Christmas contd with a Surprise

The following evening we ended back at my dad's house to spend Christmas with Ashleigh, Chad, Alexis, Alyssa , Steven, Rosie, and Don (Diane's parents). So, this is what happened later that evening.

Alyssa is telling her mom, Diane, about her gift and how she may have given her the wrong one. So, she tells her mom to open the other present.

Can anyone guess what the present might be? Take a look at my dad's face in this picture compared to the one above. Also, the hug may give it away.

Yes, This is the new GRANDPARENTS!!! They are so excited along with me. The holidays will be very exciting next year with a little one around. Alyssa and Steven are due with the first child June 5. She is 18 weeks next week, I think I am right! Alyssa will find out what the sex is in February. Look how happy these two are. Instead of their house being quiet , it will soon be filled with toys, books, a baby bed for the new grandchild.

Congrats to Alyssa and Steven. It will be an exciting 2009 for the two of them along with the entire family.

Christmas

For starters, I am a goof. I still need practice in the order of how I upload my pictures. This is Daddy and Diane Christmas morning opening gifts. Daddy is checking out his new Cole Hann dress shoes. Daddy, You will be uptown with those slick city shoes on!

They made Neil go to the workshop to find his present..... A Shop Vac! He has been wanting one. As soon as we got back home to Atlanta, he immediately went to the basement to use the vac.

This is the beautiful tree at Daddy's that we woke up to Christmas morning.


I had to show you a picture of Rocky sniffing out his stocking. We are trying to teach him how to SIT with treats. It seems to be working well. He loved his stocking. This was taken Dec. 23 at our house in Atlanta.

Our Sunday visit

Today my best friend Amy and her family came to visit. It is so awesome to have them close to us again. For the past seven years they have been on the run..... No not running from anyone, just going where ever the Navy sent them. They now live permanently in Chattanooga. It is nice because they are an hour and 45 minutes away. So, the dirve it is not bad at all. Most of the time when I go home to Tennessee, I try to make a detour to Hixson, make a few turns, and a definite left by the PUMP "N" GO and their I am at the Lovitt's. Ok, the PUMP "N" GO.... is this tiny gas station by their house that I just think is the funniest thing! I say it is a landmark when giving directions to their house.

Anyway, this is their adorable children. Carson is becoming such a little boy and Stella, well, looks just like Amy did when she was little, which is nothing more than beautiful. We love our little niece and nephew and hope they come back to visit soon.


PS .. Neil and I are only children , so every child that my freind' s have will be our niece's and nephew's!!!

Deck the Halls

I wanted to share a little of my Christmas spirit around my house. Alot of what you will see were wedding gifts. I was very fortunate to have a Christmas Brunch when I got married last year. The theme was to decorate my home for the holidays. I loved everything I received

The Chef Santa was a purchase I made this holiday season. I already had the gingerbread house and thought that he would be perfect for my kitchen.

The gingerbread train and candies were already mine as well. I thought gingerbread was perfect for the kitchen.

The snowmen, the ones to the right top were given to me by the hostesses of my bridesmaid luncheon. It was awesome at the luncheon, everything was decorated for Christmas. I bought the Santa group at the top left to match the other couple. The snowmen at the bottom was also another purchase this year. The picture of the tree is the tree that was at my wedding reception. I will try to get a larger picture of it. It was Beautiful!!!

These trees were given by Beverly and Donna. They are so delicate and shiny, perfect as a trio!

The two Santa's in front were mine, but the one in the back Neil's mother gave me.




Just a close up of some ornaments , the JOY is from the CO-OP in Shelbyville. If you have never been there you should visit. It is unbelievable at the gorgeous Christmas decor they have. Alot of what you see like the ornaments, Red and gold trees, the Snowmen etc came from there.

Our tree!!! I just love my tree topper. Thanks Ashleigh, another wedding gift!!

This is one of my favorites. My famous buffet. I love this piece of furniture. I also adore the fancy Snowman, it also came form CO-OP. The Santa below plays music and was also another wedding gift.

