Pictures say more than 1,000 words

It had been 7.5 years since hub and I had ourselves a professional photo-op. This was our last professional shoot....

 Ya- we were just little tykes then. So I was thrilled to have ourselves documented at this point in our lives. We have been married for almost 8 years and have never been happier. No, we aren't one of those couples that have had an easy, breezy go at it. Are there those couples out there? If so, I'm jelly. If you are married you know the amount of work that goes into staying best friends, lovers, communicators, helpers and everythinginbetween. We have certainly had our ups and downs and I am thankful to be on an "up".

So grateful to the amazing Ginger Salmon, for capturing us the way that she did.

Have yourself a lovable Tuesday, my peeps.

Move it Monday

Hello my pupcakes! How was your day of Thanks? I am actually doing laps right now trying to rid myself of pumpkin pie. I mean technically, pumpkin is a vegetable right? In any event, we had a great Thanksgiving.

The hub is still recovering from surgery- but he is definitely on the upswing. Surgery took over 2 hours last Tuesday and was a bit overwhelming that night and on Wednesday. I definitely am no stranger to blood coming out of a nose at a rapid rate- lets just put it that way. Sleeping has been on the couch for the past few days- as he has to be elevated and I felt like I had to be nearby in case I was needed. He heads back to the Doctor in the AM to have the stints (that are stitched into his nostrils *shudder*) removed. He is SO looking forward to that.

Needless to say, our Thanksgiving was quiet (as we couldn't travel due to above mentioned business). But it has been nice to be able to spend so much time together, even if it was mostly recovery.

I have no exciting pictures for this post- but don't be too sad. I have an exciting DIY- Christmas Edition headed your way. As over the weekend, I turned this house into Christmas Town. I love nothing more than to walk into my home that smells like a forest, with twinkling lights, glitter and the smell of cinnamon.

Stay tuned...

One word...

Grocery Shopping...

I am a multi-tasker. I feel best when I am doing 2-3 things simultaneously. This being said- I really don't dislike grocery shopping. But, it does not really allow multitasking. When shopping, you pretty much have to just grocery shop. That was until I found out about this kind of grocery shopping.

Over on the East Coast, we have both Lowe's Foods (not related to the Home Improvement store, confusing I know) and Harris Teeter (there are others, but these are my 2 favs). If you are from the West Coast, you are now probably chuckling at a name like Harris Teeter. I know I did when we moved from Arizona. At first I wanted my Safeway, Albertson, Fry's....but I don't mind anymore. Let's talk Lowes...

I found out- that this blessed store offers online grocery shopping. Yep- you read it right, online. I love online. I've done ALL of my Christmas shopping online. It makes me deliriously happy to not have to scuffle around with others, being subjecting to flemmy coughs {especially this time of the year}and not have my space bubble invaded. So, obviously my heart skipped a beat when I found out about this.

How does it work? You visit the site of the grocery store and login to your account. Then you begin shopping! Seriously- they have everything categorized and so easy to find! Plus, after you checkout you can save your items, for easy re-ordering. So, there I was- in the comfort of my home, pajamas, a fire going and I was grocery shopping. I could take my laptop into the kitchen to see what we did or didn't have. AH-mazing I tell you! You choose the date and time frame that you would like to pick the groceries up and VOILA! The next day, the sweet lady Patti {who was mentioned in my Friday Letters} called me to let me know how my shopping went and asked me if I would like to add anything else. Perfect if you thought of any forgotten items! The next day- while out running errands- I went "shopping".

I pulled up and told them who I was and pulled around to have my groceries delivered to me. I met Patti- who was SWEET as pie- and she loaded my groceries for me and took my card. {This is also when you would give them any coupons you might have}The cost to have them shop for you? A tiny $4.95. Seriously- that.is.it. I would rather not get a bag of chips and a soda and pay for someone to do this for me. It such a huge timesaver. They gave me a welcome packet, huge reusable grocery bag and sent me home- with my groceries- smiling ear to ear.

