Things are a little slick around here!

As of Monday afternoon I had my first auto accident.  My high school vehicle was involved in a hit and run accident while it was parked, but this was my first real accident.
I decided to go to the salon to pick up my schedule book that afternoon because we were supposed to get ice and snow that night. I wanted to go for a couple of reasons... the first was to get my book so I could call my clients if the weather got bad. The second reason I wanted to go to the salon on my day off was to see the new wall color. Yes!!! We finally got rid of the blue paint! No more blue hole for me!!! (sorry side note)
So after I told Deric that I wasn't going to go anywhere I got out on semi slick roads.  I also thought I would take the dogs with me since they never go anywhere except to the vet. I do drive a 4 wheel drive SUV but of course not thinking, I didn't switch it over to 4 wheel. We were heading to the salon and I have to cross over the interstate, knowing the road conditions weren't the best I slowed down at the bridge. I started to fish tail in the middle of the bridge then some strong force from somewhere whipped me 180 degrees to the left and I slammed into the guard rail just passed the bridge. Poor Divot got slammed into the passenger side door then continued to fly forward and hit his little head on the dashboard. I felt like the worse dog mom.... but on the other hand.... little Birdie was sitting on my lap safe and sound. Good thing the airbags didn't deploy.
After the accident I notice that the back end of my truck was in the middle of the road and the passenger side was encased in the metal rail! I backed up from the rail and got out of the way from the oncoming fishtailing traffic.
I called Deric right away and come to his surprise he didn't even know I was out on the roads! He was such a big help.  He called the police for me because I just broke down in the middle of our conversation. All I remember telling him " I don't know what happened, don't have a pen and I have the dogs, Help me!" I didn't have to sit in the car for very long, but while I was sitting there a few people stopped to see if I was okay. This one guy's conversation with me stands out....
He pulls up beside me in a sporty BMW and ask me " Are you okay..... what happened?" So I tell him through tears that I spun around and hit the guard rail. He says " Oh man, do you think it is safe?" Now I just sat there for a minute thinking did he really just ask me that?! I really wanted to reply "Here's your sign!" "Do you think if I drive in the middle really slow that I will be okay? Man, I really hope I don't wreck!" Here I sat alone with two barking dogs, a smashed car and he wants my advice on crossing!
So when the officer got there we filled out paper work and I was back on the road.... did I mention I had to cross over the same bridge. No worries I didn't wreck again.... didn't even slide. Deric ended up coming home early do deal with the car and to come check on me. I did take a pretty hard hit to my knees and my lower back was really hurting. I am feeling much better now. As the night went on the weather got worse. It continued to sleet and ice all night. We have now been stuck in the house since Monday afternoon. I have never seen so much ice in my life. Our tree in the front yard is drooping to the ground. I think it will make it because it is still a young soft tree. Here are some pictures that I took throughout the day on Tuesday.

This does not really show how bad it really is


This is kind of pretty





took this morning.... we had freezing fog last night and today



this truck is parked right behind our drive so we can't get out without fear of hitting it!

New living room update!

Deric and I have been throwing around the idea that we wanted new living room furniture. We liked our furniture but really couldn't rearrange it or add anymore seating to the room. We also have a hide-a-bed in the long sofa and we no longer needed that since we have two extra bedrooms.  When we got back from Christmas my neighbors came to my rescue when Deric noticed that a mouse had chewed through the power cord on the fridge in the garage. While Ken was fixing the cord Marcia and I were taking down my tree in the living room and talking about how I was going to rearrange it. Come to find out Marcia LOVES our couches. The brand new sectional she just bought from J.C Penney really didn't fit her living room.  She says "Well, I love your couches and you were thinking of a sectional since you have to leave the layout in a L shape, so why not just trade furniture!" I stood there for a second thinking about what she had said, while at the same time remembering that my precious dog, Divot, got mad a couple of times while we were out and chewed at 2 cushions on that furniture that she LOVED.  Now I had to tell her about the cushions. Marcia had no problem with Divot's  work.
Now Marcia and Ken went to Florida on New Years Eve because Marcia had to have major back surgery at that Mayo Clinic. While they were gone I wanted to see if I liked the color of their sectional with our wall color and decor. So when we had our friends, Val and Spencer, over for dinner Val and I decided it would be a good idea to carry a piece of the couch across the street at almost 10:00 p.m.  After a few stops in the middle of the road to "get a better grip" we made it over to the front of our house. The guys were standing outside just watching us struggle while we were laughing so hard we about dropped the thing. My lovely husband says after I yelled for him to help " Well I just have socks on"!! Spencer on the other hand came running down the drive way with no shoes on to help us ladies! Thanks Spencer!! I was so scared the cops were going to show up at the door step that night because somebody had reported some girls walking down the road with stolen furniture.
  Anyway, this passed weekend got got everything changed around with the help of Ken's truck.... there was no way we were carrying all that furniture down the road, especially our big sofa! I think it looks great and am really loving it! We also went last night to Gordman's to buy new wall decor in the living room. But I would recommend that if you ever get the chance to trade furtinture do it!! It is a fun way to get a new look for your home!

