Photo a Day Hiccup

So I haven't updated my Photo a Day in quite a while... the cruise threw me off! Therefore, I am skipping cruise week (which would have been week 24) since I took many photos and already shared them here. Onto my week in Florida (week 25) and this past week (week 26)!

Beginning of week 24
July 10: Packed up and ready to head out to start vacation!

July 11: Aboard the cruise ship, already hit up the buffet and got TWO plates!

--cruise--


Week 25 (in Florida mostly)
June 16: Back home enjoying one night with my pups before I leave for Florida!

June 17: Hello, Florida! The conference was at the Disney Hilton Resort

June 18: Whose hotel had Benihana? Ours did! My favoriteee.

June 19: Fun evening in Downtown Disney after a long day of learning. Minnie ears and becoming a princess!

June 20: Another evening out after a day of training (bottom left picture). We saw "Rock of Ages" at a dine-in theatre and went to Planet Hollywood for some fun!

June 21: Lunch at Wolfgang Puck express... Mmm

June 22: DR. BECKY BAILEY IS AT OUR TABLE!!! I had to commemorate the event. Dr. Bailey is the creator of Conscious Discipline and before the conference, we had only seen her via her DVDs. It was so neat to see her in person and learn from her in person. Eeek! All of us were so blessed to have been able to attend. Before, there were many people (faculty, staff, and parents) who were turned off by the idea of CD. Now, we are more ready that ever to implement these strategies and structures into our classroom! If you are a teacher, click the link to learn more! :)

June 23: Before we said our goodbyes. Mrs. Lysa (in the middle with the pink shirt) was our Table Leader and she was the sweetest lady! She was always willing to answer our questions and give suggestions for CD. We are standing in front of the Kindness Tree that holds Kindness Hearts (we were the Kindness Counters and it was our job to inform the entire group of how many hearts were on the tree: if you witnessed a kind act, you put a heart on the tree)!

Week 26 (back home)
June 24: Mmmm Texas summers and fresh from the vine watermelon (after it had a chance to chill in the refrigerator... delish!!!!)

June 25: Already missing our cruise vacation... Reminiscing over our professional photos that we purchased from the trip.

June 26: Already getting the rearranging bug! Working on a corner in our bedroom to make it less of a catch-all/clutter trap and more of a sweet retreat :)

June 27: Summer days always include a good ol' Skype date with the hubs while he's at work. He clearly loves to make me laugh!

June 28: Drove up to Dallas so Nate could attend a bachelor party at the Rangers game, so I hit up the snowcone stand with my favoriteee gal pal!

June 29: To Tyler for Nate's best friend Andrew's wedding! Rehearsal first, wedding tomorrow!

Whew! NOW you should be caught up with my life. I know you were concerned but now you're all set! :) Happy weekend!

Cupcake Toppers

A few weeks ago, I hosted a wedding shower for my cousin and his bride-to-be. I was recruited to make cupcake toppers with an "S" (monogram for their last name), so now I'm going to share with you how you can make your very own!

I used my Silhouette to cut out various "bubble" shapes (circles, flowers, etc) in their wedding colors and also to cut out my "S"s.

I also cut out small, white circles to be the background for the "S". Use Mod Podge to adhere your pieces together.

(the tan zebra paper was just scrap paper I had for the toppers to dry on)

Use double sided tape to stick your toothpick on and then use another white circle to cover the toothpick up so you don't see it from the back.

Voila! Stick 'em in some cute cupcakes and you're done!

Has anyone else ever made cupcake toppers? Or any other "craft" project to enhance your food's appearance?

Happy Friday, wahoo! We have a wedding rehearsal and dinner to attend tonight. Have a great evening!

See where I link up: What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar and Dots, Craft-O-Manic Monday @ Craft-O-Manic, Link Party @ Uncommon, Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts, Show Me What Ya Got Linky Party @ Not JUST A Housewife, {Wow Me Wednesday} @ Ginger Snap Crafts, Link Party @ Destination: Craft, The Creative Spark @ Clean & Scentsible, Before & After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick, Weekend Wrap-Up Party @ Tatertots and Jello, What I Wore Wednesday @ The Pleated Poppy 

Kindle Fire Cover

I found the most fantastic tutorial for a Kindle Fire cover from Charm Stitch! With all of the traveling I have done/am going to do this summer, I knew I wanted to sew something so my Kindle would be protected.

The tutorial calls for a button and elastic, but I had neither so I used a ribbon to secure the top. Either/or will work just fine! I used scrap fabric that I had lying around, but I think I want to make another one that has fabrics that coordinate more together. The tutorial also shows how to make pockets and a skinny pocket for a pen. So efficient!

I am not going to post the tutorial on how to make it since it is not my original. If you want to make your own, head to the link posted at the top or click here!

Happy Thursday! Nathan is in his best friend's wedding this weekend, so we will be heading out of town soon to get the celebration started!

When We're Cruisin' Together

Nate and I left out of New Orleans, LA to head to Mexico (Progreso and Cozumel) on a 5-day Carnival cruise for our three year anniversary! We both really enjoy cruise vacations: they are relaxing, everything is pretty much provided for you, and all you are required to do is show up! They do the rest! Here is a small glimpse into our vacation:

Our ship: the Carnival Elation

Reading and relaxing is usually the theme of our vacations... laying out and watching the ocean go by on the top deck? Yes please.

Another main theme of cruise vacationing? Eating. The meals are already included in your ticket price, so by all means: EAT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT.

Love this hot hubster of mine!

There is usually at least one "formal" night where the Captain of the ship is introduced.

And after dinner, there is always a show of some sort: singing, dancing, comedy, you name it!

And your room steward will always make a different towel animal each night to greet you before bedtime!

Welcome to Progreso, Mexico! There is a four mile pier that takes you to the mainland (by bus).

We always sample the local guacamole wherever we go: it is our favorite!

Hanging out by the beach is our idea of a good time.

Headed back to the ship!

Next day, next stop: Cozumel, Mexico!

Just a small snippet of our week on vacation! Has anyone else ever been on a cruise? We are hoping that our next cruise will be to Key West (where we honeymooned) and the Bahamas! Happy Wednesday!

Pastoral "First" for Nate

As most of you know, I assume, Nate is the head pastor at our church in town. Our church is a non-denominational church that holds beliefs to the Christian faith (see my "Faith" tab at the top of the blog for what we believe and if you have any questions, please ask)!

As Christians, we are called to follow Jesus and His teachings: a part of which is baptism! You do not have to be baptized to be saved- as in to become a Christian, as in to go to Heaven- but it is a public testimony of your faith. It signifies you dying to your old, sinful self (going under the water) and coming up again as a believer of Christ: that He washed your sins away on the cross so you can be free of sins and become clean/sinless/spotless through Him! Again, it is a public testimony and there is nothing in the water that "saves" you or makes you "clean": it is a symbol of what Christ did for us on the cross!

1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 
Romans 6: 1-4

Nate had the opportunity to baptize 8 fellow believers on Sunday: this was his first time to baptize anyone (he has been an ordained minister for four years now). We do not have a baptistry at our church (the bath-tub looking thing that's in most church's behind the choir loft!) so we used a church member's pool to get the job done :) I took pictures to commemorate the day (and video too)! Enjoy!

Also, this is not for Nate's glory or recognition, but for God's :) Let God's name become famous and in all that we say or do, let the glory go to Him!

Praying to get started

Nate had help from our associate pastor of worship and outreach, Chad, for the "dunking" :)

Happy Tuesday, everyone!