I'll be home for Christmas!

It feels like Christmas at the Stephens house! We love Christmas and I love decorating for it. Here are a few photos of our decorations. What does your house look like for Christmas?


I had to post this pic of Roxy, I'm not sure she understands all these crazy decorations!


Our Mantle


The tree and such a great model standing next to it. The lighting in these pictures aren't great. I love the topper, its all red and white with pepermint sticks.


A close up shot of the mantle. I glittered the red trees. It was quite fun but very messy!

Here are a few of my favorite ornaments:

Mickey Mouse hat - from our trip to Disney World this summer


Derek's old ornament - isn't he cute?!


Gotta love Hello Kitty! Derek makes fun of me that I still like Hello Kitty but I don't care. The little girl inside of me just can't give her up!


We got this ornament in Hawaii on our honeymoon.


Have to have a Baylor ornament!


This is a swedish horse - means a lot to me but may not look that cute!

Gobble Gobble!

We had a great Thanksgiving! We spent this year with my family at my parents house. My parents, Brother Ryan, Sister Caroline, Aunt Melissa, Uncle David, Cousins Chris and Katie and my Grandparents were all there. And of course the doggies: Molly, Roxy and Gracie! It was a wonderful feast! Thanks Mom, you have outdone yourself once again!


Cute little turkeys made from oreos and candy!


The tablescape


Caroline, Cousin Katie, me


Ryan, Derek and Cousin Chris


We went to the Dickens Christmas on Saturday night in downtown Mckinney with our wonderful friends, Janet and Matt.



Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!! I'm so excited to celebrate and enjoy this wonderful time of year! I'm going to post my Christmas decor next. Happy decorating!

7 things

So I've been tagged by Jenny! Here we go!


7 Things I Want To Do Before I Die...
1. Become a mommy
2. Start my own business
3. Become a better servant of the Lord
4. Visit Sweden
5. Attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
6. Take more risks
7. Learn how to decorate cakes


7 Things I Can Do...
1. Decorate! I love to decorate my house and create fun and inviting spaces.
2. Bake-I love using my pink kitchen-aid mixer!
3. Shop-I like to shop too much but I am good at finding a deal!
4. Love-I love my husband, my family and my friends more than they could ever know.
5. Paint/draw-I love to paint and sketch. I need to find time to do more of it!
6. Dance-I love to dance but I don't get the opportunity that often
7. Eat Mexican food every day! Yep, Derek and I are seriously addicted to chips and salsa and anything mexican related. When we go out to eat its always mexican.


7 Things I Can Not Do...
1. Sports-I'm challenged in this area, I don't like playing sports or watching sports.
2. Sing-I love to sing but I'm not good at it.
3. Eat sushi-I know I'm crazy but I just don't like it.
4. Rollercoasters or anything daring
5. Go a day without my makeup on
6. Be mean-I can't do it, I love to be happy!
7. Camping-not my thing


7 Things That Attracted Me to My Hubby...
1. His beautiful smile
2. His love for the Lord and his family
3. His preppy-ness
4. His kindness and genorisity
5. His chivalry
6. His sense of humor-he makes me laugh everyday.
7. His love for me


7 Things I Say Most Often...
1. Oh my goodness
2. Lovely
3. I love you
4. Derek!!!
5. De-lish (instead of delicious)
6. Fabulous
7. Do you want to go to Starbucks?


7 Celebrity Crushes... (aka - ones that I would love to meet)
1. Lucille Ball
2. Reese Witherspoon
3. Brad Paisley
4. Rascal Flatts
5. Patrick Dempsey
6. Jonas Brothers - ok I know what you are thinking...but I think they are so cute (maybe I could set one of them up with my sister!)
7. Betsy Johnson - love love love her designs and I would love to know what inspires her.


7 People I'm Tagging...
1. Katie H
2. Becca A
3. Britt D
4. Ashley F
5. Mandy M
6. Maren H
7. Carol B

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for. Keep it fabulous!

Dear A&M: How to Cope

Derek here again: Unfortunately I can not take credit for writing the following post, but thought it was too good to pass up. Enjoy...

Dear A&M:

I wanted to share some thoughts from the hit book "How to Handle Being The Worst Team in the Big XII South". This book, originally authored by fans of Baylor University, with foreword by Oklahoma State, has been a work in progress for 25 something years now.

