Christmas Fun

Thanksgiving... finally.

Our Buddy...

Maverick is still growing. He LOVES to dig, especially when it is muddy. He also likes to eat dirt, hence the muddy nose. He's chewing more, too. We still really love him, though. I just thought I'd share a couple cute pictures of him. I have tons of pictures from Thanksgiving. I'm trying to pick out my favorites for a collage. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I'm only blogging because Blake gave me a hard time about changing our banner twice since I had last blogged. Oh well... until tomorrow.

I really have been...

I really have been too busy to blog. You might think that’s not true from my lack of pictures, but that is how busy I have been… too busy to take a ton of pictures. Here is what has been going on lately and is to come soon!

1. & 2. The first picture is a picture of our small group at church. We’ve been meeting with these guys since February and have really made some great friends. We switch houses every month and usually do some sort of fun activity in place of “real” group once a month, too. In October we were at the Blake and Julie Jones’ house. The week before Halloween we all carved pumpkins. The second picture is of all our pumpkins minus Ben and Bre’s. I didn’t get a good picture of all of them together.
3. Maverick is fixed. He will never have kids of his own, but that’s okay to Blake and me. Blake Malone (one of the 3 Blakes in our Life Group) is a vet and did Mav’s surgery. My Blake actually got to snip one of Maverick’s “you know whats” out. When I went to pick Maverick up later that day he was SO happy to see me. Blake gave me a small tour of the vet clinic and informed me that my dog took a huge dump in the kennel that made the whole office smell. Anyway… when Maverick got in the car he wouldn’t sit down for about 10 minutes. He just stood in the seat looking frightened. Then, when we got home he wouldn’t get out of the car and I was afraid to pick him up. He stayed in the car until Blake got home about 45 minutes later. Don’t worry! I left the windows partly down. Later that night Maverick had his first date. Justin and Katie Lipscomb brought their new yellow lab puppy, Maybel, over for dinner and then to watch our Thursday night shows. Maybel wanted to play A LOT more than Maverick did. Maverick was pretty doped up on pain meds so he wasn’t his normal, playful self. Maybe next time he’ll be in a better mood.
4. My family is coming for Thanksgiving in about a week! I can’t wait. Emily is also coming home from New York for a short visit. (By the way, the #4 picture was taken about a year ago). Even Patmommy and Granddaddy (my mom’s parents) are coming to Nashville. I don’t know what we’re going to do for 5 days, but I know it will be fun to have everyone here.

As for other things that have been going on around the Farmer household… We finally got DVR. We almost bought HD TiVo and that would have been the stupidest thing we could have done. We’re only paying $5 more a month for the DVR. If we would have bought TiVo it would have been $12 a month plus the $300 for the box. We love our DVR. Also, I took the GRE last week! I have never been so glad to have something out of the way! Now all I have to do is apply to the grad school I want to attend. For those of you who don’t know… I’m planning on going to Grad School. No, we’re not moving, I’m looking for on-line programs. I’ve found one that I’m particularly interested in, but am not going to mention it for fear of not getting in J That is pretty much why I haven’t been blogging. I felt like every free moment I had needed to be devoted to preparing for the test. But now it’s over! Yes!!! Anyway… my time devoted to blogging should increase. There should be more photo collages to come in the near future. By the way… My photo collages just celebrated their 1st birthday. The first photo collage made its debut on November 6th, 2006. It will have many birthdays to come! Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!

Good Friends...

He's not so small anymore...

Once upon a time...

This picture os from our Dominican trip way back in May. We took Holly and TJ's boys on a hike to a {creepy} bat cave. We hiked through thick mud, waded through a rushing stream and climbed down a rope ladder. I probably wasn't the best sport on the hike, but I still had fun. I shouldn't have complained about my shoes getting stuck in the mud... most of the boys hiked sans-shoes. We can't wait to go back!

Boy, oh, boy!

I don't know why most of my pictures were of Will, but all the boys were equally adorable. I wish I got to see them more often!

First things first...

