Day Trip--Part 3

After lunch we had to hurry because we needed to get to our next stop before it closed.

Just ten minutes from Eureka Springs is the Turpentine Creek Animal Refuge. They are the home to over 100 big cats. We saw tigers, cougars, panthers, lions, etc.

We wanted to be there during feeding time and luckily we got there a little before it started. We could tell it was feeding time because the cats were crazy. They were growling all over the place. It was a little freaky actually. The lion's growl practically sent shivers down my spine.

This place was WAY better than the zoo. We were less than 10 feet away from the animals.

Something neat, Tyson Foods and Walmart donate the meat to this animal refuge--300,000 pounds per year.

During feeding time the workers throw in huge racks of ribs and chicken breasts to the cats. You could hear them crunching through the bones, we were so close.

Here's a tiger eating his food. See all of the meat around him? The workers say they feed them once a day. Each tiger eats about 10 lbs of meat per day.

A lot of the pictures we took were of the tigers, just because they were so cool! Some of them, while they were on all fours were probably 4 1/2 feet tall!

This picture below is a lion. He didn't want to work it for the camera but that's ok.

All of the animals have names and a brief history of why they're here and where they came from. It baffled us at how many of these animals came to the refuge after being HOUSE PETS!!! One sign, and I quote said "we realized it probably wasn't safe to be having a pet cougar and a 2 1/2 year old baby in the same home," I would agree with that.
One tiger lived in a trailer with a man. Wow. Other animals came from zoos, etc and were getting medical treatments. It was a really neat place.

On our drive to Eureka Springs I found my DREAM HOUSE!!! I took some pictures on our way back.
I love the red door and shutters. I wish I could meet the people who live here.
Isn't it beautiful?!

Day Trip--Part 2

After looking through some of the shops we decided to get lunch. The restaurants are all chef owned and we've heard they're fantastic. I asked a local lady where to go and we followed her advice. I'm so glad we did!!!

We started off with some crab cakes--my first time ever trying them. They were awesome. Then we had the best sandwiches of our lives.
Here's us at lunch :)
(Tony ordered the french dip sandwich)(I ordered the chicken pesto sandwich)
Mine was so good that I took multiple pictures of it so I can hopefully recreate it at home.
Here's one of those pictures!
Sourdough bread with pesto sauce, chicken, roasted pine nuts, melted mozzarella and red bell peppers.
I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat a plain turkey sandwich ever again.

Day Trip--Part 1

Yesterday Tony and I took a day trip to Eureka Springs! It's about an hour away from where we live. It was so. much. fun. (Because there are lots of pictures I'm doing a couple different posts about the things we did)

Ok, so on the way to our home you'll see lots of bundles of hay. From the road they honestly don't look that big. When we were here last summer, I kept telling Tony I thought I could push one over. I even thought I could do it yesterday. Tony pulled over and told me to give it a try and I made the wager that if I was able to push it, I could buy this adorable belted trench jacket... click here to see it. It is so cute. Anyways, I gave it my all in hopes of this jacket. I really tried but when you get up close, hay is a lot bigger than you think!!!

Tony was getting a kick out of me trying, so he was taking pictures. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it budge.
Goodbye beautiful jacket.
Back in the car and onto Eureka Springs!

Eureka Springs was founded in 1879 so the buildings are old and beautiful. It's a pretty seasonal town so a lot of the sites are open different times of the year. So unfortunately we weren't able to do everything. We'll just have to go back this summer. They have a trolley that you can take throughout the town so this summer we're for sure doing that.

The city was having their Mardi Gras celebration yesterday so the place was packed with visitors. Lots of them dressed up in crazy costumes which was really fun to see.

Some of these shops sell some of the most random things. Like this place,

Outside were shelves and shelves of slag glass for sale. Some were really beautiful. We talked about buying one but really, what would we do with slag glass in our apartment?

Behind me is a huge mound of slag glass in all different sizes. They sold the pieces by the pound. I wish I could think of something really creative to do with it!
*any ideas on what to do with slag glass?

Valentine's Day and more

We had a great Valentine's day! We woke up and had delicious crepes--complete with whipped cream, chocolate, strawberries and bananas, so good!(Can you tell we watch the food network? Tony made sure we decorated our plates with chocolate)

That night we went to this little Italian restaurant we've been hearing about-- Bella Napoli. It was such a romantic little place. The food was awesome.
It was so much fun. I love, love, love Valentine's day!

