Steph's Adventures

New name, new town, new blog...

2009-01-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't really have a new blog, but for those of you who frequently stop by STEPH'S ADVENTURES, I will be blogging more on Jeremy and I's site now! Just FYI to check our blog as well!

Secret Santa exchange

2009-01-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

So, I finally found my camera cord and got some pictures downloaded! Here are a few pictures from our Whitsbury Court Secret Santa exchange! We all had a blast buying very appropriate and "PURRFECT-inside-joke" gifts for each other!

Here are just a few of the gifts....

1st picture: Scott LOVES Olive Garden breadsticks and he got 30 of them as his gift! (That is how many you can buy for a mere $10!)

2nd picture: Derek is from Indiana and we have a little inside joke about the HOOSIERS!

3rd picture: After his beloved Marble Slab ice cream store shut down, I called and got the pictures that were hanging inside the store for Brandon! He was shocked, but very excited! (and they better be hanging up at the house when I come visit next! haha!)

4th picture: Mike got a drinking hat...need I say more?!

Maverick and Louie take on the beach

2008-12-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

When I got back into FL today, it was 80 degrees out! A little different than the 20 degree weather that I had just experienced in KC! So, my brother and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and we took Maverick and Louie to the beach. It was so wonderful to see Maverick come alive and enjoy playing ball and running again. Him and Louie did not want to stop as they ran back and forth from the ocean chasing the tennis ball. What a fun time and a wonderful memory as this will more than likely be Maverick's last trip to the beach before we move back to the snowy Midwest.

Our First Christmas!

2008-12-28T16:26:00.000-08:00

Jeremy and I enjoyed our 1st Christmas together in KC this past week. We felt incredibly blessed to be together and to be able to spend time with our family. For more Christmas pictures, visit our blog; http://stephanieandjeremy.blogspot.com/. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you a happy and healthy 2009!

The Elf and her reindeer

2008-12-21T17:20:00.003-08:00

Aren't my little reindeer cute?!

It is so great to see Maverick happy in these pictures! He still has his good days and bad days, and I am very thankful for the happy moments. Unfortunately, the vet said this past week that the cancer is progressing and he is showing more apparent physical signs of that. But, we will certainly cherish the time that we have left with him, no matter how long that is. The vet said that we should be able to get through the holidays which is what we are hoping.

Please continue to keep my baby boy in your prayers!

Santa came to the YMCA!

2008-12-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

....and I was the perfect ELF!

It was really fun to have Santa at the YMCA and I took my ELF responsibility very seriously!

It was really funny though to see the kids walk in to see Santa and they were all wearing shorts and T-shirts! I remember that was strange in Arizona as well when everyone was wearing

flip-flops in 80 degree weather! We had to put a fan near Santa because he was

dying of heat in that suit! haha!

Top Story in STL news

2008-12-18T04:44:00.001-08:00

Now that more details have surfaced, I want to share a very sad, scary, and unfortunate story and ask for prayer for my family. On Tuesday evening in STL, my stepdad's ex-wife was found murdered in her home. It is believed that she interrupted a robbery taking place inside her home around 4:00 in the afternoon. Thankfully my stepbrother and stepsister were not there too during the time of the crime, but my stepbrother was the one to find her. The story is making headlines in STL as more details have emerged. Please, please, please pray especially for my stepbrother and two stepsisters. I cannot imagine the pain and trauma they are going through and will go through due to their loss of their mother. It is so maddening to think of such a senseless act of violence. Thankfully the cops/crime unit have been working on this day and night since it happened and it has been reported that two arrests have been made. Hopefully they have found the right people and have gotten them off of the streets. Thank you for keeping this situation in your prayers.

PRAYER

2008-12-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

This is definitely a time to get down on our hands and knees and pray. We have a failing economy, a new and upcoming presidency, people addicted to drugs, lives cut short, and more and more people wrapped up in buying the biggest and best Christmas gifts rather than take time to understand and cherish the real meaning of the season. Where is God in all of this? Many people often wonder about this and even make this particular statement. God IS in all of this and even though it may be hard to understand why certain things happen, we know that God is faithful and just to those who believe in Him and will pray to Him in accordance to His will. Sorry to sound all preachy but I am writing this here as a reminder for myself as well. It is so easy to get caught up in life and then something bad happens and we are like, "What the heck?!!!" Unfortunately I was unable to attend my church service this past weekend, so I went online this evening to our internet campus. Ironically, Pastor Craig is in a new series called PRAYER. If you have ever wondered about unanswered prayers and have asked yourself, "Where is God in all of this?" you may want to check out this series, especially tonight's message. Go to www.lifechurch.tv and experience it for yourself.

Memories in pictures....

2008-12-04T16:47:00.000-08:00

We have so many fun pictures to share from our wedding, and they are just Kodak shots that my friend took with my camera! We still have about 700 professional photos to view that our photographer took! To see all of our personal pictures you will have to go to Jeremy and I's blog at:

http://stephanieandjeremy.blogspot.com/

It took me awhile to upload them so I figured I would just put them on one site! Hope you all are having a great week! Oh, and if you need our new home address, please email me, I do not want to put it on the internet!

Thanks! :)

Mrs. Stephanie Dulin!

2008-12-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

Well, even though it is not legal yet (I still have to go and get my name changed officially), Jeremy and I's wedding was this past weekend and we were blessed with an incredible day! If I tried and share every detail about our wonderful wedding weekend it would take forever so here are just some highlights........

mom dancing on stage. a hilarious comic. great food. the most amazing wedding party. snow. snow. snow. a first dance to remember. personal message and ceremony. an amazing tribute DVD. wonderful photographer. laughs. love. lots of kisses. a little family drama. a fun limo ride. beautiful wedding colors. a blessed day.

I will share pictures soon! For all of you who were able to attend, thank you for being there to celebrate our special day!

Happy Turkey Day!

2008-11-27T07:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Have a blessed day!!

Love, Stephanie

3 more days!

2008-11-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

Well, right now I am sitting in the ATL airport getting ready to board for KC! It is hard to believe it is Thanksgiving time already, and that means we have only 3 more days until the wedding! Crazy! Holiday travel has not been too bad actually, there was hardly a line in JAX airport this morning when we left. We pulled a 'mom' and got there early just to prepare for all of the holiday travelers and lines and ended up walking right through! Anyway, I hear it is pretty cold in KC so please pray for the unpredictable Midwest weather to have an unexpected heat wave to go through KC on Saturday! That would be fabulous! Anything is possible in the Midwest right?!

Jax Jags Game

2008-11-23T14:26:00.001-08:00

Today Scott and I went to the Jacksonville Jaguar game! His company has amazing 6th row seats and we enjoyed the view with one of his co-workers and her boyfriend. The weather was absolutely gorgeous out, however, the Jag game was not so pretty. Sadly, but yet not surprising, they lost. However, we still had a great time and I was thrilled to experience my first ever Jag game. It is a very nice stadium and the company was fabulous. It is always a little difficult for me to watch a football game live though. As much as I like the atmosphere...I miss having the YELLOW LINE!

Happy Whitsgiving!

2008-11-23T14:16:00.000-08:00

Today was our first annual WHITSGIVING and it was so much fun! It actually had the feel of being the 'real' Thanksgiving day. We played a game of touch football, watched a little college football, had a quite a spread of delicious food, and hung out together all evening. Everyone gathered at the Tayloe household and then ended up at Brandon and Stephanie's to play Rock Band. As you can see in the pictures, Scott did a little rapping for us and Josh was stellar on the guitar! I on the other hand, was horrible on the drums, but it was fun trying! Oh, and by the way, what girl would EVER plan her wedding around Thanksgiving???!!! I tell ya...I hope I can FIT in my wedding dress next weekend! I enjoyed the wonderful food (including divine desserts) during Whitsgiving AND the real Thanksgiving is just days away! Eeek!

2 more weeks!!!

