September! All the rain... ALL.The.Rain.

September was a "getting into the groove" month for us. Damion was well into school, (and the work, tests, papers, and studying!) and we were both learning to adjust to the schedule. He works full time, of course, and going to school 4 nights a week sure gets laborsome for him, but he's handling it so well! Our time at home together in the evenings has decreased, but we try to make up for it on his days off, especially when those coincide with weekend days when he doesn't have school! Yay! I've also snuck away from the house a couple of times to bring him lunch during the day. :o)

(a long day of grass cutting, with a quick break to have lunch with me!)

One day, we decided that our day off from obligations would lead to trying another yummy place for lunch. Cotten's Famous Hamburgers! Oh.My.Word. I still think about that burger and their fries! We grabbed our food and headed down to the park by the lake to sit outside and enjoy each other, the yummies, and the pretty day - leaving our phones in his truck. That was pretty liberating! There are some great little round picnic tables, and since it was in the middle of the week, it was pretty quiet out there. It's something we want to do again since it's feeling so much nicer outside these days. (I grabbed this photo once we were back to the truck.)

(that's the I-10 bridge that goes over the lake)

We also got some delicious treats in the mail from my friend, Amie! She's awesome! We met through Twitter several years ago and have just stayed in touch sporadically through the years. But now, she's an essential oil freak like me, so we get to talk much more often! ;o) She was a GEM and sent us some famous original homemade whoopie pies from Maine! Oh man, those things are so good!

(mmm... delicious!)

Since we got a break from the rain and the heat, we spent one afternoon working out in our yard a little bit. Grass cutting, trimming rose bushes, sweeping walkways, etc. It was a really pretty day! We have a total of 11 huge oak trees in our yard, and I love thinking about the history of this home and how they've grown over the years to tower over this place were so many of his family have lived.

(such a pretty day outside!)

Part of that side of the family includes Damion's cousin, Sheila. Her mom and his grandma are sisters. She lives about 20 minutes away, and she invited me to a Saturday women's event at a local church where she has friends that attend. It was for the Beth Moore simulcast of the Living Proof Live Ministries event in Kansas City. I've been to lots of women's conferences like that, but never one on screen. (I did do if:Gathering by myself in our apartment in Houston this past February, which was amazing, but being with a big group of women who love Jesus makes it better!) I really enjoyed it! I've done several Beth Moore bible studies with other women through the years, but haven't really followed her for a while. I think we do have a few different ideas about some things, but I was definitely encouraged and blessed by her speaking! The main idea was to live a life of audacity - one that is bold, fearless, seeking the face of God, and knowing that He can and WILL do big things! I've gone back over the notes from that day a couple of times, and I'm always encouraged. Thanks, Sheila for letting me tag along with you! (here's the only photo I ended up taking that day .. at the very end of the day, the bulb went out on the main projector, so we had to turn around in the church pews to finish up on the back of the church wall. :o))

And speaking of family... At the end of the month, my Aunt decided to make another quick trip down to Louisiana to visit her daughter and family, so I headed up to see everyone, too! We haven't gotten to go as much as I would have liked during their time living this close to me, but I sure am thankful for the visits we have had! Especially since now they include this squishy.faced.beauty. She's so cute! Ah, I can't stand it!!! The next night, we all went out for dinner at yummy Steamboat Bill's. I love their stuffed shrimp.

 

(such a sweet, smiley girl! i love her little laugh!)

 

(a quick family photo when we were waiting on our food; and Aunt Lora with the gator!)

(that girl loves her Nana!)

This month with my oils, my friends and I hosted a smaller online class. We focused on preparing for winter months and getting ourselves ready for the yucky sicknesses that usually accompany the chilly months, making sure we stock up on great oils for help before they run out during the busy season. I also finally ordered some labels for my oil bottles, and really love how pretty it made them! So much easier to find what I need, too! :o)

(all the pretties!)

The last few days of September had us preparing for a quick trip to the mountains in Tennessee to see my family, which we've just returned from. More on that in the next post, though!  

