A few weekends ago my husband and I participated in a Dog Walk here in Tulsa. The proceeds and donations went to a local shelter here so we definitely wanted to participate, plus the doggies get to walk in it too! This was needed for Maggie our Labrador because she is not a social butterfly. We hoped being around other dogs would make her stop barking at them and dragging me across the apartment complex when she saw another dog and wanted to chase them. Fun for her but not for me seeing as she is really strong and I have hardly any upper body strength.  J

The dogs received bandannas for making a donation and participating. Gyzmo was a little too small for his bandanna so he wore his STUD sweatshirt instead because it was a little cold and windy that morning.

In the past when we have participated in charity dog walks I usually had to carry Gyzmo part of the way because he would get tired and hot half way through and want to stop. I was so proud of him this time; he walked the whole way and the whole way back without wanting to be picked up! Even though he is older now he was still able to do it!

Mommy’s little old curmudgeon!!!

After the walk there was a stage and a bunch of doggie vendors set up in the park. We got to see some of the local businesses that are in Tulsa like groomers, boarding places and some cute doggie shops. Plus Maggie and Gyzmo got to visit with the other dogs.

I was proud of Maggie for not being un-social at the walk but it didn’t do much to keep her from chasing and barking at dogs in our apartment complex when we go for walks. So much for that idea! We plan on taking her to the dog park down the street to see if that will slowly help her to be more social. J

Gobble, Gobble!!!!

Gobble!!! Gobble!!! Turkey and Thanksgiving go hand in hand and hopefully everyone got enough of it. J I know I did. On thanksgiving this year is was just me and James but I still went all out and kept tradition.

I made a super yummy jalapeño butter injected turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy, crescent rolls, stuffing, a pumpkin cheese ball, pumpkin pie, and chocolate pie. All for just us two! I thought it was worth it and I know James did too.

Plus one of the best parts of Thanksgiving turkey is the leftovers! I turn mine into an awesome tortilla soup with a recipe from my Mom that I tweaked a little. This is why I inject it with jalapeño butter; the flavor is amplified once it is in the soup with all the other ingredients. I didn’t take a picture of the soup but maybe at Christmastime I will share the recipe and pictures!!

This was the first year that I put out Thanksgiving décor. I made a Thanksgiving wreath and bought some cute placemats and runner for our dining room table. Then I place a fiber optic cornucopia that my Mom gave me as the centerpiece. Super simple but super cute!! Now I can’t wait to put out my Christmas décor!

Our New City-Tulsa, OK!!!

We have moved!! J On September 12^th we moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma for my hubby’s job promotion. We had been waiting for his promotion but we were surprised at how quickly it came, especially since we were told that it probably wouldn’t be until spring 2012. It was a hectic move; 5 weeks to pack up, find a place to live in Tulsa, put our house for sale and say goodbye to everyone in the valley. Needless to say it was a tad stressful. It was a difficult decision for us to move with me loving my job and the people I work with and then the worries of selling our house and me finding a good job in Tulsa. 

Now that we have been here for a month and a half, we are settled in our apartment and I have found a great job in a short amount of time. That was one of my biggest worries because of how the job market and economy are right now. I work as a government contractor for an agency for the U. S. Dept. of Energy. I have only been “on the job” for a little over 2 weeks but I like it a lot so far. While I wasn’t working I was able to unpack and set up our stuff. James loves his job and excited to see what else his company has to offer him in the future.

It’s funny how much stuff 2 people can have, plus going from a house to an apartment is not easy but we want to sell our house and get to know the area before get a house.  We had a hard time finding apartments that allow bigger dogs and that weren’t less than 1000 square feet. We managed to find one and we like it. I can’t say we love it because the kitchen is tiny and I like to cook and bake so I get frustrated with it, but it is still a very nice apartment so I am thankful we found it. J

So far we have gone out and explored the area on the weekends. We checked out the casinos, the zoo, done some shopping and we went to the State Fair a few weeks ago.  There are still a ton of things for us to explore and see which is why we really like it here!!

I'm officially a Thirty-One Consultant!!!!

