A Conversation with EmmyLou!

Yes, we are those crazy dog people.

(Tyler goes into the bathroom, shutting his shadow EmmyLou outside the door)

EmmyLou begins barking loudly

Tyler: “What is your problem?”

More barking, it sounds like she is throwing a fit…

Tyler: “EmmyLou, Quiet”

Now she starts whimpering

Tyler: “O baby girl you’re fine..”

At this point she gives up and I can her plop down outside the door, with one last pathetic whimper

Before I know it Tyler is walking into the living room caring EmmyLou and she is wagging her tail, happy as can be

sooo I was really hoping Tyler's first morning at his first real job would be smoother...

So, I love my dogs. I really do. They are like my little children, I have officially become one of those crazies that speaks in a high pitch voice and talks about her pets all the time. I get upset when someone says something bad about them, and even more upset if I think someone hurt them (cough our neighbor cough). Having a puppy is like falling in love with a two year old, that you are trying to potty train and bringing them home to destroy and pee all over everything you own, but when she sits and looks up at me I can’t help it..I melt and fall in love again.

LeRoy and EmmyLou are two of the best parts of my life, but they are a ton of work and when they are hurting it breaks my heart. Last night at 4:00 am (yes..4:00 am on the day my husband starts his new job) LeRoy starts vomiting..and crying and vomiting. It almost made me cry. So we were up at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, and 7:00, and I was googling why a dog starts vomiting and EmmyLou was screaming because LeRoy wasn’t in his kennel. Tyler was super sweet and patient with our “son” despite LeRoy ruining his sleep the day he starts his new job. It was a disaster…but he is okay now, just super hungry! AND Tyler had a great first day, despite being up all morning!

Meet Ms. EmmyLou

She is a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

She is 10 weeks old

She is sweet and sassy...everything a Southern Belle should be....

My beautiful, little family!

She was his "thank you for working so hard,""congratulations when you graduate," & "Happy Anniverary"  gift!

She may be Tyler's hunting dog..but she's my little girl! I love her already!

Yet again the months go by...

Ufta..I am awful at keeping this up. Tyler is constantly asking me, "Did you blog?" "Are you gonna blog ever again?" and I keep saying..When I have time I will blog! Of course there is never enough time and I'm always behind.

Since I'm a few months behind we will start with some updates!

1) I was able to spend almost an entire month with the family. It was amazing. I forget how much I love being there. I love going to track meets, I love getting hooked on a TV show with my dad, I love talking to my mom late into the night, I love teasing my brothers and sisters...I just love it all. Of course there was one thing I didn't love, Tyler wasn't able to come. So my little family was split apart while he worked on his thesis and LeRoy and I enjoyed Iowa.

2) Tyler is starting a job with Mississippi Wildlife Fish & Parks...on July 5th!

3) I just finished a course on Paul Laurence Dunbar..And now have a love for poetry!

4) I also just finished a Spanish III course...No me gusta hablar en español pero tengo tomar las clases. Idk if I did that right...but what can you do? At noon today I shut off all Spanish in and out of my brain.

5) We MOVED!! No more Avalon..No more basketball players...no more neighbors..No more donks bumping outside shaking our windows. We moved out into the country to a trailer. Yup..You officially know Mississippi Trailer Trash. The trailer is a little rough and I'm adjusting to the environment, but it is only for six months. I can do anything for six months!

ps..if you want see the place you have to visit. There will be no photographic documentation, I plan on denying we ever lived here in 20 years.

If you want our address...let me know!

6) We have moved, our things have not. Unfortunately, 80% of our things are sitting underneath our church. Which means I am frustrated 80% of the time because I can’t find the things I need? Hopefully, we will get our things during July!

7) Almost three years ago Tyler asked me to marry him! I love love love the fourth of July, and I'm very excited to be spending the fourth with Tyler James! I hope everyone has a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Done

I am done. I finished my papers...a total of 52 pages finished. I don't know if the papers are good or bad, but they are finished. I didn't get the chance to spend enough time on my last two papers which made my drive to campus super stressful. A million thoughts were running through my head. Will it be there in time? I'm sure they are awful. Why didn't I find time to proof it? I was so stressed and the Starkville drivers were 100 times slower than ever (which I am sure was just my frustration). At that point Blessings by Laura Story came on the radio, and it started to pour when she sang "What if your blessings come through raindrops." I was so frustrated I almost started to cry, it was now pouring. But as the song continued and I listened, a peace came down, and through the clouds the sun beamed. Nothing makes me happier, or more at peace than when the sun shines through the rain. In that moment I knew it was fine. The papers were fine, I was fine. I turned one paper in at 3:58 and the other at 3:59 so they weren't even late.