Remember the story about the wine bottle with the party hat? If not, you can read it here. But- this is the SAME store. Seriously the best customer service out there.

And, if you have kids? They take note- and bring them treats whenever you pick up your groceries. No more wrestling with tiny tots in the grocery aisles, or planning your day around trips to the grocery store and everyone is happy!

Moral of the story? Save your sanity and pay the $5. Its worth every single penny.



A Series of Unfortunate Events

Have you ever broken a mirror? Me neither. But, I do think that we have seriously had a case of the bad luck sniffles. I don't talk too much about the hub on this blogdiggity- but this one is unfortunately (for you) all about him. Not to brag- but my husband is fairly amazing. Seriously one of the smartest men I know. Build a race car? Sure. Change tires, brakes or oil? Yep. Install tile, countertops, flooring, doors, carpet, paint, ceiling fans and anything related to plumbing? You betcha. Landscape, trim trees, planting? Uh-huh. Get my drift? There is seriously nothing that man doesn't know. Well- except for understanding my moods. Ya- he's still working on that one.

As I write this blog, he is currently in surgery. I know- kind of crazy to be blogging while hub is under the knife- but I gotta do something to occupy myself.My boy has a horrible nose that he barely can breathe out of. And if you've been following for a little while then you are aware of the Medical year we have had. He gave us a pretty good scare a few months back- lots of tests, dr visits, procedures, etc. Needless to say- we met any maximums that were in place. Therefore- we were finally able to get him the surgery he needs. And yes, right before Thanksgiving- immpecable timing if I do say so myself.

So lets rewind a moment. Its Wednesday night- I am in my happy place, in jammies and by a fire with my furbabies. Hub just got home from work and was cleaning out his truck. He comes back inside and informs me that we are most likely going to need to go to Urgent Care. Ummm- 'scuse me?? Apparently while reaching under his seat, something cut his thumb. And by cut- I mean slice, requiring 4 stitches. That was fun- especially since there is only 1 Urgent Care open after 8pm in America. {Yes, we would have gone to the ER- but the $150 copay to do so, did not excite me}.

Lets jump to Friday. We had friends coming into town- so I was preparing Beck Manor. Hub just got home {are you sensing a patern here?} He had gone over to our cabinets {I would say pantry- but we technically don't have one}and upon opening one of the cabinets- our massive 10oz glass jar of honey flew out. Like launched its ass outta the cabinet. On its way down, it hit the edge of our tile countertop and shattered. Resulting in broken glass and honey, everywhere. Not only that- but a shard of glass went through his pants and lodged in his thigh. Seriously. Through his pants. It looked like I tried to stab him with a blunt object. So, off to Urgent Care again to be sure there were no left over glass pieces in his leg and more stitches.

This was of course- all before his surgery today. I asked him if had been doing bad things lately.
Sometimes bad luck...is just bad.

I'm off to continue working on the bubble he is going to live in for a little bit.

I am....Monday

I got this idea from the gorgeous Casey Weigand...

I am weird because...
I hate Styrofoam
I am petrified of Clowns. I can thank my 14 year old birthday part and the movie IT for making that worse.
I LOVE marshmallows & Peeps. But I will only eat the pink or yellow chickies- no others.
My imagination is out of control. What if I fell down the stairs, what if someone jumped in front of my car, what if that car wasn't paying attention... therapy maybe?

I am a bad friend because...
I expect too much out of people.
I would rather be in front of the fire with my hub and furchildren then going out- 98% of the time.

I am a good friend because...
I can keep a secret.
I treat someone the way I hope to be treated.
I'm really good at hair and makeup. Atleast that's the impression I get when people plop themselves in front of me, bobbie pins in hand.
I love like I mean it.
I would do just about anything {short of murdering someone} for a friend.

