Black Friday!

Okay, slight blog neglect going almost 10 days without updating! Thanksgiving, shopping, sessions....I've been staying crazy busy. I'm finally at a point where I can sit and actually do NOTHING for once! I'm working on re-branding, and kicking off 2013 in a little bit different direction with my photography - cutting weddings out! I just can't keep up with everything I'm doing. The babies, toddlers, kiddos, family - that's where my niche is, so I'm running with it.

I hope everyone had a FABULOUS Thanksgiving! Per the usual, my mom and I spent the night at my sisters the night before, so we could get a start early on Thanksgiving. Some lovely photos, courtesy of my iPhone.

My sister pulled out the Whiskey bottle....and a Hello Kitty cup. We keep it classy in Tennessee. 

And while my sister was pouring the Whiskey, I was smooching the K-Monster.  I cannot stand how cute he is sometimes! 

Thanksgiving morning, Mom & Sam got the food together while I was totally lazy and watched. The perk of being the horrible cook in the family meant I didn't have to cook anything for Thanksgiving dinner : ) (It's okay, I'm good at baking and better get to baking the goodies for Christmas here pretty soon!)

And what else should you do on Thanksgiving day when the turkey is cooking? Go to the stores that are open, obviously! Mom, Sam, Paige & I hit up k-mart to get a head start on the fun shopping. We're suckers for the DVD sales, so it's always our first stop, and I think we ended up getting DVD's everywhere we went?! I mean, I bought 15 DVDs over the weekend and only paid $50 bucks. 

My head start on Black Friday! Thanks Kmart, for my 4 DVDs that I paid under $15 for!

Sam & Mom getting the turkey together!

Mom had to work on Thanksgiving night since Target opened early, so we ate early so she could go home and get some sleep -- which wound up being what we did too! Laziest people ever on Thanksgiving afternoon - but it's allowed after eating all that crap right? We curled up and did our tradition of watching "Christmas Vacation", and then some of our new DVD's.....and then hauled it to Target to get our place in line!

I freaking love Black Friday. People can whine all they want about how it commercializes Christmas, how it makes people work on a holiday (which kills me, they are not the only people that work on Thanksgiving, good grief), blah blah. We get the most awesome deals, and my sister and I have a blast. We were next to the most amusing people in line at Target -- the guy in the group was ready to kick ass for anyone skipping line, because he needed to get sheets that were on sale. (He also mentioned buying his wife a treadmill. I'm not sure that's the best "I love you!!" Christmas present....) 

in line at Target with my sister waiting for the store to open! 

We went to Opry Mills after Target -- did any other locals go there? Holy hell! I know there was excitement since we didnt HAVE Opry Mills last year for Black Friday, but I could not believe the rush - and I couldnt believe they just opened the doors and just let everyone run like crazy. I was disappointed in a few of the shops - like the Lego store, which was our main place. Zero sales. If your mall is opening at midnight, and every other store is having a sale....you have a freaking sale! But I did score some amazing stuff for the little man at the Disney store!

I'm so happy the Christmas season is here! The entire atmosphere is so wonderful - I cant wait for Christmas eve!

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

I'm going to admit it: It's November 18th and I am CRAZY ITCHING to put the Christmas tree out!  I think I'm going to get it out today -- and we'll see how long I can let it sit in the living room before I put it together.

Today we're doing family portraits, and by that I mean I'm doing my sisters family portraits...hopefully I can get my brother in law to cooperate :P Usually when the kids do - I find myself having to shout "John! Stop it! John, look at the camera. John!"  This year Barry is coming along with us so he can get some nice pics with the kids, so Kadin is excited! It's going to be in the 60's today, so we lucked out, and we're going to be able to do them outdoors like we wanted, at Belle Meade Plantation.

In continuing with my November thanks....

Day 16:
I'm thankful for Christmas movies :) Because nothing makes me laugh quite like Christmas Vacation. Multiple nights in a row!

Day 17:
I'm thankful for my Kentucky Wildcats WINNING A GAME! Oh I was so proud of them last night! No, we might not be known for the most amazing football team, but this year has been so terrible. We were the most obnoxious house on the block last night when the game was on!