This Morning it was 57 Degrees!

And that means FALL IS COMING!
I love it when the weather is so calm and even that you can spend hours upon hours outside without getting chilly or too hot and sweaty. Early Fall is great! The colder season teases you with its appearances in the early mornings and late evenings, and the stores start to change. Everything turns into Pumpkin Spice - ha! I'm actually not a huge fan of the PSL from Starbucks (sorry, ladies!), but I can definitely get down with some pumpkin spiced baked goods!

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves! Here's how the rest of our summer went:

Damion got a new job at the end of June, working for Sam Houston Jones State Park. He had been working a night job at FedEx during the meantime of looking for this full time job, so we had to quickly adjust to his new day shift schedule. He really loves his job out there! :o)

These things are crazy! They have no fear..
Please don't feed wild animals like this when you're camping!

That's Maggie. She's very friendly!

I took these when I went to have lunch with him at work one day. 

A locust! GET OUT OF HERE WITH THAT.
He saw them a lot this summer. YUCK!

He had to work on July 4th, but he's off pretty early in the afternoons, so we had time to make plans for fireworks. This year, we decided to go to Lake Charles and view the presentation from the top of one of the casino parking decks. What we didn't know is that this was also the plan of 23,443 other families. :o) We got a fairly decent spot to part and waited for the show... and then, there they were! Bright and beautiful in the sky. However, we couldn't only see about 1/4 of the display because we happened to be in a weird position with the casino building, which was blocking our view! Ha! We made our way through the crowds of people to hurry ourselves back to the interstate and find a new spot before the show ended. We came upon a long line of people who simply pulled over to the side of the interstate right by the lake, so we just joined them and watched the remaining display from the car. The good thing about this was that we just had to make a simple u-turn to head back to our town and were able to miss the mass exodus of all those 23,443 others leaving the parking decks!

I mean, that's really the best most people can do with an iphone camera, right? :o)

About a week or so later, Damion's grandmother called us up to see if we would join her for dinner one evening. We hadn't seen her since the week after Memorial Day, so we were all for it! She treated us to a delicious evening at L'Auberge for their buffet. The food there is incredible, and there's SO MUCH OF IT. We left in time to look over the lake as the sun was setting. Super pretty! :o)

Pretty sunset!

Mawmaw Dianna!

It was a little bit windy up there. :o)

At the end of the month, Damion and I took off and headed north to visit my cousin, Roslyn (and hubby, Amir) and sweet baby Armita! I was right; I'm still her favorite cousin. :o) She's super cute and cuddly! I was happy to see her again!

August arrived, and we had reached a real milestone. One that many of you have been following for this whole past year... Damion had reached his Yeard. His beard turned one-year-old. It's a pretty neat feat, if you ask me, and I really like his beard! I know many women don't, but that's okay.. he's all mine. :o) He thought about it for less than a week or so, but finally decided - it was time to let it go. I couldn't believe he was really ready for that. He sat down at the vanity in our bedroom and just went for it! I teared up! Haha.. I was so happy to get to see his sweet face again, but it was THE END OF AN ERA! AH! And then, when he was finished, I cried even more. Ha! He's just so handsome!
Have no fear, beard fans.. he hasn't touched a razor since. We're 6 weeks into beard number 2. We'll see how long this one goes!

August holds another Conley birthday -- Damion's little brother, Dustin. He turned 19, and he had some friends over for a catfish fry. The day before, Damion and Dustin went together to catch all the fish. They really caught some big ones!! We all got to enjoy the fruits (and fishes) of their labor, and some yummy carrot cake for dessert! We ended the night with a family game, which we always love!

Dustin with one of his big catches!

They had to play around in the rain a little bit. :o)

August also meant it was time for school!
My nieces started the 6th and 3rd grades (what???) and my nephew started Kindergarten! So cute!
But, we also have a student in this house! Damion started college! I'm so incredibly proud of him!
We're a few weeks in, and he, of course, has an A average in all his classes so far. :o)
He's got some smarty-britches, that one. <3

What was your summer filled with? We'd love to hear from y'all!