Recently Starkville has experienced a lot of weather. Fortunately we weren't in the worst of it and we just lost power. Some members of the Mississippi Family came over and it wasn't awful. The worst part was seeing the destruction on the news the next day. All my thoughts and prayers go out to those families who lost their loved ones and their homes.

Checking In and Checking Out

This is me officially checking in. I am checking into the Lenten season. I know, I know Lent started a few weeks ago....but I guess it is better late than never. This morning my husband pulled me out of bed at 6:00am. I know that is not that early but I was up until 1:00am reading so 6:00 came to fast. We made our way to prayer at 6:30. Our church has opened its doors to prayer Monday-Saturday for an organized prayer time. When our Pastor said he was going to organize prayer, I felt a desire to go but I am not a morning person and I hate getting up in the morning so I haven't made it. This morning I really did not want to get up, but Tyler got up to go so I got up and went. It was AMAZING! My peace has been slowly slipping away from me. There are so many things up in the air. Where will we live? Will Tyler get a job? How will I finish school? What if, What if, What if...The group prayed for us and I couldn't help but bawl. I felt the heaviness and worry float away. I felt closer to Tyler and I just felt good. My peace has been restored, and I feel beyond blessed to have the church family we have found here in Mississippi. I'm not sure if they realize how much they impact my life. God put us in that church to be prayed for at that moment, and it was beautiful. When I asked Tyler what he thought, he could only say, "Powerful." And it was powerful.
 
Now that I'm checking in with my prayers, I am checking out, or logging off of facebook. I have never "given up" anything before, but for some reason I had it on my heart to give up facebook. I waste soooo much time on facebook it is absolutely ridicules.
 
If you need to contact me, text, call, email but don't facebook me.I won't get it. I might have Tyler check it for me and respond to specific messages, etc. but if you read this and need to contact me please don't do it on facebook. And if you see me on facebook, please yell at me!

what a week!

This week has been awful. Just awful. Too much homework and not enough time, but I knew it was going to be all over tonight. I just had to make it through my night class...just till 8:30. Unfortunatly, our washing machine broke and flooded our bedroom, our office and my bathroom...so it's not over yet...ugh..

BUT! and this is a big big BUT! I get to drive home in one week. Not only will I get to be apart of one of my best friends wedding but I'll be at home with the family for a whole week! There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is only 7 days away!

A slow change...

So these past few weeks I have been making an honest effort to live healthier. For three weeks my friend Emily and I have been walking three times a week and I have been sticking to my weight watchers points. There have only been a few days I’ve gone over my allotted points. I honestly have not weighed myself because I don’t want to be bummed if the scale didn’t move. But I realized Friday I may have reached a point where I might actually be living healthier.

I went to Kroger on Friday to get salad for supper with Jonathan and Kate (Jon and Kate minus 8)..lol and I made my way to the check out counter…my basket had in it:

Lettuce
Spinach
Grapes
Peaches
Peas
Fat-free vinaigrette
Oranges

….that was it. No processed foods, no junk food. I was super proud…so to reward myself I supported my local girl scouts by buying a book of samoas! No Fear…unlike last year the box of cookies is still around and it has been over 24 hours...victory.

Okay Okay

Okay I promise I'm not giving up on the 30 photos! I'm working on it, but sometimes I just get frustrated because I can't find the photos I want to use. So I am going to try to get all the pictures done now! lol

21. A picture of something you wish you could forget--That in America you can be considered "famous" for drinking and having sex on national television...

22. A picture of something you wish you were better at--Sports, any and all sports...

 

23. A picture of your favourite book-- Who has one favourite book?! ugh..I suppose I'll just have to pick one..

24. A picture of something you wish you could change--I wish I could change the rate of abortion in America

25. A picture of your day--I spend my days in Lee Hall on Mississippi State University campus

26. A picture of something that means a lot to you-- My Friends! The first photo was taken before senior prom and includes a chunck of my closest high school girls. The second photo was obviously at our wedding, and included all of our friends/cousins who were apart of our special day.

