we have a situation.

as many of you experienced last friday, old man winter paid a pretty fierce {for south texas} visit. even corpus had sleet and freezing temps. thursday night, mike came in and said, "i feel bad for the flea bag. maybe we should do something." to which i thought: he's officially lost it. we settled on a non-committal solution of putting a few towels out on the front porch in the corner where he might be able to get out of the gale force freezing winds. then friday came along with the sleet and there was the flea bag, freezing to death on our very front porch. i decided that if he was going to freeze to death and die on our watch, he should at least have a final meal. so i put a little food out and said, "this is a one time offer."

and flea bag hasn't left our house since. DRAT.

i think he didn't hear the "one time offer" part. now, no matter which room of the house i seem to be in, he's sitting on the outside window sill, longingly looking in like, "you promised me you'd take care of me forever!" when in actuality i said, "this is a one time offer." i would humor you with a photo, but right now he's sitting outside our backdoor and capturing his flea bagness would also capture all the dog snoot on our back door and i'd rather not. thank you, lilah.

did you know that we have still not decorated the outside of the house and i have yet to start the holiday baking extravaganza? it has not been a very tummy friendly week for me - in fact, this has been one of the worst so far. really? what happened to magic number 12? after the third really bad day in a row, a meltdown quickly ensued last night. will it ever end? if you're reading this and yours didn't end, please don't tell me that. encouraging words only, por favor. all i know is that junebug is in trouble the minute he/she arrives. only kidding, of course. kind of. if i am going to spend so much time being so sick, at least its for the little darling.

christmas countdown: 15 days. really? have you finished your shopping? have you started your shopping? i'm caught somewhere in the middle. we have a whole slew of gifts under the tree - UNwrapped. just sitting there waiting for santa's elves to come make my day and wrap my gifts. and perhaps while they're here they would take pity on me and finish that load of laundry that's been in the dryer since friday. and cook my husband dinner so that he could remember what it's like to have culinary deliciousness in his home again. maybe something kind of like the sicilian chicken that rachael ray made this morning. did y'all see that? my mouth was watering as i was watching, which incidentally made me gag, but still, it looked amazing. the second i am feeling better, i am opening my kitchen back up for business and making all the wonderful things in the world.

maybe today will be the day i start chipping away at the 20 dozen cookies. in all honesty i would LOVE for my house to smell like christmas cheer!! and i hope they look this delish.

only ours will be packaged in cutie little bags tied with our darling tags from melimba. oh, and by the way, i spent lots of dollars last weekend scooping up some of her delightful cards. we're making donations this year in lieu of gifts for some of our friends and fam, so we're tucking the donation info into one of her adorable cards so that it's a very merry gift!

are you even still reading? if so, i am amazed. i can't believe i am still typing. who knew you could spend so long writing about absolutely nothing of importance. let's go do something productive, shall we?

ready. set. GO!

can you tell that my pants aren't zipped?

this weekend, mike and i drove up to san antonio. mike had a meeting that we needed to attend on saturday night out in boerne, so it gave us an excuse to spend the weekend with my parents. it was such a treat! my mom and i did some christmas shopping and erranding on saturday while the guys did manly men things like hang out at the gun show and each chips & salsa.

mike and i went to church at our "old" church while we were in town and it was SO great to be back. the message was great, the worship was fantastic, we saw familiar faces...it did the soul some good. we're still working on finding "the church" here in corpus - and we so look forward to finding one and settling in.

my only regret from the entire weekend is that i did NOT eat at panera bread even once. i DID, however, get to enjoy my favorite #6 sandwich from broadway daily bread. i also DID skip the lemon sugar cookie that i usually cannot resist, due to the fact that it's been a little shocking that my pants now fit best UNzipped. groovy. i busted out the bella band this weekend - mike said, "hey, it looks like a tube top!" and then i got the mental image of ME in a tube top and 'bout fell over. but in all seriousness, it's been a lifesaver. what a great solution to the in-between stage. it's still up for debate whether i have entered this stage due to the little peanut or due to ALL that cream cheese i have been loving with all my heart. in my defense, it has been either light or fat free and 100% necessary at all times :) BUT, if i had a nickel for every-time i asked my mom or mike can you tell that my pants aren't zipped? this weekend, mike could retire.

