PRAYERS needed

Yesterday our newest addition to our ever growing family was born. Todd's cousin and his wife had their 2nd little girl. Miss Macy Julianna Hicks was born 7:47 am via c section. She was 8lbs 4.5oz and 19 inches long. Everything looked perfect. She is the most beautiful baby. Yesterday afternoon they noticed she wasn't breathing like she should. She was shipped to Houston yesterday afternoon. She is on a ventilator but they have already decreased her oxygen and she is doing very well. The doctors are saying she looks very good. I was able to be at the hospital with Callie before they took Macy to Houston. She had her eyes open and was very alert. Everything is looking good, but I just ask that you keep this precious family in your prayers. Callie will be discharged today, so she can go to Houston to be with her husband and Macy. We know that God is always in charge and he will bring Macy home soon. I know he will heal her and everything will be just fine. We can't wait for her to come home. They are saying it might be 1-2 weeks.

Isn't she just BEAUTIFUL!!

Diet and Exercise Update

I am on day 3 of my South Beach Diet. It is going good so far. I may have cheated just a little on the first day. I may or may not had 3 slices of pizza for dinner. It was Bachelor night and I couldn't resist okay. HAHA. I haven't had a hard time at all though. Its actually been easier than what I thought. I bought the South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cook Book last week and cooked my 2nd recipe out of the book tonight. Both recipes I have cooked have been delish. I will give you a run down of what I have been eating just in case you are interested. I have a protein shake for breakfast and 2 turkey sausage patties. For lunch I either have a salad loaded with veggies and chicken or tuna salad(with mustard instead of mayo). I also eat jello for a little dessert at lunch. Some of my snacks include, celery with laughing cow swiss cheese, string cheese, almonds and turkey jerkey. It is a good thing I love cheese. I don't know if I could survive on this diet if I didn't. For dinner I am cooking recipes out of the SBD cook book. I have been quite impressed with the recipes. Even my hubby likes them, so that is always a plus :) Tonight we had Baked Pesto Chicken and it was so yummy. It is the easiest thing I have ever cooked. I should have taken a picture to show you how yummy it looked. Sorry, I will next time. I am trying to cook my way through this cook book. We will see how it goes.

I thought I would catch ya'll up on how The Shred is going. I am now on Day 12. I haven't done it consistently every single day. I usually take off Saturday and Sunday for rest days. I am now on to Level 2 and it is kicking my booty. Looking back, Level 1 is so easy now. haha. I don't know if I will survive these 10 days on Level 2. I am so sore, my arms, back, legs, and bum all hurt. I can't even imagine what Level 3 is going to be like. I can definitely tell a difference in my arms and legs. They are so much stronger. I am also starting to see more definition in my arms, which I am loving by the way. :) The Shred is definitely hard but Jillian motivates you so much and with it being 20 minutes it goes by super fast. I am still enjoying it and I haven't gotten bored with it. I plan on starting back to boot camp in Feb. I haven't weighed myself yet to see if I have lost any weight. I think I will wait and weigh myself on Sunday to see if there is a difference. Wish me Luck!!

I hope everyone is having a great day. I am sorry I haven't had many pictures lately. Life in our house has been kind of boring. Tomorrow we are going to comedy night with friends and I promise to have pics posted. It should be fun and I am looking forward to it. Hope you all have a good night. :)

Bachelor = LAME"O"

Last nights episode was lame. I am so over this season. It is getting worse by the episode. It was so boring!! I think most of it is because Jake. I liked him in the beginning but now he just bores me to death. I can't help but just watch and laugh and make fun of everything. I could care less who he picks in the end now. Normally I am all about The Bachelor/Bachelorette but this season is just plain terrible!!! On to my impression of the girls last night.

Tenley- She has become my new number one favorite. I think her and Jake match perfectly personality and looks wise. I really do think they would make a great couple and could have a wonderful future together.

Ali- I still like her, but man she has become a little caddy. I can't believe the way she talks about Vienna and her attitude. She needs to focus on her and Jake's relationship and quit talking about the other girls when you have one on one time. I think she might be out next week if she doesn't quit talking about Vienna to Jake.

Vienna- Speaking of sausage, she still gets on my nerves. I don't really care for her but Jake seems to truly be falling for her. I don't get the chemistry there. I am ready for her to go, but I think he might pick her in the end. They are saying it is a SHOCKING ending. Of all the girls left Vienna would be the most shocking choice.

Corrie- Shes okay to me. We don't really see enough of her to make a prediction about her and Jake. I think she is a beautiful woman and she seems pretty down to earth.

Gia- Oh my goodness, there date looked so scripted. I seriously had to cover my eyes. It was so awkward and uncomfortable. Spin the bottle? Seriously? Are we in the 5th grade. I couldn't stand her little fake giggle either. She is Todd's favorite, but I could care less about her. I do think she will make it to the final 3.