Summertime Oils!

Another update for you!

We're still loving and playing with our essential oils. Damion and I have decided on a mix that we both like for his beard. (I know it's mostly up to him, but it's also nice when I think he smells good. ;o) In a couple of weeks, he will officially have his "yeard." This is definitely something I didn't know about until him. LOL! Anyway, here's the mix we use!

I also wanted to try something on my own to use for my skin.
Now that I'm 36, I should probably do a better job at keeping it healthy, huh?
Here's what I use!

We don't have summer travel plans right now, but a couple of my friends and I hosted an online class about how families can benefit from essential oils while they're on vacation. One of the tasks we gave ourselves was the think on what would be our "Top Five" if we HAD to be limited on what we could bring along on vacation with us! That's a lot harder than it sounds! Here were mine! 

We try to have an online class once a month! They're fun! 

I'm enjoying these oils so much! It's been really interesting to learn about them, and find new uses for them in our lives. I was happy to get the chance to meet a lady who's more local to me that hosted a launch party for the new Premium Starter Kit that Young Living updated in June! I brought along my Mother-In-Law and another friend so we could check it out together! The new kit is super great! I really like the changes they made!

Here's what you get!

11 bottles of oil (Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint, Frankincense, Copaiba, DiGize, PanAway, R.C., Purification, and Stress Away); 10 sample sachets to tuck in your bag or give away; 2 samples of NingXia Red; 10 small glass containers to share oils with friends (and usage cards to go with them!), a rollerball fitment and cap; plus your choice of a diffuser! There are four to pick from! 

The one shown is the one we have. All this tucked nicely into a really pretty box and display format.

There were so many oils that Damion and I wanted to try for different things to support our health when we were researching and learning about oils, so getting the premium kit made the most sense for the money. Buying all of this individually would have cost us double.

Three of those oils are new to the kit, and I think they're great upgrades!

New to the kit is Copaiba, DiGize, and R.C. 

We have those separately from the kit we purchased, 

and I think they're great additions to our oil collection!

Off to work on the next class we have coming up next week! Hope you'll join me!

Second Quarter Catch-Up!

And so! 2015 is half over now.. HALF OVER!
I'll catch you all up on our 2nd quarter of the year. :o)

After Damion's job ended, and we moved back to our home from Houston, it was time to celebrate our first anniversary! Married for a whole year! It's probably taken me this long for it not to feel weird about saying things like "husband" or "marriage." I was 34 when we got married, so it's definitely a new thing for me, after so many years of desiring this!

Our anniversary fell on Easter Sunday this year, and since the Conley family is working on having that be an annual time to get together for a crawfish boil, everyone agreed to have it a couple of days early so we would have that Sunday to ourselves. :o) So, on Good Friday, we all piled under Mawmaw Dianna's carport and the boys got busy with the boil. It's a fantastic Louisiana get-together food (you can get it at restaurants when they're in season, too, of course, but it's much more fun and cost effective to do it on your own). Here are some photos from our time together! (I started out the day doubled-over from a terrible migraine and even got out of the car and went straight to a guest bed to sleep some more; thankfully it was wearing off by the time the afternoon rolled around, but I sure did feel pretty miserable at the start of the day! So, forgive any glazed over looks you might see in my face if I make it into any of these photos. ;o))

Big cooler of cooked crawfish, Hubby's imitation, and a bowl of sides!

You can't forget the Tony's!

Damion's brother, Dustin, enjoying his fill!

Mawmaw got a big one!

My fabulous In-Loves. :)

Molinda and Teddy

Hubby and Dustin working hard in the Spring heat.

Funny girl, Elaina, enjoying her trike, weaving in and out of everyone.