Pictures of our trip

I didn't take time to post any pictures when I last blogged. So I decided to put them up now! Enjoy!

Jen and Blake


This isn't the best photo but I had to include it because Blake just makes me laugh!


Nate loves Iron Man.... He makes a pretty cute one if you ask me!

My best friend's little boy, Jaxson, with the toy I bought him for Christmas!
Stephanie Miller(Justin's wife) with her dog Zoey, they are so much fun!

Nate and Nikohl after the Christmas program at church.
Nikohl all dressed up as Mary for the program

Nate being himself.... a little "wise-guy" as Pastor said
Just thought this was cute..... Birdie you can tell really hates that outfit..... poor girl!

Happy New Year!

Finally!!! I have been such a lazy bone when it comes to this blog! I don't know why because I get online everyday! So a lot has happened since my last blog!
We have had both sides of the family down here! Deric's mom and older brother Jeff (his first visit to the house) were here right before Thanksgiving. They drove down for a long weekend. We didn't do anything too exciting but it was really nice to see family since we hadn't seen anyone since my sister's wedding in July!

Guess I will start this long blog with Thanksgiving.... I know that was forever ago... I mean it is ALREADY 2009!!! My parents came down to our house again this year. My sister Jen and Blake however didn't make it here this year. They are going to do every other year. I love having Thanksgiving here. It has become the new tradition for my family. Mom and I put up our huge tree that my grandparents gave us.  It is always a lot of fun to do that with my mom. We also got the rest of the house all decked out for Christmas that weekend.  I really don't know why I HAVE to get out all the Christmas decor I own. We aren't even here for Christmas! I think it just gets me in the holiday mood. It makes me want to get my Christmas shopping done! I wanted to get out on "Black Friday" and shop... my mom however didn't, which is fine.  Instead we both went to get hour-long massages. I wasn't really looking for anything I just "had to have" or wanted to get an amazing deal on anything. I was really in it for the people watching! I have always wanted to see some woman go crazy in a store so early in the morning then watch it again on the news that night! I know weird! So once again I didn't get to see some hillbilly woman dragged off to jail! Man! (Putting this on my 2009 list!)
So after Thanksgiving we had to get all the shopping done for Christmas. We have to be careful with our gift giving since we have to take it all in the car on our 12 hour trip to Indiana. I am a typical girl who packs 3 weeks of clothes for one week and 10 pairs of shoes. For just two people and two dogs we are always so loaded down! I think we might have to buy a over the head luggage thing for the top of the SUV for next year.

We had a great Christmas! Our travel time was filled with good weather until we got to Fort Wayne so that is always helpful. The dogs were great in the car... makes the trip so much better. Birdie our 7 pound guard dog would stand in the back on top of luggage and bark at cars/semis that she thought were too close for comfort! Divot on the other hand has to be right in the front making sure to get to Grandma's house in good time. He thinks he has to sit on my lap the whole time even when I am driving. Then he will fall asleep at the wheel, head on the steering wheel which is never a good situation. We got into Indiana Saturday night, we decided Sunday morning on our way to Church we were SO OVER the nasty cold weather. It was so cold and windy Sunday I couldn't get warm all day. But all that cold was made up for by all the love we get when we come home. Spending time with family and friends makes the long 12 hours worth it. It is so fun to see the kids and how much they have grown. I love to be around to hear all the crazy funny things that come out of there mouths! It makes you realize how much you miss out of in 6 months of not seeing them. I didn't get to spend that much time with my beloved Aimee this year.  The day I did get was great seeing her and little Jax! This year I didn't get to see my brother and his family at all. My poor sister-in-law got super sick that turned into rumatic fever! The whole family was cooped up in the house. She was so sick couldn't even get around on her own.
We headed back to Arkansas on Sunday. It is always nice to get back to a normal routine. It takes me a couple of days to get caught up. On Monday Deric and I realized our extra fridge out in the garage was not working.... come to find out we have a furry friend that decided to chew through the power cord all the way to the copper! So I called on to my wonderful Arkansas parents Ken and Marcia to come help! Ken saved our fridge and the food I just bought that morning! 

For New Years we went to the house of one of the girls I work with at the salon. She is also from Indiana... around Indy. She and her husband just got married in July. Becca is such a fun person. We have been doing a lot together. She is also a horse trainer and has 4 horses and a donkey! We hung out with Becca and Brian in the barn with the horses!  We played the famous northern game of Corn Hole in the barn and got beat by Becca and Brian. I probably was the worst.  Well I definitely was the worst player, which didn't help our game! But I pulled thru on boys vs. girls us girls almost won that game!!!  I mean, we only lost like 21-8.  
I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe new years!I wish the best to come for all this year!!!

-amanda

I Am A Nerd

Okay, so I am really bad about posting things on this blog. I think in the past year I made 3 blog posts. I guess I don't feel that my life is interesting enough to justify writing about it. I do really like to watch movies, and often times have feelings that I would like to put down in writing. I suppose I will allow you to read them if you would want. I didn't think it would really fit to include those type of posts on this blog. Therefore, I started another blog from whence I could pretend that I am a film critic. It probably won't be limited to posts about movies, but that will be the main subject matter. I guess winter is here and I need something to occupy my time while I am stuck inside. Hop on over to www.movieswithderic.blogspot.com and check it out sometime.