Now that we have handed that prestigious torch off to your school, and it looks like it will stay that way for quite some time, you and your Aggie friends may want to really get into this material. Here are some highlights:

Chapter 1 - Bring up past records when discussing your program with friends. The best way to do this is to start from the present and go back through the past until you can find where you have more wins than "x" team. Inconsistencies in time frame does not matter - it can be 5 years for one team and 45 for another.

Chapter 3 - Find other parts of your athletic program that you can be proud of and meticulously learn and promote their accomplishments, no matter how embarrassing the sport. Baylor has done this recently with women's basketball, tennis, and most notably, track and field (Olympic gold medalist anyone?). Rumor has it that your men's club lacrosse team is pretty awesome. Just throwing that out there.

Chapter 5 - Find a couple of solid scapegoats and complain tirelessly about them. Your fan base has already advanced far in this area, with "Shermione" and "$Bill" taking the brunt of this effective relaxation technique.

Chapter 10 - Pick a team to hate and root for their failure. For Baylor fans, this has been you, and look how well it's worked! It's like The Secret - the power of positive thinking. It's very refreshing to change the channel from a frustrating loss and watch your sworn enemy fail. You may have to really dig deep here - you want a team that is average to pretty bad. You losing and them winning is a double whammy, so don't set your sites too high (UT/Tech). Arkansas is a good start, they're down this year.

Chapter 11 (THIS IS A BIG ONE) - Focus on moral victories. This chapter has a lot of content, so really pay attention to it. Within the umbrella of the moral victories chapter you'll find subsections such as: a) Don't pin your hopes on winning the game, pin your hopes on covering the spread. The spread is key, and beating the spread will bring you years and years of joy. b) Get excited about first downs. These may be harder to come by than you think, so really cherish them. c) Find remote stats that can highlight your improvement. Really dig into improvement. This should be a buzzword to use in the coming years.

Chapter 12 - Talk about the other redeeming qualities of your school. This is tricky, because it's actually really dorky to engage in academic smack talk, but, if done correctly, can deflect the focus of a conversation away from your school's crappy football program and onto other areas where the playing field is more level. Now, I'm tailor making this to A&M a little here, but I would recommend you focus on your strong engineering and business school reputation, and don't forget to bring up your various traditions! People never get tired of hearing about this.

Chapter 14** - Find another school to support on the side. This chapter is very controversial and was only added in later editions. I myself never went down this road, but several of my friends found a great deal of relaxation and comfort in finding a side school. While immediate family connections are the best (father graduated from Penn State or mom and dad met at Florida), it is also valid to dig deep into your family's history to find that great aunt that went to Alabama or that second cousin who got a masters at USC. The further away the school, the better. Claim that you have been watching them for years - especially as a little kid growing up. This helps ward off eye rolls and front-runner accusations from your friends. **Note: though highly successful, this chapter can be very dangerous, and is probably the only method that will incur hatred from fellow alumni and students. Use Chapter 14 at your own risk. Advanced students only. I'd say you'll be there en mass around 2013 - although seeing how your fan-base is bailing after 3 losing seasons out of the past 24, you may be there as early as 2010. Talk about advanced students!

That's it folks. I'll send you a copy for free - we're so excited to share this with a team not named Baylor. And you may read this and think: wow, Baylor is pathetic. This is really sad stuff. No, no! This is you! This WAS Baylor and now IS your school! I'm talking about what you and your fan base will be and have already started saying and doing.

I want to leave you with this. This can be your chance to practice, right now. Skim some of the material above, and go ahead and start using it on me. I would say the record route is the obvious way to go, but don't be afraid to be creative.

Sincerely,
Baylor

Derek here:

This is great!

Twilight - one more week!!!

I'm so excited for this movie! For those of you that are Twilight fans you'll really get a laugh out of the dialogue below from "Twilight: The Lost Script". I ran across this on msn and thought it was so funny! For more of this go to: http://movies.msn.com/movies/galleryfeature/lost-twilight-script/?GT1=28127



BELLA: So did you do the chemistry homework?

EDWARD: Like, 100 years ago.

BELLA: No, seriously. Quit making jokes about our age difference. I have to do my homework before I go home and cook my dad his dinner.

EDWARD: You are a magnificent flower and the sweet cherry atop my life's sundae. Marry me and your life will be distilled bliss, for I do not eat food that requires cooking, and I am rich enough that your chemistry grade matters not a whit.

BELLA: Um, let's not talk about what you eat.

EDWARD: Your wish is my command, fragrant blossom.

BELLA: I don't understand how you can say that. I'm just a plain, awkward girl who needs to strap herself to the commode so she doesn't fall off. Accident-prone is my middle name.