next week i am heading up to fort worth to spend some time with my sister and her family while sweet baby joe has surgery. i get to hang with james the big brother bug boy while the grandparents and parents take turns at the hospital and get some rest. moments like this make me so thankful for family that loves to support one another and love on one another...and for being close enough to do it!

it's unreal to me that christmas will be here the week after that!! where is december going? since i'll be gone for most of next week, that means i have about a bajillion things to do THIS week. things like bake 20 dozen cookies for neighbors and co-worker christmas gifts, finish our christmas shopping & wrapping and stock the fridge and freezer for mike's bachelor-style week. so it's really helping that i am still in my pajamas and sitting on the couch. come to me, spirit of christmas...and motivation.

before i go, there have been a few questions that i thought i'd answer about our little tiny one.

we're due june 16th. no, we're not finding out what we're having...much to the dismay of a number of family members and friends! being that we are due in june and that we aren't finding out the sex, little one quickly became junebug in an attempt to avoid calling the baby it - because that just makes me feel like i have the creature of the black lagoon lurking in my womb. and YES our families are SO excited. there is already a gift under the tree for junebug at my parent's house and the baby's pictures are hanging proudly on the fridge at mike's parent's house. mike's littlest niece has already told us she'd like to babysit for us :)

the one thing i think about quite often and have mentioned to my doctor several times is the fact that my adorable husband weighed ELEVEN POUNDS and TEN OUNCES when he was born, and i'm putting in my request early for one not quite that size. because can you IMAGINE? please, no.

dinner for two...

so a few months ago, i had a little special dinner waiting for mike when he got home.

the reason for the special dinner? to celebrate my part-time tutoring job!

{kinda, sorta}

i set the table...and configured a festive little centerpiece

and served up a delish meal of baked tilapia, spinach & strawberry salad and vegetable rice. yes, it was SO tasty. {and let it be known i think we could have labeled this dinner "the last supper" because i don't think i have made dinner since. i wish i was joking. and so does mike.}

mike got home from work and was so excited to ask me alllll about my new job. we sat and talked for a little bit, and then i handed him his gift from the table. we had both been crushing on some chuck taylors, so those were a part of the fun too.

want to know what was inside his box?

that's about the time he said, "are you for real?"

YES!

from the moment he pulled out the little shoes he had the world's biggest smile ALL OVER HIS FACE. i don't think it ever went away :) we cried, we laughed, we sat in shock, we thanked God for His faithfulness and for the gift of life! it was a perfect night.

who knew that one {or two...hey, disbelief happens} of these,

would give you SO many opportunities to do this:

not a day goes by that...

my sweet husband doesn't put his arms around me, put his hands on my tummy and just grin from ear to ear...that we don't lay in bed amazed by the miracle of this little life...that we aren't SO thankful that papaw got to know about our little tiny one before he passed away...that i don't wake up {and go to bed} feeling as green as our christmas tree!

allegedly, the "feeling awesome" days are just around the corner...any day now...and to them i say, "bring it on!" oh how i would LOVE to make dinner again!! and mike would probably LOVE to brew a pot of coffee inside the house instead of on the back porch :)

we decorated for christmas this weekend and as i set up our nativity set, i sat there thinking about sweet mary. all the uncertainty, all the initial fear, all the TRUST and the FAITH that she had in God's plan for her. i'm so thankful that mary was so amazing and so willing to walk the road less {or never} travelled.

i would just love to know... did mary have morning sickness? and an aversion to laundry detergent? and coffee? and glade plug ins?

thankful

what a blessing it is

to have SO much to be thankful for.

big things, little things, in-between things...

all things that make me have a heart of thanks.

fried turkey unlimited long distance sisters my darling husband our toasty, happy new home pajamas wonderful in-laws peppermint tea

southern living magazine

chilly corpus mornings sage & citrus candles nieces x 4 laughter faith sweet tea stretchy pants pumpkin bread fur-lined crocs bagels & cream cheese long visits with friends morning walks with lilah nephews x 6

lunch dates with mike

knowing a BIG God bill miller's salad de-lite w/chicken lilah ownby family sweet potatoes thanksgiving samples day at sam's christmas music celebrating the reason for the season the today show card games quiet mornings family stamps in our passports

twizzler's mexican food little women worship hugs from dad unconditional love husband = bff afternoon naps friendship getting mail

new & old family traditions

hope your thanksgiving was one to remember...