2008-11-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

Man, time is now getting away from me! I didn't realize that it had been a whole 2 weeks since I had blogged last! And, now there is only 2 more weeks before the wedding! Where is the month going?! Anyway, if you have not been to Jeremy and I's blog, we have decided that I will be moving to KC after the first of the year. It is bittersweet to be leaving FL, but it is for the best right now. We both feel that this is where God is leading us at this time. But, for now, I will enjoy the last couple of months here in the 'Sunshine State'. Last night the Whitsbury Crew got together for our regular Chili's gathering where we happened to see the shuttle from the restaurant window! That is not something you can do in any other state! It was cloudy last night, but we still saw the flames light up the sky as the shuttle went into orbit. It was a little humbling...here we are hanging out on a Friday night, while there are people heading up into space! ha!

Halloween on Whitsbury Court

2008-11-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

Halloween on Whitsbury Court was very fun despite the fact that it rained for most of the night and there were not many kids out trick or treating!! The whole court got together and sat in Stephanie and Brandon's garage with a truckload of candy as we waited for kiddos to come. Unfortunately, we had only about 10 kids stop by the whole night so we ended up with A LOT of candy left over! But, it was really fun hanging out and there were some great costumes within the circle including Chuck Norris, Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo, and Venus and Serena Williams!

God loves his pumpkins...

2008-10-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

I received this email and I thought it was cute....

"A woman was asked by a co-worker, 'What is it like to be a Christian?' The co-worker replied, 'It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

May your light shine to everyone around you! Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Part of the group....

2008-10-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

I am officially now part of the TUBE SOCK TUESDAY group at the YMCA!

Update...

2008-10-21T10:09:00.001-07:00

I am very pleased to report that Maverick is doing fabulous! I am in awe as to how he is doing but not surprised since I truly believe that God is bigger than any tumor that he was diagnosed with! The road ahead is still unknown, but for now Maverick is not only acting more like himself, he is now playing ball and wrestling around with his cousins (which he didn't always do BEFORE he became symptomatic)! As hard as it was to hear that he has a massive tumor, I have come to see the blessings in it all. My schedule is very crazy and all over the place and it has always been hard for me to take time out of my day to spend with my 'boys'. After I was told that something was wrong with Maverick it made me prioritize myself a little bit better and I vowed to enjoy the time I have left with him, whether it be 6 weeks or another 6 years. All of a sudden I found 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there and am now on a committed schedule of walking the boys 3x a day. I am ashamed to say that I have never walked my boys this often! I was always too busy or didn't feel up to it and now our 3 walks are the best few minutes in my day. Maverick is super excited to get out on our walks and Grahamy is too cute as his little feet try to keep up with us.

It is often said that sometimes we don't know what we have until we lose it. Let me encourage all of you to throw that life lesson out the window. Enjoy the things you have been given and the people you have in your life because unfortunately, life is way too short to take anything or anyone for granted. And, heck, take a walk! Because even as crazy as life gets, you can always find 10 minutes out of your day if you really wanted to.

TOOO FUNNY!!!

2008-10-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

I believe I have mentioned it somewhere in an earlier blog, but our neighbor Brandon LOVES Marble Slab ice cream. However, out of the 7 of us (the Whitsbury Court crew) that normally hang out together on a regular basis, he is the ONLY one who prefers Marble Slab (we all like Coldstone or Bruster's, a local favorite).

On Friday night the most exciting thing happened....Chipotle FINALLY opened up here in Jacksonville! So, the crew got together and made a trip out to the blessed hot spot. After eating food from heaven's buffet, we decided that we would then make an ice cream trip. Since Brandon was alone for the weekend (Stephanie is out of town at a wedding) we decided we would humor him and go to Marble Slab (mind you, we make fun of him, Marble Slab and the so-called ice cream of this place on a very regular basis).

We headed over and as we rounded the corner we noticed that the lights were out! It was only 9 p.m.! Yep, turns out Marble Slab had been officially shut down and there was a STORE FOR LEASE sign attached to the window. We felt so bad for Brandon, yet it did not stop us from roaring in laughter and taking pictures! We could not have planned it better! We love you Brandon...just not Marble Slab ice cream!!!

Another State Plate

2008-10-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally had to do it. I could not put it off any longer. I was very sad to take off my Arizona plate but went ahead and replaced it recently with a Florida plate on my jeep! The picture proves it is official! And, just today I took the words off the back of my jeep that advertised my Cards that BRIGHTEN your day! business! It was time to take that off as well due to the Frannie's name change!

HELLO!!!

2008-10-16T12:37:00.001-07:00

Wow...I didn't realize how long it had been since I had blogged! A lot has been going on and it has been a crazy busy week. The YFL has me in the gym working out more (the challenges are kicking my butt!), wedding plans are still underway (6 more weeks!!), and I am busy with work and card order (praise God!). AND, the biggest news is that Maverick had his follow-up appointment this week and the vet was sooo pleased at how he is doing! He has been responding incredibly well to the medications and has been so much more alert and himself the past couple of weeks. We have been walking 3x a day and just this afternoon he was playing with the other boys! It had been so heartbreaking to watch him lay around in pain and now it has been so wonderful to see him 'come alive' again. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Mave! We still have quite a road ahead of us. We are still not sure what the prognosis is but we are taking it one day at a time and are thanking God that he has been showing improvement!

It's GAME TIME!!!

2008-10-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I work and teach classes at the local YMCA. I love it, not just teaching and being there, but I love the people. It is such a fun place to be! We have a blast being at the gym and we consider our facility to be the "Cheers" of all gyms...where you want to be because 'everyone knows your name'.

Just this past week YFL started. YFL stands for the YMCA football league and for those participants, they form teams of four and compete against other teams. The gain 'yardage' for all of the workouts they do and weekly challenges they endure, both mentally and physically. I gotta tell you....I have never met soooo many competitive adults!!! It is crazy! But it is very fun to watch and awesome to have the gym packed with people getting into get their yardage every day for their team.

Not only do we host fun events to get people excited about working out, the members make everything more fun as well! One guy brought in tube socks for a lot of the people that work out on Tuesday morning and it is now coined TUBE SOCK TUESDAY! I am not in the picture above because I did not get my tube socks until today! So, starting next Tuesday, I am in the tube sock group and am very excited and will be proud to wear my white and pink tube socks to the YMCA.

A little funny to share...

2008-10-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

So here is a little funny for y'all. Can you see what is strange in this picture??? Ok, not only do you see an old school pay phone, let me point out...there are THREE here!!! Seriously??!! So, you are telling me that there are SO many people that still use pay phones and there could be a chance that all THREE of them could be put to use at the same time? Really? Sorry, but I had to share this little funny with everyone...my brother and I get a kick out the triple pay phones every time we pass this gas station.

Mya Grace is here!

2008-10-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

To all of our surprise, Mya Grace arrived on Monday! She was due to make her grand appearance at the END of October, but opted to come at the end of September instead! (September birthdays ARE the best in my opinion anyway)! Congratulations to the proud new parents, and our wonderful neighbor friends, Jessica and Derek! Mya is going to be surrounded by a lot of love here on Whitsbury Court! We have all been fighting over babysitting rights already!

My baby boy Maverick

2008-10-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

Monday was a very bittersweet day for us. We were thrilled (and very surprised) to find out that our neighbors had their baby girl! The surprise was the fact that she was not due for another month, but Mya arrived healthy and very quickly! So, the start of the day was wonderful! However, that afternoon Jeremy and I took Maverick to the vet because he has been struggling over the past few months. He has been lethargic and has lost a lot of weight. He has not been able to put any pressure on his right front leg and has not had much interest in playing ball, which is something he has always LOVED to do. We expressed our concern to the vet and after a hour of labs and X-rays we received some very unexpected news.

It turns out my baby boy has a massive tumor on his scapula and if he were to undergo treatment he would have to have his right front leg and scapula amputated along with chemo and radiation. So, we have opted for the pain management route with medication and we hope that this will alleviate some of his pain for the time being.

This is extremely difficult news for me. Mave has been my baby boy for the past 6 1/2 years. He has been right by my side through A LOT of hard times and he has been such a blessing in so many ways. I know it may be hard for some people to understand the connection if you do not have a pet, but Maverick has been one of my children and I cannot imagine life without him. We have another appointment in a couple of weeks to determine what the next step will be and to monitor the tumor and his symptoms.