-deric

Been way too long

So most of you know I am now working at a new salon. After my Cancun trip I got all fired up about moving salons and getting out of a corporation. I didn't have to look too far.. actually I didn't even leave the house to find my new salon. Randy, the manager of T. Michaels Salon called me one morning and asked if I would be interested in visiting the salon and checking things out. Long story short, I loved it and I am so glad that I decided to move. Most of my clients have followed me to the new place. T. Michaels isn't far at all from JCP. In fact it is closer for a lot of my clients.
The stylists that I work with are so much fun. We all get along really well, which is very unusual. Most of the time there is ALWAYS drama at a hair salon. I have been there 2 months now and everything is going well. I could be busier, but so far I am doing quite well for moving to a new place. Here are some pictures of the new salon and my station. Also I posted pics of the flowers that my mom and mother-in-law sent me on my first day! Told ya ladies they were pretty!!! Thanks again!












Also I thought I would add in some pictures of the Halloween Party one of the girls at the salon throws every year! It was a lot of fun! Deric was Bobby Jones... and I was a Stepford Wife. My nickname at the salon is stepford so I had to go with it. How did I get this name you ask??? ONE time, I mean ONE time on my lunch break I went home and forgot my schedule book. I needed to see when my next appointment was so I called in to check. Come to find out I had a couple of hours between clients, so I told Randy I was going to take all time because I wanted to make apple crisp! When I got back to the salon I was Stepford. I take having a nickname as a high complement, because it means I have been accepted into the T. Michaels family!

My Cancun trip

So yea... I have been really bad about not posting anything about Cancun. So most of you know I won the trip to Cancun thru JCP. Around Christmas time last year we had a contest and then 2 stylist in the region won a all inclusive trip to the Farouk Conference. This is the company who makes the Chi products and flat irons... AKA my hair heroes!
So I went to Cancun all by myself. Never even been out of the country and now I was going by myself. I don't think Deric was very happy with this idea, but it was a one time chance... I had to go. I was all about it until I got in the car to go to Tulsa Airport and then I was getting scared. I got even more scared when I got myself lost on the way to the airport! I had no idea where I was going in the first place. So right then and there I vowed to myself I was NOT leaving the resort, that is all I needed was to get lost in Mexico! I made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare and it was safe flying all the way to Mexico. We all got to Moon Palace Resort about 7:00 that night. We check in and then had to wait forever to get on a bus to take us to the other side of the resort... yea it was super big. While I was standing out in the freaking humanity filled air for almost 2 hours I met some really nice ladies from Mississippi. They took me in! I was so glad... I had no idea who anyone was there. So I hung out with them the whole weekend.
So the conference was really neat. The first thing in the morning Farouk always had a mini hair show, which was provided by different countries.But noon we left the conference and put ourselves at the pool! I couldn't sit in a dark room with 5,000 people knowing there was a awesome pool and beautiful ocean and I needed to see. If I was in Cancun for free I was going to take full advantage of it! We had lunch pool side and dinner ocean side one day. The service was unbelievable the employees treated woman like queens every day. I was weird when I would go to sit at the table for a meal and the chair was pulled out for me and my napkin was placed on my lap!
For most of the conference we sat at the pools and walked the seashore. We all got pretty good at just sitting around and people brought us what we wanted! Brenda and I painted by the pool, I painted a tea light candle holder... I was very impressed with my abilities...much better than I remember!
The last night we were there was the formal night. I wore the dress from my sister's wedding. It worked out perfect. We had a beautiful dinner and then there was awards for the educators for Farouk Systems. We were all sad to see each other go. I didn't want to leave my new friends that night! But I needed to get to bed because I had to get up at 4 the next morning to get to the airport.
So I got off with a okay start the morning.... until I got Tulsa. Once again I get myself lost. I never get lost... I hate not knowing where I am going and I feel as if I have a good sense of direction. But I fooled myself. I got so lost, I was lost over 60 miles before I even knew I was lost! I pulled over after about 2 hours to get some gas. As I looked around nothing looked familiar, the huge McDonald's bridge going over the interstate gave me the idea that I was very lost. As I pumped my gas I started to get really freaked out. A sign of God showed up.... a state trooper! I asked him as soon as he got out of his car
"Um, Sir.... I think I am lost. Where is highway 412?" He says with a slight laugh " About 60 plus miles back. Sounds like you need some help."
So I get in his car and look at the Google map to find my way home. Now let me tell you... it should only take 1 hour 45 minutes to get to Tulsa. Now my plane landed in Tulsa at 1:15 I got out to my car about 1:30. I didn't get home until 6:00. Yea 6:00!I was so worried I wasn't going to make it home ever. But on the plus side, I got to see the town Carrie Underwood grew up! But very disappointed that she wasn't standing on the street somewhere looking for me. Let me tell you I was so happy to our house. I have never so happy to be home.



My room


Brenda and I first picture at the pool!


Dancing with them after dinner.