Just another day in paradise

Annual Marriage Review

2012-02-08T07:59:00.000-06:00

How awesome are the lego people??!!!

So there is a great sermon series at the church we go to in Kansas City that I'm pretty much obsessed with and felt like it was for sure something good enough to share! It's called Love, Sex and Marriage - and has been about pretty much a mix of all those things the last 5 weeks (next week is the end of the sermon series). Adam Hamilton has done a pretty amazing job (not surprising) of making this a very engaging sermon series and pretty much all good things for everyone to hear, but especially a couple that has been married for a little under 2 years in their 20 somethings. Because lots of it was about what is likely to come in our marriage (i.e. more fights with kids, more struggles and arguments - but then as we get way older, things get a little better...haha!). But he also did a great job of relating this real life topic to the bible and shows you how God really intended for you to love one another in such a sacred relationship of husband and wife.

Most of Adam's data in his sermons was all based off of a survey that people from the congregation could take or really anyone - and about 5,000 people took it. WOW. And the results, well sitting in church each week and hearing them was pretty fun and funny - and overall made you realize that if you and your husband have stupid fights every once and a while or don't have sex 4 times a week or even 2 times a week - guess what....YOU ARE NORMAL. Crazy, right? Well, as much as you can tell yourself that you are "normal", it is always nice to hear that everyone else isn't perfect either.

A few highlights that I have loved and taken away from the last 5 weeks are as follows:

Date Nights:
One super fun thing that Jimmy and I need to keep up with is monthly date nights. COR did a contest for ideas for dates until $50 and awarded a winner to the best one. Check out the list here, it's pretty awesome as a resource and makes it easier to actually make those dates happen if you feel like you are too busy

Different love languages:
It was interesting that this was a big topic in one of the sermons - that guess what? Everyone speaks a different "love language", meaning everyone loves and feels love differently. For instance, I show Jimmy love by "serving" (not literally) him and doing things for him around the house like cooking and cleaning, etc. But if he doesn't receive love like that, then it doesn't mean as much to him. So recognizing how your spouse gives and receives love is SO important. Have you read the book? I have read some of it and need to finish it up, but it's pretty interesting. And most importantly - take this 30 second quiz and send to your husband/significant other to take so you can know each others!!

Learning about the future:
As a couple that is in their 20s and married for almost 2 years with a baby on the way, guess what? Our life is about to get a lot more complicated. Sharing responsibilities, keeping up a household and our lives with a new little one is not easy and will likely cause more tension that exists now....but guess what? That means it's more important to focus and realize the importance to maintaining the relationship aspect of our marriage and keep some time to ourselves. Couples that took the survey in their 30s fought more, had sex less, communicated less and overall - were not as "happy". It's nice to have some perspective going into a new life stage that it's not supposed to be perfect or easy - but we are now aware and going to try to make it as fun and as wonderful as we can!

Annual marriage "performance review":
This one I'm obsessed with. And if you know me, you probably aren't surprised. What a BRILLIANT idea. I mean think of these dreaded performance reviews you do every year (and possibly mid-year) at work!! The time you have to spend writing goals each year, discussing with your manage, evaluating your performance in meeting these goals halfway through the year and then finally after the year is over discussing again to assess. I mean come on - we spend so much time, energy and effort focusing on that each year but yet we don't take the time to sit down and do that with our relationships - let alone the most important relationship, your marriage. One thing Jimmy and I do is an annual budget review. Again, if you know me, I'm crazy and yes, I track our expenses and income each month and categorize them in a summary tab and then do quarterly charts and graphs. Weird? Maybe, but I know where all our money goes and Jimmy and I can talk about intelligently about where we could have spent less money and why. So WHY do we not talk about our marriage relationship - which is just as important as our budget/spending. When Adam mentioned this last week - I about died. Love it. So much. I am going to have Jimmy and I do it on our anniversary each year. Open dialogue about things you think you did well and could do better and get feedback from the other person. The best part about doing this with your spouse (or maybe this is just us...) is that I know it's going to be brutally honest....and I love that. Because in our relationship, there is little sugar coating.

Not sure how to start the conversation or what to evaluate each year? Here is a survey I found from psychology today that is based on a ranking system.

"In the past year how have I performed on the following behaviors?