If you watch the news, you've probably heard about Walmart home office employees being laid off. We feel very blessed that Tony was not affected and that we can stay here in northwest Arkansas.
That being said, you can imagine how hard it is to find a job in our area. For the time being, I'm keeping busy by doing lots of window shopping, cleaning, working out, etc.
Exciting news: I signed up for a cake decorating class for March. I'm REALLY excited and can't wait for it to start.
Also, I found another new hobby...

I was looking through the gym's schedule and saw that they have a water aerobics class! Awesome! I have had so much fun!
No, water aerobics is not like this...

However, this looks like fun to me!
The class is a great workout. It's fun to do something a little different. It's just a bunch of chit-chatty ladies working out in the water together. It's a blast!

I'm so excited it's finally the weekend! We're taking a little day trip to Eureka Springs tomorrow and I can't wait!
*Have a great weekend*

My 100 Things

My 100 Things

1. I love everything peppermint
2. I want to go to the American Girl Store someday
3. I am not a big breakfast food person, unless I am eating out or someone else is making it for me
4. My favorite color is pink
5. I want to be a stay at home mom
6. My husband is my best friend
7. In Arkansas there is a lot of road kill. It used to gross me out but now I like to try and
figure out what animal it is...I know, gross
8. Fresh lemonade is my favorite drink
9. I love to buy jackets and shirts
10. Finding a pair of jeans that fits is practically impossible because my legs are so short
11. I used to wear high heels all the time
12. I started wearing flat shoes once I started dating Tony and now those are so comfortable I die when I wear high heels
13. I do not like to drink milk
14. I talk in my sleep
15. I love getting new pillows
16. Valentine's day is my favorite holiday
17. My wedding day was one of my most calm days. I wasn't nervous or stressed at all. I was surprised.
18. I love broadway musicals
19. I loved living in Provo and Orem. Some people say they hate the happy valley bubble but I love it
20. Ann Taylor Loft is my favorite store
21. I hate scary movies
22. I can't take seeing people make fun of others. Even on TV, I have to change the channel
23. When I see people in church cry, I cry. Even if I don't know what they're talking about or who they are
24. When I was little I wanted a retainer so bad. I would fold out paper clips and put them in my mouth
25. When I get a tub of ice cream, I pick out all of the good pieces (marshmallows, nuts, brownie) Then I'm left with all the plain ice cream, and I regret doing it
26. I want to go to the Oprah show
27. I think having dinner together as a family is one of the best things a family can do.
28. When I was little I wanted to look like Dorkus from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
29. My favorite hair color is auburn
30. I'm have indoor and outdoor allergies.
31. I feel so bad that I'm allergic to animals because Tony loves dogs
32. I volunteered at orphanages in Ecuador for a summer
33. I still think of those kids often and wish I could adopt them all
34. I love going out to eat and trying new restaurants
35. I loved living in an apartment with all girls (during college)
36. I love to read
37. I have the cutest nieces and nephews
38. I've never been great with keeping in touch with people, even though I really want to and wish I was
39. I love, love, love cilantro
40. Cafe Rio is my favorite restaurant.
41. I do not understand when people eat at Costa Vida or Bajio. Cafe rio is so much better!
42. I like to get the Pottery Barn catalog and highlight what I like, pretending I could afford everything
43. My husband works for Walmart but I prefer Target
44. However, I'm starting to really like Walmart now
45. I don't like living so far away from my family
46. When I have kids I want to visit home often so they are close with their grandparents/aunts/uncles
47. I love Dr. Laura
48. I wish I could go on vacation every month
49. I love anything with polka dots
50. I am terrified of the dark.
51. I can't sleep with my bedroom door open. Tony has to shut it every night.
52. I have to sleep with my feet covered. I've always had a fear that a snake will bite my foot.
53. I'm the oldest child
54. I have three brothers and two sisters
55. I wish I could play the piano as well as my sister Hailey.
56. I wish I could be a ballerina like my sister Chloe.
57. I hardly ever wear jewelery. I only wear my wedding ring and occasionally earrings on Sundays
58. I like to load the dishwasher but loathe unloading
59. I love Cutco knives.
60. I always have pink toenail polish on.
61. I am awful at remembering people's birthdays.
62. I'm not afraid to die but when I think about people I love dying, I start to cry
63. I love my new last name, I think it's cute
64. I eventually want to live in an older house with shutters and a big front porch
65. I love to drive around neighborhoods and pick out different houses I like
66. I have never broken a bone
67. I want to learn how to make truffles and other cute little candies
68. I love disco music. I used to think my parents were so dorky but now I love too
69. I do not tan, only sunburn
70. I married into such a nice family.
71. I look up to both of my sister-in-laws
72. I watch way too much TV right now. My favorite show are: The Office, King of Queens, Jon and Kate plus 8, anything on the Food Network or E channel
73. I love Sees chocolate
74. I have gone into Sees, gotten a free piece of chocolate for waiting in line and then left. I feel bad about that!
75. I love going to movie theaters
76. I hate shaving my legs but I hate not having them shaved.
77. I am addicted to brushing my teeth. I have gotten better. Once I counted and I had brushed them 9 times in one day.
78. Getting a new scented deodorant is really exciting to me
79. I started collecting nativities.
80. I wish I was really good at giving massages
81. I love, love, love being massaged.
82. I wish I could dance like Michael Jackson or Ellen
83. I know it's pathetic but I love celebrity gossip
84. I love being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints
85. My brother Brian is on a mission in Chile and I miss him a lot
86. Sometimes I read so fast that a week later I completely forgot what I read. Example: Harry Potter. Loved the books but barely remember what happened in them
87. I'm great at spelling and memorizing vocabulary words
88. I have blue eyes
89. I feel trapped and claustrophobic very easily
90. I want to go to Fiji with Tony someday (he served his mission there)
91. I want to be the perfect mom
92. I love cranberry juice. Especially cranapple juice
93. I'm not a big fan of orange or apple juice
94. I enjoy leading music. I had that calling in my student ward and I had no idea how to do it. Every week I stressed about it so much, it almost made me sick.
95. I love kissing
96. I have such a bad habit of popping my knuckles, back, neck and elbows.
97. My elbows are double jointed
98. I procrastinate and it adds so much unnecessary stress to my life
99. I love my family
100.I love being a wife