Thankfully, Jeremy was right there to hear the news with me. I am not sure how I would have handled it without him there. Also, thankfully in the past day Maverick has responded to the medication and has pepped up a little bit. He has been walking around a little more and I even took him to the beach for awhile where he fetched the ball a few times. However, the hard reality is that quality of life is a priority right now for him and I am just not sure how long we will have. Please keep him and all of us in your prayers right now. I have just been on auto-pilot the last couple of days and need strength to get through this.

engagement pictures

2008-10-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Josh took our engagement pictures on Sunday afternoon and we had a lot of fun! We even got a few pictures with the boys. I have posted a few on this site and on our personal blog, but I just picked a few since we ended up having 235 pictures taken!

New movie....GO SEE IT!

2008-10-01T05:50:00.000-07:00

I have played critic on my blog before, although my critique is always good because I usually only talk about and recommend the good movies! Jeremy and I went to go see the new movie FIREPROOF this weekend. It stars Kirk Cameron (remember this cutie from Growing Pains?!) and is a Christian-based movie that was allowed to be released in the theatre (Praise God!) All I can say is WOW, and, if you go see it, you better have tissues with you! It was sooo heart-warming and they did an amazing job on it. I was an emotional mess afterwards! But don't let the emotion scare you from going...it is definitely a MUST-SEE.

More Banzuke Pictures

2008-10-01T05:43:00.000-07:00

And the teams were as follows

(and believe me EVERY team name has a crazy Whitsbury story behind it!! haha!)....

5th Place, The Shockers-Brandon and Stephanie

4th Place, Short Stack-Jeremy and Stephanie

3rd Place, The Va Jay Jays-Derek and Ashley

2nd Place, Team Gu-Mike and Shelby

and the Grand Champions of the 1st Annual Unbeatable Banzuke goes to....

1st Place, The Blueberry Muffins-Scott and Joshua!!!!!!

Unbeatable Banzuke!

2008-10-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well, our Cul-de-sac Club took fun to the extreme this weekend, and Jeremy and I had our first marriage test! ha! We were on a team in the 1st Annual Unbeatable Banzuke and had a blast! For those who have never heard of Unbeatable Banzuke, it is a crazy Japanese game show that we have all watched together. They do a lot of crazy stunts and Whitsbury Court attempted to replicate it and had 13 competitions on the list. The events included the human wheel barrow race, the wheel barrow race, the pillow sack race, the water balloon toss, chicken in the pool, among with several other fun events! We all had so much fun and were so tired afterwards! We had so much fun and ended our night with a buffet of food and watching a movie.

New Arrival, now announcing....

2008-09-27T05:08:00.000-07:00

....Avalynn Kay Strom!

I do not have a picture downloaded yet, but there are many you can see at www.joshtayloe.com. Avalynn is the sweet and beautiful little girl born a couple of days ago to our friends, Jana and Zack, here in Jax. Congratulations to the new parents!!!

Catching up!

2008-09-27T04:58:00.001-07:00

This week has been super crazy! I had a busy week with work and I am now getting ready for Jeremy to get here! I am excited because he will be flying in today and we have a lot planned for the weekend! We will have plenty of pictures to share for sure so I will post those next week. For now I just want to give a shout out to my good friends Frances and Divina who both have birthdays today! Happy Birthday girls!!!

Happy Birthday to Stef....and Will Smith!!!

2008-09-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday BlackMan!

Stefan and I became great friends when we both lived in AZ. He was an amazing friend, a fun companion, and a wonderful spiritual leader!

AZ would not have been the same without you Stef!

I wish you a fabulous birthday and many, many more!!!

Luv, Steph (aka Robin)

Friends Forever

2008-09-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

If girlfriends can stay friends through the fashion of the 90's, well, I think that it is a pretty strong friendship!!! LOL! Just wanted to send out a very Happy Birthday to one of my dearest friends...Faith! We have been friends for....oh wow...let's see....18 years????!!! This picture was taken in 1994, our senior year in high school! And, we are now officially 'thirty SOMETHING'! Hope your day is fabulous my friend!!! Love ya!!

Seriously???

2008-09-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

So, today was absolutely beautiful here in FL. The humidity was low, there was a cool breeze, and the sky was gorgeous. I was enjoying the nice cool down but low and behold....it rained. I heard that it did not rain AT ALL when I was in AZ visiting! I think everyone was just pulling my leg. I don't believe a day can go by here without rain!!!

The WOMEN...

2008-09-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight Joshua and I went to go see a movie and since the boys were not with us (Scott is in Alabama on business, and Jeremy was not in town) we chose to go see the biggest chic-flick of them all...a movie called THE WOMEN. The cast was full of fabulous and highly acclaimed women including Meg Ryan (love her), Debra Messing (the hairstyle was a little big), Jada Pinkett Smith (woman LOVER in this particular film), Eva Mendes (mistress), and Annette Bening (the high exec) among others. It turned out to be quite a cute movie and one I could very much relate to. Life's events, finding oneself, and letting go of things of the past were all part of this lovely movie which I would definitely recommend to any chic-flick fan. There was one very interesting aspect of this movie though...I don't know how they made a WHOLE entire movie without them...but when the movie ended we realized...there were absolutely no men cast in the movie. Check it out and see for yourself...

Me and my four-legged boys...

2008-09-14T13:38:00.001-07:00

Josh was trying out some new photo equipment and lights so he asked me to sit down and pose for a few test shoots. So, I grabbed the boys and gave 'em some lovin'!

I'm how old?

2008-09-14T13:31:00.001-07:00

Yep, I have taken another trip around the sun and find myself celebrating yet another birthday today. I must say, I was absolutely THRILLED to turn 30 last year and put my 20's behind me but now...31?? What kind of age is this?? Stuck in the middle of 30 and FORTY, that's what!! Oh well, I cannot complain. God has been very good to me this past year and thank God for the phrase of 'thirty-something'!

Oh, and thank you to all of my friends and family who have sent birthday wishes and/or who have called me today! Your kind words and wishes have meant a lot to me!

Baby Shower

2008-09-13T16:43:00.001-07:00

This afternoon the Cul-de-Sac Crew threw Jessica a baby shower to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Mya! We had a great time! We all pitched in to help too. I was on the creative team(surprise!) making the invitations, diaper cake (which I was very proud of ) and some other little fun stuff for the party, Stephanie handled the decor along with the cake and food, Joshua helped with pictures, and Scott made his famous cheese and crackers (pre-packaged at Publix for his convenience). The 'hubbies' spent time golfing as we enjoyed the shower and then watched the movie Baby Mama!

Mya's Room!

2008-09-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors are just 6 weeks from having their first little one! Their daughter Mya is due to arrive at the end of October and they hired me to paint her baby room! As you can see in the first picture, they chose some really cute bedding with great colors and fun bugs and flowers. Derek painted the pink at the bottom and the brown mid-border and I added the circles on the border, her name, and all of the fun bugs (to match the bedding). It turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself! ;)

Sebastian's Birthday

2008-09-13T16:28:00.001-07:00

So, last week was Sebastian's Birthday so we headed down the street to Bruster's for ice cream. They give out doggie cones there so Sebastian was treated to a sweet treat while the other boys had to wait at home! Even though we are not 100% sure he knew what was going on, he seemed to enjoy the outing and we all enjoyed our special treats as well! Any excuse for ice cream...yummy!

Remembering 9/11

2008-09-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

This will just always be one of those days. We will all remember where we were at, what we were doing, and the thoughts that ran through our mind as we watched the towers crumble to the ground. It was just a typical morning, like any other. And, in moments, not only did we as Americans change, our history changed as well. We remember this day with respect and pride. To all the lives that were affected, and to all the lives that were lost, we will remember you and this day forever. May we all sense hope, love, restoration, and peace from above no matter what the past, present, and future holds.

The Butterfly Awaits...

2008-09-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

Staying positive and thinking happy thoughts is definitely a daily choice! I was very thankful that I was able to borrow my brother's car this morning to get to work. I continued to wait to hear about my jeep but by 10:00 I still hadn't heard anything. Was it "No news is good news", or "No news is bad news"? When it comes to car repairs, I wasn't sure which way the old cliche went. It was easy to think the worst, but then Harry came in to the YMCA.

