The Wonderful World of the Watfords

A Baby Story

2011-10-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time.......ok, two nights ago, I went for a walk/run. I usually walk from my house, through the old mill village, and then to the park. When I was almost to the park, I saw some kittens and some stray cats and they all came to me like I was the Pied Piper or something. I tried my hardest to run away from them, but I was hypnotized by their cuteness! I had to pet them!!!!! One of the kitties was extra sweet and looked just like George and Georgia, so I had no other choice but to get him. I called Megan and told her about all the cats, and she rushed over and brought some cat food for the other strays. After sitting on the curb deliberating about whether or not I should keep the starving kitten, I made the decision to bring him home. I called Michael and told him about the new baby, and he said that we could keep him! The sweet kitty loved Michael right away and was a little scared of the dogs at first, but he has definitely warmed up to them! We named him Jack and even though it is a hassle adding another baby into our crazy house, he's worth it! He deserves to have a loving family and a house instead of being out on the street living the horrible life of an unwanted orphan. We love him!

Poor orphan Jack living on the streets

Jack dreaming of a better life

Jack's sister who is still homeless :(

Jack and his street crew

Daisy and Michael love Jack!

Jack sleeping on Michael's lap

Wow! you can hardly tell we have a new baby! He blends in with the bums!

The lazy lumps on the couch

Jack loves Winkie!

The baby chihuahuas love Chloe

"Quit taking pictures!"

AW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

stretch!!!!!!!

Peek a boo!

Savannah part 3, Atlanta, and our anniversary

2011-08-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

Savannah part 2

2011-08-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Our third anniversary trip to Savannah

2011-08-24T00:52:00.000-07:00

Michael and I decided, at the last minute, to go to Savannah for our anniversary vacation. We headed out on a Sunday and finally arrived that evening. We checked into the Marshall House, which turned out to be the "most haunted" hotel in Savannah. It was so beautiful and it reminded me of the Gilmore Girls! Our room was amazing. We had cute bathrobes and a fireplace! We had the bellhop take our bags to our room and valet park our car (ooooh so fancy!) then we freshened up a bit and went out on the town for dinner. We walked around and saw the gorgeous old buildings and we decided to eat at this restaurant called the Moon River Brewing Co. The restaurant was featured on some ghost hunters show and, once again, we picked a haunted hot spot! I didn't realize that Savannah is the most haunted city. Whoopsie! After dinner we went back to our hotel. The next day, Monday, we woke up early and had a wonderful breakfast in the atrium. The food was so good! We packed up all of our things and checked out of our room. The hotel let us leave our car and our bags for as long as we wanted while we explored the city. Most hotels kick you out and this was a pleasant surprise because we really didn't want to have to pay for parking all day long and waste gas. We went down to the river street and we rode the free ferry across the river and I saw a dolphin! I was so excited that I didn't get a picture of it, but I ended up getting a picture after all of its fin without realizing it, so that makes me feel better. I don't think Michael believed me :) haha. After our boat ride, we went to take pictures of Paula Deen's restaurant. We got to go inside and see a little bit of the place, but we didn't want to eat there since we heard so many bad reviews. We walked through the town and saw the location of the bench from Forrest Gump. We walked through a cemetery that was one of the oldest in town. It had 700 headstones and 10,000 dead bodies! I guess the headstones withered away or were taken or something. We saw Forsythe Park and the gorgeous fountain. The trees were amazing in the park with their moss covered branches. It was like being in a dream walking around downtown Savannah. After we saw everything downtown, we got the car, and some refreshing pink lemonade at the hotel, and we made our way to Tybee Island. The island is about 20 minutes from downtown. We brought our chairs and our beach gear and got in the Atlantic Ocean! I hadn't ever seen the Atlantic before, so I was super excited about it! The water was kind of murky, so I was scared to go in too far since I didn't have a float. (I didn't want the sharks to get me) Michael was brave and ventured out pretty far. There were dolphins swimming around everywhere and they kept coming out of the water. I didn't get a picture though :( Next time we go to the beach, I'm going to bring the video camera! Before we left, I wanted to feed the seagulls. That was a bad idea! They were hundreds of them and they were almost attacking me and other beach goers over the bread! I couldn't give it to them fast enough! The seagulls would even catch pieces of bread in mid-air! I think we made a bunch of people mad, but oh well! We didn't know they would be killer seagulls! After we were through at the beach we went to eat pizza at this cute little place on the beach boardwalk, called Lighthouse Pizza. It was scrumptious! We went to the pier after lunch and watched the ocean and the fishermen for awhile. Then we went to the lighthouse on the island. It was really neat. I've never seen a lighthouse before either! We left the island after taking pictures at the lighthouse and headed back home. Before we went home though, I wanted to see the Wormsloe Plantation. We drove all the way out to see it, and of course it's closed on Mondays! Boo :( We are definitely going to have to make a trip to Savannah again! It was such a cute city, rich with culture and history. On our way home we stopped in Atlanta to see the "tallest hotel in the western hemisphere"....aka the Westin and we rode the glass elevator 72 floors up to the Sundial revolving restaurant. Tourists can go up there and they have little observation areas above the restaurant to look at the city. It was AWESOME and FREE! We took tons of pictures! It's another place I want to go back to! The restaurant prices were decent and the view of Atlanta is breathtaking. Totally worth the frightening elevator ride to the top! We went home after that and went straight to bed! We were so exhausted! I'm so glad that we went on our little romantic getaway together! The next day was our anniversary and we went to Olive Garden in Oxford. After lunch we went to Jacksonville to get my books for school ( how romantic! haha) and then we went to the Alumni House and took pictur!es in front of it! It's hard to believe that 3 years ago almost to the hour we stood in front of our friends and family and exchanged our vows. I love my husband so much and I can't wait for our next adventure together

On our 6 hour drive!

Me and Michael

Michael pumps gas at the grossest gas station!

Entering Savanna

I'm so excited to be at our destination

Michael is so excited too!

