Double the reason to celebrate!

So this my friends...




happened 18 months ago.

Can I get a, "REALLY?!"

Yeah, really.

And this awesome niece of mine...

turned 12 today.


She's wearing my sweatshirt in the picture. Tear. Another tear. Oh there goes another one. Ok, ok. I'm crying about it! I'm just so proud of all of them. Alexis is one of a kind. She's been so precious to me. Since everyone loves lists (at least I know I do) without further ado...here's 12 things I love about Alexis Aubrey.

1. She plays the guitar AND sings. If that doesn't make her a mini bamf, I don't know what does. (Disclosure: If you do not know what bamf means, do NOT google it. I warned you.)

2. There's a story my sister told me and it went something like this: Melissa (sister) and Greg (BIL) were in bed. All the kids sleep with them in the same bed. (I don't recommend this but it works for them I guess.) Alexis was being very pensive that day and commenting on certain things. There was something that made Melissa and Greg argue over something little and it made Alexis very pointedly said, "I don't want to get married. I don't want to fight like you guys do." This statement made Melissa and Greg laugh because they are known to not necessarily fight over big issues but fight to the death over the most minuscule things. It's quite another thing to come from Alexis because when she says statements like this, its always true. The story goes on to say that directly after her fierce statement she said, "If I ever get married, I want to be like Amanda and Taylor." Let me just say, that earned her brownie points until she's 40.

3. She's known as the space cadet. Its quite remarkable how air-headed she can be. It makes us laugh really hard.

4. I get random phone calls from her just to say hi. And if my dad would allow it, she would text me all day long like Amy.

5. She's in the gate program. As far as I know that stands for Gifted and Talented Students. I say she's more gate than those other gate kids.

6. When Taylor and I were dating, she had a crush on him. It was adorable because although she doesn't now, she wants to marry someone just like him. Atta girl!

7. She loves Taylor Swift as much as I do.

8. She always calls us when she needs help with her difficult homework. Brownie points plus our own ego boost. Win win situation.

9. She never seems to get down about being sick. And believe me, she's always sick. I remember asking her when she was 7 what was wrong with her and she told me she had post nasal drip. Good grief. I don't think I knew what Tylenol was at 7 but she knew doctor terms. That's when I had to step up my game.

10. Her birthday was almost our wedding day. Coulda shoulda woulda, but it turned out fine.

11. Alexis means helper. I would say that name fits her perfectly.

12. Alexis is special to me in her own unique way. It was so strange the difference between her and Taylor Girl because TG wanted to be around me constantly when she was little. Alexis wanted nothing to do with me until she was about 5. From then on she's been a friend and little sister. She's been a beautiful gem that is just waiting to shine and I see so much potential in her. I will always want her to stay this age, but I know in her years of growing she will exceed my expectations of what it means to be a blessing in someone's life. I love you Alexis! Happy Birthday to a one of a kind girl.

Christmas Memories

Its Christmas time! Seriously, my favorite holiday. I like it more than my birthday.

Since this is our blog, we are claiming Jesus over our holiday. Oh yeah, that's right. My holiday is about Jesus, so get used you it you PC lovers. I am in no mood for your crap. None.

Anywho, MERRY FLIPPING CHRISTMAS!

That picture at the top of our lovely blog is of my parents' house 4 years ago. It wasn't the best time in my life but it was Christmas. All those presents belonged to my parents, my sister and BIL, their 4 kids, my brother, Taylor, and me. It was excessive to say the least. I have a video of it because at the time I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. I still do. Thank God my parents are wiser this year and have cut way back on things. I really believe in celebrating family on Christmas because that was the first thing to make this holiday special. Mary and Joseph welcomed their little baby boy into this world and became the most famous family of them all. Pretty freakin sweet.

By the time this picture was taken Taylor and I had done two Christmases prior. This year will be our seventh. Its been nice welcoming snow and the cold for the holidays but I can't wait to get some much needed sun back home. This blog will be random because that is how my brain works. To update you on my flying last trip, I did amazing. It was awesome. You would think after building up this crazy enemy in my head for a year and a half would make me start screaming but no. I was good. I was great. I wasn't wonderful because my heart did feel like it would beat out of my chest. But I did it. And I will do it again. Four times. Stopover in Dallas. One of my favorite airports.

I must say I've been a blogging slacker because I actually got a job. Nothing special. But something to keep me going strong. The gym helps with that too. So interesting the people you meet in retail. Hopefully we can take our Christmas pictures this weekend with the weather. We'll see. Just finished watching the finale for BL. So sad to see it go, but so excited for four weeks from now watching the beginning of the next season! Woot! And I was happy with the winners. I can't say who yet because I know way too many people in California that would kill me for saying too soon. Mouth zipped. Off to bed. Taylor's grading tests until 2am. I would pick him up but I've got work in the morning. Early. It's late already.

16 days left! Go Jesus, its your birthday.

Hi, my name is Amanda and I'm a secret blog stalker.

I get better at introducing myself to people if I know more about them than they know about me. I guess because I need to know I have something to talk about if we hit the awkward 8 seconds of silence. Hate that! I don't comment on any blogs unless I have read from post 1 until the end. I just can't do it any other way. If you haven't currently done that with our blog I won't be upset. I will be confused though when you ask me about my old job or where we used to live.

This past weekend was so awesome. I really can't describe it any other way. I worked more than I did the week before so by Friday I was ready to do something fun. I really love my JenAmy back home (that would be my two BFF's Hollywood name. Yes, I just went there). They totally get me. They know I'm opinionated like no other, I hardly wear makeup because I'm too lazy to put it on, and Wahoo's has a way to get the good conversations going. Mmm...ok side note sorry. I hadn't done anything remotely girlie since we got here, and by my calculations its been 5 months without girl time. I'm surprised I hadn't sprouted some chest hair by now. Ew.

