Another Blog for You to Read

This week I started another blog... funny, right? Since I can't really keep up with this one!?

I've started a blog on home organization tips, projects, and products. I'm hoping it will eventually turn into an actual business.

This week I started with the pantry re-do I did this weekend, including before and after pictures. I ought to practice what I preach, right?

www.taylortotalhome.blogspot.com

Check back often as I hope to do Tuesdays Tips and some product reviews in addition to documenting my projects while I gain some experience.

I'm willing to help some friends get organized in exchange for before and after pictures while I'm getting started! Just let me know if you are interested!

End of Summer Harvest

Sorry to be MIA for a while! Our garden has been quite fruitful this summer! The pictures below are what we brought in the house just TODAY! From left to right, there are green bell peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, and that huge pile of leaves... BASIL!! I'll be taking quite a few bell peppers to work tomorrow to share. I think we're going to make some more pesto this week and try to dry the basil in the oven.

We also dug up our potatoes today! Jeff planted them in the spring and their flowers just started to die off (which is the signal they are ready). They are a lot smaller than we thought they'd be. I'm going to figure out how to blanch and freeze them.

We have had probably over one hundred jalapenos this summer, easily! I've frozen most of them, but we made some yummy jalapeno poppers a couple times. I also got up enough courage to make hot pepper jelly and can it this weekend! We tried some today and, I think for a first attempt, it turned out well!

We've also made salsa, spaghetti sauce, and stuffed peppers with our home-grown vegetables. We've frozen the spaghetti sauce, but now that I am more comfortable canning, I'll do more of that next year.

Today we cleaned out part of the garden to get ready to put in the fall garden. We'll put in most of what we planted in the spring again.

My "Cure for the Common Life"

I'm part of a girls Bible study group that meets every Thursday! I love the fellowship and conversations that group provides. We just finished reading Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado. In order to get back to my "sweet spot" and do something I enjoy doing, I decided to put my insecurities behind me and sell some of my wares! So today I set up my Etsy site:

http://beadingbecky.etsy.com/

Right now I'm mainly selling some beads that I want to get rid of in order to get more (prettier!) beads. There are a few bracelets, too. Since I have Fridays off for now, I'm hoping to spend more time making things and learning more about the beading and sewing.

And this is totally NOT a sales pitch! I'd prefer to sell to strangers! Friends, family, and blog readers get things free!

Jennifer & Ben's Wedding

This was weekend #3 of 4 for travel... needless to say, glad I'll be home this weekend. That said, it was still a fun weekend. I traveled with Kelly to Atlanta for our cousin Jennifer's wedding. Jeff was stuck at home working. Actually, the wedding was in McDonough, Georgia at the Hazelhurst House. It was beautiful, of course!

Practicing!

Despite a little rain in the beginning, the wedding was sweet. I think they were trying to compete with Jeff and I on the fastest wedding ceremony, but we are still in the lead. Probably because they had 9 bridesmaids and 9 groomsman!

Mom & Dad at the reception.

Cousin Josh... his wedding was last summer! And in this picture, I'm on my tip-toes and he's practically sitting just to get the two of us in the picture. Hard to believe we're related!

Kelly & I at the reception.

Good to see the extended family at weddings now that we really don't get together at Christmas anymore. Now someone has to get married next summer!

Girls Weekend 2009

As many of you know, I have three terrific friends from college who I get together with at least once a year... Elizabeth (in Atlanta), Becky B (in DC), and Missy (in Blacksburg). I love and adore that time we spend together! Last weekend marked eight years of trips! This year we went to Elizabeth's house in Atlanta for the weekend.

We started the weekend at Ikea and PF Changs on Friday! Saturday was pretty typical for us... we stayed in our pajamas until about 3pm at which time we finally decided to go to the pool. I think I was the only one who showered that day. We played Nerts a lot, which is our tradition each time we are all together. It is also tradition for Becky B to kick our butts! I think she should go pro! Casey, Elizabeth's husband, was wonderfully patient having that many girls in his house at once.

A lot has changed in eight years! Here's a picture from our first vacation to Pompano Beach, FL (picture taken in Miami) in 2001 and a picture of us last weekend. The extra girl is Elizabeth's daughter, Caroline.

Next year we are headed to DC to see Becky B's new townhouse! We've never been to DC for a vacation before because it is close to the rest of our parents... we knew we couldn't just go to DC, but would have to plan time to see family too. It's time.

My goal in the next year is to figure out how to best document all of our trips! We made a list of all of them, so that's a good start!

Visting the Taylors in Birmingham!

This weekend we went to Birmingham for Jeff's sister Laura's birthday. Jeff's parents drove up from Mississippi, so we got to see the whole family... including niece Abby! Abby LOVES her Uncle "Jesh"! They had fun, but I'm not sure who was more tired when it was all said and done. She does say "Becky" now, unlike when we last saw her in February!

Abby & Uncle Jeff reading...

Abby & Uncle Jeff watching TV...

Abby haning out with Uncle Jeff before bed...

Saturday afternoon, Jeff, Mark and their dad assembled the canopy for Mark & Donna's deck. They worked hard! They were so sweaty that when one of them would come in, Abby would say "They got wet."

We ate well this weekend, too! Mexican for Laura's birthday Friday night and then Mark grilled ribs Saturday night! And to top it off Bananas Foster last night too!!

(After making this post initially, I realized I didn't portray the weekend very accurately! I had all these sweet pictures of Abby & Jeff doing quiet things. The reality was that was the only time they were still enough to take a picture! Most of the time he was swinging her by her ankles and tossing her onto the couch while she squealed and said "AGAIN"! Uncle Jeff was climbed all over this weekend... and he loved it as much as she did! That's really how they bonded!)

Next weekend... girl's weekend in Atlanta!! Stay tuned!

For a Good Laugh...

Here is video of my television debut this month. I appeared on Plus Side Nashville on Channel 5+. It airs several times through the month of July. I think I'll stick to radio.