The awesome door to our hotel room!

Our fireplace!

Our bathroom

Bathrobes!

Our wardrobe

Michael poses on the bed!

Our fancy flat screen tv

Our bed

Our fancy nightstand refrigerator

Me and Michael before we went out for first night on the town!

This was such a scary picture hanging in our room!

Me with the shoes of death

The sign outside our hotel!

The lobby!

The staircase!

Me outside our hotel!

Is that Michel??!!! I think so!!!!!!

A theater!

A statue!

Going to the river street!!

Me!

Michael!!!

The cobble-stoned street!

Michael at dinner!

Me at dinner!

Some beer cans!

We had broccoli, onion rings, french fries, and Michael ate chicken tenders

Michael next to the court house

Me and Michael

The Marshall House

Michael playing checkers in our hotel lobby!

An awesome painting in the lobby!

A poker table

Michael climbing the stairs!

One of the spooky hallways!

The hardwood floors!

A secret door! :)

Me in the bathrobe!

Michael woke up early!

Our view!

Me and Michael in the morning!

USA today! For free!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael getting some FREE breakfast!

My breakfast!

The fancy atrium!

Michael drinking his coffee!

He's so excited to have a wonderful breakfast!

We are on our way out!

Our fancy "luggage"!

The hallways!

The mirror in the hallway!

In the elevator!

In the elevator again!

In front of our hotel!

A fire escape!

The front of the Marshall House again!

The old cobblestone road covered with asphalt!

A river boat on the Savannah River!

The walkway along the river!

Michael and I before we boarded our FREE ferry!

A bridge!

A building!

The ferry!

Michael on the ferry!

Me on the ferry!

Michael is so excited!

The Captain!

The dolphin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can barely see it, but it's there!

Michael on the inside of the ferry!

The fancy ferry!

Michael and I!

The river!

The skipper!!

Some information about slavery!

I'm so excited!!

A tunnel!

The courthouse!

Some palm trees!

The Lady and Sons restaurant!

Michael and Paula Deen!

Me and Paula Deen!

Michael and I!

A monument!

CVS!!

Some creepy pictures!

Extreme Couponing.......Extreme craziness?

2011-07-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

I love extreme couponing!!! Once upon a time I used to pay full price for everything! I used to buy walmart brand stuff because I thought that it was the best deal out there. I always went shopping and spent about $200 every 2 weeks on our groceries. That was before I saw the light and realized how wrong my shopping methods were! Kanina is the girl who changed everything for us! She started extreme couponing and I was so sad because she just got a bunch of men's body wash for FREE when I had just spent our last pennies to get Michael some at full price! That was it for me and I decided right then and there that I would no longer be a slave to Walmart and be forced to buy their store brand. I started buying the newspapers and scouring the web for deals. Every time I went shopping I went in the store with all the sale papers and I researched the best prices for every item that I needed. Slowly I built up a stockpile and I am now pretty much able to only buy things that I have a coupon for or is at an extremely low price. I am now a coupon gangsta!

The return of the long lost Nikon D40!!

2011-07-23T00:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't had my camera in good working order for quite some time now. All of the pictures I post are stolen from Megan's camera and I have been sitting on the sidelines with my picture taking. I've been so sad without my camera to take pictures. A while back I dropped it and Michael was able to fix it and then the lens somehow refused to stay on months after he repaired it. When we went to the zoo, it was pretty much the final day in the life of my old lens. After holding it tightly in place for every picture, I let Michael take a picture of me feeding some swans and failed to tell him that the lens needed to be held on and he dropped it into the swan enclosure onto a concrete slab! It almost went into the pond and Michael had to reach over the fence to get it back. Today I went to lunch with Megan, Michael, Chuck and Gayle. Chuck ordered me a new lens and brought it to the restaurant and I immediately started taking pictures again! It was the nicest present ever! Thank you so much Chuck and Gayle! I really missed having my camera. All of you avid readers get ready because there's going to be a whole lot of blogging going on now that I have a new camera lens! Who wants to read a blog without awesome pictures? After we had lunch, Megan and I went and did a little coupon shopping and got some awesome stuff for really cheap. Then we met up with Michael and had dinner at Five Guys. We came home and Katie and Matt came over to bring us some candles that Katie got from a lady at work and we all watched the final Xmen movie. It was a fabulous Friday! Hopefully the weekend will be just as fun!

Michael looking out the window wishing he could go couponing with us

Gayle and Chuck after our delicious lunch!

Megan is so excited to go shopping!

Me taking the typical solo shot of myself

"Is it a bird?....Is it a plane??"

No....It's super server!!!!!!!

Sweet baby Daisy and Emily

Awwww!!!

So tired!

Our day at the Zoo!

2011-07-17T02:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in FOREVER! So much for the 30 day challenge....I guess I failed! Hahaha! We have been having such an awesome summer, I've been too busy enjoying myself and I haven't had the time to blog. We had an awesome Easter, Memorial Day, and 4th of July. I'm trying to savor as much of the summer as I can because before I know it, I'm going to be back in school. Michael and I decided to have a date last Saturday and we were going to go camping, but we opted to have a "staycation" and we went to Birmingham for the day. We went to the zoo, and had an awesome time! We got to see all of the new animals and we took tons of pictures. Then we went to the Brookwood mall, and then to Zoe's for dinner. We ended our night watching "Rio" at the dollar movies. I'm going to try and blog some more before school starts because I really won't have much extra time then. I also need a new lens for my camera. It won't stay on at all, unless I hold it on carefully. I'm having serious withdrawals from not having a camera. It sucks!

The Birmingham Zoo!

The banner for the new exhibit!

So cute! Parrot love!

Mr. Turtle!

The tiger lounging in his pool

They were feeding the lion some liquid treats from a spray bottle! So CUTE!

Sweet Michael

The most adorable African kittens ever!

Pumbas!

The Zebras!

An ostrich

A baby giraffe

The new elephant was camera shy!

