Brantley goes to Hearts and Flowers

As stressful as the holidays can be, the little traditions make it worth while. Every year we go to a little primitive decor store called Hearts and Flowers. We pick up Christmas decor and we each get an ornament.

We used to pack a picnic and go on a girls trip with our neighbors for a girl trip. They moved away and we decided to make it a family trip and the boys got to go. Sorry, Anne but you ditched! Come back!!

This year was baby Brantley's first trip. We decided to take a girl's day. I drove to mama's house and fed Brantley his bottle while everyone got ready. Then we were off!

We shopped and snacked on holiday cookies. We chatted with the owner's and shared that Brantley is the fifth generation to take part in the Hearts and Flowers tradition. They were thrilled! We picked out candles (my favorite is Cornbread and Honey) decor and ornanments and said our goodbyes promising to be back with all of the guys soon. We stopped on the bridge for a quick picture and then by the sign. Tradition!

On the way home we hit a few antique stores. I was a total nephew hog but hey, Anna gets to see him every day.We stopped at a little cafe on the way home and I didn't want the day to end. I cant wait to introduce him to more traditions, There is something so special about sharing them with the little ones.

I am back!

Hey guys, I am back. Sorry, but last week was insane.

I had a board meeting for a horse show that I volunteer for. It was bad news all the way around. We are down in volunteers and donations. This show supports the local Special Olympics so it is heart breaking. I guess it means I just need to work harder. If you would like to make a donation please email me.

Then my great-aunt passed away suddenly. I had to work and her funeral was out of town so I didn't get to attend. I just sent up prayers for her family.

Then a police officer we know was shot twice. He is okay, but can you say stressful week?!

The weekend was a little better. Hubs went on a church retreat and while he was gone, I played.

Saturday I taught a riding lesson or two. Then I groomed one of older western horses. He got clipped (when we shave their whiskers) and bathed and then we went for a walk through the grass so he could graze and dry in the sun.

Around 2 pm board members for the horse club began showing up and it was show time. I threw on a western saddle (I typically ride English) and we did a quick demo on a new equestrian sport known as Western Dressage. It felt good to go back to my western riding roots. Toby was excellent and loved showing off. It was tons of fun and I really hope this sport takes off.

After that I rushed off to mom's and we went to a "It works" party.  The party was a blast, we wrapped our bodies grabbed some  water and chatted and looked at the different products while we waited. Then we got our results. I lost 1/2 an inch and can't wait to see how much more I lose in the next 72 hours. Mom lost an inch! She is blessed with a hot bod anyways.

Sunday, I had went to mom's to visit the horses and hangout on the sun porch with the fam. It was cold so we stayed huddled under quilts but it was cozy. Mom and dad adopted a beagle/bassett mix that was severely abused and for the first time in 3 months he let me touch him without being afraid of me. He even let me hold him. That was a huge breakthrough for the little guy.

 

It was a perfect weekend of horses, puppies and family.

Let's catch up...

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever. In reality it was Thursday.

So what have I been doing?
Well, Friday was Good Friday. So hubs took the day off and met with the cable guy, so we have REAL television and I can watch TANNER FOUST. Yum...

*ahem*
Back to Good Friday- we went to church (my first Good Friday service). There was a lot of kneeling and standing but I enjoyed it and I found a fellow newbie/non-Catholic spouse. We clung to each other like 5 year olds on the first day of Pre-K.
                         

Saturday we had barbecue with my parents. Yum. Chris and I talked my sister, Anna, into going to Easter Mass with us. We got home at midnight and started dying eggs. Yes, yes we are insane. But look at our gorgeous eggs. 

We also made delicious coffee cake that took twice as long as it should have because I decided to edit the recipe. So we went to bed at like 2:00am. 

The 6:00am alarm was brutal. So I told it to shut up and slept until 8. Oops. We spent Easter morning with his family, eating eggs, bacon, coffee cake, biscuits and gravy.... the list goes on. We hid eggs for the little ones and then ate their candy. It was great. 

We then went to my parents and had dinner. Potato soup, ham, homemade bread and cake. I gained 5 pounds. No seriously, my scale says I gained 5 pounds. We fished and went four- wheeling and played with the ponies. 

My sister had a photo shoot to do with Ms. baby and I grabbed a camera to help because she was grouchy and we needed to get as many shots as we could in a short amount of time. 

