rented from the Redbox, you're truly missing out! This little box has become our rental of choice for months. I love that it's fast, cheap, and easy! For just $1 a day you can rent a movie. For $1 you can get the latest releases, with no late fees ever...unless you forget to return it, you'll eventually own it. Here's the free tip of the week: go to www.redbox.com and sign up for their email newsletter and text alerts and get your first rental for FREE! Plus, every Monday have texts sent to your phone for FREE Monday night movies! How can you beat that? Happy renting & moving watching!

Blog Roll Monday; G Crew

G Crew is the blog of Cory and Emily! 

Isn't that cute? G Crew? Their last name begins with a "G" I

think it's an adorable, creative name for a blog!

As newlyweds it follows their adventures of newly married life. 

They are friends of mine, and I love keeping up with them

and all their travels and life happenings via their blog!

I think that's one of the things I love about blogs. I love keeping

up with people in my life that I don't see everyday. It's more personal

than Facebook or Twitter you actually get to see into their lives and feel 

like you're taking a journey with them. 

Enjoy! Happy Monday!

Tag You're It!

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
June, 1999: I was in sophomore in high school just about to enter my junior year. Hanging out with friends, and had no clue the life before me or the adventure God would take me on.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Take Orion to the train/pick him up

Arrange someone to watch Bentley for the weekend

Clean, laundry and pack

Answer emails, website edits & photo edits

Figure out dinner

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Crackers, fruit, hummus

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Pay off all Orion and I's student loan debt

Pay off my mortgage

Take a trip w/ Orion around the work to all the places we want to visit.

Take a trip somewhere w/ all my best girlfriends and take them on a shopping spree.

5) Places I have lived:
California, Iowa, Arizona, Minnesota.... that's all I got. 

6) Jobs I have had:
File Clerk, Cookie girl @ a bake shop, receptionist, photographer & Admin Assistant.

7) Bloggers I am tagging who you will enjoy getting to know better:

Mrs. B from She's Starcrossed

Alicia from Virginia Living

Kait from My Crazy, unpredictable life

Cori from The McRae's

*99 Things*

Saw this on a blog, and felt compelled to participate. Things I've done in BOLD, and I've added a few of my own commentary for your enjoyment!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band- the high school band w/ my sax!
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland 
8. Climbed a mountain 
9. Held a praying mantis - what?
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris- want to so badly!
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning- one of the worst experiences ever!
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight- if you haven't I'm concerned about you. 
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill- sad but true. shh...don't tell. 
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse 
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run- back in my softball days. 
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance- it's true!
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris- hello #12
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain- no, but ooohhh that's on my list.
53. Played in the mud 
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business 
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching -
63. Got flowers for no reason 
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - and got sick and never have donated again. 
65. Gone sky diving- heck NO!
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check- YIKES!
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - not yet!
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - yes, a few times!
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House 
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox 
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous 
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby- maybe soon!
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone- Um, hello!!
99. Been stung by a bee

First things first....

I love decorating in general, you've heard me talk about it before! You've also heard me talk about Hubby and I's different styles. But somehow we've managed to live in this happy well decorated home together for almost 2 years. I was thinking today, about our first apartment together when we were newlyweds. It got me thinking about the "first" purchases that Orion and I made for our new home! When we were engaged, it was on one of many trips to Minneapolis from my parent's in Iowa to visit Orion that we went shopping for our new place. I remember filling up his bedroom where he lived with his roommate Eric, with all of our purchases for our new place when we got married. That day we bought the following:

3 matching candle holders from World Market

A rug for our living room from Ikea

2 throw pillows for our couch from Ikea

I look around our house now these items have moved, shifted and changed their purpose since they took up residence in our 1 bedroom apartment when we were first married. I wouldn't trade those days for anything but, since then I've realized that it's ok to not be so matchy matchy on the design and decor of your home, and I've learned to be a little more vocal about what I want in terms of what I want the home to look and feel like. 

What were some of your first purchases with your spouse when you were first dating, engaged or married?

Where are those items now?

Friday Frills; Anniversary Ideas!

As our 2nd year is vastly approaching us Orion and I have gotten very creative in planning our anniversaries. Here's my question; Can you ever top your first? No matter what you did or where you went can you ever top your first anniversary and the memories? I think not, but here's the awesome part of it all each year is another chance to make new memories and find that oh so special way to make it yours.