I spent this past weekend in Dallas with my girlfriends from ACU. It was such a great weekend of eating, shopping, talking, and playing with babies. I loved every minute of the weekend. Just so you know... the picture of Rosie and Laura is not posed, and the center picture on the bottom is of Rosie's dress after a bird pooped on her. What I did not capture is the bird poop on Will and Levi (Kara's twins). They were sleeping in their stroller and woke up with bird poop on their heads, poor little guys.

That's all for now. I'll post more pictures (probably Thursday) of every stop on my Dallas trip. Even though I had a blast on my trip, it is always good to come home.

Growing Up...

Maverick is growing like a weed. He has already doubled in size since we got him. He already weighs over 22 pounds! We've only had him for a month. He's a pretty good dog. He already knows how to sit and shake. Okay, okay... What dog doesn't? Anyway, we love him. Blake really loves him because Mav LIKES to go on walks. Unlike someone I know :-).

Center Hill Lake

Holly and TJ stopped in town on their way back to the DR. On Saturday we all went to Center Hill Lake with David and Lynn Lavender (the Lavs). We had a blast swimming and riding in the boat. I even pulled Blake and Dave on the tubes... scary, I know. I can drive a boat but I have never pulled someone, though. Blake said I only ALMOST decapitated him once... pretty good for a first timer!

We also had a few people over for dinner on Friday night to visit with the McClouds. Holly posted some of my pictures on their blog so I'm not going to post any from that night. I hope everyone has a great week! Stay cool! It's only 96 degrees here right now. It was 106 on Thursday!

Bubble bath, anyone?

Maverick had his first bath today. He did NOT have fun. We had to take a walk in the 100 degree heat to stop his shivering. He's kind of a baby. At least he smells like chamomile and dog, now... not just dog.

Share-Cropping and Photo Collages

This picture is for my dad. I told him last week I would take a picture of our "share of the crop" so he could get an idea of what it is. For those of you who don't know Blake and I are sharing a 1/2 bushel of produce (weekly) with Shawn and Rebekah Brown. It is delivered to a church near where I work every Wednesday from Avalon Acres , a local farm. The portion we get is made to be shared so there are usually even numbers of everything. We also get a dozen eggs and some type of meat. This week we got a pork roast (as well as a cantaloupe) both of which are not pictured. In the past few weeks we have received: chicken leg quarters, ground beef, sausage, and bacon. It has been really exciting to see what we get every week. We get whatever is in season. For about a month we got tons of squash and Blake always said we were going to turn into a squash... That sounds like the sort of thing Kenli would call a "Dad joke." I think she was right. On to the Photo collages.

I have had several people ask how I make my photo collages so, here is the answer... Photoshop. You could use any type of program that you can create a file and then save it as a jpeg. You could use Publisher or even Powerpoint. Both of those programs have the option to save a "page" or "slide" as a jpeg. You could just make the background whatever size you want and go from there. I'm sure there are tons of other programs you could use, but those are the ones I know for sure will do what you want! I hope that helps!

Better Late than Never... Right?

Stay off my stinkin' LAWN

I've been watering these plants for the whole, long, stinking dry summer. And Maverick walks in the gate and within 24 hours tears the place to shreds.

I'd stop him, but he's so darn cute.

He eats mulch too, which was concerning to Moriah (not me, since I've eaten it a time or two myself). She checked it out on the web. Dirt in puppy's mouth: totally normal.

Maverick is sitting by me as I write this, so I'm typing so stealth. Can't promise this will be the last puppy post. Sorry

-Blake, Mr. I-don't-check-my-own-blog

We got a puppy! His name is...

Isn't he cute???

We're back from the lake...

We're home safe and sound after a full week at the lake with the Steward (and extended) family. Loads of sun, water, sunscreen, cool weather, and great food made for a very relaxing week.
I spent all week anticipating Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which I purchased Saturday morning in Hot Springs. It was well worth the wait! I finished this afternoon. If you are in Nashville and need a copy, mine is available.
Blake skied and wake-boarded every chance he got. I road in the boat and took pictures. We had a wonderful week but I was ready to come home. I'm now looking forward to Labor day when I (hopefully) get to see all my girlfriends from ACU.