I am sad because...
I won't ever be a daddy's girl.
I won't ever get to thank my grandmother- for giving me the best mother in the world.
I don't live down the block from those who mean the most.
People hurt animals.
I'm noticing more wrinkles.

I am happy because...
I am a momma's girl.
My marriage is better then it ever has been- cheers to year #8!
The holidays are here.
We can finally afford to get the hub's nose fixed.
I only have to be 4,000miles from my baby sister for 6 more months.

I am excited for...
Christmas. I could go on and on about this alone.
A European holiday.
The addition of a new 4 legged family member. Even if it means dealing with tantrums from one of the fur children.
My Blog & New friends.
Running + Training + Half Marathon #6.
A brand New Year.

Enough about me, what about you?

Fridays Letters

I'm linking up with Ashley on this one, because I'm a huge fan of the Letters of Friday.

Dear Husband, I am thankful that you kept our life interesting on Thursday and took us on an impromptu road trip to Urgent Care. I am also happy that they were available to provide you with stitches so you are now back in one piece. Dear Patti at Lowe's Foods, You seriously were the sweetest person to me today- so much so, that you deserve your own post come Monday. I am so stinkin' excited about shopping for groceries online and picking them up. 10minute grocery shopping and I don't have to get out of the car? Yes please! Dear Bella and Caris, You both were horribly obnoxious today running around like you were training for an agility course. But I remember when you were not fond of eachother and I am so glad you are the best of friends. Dear Sister, After being 4,000 miles from you for the past few years- I am still in shock that you are going to be 5.5 hours from us next summer. Barbeques, girls trips,  beach vacays...so thrilled.

Happy Friday!

Wednesday Rant

This show gives me hives. I get the premise of wanting to save money. Trust me- I get it. But I do not get clearing out shelves at grocery or drug stores- so people like me, can't get the one can of cranberries, bottle of mustard, jar of pickles or bottle of aleve because YOU had to get 93? Seriously?

via

And I laugh. You clear the shelves and then leave your extra coupons? For what? Me to hang on to the coupon and hope the store restocks the item while its still on sale? Psshhh.

I especially love when you are standing in line and say- I could never afford this if I didn't have coupons. Honey- no one could afford 89 bottles of Tylenol, 36 packages of diapers and 49 bottles of mustard all at once.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love coupons and I get crazy giddy about a good deal. I just don't think that its right to clear out shelves so others can't get the things they need because you chose to wipe the shelves down.

Sorry girls for the rant- this show gets me fired up! {Yep, the southern-ness just eeked out on that one!}

Weekend Factor

Hullo pupcakes!

You want the good news or the good news? The good news is that tomorrow is Tuesday. The other good news is that means the weekend is that much closer. I know- you feel better now, right? Your welcome.

My weekend was full of amazing nothingness. Sure we did stuff...but nothing off the charts. We (as in me + hub, duh) spent 3 glorious days together. Dr follow ups with flu shots (romantic, no?), nail salons, remote control car tracks (don't even ask), some shopping and a photoshoot- (all lovey dovey, I love you kinda, style). The best part? We got to complain about our arms being bruised (for 3 days!) from the POS flu shot, shopped til we dropped for...air filters and groceries {#excitinglife} and then meet up with one of my favorite photographers for some "document us" type photos- and managed to hopefully look like we love eachother- after I was admittedly a mighty B on the way to the shoot because I read 15miles as 15 minutes and hated my outfit- ya, one of those moments.  On another note, here's to hoping these legs of mine resembled Alessandra Ambrosio and NOT the vienna sausages that I am pretty sure was going on.

In other news, any XFactor lovers out there? I normally don't watch shows like this {aka Idol, The Sing Off, America's got Talent, etc} BUT, I happened to tune in to X Factor and am SO glad I did. For this girl, right here.

Meet Drew.