27. A picture of yourself and a family member--Again I can't pick one...the Barkley Girls!

28. A picture of something your afraid of--My Grandma Mary and I have this fear in common...

29. A picture that can always make you smile--Our wedding pictures!

30. A picture of someone you miss --haha I'm not sure why they keep asking me for one person! I miss my family..all of my family, Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins..and all my friends...but I don't have a picture of all of those people so...I'll use this one!

We took this picture when I was 18, my first semester at UNI...I can not believe how much we have all grown!

Well I did it! I completed 30 days of photos!

On a side note..I hate hate hate snow. But I think that I might start to tolerate snow in Mississippi, because 2 inches means the university shuts down..which means I don't have to go to class..which is always good :)
 

Days 18, 19, 20

BIG NEWS IN THE STUBBS HOME!
Okay not actually big news, but I'm sure LeRoy thinks it is...He is officially not been in his kennel for five days. We are "trusting" him to behave on his in the apartment, and so far he has not destroyed anything!

18. A picture of your biggest insecurity

19. A picture of you when you were little
hmmmm I know I have some, but I cannot find any! I'll get back to you on this one...
20. A picture of somewhere you would love to travel

I'd love to go to London!

Opps....catch up time!

Life got away from me this last week. My friend Brittany came to visit to do a jewelry show. I was trying to clean the apartment, invite guests and make sure that my dog stopped vomitting all over my clean floor! And I honestly forgot I was blogging everyday! So here is the catch up photos!

Day 13. A picture of your favourite band or artist

REBA!

Day 14. A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

Of course I could not imagine life without Tyler and JR

15. A picture of something you want to do before you die

I want to write a book!
16. A picture of someone who inspires you

I'm sure that neither of my parents would like this picture...but they both inspire me for very different reasons.
17. A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
If you have followed my blog you know I love Beth Moore, but recently I've been reading....

I love love love it! I imagine more blogs will be born out of this reading!

Day 12

Day 12: A picture of something you love


Something I love, I love a lot of things and a lot of people...but I have to pick one...
 

so.. I choose SISTERS! I love my baby sisters, Belb and Bear :)

Day Ten and Eleven

Opps, I missed a day! so Day Ten is a picture of the person you do the craziest things with....

So "crazy" is not a word often associated with me. Planner, boring these are the words that better describe me, but one night Val decided we better mess with Nathan and Jonaher Snickerdoodle so we got "crazy!" We flipped over pictures, tied shoe laces together and caused mayhem. The photo was taken by the master mind Val. Katie and I decided to hide our idenities, so we put up our hoods. Yup...we are wild and crazy!

Day Eleven a picture of something you hate.

I hate hate hate to run....

Day Eight!

Day Eight: A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most...well I can not pick one person....

I love this picture because we are hugging our moms after they light the candles for us to use to light the unity candle. My mom, my dad and Tyler have all gotten me through the most and I would not be who I am without them.

Day Seven

Day Seven: Something that makes you laugh

I have been and am super grumpy. Not just a little grumpy, but super, crying, yelling grumpy. Poor Tyler and LeRoy are avoiding me, and I honestly don't blame um! Hopefully I'll snap out of it soon! The photo for today certainly has helped! :) Something that makes you laugh: Tyler rocking out with his "donk" cookie!

Day Seven

Day Seven:. A picture of most treasured item


Hmmmmm...most treasured item, I'm honestly not sure what my most treasured item is. I love most Tyler, my family, LeRoy, but as far as an item, I'm just not sure. If there was a fire I'd grab my pearls, my wedding ring, and my wedding book. I don't have any picture of just those items, so the very very first thing I'd make sure was out of my apartment would be.....


LeRoy!



Day Six

Day Six: A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day

So, part of me wants to post a photo of a strong, smart, talented woman. But there is itty bitty 8 year old deep inside me screaming "I want to be a princess!"

For just one day, I would totally rock the princess job. I know that it is not all roses, and honestly I do not think I could do it full time, but for one day...I'd love to be a princess :)

Day Five A picture of your favourite memory

Day Five: A picture of your favourite memory

A picture of my favorite memory, well most of the pictures have great memories. I'm not really sure how I'm expected to pick one, so I suppose I'll just put one of my favorite memories.

The day I became Mrs. Tia Stubbs

Day Four

Day Four Picture of your Night.