Harry is one of the first members I met when I started working at the YMCA. Unfortunately, Harry has Lou Gerig's disease and had to use a walker to get around the facility. His health was getting worse but he always had a smile on his face. About a month ago we got the news, from Harry himself via email, that he was checking into hospice. His humor and incredible spirit shined through even in the midst of the unknown. However, after only a few days of dealing with hospice, it is my understanding that Harry was not ready to be terminally inactive and decided to manage the rest of his remaining days without their help. And, is he ever. Even though he is now in a wheelchair, his wife wheeled him into the YMCA today and he got on a stationary bike and pedaled. He greeted people, wore his contagious smile, and talked about the gorgeous day we were having.

I have only known Harry for 6 months but he has already become one of the most inspirational people that I have known personally. He is an amazing example of living life in a positive light and making the most of the days he has been given. May we all find the positive in the negative, the opportunity instead of the obstacle, and the joy in the midst of hard times.

Thankfully the jeep dealership finally called. My jeep just needed a new battery. :)

Beautiful Butterflies...

2008-09-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday was just 'one of those days'. It started when I had to go get new car tags. I ended up having to re-enter the line three times due to forgetting something I needed in my car for the FL registration. I ran a few errands and in the process my jeep decided it was not going to start. Two people tried to help jump my car but unfortunately with no success. I waited for AAA for awhile and as soon as he got there it started up right away (ironically). However, as soon as I left the parking lot (mind you, the AAA guy had come and gone within 47 seconds), it died again. My brother was so kind enough to come to my rescue and he followed me to the closest jeep dealership after I got my jeep running again. We got there, dropped it off, and I jumped into his car. We headed out and got on the on ramp to the highway. Scott had just packed up several large boxes full of new brochures and catalogs to mail out. Unfortunately, the back of his SUV was not shut all the way and all of a sudden we heard the back door open and looked back just in enough time to see the boxes falling out onto the on ramp. It had been raining on and off all day so the ground was very wet. We tried to salvage everything we could as cars were driving past us. All we could do was laugh and we thanked God for the positives in the situation. We were okay, his briefcase with his laptop had not fallen out of the car, thankfully it had stopped raining during all of this chaos, and I was grateful my boss was okay with me getting to work late.

Sometimes life sucks. Unexpected and inconvenient things happen. It is easy to be broken and focus on the negatives and stress out about the money we don't have and the time and mishaps we cannot afford. During the 2 1/2 hours that I was waiting for help to come I ended up walking into a nearby Barnes and Noble (another positive...I broke down by a lot of shops which kept me entertained). I have a lot of mottos and quotes that I like to recite, but I happened to stumble upon another one that I will be adding to my list.

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it turned into a butterfly."

I love it! It is definitely a quote to remember and I will certainly be hanging onto it as I anxiously await to hear news about my jeep...

More big news...

2008-09-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

Not only did Jeremy and I's engagement become official on September 1st (see our blog for more details) my new business name and website became official as well! FRANNIE'S is now up and running! Order your holiday cards TODAY! And, pass the news around!

Check it out at: www.franniesonline.com

Phoenix FUN

2008-09-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was in PHX and it was quite the weekend! I started it off on Thursday painting Joshy's bedroom (the little boy I used to nanny for in PHX). I ended up painting his room in a fireman theme and was really happy that I was able to do that while I was there visiting! His mom actually gave birth to a beautiful little boy that Saturday! Congratulations again Mike and Julieann!

The weekend was full of wonderful times and stories. Jeremy actually flew into town to spend some time in PHX with me as well! All I will say is that last year on September 1st, I had the most amazing, wonderful surprise birthday party thrown for me, and this September 1st....well, you will just have to see the amazing surprise that I got! For more on the BIG NEWS, view our corresponding blog...

http://stephanieandjeremy.blogspot.com/

To my favorite brother in the whole wide world...

2008-08-26T10:34:00.001-07:00

HAPPY 27TH BIRTHDAY!

YOU ROCK!

WE LOVE YOU!

LOVE, YOUR 'LIL' SIS, MAVERICK AND GRAHAM

TWENTY SEVEN YEARS OLD!!! (shy of one day)

2008-08-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to Scott's favorite restaurant, Olive Garden, to celebrate his birthday with the neighbors! Like always, we had a fabulous time with everyone and had fun celebrating Scott's big "2-7"! The theme of the get-together was "27 something..." so everyone had to bring 27 of something for him. He ended up getting 27 Twizzlers (although there were a few more than that in the bag, eh-hmm...Brandon), 27 mini candies (although 26 because I helped myself), 27 pens (which he will probably lose in about a week), 27 mini-muffins (long story but Derek is never going to live this one down), 27 Dresses (the movie), and 27 razors (these would be from Joshua because he said that Scott is always using his!). And, even though we didn't really count, we think the waiter brought us 27 breadsticks and 27 Andes dinner mints! The Olive Garden staff sang to Scott and we all helped him enjoy his yummy chocolate cake (some more than others...again...eh-hmm...Brandon...)! Happy 27th Birthday Scott! (although the real day is tomorrow so his birthday celebration will continue....)

Baby Shower for girls (and boys)

2008-08-25T10:11:00.001-07:00

Scott, Joshua, and I attended a baby shower for a girl, Jana, that Scott and Joshua knew from living at their condo. Jana's dog was all dolled up for the party (she is going to have a bit of a shock when she has to share attention with a baby!) and we all got to wear necklaces too (it was a princess themed party)! We got to smell dirty diapers (melted chocolate but WOW did it look like the real thing), ate some yummy food (Joshua just about took out the mom-to-be on the way to the food line), and watched Jana open up some great gifts (good gosh, what did parents do just 5-10 years ago?! It is amazing the new gizmos and gadgets that are out for babies now)!

The Sun found its way back to JAX!

2008-08-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well, to our surprise, the SUN is out today!!! It is still quite humid out, and every time I walk outside my sunglasses get all foggy! We have had the blue sky and sun out for most of the day (it still managed to rain a bit) and it has been nice to finally be out of the house. I actually broke free yesterday and ran errands all afternoon and then babysat a couple of kiddos down the street. They showed me how to play bowling on their Wii...I was wondering what the hype has been about and I must say, it was kind of fun!

Childhood revisited...

2008-08-22T17:49:00.001-07:00

We broke out the coloring books and Scott, Stephanie, Jessica, and I had quite a bit of fun coloring together on our . Joshua did not color in his Star Wars coloring book that I had bought him, but he did hold up my Strawberry Shortcake picture for me to show off. We made a dinner run, enjoyed a family style meal from the nearby Buca Di Beppo, and are now watching a game of football (thank God it is football season again!) Fay is slowly moving out of the area, however, we have heard that there may be a few more crazy weather patterns/tropical storms right behind her. Please pray the weather is good next Thursday morning when I fly out to PHX! It scares me to fly in bad weather...

Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Tornado Party!

2008-08-22T14:30:00.001-07:00

So, Fay is still hanging around here in Jax. You cannot really tell by the pictures, but it has been raining VERY hard today and it has not really let up at all. We have been told by the news that a tornado was spotted so we have been placed under tornado warning. The pictures I took are not bad pictures, all of the blurry spots are the high winds and rain combined. However, thankfully we still have power! WOOHOO! So, due to the advisory that is not safe to go anywhere or even leave the house, we invited the neighbors over for a little party (not all adults or all 6 dogs are picutured here). We watched Dirty Dancing (as you can see Scottie was showing off some of his moves), we are planning on breaking out the coloring books (I mean I did buy them for the storm so we may as well use them), and have opened up a botte of wine (anytime is a good time for wine). Good times...

New Update...

2008-08-22T11:18:00.001-07:00

We are now under a tornado warning....hurricane/tropical storm party at our house!

She's finally here!

2008-08-22T04:43:00.000-07:00

Fay has finally made her way into Jax! Oddly enough, we are still the lucky ones who have power (Thank GOD!). We must have lost it at some point last night though because when I woke up everything was blinking. The worst of it is told to be here now...the winds and rain are very extreme and I was afraid that Grahamy would be blown away when I let him out this morning to go potty! I am waiting on a call to see if the YMCA is open today or not. Originally they said we would be re-opening today but a couple of days ago, we didn't know what was going to happen with the weather and when Fay would actually be arriving in our area. SO, I am not sure if I will have to get out in this mess or not. Several bridges in Jax have been closed so Joshua cannot get to work. Starbucks is STILL OPEN though! (People and their coffee I tell ya! haha! :) JU has been closed so Scott is home as well. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers! Stay tuned...