I was humbled and almost giddy when some Chem friends asked if I wanted to go see Twilight. Let me think. Girl time, Mexican food, watching half naked hot men on a humungous screen. I'm IN! It just so happened Taylor had some guy time at the basketball game so there was zero guilt on my part. It was all such a good deal. Then on Saturday I babysat for some adorable kids. The poor things have names so unique they will no doubt be movie stars one day. But they were sweet nevertheless, and I always enjoy spending time with kids.

That night we were invited to a get together, ok party at a friend's house. I haven't had that much fun in a while. I think I gave someone a shock of her life when I told her I didn't drink. Like ever? Um, probably once a month when there a full moon and I've had the worst day ever. That's when I'll drink. I still very much enjoy playing drinking games with my lemonade in hand and the ability to drive home later. Call me what you want. Someone actually called me a Puritan one time. Of course we were debating Gay Marriage so she might have a different opinion now but who knows. She was the one that got in trouble. Not me. Theme of my life. Once again on a side note. Hm.

Today was a Lazy Sunday. My favorite kind. Still a little freaked about the upcoming flight but God's got me. He'll always be a fan of me so I'm working about not worrying about anything. As I say this I have to work in 7 1/2 hours. Ug. Fun stuff! Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I feel like this was one of those times when I think, "They like me, they REALLY like me!" And simultaneous heart strings are pulled. God Bless!

Family

We try very very hard to avoid talking about church with other people. Not necessarily about how Jesus is amazing and you should give your life to Him and all. More like WHERE we go to church. We are currently church-less. I hate saying that. I don't want to tell people that because just a while ago we were professing our undying love about the church we love in Orange County. We want so badly to call some Ann Arbor church home. But there's so much that goes into it. Of course there's gotta be a story to it.

Taylor grew up with amazing parents. They were "church goers," when necessary, but it was not until my FIL had a very near death experience they decided to make church a priority. God works in funny ways and this is what my in-laws call, "God hitting you in the face with a 2 by 4 when before he was tapping you on the shoulder." They found a local church, met some amazing people and pastors, and stayed in that particular denomination for eights years. They grew closer to Christ, to each other, they were involved deeply in church activities and boards, they were all around good people to have helping out.

As they say, all good things come to an end. The pastors decided to lead another church, and a new pastor came along. He is known among us as "The Dictator." The guy that fired the choir, played sexual movie clips during SERMONS to somehow display a point, preached about The Chronicles of Narnia for two months because the stupid movie came out, and told people my MIL lied to him. Obviously, the last one upset us the most. It was a pretty big blow for my in-laws because they loved the church and all the people involved with it. They couldn't believe that level of hostility could be involved with a God fearing man. It didn't make sense.

It was interesting to see the events unfolding in front of me because the situation was similar in some ways to events that happened to my church growing up. Although I can't say I had any crazy pastors. Preachers as they say. In fact, I loved all the preachers we ever had. That was the problem. The last preacher I admired so much was asked to leave. I believe it was a low blow. So did my parents, so we left. I have yet to hear of another time my mother cried than when that happened. It left such a bad taste in our mouths and there was no way we could stand behind the insult.

There's a lot more history to our story but I won't go into all the details. Basically there were a lot of times we both separately felt disconnected from our church families. It wasn't about the sermons or singing, we were missing a connection that everyone seemed to have. We had friends of course, but there was so much more to it. It was bad enough when we first met because my mother was having a cow over me going to church with Taylor. She doesn't see things the way I do about church. She's come a long way from then so I give her a lot of credit now. It took some years though.

Years and tears later, we found The River. Every single need we ever had before we came there, it was met once we walked through the doors. It was incredible. We met so many people that had their arms open for us at all times. Amazing worship, amazing fellowship, amazing gift we were given to have met everyone involved with that church. It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone when we left for Michigan. There is no way we will find something as special as what we had back home.

I was so hopeful coming out here because I knew of a similar style church in Ann Arbor. I thought for sure it would be everything we were looking for. We went and were tragically disappointed. I don't mean to be dramatic but I was in tears on the way home from visiting. It was like we had to say goodbye all over again. We talked about the church right after the service and realized they were missing too many things.

1. No one talked to us. Not a single person said one word to even make us feel welcome. Even the bloody greeters! I even tried to say hi to someone at the coffee station and he didn't acknowledge me. Nice.
2. For some reason they decided to cram SEVENTEEN people on a tiny stage for worship. It was not joyful worship. I felt like I was at a bad concert where every musician thought they were in the spotlight. It was off putting.
3. The only thing I remember about the sermon was it was a powerpoint presentation with cool graphics. I think we used the Bible, but that's questionable.

We don't want to give up. We won't because God is too good to us. But we miss everything! I'm hoping for some good to come out of this. He always has a plan, I never know what will happen. Currently I'm not crying because of the emending doom (flight) next week. That is a miracle in itself. Keep praying for me though. I still need all the help I can get. Even through all the crap Taylor's parents went through, they found a church they love. So did my parents. That gives me hope. I just know it won't be as good as the family we have back home.

You were always on my mind

There was a time in my life I did not fear flying. I do now.

I would say I've been on at least 300 flights in my life. At least. Prior to November 2007, I wanted to be a flight attendant. I would help other people sitting next to me to feel safer because I would talk them through each process of the flight. I've considered some airport terminals my own personal timeout space to relax. I've met numerous pilots, flight attendants, frequent fliers, and airport terminal employees. I know all the facts of safety. If someone were to tell me then I would be afraid of flying in the future, I would have called them a ranting liar. I would have laughed. I would have never even considered the idea of it happening. Flash forward some time. My nightmare has come true.