Strongly agree 1
Agree 2
Not sure 3
Disagree 4
Strongly disagree 5

Affection
I have given you the physical affection that you need. 1 2 3 4 5
I have been sensitive to your sexual needs. 1 2 3 4 5
I have provided you with the emotional affirmation you need. 1 2 3 4 5
I have been supportive when you were stressed and troubled. 1 2 3 4 5
I have spent as much time with you as you needed. 1 2 3 4 5

Communication
I have listened well when you were telling me something
that was important to you. 1 2 3 4 5
When we disagreed on something I was respectful of you and
willingly engaged until we resolved the issue. 1 2 3 4 5
During the year you felt comfortable raising difficult issues
with me and did not feel you had to bury important issues. 1 2 3 4 5

I have been transparent with you about my feelings so you
did not have to guess about them. 1 2 3 4 5

Together we have successfully resolved the important issues
on which we disagreed. 1 2 3 4 5

On most days I have been reasonably cheerful. 1 2 3 4 5

Money
I have been a good provider for the family this year. 1 2 3 4 5

I have responsibly marshaled and preserved the
resources of the family. 1 2 3 4 5

I have consulted with you in good faith regarding major
expenditures of money. 1 2 3 4 5

Household
I have done my fair share of housework this year. 1 2 3 4 5

Parenting
I have done my fair share of child care and parenting this year. 1 2 3 4 5
You approve of my approach to parenting and discipline. 1 2 3 4 5
I spend enough time with the children. 1 2 3 4 5
I spend too much time with the children and not
enough time with you. 1 2 3 4 5

Or click HERE for 10 questions for husbands to ask their wives and HERE for 10 questions for wives to ask their husbands. I like these because they really do encourage open dialogue and discussion about both partner's perceptions and views on themselves and each other. I also think setting 2 goals to vow to work on the next year. Something like, "I know it bothers you when we are driving in the car and I critique your driving or make sounds in the passenger seat...so I will make an honest effort to not do that". I mean, that's a personal example people - haha. And we ride to work together, so the chance for that to happen has like quadrupled now - ah!! But I think the deal is you can only pick the 2 most important ones....because then it gives you something to focus on and make sure you don't spread yourself too thin.

So what do you think - would you do an annual marriage review? Interested in cheap date night ideas or learning your spouse's love language?? I really encourage you to listen to the sermons if you have time (they are all recorded and on the website) or if you are in Kansas City/Leawood this weekend, come to the service. It's been a very inspiring series that has taught both Jimmy and I a lot and has really made me look at our marriage in a new light - and realize that it's going to continue to take work and need to be a priority to last forever, which sitting next to Jimmy during theses sermons make forever sound like a whole lot of fun.

Showering Emily and Baby Jackson!

2012-02-07T08:03:00.000-06:00

To say that my one of my best friend's Emily has a LOT going on right now is quite the understatement of the year. She is pretty busy with lots of HUGE life events. She is (1) moving next weekend, (2) having a baby at the end of March and (3) getting married the middle of May. Um yeah, so see what I say "a lot" is an understatement. Her life is on overdrive the first part of 2012 - but guess what? Those things happening are all pretty amazing and we are all absolutely thrilled to be a part of her life - busy or not - and help her celebrate all of them in style!!! She's going to be one hot mama and one beautiful bride no doubt!

That's why we threw her a baby shower to get ready for baby Jackson's arrival. He will be here now in 7 weeks! I cannot believe it!!! So exciting!!!!

There was a pretty much amazing planning team in action to make this shower happen. Emily's older sister, Katie, had the brilliant idea to make the shower Dr. Seuss themed to go along with the bedding that Emily and Jeff chose for Jackson's nursery/crib. What a BRILLIANT idea. Because wow, there are SO many Dr. Seuss party ideas on the internet and pinterest, it's pretty amazing. Katie, Lauren (her little sister), Vanessa, Sharon (her amazing stepmom) and I had a pretty good time planning this shower and making it very fun for her!!

I was in charge of making a wreath (that we found on pinterest) and some food the day of. I procrastinated a bit, as it was a busy week prior, so Jimmy the wonder husband came to the rescue the morning of to help me out. As you can see here, his job was to cut up the fruit and put them on skewers. He was thrilled - as you can tell my his impression. These were "truffula sticks" in official Dr. Seuss language.

Boy did they turn out delicious! Good job Jim!

I also was in charge of making salty and sweet green eggs and ham. So up first was GREEN deviled eggs. Jimmy said they looked like baby poop. But guess what, people liked them and they were all gone by the end of the party. I'd call them a hit.

Then were the "sweet" green eggs and ham, that were super cute, super easy and super delicious. This task entailed Jimmy separating all the m&m's and pulling the green ones out for me. He was a trooper.

To say Sharon is amazing is also an understatement. When we arrived early to help set up, the set up was already done and was so fun and EVERYTHING went with the theme. I mean everything - even the bathroom was decorated. It was SO fun and cute!! Look at the cute popcorn holders and bins and the matching flowers!!! AHHH!! She should be a professional party planner!

The cake!!

Sadly, I didn't force anyone to take group pictures at this baby shower, as I did at Lauren's...and now I'm totally regretting it! I didn't even get a good picture of Emily! I had to steal this from her sister's facebook album. Shame on me!! But look at how cute she is! Ready to be a mommy!