She's stalling...

2008-08-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who check my blog please know that as of now all of the boys (dogs and adults) and I are just fine! We actually still have power which has been a big blessing. Even though Fay is stalled about 60 miles away from us we have still been feeling some of her affects with very high winds and a lot of rain and flooding in the area. Most of Jacksonville has closed down and the gyms I usually work at on Thursdays were all shut down for the day so I was made to stay home! I certainly did NOT complain and have been busy working on my Frannie's business (by the way, the new site should be up by Labor Day!!! Woohoo! It is very exciting!)

I have to say that I think I have seen my fair share of extreme weather from snow storms in the Midwests, to sand storms in AZ, and now my first tropical storm here in FL! I am very glad that Jax is taking precautions with the weather and encouraging everyone to stay in their homes. Even though we have been lucky thus far and have not experienced the brunt of the storm (yet) we are just keeping busy and riding it out at this point. We are prepared, however, in case it does hit us right on but this has really turned into quite the unpredictable storm! (It makes sense this storm is named after a girl...she is certainly moody and you just never know when, if, and where she is going to turn! haha!)

So, for now, to all of our friends and family who have called, texted, or emailed with concern, all is well! I will definitely keep everyone posted and we shall see what the next 24 hours holds!

She's a'coming round...

2008-08-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Dog food...$16.00

Bread...$4.00

Water...$5.00

Coloring Books...$3.00

Having a forced day off of work...Priceless

Take Cover?

2008-08-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well, things are still up in the air about Fay. It looks like she is taking her sweet time coming into Jacksonville. However, she is still planning on showing up at some point; more than likely she will be in town on Wednesday evening into Thursday. Schools have already closed the next two days for sure and Joshua and Scott made a hurricane preparation trip up to the store tonight for dog food, water, and non-perishable foods while I was at work. We have already decided that if her visit is horrible, we will be having a big slumber party and continuous game day/night with our neighbors and all of our dogs; 7 adults and 6 dogs...now that is a good hurricane party! haha! I feel bad for Joshua though, tonight he said, "I dont know what I am going to do being stuck in the house with two Tayloes who are bored!" Yep, that is going to be hard, I may have to pick up some coloring books tomorrow at the store. Besides games, that is the only other thing I can think of that doesn't require electricity!

Oh, and for all of my KC friends, I deserve any jokes and comments...as much as I would call from AZ and rub it in about having the best weather in the world...I am sure you are now having better weather in the Midwest and would love to rub it in my face! Don't worry...I will be a good sport and take it! And, for my AZ friends...I miss having rain only twice a year. Enjoy the sunshine and I can't wait to see you all in a week and a half!!!

Fay on her way?

2008-08-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

So, the big talk around here has been that the tropical storm Fay may be hitting Jacksonville soon! This will be my first tropical storm experience!!! We shall see what happens....stay tuned....

Watching History...

2008-08-17T16:43:00.001-07:00

It is very cool to know that we watched history being made last night! We went over to our neighbors house last night to watch some preseason football (I am thinking I am living in another state with a not-so-winning football team) and some of the Olympics and we were lucky enough to catch Michael Phelps getting 8 for 8 last night. How incredible!!! Do you think he is going to be able to get all of that gold back over into the States?! So, this evening, to honor the 2008 Olympics and Michael's 8 wins, we ordered Chinese. And it was fabulous (not as good as having 8 gold medals, but it was pretty dog-gone tasty).

Eternal Information...

2008-08-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Since I was unable to get to Celebration Church this weekend here in Jax, I decided to go online to watch a LifeChurch.tv experience (the church I attended in AZ). I was VERY excited to see Brian Bruss leading worship again! Anyway, Pastor Craig is doing a great series called "You're Dead, Now What?" and is talking about Heaven and Hell. Unfortunately, I was not shocked to hear the stats that 74% of people believe in Heaven, and only 4 out of 10 people believe in Hell. However, I was very saddened by this information. Both places do exist and it takes more than just saying "I believe there is a God" to make it through those pearly gates. Living by faith is a daily choice and also a daily struggle but I believe with all my heart it will be well worth it. If you have ever questioned about what happens after we pass from this earth, you should check this series out. http://www.lifechurch.tv/. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-NOT by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Ice Cream Trip!

2008-08-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

Last night Joshua, Scott, and I took all of the boys for a walk. As we were out we ran into Brandon and Stephanie who were also taking their dog, Potter, on a walk. (Mind you, none of us have kids yet, but we all have dogs! One night we had 6 dogs at the house, because we all had to have our 'kids' with us! It was very fun!) Anyway, Scott and I were in the mood for some ice cream so we twisted (not very hard) everyone else's arms to go along with us! I decided to take my boys with us since they both love ice cream treats, and the ice cream place we went to gives out special doggie ice cream sundaes! In the past Mave ate ice cream within seconds and Grahamy savored his treat. However, for some reason it was the other way around last night! Maverick licked on his ice cream and savored his sundae while Graham had his done in seconds! It was fun to have them along with us and fun to hang out with our wonderful neighbors on a Wednesday night!

I love yard work sooo MULCH....

2008-08-14T11:58:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we had a family yard day. I ended up not being around for the bulk of the work since I had to go teach a class that morning, but once I got home, I helped the boys with some mulching. It was about 200 degrees outside and ya gotta love the smell of mulch! haha! However, I cannot complain since I did not work as long as Scott and Joshua did but I couldn't resist taking a picture of how dirty I got after only about 45 minutes of mulching! I do not have a farmer's tan here...I am just speckled with mulch!

Home Sweet Beach

2008-08-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

I saw this sign on the wall at breakfast today that said, "Home, Sweet, Beach". Now I have admitted to all that it has taken me quite awhile to get used to FL living. I have really been missing AZ, the mountains, and all of my friends out West. However, this morning was a good day to be in FL. Scott and I headed to the beach with a couple of bikes and rode up and down Jacksonville Beach. It was beautiful out, there was a little breeze, and we even saw dolphins! It was very cool. We then met up with Josh for breakfast at my favorite Jax Beach dive...Beach Hut. There is usually always a line out the door to get in to find a table. I always made it a point to go to Beach Hut when I was in town visiting but now that I have lived here for 5 months, this was my first time to go! I was so excited and it was fabulous!

Summer Games

2008-08-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

Well, the Summer Olympics have started and all of the neighbors got together to watch the Opening Ceremonies last night. Holy Cow, China knows how to throw a party! WOW! I was in awe of what they put together and what they created for the Opening Ceremonies. It was quite impressive (and VERY long). I also felt a little stupid when the list of countries started to scroll...I have to admit I didn't know where half of those countries were in the world! (Scott of course, had been to half of the countries they listed). Oh, a little fun fact for y'all, the first Olympics were held in Athens, the second was held in Paris, and the third was held in none other than St. Louis, MO.

Go Team USA!

The Good Ol' Days...

2008-08-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

What do you do when the cable and internet go out for a few hours? Well, if you are Scott...you get SOOO incredibly bored that you actually end up folding laundry. I couldn't help but document this history in the making...

Are you serious??

2008-08-06T11:31:00.001-07:00

Ok, so check this out. You might not be able to tell in the picture but my brother is holding a big, wrapped up METAL wine rack. He had bought it thinking that it would fit in our luggage coming home from KC but unfortunately, we guestimated the size of our bags wrong and it did not fit. So, he thought he would wrap it up and TRY taking it on the plane with him. We weren't sure if they were going to allow it. He put it through the security machine and the guy took it out and came up to him with it. Scott thought for sure that the guy was going to say that it would not be allowed on the plane and that he was just out of luck. However, instead of telling Scott that it was a forbidden object to be carried on to the plane due to the fact that you could definitely use a large piece of metal as an instant weapon he stated, "Here you go, I don't want to scratch it" and handed it right back to Scott. Mind you, since 9/11 I have had THREE TWEEZERS taken away from me going through security because they could be "weapons". But, nonetheless, he got it home with no problem and I am still out three tweezers. Un-freakin'-believable.

