at home with the Causeys

Blog Has Moved...

2010-11-04T16:11:00.002-05:00

For our faithful followers (shout out to my mom, basically LOL)... we have recently moved our blog. Check it out by going here

http://amandacausey.com/familyblog/

And be sure to update your bookmarks/RSS feeds!

33 weeks...

2010-11-03T14:54:00.007-05:00

Isn't she gorgeous?!?!?

OMG I'm so in love with this little girl and I haven't even met her yet. Getting this 3D/4D Ultrasound was probably a big mistake in hindsight because now I can't stop thinking about her chunky cheeks and full lips. What color hair will she have? What about her eyes? It's so hard not to get caught up in comparisons! Once everyone saw her cheeks they just assumed "oh she has Hunter all over her"... but actually, I had pretty chunky cheeks myself when I was a baby!

And then I get to thinking just how lucky we are. It only took 2 months for us to get pregnant, which is a blessing. I haven't had any complications or problems so far. Tenley has 10 fingers, 10 toes, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, heart, brain, etc etc. She's just so perfect!

I'm currently addicted to the show 16 and Pregnant and, gosh, I feel so bad for those young girls! It really makes me realize how blessed I am. I have a wonderful husband. I don't have to doubt for one second that he will be with me every step of the way raising our little girl. And before I forget... praise the Lord because Hunter finally got switched to a day shift!!!! Now we don't have to spend four nights out of the week away from one another!

If I'm anything like my sisters (out of 3 nieces/nephews they ALL came 3 weeks early)... then Miss Tenley could be making her arrival in 4 weeks! Gosh, that's crazy! Even still, 7 weeks is pretty darn close!

This weekend we are having my friend Kaylynn take some maternity portraits for us. She's an awesome photographer (I mean, if I'm ever booked and can't do your photoshoot for you hahaha)! I can't wait to post some pictures!!!!

31 weeks and... tired....

2010-10-20T14:50:00.013-05:00

I didn't know it was possible to be this tired all the time! My life is way too busy right now for taking naps. I guess it's good practice for what is, literally, right around the corner.

It's crazy to think that in 6-8 weeks we'll be having a baby! Holy cow! This whole pregnancy has completely flown by and I really don't have any complaints. I've had a great pregnancy. No scares, no sickness... just a little tired, back pains, and 2 days of round ligament pains.

Speaking of round ligament pains... when we went to the doctor for our 30 week checkup Hunter just had to mention the fact that I was still playing pickleball. Of course, my doc had no idea what that was, but once he mentioned "It's sort of like tennis" she said I needed to stop playing. I just about curled up into a ball and cried LOL! So, if I gain another 20 pounds in the last few weeks of pregnancy, it's all his fault hahaha!

My wonderful friends (and family) threw a baby shower for me two weekends ago. Everything turned out so great. We got TONS of goodies for Tenley and I can't wait to be able to use everything. For those of you that are on facebook, you can check out photos from the shower by going here. I must give a shout out to Abby Devall for taking these photos! I also have to give a shout out to Lauren Kattan for doing my makeup. She is awesome!!!

The nursery is finally complete! It's such a relief to have everything done. Even down to the car seat being installed in my car and diaper bag packed! Only one more thing on my to-do list, and that is to pack our hospital bag. You can never be overprepared ;)

24 weeks...

2010-09-01T14:28:00.006-05:00

And she's still a she haha! I'm probably going to post that after every ultrasound ;) I have officially gained 12 pounds! That is so crazy! I think the only place I have really put on weight is my belly... and I wouldn't have guessed 12 pounds!

Tenley currently weighs 1 pound 8 ounces! She's grown nearly a pound in 4 weeks. Hard to imagine in 10+ weeks she'll be around 6-7 pounds! Everything measured normal/perfect in the ultrasound and mommy is "perfect" also... who would have second guessed that haha! She was still face down for the ultrasound so they were unable to get a picture of the nose bone. But we have no worries because there is really nothing to worry about! She's just being stubborn like her parents ;)

Not a whole lot going on other than that. We officially own a stroller! And let me tell you, putting those things together is not an easy task! It was so rough that Hunter spent the rest of the evening puking over the toilet! Ok, he swears it was something he ate... but I think it was his nerves because putting together the stroller is making this whole baby thing more real ;)

We are still addicted to pickleball and I have been playing 2-3 times a week. I sure hope I can continue to do so until she makes her arrival! It's such great exercise and soooo much fun!

Well, that's about all for now!

23 weeks...

2010-08-23T08:21:00.006-05:00

And we think Tenley is destined to be a soccer player! We were finally able to feel her move, without any doubts, and it's so cool! Apparently she's a little more of a morning person than I am, but maybe that will help me wake up earlier hehe. She also likes tv time in the evening with daddy, and best of all, she loves church!

We have our 24 week checkup next week and I'm excited about that. We get to have another ultrasound (long story short, they weren't able to get a good picture of her nose bone last time because she was covering it with her hands, so they want to get a look at it to make sure everything is a-ok). At my last visit I had only gained 6 pounds. I think I've gained a few more since then but nothing major.

I've been increasingly tired over the past couple of weeks. I think it's because we've been playing pickleball like crazy. Last week we played 3 days! It's really great exercise, and I find myself sleeping so much better at night. But I'm still so gosh darn tired in the mornings! I guess it's God's way of preparing me for what's to come in a couple of months ;)

This week/end we were finally able to finish a few projects in the nursery. My mom came over and helped me stain & polyurethane my dad's old pine chest of drawers. We stained it to match the changing table and it turned out really good! We also hung our custom artwork above it and arranged all of the main furniture pieces. Everything is really starting to come together. Now I'm just waiting on the custom crib bedding to come in. Hopefully within the next month!

Picture time!

21 weeks!

2010-08-09T08:52:00.007-05:00

And she's still a girl! I kept having this feeling that, after all the clothes purchased and girly room customizations... that we'd go to our 20 week ultrasound and find out Tenley was a boy! Sooo glad that wasn't the case! For someone that wanted a boy so badly... I'm really really excited about my girl!

Our super awesome ultrasonographer was nice enough to throw in a few 3D images as well. These are super scary to me! I swear Tenley looks like she has basset hound ears!

Tenley was just like her mom during her ultrasound... she just couldn't stay still! I haven't been feeling her move yet (or I just haven't realized it)... so I was a bit worried that she just wasn't moving. Boy I was wrong! She completely turned over during her scan, kicked like crazy, and couldn't keep her hands out of her face!

This weekend Natasha and I made the dreaded drive up to Shreveport to visit Theresa, Lyle, and Ethan. We had such a good time. Ethan was truly a pleasure! Made me sooooo much more anxious for Tenley's arrival lol! We did way too much shopping, and eating... but what else is there to do in Shreve LOL?

Oh and I almost forgot to mention our craft project! I found this super cool canvas/scrapbook paper DIY tutorial so the three of us decided that we could make one too. I'm not 100% finished with it yet, but here's a pic of us painting the canvas!

Hunter and I are still working on painting the bookcase we built, as well as sanding and staining a dresser. I'm beyond ready to finish those two projects and move on ;)

Impatiently awaiting December 19th...

20 weeks... half way there!!!

2010-08-02T09:30:00.014-05:00

Time seems to be flying by. This is probably a good thing... but I bet that just means August, September, October, and November are going to go buy really really slowly. We just can't wait to meet our little girl!

I've been feeling fine. I really have no complaints at all. Ok... maybe a few. My back is killing me. I'm back in therapy for the same muscle/ligament inflamation along my spine that I was in therapy for last year. It really stinks because we haven't been able to figure out a way for me to stretch this muscle. It's just in a hard spot, attached to my rods and spine. And of course this bump on my stomach doesn't make it any easier!

I joined the YMCA two weeks ago and I've been going to a water aerobics class once or twice a week. I really love it! Who cares that I'm the youngest person by... 20 years... there hahaha! Hunter and I also recently started playing pickleball. What is that, you might be wondering? It's only the most fun game ever invented! http://www.pickleball.com. We currently play every Monday night at Lovett Road park in Central. You should come check it out! They also play on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Plank Road Park in Zachary.