I will say, I was proud of Jake for not giving out another rose if he is not feeling it. I agreed with his choices and thought Jessie and Ashleigh should go home. Jessie has never even talked to Jake and I still don't understand how she made it this far. Ashleigh's one on one time was just terrible. I think she had one too many drinks, and she needed to pull that dress down. Her booty was on the verge of showing!


Don't forget to join After the Final Tweet with @daveandbrit, @babblingabby @duetdiva. These girls tweet throughout the show and they are hilarious. You can also follow me on twitter at @karahsfa06. I protect my tweets but just request to follow.

I made a cute banner/sign last night for my friend Callie. She is due with her 2nd little girl on Thursday. We are so excited to have another little girl in the family. Macy Julianna will be making her appearance Thursday morning. (will post pic of it later)

I also made one for The Main Event. What do you think? I am loving using my Cricut to make these cute signs. They are so much fun.
I hope everyone has a TERRIFIC TUESDAY!! haha :)

Friday Ramblings

Thank goodness its Friday! I love my Fridays!! It is so nice when Friday decides to grace us with her presence and we get 2 days off from the hectic work week. Sorry my posts have been so random this week. Not much has been going on in The Stracener household. Today I am just going to do a post of my ramblings.

1. I am super excited that Mrs. Newlywed Stilettos, now Mama Marshall is coming to visit me in April. She was my first bloggy friend that was not my IRL(in real life) friend. I went to Maryland in October to visit and she will be coming to Texas this spring. I am so excited for a girls weekend.

2. Somebody stole my hubcap while I was in church. I parked in the alley because I was running late and I never park there, so I think it happened then. My wonderful hubby has scored me a new hubcap for $48. Yay, now I don't have to take it to the dealership and have them rip me off. Its all about connections and who you know right? haha

3. I have officially set my weight loss goal. I want to lose 15lbs by April 22nd. Why that date? Its our 4 year anniversary and I think that its a reasonable goal. I know I can lose 15lbs by April. I am still doing Jillians 30 day shred and I can definitely tell a difference in my endurance and strength. I am only on day 10 because I have skipped a few days.

4. Yesterday was a beautiful day. It felt like spring time so I put on my running shoes and went on a little run. I am proud to say I ran 2 miles and I haven't ran since the summer. WOO HOO. I was very proud of myself. I am going to get back into running, I miss it. I am one of those people that actually enjoys running.

5. I have spending some quiet time with God and really asking him to lead my life and show me what my purpose is in this life. I have been counting my blessings and living day to day. I know that I am so blessed in my life and I just want him to know, for that I am truly THANKFUL!!

6. I am participating in Kellys Korner Show Us Your Life today. Its my first time to participate and I am so excited. Today we are showing our favorite places to shop.

Ya'll know that I am such a bargain shopper. I rarely buy anything full price. I always wait for the sales or coupons. Some of my favorites places are of course Ross, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Target, Old Navy.

Some of my new favorite places to shop online are Forever 21

They have all the latest trends and they are at a great price. You can't find a better place to buy such cute cheap clothes.

I think this dress would be great for a bridal or baby shower in the spring time. I love the color!

Ann Taylor Loft

There clothes are very classy and never go out of style.

This top is adorable.

This makes me so ready for Spring. I love how this outfit is put together. Its super cute. I need help in that dept. Its hard for me to put outfits together.

My newest online obsession is Shop Ruche. They have some really cute dress and cardigans. There dresses are pretty cheap too. I am currently drooling over this dress. How cute is that? I just read online its currently SOLD OUT :( Maybe they will get some more because I think it would be adorable to wear to a wedding.

I think this dress would be super cute with leggings and black flat boots.
Okay well that's all I have for today. I hope you all have a good weekend. I can't wait to see everybody favorite places to shop.

Vidalia Chop Wizard

My brother is notorious for getting my mom the latest and greatest tv infomercial product. You know what I'm talking about... For example, the sham wow, air bake pans, a miracle thaw, snuggie, onion chopper. Every Christmas he gets her some type of infomercial product. It's a running joke to see what she will receive each Christmas. This year she of course got the Snuggie, a zebra one to be exact. It was too funny and she loved it. I am not gonna lie, I was a little jealous I didn't get one. :( Last year she received the Vidalia Chop Wizard and ever since she got one, I have wanted one too. This thing is amazing! I have needed a chopper for quite some time but just never bought one.

Well, never fear, because my brother came to the rescue this Christmas and bought me the Vidalia Chop Wizard. I was so excited. I am always chopping bell peppers and onions for a salad, so this was perfect. This is the best thing. It will cut anything, even apples. It's so easy to use and now instead of chopping up just part of an onion or a bell pepper for my salad, I can go ahead and chop up the whole thing. I put the rest of the chopped onions and bell peppers in little snack bags to use for the rest of the week to put in my salad. The chopper comes with 2 different size grates, a small one and a large one. Its easy to clean and easy to store. Have you ever used one? If not, you don't know what your missing out on. You can find them now at Target or Bed Bath and Beyond.