I think the idea of "topping it" implies that it has to be better, grander, more expensive than the first. But, I think that's not so. To us, "topping it" means putting thought and meaning behind what you're doing, and making it special. There's no pressure in that when it's fun, and you're together!

Here's a little peak into the Worley House anniversary: Orion and I have decided to stick with the "traditional" gift for each anniversary year, only rule: give the gift with a twist! For example, Paper is the traditional first year gift. Orion got me last year in addition to Bentley he made me this poem which he wrote about our first year together and burned the edges and made it look old and worn and gave it to me. Pretty cool huh? This year you'll just have to wait and see what we come up with.

If you need ideas of your own check out these budget friendly anniversary ideas from thenest.com

To my washer being on the fritz....

To Bestbuy, Target and Officemax for not selling 13'' laptop sleeves! What's up w/ that?

To not being able to road trip it to Texas with my Mom & Jessie. Have fun girls. 

To Sara & Brooke for doing so amazing last weekend at Miss MN!

To amazon.com you always come through for me. And I love your prices.

To finding a new blog, and falling in love with it! Check out This Young House

To really awesome workouts w/ The Shred! It's kicking my butt, however though it's pretty awesome!

Anniversary gift Idea:

Way back when we "first" said; "I Love You" I've always replied with "I love you more!" It's now become "our thing" Orion pretty much comes to expect it whenever it's said. It's kinda one of those cute couple things that we say, or I say to him rather. And it's become a bit of a playful thing in our relationship. Orion tells me that I'm trying to one up him whenever it's said. Often times I've thought of putting the saying on a t-shirt or something fun to give him as a gift. Well, today I found these cute little prints from This Young House, their online store. I think it might make a cute gift to frame and give to Orion for our wonderful 2 year celebration soon!

This Young House

I found a new blog/website today. I saw this couple on the Nest.com a couple weeks back and fell in love with their home renovation. I found some more of their house this morning when I visited on of my fave blogs Ikea Hacker! What awesome style this fab couple has. I am pretty sure I'm going be stealing their ideas & tips for the future! This great couple has an awesome website called "This Young House" that chronicles their adventures in home renovation and gives all sorts of ideas and tips. A must, if you're like me and love design and decorating.

Check out their site: http://www.thisyounghouse.com and see for yourself. I've been devouring it all morning long. So many ideas! Enjoy!!!!

Happy!

Life is full of little moments where we can choose happiness over something else. Little things, that make it all worth it. This is one of those moments.  Feeling truly blessed & happy today!

I SAY

.... AM workouts are the best.

.... followed by quiet time.

.... I'm thankful for all the little things in life. 

.... dreaming, making plans with my husband is blissful.

.... knowing that you made a difference and impacted someone Else's life is priceless.

.... choosing joy, and optimism is something that makes a difference in my day. 

.... loving my Husband through the hard times, and forgiveness is key.

Topics on my Mind today:

Couple things on my mind this morning as I watched the news, and other morning shows. Let's see what you all are thinking, and have a friendly discussion. 

1. Jon & Kate announce on their show last night that they will be separating and filing for divorce.

- I am truly saddened by this whole thing. I was floored and shocked when I started hearing rumors about them months ago, and hoped it wasn't true. Then in a whirlwind things got very quickly out of hand and here we are today. 

              a. I observed last night on the show that Jon seems very checked out.

              b. I do not think it's all one person's fault. Course not, they are married and need to work this out. It takes two people to make it work.

              c. once you stop caring then it's pretty much done. And that's where I see Jon at. From what I observed last night. 

- I read their book last Christmas,  and felt for this family. They have overcome so much, to be here. I've been watching since the beginning. And like most people I think you feel connected to them. My questions?

             a. how can a show like this go on when they are filing for divorce? I think they should stop filming now for their children. Take time away and figure this all out. It's gotten way to out of hand. I don't want to watch children go through a divorce, and watch their family crumble. Shame on TLC for not releasing them from a contract, and shame on Jon and Kate for continuing to go on with the filming. 

            b. I don't expect them to be perfect, and there is no perfect family. But, marriage is work and worth fighting for. I don't want to watch a family who won't fight, who will exploit their children for the sake of a t.v. show through a divorce. It may be good for ratings, but will not be good in the BIG picture of their lives. My plea, stop filming let your children be kids, and have any chance of "normal" again. 

Ok, there's my rant. What do you think? 