Ok, Ok Here It Is...

Thanks to the self timer on my phone's camera, here is a picture for you all!
My new short hair :)

Yesterday

Yesterday was just a whole bundle of things going on.

First thing, I decided to get my hair cut! I was sick of my long hair hanging on my head so I decided to get a new style. I had a few pictures of what I wanted and I was sooooo excited. I knew I wanted to go shorter, not short but just shorter. I usually don't care who cuts my hair but when it's a hair cut that's a big change, I want someone who knows what they're doing--so I found this nice spa and hair salon and scheduled my appointment. I told the stylist how short I wanted it (just barely below my shoulder) and she said if I went a little bit shorter I could donate my hair to Locks of Love. Well, I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff and so I said to go ahead and chop it off. WHAT?! The stylist put my hair in two ponty tails and chopped it off. I was holding my hair in my hands holding back tears, just hoping the stylist didn't notice. I now have "mom hair" as I like to call it and I'm not even a mom. Tony says he loves it (smart man). Let's just say I wasn't expecting as big of a change as I got!!! It will take some getting used to.
On the bright side, because I got a hair cut I get a FREE pedicure and a FREE manicure because the spa is hiring on new staff and want people to do a survey on their hopeful new employees.
I can handle that.
Yesterday was our 9 Month Anniversary!
After Tony got off work we went to the gym, rented a couple movies, and considering we were in workout clothes and smelled great , went to eat at a local burger joint that makes their own ice cream...this place...

Of course we had to buy some ice cream to take home with us! I really wanted rocky road but you can't buy a normal flavor when you're at a place that makes it fresh! So I was brave and went with this...Breading pudding ice cream!

Time has flown by. In nine months we have:
-Finished School
-Moved 3 times
-took a cruise to the Bahamas
-Visited Nauvoo
-& have had more car problems than you will ever want to know :)
It has been a whirlwind of change but it has been great. My mother in law gave me a sign that says,
"It doesn't matter where you go in life--it's who you have beside you."
That sums up how I feel.