Another baseball game!

2008-08-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

We ended up turning our Midwest trip into a baseball weekend getaway! We went to the Royals game on Monday night with Bill, Rachel, and Jeremy while we were in town, and saw a pretty exciting game! There were no fights on this day (Sunday there were a few punches thrown on the field) but ironically there seemed to be just as many Red Sox fans in the stands as there were Royals fans! Thankfully the Royals held onto a win (barely), however, the weather was not as nice as it had been in STL on Saturday evening. KC actually had some weather-breaking records on this day and we opted to pick the one day to sit out in the miserable midwest heat and humidity. Now, some of you might be thinking, "Steph, you lived in AZ! The temps can get up to 120 and you are complaining of heat?!" Why, yes, yes I am. AZ has DRY HEAT, and the weather in KC was a very far cry from dry!!! We were all sticking to our seats and sitting in sweat puddles by the end of the first inning. All in all though it was a very fun game and it was a fun time hanging out together! Oh, and the last picture...Kaufman is undergoing some revisions and there are some luxury commodes set up in the right field section of the stadium. Well, I just couldnt resist having Scott stand by the company name...Scottie's Potties. I am going to go out on a limb here but I am going to say that it is probably a "crappy" business to be in...

The Cutest Little Royal Fan EVER!!!

2008-08-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we headed up to KC to meet up with Jeremy and his family and then Scott and I stayed at my best friends Rachel's house. Rachel's son, Hudson (my nephew) showed off his new KC Royal jersey. Is he not the cutest little Royal fan ever??!!!

STL traditions...

2008-08-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Two of our STL family traditions...IMO'S pizza and Cardinals games! Scott and I flew into STL on Saturday and had Imo's for lunch (I am actually NOT an Imo's fan but my brother was salivating as soon as we got off the plane and mom said the word 'Imo's'). We then headed down to the Cardinals game that evening with mom and Peter. It was actually my very first time inside the new Cardinals stadium and even though I was very sad to see the old Busch Stadium gone, the new stadium really is beautiful. Unfortunately, the Cards did not put on a beautiful show, however, as the Phillies beat them. Oh well. It was a gorgeous out and it was a perfect night for a baseball game!

Brotherly love

2008-07-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

I caught Sebastian giving his brother Louie some loving and it was quite the Kodak moment!

Introducing the New Hulk Hogan...

2008-07-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

I have been training Scott for the past three weeks...here he is showing off his huge muscles at the gym! It has been fun working out together and I have been enjoying making him sweat! haha!

Adventures in Pet-Sitting...

2008-07-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that as of this past week I am officially done with bird-sitting! The birds stayed in their cages this time and thankfully did NOT manage to escape. I actually enjoyed feeding and watching them this time around. Unfortunately, they never did learn my name but that's okay...I was appreciative of the many "Good Mornings" and "Holas"! It was definitely an eventful month with going over to their house though. From the little frog jumping out of the water container on me and to the many plants and one goldfish that died on my watch...all I can say is...good times.

Another little Royals man...

2008-07-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that Nate turned one this past weekend, but it is really hard to believe that my little bug Hudson here is already SO big himself!!! He entertained us at brunch with his expansive knowledge of animal sounds...I was so wishing that I had a camcorder with me to tape it! He even impressed the staff at the restaurant and was given a big sundae for his smarts (although he didnt want it so Jeremy happily dug into it! haha!) It was wonderful to see Hudson and his mommy and daddy!

Nate's FIRST birthday party!

2008-07-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe Nate is ONE already! I flew into KC this weekend to see Jeremy and to attend Nate's first birthday party. Jeremy's dad was in the loop but his mom had NO clue that I was going to be there. Needless to say, she showed quite the surprised reaction when I walked through the door which was very fun for us! Nate was a trooper...he had about 30 people there to celebrate his big day and he stayed up all evening and practically all night so he would not miss any of the festivities! The best part of course was when his cake was put in front of him, he wasnt quite sure what to do with it at first but once he realized it was okay to put all that sugar in his face he went to town! All in all, it was a fabulous weekend visiting with friends and family!

Guess what's coming to town????!!!!

2008-07-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

My brother shared some VERY, VERY exciting news with me the other night! CHIPOTLE is coming to Jacksonville, FL! FINALLY!!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOO! I hesitated in moving to Jax months ago because I had been told that there were not any Chipotles in the area and that really saddened me. So, it was sooo wonderful to hear that one is coming to town!!!! YAY!!!!!

Playtime and Naptime!

2008-07-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

1. Every once in awhile Maverick will find some energy to get off the bed and play tug-a-war with his cousin Sebastian!

2. Graham and Louie catching an afternoon nap. What a life!

3.Can you see the dog in the last picture?? Heehee! That is my boy Maverick blending into the bedsheets!

Crab Party

2008-07-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors, Brandon and Stephanie, are from Louisana and this past week Stephanie's family was in town! We had the pleasure of meeting them and being invited over for dinner for the BEST down-home-shrimp-and-crab-Louisana dinner EVER! It was amazing! There were piles of shrimp and buckets of crab. Wow! It was sooo good and quite an experience!

Beachtime inside the YMCA

2008-07-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

This is what I did practically all weekend! I painted the KidZone at the YMCA that I work at! There are still a few things that I would like to add, but I got the majority of the artwork done.

I hope you all had a very Happy 4th! It is hard to believe that the year is halfway over already! Wow! Where has the year gone?!

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got my camera working again after going out and purchasing a new battery! However, I cannot take credit for this picture...this had been sent to me awhile back from one of my friends and I thought it was awesome! Anyway, just wanted to wish all of you a very Happy and safe 4th of July!!! Have a wonderful holiday weekend! God Bless America!!!

SUNS and Sophie....

2008-06-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, my camera battery is dead so I havent been able to take any pictures in the last couple of days! (I cant seem to find my battery charger anywhere!) Yes, we still have Sophie. I was hoping that someone would call looking for her or be interested in taking her home, but she is still with us. I am going to have to call the Humane Society tomorrow though because I am getting WAY too attached. She is sooo beautiful! So, if you are reading this, wherever you are, and you, or someone you know, would love a sweet puppy....please call me SOON!! She is just such a beautiful little girl. Maverick has been in isolation though...unfortunately, he wants nothing to do with a puppy in the house. Please pray that she will go to a very GOOD home!!!!

I picked Scott and Josh up from the airport late Friday night and they had many interesting and fun adventures to share from their Vegas trip! Last night we had the neighbors over and watched a movie together which was fun. This afternoon, Scott and I headed off to the SUNS baseball game with a few of our neighbors! We were pretty excited to go but as we were driving there we ended up in a really bad rain storm and ended up turning around and heading back. We didnt think it would be too fun to sit out in the rain! So, instead we all went to the local Ale House and watched a little MLB on the TV's! It wasn't as wet inside....

Little Miss Sophie

2008-06-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

So, I am thinking that my business needs to start including pet sitting in it because I am now up to 4 birds and FIVE dogs. I swear, this would only happen to ME! Yes, Scott and Josh are out of town this week so I am not only hanging and watching our four dogs, I ended up bringing a puppy home last night! I know...what am I thinking??!!! Well, the only thing I could think of was that I could not stand the thought of this puppy being on its own in the dark last night. I know she doesnt look like a puppy but she is...she looks as though she is less than 6 months. She is still in that cute awkward phase, not fully fitted into her big paws yet! (She is going to be a big girl!) I was on my way home last night and saw her and when I stopped and got out, she jumped into my jeep! She was dragging a homemade, shoestring kind of leash on her but did not have a tag on her so it appears that she was tied up somewhere and got loose. I have no idea who the owners would be and none of my neighbors seemed to know who she belonged to. So, she is now staying at the Tayloe/Holder/Martin Household of Animals Hotel for the time being. I did contact Animal Control but they ended up coming when I was not home (go figure) however, I would rather find a good home for her than have Animal Control take her and do whatever it is they do with them (which I hate to even think of the possibilities). Anyway, Maverick made it very known that he wants nothing to do with a puppy around, but Sebastian has not been hard to convince...he is in LOVE! They are around the same size (at least for now!) and have been playing non-stop. I know I probably should not have (it increases attachment) but I did name her Sophie. There are just too many dogs around here, I had to give her a name so I knew who was calling to! And with all the boys around here, it is fun to have a little girl here! I am not sure what kind of dog she is (I dont know my dog breeds too well)...she seems to be a mix like Grahamy though...maybe some German Shephard? Some Lab? Some Doberman Pincher? Some Rottweiler? Yep, who knows, she is just like my sweet Grahamy...anyone's best guess.

