12 From 2012!

2012 was some kind of year! It was mostly good to us, but there were some hard times along the way. Losing my Fatdaddy was definitely the hardest time from 2012. It's hard to believe it's been almost a year since we lost him. I still miss him every day. I pray 2013 is a better year for everyone, especially our nation. I've had (more than) my fill of senseless shootings, deaths, violence, and other devastating news. Here's to hoping the new year is a GREAT ONE!!

Instead of doing a really long year-in-review, I thought I'd just list 12 of my favorite moments from 2012...focusing on the good things that the year brought.

Here goes nothin'....

(in no particular order)

1. The hubs and I got to take a fun trip to New Orleans in February. It was my 2nd trip to N.O. and I can safely say it is NOT a place I really care to return to, BUT if you're looking for great food, it really is a place to visit. The time away with the boy was nice too!

Beignets at Cafe du Monde. A must. 

 We also ate at Luke, one of John Besh's restaurants. It was really the only one we could get into. The others had no reservations available. If I ever go back to N'awlins, I'd like to try other restaurants of his. Luke's was DELICIOUS!!

THE best shrimp & grits. Ever.

2. Getting rid of the baby weight...and then some. You can read all about my weight-loss journey here.

Proud of accomplishing that goal!

3. Our little monkey turned ONE!!!! (hard to believe I'll be planning his 2nd birthday party soon!)

4. My brother-in-law got married, and I gained a new sister-in-law!!

5. New babies, more weddings, great friends!!!

6. DIY projects.

7. 10-year HS reunion.

Awesome time reconnecting with great friends.

8. Family beach trip. 

9. Bama football with my honey. RTR!!

10. Mooooo to you!! Halloween with Hudson!

11. A WONDERFUL Christmas, with our first real tree!!

12. A year filled with tons of memories, new experiences, happy times, some sad times, and lots of laughs and love. We have so much to be thankful for this past year. We have been blessed beyond measure, and we are alive and healthy. I cannot believe how quickly 2012 has flown by. It seems like each year goes by a little faster than the last. It goes faster once you have a child, I think. I plan to cherish every moment of 2013, make sweet memories, look back on old ones with a thankful heart, and I can't wait to see what is in store for our family this year.

May your new year be blessed and joyful. I hope you have a happy and healthy 2013.

Happy New Year, friends!

Last Weekend of 2012!

I hope you've had a wonderful final weekend of 2012! We had a really nice one with just us 3. 

Here's how our weekend went down, in pictures.....

Mellow Mushroom for dinner Friday night. Perfect way to kick it off! 

If you've never tried the Kosmic Karma, do yourself a f(l)avor and try it. So good!

My sweet husband has been trying ever-so persistently to convince me he needs a little desk in our living room, and I guess this was his way of buttering me up the other night. (It didn't work. I just don't want another piece of furniture to clean, clutter up my house, and keep Hudson out of. Plus, I want him to be home when he's home, not working. Ya know?)

After the Christmas tree was out, the boys made sure the floor was nice and clean of needles. ;-)

Hudson's had a little TV in his playroom for a few weeks now. We just use it for DVDs for now. It's got a built-in DVD player so he can watch Bubble Guppies and other things in there sometimes while he plays. It was sitting on his yellow table, so we got this little bookshelf at Target yesterday and a few more bins for some storage. It looks great in there. I need to purge some of his toys and reorganize a little bit, but the room looks so much better already just after adding some more storage.

Joseph has been craving some of these bad boys from Bonefish Grill, so we ate there for lunch today.

 Go to Bonefish. Order the Bang Bang Shrimp. You're welcome.

 A little drink and coloring action while we wait for our meal.

We decided with all the sales going on right now, it was a good time to upgrade our TV. 

We've had it for about 5 years and it's been GREAT! (It's now in our bedroom, so it's still getting used.)

It's nice, but we thought it was time for a slightly larger one. 

We ended up going with a 60" Vizio LED Smart TV. We're loving it so far!

Merry (late) Christmas, babe!

 60 inches of Bubble Guppies. **insert sarcastic "Yippee" here**

And as you can see....new TV trumps desk! I'm cool with that. ;)

We spent the majority of our weekend just being together as the 3 of us, which was much-needed. I wish the hubby was going to be home tomorrow so it could've been a long 4 day weekend, but that's OK. We'll have him on Tuesday. 

I hope you've all had a great weekend. How are you going to spend your last day of 2012??

Like It Never Even Happened...

I'm pretty sure this is a record for how fast we've gotten Christmas decorations down. I usually leave them up until at least New Year's but this year, I didn't waste any time. I guess having a very inquisitive 20 month old will encourage that. I had his tree down Wednesday and have been working on the rest the last few days.