and that it left your tummies full and your hearts even fuller!

a bloggy break

it happened without meaning to, but it appears that i took a little two week bloggy break. for good reason, i assure you. sometimes it's nice to just step back and be still. i loved catching up on everyone else's lives, though!

mike has been working some killer hours at work, so he suggested i take a little trip up north to visit my mom for a bit. yes, i visited my dad too, but only in between his busy life full of meetings, breakfasts, lunches, golf games, bible studies, etc... i was tired just watching him :) this was my first real time to "go visit my parents" since we've moved down here and it was such a treat. it's so fun to be a guest at my parent's house!

the time with my mom was such a refreshment to a thirsty soul i didn't even know i had. and because that sounded so deep and thoughtful, i'll translate: i've really missed her...mega. we went walking together, we baked together, we ran errands together and she went with me to get my "summer is over and my face looks like alice cullen's" shade of makeup. it turned into a full makeover at sephora and the darling soul that did the job enlightened me to the fact that i have been putting my make up on wrong. for the past two years. even more humbling still that a MAN was the one to tell me. thank you, kevin for saving the day. he even solved my "i just moved to the most humid place on the face of the planet" woes by offering me the new matte finish. my mom and i celebrated with some orange cup. it was her first time...it won't be her last.

christmas came early for me and mike bought me my very own, beautiful, new sewing machine. i LOVE it. i have already made one successful craft. it sat in the box for the first week and every day i would walk by it, touch it, look at it...and then walk away. i was so scared. mike said, "ok, you HAVE to open the box." i had him load it in my car and took it to san antonio for the big out-of-the-box debut and my mom gave me the courage i needed to plug it in and fire it up. now, i'm hooked. i have a hobby lobby bag full of mad money purchased goodies sitting on the table just waiting to be played with. up until last week, i hadn't sewn anything since my junior year of home-ec when i {not so} expertly hemmed jeremy echols' pants and made a few killer throw pillows. much like this very one that still holds a place of honor on ownby guest bed #1. yes, i even did that killer cording around the edge.

and jeremy, in the event that you're a google your own name kinda guy and this blog post pops up, can i just thank you again for having such faith in me that you would give me your pants? pants that you let me take a needle to without a second thought? and can i just apologize again that for the rest of the year, your right leg was longer than your left leg? i swear i measured...

i love my new hobby and i love that my husband is in such great support of my new hobby. honey, i smell a throw pillow JUST FOR YOU! but maybe no cording yet, because honestly? i can't remember how. baby steps.

other than that, i have no overly exciting news to report. unless you too are thrilled to know that i have finally perfected the answer to the question of "how long" to pop the 100 calorie pack of orville redenbacher's popcorn. 59 seconds. will you sleep easy tonight or what?!

we got a call at 2 this morning that mike's sweet grandfather had passed away. 87 years old and he was amazing. mike and i planned a little impromptu trip down to see him a few weeks ago and boy are we glad we did. we got to spend some sweet time with him and love on him. we didn't know if it would be our last, but we hugged him extra tight just in case. God's timing was so merciful and for that we are so grateful. when i married into the pettijohn family, i got to have a grandparent again and i just LOVED it! old stories, wrinkled smiles, weathered hands..all reminders of lots of years well lived.

we will head down there this weekend to spend some time celebrating his life with mike's family and we'll head back down again for thanksgiving. our thanksgiving table may have an empty seat next week, but the table will be FULL of memories!

after we got the call this morning, mike and i stayed awake in bed for a while talking about papaw, shedding a few tears and even laughing a few laughs. he was a pistol right up 'til the very end. i am so thankful my husband shares those genes :) it's good to be married to a fighter! we are so thankful for papaw's life well lived. what a blessing it is to know that he is now joyful and peaceful!!

go find someone to be thankful for...there are so many to choose from!

important issues

i've appropriately titled this post important issues because we are going to tackle some important issues here today. important issues like, why do i suddenly love cream cheese and want to eat it on everything at every meal? why? can anyone out there tell me why?