On, to the next topic on my mind:

2. The brawl between Perez Hilton and The Black Eyed Peas

For those that don't know here's the background of this story. Perez Hilton is famous for nothing really but writing a gossip column and bashing/ trashing many celebs on his online blog. One of many people he's bashed on his blog is Fergie & Will I am from the Black Eyed Peas. Now, allegedly Perez has said that Will I am jumped him in a club early this week and beat him. Perez is now bashing and ranting on his blog about how violence is not the answer, and shame on him for doing so. 

Here's my thoughts/questions:

- First of all I think what Perez does on his site by writing the things that he writes, and videos he posts about people is violence in a different form. It may not be physical but written abuse or violence. I don't think that's right to bash people like that on the Internet, and not expect those people in real life to be hurt of offended. Or at the very least, have some sort of reaction to it. 

- I don't condone the physical violence that may or may not have happened. But I think that violence is wrong in any form written, verbal or physical. 

- My issue is why is no one saying to Perez, what he's doing is wrong? Why is it seemingly ok for him to write the things about people that he does? That is violence as well. 

What do you think? What are your thoughts?

And lastly, I just want to say that it's truly sad that anything like this is happening in our world at all. People are not perfect, so I don't expect things to be rosy and sunshine all the time. But, I think instead of focusing our energies on these people we should be focusing on more important things and helping others. 

Miss Minnesota: after party!

Deana came up for the weekend!

Finally they can eat! :)

Congrats Sara on your 1st Runner Up finish @ Miss Minnesota 2009! So proud of you!

Brooke & Sara

Deana, Brooke and Me at the after party for Miss Minnesota

Yeah Brooke!!! Congrats on becoming the NEW Miss Minnesota 2009!!! So proud of you, and can't wait to see you on the Miss America Stage!

Miss Minnesota Slide Show

Miss Minnesota 2009!

Wow! After a very long, exciting and also tiring weekend of pageants I'm proud and happy to announce Miss Minnesota 2009 is Brooke Kilgarriff our very own Miss Twin Cities. Also, our very own Sara Larson, Miss Capital City was named 1st Runner Up! I can't believe it! I mean, I genuinely thought that it would come down to the two of them, but to be sitting there in that audience when they called Sara & Brooke as the final two was an exciting moment, nerve wracking, and I felt like I was going to throw up! It was awesome to know that our girls had come so far, and one of them would be Miss MN 2009! I'm so very proud of both Brooke and Sara. They represented us with style, passion, grace, and beauty! To Brooke; best of luck as you continue your journey as Miss Minnesota 2009. We're so proud of you! To Sara; couldn't be more happy for you. I'm so glad we get to continue your journey as Miss Capital City and I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds for you! I'm so happy to have been a small part in all of this!

Sara & Brooke named in the Top 10 on finals night!

Brooke Kilgarriff

Miss Minnesota 2009

Miss Twin Cities

****

I'll post more pics this afternoon! Stay tuned!

Miss Minnesota; Prelims

Sara and Me after prelims tonight!

Jo, Cori, Sara and Me.

So glad Deana could make it up for Miss Minnesota!

Elizabeth and Me at Prelims tonight- she's going to be on that stage soon!

Elizabeth, Me and Deana tonight!

It's finally here! Tonight was the first night of Prelims for the girls. It's just 10 minutes shy of midnight and I probably should be in bed or planning my outfit for tomorrow :) But, I had to tell you about tonight before that. All 17 girls competed in all 4 phases tonight. Here's the run down of tonight's prelim awards:

Talent: Brooke Killgarrif - Miss Twin Cities

Swimsuit: Kelsey Malecha - Miss Mankato

Photogenic: Sarah Anderson - Miss Waseca

Miss America Community Service and Quality of Life: Quinn Nystrom - Miss Midwest

Academic: Danielle Tamke - Miss Winona

A pretty fantastic group of young ladies! Sara and Brooke both looked wonderful. They rocked their talents! Tomorrow night we see who makes Top 10! Follow me on Twitter to get all the details! :)

Free Tip of the Week; Organizing Worksheets

If you're like me, here in Worley House I keep things pretty organized! Everything from clipping coupons and sorting them, organizing my closet by color to my linen closet being nice and tidy. One of my fave free tools are check list, I like to make them and get just as much joy crossing things off of them. There are tons of places where you can find all sorts of FREE printable worksheets to organize your life. My faves comes from Real Simple & The Nest. They have easy budget worksheets, financial worksheets, decorating worksheets to keep every paint color or idea marked down! And the best part you can print them off at home and put them in a file or binder and you'll always have them! How cool is that?!!

