Downstairs Bathroom Remodel: COMPLETE!

So, yet again... I find myself here, apologizing for my absence in the blog world. Since my last post I have been extremely busy with one thing: SCHOOL. Since school started I have been bogged down with work and very little free time to tend to my blog. Now that things are settling down I have finally found time.

Recently, Jason and I had a wild hair to re-tile the downstairs bathroom. It's been a long road from picking out the tile to waiting for the grout to dry; but finally, the wait is over.



Here are the BEFORE photos


































Anddd.... The AFTER photos! HOORAY!









































We are so excited about the bathroom and can't wait to use it.


This is my promise: I will not neglect my blog or my three followers ever again. Scouts Honor!

Stay tuned for more posts!

A final thought.

Since I have been a slacking blogger I thought I would leave you with a final post for the day. While we were in Charlotte Brad and Lindsay gave us some great tips on how to eat healthier and substitute some of out favorite foods with heathier options. The first is a substiute for olive oil, which we use a lot. They introduced us to the world of coconut oil. It is much healthier and works just as well. The second fun food is a substitute for sour cream. Say hello to greek yogurt.

Tonight for dinner we bought pork chops and fried them up in the coconut oil. We had collard greens and fried green tomatoes (from our garden), also fried in coconut oil. I always have to have a starch with my meal, so I had mashed potatoes topped with.... GREEK YOGURT.

The meal was simply delicious.
































For another delicious meal idea click HERE to see the low calorie meal that Amanda and I prepared and click HERE for the recipe.

The fun continues....in Charlotte.

Speaking of that beautiful couple... the fun STILL hasn't ended. After a long drive home and a quick load of laundry, we packed up and headed out again. Jason and I trekked a daunting 3 hours from small town Virginia all the way to the hustle and bustle of Charlotte, North Carolina to see Lindsay and Brad D'Amico.

We had a blast spending the weekend with them. We went to a concert at the NC Music Factory. This was where I had my first "Dale's Pale Ale" and let me tell you... they are awesome...in a can!
















We did decide that the can looked a little "redneck" and the name "Dale" didn't really help. Brad did a reenactment of his grumpy neighbor and I caught it all on film. "My Namez Daleee" (I love Brad's face and of course Lindsay looks adorable)

















On Saturday we went to the US National Whitewater Center...check it out HERE. USNWC is home to the World's largest man-made whitewater river with many other water and land activities. We decided to go and read that we had to have "shoes with a back strap". Brad made it clear that if we wore THESE he would definitely make fun of us.

SO.... we went out and found these

















.......are they really any better??



Then we had dinner at Nikko Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar in downtown Charlotte. Click HERE to check out Nikko's. If any of you are traveling to Charlotte soon, I would highly recommend eating here.


Brad's new ride (fully equipped with GPS) headed us in the right direction to the restaurant. On the way we saw this beauty... I couldn't help but snap a picture.
































Dinner was fabulous and the company was even better.

The trip was a huge success and we can't wait to go back again.

Smith Mountain Lake 2011

After we left the pageant we headed straight to the most relaxing and peaceful place on Earth: Smith Mountain Lake. I spent Sunday through Thursday with my wonderful parents and some great family friends: Rob, Marti, Madison, and Alyssa.

As soon as we got there I discovered the kayaks. My dad and I raced around the coves in the kayaks and ... I, of course, won!

Tiny Miss Virginia 2011-2012

The past few weeks have been such a whirlwind. We have been extremely busy with various different events. The first of these events was our annual mother-daughter event, also known as, Tiny Miss Virginia. Three times a year my mom and I pack up and head to Charlottesville, Virginia (Go Hoos!) to work our butts off spend time with some great friends. I am the emcee and my mother is the auditor of this great pageant system.

Tiny Miss is a family and each contestant is treated as just that. Each girl wins a Tiny Miss diamond circle necklace (among many other gifts and prizes). The circle represents the circle of family that each girl experiences when she joins this system.

I joined this family when I was eight years old and have yet to miss a year of fun. Everything about Tiny Miss is perfection...starting with the stage.














My pageant sister Sarah attended. It is always so much fun having her around. Check out her shirt, she is clearly my biggest fan.
















Even Winston came. This pup loves pageants!

















This little cutie is Elizabeth. She is the reigning Mini Miss Eastern America. She brought her dolly along to the pageant and decided to name her Blaire. How sweet!


















Congratulations to all of this years beautiful winners.

Click here to check out the "Tiny Miss" website and learn how to become a part of a great pageant system.

Operation Bathroom Make-over. Complete

Last week I decided to take on the daunting task of re-modeling the upstairs bathroom. This bathroom is not used a whole lot, but I still felt like it needed some attention.

Before this endeavor I was pretty confident about my painting skills. I thought that I enjoyed painting. Boy, was I wrong. Painting a dark color against a white ceiling is much more difficult than a light color.

Jason had little faith in me, of course.. so I had to prove him wrong. I painted and touched up and painted and touched up. Then finally... I was finished. Well, finished with as much as I could take.

Don't look too closely at my paint job

After much stress and hairloss determination... the bathroom is finished.

For now...

Take a look.


Before:

After!

Conquoring the Grass...

Today I did something I've unsuccessfully done only once before. I must say, I was quite impressed! My stepdad had hernia surgery on Tuesday and has been laid up all week. Keeping the grass in pristine condition has always been a passion of his. Because he could barely move and the grass was beginning to look like a jungle Jason and I volunteered to go over and cut it for him.

Now, there is a reason that I am very excited about this. Ya know, when you fail epically at something... and you wait until the perfect time to try it again (in order to ensure you will perform perfectly)? Well... about 6 years ago I thought it wise to try and cut my dad's grass on his riding lawn mower. I was doing really great until... I ran into his house...with the lawnmower. At that time I gave up on my dream of ever being a professional grass cutter. Haha... no, but seriously. I had never tried it again until today.










With help from Jason...








& my mother dearest...

We got the grass cut in record time!
Kudos to us!