The fear happened to occur to me I was afraid of flying during a time when I flew about every 2 weeks or so. I don't know why I'm afraid. Oh, and its only before the plane takes off. Once we get going, the anxiety is gone. I've been trying to figure out why for the last two years but I have no explanation. Leaving me to think I'm crazy or something. If you've never experienced intense irrational fear, you won't get it. If you laugh at people with intense irrational fear, you really don't get it. I can't explain it. I can only tell you the things I've faced.

On a flight home to LAX in 2008, I had a panic attack. It was crippling. I had pushed the call button before take off and felt so horrible to cause so much trouble. It was there I met my first angel. I call them that because that is the only way they can be explained. The angels are people in airports or in airplanes that helped me the overcome the fear of the moment, and get myself to where I needed to go. They were always random, always people I would talk to first and tell my challenges I was facing. Of course there were some people that shied away from me. That's how you know there are still good people out there. The angels that help.

Most of them were woman, but the men were equally helpful. Most of them business men with families. It really didn't matter what they said. As long as I had someone there to help me. I always say you can see God in any situation. Even in my terror, He was more prevalent than anything else. I had to go through 17 flights with my fear. Sometimes the fear went almost completely away. Other times I would be crying before take off. You know what happened? A perfect stranger changed her seat, put her left hand on my back and prayed for me. What better could she have done for me? What an incredible thing to have done.

As for the pilots and flight attendants? Complete lifesavers. Every flight I went on was another opportunity to meet more amazing people. They would make me laugh through my tears, and give me a reason to take that extra deep breath. They always made me feel better. One time a flight attendant actually sat next to me and talked me through a take off. The others that couldn't sit next to me always kept close tabs on how I was doing the entire flight. There are still many good people out there. I met only a few.

As I sit here typing this, the anxiety has been coming in waves. The inevitable is coming because we're going home to see family for Thanksgiving. I've been so good not to think about it for the past month since we've known. The time is just coming a lot faster than my fear had planned. Its so frustrating because I know my family is there. They'll pick us up from the airport, we'll have turkey on Thanksgiving, we'll go to our church on Sunday. But until I reach 30,000 feet, I'm anxious.

God works in mysterious ways. I don't know why I'm having anxiety about flying. There are many theories I could come up with as I'm sure you could too. The fact is, I just need prayer. I need it so badly. I need to know God is with me every step of the way. I'm so thankful Taylor will be with me this time. I'm sure he'll need the prayer as well to get through helping me. I believe God can heal me of this. I believe it and I believe in the power of prayer. Even if you don't know me, I appreciate all the help I can get. I know I will get on that plane. I know I'll fly home, see my family, and have a wonderful weekend. I know I'll fly home many times after that but for now I'm focusing on this time.

Thank you.

God Bless!

Dude

Not having a computer charger is like the worst thing for my mental health. I'm actually blogging right now! Its a miracle! There is way too much to post about as of this moment. But I just needed to soak my feet in some warm soapy blogging ooze. There goes my growling tummy once again...I need to do something about that. Til next time, check out my douche bag of a husband. Ain't he cute?

I owe some credit

I was having a TERRIBLE day yesterday. Like bad. My top six reasons? I thought you'd never ask! (Why six? Well six is a bad number, to further my point.)

1. The cable was out. AGAIN! We finally found out the problem, but it doesn't help when you can't get someone out until the next day to fix it. Therefore, I was going to miss The Office. The Big One. JIM AND PAM'S WEDDING! The weight of it all was only getting heavier when I realized we don't know anyone well enough here to just jump in and say, "Hey, we're gunna watch The Office, mmmk?" Sure we could have watched the full episode later, but there's no fun in that! Plus, we were going to miss Community, Survivor, AND our new favorite show, Flash Forward. It will fill the LOST shape hole in our hearts after it ends...tear.

2. I still can't find a job. The economy sucks! NO ONE is hiring. NO ONE. And if they are, I've been in touch. Trust me on that. Taylor has a wonderful job for the next 4-5 years. Talk about job security. When he's done here, I plan to be jobless with a baby on the way so I'm hoping I can make SOME money. Sure, I've babysat. But SAH moms don't need me very often. Which I wouldn't either so I don't blame them. In the meantime, I still don't have a job. There are so many bad connotations with not having one. People give me this, "So what do YOU do" face after meeting my brainiac husband. Then the face gets more twisted when they find out I sit home and eat bonbons all day. No, not really but I feel like I should get some now that I've been home for so long. I would say this is the only feminist bone in my body. The "I want a job and I want it NOW" bone. I'll keep praying, I know God has something for me. If not, I'll probably sulk. And then get over it.

3. The house is not clean. I've discovered there are other women out there like me. They HATE cleaning, but LOVE a clean house. It makes sense to me! I don't like looking at the clutter, but I don't want to make the effort to tidy up. I do eventually, but its like pulling my own teeth.

4. I don't have a gym pass. If you happen to live in Michigan, can you please tell some high up person from 24 Hour Fitness to build a stinking gym within the state? GOOD GRIEF! Back home I had TWO gym passes. One of them was for 24 through my family, the other through UCI. Oh how I miss it. There is the option to run outside, but the weather kinda sucks right now and I hate getting wet. Oh sure, there's a tiny rinky dink gym in the housing office but there's no elliptical. No point wasting my time.

5. I can't get my school records. I've been wanting to finish my last 4 stupid classes and I can't. I've called numerous times but all I get is sarcasm and some major attitude. Its infuriating. They want me to come into the office to get my info. Um, HELLO? Did you not hear that I'm 2500 miles away? All I can say is LAME. I'll try again but as Gwen would say, "I've had it up to here."

6. I didn't set anything out to cook and I didn't realize it until it was too late. Plus, I was too upset to think about being a good wife. Yeah, pretty selfish of me. But I was not in the right mind either. Things were looking a little better when I saw a job I might apply for at the mall. I thought this would be the turn around! I'd pick up Taylor from work, we'd go to the mall and have a fun dinner, (because eating out is a treat for us, not to mention food court food is cheap!)
and watch the latest Netfix because the cable was out and there was at least some replacement. We had never been to the mall prior to this so I checked out the website to see what kind of food court they had. Hmmm, you mean NON-EXISTENT food court? Dude, they had Chipotle, (lmbo, do you know how many calories are in those things?) some Chinese place, (um, no) and Ulga's Kitchen. Let me think for a sec...yeah, no again. Have these people heard of Sbarro?!