Anyway, the night is winding down...the birds are still in their cages, the dogs are playing around the house, I am trying to maintain my sanity (along with trying not to get to attached to Sophie) and Scott and Josh should be home from Vegas tomorrow. It has been quite a week!

So far, so good......

2008-06-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

As you can see I have managed to get closer to the birds since that dreadful first weekend experience! Thankfully, so far they have stayed INSIDE their cages which has been quite a blessing! There are actually 4 birds, but I just included two of them here (the other two are gray and not as pretty as these 2!!) The red one is Sam, and he has quite the personality. We have definitely gotten used to each other over the past couple of weeks and I have a routine down with them. Instead of being squawked at and trying to escape me, I am now greeted with "Hello", "Hola", and "Good Morning". I have been trying to get them to say "Stephanie rocks and is the best bird-sitter ever" but I think I am shooting my hopes up a little too high......

A weekend of fun adventures!

2008-06-23T19:30:00.002-07:00

This weekend Jeremy was in Jax visiting and we enjoyed spending time together! (For those of you who don't know, Jeremy and I dated back in 2004-2005!) We had dinner with Scott and Josh before they headed to Denver and Vegas (they are blogging their excursion so be sure and catch up with them at www.joshtayloe.com/blog) and then we went down to St. Augustine on Saturday. Unfortunately, it poured on us but we still had a good time and ate at a great Irish pub down there. (Ya just can't beat good ol' Fish and Chips!) Sunday we took my 'boys' to the beach and enjoyed the sunny day and some great water time with Maverick. He was IN HEAVEN playing ball and hanging out in the ocean. He played frisbee with us while Graham found some nice shade underneath the jeep! We thought it was an off-leash beach but unfortunately, someone came by to tell us that Mave had to be put on a leash otherwise we would be fined. Fortunately though, we had already gotten in a couple of hours of playtime so Mave was tired by that point anyway! As you can see though, Graham is certainly not afraid of the water anymore and even hung out in the ocean with us for a bit!

Also, as you can see there is a picture that I added to this blog that I could not resist sharing. These were the people that parked on the beach next to us! I have heard about the Gator fans out here, but holy cow! There was even a Gator Head on the hood of the truck!!! Unbelievable. All I can say is that it was quite the pimped out truck!

Crazy things happen on full moon nights...

2008-06-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

So, tonight the boys and I went out to Olive Garden to celebrate the fact that Scott is OFFICIALLY done with school! He did walk in May for his Masters degree, however, he still had one more class to finish up and tonight was the final test for the class. He passed and was on cloud 29 tonight! However, his high spirits came down a bit when we got to the Olive Garden and found out they were OUT of breadsticks! That is the main reason to GO to Olive Garden! The OG is Scott's favorite restaurant so he was a bit disheartened when we were told that we would not have breadsticks with our salad and/or dinner. Someone had been sent to another OG location to pick up breadsticks and we were determined to stay until they came back! So, thankfully we finally did get breadsticks...for dessert! Scott's spirits soared again and we laughed when we drove home and noticed that there was a full moon out tonight.

Disappointing Dbacks...

2008-06-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

Dbacks lost the series this weekend, and I lost a bet! My word is good though...Coldstone ice cream on me baby! (And they were playing the Royals...who would have thunk?!)

In case you were wondering....

2008-06-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a whole week since I have blogged last and a few of you were asking what was going on with me! I have been on the go since getting back from AZ last weekend and I am just now getting an afternoon of laziness which is nice since it is a rainy day out today in the SUNSHINE STATE (yes, I still don't get that). Anyway, I wanted to show off Graham's new "hairless" look for those of you who have never seen it before! It is starting to get VERY hot and humid in FL so it was time to get Graham shaved. He always looks a bit funny the first few weeks without all of his fur, but he is sooo cute! He looks like a little lion.

Anyway, the past couple of weeks have been crazy with planning upcoming strategies and logistics for the business, and on a personal level as well! All is very good though and I will explain and share more after this coming weekend. ;) Other than that, the Tayloe/Holder/Martin household has been busy with work, working out, helping friends move, and hanging out with our wonderful neighbors as often as we can! Oh, and I am bird-sitting again! However, thankfully this time (so far)...the birds have stayed in their cages. THANK GOD!

To share a quote for the day...."Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad." To all of the dads out there......have a wonderful Father's Day!!!!

GO DIAMONDBACKS!

WOOHOO! Chipotle!

2008-06-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

After our motorcycle ride on Sunday afternoon, I went to Chipotle with my friends, Paul, Tricia, Chad and Frances. It was oh-so yummy and I was thrilled to have Chipotle again! To all my AZ friends, it was a fun weekend and it was so good to be 'home' for a visit! God is good!

A boob job and a face lift...for FREE!

2008-06-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

When you take a motorcycle ride you tend to get a free face lift, and if you happen to stop in Tortilla Flat, AZ you can get a free boob job if you stand behind one of the bathroom doors! (I think it is the first time I have ever had cleavage! haha!) When I was in AZ this weekend I was able to spend a little bit of time with my friend, Chad. He will be starting a new chapter and adventure in his life when he moves to Australia very soon for his job. So, I was happy to have the opportunity to hang out with him AND was very happy to get another motorcycle ride from him before he moves to the other side of the world! We had a beautiful day for a ride through the mountains. We went up to Canyon Lake and stopped by Tortilla Flat for some fun pictures. (And don't worry mom....I wore a helmet!)

Me and my AZ girlfriends....

2008-06-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

It was so much fun surprising most of my AZ girlfriends with my visit this past weekend! Some of them did not know that I was coming in and I got some great reactions! It was so much fun! It was perfect timing to be in town too as my pastor and his wife had an Open House for our church on Sunday afternoon so I was able to catch up with a lot of people while I was in town. The top picture is my LifeGroup, the middle picture is my friend, Frances (and her dog, Ricco) that I stayed with over the weekend, and the bottom picture is a lot of the girls from my church!

An opportunity to be 'HOME'!

2008-06-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

I was blessed this weekend as I was able to spend some time in AZ! I met new friends, hung out with old friends, caught up with friends, and said good-bye to friends. I am so thankful to God for the people who I have met in my life and for the many friendships that I have. My friend Bryan and I took a hike Saturday morning on one of my favorite mountains, South Mountain. We ventured out on a new trail and it was a beautiful and very fun hike!

Out to celebrate!

2008-06-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight we rounded up the neighbors to go out and celebrate!

We had some awesome Mexican food, great laughs, and

ended the night with Marble Slab ice cream!

We have the best neighbors EVER!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!

2008-06-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

We are officially a small business!!! I am not a side hobby/side business anymore! Papers have been signed! This is a very exciting day and new step into making this company expand! Here is the biggest news......we are changing the name. I know that I had mentioned to some of you that we were planning on shortening the name down to Brighten Your Day! however Scott (my more wiser, more business-minded brother) came up with something completely different. It will not be unveiled for another couple of months but I would just like to announce the up and coming business of

FRANNIE'S!!!

Now some of you may be quite confused so I will have to fill you in here. This is not something that many people know, nor had I wanted to share with many people, but I am going to have to spill the beans. Last year I wrote a children's book manuscript and I have been working diligently to get it published. (It has not happened yet but I am still hoping and praying). In the meantime, one of my very good friends had sketched up a picture of Frannie for me for the book. She is an amazing artist and brought Frannie to life. My brother knew of Frannie (the name is from my late step-grandma) and brought up the thought of having her as the "mascot" for the company. Even though I have loved my business name and sunshine logo, if you look at most successful businesses they usually have a one-name business name and the logo is highly marketable. Think about all of the well-known places such as Target, Starbucks, Michaels, Walgreens, HALLMARK (which I still hope to overtake one day), and thousands of one-name restaurants that we all shop and dine at. And, we all know what their logo is even if their name is not attached. Brighten Your Day! is a big name and the sunshine (even though I love it) is quite generic.