100 Things About Me...

1. I am a middle child.
2. I have two sisters.
3. My Dad and little sister, Channing, used to call me “Little Miss Perfect.” I always pretended that it annoyed me but I secretly loved it.
4. I am really close to all my extended family.
5. I am the only member of my extended family to live outside of TX voluntarily.
6. My sister lives in Beaufort, SC with her husband who is a Marine… They prefer TX.
7. I don’t really talk like I am from TX, except when I say the word “night.”
8. When I was little, I sucked my right index finger.
9. I always slept with a very soft stuffed animal.
10. I still sleep with a very soft stuffed animal.
11. Channing gave it to me in my Christmas stocking last year.
12. Sometimes I catch Blake sleeping with it.
13. I like bologna.
14. I had it for lunch today.
15. When I was little, Becky Smith (Evans) and I used to watch “David the Gnome” while eating bologna and potato chips… both dipped in ketchup.
16. Becky and I would play Barbies everyday.
17. I didn’t stop playing with my Barbies until I was in the 6th grade.
18. Packing them up and putting them in the attic might be the hardest thing I had to do as a child.
19. I still love Barbies.
20. Every time I go to Wal-Mart I walk down the Barbie aisle just to look at them.
21. I had a wreck the first afternoon I had my driving permit.
22. The person I hit was my (now) brother-in-law’s older brother. (I was too embarrassed to talk to him at Bevin and John’s wedding.)
23. I learned to drive a standard transmission before I mastered driving an automatic.
24. My first car was a 1966 (red) Mustang.
25. During the summer I had to take an extra set of clothes with me everywhere I went… it had no air-conditioning.
26. I was a member of the Student Council from 6th grade to 12th grade.
27. My senior year I was Student Council Secretary.
28. I was a member of the National Honor Society.
29. My junior year I was Homecoming Princess and Class Favorite.
30. My Senior year I was just on the Homecoming Court. (As Blake says… I peaked too early)
31. I loved high school.
32. I wouldn’t want to do it over again, though.
33. I went pot-luck my freshman year at ACU and LOVED my roommate Cheryl.
34. That same year I went out on at least one date with 12 different guys.
35. One of those guys was Blake.
36. He stood one person down from me during Freshman Sing Song.
37. I thought he was super cute and funny, too.
38. One day he stopped me in the Bean and asked me, “When are we going to have some Blake and Moriah time?”
39. I was so excited I ran to the other side of the Bean to tell all my friends.
40. Our first date was to an Italian restaurant and to Grace.
41. We started dating at the beginning of our sophomore year.
42. I used to cry A LOT.
43. Blake has calmed me down, BIG TIME.
44. I moved into a different house every semester after I moved out of the dorm. (4 houses in 4 semesters)
45. The only roommate that stayed consistent was Kenli.
46. I cooked dinner for at least 4 people most weeknights my senior year at ACU.
47. I loved the club I was in at ACU… Sigma Theta Chi.
48. I was the “Big Sig” (pledge mom) my senior year.
49. The pledges made me cry almost every day. (#43)
50. I wanted nothing more than for Siggies to win Sing Song every year.
51. I am very competitive.
52. I don’t like being Blake’s partner for games because he usually doesn’t care if we win or not.
53. I won’t do something unless I know I can excel at it.
54. My degree is in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Social Studies.
55. I decided during an internship at Abilene High that I did not want to teach.
56. I still don’t want to teach.
57. I’ve thought about going back to school, not seriously, to get a Masters Degree in Electronic Media… or something design related.
58. I love fonts.
59. I am kind of a font snob.
60. I hate it when I see a standard Microsoft font on a piece of printed material or used in a logo.
61. I love to scrapbook.
62. I have only finished 2 paper scrapbooks.
63. I am working on my first digitally produced scrapbook… I’ll let you know how it looks printed.
64. I love taking pictures.
65. I feel bad for people who don’t have fun/good wedding pictures.
66. I could spend hours on Facebook.
67. My favorite is to look at pictures of people I knew at ACU and from high school… weddings are my favorite.
68. I wish more of my friends had blogs.
69. I hate to sing in front of people I don’t know.
70. I cried immediately after the first time I sang in front of Blake without music. I sing really loud around him now.
71. Although I don’t like to sing in front of people, I like to pretend I’m a Broadway star when I’m driving.
72. Right now, Wicked is my favorite musical to sing along with.
73. I love Brad Paisley’s music. As soon as I got his new CD I scanned all the songs trying to pick out my favorite. I couldn’t ever decide.
74. It annoys me when Blake makes up his own part to any song… or when he tries to sing along when he doesn’t know the words.
75. I sometimes get mad at Blake because he won’t get mad at me. How stupid is that?
76. I hate it when I don’t get my way.
77. #76 doesn’t happen very often.
78. I am not ready to have a baby yet.
79. I REALLY want a golden retriever.
80. I love going to the lake with my family.
81. I used to water-ski a lot.
82. Now I don’t because I’m not very good at it. (see #54)
83. I love to sit in the boat while watching Blake ski. He is really good and pretty fearless.
84. In my family, you aren’t really water skiing until you can slalom.
85. My granddad bought me my own slalom ski the day I learned how. It hasn’t been used very much since then.
86. I spent a lot of time with Patmommy and Granddad when I was growing up. I spent most Saturday nights at their house.
87. They always had Mr. Goodbars, Dr. Peppers, and homemade sweet pickles for me.
88. I LOVE Dr. Pepper.
89. I will never stop loving it.
90. I have never tried to stop drinking it.
91. I hate exercise.
92. I tried to like running for 4.5 years and decided last July, that it wasn’t worth being miserable any more.
93. I haven’t run since then.
94. I have walked some… It’s not the same without my walking buddies from ACU.
95. I took “Walking for Fitness” at ACU and was the (self-proclaimed) motivator in the class.
96. I love to cook.
97. I really like having people come over for dinner.
98. I like to sew.
99. I’m still learning though… patterns still intimidate me.
100. I just realized I like to talk about myself. I think my list could go on for days.