I was pretty ticked off by then. Everything I was doing was resulting in something that would be on FailBlog. It was more anger than anything else, so I started crying of course. I do put a lot of pressure on myself because I like to be perfect. Even if I'm not. I like to have an amazing husband, job, house, all that and a bag of potato chips. It wasn't working and I was crying like a baby.

:Que Trumpets: DA DA DA DA DA DA DAAAAAA!

I like to give credit, where credit is due. These people have saved the day, and I owe it to them to say my thanks.

Of course Taylor is numero Uno. I called him in my pitiful sorrows and told him about my sucky day. He was really busy so he had to go but he sent me a text later telling me he would take me out to dinner and all we would do is relax and put our feet up tonight. Nothing to worry about. How's that for Night In Shining Armor?

We ended up going to this really old diner and eating super cheap food. The main thing he said was I don't need a job, I just need to be a wife. Its so true! He can pay the bills. If I get a job or not, my first priority is to him. And him to me. Did I tell you he's super smart? And always right about everything? I hate that. But love it. Sometimes.

See these girls on the right of me? They freaking rock.

Amy (far right) and I text pretty much all day. I've gotten a lot better at it because she keeps me on my toes. She didn't even know I was having a bad day, and she sent me a picture of these beautiful flowers, just because she thought of me when she saw them. If I wasn't crying before, I would have been when I saw them. And Jenny, (middle) sweet Jenny. She's always sympathetic to everyone. She's got the most compassion I have ever seen in anyone in my life. I was asking her is she saw how badly Sheryl Crow screwed up Brad Paisley's song on Leno...she actually felt sorry for her! I'm a nice person, but maybe I'm not sympathetic to most people. She really reminds me when I should take a step back and see...ooh yeah, that would be bad for that to happen to someone else. I missed that lesson in preschool, or kindergarten?

Dear sweet Camille and her hilarious husband Kyle
They are from this blog.
I took the photo from her site too. Total klepto.

Where to begin? I discovered her through Katie's blog, I featured it on our blog in the one when I talked about HomeGoods.
I started reading from the very beginning, and now I'm caught up with her to present day. She cracks me up. A lot of times I read to Taylor something hilarious she wrote and we laugh about it for days. Like what she said about Martha Stewart. Hang on...Ok back from laughing.
Anyway, I've been emailing her back and forth because I just think she's so fascinating. I like to ask her about Mormon things. I swear we share the same brain sometimes. Her emails really put a smile on my face, especially the one from today. It did more than a smile, I laughed out loud. I only wish Taylor was here so I could tell him another funny thing she said.

Pam & Jim
The knocked up bride, and the guy I'm not so mad did it.

It was pretty amazing the cable came back just in time for Community. Especially since it had been out for 7 hours. But it happened, and I got to watch my shows. Including this one. I really wish things were a little different on the show. Like the whole shacking up, baby before wedlock, getting married really soon after dating thing. It is very true to Hollywood happily ever after, but love doesn't always work out so perfectly. I can't hate them though. They are just so cute together, and boy is that kid going to be cute too. If you haven't watched the episode, you need to reevaluate your priorities. Then watch it. I'm the grandmother. Kind of. And I will always feel bad for Michael Scott. No matter how badly he acts. Ok no more. WATCH.

This guy...

Years ago, I went to church with him. He was one of those guys that really had his head on straight, and everyone admired him. He's older by some time than me so I never really got to know him, but I very much enjoyed the talks he would give at youth group. Through some very unfortunate events, his family left our church, and then my family left that church too. It was such a sad thing and we haven't really talked since. Facebook is a mighty great tool for finding people, and so I did. I might have said before that I'm a FB stalker so you know I already saw his blog and have been watching his videos. Let me tell you, I've laughed my butt off for some time. Like all the crazy things that happen to him at work, and all the crazy things he says. Whether he meant them or not. I felt so much better after I watched a few yesterday. I only wish there were more because I've watched them all. It would be cool if I could edit like he does. It's already enough with all the Mac stuff I know. But I enjoy him. You will be a better friend to me if you watch his videos. Plus, he loves his wife!

There you have it. Just some of the people that made me feel a lot better yesterday! Key word, SOME. Have a great day! It's FRIDAY!

Today is not as good as yesterday...

Which is why I'm making another list of things that make us happy. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens! Here we go...


1. Christmas Music

Image from here

Every year without fail, I start to listen to Christmas music starting in September. What can I say? I think Christmas music is just so beautiful! Love celebrating Jesus! Not to mention, I have Enya's cd. Soo....soothing....ahhh....

2. Cold Weather

Image from here

I'm still wearing my flip flops. I plan to until it really gets cold. There's something about getting cozy with my Bomb Hot Chocolate with a blanket. So nice! And what makes it better is Taylor is hot. Like he runs a higher temperature than me so when my feet are ice blocks, I can defrost them easily.

3. Going Home for the Holidays

Image from here

We thought we would only be able to go home for Christmas. Well it turns out my fabulous in-laws are sending us home for Thanksgiving! It will be so nice!


4. Pot Roast

Image from here

I went to the store to get stuff to make it. They didn't have the meat. Yeah. So I'm going again tomorrow. Then my house will smell like sweet goodness. Can't wait!!!

5. Cards

Image from here

A nice game of Oh Bunny Rabbits always puts me in the beach mood. Only...9 months away.


When the dog bites! When the bee stings! When I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things! And then I don't feel so bad!

I'm having a great day!