Visit:

www.realsimple.com

www.thenest.com

[search worksheets to find them]

I SAY

.... the 30 day Shred is kicking my butt...literally!

.... foot rubs are from heaven, and ever better when you get them from your Hubby.

.... hate it when technology fails you!

.... I'm sick of the rain here in Minnesota!

.... loves selling stuff/ buying stuff on Craigslist.

.... in serious need of a vacation. 

.... I love when Hubby has days off!

.... love when puppy sits at the bottom of my feet while I type blogs.

.... Love Miss MN week! So excited for this weekend!

Miss MN Week: Updates!

Want updates on the girls?

I'll blog what I can, but follow the girls each at their websites:

Sara @ www.misscapitalcityminnesota.com

Brooke @ www.misstwincities.com

The girls will post pictures and updates on each day.

I'll be twittering the night of the pageant; follow me here for the updates.

Today we are taking the girls flowers to the hotel, a little something to make their day!

Hello Yellow!

Yellow, I'm obsessed with you! It's my new color of the season. My Mom bought me some yellow wedges a couple weeks ago, and I found a yellow necklace at a garage sale and I'm hooked. It makes me think of summer days, being fresh and airy! Here's some of my most recent yellow finds I've got my eyes on:

Yellow bubble Dress

forever21.com

$27.80

Rouched wallet

Rue21.com

$9.99

Yellow Boho scarf

forever21.com

$9.80

Yellow Ruffle Dress

overstock.com

$69

Blog Roll Monday: Friend Photography

Friend Photography

Kelly is the lead photographer/owner of Friend Photographer. I was introduced to her by a mutual friend. The first time I met her she was shooting a wedding that oddly enough I was officiating. She's an amazing photographer, and when I was just starting my business [for real] she was there to help and advise. I'm forever grateful to her for letting me ask her all sorts of questions, and always being willing to help. Not to mention she's an amazing talent! I'm inspired by her images and the way she takes risks. If you haven't read her blog stop on over, and even better if you're from Iowa book Kelly for a session. You won't be disappointed! :)

Miss Minnesota Week Kicks Off!

It has begun! Today we dropped off Sara & Brooke to check in for Miss Minnesota week. Both girls were nominated for the Quality of Life Award. Here, they are pictured with the 3 other nominees: Miss Midwest, Miss South Central and Miss Mankato. The winner will be announced Friday night of prelims!

The Miss Twin Cities/Capital City Committee with both Sara & Brooke at the hotel! We love our girls, and wish them both the best of luck this week!

Us, with Sara checking her into her room and saying our "goodbyes."

***

More to come throughout the week as we head into pageant weekend!

Watch here for my updates!

Weekend In Review:

This past weekend was busy, but fun.

Friday- Hubby and I enjoyed a quiet night at home. My Mom came up Friday night to stay w/ us for the weekend. She got here at 9 PM, so we got to hang out late and have Mother/Daughter time.

Saturday- Hubby worked all day [bless him] and my Mom helped me with my garage sale. Which was a bust. We ended up closing shop early, and running errands. Later I posted stuff on Craigslist and sold most of it. I made a de-lish dinner, and we BBQ on the patio and enjoyed the nice sunny weather. We all watched a movie together! I love having my Mom here, I wish she lived closer to me.

Sunday- My Mom left early this morning, I saw her off about 7:30 AM. Then came inside ate breakfast, made coffee and started getting ready. Today is a BIG day! Today we [the Miss Twin Cities committee] drop off our girls for Miss MN week! The girls check in this afternoon, I couldn't be more excited for them. It's a week that will change their lives. Today, the excitement begins for them. More to come on this throughout the week! :)

Kisses & Disses

* To my Mom coming up to help me this weekend.
* To my Hubby for helping me all week clean and get stuff ready.
* To our amazing Realtor Daniel- nuff said.
* Tracy Joy, who makes awesome bags for cameras!
* To finding a random savings bond at it's maturity!

* To this crappy, cloudy weather we've had in MN all week!

* To Bentley for peeing not once but twice in the living room this week! I thought we were over this.

* To my noisy neighbors. I will never again share walls w/ anyone else.

