Digital Books

VS

Something has really been bothering me for a while now and I just have to vent to someone so I am taking it to my blog!!! I can't exactly remember when I first saw an eReader but I was so shocked by it that I remember thinking..."Don't tell me that books are going digital too..NOOOO!!" Almost EVERYTHING is digital now, but I guess I was so naive that I really never thought that books would be.

I don't know why this bothers me so much but I guess it is because I LOVE, I mean LOVE to read! I love going to the bookstore and picking out a new book to read....the smell of the pages, the front cover, holding a book in my hands as I read, looking at all my books on my bookshelf, basically everything about books I love!

I guess what bothers me is that in my head I see a day coming where all books will be only in digital form and that makes me so sad. I picture myself telling my kids one day about how books use to come printed on paper and bound together while they stare at me in amazement. I don't know if I could ever get use to reading a book on a screen. I hope there are more people like me in the world and that books will continue to be printed. It reminds me of the newspaper and how so many people don't buy the paper anymore because you can get the news online. I pray that never happens to books...it really makes me want to start a "Stop the eReaders" campaign or something!

I know I can't be alone on this one. Do you have an eReader or do you prefer books? I am sure the eReader is great, but I am just not ready to give up books and probably never will be. I know I am old fashioned but some things are better left alone!

Closet Makeover

If you know me at all you know how much I love to organize things. Well, one thing that has been on my to-do list has been my closet. I finally made time to do it and the first thing I did was order huggable hangers from The Container Store. They were not cheap, but I have been wanting some for a long time and I look at it as an investment since I will have them forever. The next thing I bought was some cute storage boxes from Wal-Mart to put at the top of my closet. I seriously needed these because as you will see I definitely don't have a walk-in closet and there is not much storage at all. I wish I had taken before pictures because then you would really see the difference but I forgot...trust me it was pretty messy!

As you can see, I still need a better solution for my shoes..they are everywhere and I even have more in shoe boxes in the chest. A girl can never have too many shoes right :) I had an extra storage box so I put it on the floor and put all my gloves and scarves in it.

The Huggable Hangers come in many fun colors, but I decided to go with a neutral color (Ivory) so I wouldn't get tired of it. I LOVE the Huggable Hangers because they keep my clothes from getting those annoying bumps at the shoulders and they are so slim that my closet space really did almost triple. If you remember I did a post a while back on "As Seen on T.V." items I had purchased and I gave a review of them. Well, these hangers get a thumbs up many times over. They keep my clothes from falling off the hangers and are strong enough to hold my heaviest jackets and coats. I have another small closet where I keep my jackets, sweaters, and dresses and I also bought Huggable Hangers for that closet too.

Every time I open my closet and see all my clothes nicely hung on matching hangers I just have to smile....it was well worth all the work :)

Home Sweet Brother's Home

My brother, Glenn, just bought his first home and I am so happy and excited for him!! Mom and I went to Rockwall this weekend to help him put the finishing touches on it...yes, he let us help him decorate it and I was all about that :)

Glenn's first House

Proud Home Owner

Like most guys my brother hates taking pictures but I convinced him that one day he will want a picture of his first home so he let me take one with him in it :)

Come on in and I will show you around.......


The living room


Glenn had to basically furnish the whole house and he did a great job finding good deals being the finance major he is. He found these couches on sale at a furniture store somewhere in Dallas and got a great deal on them. I like how the room turned out. You can't see in this picture but there is a chocolate brown rag rug on the floor in front of the couch that looks really good with couches.


Another view of the living room..I love the fireplace!!


Kitchen Nook with breakfast table

He found the table on Craigslist and I think it looks perfect in the kitchen


The Kitchen

I LOVE his kitchen..the cabinets, the island, the gas stove (which I really want some day). Mom and I lined all his cabinets and helped him put his dishes up and get organized. Mom and Dad gave him the stainless steel garbage can as a house warming present that you see in the bottom right hand corner.

Dining Room

The dining room table was another Craigslist find and it looks great in the room. My sister, Stephanie, gave Glenn the metal wall hanging that we put up in the dining room. I think it really looks good there.

Laundry Room

I really love his washer and dryer. They are top loaders and yet function just like a front loader.

Guest Bath

I helped him pick out the shower curtain and bath mats and I like how it turned out

Guest Room..still a work in progress

Office/Work Out Room

You can't tell int he picture but this room is painted pink. So, he is going to paint it and make it his office and workout room. My dad is going to be able to help him paint it next weekend. He is trying to decide if he wants to paint it Astros red and paint the Astros star on the wall or just khaki and make it a golf theme room since he has allot of golf memorabilia and trophies. I told him I can bring my overhead projector from school and help him paint the Astros star on the wall but we will see. I have never done that before so it might be safer to go with the Khaki!