Not only is her voice AHH-mazing {the proof is here & here ) but she is also from my home town. A tiny (I'm talking 3 stop lights when I was there in highschool) tumbleweed of a town smack in the middle of the great state of Arizona. Naturally- I am rooting for her. Because I would be crazy not to.

In any event- I'm off to slumber.

From one Bella to another...

In case you haven't met...let me introduce you to one of my main-squeezies, one of my sweet fluff puffs..

Meet Bella. She is the most rambunctions, loving, licking obsessed, fetch adoring,thinks I hang the moon- kinda pup. She is going on 7 years and that makes my heart hurt a little bit. If you are a fur-momma, you can get it, right?

My sweet girl is my fluffy, sweet loving pupcake and I would be so sad without her... maybe hence the reason we are thinking of adding to our brood? No, I haven't told her yet...when we brought the other fluff home {our meowrific kitty Caris} we went through a HUGE adjustment period... Pee on mom's side of the bed? No problem. Pee on Daddy's shoes? Yep, twice. Pee on the couch where Daddy sits? Uh-huh, there too! Needless to say, we were very jelly of our new sister. Can you understand my hesitation to add to this mix? Add in the fact that this time, her new sibling is going to be 3 times her size. Kind of like this...

Meet Max.

 Part sweet, fun-loving boy...part Iwillripyourfaceoffifyoutouchmymomma boy.

So, I would imagine the adjustment period might be rough. But I am a fan of the idea of their protective features they come with. My little 9 pounder loves me somethin' fierce...but can't offer much in the way of predator protection services. Even if in her tiny head she is convinced she is part Great Dane, part Mastiff.

In any event, I recently became friends with this sweet lady. Meet Ashley {from Adventures of Newlyweds}...

A fellow fur-momma to her very own Bella. I am fairly certain they were destined to be soul sisters. But until then, they will have to settle for DogBook and poking eachother. Recently, she found out that her baby Bella needs surgery. The kind of surgery that costs upward of $1500. Ya, that kind. So, like any momma would do- she has hit the ground running and Fetch & Co, her very own Etsy shop was born.

You can find amazing jewelry, pup leashes, super sweet coffee mugs- with new items being added all of the time. So far, she has raised $450! So, if you would, please go and visit her at Fetch & Co and help her sweet Bella get the surgery that her little leg needs! I just received my mug in the mail the other day...and I am in love. Cute, no?

That's all for now my peeps- the weekend is ALMOST here! 

Target Tuesday

As I have mentioned before, I have a small problem with Target. There was a point {not too long ago} where I would go twice a week, atleast. Ummmm, ya. It is in an extremely convenient location on my way home everyday... and especially after some hairy days- shop therapy is just what the Doctor ordered. And by Doctor, I mean me. I will be the first to tell you that I get some amazing deals at said Target. Its pretty easy to do, when you go random times and make "the loop" around the store. "The Loop" is my way of circling the store to get the things I want need and checking out the spots where my deals lie.

So, after a rediculously awful day, I headed to do Target Therapy and came home with these...

What they are:
1 calico cat who has an obsession with wicker. $priceless
1 wicker lit pumpkin $6.00
1 Ceramic loaf pan $6.99
1 bronze wire pumpkin $6.98
2 autumn writing candles $1.24 each.
I spent around $22.00 total but would have spent $73.00 had I not found them on clearance.

Atleast my Target Therapy sessions result in great finds, Right? I have no method to the days or times that I take part in Target Therapy...its pretty random and sometimes it rocks. If I figure it out, I will let you know. As long as you don't go to my Target. Just kidding. But not really.

Hope your Monday was anything but mundane...

Melody Monday

Unfortunately I won't be gracing you with my singing voice today, sorry- not that kinda melody. But I am going to talk about a different kind of melody. The ones with leaves and colors and vitamins and a bunch of other crap amazing nutritional benefits. Guess what it is yet?