This weekend we were able to get a lot of work done in the nursery. Hunter's mom and I went shopping for a glider/ottoman. We found one at Cullen's that didn't break the pocketbook. Actually, it didn't break ours at all because it was their gift to us ;) Awesome! After that I went to a baby shower for a friend. She is having a boy in September. Can't wait to meet him! Everything about the shower was really nice and it gave me a bunch of ideas for Tenley's hehe!

Saturday we spent the evening hanging out with the Chapmans and Stephensons. I got to feed and help bathe "little" Ethan. He just made 5 months and is already over 20 pounds. He's a moose! But a cute moose ;)

Sunday we spent most of the day on the nursery. We went to Home Depot to find all of the materials needed to make a 6 cube bookshelf for the nursery. I got the plans from Knock-Off Wood. You can thank me for that link later. That site is just awesome! We were hoping to go the paint-grade, MDF route... but the MDF at Home Depot was pre-primed and turned out to be more expensive than pine. So, all in all, we spend around $90 in materials. A little more then what I envisioned, but still beat the $249 price tag on the original.

While Hunter got started on the bookcase, Theresa, Robin, and I got started on rearranging furniture and hanging Tenley's decal. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy! Once we finally figured out the "trick" to peeling off the background paper, we were on a roll. I really love how it turned out!

And here is the hired help ;)

What you can't exactly see in the pictures is a small tear, and a bunch of paint peeled off the wall LOL! Stupid tape....

After that I helped Hunter figure out the instructions for the bookshelf and we were on a roll! I am so excited with how it turned out. It was our first time building anything. I think I may be addicted now!

We have our 20 week ultrasound and check up on Wednesday. I sure hope she's still a girl LOL! This weekend I'm driving up to Shreveport with a friend to visit the Stephensons. Seems like we just can't get enough of one another haha. Then 2 weeks after that Hunter and I are making a trip to Olive Branch, MS to visit the Greens. I can't wait!!!

Wives, submit to your husbands.... WHAT?!?!

2010-07-20T10:39:00.005-05:00

How many of you have ever heard the verse from Ephesians 5, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord” and just wanted to cringe at that thought? It’s 2010, and women are so much more independent and free-thinking then they use to be, myself included. And you expect me, Mrs. Independent, to submit to a man?

We talked about this verse in church this past Sunday and Josh did an excellent job with such a touchy subject. It reminded me of a blog I read a long time ago. You see the trouble really does start with that silly heading that someone put in the bible, and so we immediately jump to verse 22 and think, BOOOO! But the passage actually starts with verse 21. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Bam! Ok, so we both actually have to submit to one another and my husband is not above me ;)

Now let’s look at that whole little passage at once and really take it in:

21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is
the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he
is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should
submit to their husbands in everything.

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water
through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without
stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same
way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his
wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds
and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his
body. 31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to
his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32This is a profound mystery—but I
am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must
love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

I like how Paul gives examples on how to submit to one another. Basically he says, “wives, here is what submission to your husband means in your life” and then “husbands, this is what submission to your wife looks like for you.” And I honestly think the husbands have it a little more tough then we do. Love your wife the same way Christ loves the church. Lay down your life for her. So husbands truly have THE example to look towards. Christ alone. And we all know how incredibly hard it is to imitate Christ in our lives.

So, wives, what exactly does submitting to your husband look like today? It’s really simple. Put him first. Honor and respect him. Encourage him. Lift him up. Stop complaining!!! Even when he’s being an a$$. Seriously! Even when he does not deserve it! What?!?! In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives (1 Peter 3:1). Just think about it. Christ not only submitted to the Father, but he also submitted to wicked and sinful men. He suffered for us! He did not return evil for evil.

And really, the same goes for the husband. What does laying down your life mean? It means putting your wife first. If we would always look at life and marriage this way… just think of how many fights we wouldn’t have.

Why do so many Christians, myself included, refuse to take Paul’s words here seriously? He is not being a chauvinist pig. His teaching is not a reflection of his culture. His teaching is timeless.
Just as Christ is the head of the church, because he has brought it into existence, Adam was the head of his wife, Eve, because she came forth from him and was created for his benefit (1 Corinthians 11:8-9 and Collossians 1:16-18).

So, what are your thoughts on this subject? I’d love to hear your input!

Recipes galore!

2010-07-13T12:53:00.007-05:00

It's been quite some time since I've posted anything cooking-related! When Hunter was working the evening shift I never really had a need to cook. Who wants to cook for a party of one? Well, now that he's on night shift I get to cook a little more often.

Last night I baked pork chops with a new recipe and they turned out great. Well, actually, they were a little on the dry side but that because I got carried away and let them cook longer then needed lol! I cooked 6 pork chops and I think next time I will double the marinade. You could also use this marinade with chicken.

Marinated Baked Pork Chops

Ingredients
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
6 pork chops, trimmed

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.In a small bowl, thoroughly blend soy sauce, vegetable oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and ketchup.
3.Place pork chops in a medium baking dish, and spread with 1/2 the sauce.
4.Bake pork chops 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Turn, and spread with remaining sauce. Continue baking 30 minutes, or until internal temperature of the chops has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

The best part was that it was fairly healthy. At least I didn't fry them, right?

Amount Per Serving Calories: 241 Total Fat: 12.4g
Cholesterol: 76mg
Next up are a few dip recipes. I had the Melted Artichoke and Brie recipe at a birthday party recently. It was delish. My cousin made it and said that sometimes she adds crab meat to it.

Melted Artichoke and Brie Dip

MAKES 3 cups dip
PREP TIME: 10 Minute(s)
COOK TIME: 30 Minute(s)

INGREDIENTS
1 package Knorr® Spring Vegetable recipe mix
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
1 container (8 oz.) sour cream
8 ounces Brie cheese, rind removed and cut into chunks

PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all ingredients in a 1-quart casserole and bake for 30 minutes or until hot. Serve with sliced French bread or water crackers at parties or whenever you feel like celebrating.

Finally, here's the recipe for Paula Deen's Hot Crab Dip. I made this on Sunday for a family get together and it was all gone within a few minutes! I used regular lump crab meat instead of jumbo because it was cheaper. You could also use claw meat as long as you don't mind the brown coloring.

Hot Crab Dip

Ingredients
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, free of shells
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup green onions, minced, optional
5 to 6 roasted garlic cloves or 2 cloves minced
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine all of the ingredients in a casserole and gently stir until thoroughly mixed. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot with crackers or toast points.

That's all for now!

can't wait...

2010-07-12T10:01:00.002-05:00

To sing this song to my baby girl. I can't tell you how many times I skipped this song when listening to Matthew West's CD.... and now I'm so in love with it!

Matthew West - Safe and Sound

Can’t believe you’re here now
Tiny dream come true
The answer to a prayer now
I’m so in love with you
Couldn’t wait to meet you
Hope you like your name
I get the funny feeling
Life will never be the same

Safe and sound
You’re here with me now
Like I hoped you’d be
Safe and sound
You’re here with me now
And that’s all I’ll ever need

The world’s a scary place here
But baby it’s alright
I’ll make sure the coast is clear
So you can just sleep tight
But if you’re afraid of monsters
Like everybody is
I’ll be right beside you
Closer than a kiss

Safe and sound
I’m here with you now
And you will always be
Safe and sound
I’m here with you now
And that’s all you’ll ever need

Someday I’m gonna teach you
The reason why we pray
So that heaven’s love may reach you
Every single day
So, baby close your eyes now
And say a prayer with me
Lord, I lay me down to sleep now
But I know I will be

Safe and sound
You’re here with us now
And we will always be
Safe and sound You’re here with us now
And that’s all we’ll ever, all we’ll ever need
You’re all we’ll ever need

17 weeks and.....