Michael and I

Me and the spraying elephant

Michael and his Murse (just kidding...it was the camera bag)

Michael playing the bongos

He had a new band member join in

Michael in the mask

"ok! I'm ready! Is this pose good?"

This little guy was real tired.....reminded us of fat Chloe

I wanted to shove this little guy right in my purse! So Cute!

These guys were adorable too!

Look at that sweet face!!

The gorilla mooned us

A mirror!

My legs!

Another mask

A flower

A turtle peeked up at us!

My sweet Michael

A fountain

On the train!

We went through a "spooky" tunnel!

Me on the train

Michael in front of the train

These peacocks kept following us around

I think they had a crush on Michael

Some flamingos!

These guys were rude!

Michael stuck out his tongue and that pelican didn't appreciate it

Michael and a lorkeet

This cockatoo liked Michael

But when I went to take his picture he got mad

I think these seals were dead....just kidding..I guess they were tired

A kangaroo!

Michael feeding the black swans!

Me feeding them!

I love them!!!!!!!!!!! They were behind glass...and I think they wanted out!

Michael was trying to talk to the snake like Harry...but it didn't work!

This crazy lady was breaking the rules by crossing that fence...what a great example for her kids!

This was what she was taking a picture of.....as it ran away :(

Me on a tractor

Michael pets a rooster!

I love these! They look like they are from a different world!

Oh my gosh!!!!! We saw a chipmunk!!! I think it was Simon! Look at those cheeks!!!

Michael at dinner!

My remaining food! It was so good!

Day 7: Adaptation

2011-03-14T01:34:00.000-07:00

day 7- a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
The summer before my senior year in high school changed my life forever. My mother and I came to Alabama to visit her sister (my aunt) and all of her family. I had never been to Alabama before, so I was so excited! Being from El Paso, I didn't know about country life. My mother bought the house across the street so we would have a place to stay when we would come and visit. It was supposed to be a vacation house, an investment. I thought we were going to come back to El Paso. My mom and dad were arguing a lot, and my mom decided that she wanted to live in Alabama. My dad refused to move here, and before I knew it they were getting a divorce and I was going to a new school. I know there's probably a lot more to it, but I didn't know what was going on between my parents. Maybe I was naive or maybe they were good at hiding their unhappiness, I don't know. I hated to leave El Paso, but I knew I wanted to stay with my mom. I had to just deal with everything the best way I could. I left every friend I ever had in El Paso. I did meet a guy named Eric, and he made living here a little bearable. He was my boyfriend from 2001-2003. I was miserable in school. Everyone thought I was some kind of freak. Every day kids in school and even teachers treated me like I had leprosy. In El Paso, I was friends with all types of people, and there were many other kids who dressed like me and liked what I liked. When I went to school at Pell City, I was the reject. I was the kid that everyone stared at and whispered about. Just because I wore black band shirts that had skulls on them, meant that I was a devil worshiper that needed saving. All of the popular girls would band together and ask me to go to church with them so they could "save" me. This sorta thing happened daily. It was my senior year and I was all alone. Then September 11th happened. I was in my Aquatic Field studies class, and we got the news. I already felt terrible that I had to be in such a foreign place, but now I felt even more alone and scared. My dad and all of my friends lived in El Paso still, and I was terrified that they were going to get bombed or something since they lived right by Ft. Bliss. My mom would go out and stay out with her boyfriend, and I would stay home and watch CNN, wondering if we were in danger. I tried to make friends with Eric's sister, who was a senior too, but she had friends and they all didn't seem to care to welcome an outsider. She tried being polite and I was invited to all of the school activities, but we were never friends. I even went on my senior trip with her and her friends, but I just went so I could get out of town for awhile. I had to learn really fast to be on my own. I had to learn to be my own friend and be ok with solitude. I learned how wicked and judgmental people can be. For once in my life, my future was unknown. I was forced to grown up and realize that life wasn't easy and I had to figure out how to do everything completely on my own. I've learned to love this new place I now call home and I realize that all of this happened for a reason. It had to. I think that we have to suffer to get to the good stuff. My dad died about 6 years ago and El Paso has nothing left for me. I've been back a few times since we've moved here and it just doesn't feel like home. My childhood home is no longer the same, and the people there are all strangers. I will always have my memories of growing up in El Paso, but Pell City is home now.

"I don't get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls
Brought me here

And where was I before the day
That I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday
And I know

That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest"

Me on a horse and my cousin Cecil

Trying to be a cowgirl

My last year as a trooper

Me canoeing, No one picked me to partner up with so I was stuck with the last person no one picked

From my senior memory book, my September 11th collage.

Eric and Josh hanging out

Me and Eric at a concert

Me and Eric going to Prom

Monica Lewinski, aka Faries, A Joker, aka Megan, Disco Girl, aka me, Jason, aka Jason, a clown, aka Jim

On a field trip at the zoo

a really old picture from East Point Elementary (Megan and I are in the back)

Me visiting El Paso

a tumbleweed

Me and Michael and all of our dog babies

My mullet man!

Michael and I

Practicing getting hitched!

What is Zach doing in the background?

I love living by the river!

Alabama is so beautiful!

I even convinced Megan that living here was awesome....she loves being a farmer!

Me and Michael and a waterfall

I totally embrace my uniqueness! Be yourself and love who you are!

Day 6: Dean is so keen

2011-03-12T01:13:00.000-08:00

day 6- favorite super hero and why

As an only child who grew up around a lot of adults, I watched a lot of "grown-up" shows. I learned to love classics like I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Tyler Moore,Home Improvement, Walker Texas Ranger, and among those shows we would watch weekly, was Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I loved this show! Since we are talking about super heroes, I chose Superman, aka, Clark Kent as my favorite one. I thought he was so dreamy. I just loved how loyal he was to society and his family. He always saved the day even though the evil forces were always at work against him. I loved how dedicated he was to Lois Lane. I think all men should be more like superman. I'm all for girl power and feminism, but what girl doesn't dream being rescued by a big, strong, hunky guy, who flies around, saves the world from danger, and wears a skin tight suit revealing his rippling muscles? So if I have to chose a super hero, I definitely chose Superman!