I am interrupting this broadcast with a small scream. I am screaming because my laptop keyboard cursor likes to jump, highlight and delete random paragraphs in the blink of an eye. Yes, there used to be a huge paragraph right here. It seriously makes me give hub the crazy eye as he is nestled on his side of the couch, with his compliant laptop- and desperately trying not to smile. Oh, is this funny? Its gonna be funny when we switch laptops and you are stuck with this Bia. The things that make you say words that rhyme with wothersucker.

My apologies for that small rant. Anyway- where were we? Oh yes, vegetables. Oh wait- we were there, before it got deleted!  Let me catch you up. Today, I bought broccoli for the first time.  Yep, I am welllll into my 20's (do all of the l's give my true age away?) and have never purchased broccoli. Ever. I was inspired over the weekend after reading Raven's blog and though I can't go full vegetarian ( you will get it once you understand my aversion to vegetables), I can be smarter about my choices. Such as Almond, Coconut or Flax Milk {we are a lactose free kinda family anyways}, organic- free ranging kind of meats & eggs {I have since given up beef as I came to the conclusion that I can totally live without hamburger or steak}, fruits {which I adore} and vegetables. For the record the last one gives me anxiety. I really really dislike most vegetables. Which is obnoxious because I love salads. But things like zucchini, broccoli, squash, eggplant, brusselsprouts, asparagus, peppers, peas, cauliflower, beets...are you getting it? Make me wanna gag. So, still inspired,  I have decided to eat one vegetable a day. So, hub and I hit the grocery and walked out with...

And, I've already eaten one carrot stick. Not the baby ones, the big ones that you might feed to your horse if you had one. Go me. I am nervous for this adventure, because I think there could be some gagging, deep breathing and nose plugging involved. Don't worry- I will take pics. Not of the gagging and possible dry-heaving, but of the vegetables.  Lets just put it this way, Stir Fry is my.worst.nightmare.

Wish me luck.

One of those...

Weeks. The end of this week kind of kicked my youknowwhat. Certain changes have sent me into a planning/researching frenzy {I love planning, don't get me wrong. But being forced to plan for the unknown frustrates me}. Trying desperately to figure out our 2 year plan {I don't really believe in 5 years} to have some kind of idea of where we are going. There is a good chance that none of this is making sense to you,  but that's okay. Someday I will be able to fill you in.

It is cold and rainy outside today. The perfect day to be nestled by the fire with my girls, watching movies and catching up {though I'm beginning to learn that in blogland there is no catching up}.

So you see the amount of hair that is on my girl, right? She scoots as close to the fire as possible- to the point where she is panting in glorious warmth and puppydog happiness. She doesn't even notice that her tongue gets stuck to the floor. Just one of the reasons she makes me so very happy.

I know this post was awfully random, but I have too many ideas and thoughts running around in my head today. I'm going to take The Bargain Blonde's  advice and start planning out posts. Starting Monday. Have a happy weekend friends.



The Halloweenie post & Tirade Tuesday!

So, did you figure out what my stellar outfit was from my post yesterday? Mind boggling right?? Well, here is my awesome outfit. Meet me- Halloween style.

I work for an orthodontist- so the Tooth Fairy was only appropriate. Yep- I talk, stare, assess and think about teeth, ALL DAY LONG. First thing I notice about someone? You guessed it! Their chompers.

Moving on...

I would like to welcome you to Tirade Tuesday...

Here are my Tirades from today...or yesterday...or anything that could be floating around in my head.

1. I would like to know the medical reason for ruptured tastebuds. I have no idea what the "medical terminology" is for this, but you know when you get an obnoxious bump on your tongue that hurts? Don't lie, you know it happens to you. Oh, no? Well whatev. That shat hurts. :(

2. Why do some people never officially graduate from the social aspect of Highschool? Seriously why do some people never stop creating drama for themselves?

3. As I've said in previous posts, I love this show. But where on earth do they find these girls?? 

                                                             Straight outta Crazy Town.

Well thats a wrap for today- be back soon!