It’s Official- We Are Parents

Blog everyday in May challenge…

Day 7, Tuesday: The thing(s) you’re most afraid of

This is the girl who has nightmares all the time, cannot watch a single scary movie, and might walk down the hallway with a kitchen knife if I hear a noise and I’m all alone gets a tad nervous when I’m home alone at night.

But what am I most afraid of? Most?? 

I am most afraid of never accomplishing the goals I’ve set out to do. I am afraid of forever saying, “Someday I’ll…_____” and never, ever doing it. 

Therefore, I’m so excited that today I crossed one of those “someday” items off of my list. Ever since Greg and I got married we’ve said we want to get chickens. Welp, it was about time…..

Today we woke up. It started out like any other day. We made our coffee. We ate our breakfast.

And we knew we’d finish our chicken coop, and we knew we’d end the day with some chickens.

Building the coop was quite a process, but we got it done! All you need is this:

Time

An engineer father-in-law who helps you with your so-so coop plans

Less than $100.00 (yes, it’s true)

Patience with the stupid chicken wire!!!

A love of chickens. 

Greg, working hard

Frank, teaching me a thing or two about cutting wood

I didn’t slice off my thumb! yay

Teamwork

at the beginning, before getting tired from all this coop business. oh yeah, and a million ghosts in my in-law’s garage, apparently

The first half was done in my in-law’s garage. (with adult supervision)

The second half was done right at home in the South Valley. This is where the chickens will live!

house, but needing some work

getting there!

ALL DONE!!! woop woop

So we had the coop finished. It felt great. Next up: CHICKENS!

Really, we thought we’d get some grown up hens. Eggs right away, you know?

But then we got to the store and oh man, the babies. The little chicks were so cute. So, so cute.

 

So my maternal instincts kicked into high gear.

And they gave them to us in a paper bag. Kinda weird, but what do I know?

We picked out four total. Two Rhode Island Reds and two Barred Plymouth Rocks. Good egg layers!

said paper bag

Safe at home…

 

And now… we are a happy little family of 6.

 

proud moment for this mom

I’m SO glad I’ll get to hold them, learn their personalities, and watch as these chicks grow into adulthood. I can wait six months for eggs. :) 

What goal or dream are you going to dive into? Remember, you only live once, so go for it!

<3 Lou and the chicks

p.s. once we know who’s who, we’ll name them. We already have the ah-mazing names picked out, but I’ll wait to reveal those!

 

Hair: Attempting to be Stylin’

Most days I simply wear my hair down and wavy. It’s so thick that it hurts to wear a ponytail all day and I have done the bun-on-top-of-the-head look… but honestly, I feel a little bit silly that way. There are so many hairstyles that are pretty, though. Most of them I’ve seen on Pinterest.

My attempt at doing something “Pinterest.”

Here is the original hair:

I think this is so elegant and classy!

Here is what I wound up with:

My own take…

I’m not that good at doing my own hair. This took me many tries and a very log time. I have no idea what the girl in the original picture did with the hair that wound up in the bun in mine… it’s like magic!!

But I’m here to say that (inspired by another blog, where she took Pinterest ideas with clothing and style and made them her own) sometimes it’s fun to try something, even if it doesn’t turn out perfectly.

Another style attempt I’ve made lately (one I swore I would never do… check out #5) is to get bangs. As any girl knows, it’s a big commitment to make! This picture of Reese Witherspoon was one I saw a few days before I went in to get the chop.

bangs, bangs, bangs

One day I felt pretty good about the decision I’d made. Here is a pic from that day!!

me own bangs! and my knock-off sunglasses ;)

So, the point here is not that I want to copy everything I see. My point is that sometimes getting a little inspiration here and there can help. In a weird way, seeing something like bangs in a different context gave me that extra little boost to just go for it. Same with the updo… I never would have thought to do it if I hadn’t seen it done by someone else.

If you see something that inspires you, don’t be afraid to try it!!! You might just love your new look or attitude!!

:)

You can follow me on Pinterest here!

Things I {Hate To} Love Part II

Haters gonna hate.

My first {Hate To} love post was my most read blog yet. Why? I think it’s because we all have secret loves and sometimes they are embarrassing. I’m taking a stand! Be proud!! :) Here is Part II to my unashamed list. <3

1. Hilary Duff

She gets hated on all the time, but I love her. Lizzy McGuire was a great show, back in the day. She has grown into a very beautiful woman and I fancy that she and I even look alike… Looks like she is an awesome mom, too. She is never really in the news for doing anything slutty or gross. She has remained classy in my eyes. She has obviously struggled with weight, which we can all relate to, and has come out a very healthy looking gal!

2. Kristen Stewart

I can’t even believe I am typing these words. I really do HATE to love her. For a very long time I was convinced that I just plain hated her. Now… I have done a lot of soul searching and rethinking on this topic. For one thing, she has become a better actress as the Twilight movies progressed. Yes: She is a little bit emotionless, we all know this. But something in her disappointment and utter sadness in New Moon is very believable. I was nervous to see her acting “motherly” and she did a good job in Breaking Dawn Part I. I was pleasantly surprised. I think she was believable and sweet! The whole “emotionless” thing she has going on is just who she is, obviously. Maybe we should all give her a break and accept it. It works!