So, that is the story behind FRANNIE'S! We will be starting work on the new website and getting other logistics lined up in the next couple of months and we hope to share the world with FRANNIES in August. And please know that nothing about my products or services will be changing...just the name. I will still be making cards, painting rooms, and creating scrapbooks, it will just be under FRANNIE'S. However, as of now, Cards that BRIGHTEN your day! is still up and going so you can still refer to that name for now.

Your business, support, and prayers are much appreciated as we embark on yet another new adventure!

wishes

2008-06-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary Bill and Rachel!

Much love, your lil' sis

Premiere Night!

2008-05-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

How exciting!!!! The long-awaited movie finally hit the big screen! However, despite the absolute amazing and fabulous drama in the theatre, we were not anticipating how our long-awaited movie premiere night would actually go.....

We met at PF Changs for appetizers and of course, cosmos. Our original plan had been to rent a limo this evening but Josh had a better idea....take a cab! After all, thats how the New Yorkers get around! And, tonight my friends, was ALL about Manhatten! We had rounds of cosmos, fabulous munchies and delicious little desserts and we went outside to hail our taxi. Or so we thought. The taxi had been waiting outside for us and when we approached he went to turn it on. We heard a loud screech and realized that it had died....right in front of us! We didnt have time to wait for another one so off we were to the theatre (hopefully the cabbie isn't still sitting there).

Once we hit Tinseltown it was apparent that something BIG was going on (pun intended). I had seen a news crew there earlier and limos were starting to pull up as girls filtered out. Thankfully we were there early enough to get seats all together. Unfortunately, as the lights of Manhatten lit up the screen, something lit up in Josh. He ended up getting sick and missed the whole movie. We found him later crouched in the car.

However, since Scotty was not in town yet, we are going to be re-doing our premiere night on Sunday night! SO....for those of you who have already seen it...dont tell Josh anything! And, pray that I will not slip either! haha!

And by the way, for all of you SATC fans who haven't seen it yet.....trust me, you will NOT be disappointed. Was it fabulous and well worth it? In a more G-rated SATC fashion....."ABSO****ingLUTELY".

Independence, MO

2008-05-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

While I was in KC visiting, I actually stayed at my house! It was a little wierd being a guest in my own house but I was grateful that Debbie, my friend and renter, allowed me to stay for a visit. The pictures of the flowers are actually the roses that are blooming on the front porch. They are just beautiful during this time of year! It was fun to hang out like old times with Debbie and her daughter, Audrey. I am so blessed that they live there.

I also was able to see my sweet nephew, Hudson, and my best friend. We had orginally planned on going to a local park to play but due to the rainy MO weather we ended up taking a trip to the new Bass Pro Shop to check it out instead. Hudson seemed to enjoy running around the camo clothes and stuffed deer animals on display as Rachel and I laughed about the big fish mailboxes and other crazy fishing and hunting momentos that you can purchase. It was a very short visit but always a pleasure to be able to squeeze and hug them in person!

Trip to Kansas City!

2008-05-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

For my friends and family who are wondering where I have been and what I have been up to....I was actually in KC for a visit this weekend! (Sorry for the delay in blogging Dad! haha!) It was a fun and full weekend and it was great to be able to see as many people as I did. The first picture is of the Nicholson girls. I started babysitting for this family when I was in college. Claire, the oldest, was only 3 at the time and Sarah Grace (not pictured) was about 18 months. By the time I graduated college, Emily and Jill had come along. It is wild to see how grown up they all are now! Claire just turned 16 and is driving!!! WOW!!!

For a good portion of my weekend I was in Garnett, KS painting Nate's room in a puppy theme. It was fun to paint another room and to see Nate and my KS "family"!

Game Night!

2008-05-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

Last night we had another fun game night with the neighbors! We went out to dinner first and then everyone came over to Scott and Josh's afterwards. Our usual game is Catch Phrase, but we opted for another game called Loaded Questions. It was interesting to say the least, but fun because we had great company!

Not much going on this weekend. Scott and I attempted to lay out at the beach today but it was cloudy and a little chilly so we did not last long. Oh well. Another time and another day!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

I wrote this poem several years ago, but like to share it every Mother's Day.....

TO ALL MOTHERS

To the mother who has no children,
But yearns to hold a baby tight,
We thank her for her growing love,
And pray for a future so bright.

To the mother who gave her baby up,
Because it was for the best,
We thank her for the gift of life,
And for exhibiting such unselfishness.

To the mother who has adopted,
To give a precious baby a home,
We thank her for her open heart,
And for loving the child as her own.

To the mother who has lost a child,
And struggles to understand,
We thank her for her faith in God,
Knowing that He is holding her
young one’s hand.

To the mother who continues to show us,
That she is ‘always right’,
We thank her for her wisdom,
And for the kisses and hugs so tight.

To the mother with grown children
Who is living in an empty nest,
We thank her for her outstretched arms,
And generations that have been blessed.

To the mother who is fighting for her life,
To get through another day,
We thank her for her courage and strength,
And we pray for a cure before it is too late.

To the mother who has forgotten,
Because her memory has gone astray,
We thank her for holding our hand,
As we deal with the loss and the pain.

To the mother who has her angel’s wings,
And is looking down from above,
We thank her for the life she led,
And memories that are full of love.

To all the mothers out there,
You make this world a better place,
We thank you for who you are,
And the smiles you put on our face.

by: Stephanie Martin

To my Mom, Step-Mom, and to ALL of my friends who have children.......

Happy Mother's Day!

God Bless you on this very special day!

Who let the BIRDS out....????

2008-05-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

So, I must say....I have to be the 'jackie'-of-all-trades. When I first moved here to Jax, I went around to some of the neighbors to introduce myself and my business. I figured since it was a brand-new subdivision, there might be a few people around who may need their kids rooms painted. Pretty good assumption right? Well, instead of getting a call to paint a child's room, I received a call from one of the neighbors asking me if I would bird-sit for them. Bird-sitting was not on my resume but I figured, what the heck, why not. Friends, let this be a lesson to you....if anyone asks you to bird-sit....just say no.

They have 4 birds-2 smaller, 2 bigger. And, it was obvious the first day I went over to feed the birds that the bigger birds did NOT want me there. I opened the water door and one of them grabbed it with their beak and pulled it shut! I filled up the food bowls and they both took their beaks and pushed all of the food out! We did this little song and dance a couple of times before I thought, "too bad, so sad! I tried!" I checked all the latches 3x before leaving because I was paranoid something would happen on my watch to these $1800 (a piece) birds (and yes, you read that price right...I checked that 3x too).

The next day I took a witness with me. Everyone had thought I was crazy when I told them about the stubborn creatures and how they were trying to disrupt my bird-sitting-job-responsibilities. I pursuaded Scott to go over with me....we headed over there, opened the gate, and to my surprise the bigger birds were OUT! I just stood there in shock knowing there was something wrong with this picture! One was just walking around the yard and one was sitting on top of the little birds cage! I was yelling, "They're out, they're out!" My brother was yelling, "I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do!" and the birds were squalking, "Good morning! Good morning!" Dang birds. I quickly shut the gate and did what any other good, responsible, caring bird-sitter would do. I freaked out!!!!

I left a desperate message and about 243 apologys on the owners voicemail. Thankfully they were super nice, sent over help, and within 20 minutes the birds were back in their cages and all was well (the pic of the escape artists was shot while we was waiting for help to arrive). So, who let the BIRDS out? Turns out the birds are incredibly smart and had opened the latch and had let themselves out for a little stroll.

Goodness gracious. Only me I swear. I have another bird-sitting job in June.

Things to look forward to......

2008-05-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

11 days until payday
19 days until I get to see my nephew
24 days until the Sex and the City movie comes out
131 days until my 31st birthday (but who is counting?!)