Day 5: Being a Traveling Tourist

2011-03-11T00:39:00.000-08:00

day 5- a picture of somewhere you've been

I love to travel. I've been lucky enough to have traveled many places in my 27 years of life. I've been to San Fransisco, CA, Dublin, CA, I went camping in the Redwood forest, I've been to Juarez, Mexico, Farmington, NM, Alamagordo, NM, Durango, CO, Santa Fe, NM, I've been to Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, Jamestown, VA......there's a lot more cities in the states that I've been to, but I can't remember all of them :)! I want to visit every single state in the United States! Traveling is so much fun. My first long trip alone was when I went to Washington DC with my middle school. I was 14. I heard about the trip and I wanted to go. It was going to be the first time I was away from my parents and it was going to be the farthest I had ever been from home. I sold candy to pay for my trip and I didn't really have close friends who were going, so I had to make new friends, fast! Megan was in a few of my classes and she and I weren't really friends yet. We decided to room together and we were best friends from that day forward! We had the time of our lives on that vacation. Megan's mom packed tons of food (JUNK FOOD!) and we ate all of it the first day with our other roommates! We had so much fun exploring and seeing all of the historic sites. I really want to take a trip back there because we missed out on a lot of neat places. I can't wait until my next vacation!

Some of my best traveling tips:

If you ever see a giant statue of anything stop and take a picture with it!

Take a bike with you when you travel and explore the path less traveled

Even if a picture of you comes out gross, save it, because in the end you'll be thankful for it (all but 3 of my Washington DC pictures disappeared)

Take in the scenery when you travel and if you see a cool bridge take a picture!

Always stop at rest stops at the state lines so you can get a picture with the welcome sign and get brochures of attractions!

Explore the downtown areas! That's where the action is!

Visit local theme parks, but beware of little kids who might poo in the water!

If you see a silly board with holes cut out like this one, make sure you stop and put you head in them!

Always bring a good pair of sunglasses!

If you go on an airplane, take in the breathtaking views

If you are on a road trip and see a rainbow, stop and savor the moment

If you pass by a major landmark, like the mighty Mississippi river, take a picture!

If you ever go to the beach, make sure you watch the sunset

Always remember where home is!

day 4- Heather, the Puffin' Gal, no more!

2011-03-09T00:21:00.000-08:00

I have several habits that I wish I didn't have. I think everybody does. With the really bad habits all you can really do is acknowledge them, try to better yourself, and eventually rid yourself of those habits. I am so proud that I can say that I used to a pack-a-day smoker from age 15-25. I knew all along it was bad, but it was something I enjoyed doing. I didn't want someone to tell me to quit smoking because I was an adult and if I wanted to choose to be a smoker, that was my choice. I quit for me and for my life. I was tired of spending my hard earned money on something that was slowly killing me. I was tired of having to go outside to smoke, and I was tired of smelling like smoke. I hated the fact that I was weak and something like cigarettes had such control over my entire life. I couldn't go anywhere without making sure I had cigarettes. I knew also that one day I might have a child and I knew I never wanted my child to be subjected to such an addiction. I didn't want to be someone who had to keep justifying an unjustifiable act. One day in September of 2009, I just decided that I was going to quit. I quit cold turkey. I dealt with it. It wasn't a fun time in my life, but it was a lifesaver. I had cravings and mood swings like crazy, but I just learned to breathe in and out. Breathing in and out consciously was so soothing for me because with each breath I took, I thought about all the people who can't breath because they've done so much damage to their lungs by smoking. I thought about all of the people who are dying every single day because of tobacco and I thought about how lucky I was to be able to breathe. I savored each breath of fresh air my lungs so desperately needed after years of abuse. My body eventually got used to functioning with out the toxic fumes and my cravings dwindled down to almost nothing. I started exercising to strengthen my body and to get my mind of of smoking and that helped a lot. I liked feeling healthy for once in my life. When I would exercise before I quit smoking, my number one priority wasn't replenishing my body with a quenching bottle of water, it was lighting that cigarette and taking a refreshing puff. It sounds ludicrous when I write this down, but I guess it's what a lot of people go through. I was tricked in thinking that smoking cigarettes would make me cool, it would calm my nerves, and I thought it was something fun to do to pass the time.It sounds so stupid, but I felt like smoking made me tough. I guess I'm not completely crazy in thinking that because I grew up in an age where there was still advertisements on TV about smoking and all of my favorite movie characters were smokers. Smokers were everywhere you looked. A lot of us were brainwashed with that propaganda. I'm glad I'm no longer a slave to the tobacco companies, and I'll never forget the struggle it was for me to quit. I know for sure that I will never again touch another cigarette as long as I live. I want to live as long as I can and enjoy my life. As for a habit that I have now that I wish I didn't have.....the constant need to chew gum.....I only chew Dentyne Ice Arctic Chill. It has to be this exact brand and nothing else will satisfy me. If I go to a store and they don't have it, I have to drive around until I find "my" gum. I've had this problem for years now. I chewed gum when I smoked too, so it's not like I replaced smoking with gum chewing. I love opening up a new pack of gum, and I love the new fresh flavor. I chew the gum for a little while, and then as soon as the flavor begins to fade, I replace it with another piece. This goes on and on all day long. I am trying to do better, but if I get really stressed out I can go through a few packs a day! It's crazy! I love chewing gum. I'm not sure if it's doing any damage, but I wish that I wasn't addicted to chewing the gum. Too much of anything isn't good, and it's not good to have something take control over your life like that. Maybe one day I'll kick the habit of chewing gum, but for now, I'm going to keep on chewing. I wish I didn't have this habit, but maybe one day I'll work on it. Hey, it's better than smoking!