2010-07-09T09:02:00.020-05:00

Can you believe it? After all of that talk of "I want a boy" and it's a girl!?!?! Boy how God can change your mind real quick ;) We are exstatic and can't wait for Tenley Marie's arrival!

I've had to gender determination ultrasounds so far at Sneak a Peak. One at 14.5 weeks and one at 16 weeks. Girl all the way!

We went for our 16 week checkup this week and got to hear the heart beat. Everything sounded great. I have finally gained some weight! 2.5 pounds to be exact! And I have also noticed my belly growing a lot more this week. Maybe I should start taking some baby bump pictures? We'll see...

So we know it's a girl, have her name picked out, and started a registry at Babies R Us. Now the next important thing is NURSERY! I've been on a mad hunt for fabric to make custom crib bedding! I found this super great etsy shop and the owner, Jonna, is fantastic to work with! Basically, I am stuck between 4 bedding mockups and I NEED your help!

I know it's hard to get an idea of what it will look like based on the mockups.... so I was actually able to find an example of A on etsy!

VOTE VOTE VOTE PUHHHHLEEEEASSSEEEEEE!!!

13 weeks!

2010-06-16T10:04:00.015-05:00

We had our checkup last Friday and everything sounded great! So much fun to hear that little heart beat! Our next visit is July 7th, but we find out (hopefully) what we're having on August 4th! CAN'T WAIT!!!

We had a jam packed weekend and I enjoyed every second of it. My niece came over on Friday to stay the night. She lost a tooth, so the tooth fairy made it's first visit to our house! I told her that I was surprised the tooth fairy could find our house since Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny have yet to visit... First we decided to go pick some blueberries at my sister's house. Hot but fun times! We picked over 2 grocery bags full, and didn't even touch 3/4 of the bush!

We met up with Hunter, who was working, at PF Changs for dinner. I was not excited to find out it was over an hour wait... in the heat. We ended up sitting on the patio which I will never do... in the heat... again! But the food sure was good!

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to go swimming! Grace had such a good time... and so did we! I can't wait for our little one to be #1 born and #2 old enough to take swimming....

After swimming we headed over to my nephew's 3rd birthday party!

Check out my new nephew, Noah...

I have lots more photos and videos from the party... but no time to post.... here's the last one of the birthday boy and his chippendale gear...

12 weeks!

2010-06-08T10:23:00.004-05:00

We're almost out of the first trimester! Our second checkup is on Friday and we can't wait... although I wish we could have an ultrasound every visit! It's hard to imagine there is a baby the size of a lime inside of me! It's crazy to think that just 8 weeks ago it was the size of a sesame seed!

We took the baby for his/her 2nd fishing trip over the weekend. I thought that maybe it would bring us better luck... but nope, we still don't catch very many fish together lol!

I still have plenty of room to grow in my new maternity swimsuit!

Two days fishing and this was all we came home with :(

My belly has definitely gotten bigger over the past few days. No more buttoning up jeans for me! Thank heavens for the tummy tube! Hopefully (thanks to my dear friend Amber) I'll be wearing some maternity clothes soon! I'm kind of tired of the jeans & polo look that I've been rocking for the past 6 weeks hahaha!

Not much else going on on the homestead. Oh... we did have this crazy carpenter ant infestation in our attic. Luckily the exterminator was able to take care of that. Now we just have a bunch of dead carpenter ants all over the place! The rainy weather has been killing any plans of doing yard work. I was able to mow part of the front yard yesterday for the first time in months... until the rain kicked in and I had to stop :(

This weekend is my nephew's 3rd birthday party. I can't believe my little man is turning 3 already! It's crazy how time flies!

Well... that's about all for now. Maybe one of these days I will bore you with belly pics ;)

10 weeks!

2010-05-24T12:58:00.008-05:00

Seems like it's flying by already! We took baby Causey fishing for the first time on Saturday. Unfortunatlely he/she didn't bring us much luck haha! We only came home with 5 bream! We caught around 15 though. It was a fun trip out to Lake Concordia. We couldn't have asked for a prettier day... although it definitely could have been cooler!

10 week belly:

Sexy p.o.l.i.c.e. man:

Sunday I was bound and determined to get the crib assembled. Hunter was bound and determined to get the lights working on his dad's boat. I decided not to wait on him and started assembling the crib by myself. I was only able to get the sides on before I needed an extra set of hands. I was really surprised at how easy it was to assemble. Except the fact that you had to use an allen wrench...

Here's a really blurry picture of the dresser:

The room is pretty bare. All we have is a crib, 3 drawer dresser/changing table and 5 drawer dresser. We are hoping to get a glider to put in the corner. I could nap in one of those all day long!

We are going to keep the wall paint the color it is. I'm just not one of those people that wants to paint a room pink or blue.

Well, that's about it for now!

crib.... check.... dresser.... check....

2010-05-17T09:47:00.004-05:00

That didn't take long. Two visits to Cullen's Babyland with my mom over the weekend and I came home with a crib and dresser/changing table! Don't worry, EVERYTHING was on sale ;)

Here's the crib, except ours is rubbed white:

This is the dresser... except ours is 3 drawers and a warmer Paprika color:

We also went to World Market and they just so happened to have the paper lanterns in off white and orange! They were all too big though, so I decided not to take the plunge just yet!

I've already started to nest whenever I can find spurts of energy! We sold our weight bench & weights over the weekend, which made room for the crib (still uninstalled). Now I have to tackle the nursery closet and remove all of Hunter's hunting/fishing gear. Our "big" house is starting to get very small hehe.

first look...

2010-05-12T15:24:00.011-05:00

We got to see baby Causey for the first time today! The photo below doesn't do it any justice. Seeing (and hearing) the heartbeat was awesome!

We are still on schedule for a 12/19 delivery... though if I'm anything like my sisters I'm predicting baby Causey will arrive 3 weeks early!

I can't help but to start planning out the nursery. I know we still have a good 12 weeks before we know what we're having (yes, we are definitely going to find out!)... but we can hope for a boy, right?

That reminds me of a great song called Pregnant Women are Smug...

Have we picked out names? OF COURSE. Am I going to share them with you? SURE. Do I want to hear anyone's input about them? HECK NO!

Boy name:

I just love that name! And I LOVE the framed letters from Land of Nod. $28 a piece is waaaay to much but I have a feeling that I have a friend who can make something similar (HINT HINT).

Girl names (do we have to?):
Tenley, Olivia...

I've totally picked out the decor for the nursery. Modern & antique...

You can read all about this room here. I'm already on a mission to find a similar changing table at one of the antique stores!

I also love the crib. IKEA baby!

It's super simple, and easy on our pocket book. My main goal with this baby is not to go overboard and spend a bunch of money on stuff that we could borrow!

I don't know what I'm going to do with the bedding just yet but I want to use soft colors and TEXTURE.

new kid in town...

2010-04-28T11:09:00.006-05:00

If you haven't already heard the news... we're having a baby!!! Baby Causey is due on Decemeber 19th! We found out on April 10th and tried to keep things on the down low until Mother's Day. After a week and a half, we just couldn't take it anymore so we had to tell our family and friends! I don't see how people can wait until their 2nd trimester to start spreading the news!

I came up with this bright idea to decorate cupcakes with pink and blue icing... and write "12" "19" "10" on the cupcakes. We were going to have both of our parents over for a steak dinner... in appreciation of them helping us to yard work recently. Well, those plans got cancelled whenever my sister had to have an emergency C-section!

Noah Braden Jewell, born 4/19/10, 6 lbs 10 oz, 19 3/4 in long:

We tried to reschedule for the following night, but my parents couldn't make it. The steaks had already been marinating for 2 days so we had to cook them that night. We decided to meet my mom & sisters at the hospital, and surprise them with the cupcakes (which Hunter so wonderfully decorated while I was at work). Notice that a few cupcakes are missing because they were so darn good HAHA!

I was able to capture some video of us telling my mom....