It’s Official!!!  I am now a Thirty-One Independent Consultant!! I am so excited to begin this new journey in my life. I can’t wait to see the awesome things Thirty-One has in store for me.

I decided to become a Thirty-One consultant to have fun and meet new people. Growing up my Mom always had some type of direct selling party at her house, whether it was Pampered Chef, Tupperware or one of the other companies and I loved going to them. I would help with the food and cleaning and play the games that the consultant had. I loved it! As I got older I thought about becoming a consultant for other companies before but I didn’t find one where I really, really loved the products until I was introduced to Thirty-One!  The way I was introduced to Thirty-One is another great reason why I joined, to be able to travel more!!!

I meet Kristen my Sponsor/Director on a cruise that my husband and I went on in February. Her and her husband were assigned to the same dinner table as us so we were introducing ourselves and what we did and she told us that she worked for this great company that I had never heard of, Thirty-One. I was planning on googling the company when I got home. J On the last night at dinner she handed me a catalog and said to look at it on the drive back home from Galveston. Within minutes I was hooked! I love purses and bags and everything personalized! I couldn’t believe how the catalog was perfectly me. J I was just planning on calling her to have a party when my husband said why don’t you just become a consultant since you have always wanted to do something like that, so here I am!! Once talking to Kristen she told me that she had won that cruise as a reward from Thirty-One!! I was even more hooked then!

Thirty-One has wonderful products that can be personalized for that special touch. They have purses, totes, and accessory bags, organizing products, children’s products and so much more. The best part is that you can personalize it with your name or a cute saying embroidered right on the product.  I also liked what Thirty-One stood for. Here are some products that I recently purchased!

Such fun stuff!!

The company’s mission is to celebrate, encourage and reward women. They are a very giving company and put their employees and consultants first. A great example of this happened yesterday when I enrolled. I got a call from Home Office welcoming me to the company and wanting to see if I had any questions or concerns about my enrollment. This was crazy to me because not a lot of companies put much effort into supporting their consultants.

I am hoping to make this a very prosperous business venture and hope you can help. J I would love to have you host a party so you can see all the awesome products Thirty-One has to offer. As a hostess you can earn free and half price items!! What is better than that?

 If you are in the RGV area you can host a home party right at your house and invite all of your girlfriends, family and co-workers. If you are in San Antonio or Corpus Christi area, you could do a home party too since I travel to these cities often as well!! If you aren’t in my area you can also host a catalog/online party! They are super simple. I send you all the info and resources you need and you show your friends, family, etc and reap the benefits. J Contact me today if you are interested.  E-mail: 31giftsbyHNA@gmail.com

As part of being a consultant I will have an all things Thirty-One Blog in addition to this one. It will have product reviews, special offers and lots of great information about Thirty-One and its products! You can follow it with this link: http://www.31giftsbyhna.blogspot.com/ 

View the catalog here.
Visit my website at www.mythirtyone.com/31giftsbyHNA.

Super Cute Cupcake Carrier

I found the cutest cupcake carrier recently so I had to share!

While grocery shopping at HEB Plus I found this cupcake carrier in one of the bins they have at the ends of the aisles. Normally I don't pay much attention to these bins but this caught my eye right away. I love to bake cupcakes and I always had the problem of transporting them to work or whatever party I was bringing them to. I would have to carry two different containers because the one I have only holds 12. Carrying two big carriers was not easy with my purse and all the other junk I bring to work, plus trying to open doors and use a swipe card didn't help. This one holds 24 and is easy to carry with the handle and its small size!!

Plus the great thing about this one is that the cupcakes don't shift around because the cups are deep so the whole cupcake fits in the slot. The trays also leave room for them to be decorated. Perfect for me!! I may have to get a second one, especially since it was just $20!

The tag was super cute too so I had to share!!

Very Me!!!

Springtime is my favorite time!!!

Happy Easter/Spring everyone! I love springtime because everything looks so pretty with all the flowers blooming and the warmer weather. It is already pretty hot here in the Valley but not as bad as the summer so I am fine with that! This blog I decided to do another wreath, I love changing mine out each holiday or season and wreath making is an easy and fun way to decorate. My wreath has an Easter and spring theme because I liked some of the spring stuff so much I had to put it in there.

