The Clark's @ Fayette County Fair

It was a very eventful and fun weekend!  Friday marked the annual tradition of seeing The Clark's at the Fayette County Fair!!  It is an event that first took place 5 year ago for my Bachelorette party....Yes, I went to a county fair and walked in cow shit for my bachelorette.  It was a blast though!  The Clark's got their start in 1986 and would perform at the Fayette County Fair.  They even talk about it in a song (video to follow).

So the last 2 years, Toby, me, Kori, A, and my mom and dad have made the trip to Uniontown, ate Fried Oreos, enjoyed many (too many) beers, and a great concert by The Clark's!  I've seen them in concert other places and their shows at the Fair surpass all the other venues!

Ahhhh.....Deep Fried Oreos....and last years Clark's shirt (I've been getting a new one each year!)

Robert James (Left) and Scott Blasey (Right) 2 out of 4 members

Selfie!

"Cigarette"

"Snowman"

Also on Saturday, a teacher friend of mine got married.  Toby and I attended the reception and had a lot of fun!  We then head out to our favorite dive bar and had a lot more fun!  Needless to say, Sunday was spent lying vertical to recover....  :)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

 

I just finished the second novel in the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series, and WOW!  I am in love with the books!  I swear it will be the next Harry Potter! 
There is a 3rd book coming out in 2015 and I can't wait!  But I really can't wait until July 2015 when the first book becomes a movie directed by Tim Burton!  OOOOEEEMMMMMGGGGG!!!  I think I'm even more excited about this than the Fift Shades movie coming out Valentine's Day...which I am excited about, but eager to see how they do the Peculiar Children movie and I love all Tim Burton movies!!
If you are looking for a good read, I strongly suggest.  Now onto Divergent trilogy...Oh how I love summer!  When I actually have time to read!!  :)

Basement Renovation- Virtual Tour

As promised, I am adding some pics of our basement after the renovations in January 2013.  And I'm pretty proud of myself.....2 posts in 3 days!  Wooo-hoooo!  I'm on a roll! 

Walking down our stairs to the basement.  I want to change the sign to "Swango's Woman Cave" since I am down there and have more partied than he does.... LoL.

This is as soon as you walk through the door.  This is our "oldie" corner which houses our Old Tyme photos and a very cool rustic wine rack.  Yes, I'm lacking on filling the wine rack.  I drink it too quickly!  :)  Too bad two of the bottles are empty and only there for decoration!  Cat food is also in the pics because our kitties live down there.  More cat photobombs to come....

As you turn right once you come through the door.  Bistro and bar section, featuring a Ziggy photobomb!

Continuation of the bar and our fireplace seating area.  We got a really good deal on that electric fireplace for only $100 on clearance at Wal-Mart.  It really helps in the basement in the winter.  It's very cold down there, so we keep that on to keep the kitties warm.  Sputz Mackenzie photobomb....

The seating area, which is where we spend most of our time when we are home, aside from eating dinner and sleeping.

The TV!  Aka- Toby's prized possession. With Cleo and Mario photobombs....can you find them?

A close up of the Bistro area and the Penguins mural my talented mother did!

Close up of the front of the bar.  Another awesome "Swango's Old Irish Pub" mural my mom did with the help of me.  And the WVU one I did all by myself!  An old 80s overhead projector from school came in handy for those murals.  Defiantly a time saver!

Behind the bar view.  Did I mention that the TV swivels and pulls out from the wall?  Prime sports watching area right here.  And did I mention....SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS!

Close up of the WVU mural and our make shift sheving unit.  Goal is to get a nice console for behind the bar to hold glasses and bottles of alcohol.

Close up of seating area with a gorgeous WVU pallett, made by my one and only talented mom.  I swear she should open an Etsy store.  She'd make a fortune!

The kitty korner.....suprising no photobombing from them.  They were too busy nibbing.  But they do love this cat tree.  It was their Christmas present this year.

Close up of the 70" with me and Cleo.  :)

Entrance to the second room.  There is a closet on the right that goes under the stairs.  It holds all of our holiday decorations and a bunch of other things.  Mario photobomb!

And this is the second unfinished room or also called our gym.  Exciting isn't it?

 

Well......Hello there!

Wow!  I can't believe it has been a year and a half since my last post!!  I have failed my poor blog... Well, life has been VERY busy!  To sum up the year of 2013 and thus far in 2014:

• Basement Project- In the beginning of 2013, we completed our basement renovation.  When we bought our house 2 years ago, the basement consisted of two rooms- both unfinished- but studded out and ready to go.  We hired a crew to complete the biggest room, which gives us a little less than 1,000 extra square footage.  Since its completion, we have had parties, binge TV show nights on our 70" TV (Yes, Toby got the TV of his dreams...), and weekend sleepovers down here with the kitties. The other room is still unfinished, but is currently becoming our gym room.  Who needs a fancy room for a gym, right!?  The goal for that room is a half bath, and in-law suite- or gym.  But the half bath is a definant.  We have just been pretty broke after this year, so it's time will come soon.  I will post pictures soon....once it's cleaned and staged nicely.  :)  
• Wedding- In July of 2013 my sister got proposed to (finally!).  Since then, we have planned and done a bachelorette party (Which was a 5K and night out in Balitmore....very fun.) and a "Jack and Jill" shower AKA Couples Shower.  The wedding was on June 7, 2014 in Annapolis, Maryland and was absolutely beautiful!!  I was the Marton of Honor, and the speech went very well!  In my BFFs wedding, my speech bombed horribly.  So I was very proud of myself. 
• Vacationing- Last summer we went to Naples, Florida to stay with my aunt, uncle, and cousins in their vacation home, and we will be returning there the first of August.  We went to Ocean City a few weeks ago and had a nice time with Toby's cousin, his wife, their daughter, and a friend.  Also, have a birthday weekend planned in September, and a wedding in October in Lake Tahoe.
• School- Last school year was a very rough year.  I had a class from hell....it was stressful, not to mention ALL the other responsibilities I have taken on at school.  So that took up the majority of my time.  I just returned to school today to prepare my room for this school year.  I am very optimistic that this school year will be the best in a world!