EDWARD: I will sneak into your bathroom and offer my steady, marble-like arms as your supports. No harm shall come to you, my pet.

BELLA: OK, but you have to be really quiet about it and stuff, because my dad is, like, the police chief and even though he can't cook his own dinner, he will totally OWN your undead badonkadonk if he catches you.

EDWARD: (Laughs) Did you just see that? I sprinted to the end of these mossy rocks and back in less time than you took to say badonkadonk.

BELLA: Kiss me unchastely, you sexy beast.

EDWARD: Let's do your chemistry first, and then we shall go for a ride in my Volvo.

BELLA: See? I am ugly. My vampire boyfriend doesn't even want to neck.

Another girlie post!

This weekend was really busy but super fun! I had been working hard last week making stuff for the craft fair I was doing with my dear friend, Katie. I must admit that my hubby helped me paint, glue and glitter all week! What a trooper! Katie and I had a great time! Here is a picture of all the stuff:


Its hard to see everything in this picture. I made yard signs to personalize, cute little trees with lights and a few picture frames for all the little babies!


Katie sells Scentsy candles. Have you heard of them? Its a really great product and really safe because they are wickless. Check out her website: http://www.scentsy.com/katieherweck


After the craft fair it was off to Susan's wedding!
Congratulations Susan and Adam!!

The Happy Couple!


Kristi, me and Janet


Me and D



Me, Caroline and Kristen playing with sparklers

I was able to spend my whole weekend with my dearest and oldest friends! I love you girls and I wish we had more weekends like this!

Coolest Thing Ever...

Derek's new ride:

Halloween and Baylor homecoming

This past weekend we had fun in wonderful Waco! Since Derek works for Baylor he had to be there a couple of days early to help with the festivities. I came down on Friday and went shopping with my sis, Caroline, and trick or treating with our niece Emily. Then on Saturday we watched the parade, spent time with dear friends and went to the game. I miss you Baylor!



Sister Caroline and me at the parade


Caroline's sorority float won best in their class. This isn't the greatest picture of it but it was a toy theme. Very cute!


Our wonderful friends: Katie, Josh and sweet little Caleb


Caroline and I went trick or treating with my neice on Halloween. She was Ariel, the mermaid.


Isn't Roxy so cute in her princess costume? She hated it. And that's Molly (my parents dog) in the ladybug outfit which she also hated.

Before Lauren takes all of the credit...

I must point out that I hung the "EAT" letters above the pantry. Nice, huh? Every time I walk in the kitchen it inspires me, so I do.

Fun with Glitter!

I love crafts and I especially love to use glitter! Here are a few of the projects I completed last month.



I painted glitter swirls on this white craft pumpkin.


I carved our initial into this craft pumpkin and decoupaged it with leopard tissue paper.


These are real pumpkins that I glittered using Martha Stewarts line found at Michaels.


I decoupaged these letters with leopard tissue paper too! Can you tell I love leopard and glitter? Derek is such a good sport to allow all this girliness in his home.


I glittered candles using the same Martha Stewart glitter.
These projects are so fun and really make a statement! You should try it!

What if it all goes right!

If you are a country fan you've probably heard this song by the newest winner of Nashville Star. I'm a sucker for songs like this! It has such a positive message. How many times do we automatically think something will go wrong so we don't even try? But what if it all goes right! This song brightened my day. I hope it does the same for you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRbSUPWSdcE

Six years ago!

Six years ago yesterday was my first date with Derek. I was a Senior at Baylor and he was a Junior. Yes, I fell for a younger man. A mutual friend introduced us. We knew who each other was because Derek was a big brother for my sorority but we had never officially met. And a couple of years before I worked with someone that knew Derek. She told me I should meet him and that we would be great together. I didn't think much of it at the time but low and behold God did bring us together afterall.

A few days after we initially met, I came home from class and realized I had a message waiting. It was a very nervous Derek asking me to go with him to the Dixie Chicks concert at the Fair (this was before all the Dixie Chicks drama happened). My roommates and I listened to the message over and over again because Derek spoke so fast I could barely understand him...he was so nervous, it was adorable! I think he knew I was in class so he could leave me a message thus putting the ball in my court to call him back. He denies this but I know thats the truth!

I did indeed call him back to accept. I bought a new outfit for the night and everything! We had a great time and I knew after that night that he was the guy for me. And soon after that night, I noticed Derek's precious Jessica Simpson photo on his night stand was mysteriously missing. That's when I knew he liked me too!

