To My Best Friend

Today is my husband's birthday.  He doesn't want much and he doesn't want a big party.  To me, this isn't surprising, to others who have been to his many parties at his house, it is very out of the ordinary.  I was at his birthday 3 years ago but in a friend capacity, that's right, we weren't even dating yet!  He is 27 today.  I think he is stressing the big 3-0 BUT he shouldn't freak, I tell him, because when he's 30 we will have been married for 3 more years than today. =)
To My Husband, J --

I love you for:

1. loving me unconditionally - even when I'm a freak. =)

2. being an incredible best friend and husband

3. cooking so often and loving it.

4. helping with the laundry and other house chores when I get a little behind

5. working so hard to take care of us.

6. being such a stud.

7. hanging shelves and painting the house when I know how you despise it but only do these things for me.

8. letting me tickle you without getting annoyed.

9. rubbing my feet when I've had a long day.

10. spending your days off with me, doing whatever we want.

11. sharing your comedy and hilarity. You give me plenty of relief with your silliness.

12. remaining so positive through everything

13. telling me i'm gorgeous, even if I don't think so.

14. laughing, even when I am the only one who thinks I'm funny.

15. making me feel safe, always.

16. knowing enough about so many things that I don't feel lost or helpless.  You are such a smartie =)

17. always kissing me good morning, good night, hello, good-bye and all the times in between,

18. how warm you always are -- no seriously how physically warm -- this is really helpful in the 'winter' months =)

19. cuddling and snuggling often
20. being my trophy husband

21. always standing by my side and supporting me

22. being my best friend -- the one who I can giggle and cry with and tell all my secrets to =)

23. Thinking you're as gangster as I do tee hee!

24. holding my hand while we drive around
25. driving all the time so I don't have to deal with the silliness of traffic
26. sweeping me off my feet every single day
27. just being the beautiful man you are!

Happy Birthday Husband! I love you SO SO MUCH and I am very thankful every day that you were brought into my life.

30 Pieces of Random

I was over on Running From Cupcakes, and saw her 101 things about me post. She made a list of 101 different things about herself (well is working on making a list that long).  Mine is a work in progress, but I thought "yay! how fun!" You can learn things about me that I wouldn't normally just tell you, but each is something you would learn about me and all my weird-ness if we spent time together! =) I enjoy sharing odds and ends with people and learning that I am not completely loony.  I will create a new post for every 10 new items I add to the list.. Let us get started!

1.) I love shoes; not just any shoes, either. Fabulous heels are my weakness! I would buy a new pair a week if the husband would allow it, but I think I can convince him to a new pair at least bi-monthly. =)

2.) I love the color pink but not pale pink. If something is going to be a color, it needs to make a statement.

3.) I am still in love with our wedding pictures for our March 2010 wedding. I look through them at least twice a month, and feel like I will never get tired of looking at them, I don't care how long I've been married.

4.) I'm a hugger and affectionate person. Hugs always make me feel good and I am very fortunate to have hug-gy friends.

5.) I have only ever had one nickname and it lasted my sophomore year of high school. It was 'Texas' because that is where I had lived for my freshman year. I used to worry that I never had any other nickname because I wasn't cool or outrageous enough. Now, I don't care.

6.) My husband and I talk all day, every day. Sometimes it's in phone calls and sometimes texts. I'm sure it's not normal, but our relationship has been like this since the day we started dating -- and he started it not me. =)

7.) I always want to dye my hair but don't because of outrageous cost and maintenance.

8.) I'm pretty creative and try to craft often.  I am usually pre-occupied with life, but I manage to make time for even the smallest project.

9.) Currently, I am training for a half Marathon that I will be running with these lovely ladies: (The Sunday before Thanksgiving)

10.) I think I'm addicted to Chick-fil-a.

11.) I blush easily -- even if I don't feel embarrassed.

12.) It really bothers me when women wear ill-fitting shoes. If they don't have your size, don't buy/wear them. You look silly if they are too big....someone please correct me if there is actually a purpose to wearing heels that are half a size too big.

13.) I swear there was a world wide memo sent out to every eatery stating that if I show up, they MUST make some sort of mistake on my order. I have the WORST luck when I eat any where.