Isn't that priceless? I was really starting to wonder if she'd ever figure it out LOL! We didn't stay at the hospital for very long because we still had to cook steaks for Hunter's mom, dad, and sister. We decided to show them some pictures of Noah... and at the very end we played the video above. They kept looking at us and asking "are you pregnant?" Finally we told them "YES!!!" and brought out the cupcakes! My parents came by a little later so that we could tell my dad. We showed him the video too! It was great!

I've been feeling fine, thankfully. I'm just extra tired and hungry every day! No morning sickness so far, so thank the Lord for that! We go to the doctor on May 12th and can't wait to see the ultrasound of our little one!

progress!

2010-04-19T13:30:00.011-05:00

So we are making serious progress in the yard! We spent most of last week and weekend getting the yard ready for GRASS! That's right... as of tomorrow, we should finally have some sod at our house. Not enough for the full 2 acres, but hopefully enough for around the house! We decided to go with centipede over St. Augustine. Mainly because it was a LOT cheaper!

Remember my last post about the DIY compost tumbler? Well, me, Hunter, and my dad made one! And it works!!!

This past weekend we went a little crazy with flower beds! Thanks to our parents for helping us get everything planted. I'm just loving the colors!

Coleus plants lined up around the dining room window and new brick walkway.

Loropetalum and Double Knock-Out roses

Rhapsody in Pink Crape Myrtle surrounded by coleus

My beautiful gerbera daisies and the little devil that has already torn one to pieces...

Bama modeling behind our gerbera daisies, persian shields, dwarf gardenia, and sweet olive tree

Can you tell how excited I am about this? Seriously, ever 5 seconds I tell Hunter "we're getting grass in XX days!"

Composting...

2010-04-07T09:13:00.004-05:00

I'm one of those people that once something enters my mind... I can't stop thinking about it until it's done. I'm like that with camera stuff, cars, dogs, etc. Recently, the idea of composting came to mind. I want to create an organic vegetable garden, and what better way then by using our own waste to create fertile soil!

Of course, if you know me well... if I'm going to do something, I'm going to go all out with it. So I decided to go ahead and make my own compost tumbler instead of spending $300 on one of those fancy ones. I found this DIY tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfi-bSs6EQ0. I've already secured three... yes THREE... 55 gallon barrels to store the compost. We've got lots of leftover treated decking board to use for the frame. So now all I need is the galvanized pipe, pvc stuff, etc to get started.

And I couldn't stop just there. I was thinking it would be fun to create 3 different kinds of compost tumblers/bins and see which one works the best :) My 2nd attempt will be this one http://www.instructables.com/id/Compost-Tumbler. I'm not sure what I'll do with the 3rd one just yet haha!

The LSU AgCenter has a lot of great materials available on their website for composting. I highly recommend reading a few articles before taking the plunge!

Well, stay tuned for pictures and video footage of my DIY compost tumblers!

i heart dirt...

2010-04-05T10:36:00.013-05:00

NOT! We had 4 loads of riversilt and one load of clay delivered to our house recently. We used the clay to fill in some areas around the driveway/culvert, and we are in the process of using the riversilt to level out everything in the front yard.

I think his tractor's sexy...

Walk like an egyptian...

Riverslit spread around the carport and front of the house...

Clay around driveway/culvert...

Eventually, we hope to plant some sod! I haven't decided what kind of grass I want. I LOVE St. Augustine... but it's also one of the pricier sods.

It is widely adapted to the humid Deep South. It is so popular because its stoloniferous growth is thick and tolerates a wide range of soil and environmental conditions as well as retaining some winter color better than any other warm-season grass

Another turfgrass option is Centipede.

It is called the “lazy man’s grass” because it thrives with less care and usually requires less mowing than many other grasses.

Did I mention how much I love working for the AgCenter because I can just walk right over to horticulturist and he has the answers to all my questions?

I have a few DIY projects that are next on my list of things to do when I'm not swamped with photography stuff....

First up is a picnic table! We had a good bit of treated decking boards left over from the front porch, so I am going to use those to make a rather large picnic table. I can't wait!

DIY Reclaimed Wood Headboard: Don't tell Hunter, but I think I've axed the plans for my DIY old panel door converted to headboard and opted for this instead. GORGEOUS!

Clip Art Rails for the studio. How freaking cute is that?

Check back soon for {hopefully} progress on all the yard work!

color my career (because jenny did it)....

2010-03-05T15:25:00.005-06:00

I had to try this after seeing dear jenny post it on her blog.

This thing is amazingly pretty accurate. Is it pathetic that I've always thought I'd be a great secretary? No offense... but who really wants to admit that's their dream job lol!

Items highlighted in yellow are totally me! Items in blue are things I've thought about pursuing at some point in my life...

let the yard work begin!

2010-02-18T10:04:00.003-06:00

Just when we thought the "hard part" of yard work was over... it looks like we were wrong! You'd think clearing out 2 acres of trees & brush would be hard... but when you hire someone that has a bulldozer it's not too bad. Then getting all the gumball mud out and replaced with hard clay.... not too bad either (well, it was bad on our pocketbook but that's about it). Now comes the really hard part. Filling in all the holes that soak up water. Clearing out all the brush/dead trees along the road... grass... and hopefully when all that is done we'll have time & money left to plant stuff. We both want lots of fruit trees (think lemons, satsumas, peaches, blueberries, etc). Eventually we'd love to have a vegetable garden with tomatoes, okra, green beans, broccoli, etc. My paw-paw is really good at this, plus I work for the AgCenter and all.. so hopefully we won't kill everything we try to plant :)

Well here are some before & after pics of how far our property has come since I first bought it!

Hunter mowing the "grass" for the deer food plot (aka waste of a day):

He thinks my tractor's sexy (ok, it's my brother-in-law's but I look better driving it ha)

There's a hole at the bottom of the sea.... actually there's a whole lot of gumball mud and a hole that was filled with really old glass bottles, etc....

One of the many large piles of trees we burned (sorry mother nature)...

Snow doesn't stick to a muddy yard... But at least we have pretty green rye grass in some spots!

Sexy sexy! Hunter posing with his chainsaw in front of the brush we are about to tackle:

BEFORE

AFTER

More stuff for us to burn....

Still sporting my HS letterman...

Check back soon for more updates. Hopefully it will warm up and the rain will hold off for a week or so and we can get the tractor out there to "do work!"

what's been going on...

2010-01-20T11:18:00.005-06:00

A lot has been going on so far in 2010. I've been taking a big-time break from the photography business... but now I'm slowly catching up on all my editing. It's been a really nice break! Some friends and I hosted a baby shower for another friend (see cake baking disaster post below). We had the shower at my house, and it was so cool to see so many people in it. It works great for parties! We had a good turn out for the shower. Only a few minor issues with the fact that we have a long, skinny driveway and if one person needed to leave, everyone behind them had to back out onto the highway. Note to self.... we need to create a turnaround point in the yard...

Speaking of cake baking disaster. Our second attempt actually turned out pretty good for a bunch of amateurs! This time we sprayed each pan with Pam (instead of crisco shortening) and we also put some parchment paper down inside of them. We had ZERO issues with the cakes sticking. WOO HOO! We whipped up some vanilla instant pudding to use as a filler between layers. Then we iced each tier (2 layers each) with the homemade buttercream icing and then let them chill in the fridge. Then came the most difficult part... rolling out the marshmallow fondant. This junk is sticky! It didn't matter what we did, it wanted to stick to everything! Also, the only fondant that turned out pretty darn good was the orange color. We have no idea why it turned out better than the other colors. It was a little harder and less sticky. All the others were still soft like marshmallows and wanted to fall apart...

Anyway... let's cut to the chase... the cake tasted yummy! Everyone kept asking where we got it from or who made it. Yippeeeee!!!