Thank you to all of you who gave such wonderful wedding gifts. If you haven't noticed by now, I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! I love to decorate. I get so excited when the ornaments are released , usually July, a tad bit early, but I still love finding the pretty ones early.

I hope all of you have the Merriest of Christmases and Happiest of New Years this year. I can't wait to come home and visit all of my friends, especially Avery, The Frost's newest addition. I will have pictures to post after Christmas of this darling bundle of joy.

Happy Holidays,

Andrea

You tell me.....

OK, everyone who was at my wedding knows the disaster that was going on before I arrived. However, the picture at the bottom with the B topper was taken before it fell over and was leaning and the topper was messed up. YES, I am still BITTER. I understand I should be over this ,but everything was perfect about my day except for the FIASCO OF THE WEDDING CAKE...

Let me give some details. My cake as far as the layers being square and round are right. The taste, PERFECTION, the icing and designs, WRONG. The first one is the effect of the swirls that I wanted, DID I GET THAT ON MINE.. NO.

I can't help I am still a upset about it. Neil tells me it makes it memorable, Memorable HELL. I didn't want it to be remembered this way. I told him in a couple of years if I have to fork out hundreds of dollars to get the cake I want I am going to , maybe our 5th wedding anniversary.

Even the layers were all about the same size. They should have been smaller as they went up. I can't help myself, I am just still sick when I look at the pictures.

ON THE FLIP SIDE, it tasted fantastic. Everyone told me how wonderful it tasted. The groom's cake was gone before I could blink. So, Neil and I whipped this cake out on our one year anniversary. It tasted just like the day we got married.... UNBELIEVABLE!!! I was on a sugar high all last week. I took the rest of it to work and they raved over it.

Does the taste make up for the way it ended up?
You tell me....




Model Cake

Our 1st Anniversary

Neil and I said "I do " one year ago today. I can't believe how fast this year has passed. I have to say the first year came with some adjustments, but overall I would give it a 8.5! We had to learn each other's habits

Neil

1. sleeps with tons of pillows ( gets in the way and gets on my nerves)

2. likes to keep his stuff in a pile on the catch all in the kitchen (wallet, keys, ring, watch, etc) gets on my nerves

3. leaves his plate on the side of the sink with food left on it after he has been asked to just "rinse it off and I would put it in the dishwasher...) gets on my nerves

4. SNORES.... do I have to say anymore... gets on my nerves

5. Loves me for all my faults, Now that I LOVE!!!

Andrea

well, uhm, I am the one writing this post. So, no I am PERFECT!!!!

I wouldn't have changed any of the above. It makes him special and I am so lucky to have him as my best friend and husband. I love everything about him and was blessed the day he asked me to marry him.

God Bless the Broken road that I traveled because I never would have met you.

I love you, Sweetie.

Andrea

Help!!

I need to know if Gorilla Glue works? I accidentally broke one of my new Christmas decorations. If I had my camera I would put a picture up, but Neil is out of town with the camera. I have tried hot glue and a strong jewelry glue and neither one works. HELP!!

Updates

Please check out the blog , I have finally updated it.

Love, Andrea

Happy 31st Birthday

Need I say more........

Is everyone getting a HOOT out of this!!!! Please tell me if you are because I am. I challenge everyone to print the card and play while you shop at WalMart!!

The Cousins Party

Every year my dad's family gets together for the Annual Cousins Party. It is the Stone family we celebrate. My grandmother is one of the Stone's we remember this time of year. We always have a great time with the family

L to R Back row Dan, Dadddy ( Curtis), Leon, and Albert

L to R Maxine, Anita, Violet, Tilitha, Lynda

The newest addition to the family and the smallest, Abbi

These two Characters were the ones who were always into mischief and the best of friends. Curtis and Tilitha.

Shannon's Baby Shower

It's a GIRL!!! Avery Elizabeth Frost. Congratulations to Shannon and Jonathan. We had a baby shower for the Mommie to be on Saturday. Karen, Shannon's sister was courteous to host the shower at her home. It was absolutely beautiful.