 

A Simple Christmas

This year the holiday was simple and cozy and perfect. We didn't do anything unusual just dinner and 24 hr Christmas story and quality family time.

My gorgeous sister. She is home again and things are better. I am glad, I missed her annoying ways.

The three of us. We are sisters, but we are all so different.

Me and the hubs! I love this picture, even if he is fake smiling. 

A new camera to film his new baby. 

And speaking of the bundle of joy!

Sweet baby K's first Christmas! 

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! 

The easiest mac and cheese

I know you guys cannot wait for me to spill the Thanksgiving fun that occurred at the Hermann/Castleberry households. I am going to keep it very brief, because Saturday AM I thought I had manly muscles and lifted a box that weighed a ton. That resulting in my back muscles pulling. This post is fueled by wine and maybe a 303 pill. This should go swimmingly.

Me and sissy Anna!

So Thursday we woke up and made amazing mac and cheese for my family's dinner. It was seriously the easiest and we made it in the crockpot. I forgot to take pictures but here is the recipe.
16 ounces elbow pasta
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs beaten
1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cheddar soup
1 cup 2% milk
1/8 teaspoon paprika (I left this out)
*Cook the macaroni and drain it. Put it in the crockpot and pour butter on top. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and pour them in the crockpot. Stir it all in and let cook for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. YUM.

We went to my gradmother's house and had lunch there. It was pretty low key. No drama, just people in every corner mapping out Black-Friday strategies. I passed on that fun. We then rushed home and through on rolls for his family dinner. My A.D.D kicked in and video games and youTube cause us to burn the only rolls I had prepared. Oops. I swear I can never smoothly prepare for any of his family get togethers. We ended up going to the store and getting the last brown-n-serve rolls they had. Sorry I suck Hermann family, sorry I suck.

We then went to mom's where our little show horse decided to come down with a case of lamnitis, which could potentially put him out of work forever. It can even kill him. We caught it early and took turns cold hosing his sore legs.

Sissy Sara came home to take care of him because he is her baby and it looks like she may be staying. Thank God. My mom was worrying herself to death. Let's hope she stays home where she belongs. By the end of the night she seemed more like herself. We watched movies and looked at cows ( yes, cows) for the farm up here. Two cattle farms will be interesting. I am excited though. Ranching is what hubs loves to do and dad really seems to want to add another herd. 

All in and all it was a peaceful Thanksgiving. Now to to kick it into gear for Christmas!

That girl with the camera

Recently, I have been getting more and more compliments on the photography on this blog. Am I talented or what? Just kidding... A lot of the photos taken around this blog were taken by the talented Ms. Anna, my 15 year old sister. She is the girl I run too when I need the perfect picture.

 

Yes...you read that right....the girl is 15 and does not have a minute of professional training. She is home schooled and hopes to graduate early and head to school to be a photographer. In the mean time she uses my parents gorgeous property as her back drop, takes pictures at horse shows, and our farm. You can find her work here and here too! And if any photographers want to give her pointers she would enjoy it!

On the mend...

First, let me say sorry for the late post. We had a rough day at work. 

Friday I told ya'll about the issues the hubs and I have been having the past few weeks. I explained how lonely and empty I felt. Then you guys poured the support and prayers into my lap. I was overwhelmed that so many of you listen and care and were so kind. Through the weekend I felt your prayers working to restore peace to us. 

We went to my parent's new paradise for a day on the farm and some hiking. My 15 year old sister wants to be a photographer and she is so talented. She asked us to pose for a few photos.  Here are a few of the pictures she got. Remember, No makeup and my hair was thrown up after hiking. 

The little photo session was actually good for us. It brought us back to us. The hiking helped too. Being in the woods without cellphones or interruptions. We found signs of a bear in the area and waterfalls and gorgeous wild magnolias. My parents have a little slice of paradise and I am grateful they let us use it. 

That night friends came over to mama and daddy's. We all piled into the new kitchen and cooked together which was a blast. We then settled into the den for football and dinner. The game was interesting. We had Florida fans and Georgia fans present. I was rooting for Georgia because the hubs is a Gator fan.

Sunday we went back to mama's for more fun. We helped them set up their family room and played with the dogs while we waited on dinner. After dinner we all snuggled into the family room and watched old HeeHaw reruns. The wind was awful and it was cold, but we were inside with warm throws snuggled up with our significant others watching the leaves hit the lake. It was so cozy and I feel at peace today. I just hope we can hold onto this peace.