What else has been going on.... well let's see. There was this puppy named Gumbo. Was... is... basically what I mean is that we brought her back to the breeder. I know... I'm a HORRIBLE person... but I did what was best for 1) gumbo 2) our sanity. Gumbo was a beautiful puppy and really such a sweet heart. Some family is going to be lucky to have her! While I enjoyed the fact that she wanted to be a lap dog, she just couldn't deal with being left alone. She HAD to be touching you at all times. Otherwise, she'd whine and howl like it was going out of style. And that was just during the day time. At night... it was 10x worse! We just couldn't take it any more (yes, I already said I'm an awful person). I KNOW puppies need attention. I KNOW puppies whine a lot. But this was something different. It's not like we never raised puppies before. I mean, technically, Buster is still a puppy even though he's 80 pounds!

Ok, I think I'm really just typing that out for myself as a reminder that we did the right thing. Even as cute as she was (and boy, was she cute!)... it was the right thing.... IT WAS THE RIGHT THING!

hahaha ok... on another note... HUNTER IS GRADUATING!!!!!! This is his last week of Basic Training Academy. His banquet is this Friday night, and his graduation is on Monday. For our 4 year (dating) anniversary... which is tomorrow... he is driving home in his unit! How cool is that??? I'm so stinking proud of him. Seriously... I know I couldn't do what he's been doing the past few months. And I'm even more proud at how well he did on his weekly tests. He really surprised me with that!

We are throwing a big party for him at our house on the 30th. With some assistance and guidance from dearest Jenny, I made these super cute invitations:

Hopefully I'll remember to bring my camera to all the graduation festivities so I can post them on here!

cake baking disaster....

2010-01-13T10:54:00.007-06:00

I realized last night that I have never baked a cake before. I mean, sure, I've probably mixed the batter and put it in the oven... only for my mom to do everything else with it (take it out of the pan, icing, etc).

Last night I helped a friend (who has just as much experience as I do) bake a cake for a co-worker. We decided to try and make a marshmallow fondant, and buttercream from scratch. We succeeded at the MMF and buttercream... but failed miserably at what should be the easiest thing... baking the cake.

Now before you even ask.... Yes, we greased the pans, AND floured them! But, I think our problem was that we let them sit too long and cool off before removing them from the pans.

The images speak for themselves...

Our work area

The buttercream icing

The Marshmallow Fondant (MMF)

The disaster

We thought covering it with icing would help...

So tonight we are going to attempt to cover the cake with the fondant and decorate it. The fondant is supposed to go on a smooth surface... This should be interesting!!!

goal for the new year...

2010-01-05T15:33:00.007-06:00

I'm one of those people that half-hazardly sets new year's resolutions each year. I'll start off strong for about a week, then before I know it another year has passed and I'm making the same "resolutions" once again. I know I'm not alone!

So this year I'm just setting a goal for myself, along with a few friends of mine. The goal is "couch to 5k." After my friend Theresa's gives birth to baby Ethan in March, we are going to seriously start training ourselves to run a 5k. I've somewhat run one before... the Dirty Diva back in October... but I walked through most of it and it took me a little over 40 minutes to run 3.1 miles! Granted, there were obstacles, and a torrential downpour... it was pathetic. So, we have set a goal of 30 minutes! We just feel like if the Biggest Loser contestants can run a 26 mile marathon... why can't we run a 5k in 30 minutes?

I've already started on my goal. Nothing hard core right now, just bumping up my cardio with Walk Away the Pounds and I will also be doing some of the p90x workouts. Last night Hunter and I did p90x Yoga. It was intense! He nearly finished the full hour, but I quit less than halfway through. It was virtually impossible since I have rods in my back. :( Tonight I will try the Ab Ripper... though I'm not sure how that will work since I'm technically not supposed to do situps!

With all of that aside... I decided what better way to make me want to pursue my goal other than posting some before pictures? Every time I will look at these pictures and remember how I don't want to be that girl any more.

So without further adue... here I am in all my out-of-shape and crooked-as-can-be glory: (PS I know I'm not fat by any means, but I am completely out of shape and would like to tone up!)

Now you have seen me in ALL my glory... or lack there of ha!

Another goal, for me and Hunter, is to eat healthier. We (or maybe it's just me) are trying to cut out carbonated drinks. I normally have one coke a day, which is totally ok to have. If anything, one coke a day does not make someone fat! I would love to completely cut out caffiene and carbonated drinks. It's just so hard to go through a work day with no caffiene LOL! I need that perk at lunch time! I am also trying to cut out fried foods. The only thing I ever really fry at home is okra. At least it's a vegetable, right?

Becoming a healthier person is not just about dieting or exercise. It's got to be a combination of both. I don't think anyone has to drastically change their diet if they are truly committing to exercising. It's ok to have "bad foods" in moderation! I could never deprive my Italian roots of all that bread and pasta ;) I'll just have to work harder in the gym to work those carbs off ;)

Well, in order to keep up with my goals... I am also going to set a goal of posting photos of myself each month. Same outfit and everything (maybe I'll work on the hairdo and makeup this time). I can't wait to see my progress throughout this year!

refreshed!

2010-01-04T15:30:00.007-06:00

I feel so refreshed after a long break from work! I even took a much needed break from photography... well, sort of. I had two photoshoots, including a wedding with my friend Abby! But, I limited my photo editing to ZILCH, NONE, ZERO! Too bad I have to make up for all of that this week!

Before my break started I made a hefty list of to-do's and I'm pretty stoked that I got the majority of them done... and even completed a few items that weren't exactly on the list! The one thing I didn't get done was turning the antique panel door into a headboard. I got started on it, and realized that I think I'll wait until it warms up outside to finish. Stripping paint and sanding in the cold isn't fun!

Over the break I hit up my favorite antique shop, Korner Shoppe Antiques, in Denham with my MIL. I came home with all kinds of goodies! This one is my favorite:

(Sorry for the crappy iPhone image) That is my STEAL OF A DEAL accent table that I got for a whopping $19.95! You read it right... NINETEEN DOLLARS AND NINETY FIVE CENTS!!! Oh, and that cool antler thing on top is our new deer-antler lamp from the in-laws. It looks fabulous in our living room!

I also got a coffee table from the same store. I love it! You can't tell from the pics but it's an old cypress top with a teal-washed bottom. The teal and red accent table go perfect together!

Then I picked up this super cool bull skull (sorry I don't have an actual pic of it)...

The in-laws came over and helped us hang the bull skull above the fireplace, Hunter's deer on the wall by the entertainment center, and lots of other things. Yay for super helpful in-laws!

Did I mention that we finally have brick steps for our front porch.... cause we do:

Now my goal is just to have the outside of the house looking fairly decent in time for Theresa's baby shower... which is in 2 weeks!

I'm sure that I'm forgetting about lots of things that happened in the past two weeks... like Christmas and New Years... but I'm out of time for now! Hope everyone is having a great year so far!

curtains... yay!!!!

2009-12-21T14:59:00.004-06:00

I finally found some curtains today! I never thought to look at Overstock.com until today when I was looking at coffee tables. Here they are:

I went with the black & white panels for our bedroom! I plan to throw in a little color with red throw pillows a la:

After we get that situation settled, there is so much more to do! COFFEE TABLE!!! I love love love lift top coffee tables. They are so functional! Think... no more TV trays (which we don't have anyway)! Something like this...

Did I mention how excited I am to be off of work for SEVEN WORK DAYS??? I plan to get a lot of things done around the house. The first item on my list of to-do's is to make a headboard out of an old panel door for our guest bedroom. Check out how I'm going to do it by going here. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

We also have lots of photos/art work to hang! And by we, I really mean Hunter's mom ;) She came over this weekend and hung two things for us. That leaves about 5 to go HA!

Well, check back for more updates on making this house a home!

Ode to the Deer Head....

2009-12-21T13:48:00.003-06:00

Our current dilemma is where to hang Hunter's deer head! Here's the two options we are debating between....

To the left of the entertainment center:

On the upper part of the fireplace:

Note: The wagon wheel is probably just a temporary mantle item. Not sure what may go there in the future... or we may just keep it there!