I leave you with Derek's favorite picture, the one that used to be framed and on his night stand as well as is the only picture on his Facebook page! But I'm not bitter.

The Fast

Today is day number three of no Diet Coke/Diet Dr Pepper. I am not in good shape.
I have decided to give them up as a part of the 40 Days of Prayer in which our church is encouraging all members to partake. We are all supposed to “fast” from something that is significant to us and use that time to pray. I think it has been beneficial in a spiritual way, but physically, I feel like garbage. Probably a good reason why I should quit.

I think though I have negated the whole “fast” thing because I am drinking more coffee now. I am actually in a coffee shop, Saxby’s to be exact. I am drinking a medium coffee with vanilla…and blogging. What have I become???

Two White Girls, a Jamaican Man and a Drag Queen

During lunch today, my co-worker Jodi, and I decided to go to Walmart in Irving to check out their Halloween decorations. As we are standing in the Halloween aisle in Walmart, this big Jamaican man walks by us laughing and says this:

Jamaican man: "That was the ugliest woman I've ever seen!"
Lauren says to Jodi: "What is he talking about?" I thought to myself, how rude? Who says that to a complete stranger.

He continued to laugh and look directly at the two of us as he was browsing down the same aisle. Then around the corner we see another huge man...I mean woman...I mean drag queen with a tight jean mini-skirt on and tons of makeup. Our eyes got so big and we looked at the Jamaican man and he just started laughing again and took off. As Jodi and I tried to collect ourselves, here comes the drag queen around the corner again! She/he was staring us down! So we quickly turned the other direction and left the aisle. Jodi and I were probably the most innocent looking girls in the entire store and this random Jamaican man must have wanted a good laugh. Well, he got it...we don't come in contact with many drag queens if you know what I mean (the shock on our face was priceless I'm sure).

Sonic-Sized

I like Sonic. More specifically I like Diet Vanilla Dr Pepper from Sonic.

It has become the indispensable staple that allows me to forge on though the humdrum work days that are so often bound by the cold walls of monotony and despair (it’s really not that bad, I just thought that sounded poetic, or something).

Many people find their morning joy in a cup coffee, a frothy cappuccino, or say, an iced-venti-non-fat-eight-pump chai tea latte. Me, I am a simple man who gets his pleasure from such a simple, yet satisfying beverage that always keeps me longing for more.

Lately, however, I have been somewhat downtrodden by the experiences that I have encountered at America’s Drive-In. Like most Sonic goers, I frequent the chain for the beverages, not the gimmicky here-today-gone-tomorrow “treats” like deep fried mac and cheese bites, Cinnasnacks, fried apple-cinnamon bites, and fried cheesecake bites that all inevitably taste just like tater tots. Trust me, I have tried them all.

In the last few weeks I have found myself agitated when I make the trek to sonic at eight o’clock in the morning and the ordering procedure goes something like this:

Derek: “I would like a large Diet Dr Pepper with vanilla, please.”
Carhop: “Ok, a large Diet Dr. Pepper with vanilla is $1.83, is that all?”
Derek: “Yes, that’s all.”
Carhop: “Ok, I have a large Diet Dr Pepper with vanilla, would you like to try some mozzarella sticks what that this morning?”

I politely reply with a “no,” overcoming the temptation to angrily shout “No, I don’t want to try any mozzarella sticks, its eight o’clock in the morning. If I would have wanted them, I would have said so.”

This same conversation has happened more than once when the Carhop has asked if I wanted an extra-long chili cheese coney. Seriously, forget about it being morning, who goes to Sonic to get a drink and is that easily swayed into buying a foot-long hot dog smothered with chili and cheese. I guess some people do, but not me. Maybe some day I will change, but for now onward to Sonic…Happy Hour starts in ten minutes.

Random Facts

So Becca tagged me to write 6 random facts about myself. I know I'm not that interesting but I'm going to try to think of some things that describe myself. So here are the directions:

Now, if you're tagged, here's what you do:
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people
4. Please pass it on for fun...

1. I love chai tea. Yes, I'm actually very addicted to Starbucks. I like to order an iced non-fat venti chai tea latte with 8 pumps. Yes, 8 pumps...the more chai the better. I like to call it "Christmas in your mouth!" Try it, it really does taste like Christmas!

2. I have an interior design degree which I'm very proud of but I haven't had the chance yet to use it professionaly. My work is not a place that I get to be creative. I actually sit at a computer all day! I find myself doodling all the time because I just can't sit still!