Taylor is not having a good a day as I am but I feel the need to tell everyone about it. Currently he's at school, waiting for his students to finish their tests so he can group with other GSIs to grade until 2am, seriously.

So my wonderful day started out with a later alarm clock going off-always a plus! I made Taylor's lunch and breakfast because it is the least I can do as a housewife, FOR NOW. Taylor was off work and I got to my job of watching T.V. You see, I don't have a real job. If you know of one that I have not applied to, called about, or begged for, PLEASE let me know. Its Michigan people, worst economy of the country. But Taylor pays the bills now so hail to the couch I now sit my tush on everyday unless I'm cleaning. Anyway, the cable went out AGAIN but they fixed it!

That is no easy task in itself because we have had 5 repair guys come out. Yes, FIVE. This one was super duper nice and actually helped us. He was only here for an hour! Another one was here for 6. Yes, SIX. It was very nice to watch my recorded stuff because on AT&T, you can record 4. Yes, FOUR. Ok, I'm done with that now. But it is very nice. Both cats either sit so nicely next to me, or curl up on my lap, which is so close to what I think Heaven will be like. Except I'm the cat. Does that make sense?

Anyway, after eating my delicious grilled cheese, I was counting out my calories and realized I've lost almost 30lbs since I've been here. Yes, THIRTY. Whoops, I said I wasn't going to do that again. So yeah, I was a chunky monkey for sure a while back. Cheri (my sis's MIL) sent me some pictures from Summer and boy was I ballooned out. How unsexy for Taylor. I felt fat too so that makes it even more unsexy for our anniversary. Not that we didn't have fun and all. What can I say, I know how to make things that are really unhealthy. Oh, but so good. And some things that are really healthy but still not good if you eat too much. Oh well, those pounds are gone.

So I decided to try on my clothes and see what fits, and what will fit again. I pulled open my drawers and realized that I haven't tried on a lot of it because I think it will not fit and I shouldn't even try. But I made myself. I was shocked. Things I thought I would not be able to put a leg in, I was buttoning! Things from high school (yes, I have clothes from high school dang it!) were almost fitting. Wow, how cool. Let's just say I think 15 more pounds would do me some more good and then I'm done. There's no way I want to go back to my smallest weight I was before. Everyone and their mother was telling me how skinny I was. Would they tell people how fat they were? Um no, but whatever.

As I was getting more and more excited about seeing all the pants I could wear, I put on a nice pair of black pants that I could not button last year and put my hands in the pockets. Out comes a twenty, and a five. SWEET! How is that for a reward? I put it in our humble piggy bank (ask me about THAT story later) and put away things based on how they fit. Basically I have a 3 piles left. 1st one is about 5lbs away. 2nd is about 7-10lbs away. And the 3rd and last is for 15lbs away. I'm excited! Its fun to work towards these goals. I think when I get there I will post pictures of how I looked. Oh, that will be fun. Kind of.

How are you having a good day? If you aren't, come vent. I LOVE to listen!

Miss Halle Mae

Today is my niece Halle's birthday. She's 7 today and it makes me fee pretty darn old.

She's a looker she is.

I have to be honest the day she was born was the worst day of my life.

Long story, brace yourself.

After my sister had my first two nieces so closer together I assumed that she would quickly have another one with her husband. Wrong-0. Alexis was getting to be 4, almost 5 and there was no newborn coming along. I thought I might nicely ask (bug the crap out of) my sister and see what the deal was. Well I can't say I'M the one that did it, but my sister got pregnant pretty quick after that. Oh I was so excited!

My sister and BIL make freaking cute kids. I knew this one would be no different. I felt different with this niece because I was a lot older and I felt like I knew a lot more about being an aunt. BTW, my sister never found out what any of her kids were before birth. I so plan on doing that too. Who cares about the stupid shower! I even helped name her. I came up with Halle, no matter WHAT my sister says. Like Halle Berry.

So flash forward to September 16, 2002 my sister's due date. No baby. Flash forward two more weeks, no baby. At the time I was a sophomore in high school, busy with volleyball and ignoring my homework. I came home from school after practice one day to find my dad home. I thought it was odd because he usually worked a little later than my mom, and she was not home. I asked where she was and my dad said her car had broken down, had a flat tire and she was at the mechanic to get it fixed. Hmm..ok then. Really odd.

For some reason I felt like being productive. I did my homework. Gasp! I did extra credit. *cough* NERD *cough* I cleaned my room. Absolute miracle! Through all of it I was wondering where in the world was my mom. I ate dinner, where's mom? Through homework, where's mom? I asked my dad again, "Where's mom?" Still at the mechanic. .....Ok then. I started to get more and more worried and it was actually time for me to go to bed and she still was not home. I heard the phone ring and sighed with relief because that had to be her. I went into my parent's bedroom to say goodnight and see what she said and all I hear is,

"Oh that's so great Greg! (my BIL) Tell her I love her! Congratulations again!"

"Um dad, why is Greg calling you?"

"On Melissa (sis) had her baby, it's a girl!"

I couldn't breathe. I didn't want to think. I just went to my room and cried. I cried for hours. Why would my parents lie to me? My mom wasn't at the mechanic! She was at the HOSPITAL with my sister! She was there! I WASN'T! How could this be happening!?

I was pissed. I was livid. I was bloody boiling mad. When I get mad, I cry like a baby because I have no control. I need to be in control of everything and I was no where near in control. I had missed her birth and I never wanted to talk to my parents again.

The story gets longer so if you need a bathroom break take it now...

Well the next day I was about to do some major damage. I didn't say one word to my mom. How could she do this to me? She had to drive me to school because I didn't have my license yet. She was just like normal. Asking me when my practice would be over, did I remember my lunch, like nothing happened. For those that don't know, I have a major attitude problem when I'm angry and boy was a giving some lip. She finally asked me if I was mad at her.