14.) I only eat mints until the stripes are gone...I think they taste different without the stripes so hubby has the rest of it. =)

15.) I have become one of those people that HAS TO HAVE a coke at some point in the day -- my 'drug' of choice: Dr. Pepper...especially the ones from Chick-fil-a in the magical Styrofoam cup. And yes, the fact that they are in the Styrofoam cup DOES make a difference.

16.) I discovered, while eating an Orange, that I LOVE fruit! I really like oranges but I really do NOT like Orange Juice, even the stuff without the pulp.

17.) I stopped biting my nails when I started spending time with J. He told me that he thought it was 'sexy' for girls to have naturally long nails; I stopped almost immediately. I guess I should have seen that has a big flag on my end that I liked him.

18.) I LOVE Mexican food! I could eat it every single day and not get tired of it.

19.) I don't say my shoes hurt my feet. Rather, I say, "My feet are tired of wearing shoes" =)

20.) It is SO hard for me to get out of bed in the morning if J doesn't have to be up at any particular time. It makes me want to just stay under the covers and cuddle all morning. Why can't he have one weekend day off so we can snuggle all morning?!

21.) I enjoy cupcakes more than normal cake

22.) My go to candy is Kit-Kat

23.) I'm convinced the drive-thru isn't always quicker

24.) I put honey on my chicken nuggets

25.) Breakfast is my favorite meal. I love eating breakfast food for dinner, especially pancakes and eggs! YUM! When I want something sweet for dinner, I lean towards breakfast food -- thankfully J isn't opposed.

26.) I get the hiccups at least once a day.

27.) I have mastered the art of putting on [mostly] full makeup without and mirror and only using one hand. This comes in handy when I am late to work and hit every stop light. The only thing I don't do is mascara and eye liner -- that gets done at work =)

28.) When I drink, I don't drink much -- I'm definitely a light weight! I tell J I'm 'fuzzy' not buzzed. I do this because my face and upper lip tingle and for whatever reason I say I feel fuzzy. =)

29.) When I eat spicy foods my eyebrows sweat. No joke!

30.) When I eat fast food fries, I put one line of ketchup on each of my french fries using the packet. I don't make a blob on my plate/napkin/etc.

See you again when I add more =)

DIY and 3-day weekend

I had a lovely 3-day weekend.  I spent time out at the lake, I looked for a new house, watched some movies and had a moment of crafting!  I know, I'm disappointed with me too -- I thought FOR SURE I would have more time to craft BUT I was very social this weekend. 
Saturday I went to breakfast with J and then my mom, sis and I went and looked at new homes and homes for sale, trying to get an idea of what I do and don't want in our next home.  Meanwhile, J was fishing.
Sunday, while J worked, I went out on the lake with my favorite Medium Friend -- check her out at Skip to My Lou.  She's awesome! Her and her fiance and then another couple that we are all friend with and I went out on the lake for several hours.  We had a great time! 

Medium Friends (inside joke)

When J got home, we watched some more movies on my lists: Law Abiding Citizen and Finding Nemo.  Both movies I had seen before but since starting this project, I'm we are watching together.  Have you noticed my trend??  Watch a scary/creepy/unsettling movie followed by a happy/upbeat/friendly/[usually Disney] movie.  Yes that's how I don't have bad dreams. =)

Monday, J and I drove around and found my dream house!  We're looking into it to see if we can swing it, so fingers crossed people!!!  I will give more details if it looks like it may work out.  Then we tackled a couple more movies: National Treasure and National Treasure II.  I just adore Nic Cage!

Last night I FINALLY got around to some craft time and made a super cute shirt that I am really happy to share with you!!  It's completely 100% DIY, no pattern, no tracing -- just genius! OK maybe not genius but creativity for sure. =) ENJOY!