Now I'm really not sure what they mean by "your night." Your night as in my night, tonight January 17th or my night that changed my life etc. My night, January 17th is going to be super busy and boring reading A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel DeFoe I thought I'd but up a picture of the night my life changed :)

July 4, 2008 in Gowrie Iowa right before the fireworks. July 4th has always been my favorite holiday and when I meet Tyler he told me it was also his favorite. We held hands for the first time July 4, 2006, and I met his parents and grandparents. Two years later asked, "Will you marry a broke college kid?" I asked him later why he chose those words, he told me that his grandpa used the same words when he proposed to his grandma.



Day Three!

Day Three! A picture of the cast of your favourite show

Greys and Private Practice! Before I was in college, I had never even seen Greys. But the girls in my hall decided to watch it and I was hooked. When I moved into an apartment, we always would make sure we had Thursday free for Greys. Its not the quality of acting or the amazing story that keeps me watching, but the fact that I started watching it with my girls.

Day Two

Day Two: Post a picture of you and the person you’ve been the closest with the longest.

My little big brother, Alonzo and I at my wedding. We were born 14 months apart and we were each others first best friends. Of course we have had our ups and downs, but only a few near death experiences. My parents remind me all the time that I attempted to kill him when he was 6 months old. Apparently, they were packing and put us both in the same play pen, and came back to find me bouncing on his chest and both of us laughing. He and I bring out the very best and very worst in each other. We know each others buttons and more importantly know when to push and when to let go. We played cowboys, indians, house, and box car kids. When we were really little he would play barbies with me, that stopped when his GI Joes decided to shoot everyone at my barbie's wedding. He is extremely smart and hardworking, but is also hilarious. I always have been, and will always be proud to call him my brother.

well another three months have passed

I survived my first semester of grad school. It was not pretty. In fact a lot of it was really ugly, but I made it. I have officially started my second semester and Tyler has started his last semester, which means he is writing his thesis. I have an amazing schedule, classes at 2:00-3:15 M-Th but I lack good time management skills to actually accomplish things. I end up sleeping in and reading then heading to class. It is amazing how much time I lose because I am not forced to get up and get going.


Although Tyler thought it was silly we decided to type up our goals for 2011:
1) Grow closer to God and one another
2) Tyler finish his Masters program successfully
3) Tia finish her Masters program successfully
4) Pay off Tia’s credit card, and start paying off Tyler’s credit card
5) Live healthier
6) Lose 60 pounds
7) Get Jobs!

I think we will be able to accomplish all of these goals…but who knows. We will be experiencing a lot of change this year.  A year from now we will have a new address, new jobs, and whole new life!

In order to get into a good habit of blogging again, I am going to try the 30 days of Pictures!

Day 1

Picture of Me and 15 facts!
This is a picture of me before the SDSU formal my freshman year of college
I married Tyler James on August 8, 2009 and have enjoyed every minute
BUT since moving to Mississippi have a new love, my puppy LeRoy!
I'm the type of girl who follows the rules...
I love to read, watch movies and cuddle
I want to teach English, can't help but scared out of my mind
I am finally starting to let go...and understand God is in control
My Mom is the best mom in the entire world
My Dad is the best dad in the entire world
I hate to waste time, the process can be done quickly, do it quickly!
I am a night owl, I rarely fall asleep before 12
All my life most people thought of me as outgoing, but actually I'm kind of shy and would rather stay home
I'm late for almost everything, but class and work
I meet one of my very best friends on the first day of kindergarten
Two of my best friends were random roomies!

Pictures To Come
2. A picture of you and person you’ve been the closest with the longest
3. A picture of the cast of your favourite show
4. A picture of your night
5. A picture of your favourite memory
6. A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day
7. A picture of most treasured item
8. A picture that makes you laugh
9. A picture of a person who has gotten you through the most
10. A picture of the person you do the craziest things with
11. A picture of something you hate
12. A picture of something you love
13. A picture of your favourite band or artist
14. A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
15. A picture of something you want to do before you die
16. A picture of someone who inspires you
17. A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
18. A picture of your biggest insecurity
19. A picture of you when you were little
20. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
21. A picture of something you wish you could forget
22. A picture of something you wish you were better at
23. A picture of your favourite book
24. A picture of something you wish you could change
25. A picture of your day
26. A picture of something that means a lot to you
27. A picture of yourself and a family member
28. A picture of something your afraid of
29. A picture that can always make you smile
30. A picture of someone you miss