I had to come back to my list after finishing it because I forgot some very important things about myself. I went back through my list and picked out all the stupid things. No one tagged me, but I really enjoyed reading all my Otter Creek buddies’ lists, so I wanted to make one for myself. I also wanted all my ACU Blogging buddies to make lists!

So...

A long time ago, actually. We closed April 26th. Exactly one week after we closed we left for the Dominican Republic. Work has been crazy and I have been too lazy to blog. Not long after we got back from our trip I started tearing down wallpaper and border in the kitchen. It wasn't fun at all. The kitchen is slowly being finished and I will post before and after pictures when we actually finish. I was going to send out these cute little "We have moved" cards but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe you will see them at Christmas. Summer is flying by. This weekend we are going to TX for a wedding. It has been a really long time since I have seen my family and I've been missing them lately. A couple weeks after the wedding we'll all be meeting in Arkansas for our yearly trip to Lake Ouachita. But before we head to Arkansas... I'm going to New York. While I'm there...


I'm so excited I can barely contain myself. I have the ENTIRE soundtrack memorized and have been dying to see it for months (although it seems like years). I am going with Janet (from work), her daughter, and one of her daughter's friends. I just hope I can keep myself from singing every word. Blake thought it was a great idea that I go on this trip. I also think that he is a little sad he isn't going with me. Every morning I can always count on him to mix up all the words from "Popular" or "The Wizard and I." He sings them more than I do! Anyway... This blog had no purpose other than to share my excitement with my blog buddies. With all my trips coming up, you can bet I'll have lots of pictures to share!

My Favorite Restaurants

I was tagged by Carrie in her post regarding her favorite restaurants. I might do three lists... one of Nashville, one of Fort Worth, and one of Abilene. When we were in the DR with TJ and Holly, Holly suggested that we take a food vacation. In this vacation we would go to Abilene and eat at all our favorite places. I think it's a pretty good idea although, I'd like to add Fort Worth to the itinerary. Actually, I'm not going to do three different lists, I'm going to make them all one.