Day Zero Project

So yesterday I read about the Day Zero Project.  It's where you make a list of 101 things you want to do in 1001 days and you actually do them.  I decided this would be a LOT of fun!! I made the list and started the project yesterday.  I plan to report back every time I do something on my list.  First, I guess I should present my list (I will also have a page posted for it for constant reference):

START DATE: September 3, 2010
END DATE: May 31, 2013

In Progress
Complete

FOOD/DRINK
1. Make Homemade ice cream
2. Make homemade custard
3. Make homemade dog treats
4. Go to Red Robin in Daytona
5. Try 20 new recipes
6. Eat Broccoli
7. Eat Green Beans
8. Visit a winery
9. Have a picnic
10. Try 15 new restaurants
11. Cook for J every night for 1 week
12. Try 10 new kinds of beer
13. No fast food for 2 weeks
14. Try a new sushi place
15. Go to The Melting Pot for Dessert
16. Try the Dessert Lady in Orlando
17. Take lunch at least 4 times a week to work for a month
18. Make a trifle
19. Bake 30 different cupcake recipes
20. Bake cupcakes just because for work
21. Go one week without chocolate

ENTERTAINMENT
1. Read 1 book a month for the next year
2. Attend a Steelers Game
3. Attend a Magic Game
4. Attend a Gator Game
5. Go to a high school football game
6. Watch every movie on the Netflix Top 100 with J (1/100)
7. Go to a musical
8. Finish "Lost" series
9. Go to a baseball game
10. Watch top 100 grossing movies of all time (different than #6) (1/100)
11. Take my parents to Pat O’Brien’s
12. Watch at least season 1 of the TV show “Heroes”
13. Take pole dancing class
14. Host a theme party
15. See 20 movies in theatre
16. Go to La Nouba
17. Read 50 banned books
18. Go to a concert with J
19. Read a Nicholas Sparks book
20. Bowl a 250 game
21. Go to All Fired Up in Winter Park

TRAVEL
1. Go to Tennessee
2. Visit J's Grandma Shirley
3. Go to Texas to visit my family
4. Go camping -- real camping
5. Go to the Atlanta Aquarium
6. Stay at a Bed and Breakfast
7. Take a road trip

FINANCES
1. Pay off my credit cards
2. Pay off my student loan
3. Go two weeks without spending any money (less monthly bills)
4. Save for a down payment on a house
5. Buy a house

DIY/PROJECTS
1. Make curtains for house
2. Make a quilt for our bedroom
3. Scrapbook wedding photos
4. Re-do sand ceremony frame
5. Knit myself a sweater
6. Paint house
7. Get current with my scrapbooks
8. Create a review section and review at least 33 products
9. Create a family tree
10. Frame our wedding vows
11. Build a piece of furniture
12. Trash to Treasure: refurbish a piece of furniture/fixture
13. Art: paint a picture
14. Make a personal calendar

HEALTH
1. Run a 1/2 marathon
2. Donate blood at least once a year
3. Get down to goal weight and maintain for a year
4. Don't drink any coke for a month
5. Finish bottle of multi-vitamins (consecutive days)

MISCELLANEOUS
1. Send Christmas cards
2. Send Thank you cards for birthday/Christmas
3. Post at least 1 new craft tutorial each month for a year
4. Own a pair of designer shoes
5. Dance in the rain
6. Take a family picture with J and Ruger
7. Go to a wedding
8. Watch the sunrise with J
9. See the sunset with J
10. Move into new house
11. Try Wakeboarding
12. Buy a new hair dryer
13. Slow dance with J
14. Get a new passport
15. Learn to hit a golf ball 150yds
16. Buy one new pair of shoes a month for 4 months
17. Go hunting and get a wild pig and/or turkey
18. Shave my legs 3 times a week for a month
19. Send someone I love an edible arrangement
20. Buy a dSLR
21. Draw a heart in 50 places and take a picture of it (0/50)
22. Teach Ruger a new trick
23. Write a note to J every day for 2 weeks
24. Get a massage
25. Be in a wedding
26. Be decisive about dinner/meas/plans for one month
27. Inspire someone to make a 101 in 1001 list
28. Blog about each event I check off
---------------------------------------------------------------

Last night, we started this list together. 

 We watched No Country for Old Men and Cars.  NCfOM was great until the end.  Both J and I were REALLY disappointed with the ending - otherwise, the acting was convincing and the basic storyline was intense. 

Cars is always a favorite choice.  It's such a happy Disney Pixar movie.

I am very much looking forward to this list, even though some aspects are really daunting!  I will be sure to blog about each item and keep a link on the Day Zero Page.  Enjoy!!!

