Sisters birthday celebrations

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Cooper, Elizabeth <elizabeth.cooper@fayette.kyschools.us>
Date: Monday, March 28, 2011
Subject: Sisters birthday celebrations
To: "elizabethcooper8@gmail.com" <elizabethcooper8@gmail.com>

  From: Elizabeth Cooper [mailto:elizabethcooper8@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 12:53 PM
To: Cooper, Elizabeth
Subject: Sisters birthday celebrations

--
Elizabeth Ann Cooper

Demolition closet!

Came home tonight to Barry demolitioning the closet.....ok not really the doors had already been torn off and the new doors were delivered today by Mr Winke. We got them in place but not installed completely .
We made our way over to the Mullinox's to have taco salad and watch the game. Ava was cute and entertaining as usual. Her personality is soooooo sweet, truly a joy to be around. Jessica had yummy desserts from an Italian bakery I will definitely be trying again.
We played the number one team in the country Ohio State in Newark. It was probably the most stressful game I've watched in a really long time. Josh Harrelson was amazing and had a play where he threw a fastball at Sullingers chest! Hilarious! It was a last second shot by Liggins that one the game. Barry and Justin were jumping and yelling like 2 year old around a piñata. Its a great win for our team and so exciting to be one game further than we were last year.

Wow I'm so glad it's a Thursday night, but I really wish we were getting another 3 day weekend....there is truly too much basketball for this little teacher to take tonight.

The last two days have been rough. Grad school has consumed my life from the moment I leave work till the time I sleep. My final paper is proving to be more difficult than it should be due to the adjustments of a new MAC user and a professor who is a little bit more than difficult.
I am getting excited for our trip to California. I made a few reservations for dinner tonight, and reserved our tour guide in Napa. Alison had some gat tips tonight too, and I'm really excited for the drive up the Big Sur, and just breathing in all the secret sites we might find!
I'm already nervous for tomorrows game against Ohio State, how can they be good in Basketball too???
Today was full of sweet moments with my kids:
Anna getting confused on show and tell day, and hiding her two turtles in her cubby all day.
Showing my first graders there little plants bursting through the soil we planted them in.
Seeing my 5th graders growth in writing and their excitement for their future.
Goodnight World!

Crepe Paper rose wreath

http://wonderfullywordy.blogspot.com/2010/03/sping.html

This wreath would be easy to make and then create a SPRING lettering sign with the cricut!

Manly man

This cute Guy is in our garage building cornice boards for our bedroom windows!   I love that he's getting crafty!  :)

Bringing blooms in

I stopped at Hobby Lobby for a new Cricut blade and accidentally walked out with a basket full of new Easter decor..... Most of it will be for just decorating tables etc. But I did find a few cute nicnakky things too.
The signs of spring have been overwhelming the last four or five days. Our warm temperatures and sunshine have been welcomed by all. It's so exciting to see just how much the plants can grow in twenty-four hours! It's a daily ritual of mine to get home and take a walk all through the front and back yard. I like inspecting the growth, the tulips have shown themselves a little more today, yes the grass looks greener, their are new blades of grass poking through our cut ornamentals, and yes I had to swipe a few bugs from my skin too. :)
Normally I'm a tulip over daffodil person anyway. In fact I could completely do without the little yellow daffs all together, BUT these double blooming cream daffodils? I'm in love with them! So God bless the person who planted them here years ago because we are now enjoying their aroma scattered throughout our rooms. That's one of the coolest parts of living in an older home, the plants surprise me each year. We always find something new that pops up that someone years before us put into the ground. :) Pretty special.

ruffle scarf tutorial

http://malahy.blogspot.com/2009/12/ive-got-my-scarf-to-keep-me-warm.html

Circle slit, fabric flowers

http://www.graceviolet.com/2009/04/embellishment-week-rosette-tank.html

pretty lil' E ruffle dress

http://getyourcrafton.blogspot.com/2011/02/check.html

applique sewing with sewing machine

http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=518

applique with cricut

http://marthamondays.blogspot.com/2009/09/cricut-made-applique.html

Applique cutting with cricut and hand sewing. (girls group of crafts)

Still working hard

We went to a good service this morning at Broadway Christian.   The rest of our day was spent in the warm weather building up our garden.  

Barry worked really hard to put the bed frames together,  pull out compost,  turn the soil and level it out.  I went on a brick hunt under the ivy to line the lower part of the garden.  We have piles of old brick all around the garage under the ivy.  To me it has so much more character,  but digging for it is scary....feels a little bit like a scene from Indiana Jones.  
We had both gotten showers and had just started to grill burgers when the lights went out in our neighborhood.   We spent the next two hours in candlelight.   It was kind of fun and a good night for it because it was so nice out!  
We are both exhausted from our weekend of working .....goodnight world!