there are a few delish sandwich shops around these parts and while my mom was down last week, we picked up sandwiches from one of my favorites, my favorite muffin & bagel. i like to indulge myself in the turkey and havarti that they have there. turkey, havarti, lettuce, tomato, a shmear of cream cheese on whole wheat and served with a pickle. in other words, it's to die for. never-mind the fact that 3/4 of the way through my sandwich i noticed that they had forgotten the havarti. i didn't even care, i was too love-drunk from the cream cheese. then a few weeks ago i had this OTHER sandwich at this other great place here, hester's and it TOO had cream cheese on it. whole wheat bread, cream cheese, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers... i have to stop telling you about it or i'll have to go drive to hester's.

lindsay, don't worry, BOTH of these places are on the agenda/menu for your visit. i hope you like cream cheese.

so today, i made my own little turkey and havarti with cream cheese on my toasted sandwich flat bread with some spring mix lettuce on top and it was good to the last drop. now it's snack time and i want a piece of toast. with cream cheese. i've opened pandora's cream cheese box! i'm gonna force myself to settle for an apple, lest i turn into cream cheese.

important issue #2. air purifiers.

do they work? are they awesome or not awesome? our bedroom doesn't get the best of ventilation and gets the least amount of airflow from our fab, new a/c. it's really not a big problem, except that sometimes it just feels stale in there. we run the ceiling fan to keep life moving in there, but it still doesn't feel fresh and wonderful. not to mention that my mom nicely told me that my house still smells a little like old lady. excellent. i knew it did when we bought it, but i was hoping that our own pettijohn scent had taken the granny smell hostage! i guess not yet. i did refresh my plug-ins since we had that conversation. but it did feed the fire for the hot topic of "to purify or not to purify." i want to know if they are as amazing as they claim to be, especially since they are upwards of $300. does anyone have any thoughts that they can share?

important issue #3. christmas commercials.

are they as abundant where you live as they are where i live? holy moly. i don't EVER remember them starting so heavily, this early. then again, in fall seasons past i was always working retail and rarely had time to watch tv. every other commercial is christmas-y and i'm wondering if they just decided to skip thanksgiving all together this year. i sure hope not, 'cause i can almost taste the sweet potatoes and the turkey. perhaps they air them more heavily in corpus because they know what a stretch it will be to get people to start thinking christmas when it's 83 degrees outside. who else is now thinking about thanksgiving dinner instead of christmas commercials? me too! glad i could get the taste buds going. we're having our thanksgiving at the pettijohn's this year which translates into TONS of amazing food... and then after we eat, they lose me to a food induced coma.

man, i wonder how we could incorporate cream cheese into thanksgiving dinner.

crafty goodness

remember how i know this way, mega talented girl named melis?

yes, she is STILL way, mega talented :)

she just came out with these new super cutie wall prints that are just begging to make your wall a little bit more happy and delightful. me? well, i have my eye on this one...

oh, and fyi, don't even think about stealing this cute image. it's {copyright by melimba 2009} which means it's not for the taking. if you want one, you can just get one right here for your very own self.

but there are even more in her shop that are just as cute. we already know i am a sucker for her cards. in fact, i just placed my thanksgiving and christmas order last week. let's face it, the cutest part of my gifts this year will definitely be the gift tags! the great part is that mike loves melis' goodies as much as i do, so he always says, "shop away!" ok, not really. but he says it with his eyes... and his smile when he sees the smile on MY face when my goodies arrive :) he's cool like that.

you can head over to melis' blog and try to win one if you want. who doesn't love to be a winner? and while you're there, stay a while. she's super fun. oh, and if you want to check out her new fabric line {she's amazing like that} and other crafty delights, she has a webpage too. it's www.melimba.com

and speaking of fun...checkity check this out. i happened upon this a few nights ago and will most definitely be checking in each day.

she has the cutest holiday craft ideas, and just cute ideas in general. she also gives step by step directions for those of us that are creatively de-clined and need a little extra lovin'. in case you missed the link, here it is again.

who ARE all these talented people?! aren't you glad they're around? me too!

now go, friends! go be crafty and go shop with melimba! you won't be sorry you did :)