J&A Chronicles: K and Starsky's Wedding

I officially met K back in October 2007.  Her and her long time boyfriend J (yes, I know a LOT of men with the first initial J so we'll call him Starsky - as my husband does) were getting married June 2008.  Starsky asked J (my J, stay with me) to be one of his groomsmen. 
Over the next approximately 8 months, we did what we could to help K and Starsky with whatever we could; moving in to their first townhouse together, picking up furniture, and any miscellaneous wedding planning.  
Finally, it was their wedding day! I was allowed to hang out with the groomsmen before the wedding and ride with them over to the church.  This is the first wedding I had ever cried during; it was beautiful and filled with emotion.

Now, 2+ years later, their marriage is still going strong and at our wedding in March 2010, Starsky was one of our groomsmen.

You can visit K and Starsky at their respective blogs: Katie's Cucina and Sew Woodsy.  She cooks ALL. THE. TIME! and seems to post a new recipe every day. =)

Up to this point in our relationship, J and I had not talked about wedding plans.  The day of the rehearsal/dinner, J started asking me questions: what do you think we'd register for? do you want to get married outside? how many people would we want in the wedding party? 
Don't get me wrong, I was all too excited at the prospect of getting married but on the other hand, I didn't want to jump the gun.  So we casually discussed it here and there after that but nothing too serious and we weren't planning the wedding.
At some point after K and Starsky's wedding, I was told by SEVERAL people that it was likely that I would be waiting several years before J would even consider marriage.  Boy, were they so wrong! (thank goodness lol)


**Next Friday: Family Vacations

9.02.10

Yes it is 90210 day =) It makes me giggle, though I never watched the show.

OK the important thing about today is that it marks 26 years of marriage for my amazing parents! 

YAY!  My sis and I are so lucky to have been raised in such a happy and affectionate household.  They have set the example for what I hope my marriage with J will be -- happy, full of love, hugs and trust.  There will be bumps in the road but we will get through together. I feel like I remember them being in their late twenties, but definitely their thirties and watching them grow up together, as a couple and as parents. 

I look through pictures and see just how young they were when they started a family and I am amazed that they did it so gracefully.  I don't remember them fighting, though I'm sure there were disagreements.  I don't remember wanting for anything that was a necessity...you know kids, they always WANT something, right?! =)

They have hugs and kisses and love to spare.  They have grown as individuals but together, closer as the pages in their lives have turned.  These two people are a beautiful example of what I want my life, marriage and family to be - happy, healthy and full of love. They still act like newlyweds, hold hands, hug, kiss and cuddle. I want to be like that in 26 years with J!

Happy 26th Anniversary to the most loving couple and amazing parents!

Love you both!!

Happy September!

121 <-- that's how many days are left in 2010!  Can you believe it?!  So much is going on this month in my happy little world to which I am looking forward:

-3 day weekend this weekend

-Mom and Dad celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary

-College football kicks off

-Husband's birthday is Next THURSDAY --- EEK!

-NFL season officially kicks off: Go Steelers!

-Prime time shows return :: House, Rules of Engagement, Glee, Cougar Town, Modern Family, Grey's, Outsourced, Private Practice, The Mentalist ::

- 6 months of Wedded Bliss =)

There are officially 115 shopping days until Christmas!! EEEP! I haven't even considered Christmas shopping.  I think this year is going to be full of Christmas crafting and gift giving this year will be sponsored by moi via handmade items.

I already want to start listening to Christmas music and deck the halls, but apparently that would be a little pre-mature. The next four months of my life are filled with birthdays, holidays and anniversaries. J and I will celebrate our 3 year dating anniversary -- I don't know that we will celebrate but it's still a milestone for me.  It's definitely the longest I have ever been in a relationship, now I'm locked in being a wife and all =) My mom's birthday and Thanksgiving follow and shortly thereafter, CHRISTMAS!!  YAY! I love Christmas -- the feelings, sites, smells and get togethers. Last year, a group of friends set up a Christmas party:

and it was a lot of fun!  The invitation designated it the First Annual so hopefully this year we will continue the 'tradition'. 
As of last Christmas, J and I no longer have to split the holidays, as my parents moved within a reasonable distance and J's parent's live even closer.  I think J and I want to create our own Christmas thing this year, being it will be our first wedded Christmas.  Can you tell this year marks a lot of "first wedded" whatever?!  Not that it feels any different per se, it's still fun! Don't get me wrong, we will definitely be spending time with our families Christmas Eve/Day, but we will start our own traditions. I wonder how we'll do Thanksgiving this year???