I don't remember what I said but I unloaded. I was screaming, crying, blaming. What made it worse was she had NO CLUE what I was talking about.

"HUH? Dad told me that your car broke down!" I was in disbelief.

"He said what? Why would he tell you that?" She was more surprised than I was.

I didn't know why he told me that and neither did she.

I guess word got around that I was upset (understatement) and my dad took me out of school to go see my sister in the hospital. I had been crying all day long and the tears were like a dam being opened when I saw Halle for the first time. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She was laying in this little crib with a pink blanket and hat. I was overcome with emotion. There was a lady from my sister's church there and she said she would leave because she knew something was up. Apparently my sister had been induced and she had a really unfortunate experience with it. It only made me angrier to think that I wasn't there to help.

To this day the only explanation I've gotten from my dad is he wanted me to do my homework instead of be at the hospital.

I call BS.

Who really knows what the reason is. All I knew was I had this beautiful new niece that I could now spoil the heck out of!

One random day in January we took the older three nieces and went bowling. It was so much fun until we had to get ready to leave. Halle had the worst fit I've ever seen! She's normally really cool go with the flow girl but she was ticked off at us. I told Taylor to just take her to the car and let her scream until we could get the other two and their stuff to the car. We tell that story to her every once and in a while and she laughs along with us. At the time was didn't know how to smile well so she made this awkward face. I did that too.

Halle and Ashlyn together are hysterical. They are best friends and sisters and so adorably cute together. I don't think they would ever choose anyone but each other.

I was so happy to have Halle as a flower girl. She was so well behaved and very girlie. Halle is really up for anything and more of a tomboy so I was really proud how well she cleaned up. I'll never forget the first time she met Taylor Boy. She was only 10 months old but she just stared at him like I've never seen. Must be those gorgeous baby blues that I fell for too!

Gosh I miss her. She's really one of a kind. She makes me laugh like none of my other nieces can because she's so honest. At our engagement party someone brought a jello mold that looked bad but no one said anything, except for Halle. She looked at it and then my sister and said, "Mommy don't eat that, it's disgusting." I about died laughing. I still chuckle thinking about how honest she is. Like me. Honest with an attitude.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful niece. I love you so much and miss you like nothing else. Your birthday may have been a sad time for me, but I have enjoyed everyday getting to know you and love you all the more. You will always be my Halle Baby!

No Technology Tuesday

So our apartment is a disaster.

Really.

I will not take pictures mostly because I'm a vain person when it comes to making people think our house is clean all the time. So not the case. Never the case unless people are over actually.

My plan for tomorrow is to not watch TV, or go on the computer UNLESS I'm playing music to get the mood going. Praise music really does some good. I'm going to clean this apartment for the whole day. It is that bad people. Since it is less than 20 minutes away from midnight, I'm biding my time and waiting til the last moment I can. I might work some before and after pictures in tomorrow but I can't guarantee anything. That would be a work in progress. We'll see.

With that said, I just want to say that I am not missing The Biggest Loser. Oh you are so cute thinking I would skip my favorite show! No silly, the place will be clean by then so I will actually be comfortable sitting on our couch and not moving for two hours because I know there will be nothing to remove so I can sit down. What a concept.

Til next time people, I'll be a cleaning machine!

Football

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Its that time of year again. College football season has started.

When I was a kid, I looked mostly like this when it started...

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Because I had one of these dads...

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Now before everyone goes crazy on me I would like to say that my dad is a good guy. Has worked all his life to provide for us growing up, we never went without like he did, and I'm grateful that he has shown us the right way to respect family commitments.

But when it comes to football, all those rules go out the window. Crash and burn.

So from a wee child, I've hated football. I could watch only the high school games I had to attend because of social functions. Any time it was on I would get this anger inside of me screaming, "You took my dad you jerk!" I forgave Taylor because he played football, but we never watched it voluntarily. It was really interesting because since Taylor was my one and only boyfriend, my dad had to find ways to drag the both of us along with him and his endless games he wanted to attend. Still don't believe he's obsessed? For Fathers' Day I got him a t-shirt that said, "Don't bug me, I'm watching the game." He LOVED it. Go dad!

Aaaaaand, now we're in Michigan. This isn't Irvine. They didn't even have a football team. Sure, they were good in baseball and volleyball but that doesn't classify as a big sports school. So now that we're here, we're being immersed in football world. Oh, joy. Now if it was up to me we would never even consider going to a game, let along watching on T.V. But the bug has hit Taylor. Oh yes, here it comes. He's totally completely into it.

Not like my dad of course. Oh gosh, can you imagine? No, let's not. Please? He even took me to a bar. We had to sit with other people and, gulp, cheer them on. I must say I was not looking forward to it. But I learned that our good friend would be coming. The T.V. they had was really nice. I got to feel special because I'm so cool being over 21 now. Although I had to avoid some of the smoking because (oh my gosh!) they STILL do that here, it wasn't too bad. I have to admit there are some things I never realized.

1. The T.V. can turn off after ONE game.

2. Taylor never yells out-load or at other people.

3. They serve food and alcohol in bars while you watch the game.

4. Its a college town. Everyone and their grandmother is watching.

5. We won. Take that Western M, Notre Dame, and Eastern M!

Now don't get your hopes up. I will never be a full blown fan. I'll cheer. I might even yell touchdown like I did this afternoon. But my heart belongs to better sports, and there are too many commercials to fast forward through. Goodness!

P.S. If my dad ever reads this, tell him I love him. Someone will need to revive me because he actually figured out how to look at our blog.

HomeGoods

Have you guys seen this place? I am a huge fan of TJ Maxx so having a home oriented place is even better.

See, we're pretty poor people. Not like we don't make money or anything, but I'm not working right now. I will soon I promise. But we live in Michigan, do you know how bad it is? We're #1 in the nation, its that bad. So as I complain while there are starving people around the world, I will tell you that I have the ability to win some money from HomeGoods. I will take all the chances I can because as I said, we're poor.