Me and Megan at the Godsmack concert (an example of me thinking smoking was soooooo cool)

Me at Megan's mom's house.....smoking outside

Me teaching poor Eric how to fish with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth

an example of multi-tasking....smoking and taking a fish of my hook

I thought it would be funny to try and trick everyone with Cassie's fake halloween cigarette (this is after I quit)

Look at how young and dumb I was! I thought smoking was so rad! Boy was I wrong!

My current addiction...Gum

Day 3: BFFs/ Thank you for being a friend

2011-03-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

Today is the day where I'm supposed to post a picture of me and my friends. How am I supposed to pick just one?You girls are my friends no matter what and I love being silly with you guys!

Me and Cassie singing Karaoke

Me, Cassie, and Kanina

Casssie and Me at the Beach

Megan

Cassie kissing her fish

Me and Megan doing makeovers

Me and Megan as Bert and Ernie

Me and Kanina

Me and Cassie

Me and Cassie playing tennis

Cassie and Me singing!

Me and Cassie!

Me, Kanina, and Casssie's back

Cassie, Me and Kanina

Brent being weird

Me and Kanina

Megan and me on a Horse

Me and Megan

Me and Megan in Durango being Saloon Girls!

Me and Megan at the Aquarium!

Me, Megan, and Cassie

Cassie, Megan and Me

Kanina and me

Me and Kanina

Megan, Me and Kanina

Day 2: Mi nombre and a love story

2011-03-07T00:21:00.000-08:00

I started writing this blog four months after I met Michael and I've tried to keep up with it the best I can ever since. This blog is our life, documented. It's the mundane daily happenings, or it's the exciting adventures we have, all written down for us to look back on and enjoy. I named the blog "The Wonderful World of the Watfords" because our world is wonderful, even if it's boring, it's our dream and we are living it.We don't have a life without troubles, by any means, but together we can get through anything. We love the life we have and we are both working constantly toward our dreams and goals together. I write this blog for us and our future family. I want to have a written history with pictures of our life together. Here's how we became the Watfords:

I started to look around on myspace one night because I had insomnia, like usual, and I came across Michael's profile. I saw that he liked Saved By The Bell, and I sent him an email telling him he was cool since he loved my all time favorite childhood show. I received an email right away and we started talking back and forth. We decided to meet up at the gas station in Pell City, and he came over to my house to watch a movie. Instantly we knew that we found something special. It's not everyday you meet someone and fall in love. I didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as I love him. I was thinking about it today and I've only been away from him once since we moved in together and that was when I went to El Paso with Megan for about a week. I can't imagine spending my life without him. He's my other half and he completes me. It's hard to find someone that you feel so connected with. I think it's a miracle we found each other. I wouldn't have ever met Michael if I didn't have a myspace or maybe I would've. I guess we'll never know. What I do know is that we were totally made for each other. If you ever find someone who you feel completes you, do anything and everything in your power to cherish them and appreciate what you have. I am thankful everyday that we both have each other and I don't take anything for granted. I wish that everyone could find true love because I know so many are searching for it. When you do find love, don't ever let it go.

Michael and I August 21, 2005

Michael and I in December of 2005

Michael and I in Lubbock

Michael and I kissing at the aquarium

Michael and I in a cornmaze

Michael and I on our 2 year wedding anniversary

Michael and I being silly on a camping trip

Michael and I on vacation in Panama City Beach, FL

Michael and I kissing on the beach

Day 1 : Super interesting facts about none other than ME!

2011-03-06T02:10:00.000-08:00

I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and take the 30 day blogging challenge too. I thought it would be fun to do since I've kinda been in a blogging rut. So get ready to see lots of witty posts daily with tons of pictures! Well I don't know just how witty they will be since school is sucking the life out of me, but I am going to try my best!

Day 1: recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

This is a recent picture of me!

I love animals! I try to help any strays and when I can I capture them and find them homes. I am really against animal cruelty and I wish that I could help more in stopping it. I am a vegetarian because I can't stand to even eat an animal.

I am severely allergic to cats and even though I am so allergic I still love them and I have to pet them. My life would be a lot easier if I just could learn to hate them, but kitties are so darn cute! If I wasn't allergic, I'd probably be a crazy cat lady.

I have the coolest pug dog ever! I got Chloe when I moved to Alabama and she was there for me when no one else was. I wish she could live forever!

I love to get dressed up! This picture was taken when we were dressed up for homecoming week. I think it was blast from the past day and we went all out!

I think I could win a prize for all the awkward pictures I have. My mom is to blame for capturing all of these horrid images, but even though they're embarrassing, they are pretty hilarious.

I had such a cool room in high school. I loved it! I had tons of band posters on my walls and the best part was the trash bag ceiling. Megan had the bright idea of stapling trash bags to our ceilings since we couldn't paint. We wanted a black ceiling that we could put those glow in the dark stars on, so voila! Great thinking Megan!

I may be a vegetarian, but I have a sweet tooth! I love candy, chocolate, cookies, cakes.......pretty much anything with sugar. Yeah....it's a problem :) I need to join a support group so I can kick my addiction.

I love handmade cards and anything handmade. It means so much more when someone actually takes the time to make something for you and I think it really comes from the heart.

Fireworks never cease to amaze me. I think it's because I'm from El Paso, where fireworks were illegal. I never really got to experience fireworks before I moved to Alabama. I love them!

I am always worried about germs! I use hand sanitizer way too much, and I try to never touch door handles in public places.

I don't really relate to girls. I've always been friends with guys and I never met a lot of girls that I could trust completely. Girls have a tendency to be so catty. The girlfriends I do have are awesome! I trust these girls with my life. We really get each other and I am so thankful to know such great women.

I married my soul mate. Michael is the most amazing guy I've ever known and I feel like we were totally meant for each other.

I love to go fishing, but I hate taking the fish off the hook. I'll even ask a random stranger to take the poor fish off the hook. I am such a wimp. If I had to, I know how, but I can usually con someone else into doing it for me!

