DIY REINBEER

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,

Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. 

But do you recall, the most famous REINBEER of all ... 

Rudolph the Red Nosed ReinBeer.

On December 17th, my fellow co-workers and I had a small celebration for the up and coming holidays. Apart from the typical carry-in, we wore our Ugly Sweaters and had a Secret Santa! To assist our Secret Santa, we filled out a short questionnaire with questions such as favorite color, favorite food, favorite drink, etc. The person I chose happened to write "beer" as her favorite drink.

Even though this project can be found on Pinterest, with a few modifications, I was able to make this project my own! Rather than the traditional six-pack of beer, I purchased a twelve-pack, as I wanted to re-create the nine famous reindeer! Also, I tried to find beer that did not have a label around the mouth of the bottle, as I thought it would take away from the finished product.

For my rendition of ReinBeer, you will need 9 bottles of beer (root beer), a glue gun, 18 googly eyes, 9 brown pipe cleaners, 8 brown pom-poms and 1 red pom-pom, twine, and name tags.

Directions:

1. Take 1 pipe cleaner and wrap it around the mouth of the bottle, beneath the cap.

2. Form the pipe cleaner to look like antlers. 

3. Glue on 2 googly eyes and 1 pom-pom. 

4. Take a piece of twine and tie a name tag to each ReinBeer.

5. Repeat ... and voila! 

BIRTHDAY x2

On November 27th, a man near and dear to my heart turned another year older. That's right, my dad is 56 years old! 

After work, I drove straight home to celebrate. I arrived just in time for dinner, which consisted of pizza, breadsticks, and wings. Yum! For desert, I brought home a slice of Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. Even though it was nothing too extravagant, my dad seemed to love it! For three reasons: 1. He didn't have to cook, 2. He didn't have to pay for it, and 3. He had his favorite ladies by his side ... and my boyfriend.

Of course, no birthday is complete without a gift or two. My dad enjoys watching Duck Dynasty on A&E, so I decided to surprise him with a new shirt! I choose a shirt that featured the four main men of the Robertson clan (Jase, Si, Willie, and Phil). I'm fairly certain he liked it, as he wore it to Thanksgiving the following day. Also, since I planned on bringing my chalkboard home for a fresh coat of paint, I drew a design in honor of his birthday - Duck Dynasty theme, of course!

I wish I would have snapped a photo of my dad with the chalkboard.

Oh well, I guess this photo will have to do.

Storytime: Inspired by Little Baby Garvin, I had to have my very own chalkboard to draw on for holidays and special occasions. Surprisingly, my boyfriend's parents had an old chalkboard in their basement. Since the chalkboard required a bit of improvement ... ok, a lot of improvement, I took it home to my dad. He created an entirely new frame, striped the metal board of all old paint, then primed and painted it. I decided to paint the frame in white and grey chevron, which my dad sealed. Considering the amount of time and effort that my dad put into this chalkboard, I felt this was the perfect way to show my appreciation!

..........

Not only did we celebrate one birthday, but two. It just so happens that my boyfriend's mother was born on November 27th. This year, she turned 50 years old!

Since the McDermitt men had joined together to get a gift for their loving wife and mother, I wanted to show my love and support too. I remembered that she wanted to try Rodeo Red from The Winery of Versailles. So, I thought that would be the perfect gift! However, an ordinary bottle of wine would not do for such a momentous occasion. I asked my dad if he could engrave the bottle of wine for my boyfriend's mother. Of course, he said yes :) 

My boyfriend's mother seemed the love her gift! She couldn't wait to pop the cork and give the wine a taste. But more than anything, she was amazed to discover my dad had engraved the entire bottle of wine by hand!

He did such a beautiful job!

I hope you all enjoyed your time with family and friends.

Oh, and got some great deals Black Friday Shopping!

'TIS THE SEASON TO BE SCARY

The month of October happens to be one of my favorite months!

 "Boo, you whore!"

- Mean Girls

Who doesn't love watching not-so-scary movies, going on hayrides, picking the perfect pumpkin from a pumpkin patch, getting lost in a giant corn maze, eating mass amounts of candy, chugging hard apple cider, getting scared shit-less walking through haunted houses, and above all, dressing up for Halloween???

In an effort to scratch a few items off this list, my boyfriend and I visited a small, family owned and operated pumpkin patch. We were in search of two perfect pumpkins. They had to be rather large and have long stems, as I believe long-stemmed pumpkins are much more festive!