* To my computer. It's on it's last leg for sure. (thankful I can still blog though)

A Worley House Garage Sale:

Oh my goodness! I've been working all week to prepare for tomorrow, going through every inch of my house for the stuff we don't use, haven't used in a year, worn in a year, and more! I've never had a garage sale myself, been to plenty but having one NO! So I called my Grandma this week who is an expert Garage Saler for her tips on selling, pricing and all things garage sales. My Mom is coming up to help, and I think I'm ready for tomorrow.

My goal: to make enough money to put towards savings for plane tickets! I heard it's good to have a goal when having a garage sale so that's mine.

I'll let you know how my first sale goes! And, if you feel like stopping by for some "Worley House" stuff come on over and buy our stuff! :) (3462 Cloman Way IGH, MN)

**UPDATE**

our garage sale was pretty much a bust! we didn't get the turn out i was hoping for or expected. but I did post a bunch of the stuff on Craigslist and got bites right away! I've decided that garage sales are for my grandparent/parents generation and Craigslist is for my generation!

Tasty Thursday: Chicken Stir Fry

This is the easiest chicken stir fry you'll ever make, I promise. Here's my recipe;

What you need:

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 pkgs. Birds Eye Steam Fresh Asian Mix Veggies

3-4 Chicken Breasts (cut into strips)

2 Tbs. Soy Sauce

2 tsp. Ginger (I use the powder, not fresh)

2 c. brown rice (if you prefer white, that's ok too)

What to do:

In the morning place all your chicken in a Ziploc bag dump in soy sauce & ginger. Let marinate all day. When done, cut into strips.

In a wok or large frying pan heat some oil (just enough to cover the bottom of your pan) Put strips of chicken into wok and cook through entirely stirring when needed.

While chicken is cooking, make your rice.

Once cooked all the way through mix in 1 can of cream of chicken soup, plus 1 can of water. Mix and heat through.
While this is cooking, put your bags of veggies in the microwave. (Following heating directions on the package) Once they are done combine them with the chicken, and heat just a few more minutes while st iring!
Wah- la! You're done and it looks like this:

Mr. W answers some questions:

So most of you know that I do all of the authoring on "Worley House." But, I thought wouldn't it be awesome if my better half made a cameo sometimes? So, I found this "About Me" survey some other people were doing on their blogs, and I thought wouldn't it be sweet if Hubby filled this out about me? (my responses will be in this color)
1. What is your current obsession? blogging.... ha, ha...this cracks me up. but I suppose it's true.
2. What is your favorite memory? our wedding day
3. Starbucks or Peet's? Starbucks.
4. What's for dinner? Enchiladas
5. What would you eat for your last meal? Enchiladas
6. What's the last thing you bought? lap-top...false. clear bra straps.
7. Have you ever dated anyone that turned out to be crazy? no
8. What is your favorite ice-cream flavor? coffee flavored ice cream
9.) What was your favorite toy growing up? Polly pockets.... never owned these. :)
10.) Best Vacation? cruise... we did this for our honeymoon, can't wait till we get to go again!
11. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Arizona...pretty much!
12. Which language do you want to learn? Spanish... or learn how to speak it better!
13. What's your favorite quote? live as though heaven is on earth. sing as though no one is watching, love as if you have never been hurt... this is Hubby's random Hodge podge of this quote. If you know that quote, you know kinda where he's going. While I do like that one, it's not my fave, this is: "To accomplish great things one must not only act, but dream, not only plan, but also believe."
14. What is your favorite color? pink
15. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? my shirts...this also makes me laugh. My fave piece has to be my blue London Times dress that was originally $199 but I got it on sale for $18! It's been one of my fave dresses for weddings, pageants and parties!
16. What is your dream job? youth ministry
17. What is your worst habit? biting my cheek, sad but true!
18. If you had $1,000 right now, what would you spend it on? plane tickets
19. Do you admire any one's style? He left this blank so I'll answer it... I'm really loving Jillian's from the Bachelorette. She's so stylish!
20. Describe your personal style? classic vintage... man he's good!
21. What are you going to do after this? watching e news!
22. What are your favorite movies? miss congeniality
23. What is your favorite fruit? apples
24. What inspires you? my grandmother... he's right. she's the best!
25. Your favorite book? gone with the wind... can't believe he remembered that!
26. Do you collect something? willow trees... not the actual trees, but the figurines.
27. What is your favorite smell? hazelnut vanilla
28. What are you most proud of? graduating from college
29. What do you like most about yourself? my eyes, my heart for others
30. What is your go-to nail polish color? red
31. What do you fear most? disappointing others (ie: friends and family)... while I have been known to struggle with this from time to time, my fear of heights trumps it all! :)