I love when Michael plays the drums. He's so talented. Most people would get annoyed having drums in their house, but I love to hear him play because I know he's doing what he's passionate about. I wish that I had some musical talent. I played the piano when I was little, but music is not my thing.

I am scared to swim in any lakes, oceans, rivers or streams. The thought of giant fish eating me is always in the back of my head. If I do get in the water I MUST have swim shoes, some kind of a flotation device, and I always try to keep as much of my legs above water as I can so the fish can't bite them.

day 1- recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

day 2- the meaning behind your blog name

day 3- a picture of you and your friends

day 4- a habit that you wish you didn’t have

day 5- a picture of somewhere you've been

day 6- favorite super hero and why

day 7- a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you

day 8- short term goals for this month and why

day 9- something you're proud of

day 10- songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad

day 11- another picture of you and your friends

day 12- how you found out about blogger and why you have one

day 13- a letter to someone who has hurt you recently

day 14- a picture of you and your family

day 15- put you ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play

day 16- another picture of yourself

day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have

day 19- nicknames you have and why you have them

day 20- someone you see yourself marrying or being with in the future

day 21- a picture of something that makes you happy

day 22- what makes you different from everyone else

day 23- something you crave for a lot

day 24- a letter to your parents

day 25- what I would find in your bag

day 26- what do you think about your friends

day 27- why are you doing this 30 day challenge

day 28- a picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?

day 29- in this past month, what have you learned

day 30- your favorite song

Giving Peace a Chance

2011-02-28T22:52:00.000-08:00

The other day Megan and I decided to end our 9 month long feud and bury the hatchet. In celebration of us swallowing our bitter pride, we got together and made some dinner! It was delicious! We made our famous Bean Casserole, Spanish Rice, and Megan made her awesome orange diet soda cupcakes. Georgia, Megan's baby kitty wouldn't leave us alone. She loves being in the kitchen and she loves orange cupcakes apparently. We had so much fun cooking dinner again and taking pictures that we decided to do a collaborative food blog . It's going to be listed under my blogs if any of you want to check it out and it's under Megan's blogs too. We are going to be posting our fabulous recipes and putting tons of pictures up too. We had a great time hanging out again! I guess no matter how hard we tried we couldn't "delete" each other from our lives :)

Insomnia Writings

2011-02-21T01:26:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here and it's Monday morning, 3:30am. I can't sleep! Michael and I had an awesome weekend. We hung out Friday and watched movies, then on Saturday we woke up early and headed to Birmingham to do some shopping. We had lunch at Stix, which was delicious, and then we went to the Galleria. We went to a bunch of stores and walked around so much my feet hurt! I'm such a grandma! We went to the movies later on that night and saw Just go with it. It was so funny! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! I love Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler! On Sunday, we slept in and watched movies on the Tivo. Then my mom and Don came over for a visit. When we were about to leave our house to get some dinner and my cousin talked to us and showed my mom his little girl. It was awkward to say the least. I can't stand that everyone just acts like nothing is wrong and we are all one big happy family. It's really weird. I don't know why people can go for so long without talking to us, then act like we're so close. It reminded me of running into an old friend at Walmart. He said hi to Michael and I, like we were best friends and we just ignored him completely. I don't like to put on a happy face and pretend that everything is awesome. This person betrayed Michael and I and then wants to act like nothing ever happened. I am real, and if people don't like that I don't care. I know that I am a good person, and I don't know why these people are such jerks. I don't understand why people are too proud to say they are sorry either. It's really stupid. I think that Michael and I deserve an apology. I think life is too short. I know that a little too well. I wish that I had the chance to tell my dad that I was sorry for the way I treated him, but I never got the chance. Anyways....my cousin was like, "Why don't you and Michael have any kids yet?" and I simply told him that we wanted to wait until I graduated college and I had a job teaching for awhile. I don't know why people insist on bothering us about having kids either! Michael and I have so many dreams and goals for ourselves before we bring a child into this world. I want that child to have so much more than I ever had, and I know that it will be awhile before that's possible. I'm not saying we won't ever have kids, we just want to wait until the perfect time. I don't understand why people have kids without even giving it a second thought. That is why so many children have to suffer and live in poverty. I wish I could do something to help people more. I've been thinking about maybe going into counseling, but I think it would drive me crazy and break my heart when I couldn't help people. I've tried so many times to help my friends out before, and it sucked so bad to see so many of them hurting and not being able to really help them. I would probably be a crappy counselor. I guess counseling is more for people to vent, but I want to make a difference in people's lives. I want to help people be the best that they can be. That's why I want to be a teacher. I've had so many awesome teachers who really reached me and taught me so much more than just academics. I worry about my ability to teach though and the thought of failure is always in the back of my mind. I hope that I can get through to my students and I hope that I can inspire them to be so much more than they are expected to be. I know that I still have awhile left before I'm going to teach, but I know it's going to be here before I know it. I'm probably going to be accepted into the teacher's program this fall. I can't believe that school has gone by so fast. It seems like yesterday that I went back to school. I'm so thankful that Michael supports me too. He's so sweet. He helps me study a lot too. I'll make note cards and he'll quiz me. Sometimes he falls asleep doing it, but he still tries to help me :) It's so funny. Hmmm what else can I ramble on about? haha! I need to start going to bed earlier. I stay up late and sleep in on the weekends, and it throws my whole sleep schedule off for the weekdays. I have class tomorrow. English and Biology. I'm supposed to get my grade from my English test tomorrow, and I'm nervous! It's my first grade for English this semester, so hopefully I did good. I don't know what else I can say so I guess I'm going to try and force myself to get some sleep.

Valentine's day!

2011-02-15T12:26:00.000-08:00

I started my Valentine's day out by going to school. I had a major test in English, so that was fun. Then I went home and got ready for my surprise for Michael. I made sushi and cupcakes! We exchanged cards and candy the night before, because we are always too excited to wait! We ate our delicious food and ate way too many cupcakes! Then we watched some movies. I would much rather spend the night in on Valentine's day because it gets so hectic with everyone going out to eat. I always dreamed of having a Valentine when I was a little girl, he would be strong, handsome, and treat me like a princess. Now I actually have my prince charming and I couldn't be happier. He is my soul mate and my best friend and I am thankful everyday!