3. Derek is the only guy I have ever dated, ever loved, ever kissed. I know this sounds corny, but I knew that the first guy I would date would be my hubby. It was way worth the wait. I love you D!

4. I have always wanted to be a Rockette!! I used to be very good at high kicking and I love wearing sparkly outfits! Oh and to be in the Macy's day parade, I would give anything for that!

5. I am the world's biggest worrier. I worry about everything! A month before our wedding, I got hives for a week and had to stay at home! Its something that I battle with all the time and pray about regularly.

6. I am so scared of heights and such a chicken!! In Disney World this past summer I waited in line with Derek and Heather and Neil (Derek's sister and her husband)to go on this new ride at Epcot called: Soarin. It looked really cool and they all talked me into doing it. I was told that it wasn't a roller coaster but a theater you sit in (kind of like the omni) that makes you feel like you are flying. Ok, so I thought "I can do this, I'll just close my eyes if I start feeling sick." Ok so we waited for an hour in line and right before we were about to go into the theater a video was shown. On the video, the man said that if you are afraid of heights or have any kind of motion sickness you should think twice about riding this. Well that made me very nervous but I decided to do it anyways, it was NOT a roller coaster so how bad could it be? Well, I walked in the room and boy did I flip out! It was a huge room with a huge screen. There were these lifts you sit in like hang gliders. They lift you up way above the ground and your feet dangle. So I sit down next to Derek and strap myself in...and that is when I chickened out once again!! I quickly unbuckled and darted for the door right before the ride started. After the ride was over Derek told me it was one of the best rides he'd ever been on but he was glad that I didn't stay because he knew I would have hated it! Ok that was really long and I guess you had to be there but I know we will laugh at this for a long time! But I will never be ashamed of my chicken-ness (I know that's not a word but I like to add "ness" onto words all the time!)

Those are my random facts. I'd love to hear about yours too! Thanks Becca, that was fun!

I'm going to tag:
Katie, Janet, Brittney and all the small group girls and anyone else that would like to give it a try!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Baylor love!

This weekend we went to the Baylor game. We had lots of fun with Derek's family and my sister who is currently a sophmore. Sic'em Bears!


Our niece, Emily. She love's the Baylor games!


Me and sister and her bestie



Derek and me swinging on Caroline's porch



I made these cute rice crispy treat bouquets to bring to my sister and Derek's sister this weekend. But while transporting them in the car, they melted!! Isn't that tragic? So this is a picture before the they were a gooey melted mess. Note: Do not transport chocolate in the car on a sunny day!

New York pictures!

Mom and me picking grapes!

Here we are in my cousins grape vineyard (uncle Len, aunt Carol, aunt Pris, cousin Cara). Its in Cara's backyard...the grapes were really yummy!

Front view of my parents house.


Mom and me

Dining area

Mom and me sitting in the dining room/kitchen (we arranged it as a sitting area until we get dining furniture)

Gorgeous view of the Lake from the back porch.

Me and Aunt Pris sitting on the porch.

Master bath - this used to be a closet.

Upstairs bath

New York

Last weekend I traveled to upstate New York with my mom to visit family and to see my parents vacation home they have been remodeling. We stayed with my Aunt Pris and had a lot of fun girl time and lots of laughs! To give you a little background, both my parents are from Jamestown, NY (near Buffalo, very far from NYC). Random fact: Jamestown is Lucille Ball's hometown. There is a really cute museum you can tour. I love Lucy! Anyways, my mom's family still lives up there so we visit all the time (her sister, and 3 brothers and my many cousins). My parents recently bought my Grandparent's house and they have been remodeling it for awhile now. Its an abosultely beautiful property on Lake Chatauqua. They gutted the kitchen and opened it up, added new floors, painted everywhere, added a bathroom, built a new fireplace and much much more. I helped clean and arrange furniture while I was there. I was totally in my element, I just love decorating! Its not done yet but its getting there. My parents have put in so much time to make this place gorgeous and to keep it in the family. I have come to this house every other Christmas since I was a little girl. I have the fondest memories with my family and sweet grandparents there. Everytime we'd arrive, my Grandmother would have the best homemade pizza and a wonderful spread of desserts. She was quite the hostess. I miss her greatly. Eventhough she is gone, her memory will live on in this house. I know my grandparents would approve of all the renovations that have been made. Thanks mom and Pris for a really fun time! Love ya'll! I will post pictures soon.