This is all the Conley kiddos. :)

The next day, the day before our anniversary, Damion was helping me organize our laundry room. He called me in to ask me a question about something, I stepped down into the room... never seeing the small plastic trashcan that was near the edge of the step. :o( My left foot went down on the can and kept right on going on the tile floor... all while my right foot stayed up on the stair. By the time I hit the floor, my knee had turned in completely and twisted with a snap. Good gracious! I was of course already freaking out (this tends to happen when you take a fall and break your leg in seven places just a couple of years prior), but he was calm and helped me hurry to try and get settled and see what we were facing. It hurt like the DICKENS (why is that a catch phrase, anyone know?), but we got me up on my feet and back to the living room so I could lay on the couch. I have zero threshold for pain, and I tend to get a little bit emotional sometimes (a lot a bit), but I knew for sure something was wrong. And on the day before our anniversary! :o( We decided to wait and see if some rest, ice, and Aleve would do the trick before we made a decision about getting an x-ray. And once I was a little more settled, Damion took off to find me some crutches. I knew for sure I would need help standing/walking because of how bad it was hurting. Unfortunately for us, this meant that any plans we were trying to make for the rest of the weekend were out the window. We settled on some Chinese take out and a movie at home together... grand plans for another time, which is fine. In sickness and in health, right?

I struggled for about two weeks with it, but he was a great help to me. Damion is a servant-hearted man, and even though he just wanted me to be okay and get better, he was patient and worked hard to make sure I was always comfortable and had everything I need. Even the sweet ladies we usually sit near at church noticed his care for me, and commented about it. So precious. We had been through this before, of course, when he came to help care for me in 2012! Thankfully, whatever I had done to twist/pull my knee was healing up and I was able to start walking without the crutches. I carried them with me when I would go somewhere (especially if I was going alone!) because I was afraid something might happen, but eventually, things were good to go.

Later on in the month, Damion's grandmother offered to take me with her to a hair appointment at a Salon & Spa in Lake Charles. Super exciting! My hair was pretty much down to my waist, and with the summer approaching, I knew I wanted something drastic. I had a photo that I had saved from Pinterest, and away we went! The staff at Scarborough's was great! It's a beautiful salon, and all the services were top notch! My hair ended up being a little bit shorter than I anticipated, but it grows super fast, so it wasn't long before it was doing everything I wanted!

via

before!

 

 the after shots :) 

The end of the month meant it was time for another birthday in our family!
This time, my Father-In-Law, Teddy! We got together as a family a little bit after his birthday to eat some delicious Crawfish Etouffee, and a homemade cake I made. Fresh Strawberry with Homemade Whipped Cream! 

And then excitement in my family!
My cousin Roslyn had her sweet baby girl on May 12!
Welcome, Armita Mae!

7lb, 9oz, 20.5 inches

born 5/12 at 10:59 p.m.

She gave her mommy quite a time, but we're so glad she's here and healthy!

Memorial Day weekend came next, and we spent time with Damion's family. We love to play games together. Quelf is a big favorite of ours! Hilarious.. and pretty embarrassing at times! :) Ha! 

And FINALLY! It was time for me to make my way up to visit my newest, cutest, tiniest cousin!

She's my favorite tiny baby cousin. I'm pretty sure I'm her favorite, too!

And finally - June. JUNE! A big month for me... it has a lot of birthdays! If you know me at all, you know that birthdays are a big favorite thing of mine. :) We have 4 in the Conley family!

June 2 is the first one - this cutie dude!

(I forced him to take this photo lol)

His parents and brother brought us out for delicious seafood,

and then sent us home with some Key Lime Pie, one of his favorites.

June 4th is Aunt Michelle's, June 13th is mine, and June 14th is Mawmaw's.

For my birthday, Damion's parents took us out for super great Mexican food (so happy to have finally found a place here that I love! It's a favorite of mine!), and Damion bought me cupcakes from a bakery that we like. So, it was a delicious day for me. ;o)
We haven't gotten together as a family to celebrate the rest, but I'm quite sure there will be cake and MORE deliciousness! Michelle loves chocolate, and Mawmaw wants strawberry!
Sounds like a fun time in the kitchen for me!

And so, on the summer goes!