I SAY

.... it's ok if all your favorite shows consist of reality t.v.
....I'm loving my Husband's new found organization.
....I'm not so crazy about my puppy chewing everything in sight. Got him a new chew toy today and he chewed through it in a matter of minutes!
....I'm proud of both my Brothers for proudly serving right now in our military.
....I'm even more proud of my Sister for making the right choice for her!

****

Look to the right to read about my 500th Post ---->

Blog Roll Monday; First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage

This adorable little blog is all about love, marriage and everything in between.

Written by newlywed Jenn, tailing the adventures of her and her Husband and their

adorable puppy! I just found this blog a week ago via another blogs. I must admit

whenever I find a new blog, I always read the first couple posts before deciding

if this blog is for me. If, I get hooked then I have to read every last post that

this blog has to offer. I have to catch up, right?!! Well, that's what happened

with this delightful blog. I stayed up late one night, way past my bed

time to read it all and catch up on every post I'd missed thus far.

I love blogs about marriage and love. And all that comes along with

being a wife, mother, being married, and the list goes on and on. Some of my favorite posts

have been the ones she writes on saving money, her awesome finds at garage sales are

inspiring and make me want to venture out and find more deals. If you love all these

things, check out her blog. I'm sure you'll find it as addicting as I do.

Sunday Afternoon

This past Sunday, Orion and I spent the day in St. Paul. They were having their annual 'Grand Ole Days' and we decided since we'd never been, it was time to check it out. Plus, it was free and an afternoon w/ my hubby doing something low key and free sounded fun. Grand Ave. is famously known around these parts, it booms with history, great local eats, and it's beautiful.

One of my fave houses on Summit Ave in St. Paul
Orion and I walking down to Grand AveSome local culture

Swarms of people made for an interesting day, I love people watching.

A beautiful old church on Lexington Ave

Free Tip of the Week; Being Green!

Ok, here's my FREE tip of the week; snag yourself one of these awesome canvas totes for your weekly trip to the Farmer's Market or the grocery store!

How can you do this, you might ask? By taking this simple 9 question online survey about recycling! Hands on Twin Cities, is a volunteer based organization that seeks to place people in volunteer roles all over the Twin Cities area, and promote volunteering around the state. They are partnering with :

To bring you this awesome program! Click here, to take the survey and get your own bag! Now, it's not a scan, it's not funny or anything, (as I've taken the survey myself) just a really cool program and you might learn a lot by taking the survey and learning to live a little greener! It's simple, fast and FREE! Who doesn't love that. They are adorable totes, if I might add.

Saturday Edition; This N' That

Mani or Pedi? Maybe both.

Garage sales or Auctions.

Craigslist or Ebay.

French Press or Coffee from the pot.

Spa day or Shopping day.

Scrapbooks or Digital Picture Frames.

Snapfish or Shutterfly.

Myspace or Facebook.

Friday or Saturdays.

Sun tea or Sweet Tea.

Sonic or In n' Out.

345,000

That is the number of jobs lost in the month of May alone, bringing unemployment to it's highest in 25 years. Making a total of 6 million jobs lost since the recession started. I am 1 of 6 million.

It's hard to see yourself as just a number in a swarm of everyone else. At 6 million job losses it makes you wonder if "you" matter in all that.

While the Dept. of Labor thinks that "the worst" is over, and that we should be turning a corner soon. Where do you find hope in all this? Where do you find the strength to make things work, to pick up your spirits, and move forward? And what does that look like?

These are all questions I have asked myself in the last few months. I don't claim to be an expert on anything, all I can go on is my experience and what I've learned from all this.

Maybe I've been going through all this so that one day my hope, my story will inspire someone else. Maybe one day I'll be able to offer encouragement to that person next to me who lost their job, or is going through a difficult time. Maybe this whole experience has made me more compassionate, made me smarter financially, made my marriage stronger than it ever could have been with out this, made my faith and trust in the Lord stronger.

If all these things remain and are true, I don't mind it. To come to the other side having learned something, knowing what I know now to do life better the next day. Maybe that makes this all worth it.