It has become my new favorite kitchen tool.

Bachelor Recap

What did you guys think of The Bachelor last night? It wasn't as drama filled as I had hoped. Darn :( haha. There was the usual cat fight in the girls mansion. Every season there is that one girl that all the other girls don't like. This season it is Vienna or as I like to call her Vienna Sausage! haha. Sorry, that is all I can think of when they say her name. She kind of brought on the cat fight by herself. Nobody really wants to hear all about your date and your intimate moments. I mean come on, there are 15 girls fighting for one guy. Vienna they don't want to hear about you kissing their potential husband. I don't really care for Vienna. She is not one of my favs, but it appears that she is a favorite of little Jakey's. He seems to really like her. Their whole crying, scared scene before they bungee jumped was a little much. Come on Jake, you are supposed to be the man here.

Next we have the group date and what do you know Crazy Michelle is finally getting to go on a date. Little does she know what the future holds. BAHAHA! The girls go to a comedy club and have to do a little improv stand up comedy. Okay, I would have lost it right there. I would have acted just like Ashleigh!! There is no way I would be able to come up with something funny with a LIVE audience....talk about putting on the pressure. Most of the girls did not impress me at all. Corrie really lost me, I liked her until she started making fun of all the girls. I thought it was kind of rude and inappropriate. I could have never done that. I guess it showed her real side though. It seems like she might be a little catty, wouldn't you say? My favorite on that date was Ashleigh, she was very real and got up there and told a couple of blonde jokes and was done. She kept it classy. She might be a new favorite of mine :)

Michelle finally gets her alone time with her Jakey Poo and of course she starts talking and crying at the same time. This girl is crying every time she talks to Jake. It is getting a little old sweetheart. She tells him how she is here to find love and marriage, and how she wants to find a husband. She then precedes to ask him if she can have a kiss. Can we say AWKWARD? This had to be the most awkward moment for Jake. After they kiss she tells him that he has to give her more than that. What? You are not getting it girlfriend, he obviously didn't want to kiss you in the first place. She starts telling him she doesn't know if she can stay, blah blah blah and then she asks him if he wants her to stay and finally Jake steps up and basically tells her no I think you should go. He tells her we don't have to wait for the rose ceremony. Haha, I am loving Jake at this point. Kudos to Jake for stepping up to the plate and finally making a good decision!! He definitely won brownie points with me for getting rid of her.

Ella gets the next one on one date and they go to Sea World. It was a sweet date because Jake had her son there. They enjoyed their day at Sea World as a cute little family of 3. I thought the date was lacking chemistry, but I do like her. I just don't know if she is the one for Jake.

My picks are Ali, Tenley, Kathryn and my new fav Ashleigh!

I am hoping next episode will be a little MORE DRAMA AND SHOCKING SURPRISES!! It looks like it will be a good one. Stay Tuned :)

Weekend Review

This weekend we had The Bridal Market and it was a huge success. We had a total of 97 brides come through. The Fredonia Hotel in Nacogdoches was a great place to have it. I was so happy with the turn out.

I am spending the day at home today because I am feeling a little under the weather. I came down with a sore throat on Saturday and it just got worse as the day progressed. NyQuil became my best friend that night. Sunday I woke up and was feeling much better until last night. I did not sleep at all. I was coughing, had a stuffy nose, and tossing and turning. I couldn't breathe half the night so I was just up and awake. I already had the day off because I had originally taken it off so my friend Julie and I could go to Dallas Market. I decided since I didn't sleep at all last night, I would go ahead and stay home, and try to enjoy my day off. I hope I feel better by tonight because its our weekly girls night to watch The Bachelor.

It was a sad day in The Stracener household yesterday. :( We finally took down the rest of our Christmas decorations. We had taken most of it down but we still had 2 trees up and the mantle decorations up. I told my husband that the day had come, and it was time to take it all down. It's always a little sad taking it all down, but then it feels good to having everything back in its place again. To be honest, I was getting a little sick of the decorations... haha. We have so many ornaments on our tree that it took 2 hours just to take the ornaments off. Crazy right?

We recently got new wood floors in our bedroom and they look amazing. A week ago Bentley threw up FOUR times on our carpet in our bedroom. We could not get the stain out for anything. We tried every little remedy, nope nothing was working. We decided to just go ahead and rip up the carpet and put in wood floors. I was apprehensive at first because I really like carpet in the bedroom. It makes it comfortable and cozy, but when I got home from work the other day and saw the wood floors completed I LOVED IT!! It makes our bedroom look so much bigger and clean. Now we have to find 2 runners to put on either side of the bed. Anyone know a good place to find 2 runners that look alike, but do not necessarily match.


I hope you all had a good weekend. Don't forget to watch The Bachelor tonight and look for my review about it tomorrow. Happy MLK Day!!!