In recent history, we've have three blankets stolen from us. It was laundry, and I'm really sad about it. Not only are we going to be a lot colder at night, we have the guilt that wedding gifts were stolen from us. Nice huh? I no longer trust my neighbors. Well the maintenance guys are ok. I'm so looking forward to strolling down the aisles of HGs thinking I can actually supply us with some warmth this winter. SO what do you think? Am I a sob story or what?

Since I'm a nice person and all (actually I just want to win) here's the link to Marriage Confessions, an awesome blog I'm obsessed with. Seriously.

Sweet Caroline...

We just watched another Drew Barrymore movie. That chick rocks.

This is the story of Taylor. As in, my Taylor. Taylor Boy to the nieces and excelente mucho esposo. You see, he met me in high school. Poor thing didn't know what he was getting into. No, not really but we've had fun. He's one of those guys that has a million friends that are girls because he's such a ladies man. HAHA! I got him! (Ne neener ner ner!) Mostly because I was the first girl to date him. Gotta catch em early girls. So we've had a pretty awesome relationship.

Is it terrible I can't remember what year we celebrated here?

Soooo not like me. But there have been so many I tend to forget minor details of things. My best guess would be 2006...maybe.

Isn't that the coolest wallpaper? Its from my sister's MIL's house. That wallpaper is older than me, by a lot!

It was pretty crazy we wanted to get married in high school. Although I do have a friend who did (and is still married!) it was the right time when Taylor did pop the question. What made it better was he took my parents out to dinner to ask while I was in N.Y. Mr. Sneaky!

This was about 6 months into our engagement. We had another glorious 8 months to go. Although we were very happy about it, I would never recommend anyone staying engaged longer than 6 months. Don't do it!

Here's Ashlyn. She's 3 there, but she'll soon be...FIVE??!! Oh crap. How long are we living here? Well too long because this little munchkin loves her Taylor Boy. I swear they are like two peas in a pod. I've never seen anything like it. Having our nieces so far away is not fun at all.

Well, time has flown.

That actually happened. It was glorious, but I still can't believe it some days.

Here he is with Bella. Isn't that sweet? He's going to be a great dad one day. A long way away if anyone was wondering.

Ok so that was the very condensed version, but I'll be blogging more and more. So you should learn more and more.

Ladies, never underestimate the power of a good man. Hold out for one because he will come. If you haven't found him, let me know. I will tell you he's coming. In the meantime, read Twilight. That will give you an example of how well someone can treat you. And I'm talking about the OTHER guy.

If you are still hopeless, go hug your dad. If that fails, hug the manliest person you know. Even if it is your boss.

Well WHY NOT!?

It seems that every time I blog about something, there is an equal or opposite blog post I can do the minute after I post. I've kept myself from posting multiple times a day, but WHY NOT!? I'm home right now. Our place is clean, mostly. Here's to more writing!!! Don't be surprised if you see me later. Or read me. Whatever.

Oh brother, now what?

Oh! I know, here's some of the past for ya!

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it. Even after 6 years.

How about some of my favorite things? We just watched The Sound of Music on tv in the hotel the other day and it just makes me happy to sing that song...

1. Cable TV

We're getting it just in time for Biggest Loser to start! How excited am I? EXCITED!

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2. Learning how to blog. The fact that I linked a picture is enough in itself to earn me a gold star! Now I have to go back and fix the rest of my pictures...

3. This little baby!

We've been without a toaster for a long time, this thing is amazing!

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4. BK Mocha Joe

DE-FREAKING-LICIOUS!

(Need I say more? If you haven't tried, just do it. Now.)

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5. We actually have a couch now!

It looks a LOT like the one in the middle. It reclines on both ends so we're realllly comfortable in our house now. Not to mention the two La-Z-Boys we had already. Anyone up for a nap?

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When the dog bites! When the bee stings! When I'm feeling sad! I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so BBBAAAAAADDDDD!!!! Oh come on! Belt it out! I know you love it :) Find something you love today. Let me know what it is! Isn't this fun?

I feel so much better

From the last post, you might know I was really sick. Like, REALLY sick. My MIL thought I had swine flu. It was not good. Praise God that my wonderful husband had 2 days off of work so he could take care of me for the worst of it. I felt really bad every time we ran out of chicken noodle soup and saltine crackers. You'd be surprised how fast I go through those suckers!

So to update you a little, it has been really busy around here. Our awesome friend Tommy came to visit. Leave it to me to NOT take pictures. If I could show you what the weekend we like, it looked like this:

The three of us get along famously! We only wish we lived close like we used to!

Tommy is just one of those people who gets along with everyone. He's always smiling. Always up for a good time. No wonder he was our best man. There's no other way around it. He was only here for 2 days but we watched Star Wars Episodes 4-6, since I had not completely seen them before. That was also sort of a gift to my brother in lawS because they almost keeled over and died the second I told them I hadn't made the time to watch the movies. My brother is the most un-nerdy guy on the planet so you can imagine those movies would NEVER have graced our house. Too bad, but they are now watched!

On a side note, most likely Tommy will be here for Thanksgiving. Did you know it would cost $1,000 (as in ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS) to fly home for turkey day? I'm still laughing about it! I'm surprised I'll be doing my first one at 22 years of age, but heck. WHY NOT?

So after Tommy left, I had to haul butt to get the house ready for my in-laws. Oh the excitement! I was literally giddy. Their flight left early enough that they had to get up at 3am, 6 our time. I was so excited that I actually woke up without an alarm and watched the sun go up that morning. Pure excitement. Really. I even texted my MIL telling her how much I was. They weren't going to be here until that night so I had to wait. A long time!