1. Chili's . Brentwood, TN . By far my most favorite place to eat. Blake and I love to go to Chili's. It doesn't matter where... Brentwood, Abilene, or Fort Worth. Brentwood is the best and Kevan Albright is by far the best waiter in the whole world. The Quesadilla Explosion Salad is heavenly! You must try it!

2. Cousin's Barbeque . Fort Worth, TX . The BEST barbeque you will ever eat. There are a few locations in the metroplex. If you ever fly through DFW airport, you must eat there.

3. Puffy Muffin . Brentwood, TN . I love Puffy Muffin. I love their chicken salad, tortilla soup, chocolate chip pancakes, hashbrown casserole, and mocha crinkles. It is always filled with Nashville's most adorable moms... I don't fit in, but I don't care. Even Blake loves eating breakfast there.

4. Spaghetti Warehouse . Abilene (or Fort Worth), TX . It isn't the same as the Spaghetti Factory in Nashville. It's WAY better. It's cheap with great bread and even better salad. I can't wait to go again.

5. Copper Kettle . Nashville, TN . A great "meat and three." I didn't even know what that was until I moved here. They have the best pot roast I have ever eaten. It's so delicious! We haven't eaten there in a while... Just in case you want to go, it's only guaranteed that they will have pot roast on Thursdays.

I have many more "favorite" restaurants. Rosa's Tortilla Factory, Luby's, Subway, Carrabba's, Blue Mesa, Outback... The list goes on.

I still have over 1,000 pictures to post from our trip to the DR. Maybe I'll get to that this week. Oh yeah, Blake and I bought a house almost a month ago. I spent all weekend pulling down two layers of grape border and wallpaper. I'm letting Blake take down all the nasty glue. Hopefully we will be able to paint tomorrow. We'll see!

Playa Grande

Here... and loving it!

We are safe and sound in the DR. I will post lots of blogs about our experiences when we get back... or during our 6 hour lay-over at JFK. Just wanted to share a few pictures!

Frisbee Sunday...

ACU #3

He's Really Great!

He really is great! This is the article that was in the WPLN Newsletter about Blake. It's really cheesy and he wrote every word of it, but it's just kind of neat. Blake has been working super hard lately. Not that he didn't work hard before he started hosting Morning Edition, it's just that he's been working extra hard lately. He gets up super early (3:45am), gets to WPLN at 4:30am, and usually doesn't stop working until 5:00pm. He's been WPLN's workhorse lately but he really loves it. He's motivated to go out and find news to cover or feature stories to write, which I would never have the drive to do. Here's to Blake!

Blake went to bed at 9:30 tonight, and I am trying to overcome my desire to sleep whenever he does. I have been sleeping so much lately (atleast 9 or 10 hours a night) and all I want to do is sleep. I think I have always "needed" more sleep than most people, but not being able to DRAG myself out of bed at 7am is getting annoying. So... I'm trying a new plan. I'm going to stay up after Blake goes to bed and straighten the house, exercise (pray for determination), and do a little Spring Cleaning (more organizing than anything). It's 10:07 right now and I'm fighting weariness. I'm weak and I know it. Blake is strong. He will get 6 hours of sleep, work for 12, and then go run for an hour. How's that for determination. I'm off to attepmt #2 on my list of things to do. Here goes nothing!

By the way, Kenli is coming to visit on Saturday and staying through Wednesday! I am SOOOOO excited!

I Love Sing Song... and Siggies!

This is for my fellow super-competitive, Sing Song loving, Siggie gals!

Weekend in Abilene #1

The sweetest thing...

Perhaps the sweetest looking 10-day-old we've ever seen.
This is Hannah Rivkah, the first born of Shrebekawn - as we like to call them - Shawn and Rebecca Brown.
From all accounts, the new family is doing well.

blake

Snow!

Rebekah's Baby Shower