What do you think???

house update

2009-12-18T09:27:00.004-06:00

For everyone that's been asking "when are you going to post pics of the house?" here ya go! Whenever it stops raining for longer then a day, and our yard isn't such a mud pit... I'll post some pictures of the exterior too ;)

Kitchen:

Dining:

Living:

Hallway ;)

Guest Bathroom:

Guest Bedroom 1: (Excuse the mess!)

Master bedroom:

Master bath:

As you can tell, there's still lots to do! We have a few pictures to hang, a piano to get from my parents... and plenty of decorating to do. Anyone wanna help???

And last, but not least... we want to wish each of you a very merry Christmas! Be safe, have fun, and eat WAY TOO MUCH ;)

Spaghetti... aka... Red Gravy

2009-12-17T13:57:00.003-06:00

This is my mom's recipe for red gravy. It can be used with spaghetti, lasagna, marinara, etc. It freezes well. I have to admit, it's good and all, but it's not my Maw-Maw's red gravy! Man, I wish she was still here to teach me how to cook it :(

Ingredients:
1 large onion
2-3 cloves garlic
3 cans tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp sweet basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
water
oil

Directions:
Pour enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot (5 quart pot). Chop onion and garlic. Saute on medium high heat. Add tomato paste and tomato sauce. Fry for 5 minutes. Add oregano, sweet basil, salt, pepper, sugar, and parmesan cheese. Add enough water to fill 3/4 of the pot. Bring to a boil and then add meat, if you choose. Cook on low until you are ready to serve. Cooking it for a couple of hours allows all the flavors to come through. Yummy!!!

Easy Peezy Fajitas

2009-12-17T13:44:00.002-06:00

This recipe is courtesy of my dear friend Sarah Miller.

If you don't know how to cook, there is no excuse now! This is the easiest recipe on the face of the planet! Let's make some Fajitas!

All you need is:

Steak (whatever kind you want, flank works well)
Chicken (breasts)
Refried Beans (fat free)
Taco Sauce
Guacamoli
Sour Cream (fat free of course)
Sliced Bell Peppers (green, red, orange, or yellow)
Cheese (skim-mozarella, shredded)
Lettuce (optional)
Tortilla shells (wheat or spinach)

Cut chicken and steak into thin strips, season with Tony's. Cook Steak in Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Canola Oil) until done. The trick here is to cook the steak strips first so when you cook the chicken, it absorbs the steak juices and flavoring. Remove steak, cook chicken in same pan. When chicken is cooked, remove from pan and throw in sliced bell peppers and cook until crispy and brown on the edges (I like them a little overdone. Again, the peppers will absorb the steak and chicken flavors). If you need more oil, add some.

Pour a few drops of taco sauce in a small pan or bowl with the refried beans (add a little extra flavor). Heat thoroughly either on stove or in microwave.

Now just dress your tortillas and roll it up like a fajita! See, simple!

Keeps well in fridge.

~Sarah

Ground Beef Recipe: Taco Soup

2009-12-17T12:47:00.005-06:00

I got this recipe from the Central Community Cookbook. It's so easy to make, freezes well, and can feed an army!

Ingredients:
1.5 lb lean ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 10 oz can rotel
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 ¼ ounce taco seasoning mix
1 14 oz can beef broth
1 16 oz can kidney beans
1 15 oz whole kernel corn
1 16 oz can black beans

Directions:
In a dutch oven, brown meat and onions until meat is no longer pink. Lightly salt and pepper meat while cooking. Do not over salt! Drain off all the nasty fat! Add tomatoes, rotel, and tomato sauce (stir well). Add corn, beans (stir well). Add beef broth and seasoning (stir well). Simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I like to serve this with tostitos or fritos scoops! Sprinkle some cheese on top, or you can even mix a little velveeta in with it! If you like sour cream, go ahead and put some on top!

*Photo courtesy of PreparednessPro*

What should I cook tonight with "fill in blank here"...

2009-12-17T12:41:00.005-06:00

That's the dilemma I am having tonight, and I sure everyone has sometimes! I took some ground meat out of the freezer this morning and I have no idea what I'm going to make with it. Hamburgers? Hamburger steak and gravy? Tacos? Stuffed bell peppers?

Then I had an idea. What if a few of us got together (via this lovely blog) and posted a few quick, easy, and GOOD, recipes by category? Then, we could always just come back to the blog whenever we need help figuring out what to cook with "chicken" or "fish" or "insert something here".

So, feel free to comment with a recipe, or email me at: amanda dot causey at hotmail dot com (use logic to figure that out lol!).

Let's get cooking!!!

thanksgiving recipes

2009-12-03T08:06:00.002-06:00

Apologies for not posting on here in such a long time! Can we just say I've been a little busy with life? Yes, we are finally in the house! We officially moved in on November 11th and are still in the process of getting settled. It's crazy!

Sooner or later I'm going to post a bunch of new pictures but until then, you'll have to settle with my list of thanksgiving recipes ha!

We had our families over to the house for Thanksgiving lunch! It was a packed house. I love having a packed house... but I find that I spend most of my time being to preoccupied with things to get to sit down and enjoy it. Anyhoot, here's the list & recipes of what I cooked for t-day:

Green bean bundles - This is really super easy to make! The only thing I did differently was use a broiler pan. It takes about 30 minutes to cook depending on how thick your bacon is.

Cheddar Biscuits with Garlic Butter Glaze - These are super yummy! I found that the dough was ridiculously sticky and hard to form into balls, but I probably screwed something up along the way. They still tasted good, so that's all that matters, right?

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls - That's right, made from SCRATCH. I really impressed myself with this one. Mainly because I've never really made a dough or anything of that nature. Let me tell you, these babies ROCK! I love PW!!!!! Sidenote... don't use wax paper to roll your dough. Even though I put lots of flour on the paper, the dough still stuck to it and it was miserable trying to roll it. When I made the second batch, I just rolled the dough directly on the granite countertops (covered in flour of course). So much easier! P.S. PW wasn't kidding when she said this could feed your entire neighborhood. It made 8 batches of 6 cinnamon rolls LOL!

While I didn't actually cook this on t-day, I did make it for our work t-day lunch. Scrum-diddily-umptious:

Sweet Potato Casserole:

Ingredients:
3 cups sweet potatoes (cooked and mashed). I used 5-6 potatoes. It really just depends on how many people you are cooking for
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon

topping:
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup pecans (chopped)

Casserole: Blend all ingredients together and put in pan.
Topping: Blend all ingredients and pour on top of casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

It's just that simple folks!

next week... maybe???

2009-10-29T08:36:00.008-05:00

It's been a great week so far! Probably because we had such a good weekend celebrating our anniversary! We worked in the yard, which seems like it will be a never ending process. We ate lunch at Fleur de Lis (AMAZING), then we went to Lafayette for dinner at Prejeans. Man, it's sooo worth the drive just for the crabcakes!

They are really making progress on our house. We missed the "deadline" of October 27, but it looks like they should be finished by next week! I can't believe how real it's becoming! This is OUR house! AHHHHHHH!

Here are the latest updates:

All that's left to do are the wood floors, carpet, and some minor touch ups here and there!

That's enough about the house for one post! Let's talk about Buster! My friend Sarah and I took our dogs (minus Bama) to the Blackwater Conservation Area. They had a good time splashing around in the water. Chongo (her yellow lab pup) was a bit intimidated by Buster! It was cute though! Here are some pics:

And my favorite (yes, I'm partial)...

Buster brown is turning out to be such a good looking dog! Geez, I didn't know it was possible to love a dog as much as I do haha!

almost there!

2009-10-22T10:18:00.009-05:00

We're getting so close to being in our dream house! My body must know that we are getting close because I can't stop stressing! It's so stupid! I've gone over the numbers thousands of times, we even pay a fake mortgage payment into our savings, I KNOW we can afford this... but just the thought of signing our life away for the next 30 years to a mortgage is crazy!

Lots of progress has been made since I last blogged.