L to R Suzanne, Andrea, Shannon, and Karen

This is one of the famous pictures that everyone new baby should have. Check it out http://www.shopsmallwords.com/index2.php?v=v1

I think Avery will have fun playing with this. It is bright and colorful!

Shannon, I am very happy for you and Jonathan. I wish I could be closer to have spent more time with you during pregnancy. I want to be apart of Avery's life no matter how far I am away. I am looking forward to meeting her. Hopefully, you might have her on the weekend and I can make a quick trip home.

Miss and Love you bunches,

Andrea

Vistors

We Love Visitors!

This past weekend we had several guests. Neil and I love it when our friends and family come to visit.

This is my best friend from college Stephanie. She and I lived together for 5 years. Let me just tell you those were some of the best years, if not the best , of my life. We have laughed, cried, participated in some of the most hilarious situations. To name a few:

standing on top of the cooler acting like "Smith" from Tin Roof

thinking someone broke into the house , but to find a bird in the house!

spun round and round in the culde sac

I spent the night in my car waiting for Steph because I didn't want to leave her, but all the while she was cozy in her bed!

Ok, just to name a few, most are inside jokes that only Stephanie will have the best chuckle!

Thanks for the visit.

We also had a short visit from Alyssa and Steven. Alyssa , my cousin, and her husband came to visit the Coke museum and the aquarium. Luckily we were home so they came by for a short visit. Thanks guys. We hope you can come back and stay longer. Miss you and see you Thanksgiving.

Ya'll Come Back Now, Ya Hear!!

Cowboy Curtis

This is the PERFECT Cowboy!! Always growing up my daddy loved horses, bulls, anything having to do with cowboys and horses. He took me to rodeos and taught me how to ride horses, as well. I think this is the greatest picture. Last weekend him and his wife Diane went to a Western Jamboree . Their Sunday school class always has get togethers and this was one of them. So he decided to dress up as a cowboy! I would bet the farm and say he WON!

So, on Halloween , DADDY you need to dress up like this again and have Diane dress up as a cowgirl , so you can give the kiddies candy!

Love and Miss You

Andrea

What type of personality are you?

I took this test that my friend Misty had on her blog. The test definitely hit the nail on the head with her as well as it did for me. I was surprised. It told Misty she should have been a nurse, which she is, GUESS what it told me................TEACHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will finish my teaching degree one day,... four classes and student teaching, not much too finish. Hopefully , when we make it back to TENNESSEE I will finish at MTSU.
This is my result from the test. Please tell me if this sounds like me , because I sure think it does!!!!


Andrea 's personality type:
Enthusiastic, idealistic and creative. Able to do almost anything that interests them. Great people skills. Need to live life in accordance with their inner values. Excited by new ideas, but bored with details. Open-minded and flexible, with a broad range of interests and abilities.
Careers that could fit Andrea includes:
Actors, journalists, writers, musicians, painters, consultants, psychologists, psychiatrists, entrepreneurs, teachers, counselors, politicians, diplomats, television reporters, marketers, scientists, sales representatives, artists, clergy, public relations, social scientists, social workers


I think it was pretty accurate. So if want to to you can take the test herehttp://www.41q.com/!!
Good luck , I can't wait to see the results.

Tour of Our Home

CROCS! PLEASE TELL ME YOU DON'T OWN A PAIR

Crocs... who wears those things. I know I have a few friends that have them. If you are reading this post please forgive me and don't take it personal!!! I was in CROC HELL this weekend. I went to this cute little store down the street called Love Street. I walked in the cute little house and the next room was nothing but THIS....................

Can you believe all of these hideous shoes!! On my facebook page I am a member of the group, You look like a DumbA$$ for wearing crocs!! The group is something like that. They are a shame to women's shoes. Even guys, PLEASE don't wear these things, I DON'T CARE HOW COMFORTABLE THEY ARE, THEY SHOULD BE BANNED FOR ALL ETERNITY! If you look closely the shoe on top of the box, the black one. IT is a HIGH HEEL CROC! I nearly fainted .... that is a disgrace to the many sexy Stilettos I have in my closet. I have never in my life seen so many CROCS. There was even a smaller room just like this for kids. Again, it was CROC Hell!! BTW, I will forgive all my friends that a pair or two..... Love Yall!!!!