Day 18:

Today, as I head to do pictures, I'm thankful for my cameras & all my gear, and finding my passion. This is partially thanks to the kids being born, and partially from all my PL roadtrips and concerts.....making me insane with my camera, and figuring out what I wanted to do.

November Thanks, Day 15!

Today I'm thankful for the simple things -- which sounds odd to say, but I'm sitting here going over my nephew's Christmas list, and I'm so tickled he still writes these out. The small simple things - his Christmas lists, the letters the kids have written us - I still dig out Paige's to look back on. They are so fabulous to have. When Granny passed a couple years ago, we found so many letters that we had written her--- all the artwork we'd ever made her. She kept it all, and 20+ years later we were able to read them. I cherish every little thing the kids make me.

And, since I'm on the subject, check out little man's Christmas list!

He makes me laugh....some of this stuff he will never even play with, just random things he's found at the store and decided to add. Fortunately, we know the most important ones to get : ) I cannot wait to see his face Christmas morning! And since I already know what I'm getting Paige, I know the look on her face will be priceless too -- they get so much harder to shop for the older they get, but I have some fabulous ideas for Paige this year. I love watching them Christmas morning.....

Hopefully this year we don't have to wake THEM up though --- who would have thought we would have to wake the kids up for Christmas morning!? When I was a kid, I was WAITING -- I'd get up multiple times, sneak out, get my sister, and we'd go through our stockings before our parents got up, and then put it all back in so Mom didn't know. 

I'll give Kadin credit though - we did catch him last year setting the alarm for 5am. We nixed that as soon as he fell asleep :P

What a week!

Sigh, I swear this isn’t my week. What did I just say in my last entry about my brother in law rocking at fixing my car? You know what he is doing again? Fixing my car! I mean, seriously, I just paid this car off not long ago, I guess it’s figuring I don’t have to make a payment on it, might as well have something go wrong to cause me to spend something on it. The first week in November he replaced the alternator. This week he replaced the Water pump. I swear, I'm about to go buy another car.

My sister and I swapped vehicles this week again so he could have time to fix my car. My car is so tiny compared to their big truck…and I’ve been parking in the back garage since the weather is crazy cold! Frost on the windshield? No thanks. Yesterday morning was very Cher in “Clueless” – in backing out, I ran over my neighbors flower fence! My bad.

Next week is Thanksgiving, and I’m so stoked! Wednesday night I’ll crash at my sister’s house so we can drink, watch movies and of course, start planning for shopping! Of course, I don’t know how much more we could plan – we’ve made lists of what we want, and mapped out where we are going. Since stores are opening up on Thanksgiving night, we will be parked at Target at 8! And yes, I know how commercial they make Christmas these days, but quite frankly, my sister and I have FUN on Black Friday shopping. Not to mention, Kadin’s Christmas list this year is expeeeeensive.

I said I’d catch up on November Thanks, so here I go:

Day 8:
While it’s a pain in the butt when something goes wrong, I am super thankful for my vehicle! I remember a time when I didn’t have a reliable one and wasn’t in the place to have car payments, and that has certainly changed. I love my little car, and not only does it get me from Point A to Point B, it rocks on the gas mileage!

Day 9:
This sounds incredibly silly to read, I know, but I am so thankful for my iPhone. Seriously, technology is incredible. And not only am I constantly in touch with everyone because of the phone that is glued to my hands, I can have a picture of my niece & nephew in my hands in an instant. I can show them off in an instant. Gone are the days where you have to carry a brag book – just get out my phone, more than half the pictures I’ve taken on there are of those kids! (Not to mention, how many outfits has this helped me buy? A quick picture in a dressing room to text my sister, BFF, and twin cousin, and voila, they’ve convinced me the outfit looks amazing and I should buy it in mere seconds!) Steve Jobs has made me life a lot easier (because I am also a Macbook girl, and I have convinced myself I cannot live without it either!)