Here is the list of supplies needed for this type of wreath:

Grapevine wreath

1-2 cans of spray paint (depending on size)- color of your choice (I did white)

Wood or metal sign

2-3 inch ribbon for bow- I always make the bow off of the spool so I don’t waste any ribbon (you can buy an already made bow if you don’t like to make them)

Floral wire for bow

Thin curling ribbon or wire- small amount (ex. 12in long piece)

Assorted picks- I found some pretty butterflies and ladybugs that were bright and Spring-like.

Assorted accessories- I found some inexpensive plastic eggs, little wood signs and some cute chicks.

Hot glue gun

Glue sticks

Step 1:

Spray your wreath with the desired color spray paint. I usually spray paint in our driveway so that our garage doesn’t smell like spray paint. Also make sure you lay down a tarp or something under your wreath so you don’t get paint everywhere. I couldn’t find ours so I used an IKEA bag. Be sure to do both side of the wreath and in between the vines. Depending on the size of your wreath you may need more than one can. I used 1½ cans to get a good even coat and my wreath was a big one. Once your wreath is fully sprayed then set it off to the side to dry for about a day. Even if you use fast drying spray paint I would still wait a day to decorate so that you don’t have a mess.

Step 2:

First, I lay out my supplies and ‘play’ with different designs and arrangements of my accessories. Sometimes what you have in your head is not as pretty on the wreath or you come up with a better design while you are moving things around. This has happened to me a few times so I always ‘play’ first. Once you have decided on a layout, it’s time to glue.

Step 3:

Place your sign on the wreath first and secure it with the curling ribbon or wire. I always add some glue to the ribbon/wire and the wreath so that the sign doesn’t shift with moving it or with the wind. Next, place your bow. You can do any type of bow that you like. I change mine up from wreath to wreath. I did a 9 loop puffy bow this time. I chose a pink gingham print because I thought the Easter ribbons available at Hobby Lobby were too busy and I wanted something simple. Take the extra floral wire from making your bow and tie it to the branches in the wreath. Put a little glue on the wire where it meets the wreath for security.

Step 4:

Now you can start gluing your accessories and picks where you want them. First, I placed the 2 butterfly picks in the top left hand side of the wreath. I wanted them to look like they were flying from far away so I pushed the wire pick part through the middle of the branches in the wreath and wrapped it around the back. I wrapped the wires around themselves a few times so that the butterflies stood up straight and couldn’t move too much. Then I tucked in the wires so they don’t stick out.

Since I was able to find the plastic eggs that open and have the top and bottom shells remain attached, I thought it would be cute to place some of the chicks in the egg so that it looked like they were saying “peek-a-boo”! Hahaha  Place some hot glue in the bottom part of the egg and stick your chick in there.

 I bought 2 little wood signs that said Easter Egg Hunt and Chick Crossing so I glued one on each side and placed the matching chicks and eggs next to them. The cute little signs were less than a $1 at Hobby Lobby and they are so cute.  I had leftover eggs so I put more of them on the same side as the chicks because I wanted the chick in the egg part to flow.

Lastly, I added my ladybug clips. These were too cute to pass up at Michael’s so I bought them and made them work into my theme. Plus ladybugs are for good luck so it can’t hurt, right? Since these just clip on I placed 2 on the bow and another one on the wire from the sign. I also added a little bit of glue to the clip before I closed it so it would stay better.

Here is the finished product!

I hope everyone has a "Hoppy" Easter!!!



Shutterfly is awesome!!!

I absolutely love the Shutterfly website! I was first introduced to Shutterfly about 4 years ago by my husband's aunt. She always made photo books and calendars from them and gave them as gifts. Once I started on Shutterfly I couldn't stop. First it was just a place to keep all my pictures in one place for free but then I started creating photo books, calendars, Christmas cards, prints, etc.

To me their photo books are a great way to preserve memories. They are easy to create and really great quality as well. We keep all of ours on our coffee table as conversation pieces and a way to share our life and experiences with our guests that come to visit. 