Rocky!!

This is my dog Rocky. He came with package when I got married. When Neil and I were dating , I honestly was a little scared off Rocky. I think it was because he growled at me once or twice. So, for those of you who don't know, I was bitten by a dog once in the face. I have a scare to prove it. So, maybe that is why I was a little nervous. Since Rocky has come to live with us he is my BUDDY now. He runs in circles when he see me coming, whines when I leave, and begs for me to pet him and give him treats! I let Rocky in our basement every once in a while so I can pet and love on him. He LOVES the couch. However, I have a hard time getting him to go back outside sometimes. He doesn't listen to me very well, but if Neil steps in he is off the couch and out the door. Neil was away on business for a couple of days this week. So, I let Rocky in for a few minutes which turned into longer than just a few. I couldn't get him up. He was not budging for nothing.

So, when I tried to get him off the couch by saying "Come on Rocky" about a gagillion times, I got this picture of him.

DO YOU SEE THIS... HE IS STICKING HIS TONGUE OUT AT ME! He wasn't going anywhere for a while. So I had to sit back and let him waller around on the couch for a while. I guess if you give it enough time they grow on you because I just let him enjoy himself even though it was my bedtime.

I saw the beauty!

Today Neil and I went to drop off some JUNK at the Goodwill. Well, a little secret of mine is that I enjoy going to the Goodwill. I like to look at other people's JUNK. As I was browsing the store, I came upon two topiaries. I thought to myself those would be so beautiful on my new buffet at Christmas. The bottoms were ugly. Just your basic terracotta look and a terrible hand made bow attached. I guess someone didn't see the potential in them like I did. Below is the top of the topiary, Perfect for Christmas.


Here is the bottoms. I am such a goof. I was so excited I didn't take a before picture of what it actually looked like.
Here is the terrible bow that was attached.
However, after a can of gold spray paint and removing the bow they look like this!


Aren't they pretty! I spent 4.50 for both topiaries and 4.00 for gold spray paint, 8.50, NOT TO SHABBY!!!

Out with the Old, In with the , RECYCLED!

Neil and I have been working on our house since we moved in in May. A few days after we bought the house I was staring at this very dated 50ish Light fixture. I told Neil we had to get a new one, this one was HIDEOUS! A new light fixture would have cost us around 200-250 dollars. I really didn't want to spend my money on a new one. After a little thought, my brain began to churn. I have watched HGTV so many times surely I could come up with something. BINGO! The light bulb went off. I told Neil I wanted to take it down and spray paint it black and get rid of the glass lamp shades. So, when the parents came down to help us move I told my dad I needed his help. Well, needless to say he said "Andrea, I don't know about that ! " He was definitely doubtful up my capability to make it look awesome. So, I wish I could zoom in more, I tried but it didn't work. I hope you can tell it has a brushed gold finished, YUCK!

BEFORE

After

Can you believe how AWESOME it turned out! I love it! It looks so good in our dining room. I love the lamp shades. RED is my favorite color.

Materials for a recycled light fixture

1. one can of FLAT black spray paint 3.00

2. 5 mini lamp shades appox 35.00

3. paper to wrap around the inside of the lights so that spray paint doesn't mess it up

4.one Super DAD to take it down and put it back up!

Total: appox 40.00

sure does beat 250.00

Stella Lovitt

We went to Chattanooga to meet Stella. She is so tiny and sweet.
She is beautiful and has a head of curly black hair. I am so happy that Amy and her family are closer to me than they have been in the past 7 years. We are exactly 2 hours apart. I am excited to be this close because I can be the Best Aunt Andie to Stella and Carson. Also, Amy's sister Janet had Isabella, Stella's cousin one week later. She is completely different than Stella. She is longer, blonde hair, and quieter. But they are both beautiful and precious!

Me and Baby Stella

Neil and Stella. She is quiet when you bounce her on the ball. Neil is getting his practice in!!

Big Brother Carson

Me, Stella on the left and Isabella on the right. See how different they are!