Feeding the ducks, our new dishwasher, and hanging out

2011-02-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

So for the longest time ever.....well since Thanksgiving, we have been without a dishwasher! I have never in my life had to hand wash dishes. We've always lived in an apartment, so a dishwasher was furnished. We planned on buying a dishwasher on Black Friday, but Michael got a sweet deal on a new Xbox, so we decided to wait a few months. Those months were the longest months ever! Haha! It wasn't so bad washing our dishes though. Michael would wash and I would dry and we got to talk about our day together while we did them. Doing the dishes together was the only reason it was bearable! Anyways...a couple of weeks ago we finally got around to getting a new one! Michael and I looked at all the different stores to make sure we got the best bargain. We went to eat lunch in Gadsden and after lunch we went to the lake to feed the starving ducks our leftover chips and french fries. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, the ducks started running up to us in a huge stampede. They knew we had food and we had so much fun feeding them. There were tons of sea gulls flying all around us too, I guess they realized that we had food and we ended up just throwing the rest of the chips down for them so we wouldn't get pooped on by the flock over our heads. School has been going well, and I'm working on a science project where I have to grow lima bean plants, so that's thrilling...NOT! It's been two weeks and I only have 3 out of 8 that have sprouted. Hopefully that's normal and I won't fail! I did my first observation with Crystal last week and that was awesome! She's an awesome teacher, and her kids really paid attention to her and seemed to enjoy her class. I have 25 more observation hours to do and then I'm through for the class. We've been trying to make time to hang out some too, and we went to dinner and a movie with Cassie and Brent. I went to eat lunch with Cassie and Kanina at Ono the other day too and it was so much fun! It sucks that we all live so far away, but every time we hang out we have a blast. I'm ready for the weather to get warmer! The other day the weather was crazy! It snowed, iced, rained and there were flurries all day long. I went to eat lunch with Michael and when I was driving home, the storm hit. It was snowing so hard on the freeway, it was sticking. Michael, thankfully, got off work early and we stayed in and watched movies. I love winter because I love snuggling under a blanket with Michael, staying in and watching tv, and our fireplace, but I'm ready for spring. I want to go outside and ride bikes, go on the lake, and just enjoy the sun again! I hope that groundhog was right and we'll have an early spring. :)

Tons of snow in Jacksonville

2011-01-19T23:32:00.000-08:00

So this school year has been super crazy! We started school and then the very next week we had the snow storm! They shut down classes for 2 days and when I did go back, there was tons of snow left! I was so sad I didn't have my Nikon camera, but I did take these with my iphone. All of the snow melted in Pell City, so I was thrilled to see the snow in Jacksonville. I met up with Cassie and we walked around campus and played in the snow. I know people probably thought we were crazy, but I LOVE snow! It's so magical. I totally relate with Lorelei Gilmore. Magical things happen when it snows. There were huge piles of snow everywhere and I was so depressed that I didn't bring my sled with me! Oh well, hopefully it will snow again! Anyways....school is amazing this year! I've been to all of my classes except for my Biology lab (which starts this Friday) and I love my teachers. I hope that I will continue to love them throughout the semester and that they weren't just being nice the first week. I am taking my first teaching class and I am thrilled! I actually get to observe in schools for 30 hours. I'm going to observe my sister-in-law, Crystal, and I'm going to observe at the high school in Pell City. I can't wait! It seems like just yesterday that I started back at JSU and now I'm seeing that I am making tremendous progress. The only thing that bugs me is that B that I got in Psychology. AHHHHhh! Oh well! I guess I can just make straight A's from here on out! One B isn't going to kill me, but it would've been sweet to have all A's in college. Who would've thought I would be such a nerd. I'm also thinking about some kind of a double major in Science too, but probably not. I'm just really enjoying taking Biology and I keep thinking about how much I used to love science. I would always be in the science fairs in school and I always loved Astronomy. We'll see though. I am probably just going to stick with my plan of Secondary Education with a concentration in English. Who knows! :) I do know for sure though that I am a lucky girl and I am so thankful for this opportunity to go to college. I thank my lucky stars every day for that.

SnOMG2k11 (as Lee Watford called it!)

2011-01-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

Sunday January 9, 2011, the national weather service predicted a huge winter storm that was expected to bring 4-7 inches of snow to our area. The weather predictions for snow can be quite unpredictable, so we really weren't sure what to expect. Michael and I went to get some groceries since we didn't have any and of course Walmart was out of bread! It's a well known fact that just as long as you have a good supply of milk, bread and eggs, you can survive any winter storm. We waited and waited and then finally the snow started coming down! We were so excited! We went out Sunday night, and played in it. We made a snow man and attempted to slide down a few hills in our neighborhood. We even took the dogs out in it and the little chihuahua girls didn't like the snow at all! Winkie and Chloe loved it and tromped around the backyard exploring the winter wonderland. Michael and I both had a snow day the next day so we stayed up extra late watching Walker Texas Ranger! Today we woke up and had some lunch and decided that we wanted to get out and explore town a little. We were very careful and we drove like 15 miles an hour. We went to Walmart and it was dead! I felt so bad for all the workers that had to risk their lives to be there. After we picked up some snacks and some shampoo, we drove down Hwy 78 and found some awesome hills. We went home and got the sled, and headed back to try out the hills. They were so much fun!! Michael and I took turns sliding down. The best hill we found was right by the Avondale Mills water tower. We sled down the hill there, and then at the bottom, there was a parking lot, and once we got to the bottom of the hill, we slid on the ice in the parking lot! It was so much fun! I'm so glad that I save that little green sled from White Sands, NM. Who would've thought that the little sled I got to slide down sand dunes would actually be used for what it was made for....SNOW!! After we laughed and sledded until we were sore, we went home and watched the BCS championship! Auburn played an awesome game and won! We had to pull for the home team this time. The roads are still really icy out, so Michael can't go to work tomorrow either and JSU has canceled class once again! We are so excited!! I'm glad we have yet another day together to hang out and play in the snow! We need to enjoy the snow while we can, because who knows when we'll see this much again!