Master Bath

My favorite part of the house :) Notice the t.v. in the bathroom. I guess that is a guy thing because I like to relax in the bath not watch t.v. but to each their own :)

Master bedroom

He also found this furniture on Craigslist and while we were there we went to IKEA in Frisco and saw the exact same furniture for much more. We also found the black mirror at IKEA which I love!

Master Bedroom

Look who came to visit...did I mention he moved 20 minutes away from Heather (one of my best girlfriends!!) She is holding baby girl, Karah, and I enjoyed getting to love on her..she is so adorable and I am so glad Heather came to see me. Heather's husband's dad is having health problems and has been in the ICU in West Texas. They have been traveling there every weekend to see him with their three girls. They were driving home on Sunday and were coming straight through Rockwall so it worked out that they could stop and visit. It was so sweet of Wallace, Heather's husband, to stop because he had stayed on a cot the night before next to his dad and got 3 hours of sleep. He was so tired that when they got there he feel asleep in the chair while we went to eat.

Britni and Carrie also came over and we all got to visit and go eat. Britni lives about an hour and half away and Carrie lives 45 minutes away. It was so good to see them and I will say it again that I have the best friends a girl could ever ask for! Carrie and Britni helped so much at Glenn's house. I insisted they didn't have to work but they just ignored me :)

Mom and Grammy were there of course

Do you see the little golfer statue on his fireplace mantle...we found that at Kirklands and that was one of my favorite finds. It is not easy shopping and trying to decorate a guys home. I ended up telling Glenn that you can't decorate a home without somethings that might be considered "girly." We tried our best to keep It very masculine and I think it turned out great. I was worried at first his idea of decorating might be gluing golf balls to the wall or something :)

Glenn and Grammy goofing off for the camera

Me and my Bubba

Glenn and His girlfriend Jen

Jen was there all weekend and also helped out so much

I realized this weekend after visiting Glenn's place in Rockwall that I really do miss the Dallas area. I have been thinking about it for a while now and I finally made a decision that I am going to apply at all the school districts up there this summer and see what happens. I will graduate from Grad school in the Summer so I am no longer tied to Beaumont in that way. Of course, I want to be exactly where God wants me to be and if He says Beaumont then Beaumont it is, but sometimes you have to step out to find out what His will is. I am already praying that if He doesn't want me to move to Dallas that I won't even get offered a position. I am excited about the possibility and looking forward to what God has in store. Yet at the same time I love Beaumont and my friends here and would miss my church so much, so Please pray for me for direction and to hear God clearly on this matter. I know that the Word says that "the footsteps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord" in Psalm 37:23 and I am confident God will lead and guide me to where He wants me to be.

Sweet Mag

The last few days have been really hard. We had to put Maggie down on Monday. We went out of town this past weekend and boarded her at the vet so they could observe her and take care of her. When we got home on Monday mom called the vet and they told her that Maggie hadn't improved any and still wasn't walking and was being hand fed. I just couldn't believe she wasn't walking...they said that she was probably overcompensating to even get up before the accident because of her arthritis and that she was just too weak now.

They also said she was snapping at them when they tried to get her up and take her outside to try and walk and go to the bathroom...they knew like we did that she is not like that at all so she had to be in a lot of pain. It was exactly a week since the accident on Monday and she was just getting worse. We talked to the vet and she told us that putting her down was the best thing for her since she was in such pain. Of course, we didn't want her in any pain but I couldn't believe we were actually having this conversation...I expected to go visit her after work, hear she had improved and take her home. After many many tears we decided that was best. Mom and I got to see her and talk to her before and we were in the room when she left us. I was petting her and talking to her and it was the saddest and hardest thing I have ever done.

Maggie has been with us for 13 years....she was not just our pet but part of our family. Sometimes it felt like she had always been there. I was working at Market Basket in high school and someone found her in the garbage can and I had to take her home. She was so little and the cutest puppy you have ever seen. She was such a good puppy...she never did go to the bathroom in the little area we created for her in the garage from the day we brought her home. If you have had a puppy you know that is amazing! She trained herself from day one and would only go when we took her out in the grass. She was such a blessing to our family and the sweetest dog you could ever own.

I love how she always came and greeted anyone the moment they drove up in the driveway and how excited she was to see you. Dogs are such an example of unconditional love. She was so obedient and on cold nights we let her sleep in the garage on her dog pillow and I would have to wake her up in the morning and tell her to go to the back and she would get up and slowly walk back there even thought I knew she didn't want to. She loved her beggin strips and would go crazy for one. She also loved people..she won over everyone she met and people feel in love with her. Our neighbors are just as sad as we are.

I could go on and on about Maggie and I already miss her so much, but I am thankful she is not in any pain an I feel like we made the right decision. I really don't know if I will ever be able to have another dog because I can't imagine finding another one like her. We have always said that we weren't looking for a dog but God knew we needed one and sent Maggie to us. She had a great life, we spoiled her like crazy, and we were blessed to have her for 13 years.