The fireplace is nearly finished:

The kitchen countertops and sink have been installed:

Tile floors have been installed:
Kitchen:

Guest bath & laundry:

Master bath:

Yesterday we went out there after work with our dear friends Mikey and Julie to do a little yardwork before it got too dark (which didn't take long btw). I was exstatic when I drove up and noticed that my house was no longer a dirty grey color:

It was too dark to get pictures inside, but the countertops have been installed in the bathrooms, along with the shower and guest bath surrounding. Electricians got the majority of the outlets done and some of the reccessed can lights installed. It's starting to look good!

This Saturday is our one year anniversary! Wow, has it been that long already?!?! I'm just excited that we have lasted longer then most celebrity marriages hahaha! We were planning to celebrate by riding 4wheelers with friends, but there is just too much to do with the house right now that we decided to.... work in our yard instead! Is that bad or what? Hopefully afterwards we will head to Lafayette and eat at Prejeans! I've only been there once, but they had THE BEST crabcake appetizer I have ever eaten!

Sorry for the lack of posts, and recipes! I'm still cooking like crazy, but too lazy to take photos ;)

paint has landed!

2009-10-12T14:44:00.008-05:00

Woah! We finally have paint! It looks great! It's just the first coat, so don't go flipping out when you can see some of the primer shining through!

Kitchen: (next time I'll close all the cabinets)

Dining:

Living Room:

Office/Studio:

Guest Bedrooms:

Master:

Up next: brick fireplace, granite countertops, and tile!!!

mac & cheese

2009-10-09T09:07:00.004-05:00

When I was at Winn-Dixie the other day, I saw a to-die-for picture of mac & cheese on a magazine at the register. Don't you love how they suck you in to buying more stuff while you wait to check out?

Anyhoot, the magazine is Family Circle magazine, and it was on sale for $1.99 so I thought, what the heck, and bought it! Let me start off by saying, this isn't easy or quick to make. But, it's definitely worth the time and effort!

http://www.familycircle-digital.com/familycircle/20091017#pg1

Sorry that I don't have any pictures. I was in a rush to have dinner ready and it was 9pm by the time we finally got to chow down!

Makes: 12 side-dish servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: Boil 6 minutes Bake at 350 for 20 minutes Broil 3 minutes

1 box (1 lb) pasta (penne or elbow works best)
3/4 lb sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 lb Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Asiago or Parmesan cheese, shredded
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Heat oven to 350. Coat a 2-quart broiler-safe baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling.

2. Once water boils, add pasta. Cook 6 minutes, then drain. In a large bowl, toss together the cheddar, Gruyere, and Asiago. Set aside.

3. Meanwhile, melt butter in medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and slightly bubbly. In a thin stream, whisk in milk. Stir in onion powder, salt, and cayenne. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in 2.5 cups of the cheese mixture.

4. In pasta pot, stir together the cooked pasta and the cheese sauce. Pour half into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with a generous cup of the cheese. Spoon remaining pasta into dish and top with remaining cheese.

5. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to broil and cook 3 minutes, until top is lightly browned. Cool slightly before serving.

Yummy yummy! If you decide to cook it, let me know so I can come over and eat some :)

the 3 week countdown!

2009-10-08T13:02:00.011-05:00

We've officially started the 3 week countdown to finishing our house! We're crossing all fingers and toes that we will be moving in around Oct. 27th! Things have been going pretty quickly the past couple of weeks. Sorry for not updating this blog more but things have been super hectic in causeyville!

My current big dilemma was the kitchen sink. You see, I picked out a double fireclay apron sink long before the house was framed. It was my.dream.sink. Well, we forgot to mention this dream sink to the cabinet guy, so he didn't design the cabinets for that type of sink. It came down to the only way I could get an apron sink was for it to be single bowl and only 25". That's just too small! Sooooo.... drumroll please.....

I now introduce you to my new best friend. The one, the only, Elkay e-granite Harmony Undermount sink:

Isn't it a beauty? It's the "mocha" color, which will match our oil rubbed bronze faucet perfectly. You may be wondering, WTH is e-granite? That's the same thing I asked! e-granite is molded from up to 85% natural quartz and acrylic resin (think plexiglass, but not). It can withstand extreme heat, it's non-porous surface prevents stains and is easy to clean. It's hard enough to resist scratches and chips, but resilient enough to reduce breakage of glassware and fineware. That last part was the golden ticket. Hunter and I have each broken a glass in our current porcelain sink!

I'm so glad the sink dilemma is out of the way now! I didn't realize how stressful such a "minute" detail could be!

Now on to more important things. We have paint, stain, and polyurethane almost complete. Bricks should be on the fireplace as we speak. Tiling starts next week! HOLY COW we're making progress!!!!

Pictures pictures...

Cabinets: they turned out darker then I originally envisioned, but I like them. I think once the walls are painted and tile backsplash and granite is installed, they will look sharp!

Door knobs:

Cabinet handles: (smaller oil-rubbed bronze)

Painted doors/trim:

More house updates on the way. Also, lots of recipes too! I've been super bad about not taking pictures, but I promise to post some recipes SOON!

sheetrock & paint schemes!

2009-09-24T15:16:00.006-05:00

Sheetrock has landed! As of now it has been mudded and sanded. Either today or tomorrow they will texture it... then CABINETS!!!!!

Here are some peeks of the sheetrock with my "design plans"

Living:

Kitchen:

Master Bedroom:

I can't wait!!!!!

I'm also excited about my next big project for the house. Since I'm nearly finished repurposing a dresser I'm moving on to brighter days ha! I found this really cool idea for "Fabric Art" from Jenny. You can see how to make it here: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-to-make-fabric-panel-wall-art.html

I'd really like to make a 3 panel, long, narrow piece kind of like this except not that fabric:

I just have to find a cool fabric to use! I'm really digging black and white fabrics!

That's all for now. When I quit being lazy I'll post a few new recipes that I recently tried!

crockpot chili

2009-09-18T11:33:00.004-05:00

I promised I would post this sooner or later! Just looking at these pictures makes me wish I hadn't eaten all the leftovers! Special thanks to my dear friend Robin & her mom for passing this recipe along to me!

Let's start off with the ingredients:

-3 lbs ground meat (browned, crumbled, and drained). You can use less meat if you don't have that many faces to feed!
-1 onion chopped
-2 cloves garlic chopped
-2-3 cans kidney beans
-2 cans tomato sauce
-1-2 cans whole tomatoes
-2 packs McCormick chili mix
-dash of chili powder

First you want to brown the meat in a skillet. I like to sprinkle a little salt & pepper but don't put too much!

While it's browning I go ahead and chop my onions and garlic. See that knife? It's my best friend! Rada Cutlery. Google it.

Ok by now the meat should be browned.

Go ahead and get all the fat out, then pour the meat into your crockpot. Add the chopped onions and garlic.

Chili mix and dash of chili power...

Tomato sauce and whole tomatoes...

Kidney beans...

Now give it a good stir!

I like to cook mine all day! I cooked this for about 8 hours on low, stirring every so often. If you don't have that much time, you can cook it for a couple hours on high. I served this over fritos with shredded cheddar cheese. It was even better a few days later with some Velveeta mexican cheese poured on top!

P.S. sorry I don't have any pictures of when it was finished cooking. The game was on and I was hungry :)

house update

2009-09-15T11:04:00.004-05:00

It's crazy to think that (hopefully) this time next month we will be in our new house! Our first house! How awesome is God that our first home is one we built? How awesome is God that we have been able to live rent-free for the first year of our marriage. I should thank Him more often...

A little over two years ago I bought 2 acres of wooded land. I always dreamed of building my own house and having acreage. I bought it while Hunter and I first started dating, hoping that it would end up being OUR home. I remember closing on the property loan thinking, I sure hope I don't get stuck with this bill for the rest of my life, HA!

Before Hunter and I got engaged we talked about how long it would take for us to afford to build a house, and where in the heck would we live in the mean time? We figured it would be a good 2-3 years before we could afford to build. And luckily, my grandparents had an apartment/studio at their house that they let us live in for the first couple of months of marriage. It wasn't long after we got married that I started playing with numbers and budgets and realized we could very easily afford to build a house, NOW! God just played his part by having the mortgage rates drop drastically, which helped me convince the hubby that we should build NOW NOW NOW!