Ringing in the new year with my sweetie!

2011-01-09T18:26:00.000-08:00

On New Year's eve Michael and I went to Munoz and had a fabulous dinner and $1 cervezas! It was delicious! Then we went shopping at Target and Walmart to see what they had on sale! We ended up buying a white Christmas tree for $10 and some multi colored lights. I know, I know....white Christmas tree?! We decided to put it up to see how it would look (just in case we didn't like it, we could take it back). We ended up loving it even though it's a little tacky! We just put up all of our Christmas stuff away, and now we have another tree up.....GREAT! Maybe we can just leave it up all year round and decorate it for Valentine's Day and Easter! Just kidding! It's going to come down very soon! After we put the tree up, we watched the ball drop, had our sweet New Year's kiss, then we shot off our fireworks! It was fun! Chloe really wanted to watch the fireworks too, so we went to the back yard and let her run around and chase the bottle rockets! She even did a sparkler with me :) It was so nice! I just know that this is going to be an awesome year!

Our first Christmas at home and our first white Christmas!!!!!

2010-12-28T19:06:00.000-08:00

After we got home on Christmas eve, Michael and I opened up our PJ's that "Santa" left for us.....AKA "me" haha. I bought them for us on Black Friday and saved them so we could have them for Christmas PJ's. We stayed up really late watching Christmas movies, and when we woke up the next morning, it was snowing!!!! It snowed all day! I was sooooo excited! I haven't seen a white Christmas since I lived in El Paso, and apparently Alabama hasn't had snow on Christmas since the 1800's! I guess all of my wishes for snow finally came true! We got up and I made cinnamon rolls, and we opened our presents. It was so nice to be able to be at home for Christmas. It's really fun to go and visit with family, but it was fun to change it up a little too. We got Michael's sister "Sassy" some treats for Christmas, and we had them under our tree before we gave them to her, and all the dogs kept smelling the package. We just had to get them some Christmas treats too, and they loved them! It was so funny. Molly's little eyes bulged out at the sight of them, and Chloe looked so cute eating hers with all her fat rolls. After we opened our presents, we watched some holiday specials, and then Cassie, Brent, and their dad came over. We had a Christmas dinner of Meatloaf, (not me though! ) Green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and rolls. It was awesome! We are so blessed to have such awesome friends and such a great family.

Christmas Eve with the Watfords

2010-12-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

We went to Chuck and Gayle's house for our annual Christmas eve Watford gathering. It was so much fun. Michael and I went down there a little earlier and we opened presents with Chuck, Gayle, Lee and Crystal. Then everyone else started arriving. This year, we decided to do "dirty santa", and we all brought a gift for the game. I had never played before, and I had no idea what I was doing, but I caught on quick and I had my presents stolen twice! I ended up stealing Kathy's candy and gift card to Cracker Barrel, and Michael ended up getting to multi-use tools. It was a blast! Even poor Nanny got her present stolen! I think we started a new tradition. Michael got a tool cart from his parents, and Lee and Michael ended up putting it together. We all hung out and had fun playing with little Colton. We gave Chuck and Gayle matching Santa Snuggies, and Chuck put his on, and Colton told him what he wanted for Christmas! It was hilarious!

Pell City Christmas Parade and our decorations

2010-12-13T00:59:00.000-08:00

This year we decided to put our Christmas decorations up early so I wouldn't be doing it during finals. It was the best idea ever! Anyways, we went to the Pell City Christmas parade the other night and brought Chloe and Molly with us. It was COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean can't feel your feet or hands or nose COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought we would be prepared because we brought chairs and blankets, but it was really bad. Chloe and Molly spent the parade tucked in the blanket and they were still shivering. After awhile we decided to go, but we pulled the car up to the side of the parade on a blocked street. We were able to watch the rest of the parade from the comfort of our heated vehicle! It was still nice to go see our little
hometown parade. It means that Christmas is just around the corner! I can't wait!!!

Springville Christmas Parade!

2010-12-12T23:59:00.000-08:00

We had been planning to be in the Springville Christmas parade for several weeks, and we almost didn't go through with it because the weather looked rainy. At the last minute, we decided to go ahead with our plans since the weather report looked a little less dreary. Michael and I met up with everyone and we got the army vehicles ready to go. We rode in the Navy jeep, Crystal and Lee rode the mule, and Chuck's military club friends drove their jeeps. Chuck was going to drive his green jeep, but he had some engine troubles and had to park it. There were tons of people lined up ready to see the parade and we waved and honked the horn! It was so much fun! After the parade, we all went to the parking lot of the high school. As soon as the parade was over, it started raining. Of course none of the vehicles were covered, so we were drenched. Chuck had to go get the trailer for the mule, so Crystal, Lee, Michael and I had to seek shelter in a nearby school bus until he returned. It was so much fun even though we had some engine trouble and got soaking wet!! Can't wait until next year! :)

Visiting the Anniston Museum of Natural History

2010-12-12T23:15:00.000-08:00

The last Biology lab that I had to do, involved me going to the Anniston Museum of Natural History. Michael and I met up with Chuck and Gayle, and had lunch at the Olive Garden. After lunch we headed out to the museum to start on my Lab. I had to find all these different birds and fill out like 10 pages of information on all of them. I took pictures of everything so I could just fill everything out at home. There were so many animals! I felt kind of bad because they were all dead, but it was interesting to see the different species up close. We went on the Birds of Prey trail outside too and we got to see several different birds that are native to the area. It was a fun day, and I was so glad to be done with that dreaded lab!