Spring in Kentucky

What a great day! We slept in a little bit and then started preparing for a 12:00 game, UK vs. West Virginia. Granny and Pepaw were coming over to watch the game on the TV outside, and we got a call from Katie saying her and Elise were coming too and would be stopping to get Sarah. I ran to the store to pick up some quick snacks and fixings for lunch, while Barry set up the TV and chairs outside. We watched the first half outside and had to move our chairs to the sun. The breeze was strong and much cooler than yesterday so we ended up moving downstairs for the second half. The CATS were able to pull out another barn burning win, and we were so happy to see these guys beat Huggins team. It was so great to spend a day with my sisters and grandparents. Of course, Elise was an entertainer and competed for all of our attention during the game. :) What a sweetie.
After the game Barry and I made yet another trip to HD to get enough sand to fill our little adult sandbox. Barry started laying the sand and placing bricks, while I clipped all of our Ivy.....yuck! I saw more dead bugs and dusty crud than I believe I ever needed to. I love having the ivy there but it is a chore to take care of the three four times a year we have to trim it.
The three of us were completely exhausted by the end of the night. Keightley laid in the same position on the couch in the living room by himself for about two hours. We made a refreshing dinner together, and were able to grill outside. We watched some great basketball games, Butler and BYU pulled out amazing wins to get to the sweet 16. I had some graduate work to do, and Barry caught up on even more basketball after dinner before we retreated to the bed around 11:00......Wow we might be getting old! :)

A good day to dig

I was blessed enough to have this gorgeous spring day off! Barry and I got to sleep in an hour or so later than usual, which makes all the difference in the world. I took Keightley to the vet for his annual check up. The poor little furry friend had four shots and blood taken, and a little bit of his privacy invaded too, but he took it all like a champ! :) He wasn't even mad at me, which I think means he's growing up.
The never ending list of errands was cut down like a dead tree today and all before noon! I came home, had a leisurely lunch and then started digging. Barry and I had been wanting to fix the brick around our beds to a more permanent space and cleaner look, similar to what Granny and Pepaw have in their front yard. Barry had already lined the bed and measured the distance of sod that needed to be ripped up. So I spent the afternoon in a tank top, capris, UK hat, and sunscreen which felt foreign and familiar all at the same time. Listening to some nice music I worked my shovel under the roots and proceeded to rip up grass till my hands were blistered.....no really, 4 nice blisters one that feels like a nasty bruise! The Star Magnolia Barry's parents got me after Mawmaw died has been hard at work this week too. Last week the buds were beginning to fatten up, this week their white petals have pushed their way through to reveal a hint of what's to come.
Barry was able to come home from work early today and helped rip up the last part of the bed. He also went to HomeDepot to get all the brick we'd need to finish the project.
Tonight I met the girls out for sushi and drinks for some long awaited time together. It was great to catch up with Paige, Laura, and Lauren. We then headed over to the Mad Potter to paint pottery, drink wine, and listen to music. We certainly livened the place up to say the least with our own version of music of Paige's ipod. It was a fun and different way to spend a Friday night.

Happy St. Patrick's /NCAA tourny day!

It's the end of the work week for me, and It was punctuated with a lovely seventy degree day and the beginning of the NCAA tournament. I left school immediately, with the windowsn rolled down,headed for Granny and Pepaws to watch the game. It was great to see them as usual, and I was pleased to have that feeling of total comfort that is always present when I'm with them. Barry came over in his cute game day tie( and green Huntington pin), to join in the festivities. We watched the Cats play an ugly first half against Princeton, with most of the work coming from Harrelson and Miller. Pepbaw switched back and forth between our game and the Louisville vs. Morehead state game. It was a barn burner, as most of the games were today with Morehead State pulling out the win.
We made green beer to celebrate St. Patrick's day! Pepaw really enjoyed those and told us about the celebrations they use to go watch Granny's school, St. Lawrence, put on when they were little. I would love to see a picture of Granny dancing and Irish jig! :)
Leaving Granny and Pepaw's, Barry and I were both starving but not ready to eat a full dinner......so we decided to go try out Orange Leaf for the first time! It was completely delicious and I tried about 7 different flavors in my big bowl of yummy! It was a super fun atmosphere because they were giving 25% off to anyone wearing green. All these families and kiddos were walking in decked out in St. Patrick's day gear (shamrock antenna headbands and all).
We arrived home to see that the first spring flower of the year has bloomed in our yard! I have the day off tomorrow and hope to be out getting some yard work done. This is such a wonderful time of the year! Blessings, blessings everywhere!