So earlier this year we started meeting with builders and got a house plan drawn. It just so happens that the builder we chose was a friend of mine's husband. We started by getting the land cleared off, getting a culvert installed, and spending what seems like years trying to burn all the trees that were piled up in the yard. A couple of months later, in April, we finally closed on a construction loan and they started working on our house.

Also in April, God opened up another opportunity for us. We were able to move into a house, rent-free, that was closer to where we are building. It's great to have good friends in good places!

It seemed like it took forever just to get the slab poured. Stupid rain, every day! But, here it is, September, and we are soooo close to being done. I love seeing how all the little details I imagined in my head are coming to fruition! I can't wait to spend the rest of my life in this house! I can't wait to fill it up with family, friends, future children... grandchildren! Wow! Ok, take it slow... I'm just excited about getting to have more than 4 people over at one time ;)

Here's a "collage" from the beginning til now....

More house updates coming soon! And, I promise I'll be posting that chili recipe!

snake in my shoe...

2009-09-14T11:26:00.006-05:00

We had a pretty good weekend! Ok, who am I kidding, I had a good weekend but all Hunter did was study so I don't think it will go down as his best weekend ever! Friday I got to work from home, which was great! It's amazing how much you can get done with people aren't calling you every 5 minutes or standing at your door with a dilemma! I also got to eat lunch with my mom, which NEVER happens! We went to Anthony's Italian Deli and split a large muffaletta. GOOD STUFF!

Later that evening we stained a dresser a dark ebony color. I can't wait until we finish it so that I can post pics!

Saturday we had our parents over for the game. I made chili (post coming soon). It turned out great! And even better that the Tigers won!

So what is this about a snake in my shoe? Well, Sunday morning I went outside to feed the dogs. I was about to go back inside, when for some unknown reason I glanced at my tennis shoes that were near the front steps. I saw something moving, and I figured it was a roach or something. I was just about to pick up my shoe to shake it out when I realized it was a freaking SNAKE! Forget snakes on a plane, how about a poisonous copperhead in my shoe?!?!

Luckily my prince charming heard my cry for help and came with a shovel to save me! Let me add to my list of "good reasons to have a man in your life" hahaha!

Well, check back for the chili recipe and a good omelette I made with capicola ham! Oh, and I promise house updates are coming soon!!!

italian breadcrumb chicken

2009-09-11T22:43:00.002-05:00

I need to come up with fancy names for some of the stuff I cook. Any ideas for this one???

This is a super simple recipe! Here are the culprits:

I like to use the panko italian seasoned breadcrumbs. 1) because they are crunchier and 2) I like the added flavor.

Ok, first you preheat your oven to 350. Then you take your chicken (in my case, tenders) and trim off the fat. I like to put them in a mixing bowl and sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Next I pour a little italian dressing on top. Then I take a few spoon fulls of mayo and give the tenders a good coating. I kind of went overboard with the mayo this time, whoops!

Then I pour the breadcrumbs in another dish....

And I give the tenders a good coating and put them on a greased pan...

Once the oven is preheated, I put some foil on top of my pan and let the chicken cook for about 25-30 minutes. If you are cooking whole breasts it will probably take a little longer so just keep an eye on it. When the time is up, I take the chicken out of the oven, remove the foil, and pour a little italian dressing on top. Then I put the pan back in the oven (no foil) for about 10 minutes.

It should look a little something like this:

YUMMY!!!!!!

cranberry pecan poppy seed salad

2009-09-11T22:42:00.001-05:00

I don't know what you call this salad other than good! I got this "recipe" from my friend Theresa's mom... aka my landlord. Here are the ingredients (not pictured, some leftover spinach leaves I found in the fridge after taking this pic ha):

Clean off and cut the lettuce as you prefer. Then I added the spinach leaves. I love all of the color variations!

Next I add the cranberry/pecan/cheese mixture.

I put some roasted almonds in as well, but I don't think I'll do that next time. These had a funny taste to them that didn't really go with the salad.

I give it a toss before adding the poppy seed dressing (note: I think brianna's poppy seed dressing is much better but winn-dixie was out!).

It's that simple, and THAT good!

Peanut Butter Pizookie

2009-09-10T15:17:00.005-05:00

Ever been to a restaurant called BJ's? Ever had one of their peanut butter Pizookie's? If you haven't, just know that they are to die for! I'm so glad I found a recipe for this! Now the only reason I need to go to BJ's is for their super awesome homemade root beer :)

Here's our ingredients:

1.5 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp beaten egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp unsalted peanuts

Preheat your oven to 475. Combine all of the ingredients above EXCEPT the flour, baking soda, and peanuts in a bowl and mix on high until smooth.

Next, add the flour, baking soda, and peanuts and stir by hand until blended.

Then you take a small pan (or in my case, corningware dish) that's about 6 inches in diameter and press the mixture down like so:

Bake for about 5-7 minutes. The goal is that you want the edges to be a little crispy, but the center to be nice and gooey!

Let it cool for a few minutes and then top with vanilla icecream. I added a little caramel on top! I'm telling you, it's to die for!

Homemade Potato Chips

2009-09-10T15:08:00.005-05:00

What's better with fried fish then some good old fried potato chips? It happens to be the hub's favorite! Normally I would use a few small russet potatoes, but when I pulled the bag out of the pantry, it was leaking and smelling some kind of awful so I had to throw them away! Luckily I had a few of these bad boys left!

If your fryer isn't already on, crank that baby up! I like to peel my potatoes, but you don't really have to. Then I take a super parer knife and cut the potatoes into really thin slices. And this time I managed to not cut any of my fingers :)

Once the oil is hot, I put a handful in the fryer and fry for about 5-7 minutes. Just be sure to keep an eye on them.

I like mine extra crispy, so I look for a deep golden color with some brown! Once they are finished, I like to sit them on some paper towels to soak off all the grease! Then I sprinkle some Tony's on it! Soooooo good!

If you want, you can also put them in the oven for a couple of minutes once you take them out of the fryer for an extra crisp!

Fried Fish...

2009-09-10T14:51:00.006-05:00

Hunter and his dad went fishing at Old River on Saturday and came home with an icechest full of bass.

So yesterday morning I was looking through the freezer trying to figure out what to cook. Hunter went grocery shopping by himself the other day, so needless to say, it was slim pickins! My options were deer or fish. And if you know me at all, I don't eat deer! When it comes to bass, I like mine fried! It's super simple to do, especially when you have a husband that's willing to help!

First you need to thaw out the fillets. Once they are thawed, I like to soak them in a milk/tabasco/cayenne pepper mixture. Basically you just take a couple cups of milk and mix it with a few dashes of tabasco, and 2-3 big shakes of cayenne.

Pour it over the fish in a bowl and let the fillets soak for about an hour.

Once you are finished soaking the fish, it's time to get the fryer going. I just love our GrandPappy fryer!!! After that, I like to give the fillets a good coating of mustard. Not only does it taste good, but it will help the Louisiana Fish Fry (Seasoned) stick.

Now it's time for the husband to step up and do his part! Hunter puts 2-3 cups of the fish fry into a bowl (best to use a bowl that has a lid). He puts a few of the fillets in the bowl, puts the lid on, and gives it a good shake!

Once the oil is hot enough, he puts a few pieces of breaded fish in at a time. It normally takes just a couple of minutes to cook. Once the crust turns to a yummy golden color, they are ready to come out!

Let it cool for a few minutes and be sure to have some ketchup handy. Enjoy!

Howdie!

2009-09-10T07:28:00.000-05:00

Welcome to At Home with the Causeys! We're just getting started on this blog so please bear with us! What can you expect from us in the future? Lots of blogging about building our dream house, cooking, the police academy, hunting, fishing, mountain biking, possibly breeding golden retrievers... basically, you name it, we'll probably talk about it! We can't wait to share our journey with you!

Ya'll come back now!