Day 10:
Today I am ridiculously thankful to have a garage, which enabled me to NOT stand out in the cold all morning scraping off the windshield. I don’t have time for that in the morning, and all it’s going to do is make me grumpy. Hooray for starting the day off in a much much better mood, all thanks to my garage!

Day 11:
With the economy we’re in today, I am thankful to have a job! Not just any job, but a job I enjoy. A job that lets me do my photography and design on the side, and lets me work from home some each week. After 7 years at this place, I’ve met wonderful people and have great friends at the office. We’ve been bought out and going through patches of layoffs, and somehow I’ve survived each one.

Day 12:
In a rather simple one, every year I that summer rolls around, I am reminded how thankful I am for the sunshine and hot weather. I cannot freaking stand the winter. CANNOT STAND it. I hate being cold, and it puts me in a foul mood. When that sun starts to come out and the weather warms up, and I can throw the boots aside for my beloved flip flops, I am a happy, happy girl.

Day 13:
Since it has officially kicked off….I am thankful for my UK BASKETBALL SEASON! Football season is killing me. Finally, it’s time for my boys to kick some butt. These games stress me out and make me cuss like a sailor (okay, okay, I’m always cuss like a sailor), but…..I am so freaking glad to have them back!

Day 14:
There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful that P came into my life. Her music has saved me more times than I can count, through so many times. I loved her so much as a child, and I wanted to be just like her. At times, I find it hard to put into words what she’s truly done for me, but it’s been a lot, and I could probably never thank her enough! If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have met so many of my wonderful friends, and I sure wouldn’t have found my independence at such an early age – I probably would have hesitated jumping in the car and drive hundreds of miles by myself if it weren’t for a show at the end of the line! Love this girl.

November Thanks catch up!

Yes, I am CRAZY behind on this. I promise it's not just for being a crappy blogger! Last week my Macbook hard drive decided to totally crash out of nowhere. A few days of stress and shelling out some $$$ later, I'm totally back up! Shout out to the crazy awesome Geek Squad at Best Buy in Brentwood --- who totally fixed everything without charging me a dime except the part, and Capital City Computers for making it so easy for me to grab a disc for Snow Leopard! (I sure love Apple products, but seriously, could they make it ANY MORE DIFFICULT to get to the OS you want!?)

And I am TOTALLY catching up! I'll break it into today and tomorrow to spare you all of boredom.

Day 5:
I don't know where I'd be without my best friend, Rita. This girl is my rock that is there for me anytime I need her, without question. When I need to vent, she's the first one I pull up on my phone. This year I learned quite a bit about "friends", and she sure showed me why she's my bestie. I love this girl! She moved  closer to Atlanta a little awhile back, but moved back to the TN/GA border last December - which means she's back to only being 2 hours away from me!

The best friend a girl could ask for!

All dolled up for Patty's KY HOF induction!

Oh, our memories from Strikers in Chattanooga.....

Day 6:

When "thankful" comes to mind, my brother in law definitely pops up. My brother in law has saved my butt more times than I can count. I've never once paid for labor on my vehicles, because he takes care of everything. When I pull in my sisters driveway, I can say "the car made a funny noise", and John is outside inspecting every detail of my car to ensure I'm not driving an unsafe vehicle.

Celebrating my birthday with my bro in law & sis! 

Day 7:

What would this list be like without my twin cousin? My cousin Emily is definitely one of my best friends, and has really been more like a little sister throughout my life. We've fought like sisters and had each others backs like sisters our entire lives. I have so so so many memories with Emily from our serious Barbie playing, our Cricket & Magic Nursery Doll playing  -- I mean, I had the Magic Nursery doll and she had the Cricket doll, but our sharing skills were so bad ass, that we never hesitated to hand them over. Em's sharing skills were put the test when part of my house burned down as a kid and we stayed with my Aunt & Uncle for a little bit, and even at 6 years old, I never even realized some of my toys were gone, because Emily shared all of hers with me. And of course, the memory that stands out in all of our families minds is us singing "Material Girl" at karaoke at the Family Reunion. Love this girl!