Bubbles for the kiddos

http://indietutes.blogspot.com/2010/07/bubble-burst.html

Too pretty to watch games inside

Yesterday we realized its too pretty to stay inside and watch a game.......so we decided to go get a TV for the patio.  :)  we will mount it under the patio here and will now have a great place to watch football,  baseball and basketball on a pretty day!   Dilemma solved!  

We're pretty sure our neighbors think we're nuts.

Aidens day

Just left Lancaster,  and Aidens March of dimes launch party.  It was great to see Rickie and Tara and learn more about March of dimes helped them and his they're raising money for other babies like Aiden.  Katie Elise and baby Burton were there too.   Barry and I enjoyed seeing them and getting some good hugs!  
Now we're off to watch the Cats play in the second round of the SEC tournament as they take on Alabama.   Chris Cooper is joining us as well!   Its a beautiful Saturday @ 57degrees.  I'm wishing we had a TV hooked up on the patio today!  :)

One fun hump day!

Sarah had her private showing of the blood paintings at the gallery by Natasha's.   Her work looked good hung across the room suspended on boards. Barry,  Laura and I went to support, cheers and hang out.
While there I noticed U2 rattle and hum was playing at the Kentucky.   I sure didn't have to twist Barry's arm to go see his favorite band on the screen.  :)  We ordered a drinks and popcorn and enjoyed the music .......not bad for a rainy Wednesday!

Good visiting time

Mom and Dad came up to see Sarah and Granny and Pepaw for the day.  They also came to our house to visit and enjoy dinner with us.  We had a wonderful time.  It was great to have them at our house.  Barry hadn't seen them since Christmas, and it was only the second time for me to see them.  I love my parents to pieces!

Hanging Rose Ball- a la Paper de' Crepe'

Wow! Who knew all that one can do with the Paper De' Crepe? House Of Smiths has created a great tutorial for making these Hanging Rose Balls This looks a bit time consuming, but I can see making several of these to reuse for party decorations! I love the idea of these hanging from trees or our patio!

Weekends!

Last night we had the neat experience of finally getting to see Karen. They have been in Florida since January, and we have really been missing them. With our new MacBook the camera is built in to the screen and we were able to Skype with her. It was so great to see her face, and we know sshe was excited to see Keightley, (oh and us too!).
We went to church this morning at Broadway Christian, and we are still really liking the new pastor there, Ernie Perry. Afterwards we went to Winchell's to put ourselves into what would soon be a food coma. Barry partaking in the biscuits and gravy while I stuck to the blue and white pancakes, which is perfect considering the CATS were playing their last regular season game today. We went over to Granny and Pepaws to watch the Wildcats take on the Vols. Chris and Christopher were also there to watch. We had a great visit and a nice little cheering section going on in the basement! The cats were able to pull out a win, there second of the season on the road. This is just in time as we enter the SEC tournament this Friday! March Madness here we come!
We had the pleasure of Skyping with Don, who is currently in China for business. He wasn't able to hear us for some reason, but we could hear and see him. It was great knowing he's safe and doing well. He was also excited about the CATS win! :)
Last night we enjoyed our brownies and watched the 2008 foreign film Oscar winner, Departures, which is a Japanese film. It was a truly moving movie. Barry and I were wiping away tears from the films ending and laughing our tears into further movement with Keightley's unusual sleepy antics. :) Even though I had to spend some time working on school stuff it was a truly great weekend with my family.

Mom and Dad kept Elise this weekend, as Katie and Lucas had a getaway to Gatlingburg. They of course enjoyed every moment with her and sent a plethora of cute pics. This is my favorite of them all!

The process pics

I got to sew, hot glue and make flowers :)

Our new spring wreath

I've been cutting felt circles whenever I could get the chance the last two weeks.  Tonight I finally took the time to start creating the wreath.  I absolutely love this fabric I found to go with it.  The grapevine wreath I used was one that hung on the door of the church at our wedding with Barry's initial on it.   Now we have some color on the house to get us through till the flowers bloom!  

You Flutter Me!

Buy two shirts, Get(make) one Flutter Shirt. These fluttery fabric shirts are all over, j.crew, old navy etc. JustAnotherDayinParadise has created a step by step tutorial to make your own! Now if only I could find a tutorial on how to stop time and spend an hour crafting........

I have a few cardigans with these accents and would love to make some of these fluttery, flattering little tops!

Fine! (finished)

My philosophy paper has been sent,  dinner was prepared by Barry.   Now we get to enjoy the rest of our evening, Ghiradelli Brownies and all!   :)