Oh, and then there’s the cheating scandal. I really hated her good and dirty for a few days. But then I really started thinking… WE DON’T KNOW A SINGLE THING!! We don’t!! Who knows!!! Not that it would be a valid excuse, but maybe Robert Pattinson is a d-bag! Maybe she needed some relief, and unfortunately, that relief came in the form of a married father… but a little teensy tiny part of me understands, or at least is giving her some slack. She and Robert might not even be a real couple. They’re famous, after all. It’s not as if we can pretend like anything we read about celebrities (even if it’s from People Magazine… One of the more reliable sources…) contains actual facts. I don’t think it’s a good thing that the scandal happened, don’t get me wrong, but as I thought about it more and more I kept thinking who are we to judge her? Or him? Or the entire situation? When we are in private and talking with someone, there are emotions that rise and sometimes they’re only for those two people to understand. I can give her that.

Also: for a long time I wanted to think she wasn’t that pretty. I wanted to think that her skinny boy body wasn’t attractive and someone else should have played the role of Bella. But I’ve changed my mind. I realized that all this hate I had was really some weird form of jealousy….because I actually think she’s gorgeous!! THERE. I said it. Finally. Whew. I think she is beautiful and I even kind of like her “f*** you” attitude. She has guts. I love her. I feel like some weight has lifted, now that I’ve gone and said it. Again…WHEW.

3. Having Plants Inside.

Our Tree

This feels like it should be on the “stuff white people like” list, but I don’t think it is. I was hesitant to get plants… it is a commitment. Not as big of a commitment as getting a dog or something, but at the end of the day it’s still something that puts effort into keeping alive. I am not very confident in my ability to keep these new plants of ours alive, but I really like them. I am almost looking forward to getting a sunburn so I can use the aloe.

Aloe Plants!

4. The TED Conference

I watched a few of these videos back in the day when I was an Education student at UNM. Some of these talks were so amazing. A few were boring, but for the most part I enjoyed them. I need to watch more. Any good suggestions?

5. Girls With Bangs

I have too many girl crushes, and yes, most of them have bangs. Perhaps I’ll never get my own bangs (but in elementary school my bangs were awesome) but I’ll always admire those who do.

This was a not-so-fluffy day. Notice the Paula Abdul shirt….

6. Apples to Apples

I LOVE GAMES. All games, actually. I love a good card game. I love FARKLE (again, thanks Cindy!) and Apples to Apples and Bananagrams… I’d even play twister if the moment presented itself (which it hasn’t since I was little.) I get really into games. I get loud and yell and stand up from my chair. However, the cool thing is, I am not actually competitive. It drives Greg crazy. If we’re on the same team, and someone else does really well, I’ll get so excited. I’ll shout, “Oh my gosh! GOOD JOB!!!” And possibly high-five them! I just love the fun involved, yet I have no competitive bone in my body.  The only game I probably wouldn’t play (again) is that Ouija Board. That’s too freaky.

7. Never Wearing Nail Polish

I wish I could look cute and wear it all the time. Just like tattoos, it’s another thing I try to compliment other girls on. I love the grey nail polish that’s been so IN this year. It looks so put together, so cute, so grown-up. Yet I have only worn it twice in the last three years, and one of those times was my own wedding. I can’t do my own… it always gets messed up. I also never do the upkeep necessary. I hate chipped nails so much, it’s not even worth it to me to paint them. Also, if my nails get long enough to see any white, it grosses me out. I keep them really short! Yes, I wish it wasn’t this way.

8. Family Guy

I LOVE THIS SHOW. I laugh out loud all the time. It’s one of my guilty pleasures. I think it’s hilarious and I don’t even care when it’s totally rude and politically incorrect. I know some of you will agree and some of you will gasp in horror.

9. Googling Celebrity Pictures

This one makes me sound like a real creeper. I just like seeing who wore their hair a certain way, or just how cute so and so looked in her latest tabloid picture. My top searches? (all girls, haha) Melanie Laurent, Ashley Greene, Jennifer Lawrence, Kristen Stewart, and Hilary Duff. <3

10. Facebook

Really. Our generation is so obsessed, right? But I like my author Facebook page. My regular page has been a huge tool for me to keep in touch with my grandparents and other family members. It’s uplifting when people comment on a blog that I mention, or a photo from an epic night. It’s fun. I don’t want to love it. I’d love to NOT have a FB page. However, I won’t do that. I have too many great pictures on there… with friends and family. I think it’s been a mostly positive thing. I am only worried about the kids who really are obsessed. I am way more worried about smartphones, though… I will never have one!! Don’t even get me started on how creepy the whole thing is… like we’re all just being tracked and watched through the phones, and even simple internet use. I try to keep all of this to a minimum. It honestly puts goosebumps on my arm when Greg looks up some drumming equipment, and then all of a sudden every single ad that shows up is related to music. HOW DOES IT KNOW? Smart computer people have told me there are ways to clear memory and avoid this, but still. The info is out there. Forever. I’ll keep my flip phone and be happy with it, thank you very much. The saddest thing about this is no instagram. That would be convenient to have! But it’s a price I’m willing to pay. (This is the most conspiracy theory-ish I get. haha I swear!)  

If you missed Part I, here it is. Take a look. See if you and I have anything in common! Tell me what you hate to love… or just love.

<3