Me & Em....rocking my Fievel Pajamas (come on now, he was SERIOUS BUSINESS.), while Emily rocks footie pajamas and pearls.

Tearing up Material Girl. Again, our fashion sense is cutting edge. I mean, please note my incredible Minnie Mouse dress. Meanwhile, Emily's  hair is crimped and mine is not - my mom didn't know how to do my hair. Hence why I continuously jumped at the chance to have my aunts do my hair! 

During a time when Em moved to Nashville for a short bit! 

My favorite picture of us, at Disneyland on Thanksgiving 2011!

And, I'll finish catching up tomorrow! :)

November Thanks, Days 3 & 4

Before I start talking about Days 3 & 4, I must say the big news of the day:

Kentucky fired Joker Phillips! After 8 consecutive losses, I was so happy to hear the news. I'll be the first to admit, UK isn't known for it's football. I love my Wildcats, but I can admit football isn't where it's at (oh how I love BASKETBALL SEASON!)....but this year was just dreadful and disappointing. Here's to getting better!

And now, moving on....

Day 3:
I am so thankful for my beautiful niece, Paige & my adorable nephew Kadin! I cannot remember what life was like before they arrived. Paige was born when I was in high school, and we kept her during the week while my sister worked, and then I babysat two nights a week. I was practically glued to the child, and I loved it. And when Kadin arrived 4 years later, I was in the delivery room and one of the first people to hold him. (My mom totally brags about how she was the first one to ever hold Paige....so I was DETERMINED to hold Kadin before my mom! My sister was sure to have him given to me before Mom to please me hahaha).  I moved to NC and GA for a short 8 month stint when Kadin was little,  but the four hour distance from them drove me nuts, and I was back in Nashville for good. Obviously, the best move I've ever made. I eat up the "best aunt ever" role, and live for spoiling them.

Everyone always says you don't really know what love is like until you have your own children, and I disagree -- because I love those kids more than anything in the world, and they come before everything.

Paige scoping out her new baby brother

with my sweet girl (and that ridiculous blonde hair!)

With my sweet boy, rocking his "My Aunt Loves Me" outfit the day I picked them up to come home from the hospital!

And one sweet one I had to throw in...I walked into the bedroom on Christmas 2008 and saw this on my sweet boy's computer... "I Love Denise and Nicole". Clearly, Granny & Aunt Nicole are awesome!

And my babies now!

Day 4:

I am thankful for my great Mom! She says we've stuck by her even when she's pulled some crazy stunts, and it's true....there've been times where my sister & I wanted to tear our hair out because of her :-)  However, through everything, even when she moved to Ohio, then to Florida - she never missed a birthday or holiday with us. (It is super important to us to be with the kids on Christmas Morning!)

And, mom got her love for Country Music from my Granny, and passed it onto me :-) I was the one that she always pulled out of school early to go to concerts and TV tapings, and always camped out with her overnight to get into Fan Fair! Great memories to have, that we still talk about!! 

(And according to my Verizon Bill, I talk to my sister and Mom like crazy :-) )

Granny, Sam, Me & Mom

with Mom on Mother's Day 2011! 

And shock surprise - Mom & I at a concert! 

November Thanks, days 1 & 2

I've decided to chime in on the "30 Days of Thankful" that's been floating around blogs, twitter, and Facebook! I'm a day late, I know, so I'll post two in my first entry.  It just seems like a lot better to  do it on my blog --- where I can go into a little more heartfelt detail!

so, to kick it off....

Day 1: 
I'm so thankful to have an amazing big sister! There were so many moments I was the annoying little sister back in the day,  but at the end of the day, I knew if there was ever someone I could count on, it was Samantha. When I'm in trouble, the first call I make is ALWAYS to my sister -- (some things never change!), who usually does pretty much whatever to fix it!  (Even if it means driving three hours to pick my ass up after the car broke down on the way back to Nashville!) And of course, without her we wouldn't have the two most amazing kids on the planet! (who will obviously make an appearance on this list...)

Celebrating Samantha's birthday!