 Sometimes I like to look through them and reminisce on the past. :)

I make a photo book after each vacation and for major events. With the change in technology it is just easier to create a photo book instead or printing out the photos and putting them in a photo album. I love to scrapbook but that gets costly with all the stickers and stuff so I keep the scrapbooking to the bigger events. The photo books from Shutterfly won't fade or get ruined with age and that is important to me because I want to keep these memories forever. Here is my most recent photo book from our cruise:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbtnLJm3aMmTo4

Each year I make our Christmas card with Shutterfly and they always have great backgrounds to choose from. Unlike other companies, Shutterfly provides the envelopes to send out your cards in. They also have matching address labels with the same backgrounds as the cards, so you can be super cute and matchy matchy! They have so many to choose from it is hard to just pick one! Here is last year's card that we sent out.

I haven't used all of the different features of Shutterfly yet but I am slowly learning and using more of them especially since most of them are FREE!!!! About a year ago I created a share site for our family. The link is http://heatherjamesalverson.shutterfly.com/. Share sites are basically personal websites. You can add videos, pictures, calendars, notes and much much more. The sites can be public or private and you can add members too. The members can comment or your stuff and they get e-mails of updates that you make on the site. This is a great way to keep family informed of updates or recent pictures. I love adding the photo books that I have created because that adds more of a story for members to read instead of just seeing the pictures.

They also have an iPhone app (who doesn't!) which I have. It lets you view all of the photos you have on the Shutterfly site so you can e-mail or text them to your friends right from your phone. You can also upload pictures from your phone's camera and they will be in your Shutterfly site when you log onto the computer too. It is more convenient than taking the picture with your phone and then e-mailing it to yourself to add it to Shutterfly when you get on your computer later.

Last but not least, Shutterfly has awesome, awesome discounts and deals. Once you become a member you get 50 free 4x6 prints, then if you sign up for offers(which you should) you get e-mails with special discounts for members and even free products. I get a free photo book every year and I have received a free calendar as well. They offer free shipping quite often as well. How can you say no to that!! :)

There is so much more that you can do on Shutterfly! Check it out for yourself!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!!
This is my second favorite holiday after Christmas. Being Irish is another reason to enjoy this holiday.This year I made a St. Paddy's Day wreath for our front door. I love making wreaths because they are easy to do and very personable. Plus they are very inviting to the people at your front door.

Supplies needed:

straw wreath ( these are the cheapest at the craft stores)
garland (I chose white with metallic shamrocks)
hot glue gun
assorted accessories (this can be picks, ornaments, knick-knacks, etc.-whatever catches your eye at the craft store)
plastic wrap
wood or metal sign (to get your message across; ex: Welcome, Happy St. Patrick's Day, etc)
Ribbon
thin ribbon or wire to attach your sign to the wreath

First, I wrapped the straw wreath in green plastic wrap just in case the garland moved and to keep a more uniformed look. This is optional but it keeps the straw wreath from shedding all over the place. Next, I wrapped the garland around the wreath and hot glued as I went. It took about 3 and a half packages of garland.

Next I added the sign by using 24 gauge jewelry wire to secure the sign to the wreath. You can do this with thin ribbon such as curling ribbon, tie the ribbon tight and glue the knot to the wreath as well to make sure the sign doesn't shift with wind or movement. From here you can add the ribbon and accessories.

I made a double bow to be a little different and then I found a wooden shamrock ornament that I took the hook off the top. I hot glued that to the middle of the bow and then hot glued the bow to the bottom of the wreath. I normally put the bow on the top or bottom of the wreath but I have added small bows to the sides before. This is totally up to you and wherever you think it will look best. Next, I added the accessories. They don't have a lot of St. Patrick's Day stuff down here so I got what was available. I placed the big pipe by the leprechaun's hand so it looked like he was holding it. Then I hot glued the rest of the accessories/ornaments around the rest of the wreath.

                                                                                          Voila!!

Super cute and super easy! I hope you enjoy making yours!!

I hope everyone has a great St. Patrick's Day and don't forget to wear green!!!  Until next time...