In addition to some babies in the family (cousin's babies), lots more traveling, parties, and holidays, that about sums up the last year and a half in a nutshell.  I really enjoy blogging and would like to try to keep up with it better.....fingers crossed!!

New Year ~ New Resolutions

Again this year, I will be posting my resolutions and keeping an update on how I am doing to achieve them.  This allows me to be more accountable for meeting those resolutions. 

2103 New Year Resolutions:

1.)  Be more positive.

This resolution is based on every aspect of my life: at home, with my family, at school, and with my students.  I've been a Negative Nancy recently, and don't like how it makes me and the people around me feel.  This includes not bitching as much....LoL.

2.)    Donate to an organization of my choice each month. 

I LOVED having this resolution last year!  It just made me feel good to help others out.  This can be a money donation, donating my time, or materials. 

3.)  Drink more water.

My love of Diet Coke has gotten the best of me.  I have noticed, since I have been drinking more pop, you plump up quicker.  I would like to complete a cleanse sometime in the year, and I know beginning with drinking lots of water is a good start.  I still need to drink tea (Green or Earl Grey) in the mornings to survive a day of juggling 24 7 year olds.  Other then that (and maybe the occasional beer or wine), water it is!

4.)  Practice self-control.

Every year I do a goal about exercising.  And every year, I don't quite meet that goal. So I am generalizing this resolution.  Practicing self-control to me means, eating better and staying healthy.  Ideally, I would like to maintain a exercise routine that I enjoy this year. 

Here's hoping for a great year of resolutions!! 

2012 New Year Resolutions

Today marks the last day of 2012, and it is so hard to believe it is over.  It's been a great year, so many fabulous things have happened.  So here is a final recap of my resolutions for 2012 and how I did with them:

1.) I will maintain a healthy lifestyle.   I really slacked off with this one once school started...  :(

2.) Once a month, I will donate to an organization of my choice.
January- Money Donation to Relay for Life for our 2nd grade fundraiser.
February- Money Donation to the Empty Bowls Project of Monongalia County (a school fundraiser as well)
March- 2 1/2 bags of clothing and shoes donated to the Goodwill
April- Goodwill donation
May- Goodwill donation (gotta love moving!)
June- Cory's Kidz $10 donation in honor of a high school classmate that passed away. RIP Joey Burkland~~~~
July- $20 donation towards spay and neutering of stray animals in OBX
August- Goodwill donation and $30 donation to Cameroom Football Development Program
September- $5 donation to St. Jude's hospital and purchase from Pura Vida bracelets, which proceeds go to providing full time jobs to folks in Costa Rica and helping clean the shorelines.
October- 2 shirts purchased with all proceeds going towards Breast Cancer Awareness
November- $10 Red Cross Donation to Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund
December- $20 donation to CFDP for Global Giving Day

I really, really enjoyed this goal.  It feels great to give something to someone or an organization.  I will probably continue this resolution in 2013.

 3.) I will pay off my credit cards. It's a work in progress.....as always. Haha.

And this last goal is just for this blog: ~I will post on my blog at least twice a month.- So far, so good!!! (Except for February! Hey, its a short month!)


Now, out with the old resolutions and in with the new....... to be continued......

Harry Potter themed bathroom ~ Near Completion

So I decided to do our Master Bathroom in a Harry Potter theme, and God love my hubby for putting up with my shenanigans.  :)

It all began with Pinterest (as always).  Kori had sent me a pin of a toilet vinyl with Harry Potter reference.  I got on eBay, and purchased it (in addition to a vinyl quote to go above our headboard). 

Then, Kori found potion label print outs on Pinterest, and printed me some.  I went to Michael's and got these cute potion bottles for 99 cents each.  I spray painted a few and then had to Harry Potter Wikipedia the colors of a few others that I didn't spray paint. 
While at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter last March, I purchased Dumbledore's wand and added it to the potion shelf.  Finally, Kori and I made Snitch ornaments before Thanksgiving.  I removed it from my tree and added it to the shelf. 

And lastly, I ordered another vinyl (this time from Etsy) that is for the Platform 9 3/4 in which students catch a train to Hogwarts.  I first intended on finding wooden letters and painting them, but didn't have luck and just purchased this one.  Also, as a bonus, they sent Harry's glasses and scar mini vinyl, which I put above the light switch. 

 

Overall, I am very happy with my bathroom.  It's not too-much-Harry-Potter-craziness, but just enough.  I would like to get one more thing for the bathroom via Etsy...

All I have to say is:  Thank you Pinterest, Etsy, Kori, and my hubs.....I couldn't do it without you all!!  :)