On one hand, the house sure does look a little sad and depressing without it, but on the other hand, it looks clean, clutter-free, and that once beautiful tree that was beginning to droop and die is no longer an eye-sore. ;-)

And now that everything is back in its original spot, I am motivated again to get one of Hudson's pictures framed and hung on that wall. It's screaming for something. 

And my usual mantel decor is just...meh. It needs a new look and a little revamp, so I gotta scope out Target or Pier 1 for some new accessories or something. 

I love the way Christmas decorations make the house feel so warm and inviting, but it really is nice to have our house "back". Ya know what I mean?

And in no time at all......it's like it never even happened.

Enjoy the last couple days of 2012. Do you have any big New Year's Eve plans?

Christmas 2012

Hudson had a wonderful Christmas this year and it was a lot of fun watching him running to things, ripping open paper, and really enjoying himself. He definitely got spoiled, but what else is new? ;)

Christmas Eve was spent at my parents' house with them, my grandparents, and my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Frank. We had a nice (lighter than normal, thank goodness) dinner, enjoyed time together, and watched Hudson dig into his goodies.

I made a WHOLE BUNCH of cherry chip loaves and gave one to each household on Christmas Eve and day.

I always worry about giving things to people when I can't taste them (especially when baking) but so far everyone has said they have tasted great, so...whew! Thank goodness!

Joseph got me a new lens for my camera and had it delivered Monday so I could use it for Christmas!! I've been wanting a new one for a while and he was so thoughtful to get one. This lens is awesome!! I'm still figuring it all out, but it's one of the best and SO much better than the standard kit lens I've had for 2 years now. It's the 50mm f/1.8. I highly recommend it. It won't break the bank either.

Of course, I had to test it out on the way to Gadsden Monday afternoon.

For this picture to be as clear as it is, going down the highway at about 65 mph, tells you how good the lens is. Of course, it was taken from the car and I just randomly shot it, so it's not gonna be perfect. But with my standard kit lens....it wouldn't have been near as clear as this.

Checking out a new toy with daddy.

He loves clapping for everything. He'd play the xylophone on the side, then stop and clap. This went on for a while.

This is a perfect box for putting on our heads!

I want in, daddy!

Like I said....it went on for a good while...

I didn't play with the aperture on my lens at all(who has time to adjust the settings while chasing a toddler??), so the whole shot isn't really in focus in a lot of the pictures. The 50mm lens is great for portraits and food shots, 'cause it'll give a beautiful blurred background while focusing on one thing when you want it to. Well....I should've put it on AV mode and upped the aperture a little(making the whole shot in focus) but I just left it on auto without flash. 

Oh well.

That's a cute face right there, though.

Hudson likes saying "Hi" to everyone and everything. He'll point to something, wait for you to say what it is, then he'll say "Hi" and wave. Silly.

Silliness with G-Nana.

Playing with Russ-man.

Whatcha got, Papa?

Sue-Sue enjoying one of Hudson's gifts...they're these really cool magnets from QVC.

I think he likes the vacuum! ;) How cute is this little Dyson??!! Thanks Aunt Lisa and Uncle Frank!

He's used it all over the house!

 This looks like a good sale!

Santa was good to Hudson and brought him several goodies. Nothing too big to take up even more room. ;) He knows Hudson loves to build and brought him these awesome blocks.

And learning puzzles and a band in a box! Cool!

Waking up to see his presents!

Obsessed with his shopping cart and groceries. He's playing with them as I type. :)

Loves his instruments!

For Christmas lunch with Joseph's family, I made green bean bundles,

and good ol' sweet potato casserole. YUM!

Rockin' his necklace. 

Handsome boy!

Aunt Lissa and Uncle Johnny playing Santa.

Everyone was so thoughtful and spoiled Hudson with some awesome gifts. I was so happy to see all the learning toys people got him. I was hoping for gifts like that. ;)

 He's loving everything he got!! He'll just run from one thing to the next, hitting up every toy several times throughout the day. 

Of course, the doggies always win out. They're his favorite.

Curious about this tug o' war situation.

He was getting a little upset that the doggy wouldn't give him the toy.

HA!

We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas together and we are just blessed beyond measure with the best family and friends. I love the giving spirit of the season, and the wonderful togetherness.

And I sure do love my new lens and perfume from my sweet hubby. ;)

Sampled this in a Birchbox a while back...smells SO good! I also got to order me an Urban Decay Naked eye shadow palette so I'm really excited to try that out!

But it's really not about the gifts under the tree or the money in the envelopes. It's about the precious time with the ones you love most. Taking time to be together, say I love you, make sweet memories, and remember the reason for the season.

Happy Friday, friends!