Kleather's Pumpkin Patch was a beautiful old Victorian home with hundreds of pumpkins lining the front lawn. As well, there was a barn filled with smaller pumpkins and gourds, carving supplies, and delicious fall goodies! They even offered red Radio Flyer wagons to tote your pumpkins across the grounds!

Above all, I fell in love with the decorative details. My favorite was the Tin Man, taken directly from the classic tale Wizard of Oz!

The rest of the evening was spent carving pumpkins. My boyfriend decided to carve a haunted house, while I chose to carve an owl.

They turned out better than we had envisioned!

While at Kleather's Pumpkin Patch, my boyfriend let me get a couple of baby pumpkins to decorate my apartment with. I chose an orange one and a white one, with long stems of course! As well, my boyfriend's grandmother gave me a couple pumpkins from her garden. Since they were to small to carve, I decided to painted an adorable Happy Halloween design by Valerie McKeehan on one of the pumpkins. Then, on the reverse side, I painted a traditional Jack'O Lantern design. It was much, much, much easier to paint a pumpkin, rather than carve one! Also, I was able to create an elaborate design; a design that would have been nearly impossible to carve by hand.

With only $20 in my pocket, I was able to create a truly festive apartment! Now, it's time to sit back and watch not-so-scary Halloween movies.

OHIO STATE vs FLORIDA A&M

A few months ago, my boyfriend purchased two tickets to the Ohio State vs. Florida A&M football game for September 21st. 

That day had finally arrived.
My first Ohio State University Football Game!
Eeeekkk

. . . . . . . . . .

Our journey began at 8 o'clock in the morning, with donuts in hand: one buckeye donut for him and two raspberry jelly filled donuts for me. Lets just say I loveee donuts! After a two and a half hour car ride, we finally arrived in Columbus. Prior to the start of the game, we walked around the stadium, referred to as The Shoe. We sat in Level C, Section 28, Row 38, Seats 5 and 6. Even though we were rather far from the field, we were able to see every play! Except there were a few times I struggled to see around the head of the man sitting in front of me. He had to have been over 6 feet tall!

At noon, the game officially began. The Ohio State University Marching Band took the field to play the Buckeye Battle Cry and Across the Field. 

In the first half, Ohio State scored 55 points!

Before I knew it, it was halftime and The Ohio State University Marching Band had taken the field. While other fans ventured to the concession stands, I stayed to watch the performance and the infamous Script Ohio. For their halftime performance, they paid tribute to The Beatles. First, they spelled Beatles. From there, they constructed a giant guitar that moved up and down. The fret board portion of the guitar formation created John, Paul, George, and Ringo. To conclude, they made a giant peace sign (which happens to be my favorite sign)! I was amazed at how precise and straight all of their formations were! Overall, The Ohio State University Marching Band had a stellar halftime performance and truly lived up to their name as the best damn band in the land. 

At the end of the performance, Brutus the Buckeye and The Ohio State Cheerleaders welcomed the football team to the field and so began the second half of the game. 

In the second half, Ohio State scored 21 points. The final score was 76 to 0. Buckeyes win! To celebrate, the best damn band in the land played Carmen Ohio, while the football team and audience sang along. You can view the video below:

The video was taken on my iPhone, so it's not the best quality.
. . . . . . . . . .

To thank my boyfriend for purchasing the tickets, I bought him a new shirt to wear to the game! The idea came about a few months ago, when we were at the Fairfield Commons Mall. My boyfriend made his way to The Buckeye Room. This store is a sport's enthusiast's dream, as they offer a wide selection of professional and college merchandise. While perusing through The Ohio State section, he stumbled upon an adorable black shirt by Nike that simply said, Go Bucks! My boyfriend even looked at the price tag, but refused to pay for it or allow me to pay for it. So, he left the store empty handed. I returned a few weeks later and bought the shirt.

A SERIES OF FIRSTS

Bonjour! 

My name is Leslie and I am twenty-two years young. This past summer, I experienced a series of firsts: I landed my first job as a Contract Center Administrator for The Reynolds and Reynolds Company and I leased my first apartment in Dayton, Ohio. Away from family and friends, I felt this would be a perfect time to begin my autobiography.

To discover why I have chosen to use the term my autobiography, visit my about me page.

. . . . . . . . . .

Having majored in French, my autobiography is entitled "Dans La Vie," meaning "In The Life."

Here, one will gain insight into my life.

Some days may be filled with joy, others of sorrow. But when I look back on my life, it's those moments of happiness that I will cherish the most.

Enjoy!