Seeing the Judds at the Opry! 

Day 2:

While she's no longer here, I am super thankful that I had the most amazing Grandmother in the world. Since April 2, 2010, I miss my Granny a little more every day, and sometimes I still find it so hard to believe that she's gone. I am fortunate & thankful that I had her in my life for 26 years, and that her grandchildren were her world - because it has left me with so many incredible memories of her. I should probably be thankful she was such a pack rat too :-) Having boxes and boxes of her things, and HUNDREDS of old family photos to go through is amazing. 

I assumed this was for my 2nd birthday, since she is holding a balloon in Sept and my birthday is 8.28 - and what I love is my Granny was a Jehovah Witness, and technically not supposed to celebrate birthdays. She never ever missed mine or my sisters birthday. 

Generations....Sam & I with Mom, Granny & Paige. 

And now that this entry has completely made me cry since I've started yapping about my Granny, it's time to end -- love the concept of this & going to love doing this all month! 

Happy Fall....

How is it already November?! Holy crap! Christmas is just around the corner, and I have got to get on it - the kids are definitely not cheap to buy for anymore!

We had such a blast for Halloween this year ---- although Trick or Treating was sure different. Kadin told us that he was too old to go out -- which makes us laugh because he asked if my mom or I were going trick or treating. I guess 10 is too old but 29 and 54 are acceptable trick or treating ages! He waited until almost 5 to announce he wanted to go. So, I skipped out on this year since I had already made plans on the girls coming over to watch movies and drink :-)

Over the weekend I drove down to Georgia to see my bestie, and we hit up HalloWINE at the Georgia Winery. First of all, if you've never been to the Georgia Winery, you really must go. It's just over the border, so if in Chattanooga, it's a crazy short drive to go visit! They have the best wine, ever. I will try wine anywhere, but nothing has come close to as great as the Georgia Winery. I love their blushes, but I'm really a red wine girl, so I love the "Concord". Heaven in a bottle, for sure.

Anyway, they had HalloWINE this weekend, and wanted everyone to dress up. We did, and headed out to check out the new Halloween Wines!

So, our fabulous costumes wound up being "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial" (Rita totally struck some great Pam Tillis moves!), and I, with my love for Johnny Depp, went as the Pirate Vixen - but we labeled it as Mrs. Captain Jack Sparrow. (Kadin asked me at the movies the other day if I was really still going to marry Johnny Depp. I love this kid!) They turned out even cuter than we imagined.

I totally hope that everyone that has ever turned on a Country Music station now has Pam Tillis stuck in their head! 

Love my bestie! I'm so fortunate to have a friend I can count on.

 The winery's celebration really turned out to be a bust, which was totally disappointing because we love going to the functions there! But it was really just like a regular day just in costume. And the new flavors weren't actually new - Witches Brew was just Mulled Concord, and Hallowine was Mulled Blackberry Muscadine. Clearly, the Witches Brew was our winner with our love for Concord, but somehow they screwed this up at check out and we wound up with three bottles of Concord and three bottles of Hallowine. We made it work. It wasn't as fabulous as Witches Brew, but it was pretty good. It might have even been better if we hadn't screwed up the recipe - to mull the wine, we put two bottles in the crock pot, put in the brown sugar, water, and then the mulling spices. It wasn't until we let it simmer for the hour before we realized we had done the amount of sugar and water for ONE bottle, not two bottles. We fixed it the best we could and had the entire crock pot. This screamed "FALL!" and was amazing.

Seriously good- the downfall is the wait time. So, if you're going to mull wine, get it going in the crock pot and then go to dinner, so it'll be ready when you come back!

Oh! And I massively fell in love with my wig. I couldn't believe how well it parted even when I took my hat off, so I decided to rock it all weekend! For those girls who rock hair extensions, email me info on them, because I have already ordered a couple extensions - but I want to hear the good and bad, and brands that rock (and what to avoid!)

I'm floored at how natural it looked!? It's totally synthetic, since I obviously bought this to go with a costume. 

Now, time to prep for Thanksgiving and Christmas.......