It just so happens that I was cleaning the house all day and I had to take a shower and they came right when I was getting out. Curses! Oh well, after I dressed myself half towel dried, I finally saw them! I felt home again. We went to a lovely dinner at Webber's, a place that Taylor and I will mostly likely go to again for something to celebrate. We knew we had a jam packed week ahead of us with not much time in between. The plan was to leave on Sat to drive up Michigan to Traverse City, and then end up in the UP, (Upper Peninsula) and take a ferry ride over to Mackinaw Island. Oh what fun!

Just having my in-laws here was comforting. Julie taught me how to make her famous pot roast! What makes the recipe even better is that her MIL taught her! I love that. We also went shopping for souvenirs for them to take back home and she was overly generous with getting me some U of M gear. It was fun. We also did a little decorating around out apartment because I needed some help. Ok, that wasn't true. I needed all the help I could get and I knew I wouldn't get better advice than from my MIL. I'm really partial to her decorating. And my sis in laws'. So after a long, long day of shopping and cleaning, we sat down to a comforting meal from Cottage Inn.

Doesn't that look good? Let me tell you, it IS!

It was so nice showing them Ann Arbor. People in California think we're like in India or something they way they talk about Michigan. I'm so excited for the snow I can hardly stand it! I promise!

Fast forward a little to our road trip. Love them, and even more love them with the in-laws. My FIL told me that he wanted help reading the map so I was the one to navigate. Me, yes me. It was actually pretty cool the way old people, I mean people back in the day used to do it.

Here's Marty with our trusty map!

We drove through Clare, MI that day which is where Marty lived BY HIMSELF for a year and a half when he was 25. He had gotten a huge promotion for Suzuki and he was moving up on the big wig scale. Let me tell you, I admire him even more. That place was so tiny with nothing to do. Poor thing, I would have been dying to go back home! Especially since Nashville is like another home to me too.

See how happy we are on road-trips?

After having a nice lunch in Clare we made our way up to Traverse City where we traversed through the city. Get it? We did. Anyway, another beautiful part of Michigan!

The next day, we made our way up to the UP. I guess they are famous for Pasties (dough filled with beef, potatoes, and onions.) Let's just say Taylor was the only one who liked it. My verdict- YUCK! But what do I know?

After we made our way across this bridge (EEEK!)

We made our way to Mackinaw Island!

Here we are on the Ferry ride. I don't know if you can tell but I was a little scared. I'm a baby when it comes to things like this now. Don't ask me why, I don't know!

Here's my in-laws. It's hard to take a good picture with the wind so harsh but it worked out.

And here is where the fun stopped.

Seriously. I need to skip a few things because we had a few problems. Not with each other. With the Island. Ask me the story in person, its a hoot. Really.

In the end, it was a wonderful visit! I couldn't help the tears when we had to say goodbye. I can't wait til we visit again. Now let's just hope I don't get as sick as I did before when they come again!

Can there be a more annoying illness?

I've been sick for....1, 2, 3, oh right! SIX days. Six days people. I hate it! It turned me into a bigger slacker than I already am! I need to email and call so many people but I can't talk because of my throat, and I need to be focused when I email. Its like a mission for me to do my best when it comes to getting back to people. My wonderful friend back home sent me these hilarious fake tickets you can give people and I can't call her back yet! I got them like over a week ago! CRAP! Not to mention our friend from home is moving out to Ohio and coming here tonight! I need to get the entire house put together and make a nice dinner because we've been planning this for the whole summer! Oh yeah, my in-laws will be here next week as well so I REALLY have to have the place clean. What am I doing blogging!? It's time for this sick chick to domesticate!

Biggest Losers here we come!

Oh how we LOVE Biggest Loser! Sadly we won't have Tommy there every episode this season with us because he promised to be there for the finale. Its less than a month until the premiere but I'm going out of my mind with excitement. No other show makes us sit in front of the TV for 2 hours with our mouths open waiting with bated breath for the weigh in in the last 20 minutes. It also makes us rethink eating more leftover mac and cheese. Not that we eat that anyway. Not only does The BL change peoples' lives for the better, it engages the audience enough so they see the change they need to make too.

It reminds me of a time when we were skiiiiiiinny! Back in the day....

This was the only picture from high school I could find but look at us! Skinny!

One of those things I try to remind myself and Taylor about is that we are not in high school when it comes to weight. We don't do 3 1/2 hours of sports 5 sometimes 6 days a week. We can't eat whatever we want because our metabolism is slowed down a lot. We don't have moms that make breakfast, pack our lunches, and have dinner ready at 6:30 every night. BTW, this was a huge shock of reality for me personally just because I had to be the one to cook. If I did not have dinner ready, WE would not eat. Poor Taylor. I got it pretty quickly though. There were a few times Del Taco came to the rescue- sign, we miss you!

All of this really gets me thinking when we watch the show because of how people get to where they are today. They get stuck in a mentality that is destructive and they repeat the behaviors sometimes without realizing the damage they do until its really far down the road. Even after high school I was still eating the same way I did before. And believe me, I could eat whatever I wanted. Don't believe me? Ok, how's this? When I went to In-N-Out Burger, I would eat TWO double doubles, TWO orders of french fries, ANNNND a chocolate shake or large Pepsi. Yuck, that totally grosses me out now! I weighed 147 lbs as a six foot tall sophmore. Sickening I know. I would kill someone else if I knew they could do that.

Good thing times change! Good grief if I still ate like that I would be a contestant myself. Not to mention I'd be said because there isn't an In-N-Out Burger unless I want to drive at least 25 hours to the nearest one. We won't. That's where the show comes in. Not only does it make us want to giet off of our butts and go jogging like we have, it also makes me think about chicken and brown rice for dinner. Oh, it was so good tonight. Sure we could eat a lot worse but why would we when we've lost weight and just ran? Um, no. I don't think so. I always say a homemade meal is a happy meal. Not THAT Happy Meal!