Here was the beautiful mantle all set up with the present table. She bought some cute stacking blocks to go along with the theme to give to Emily for Jackson to play with someday. And there is the ribbon wreath I made! It was so fun and super easy - I will do a post on how I did it, just in case anyone needs something like this for shower decor, etc. I'm excited because they are going to hang it on the door to his nursery!!

Adorable favors that Sharon made!!!!

And the amazing diaper cake. Yep, Sharon is a rock star. My mom told her she will need help throwing my baby shower!!

It was so great because there were so many people that were able to be at the shower and help Emily get ready for baby Jackson's arrival!! Even Emily was in town from Denver and Dr. Courtney was there from Oklahoma City! So fun!!!

Opening presents

Showing off the butt paste!

And I was super excited to get Emily 12 little onesies that I made for baby Jackson. Have you seen these before? I feel like they are all over the internet of people taking a picture of their baby each month in a onesie to show how much they have grown. Well, I thought it would be fun to have them already made for her, so she doesn't have to go through the hassle because I'm sure she will be busy enough! They were super easy to make and a great present!

Overall, it was such a great shower and such a fun afternoon seeing all our friends, Emily's family and helping her celebrate!!! Ah babies - so fun!!

Which speaking of, later that night, Jimmy and I got to head over to Lauren and Cory's house to watch sweet baby Brodie for a few hours while they were at Lauren's work "holiday" party! When she asked if we would be interested - I said YES - as we need all the practice we can get. I was super nervous when they left that Jimmy and I would mess up - but Lauren was right, he was an angel and we didn't mess up. AND in big news - I changed a diaper for the first time. So that was a big milestone, right? You don't need to know that I put it on on backwards and wondered why it wasn't working before Jimmy (who also has NEVER changed a diaper) had to correct me. Oh, so much to learn.

But Brodie is so sweet! He was exhausted from all the attention at the baby shower earlier that day, so he slept most of the time - right on my chest! I loved it!!

Sweet Brodie! I sent this picture to Lauren so she would know how sweet he was being!!!

Jimmy feeding him his bottle. He loved it. We do need to figure out the whole burping thing...

And FINALLY (as if this post isn't super long already), Lauren was nice enough to leave me an awesome drink in the fridge. Finding good things to drink that don't have caffeine or aspartame in them while pregnant is not fun. And Lauren knew that. So apparently, she found this drink when she was pregnant and she bought four for me. I love them. They are called Izze and it's a fruit juice, but carbonated. So they are really good for you, but taste delicious too. A nice break from water!!!

There you have it. A post about babies and babies to be. So excited for Emily for her upcoming arrival and loving Lauren's sweet baby boy!!!

Last room of carpet

2012-02-06T09:10:00.000-06:00

We have officially ripped up the carpet in EVERY room of the house that carpet existed when we purchased this house in May of 2009. While I didn't get to participate in this last room, you better believe I helped with the rest (we pulled up all the upstairs carpet when we found hardwood floors underneath, pretty much moved out of our house and had them all refinished - including the downstairs that were already hardwood). And boy am I happy to say that we are done with floors in our house. And I'm guessing my dad and Jimmy are excited about that too because now (except for the guest bathroom) we would be just re-doing what we did in the first place. Which at that point I'm pretty sure it's time to move, right? That's what I'm going with.

Anyway, the carpet in our downstairs family room (the one with the newly hanging TV) was just gross. I've hated it ever since we have moved in over 2.5 years ago, but guess what? It wasn't priority...until now. It was uncomfortable, too white, no padding underneath and best yet, LOTS of stains - mainly the big polyurethane stain from the pups knocking over a whole can of it...oops. But now that there will be a baby in this house in less than 6 months, this new floor became a priority. Since it's the only room with carpet in our house and where we hang out the most, we wanted a soft carpet (including a good, thick pad) and something that was a little darker...as we have completely lightened up this room.

It was weird and cool (weird because I'm not really showing) to go into Home Depot and talk to the lady about what we were looking for and say "well, we're having a baby, so it needs to be soft so they crawl on it". Even with the weird look, we were excited.

Friday is the big day for the installation of the carpet and we skipped the extra costs of having them tear it out and move all the furniture (saved us around $175), so my dad and Jimmy did that today. Since it was one room, it took a LOT less time than the whole upstairs and check it out. I'm very excited to see the new carpet and how this flooring changes the room dynamic. And now I will be a little more proud to give a house tour (and won't have to make sure the dog bed is strategically placed over the huge polyurethane stain first!).

Here is the living room stripped down to the bones...

If you can imagine - I'm thinking I'm going to build some storage cabinets on each side of the fireplace and built in shelves above them for some nice built ins....thoughts?

I spy Milly...

Our electric bathroom

I spy Toby....

In the mean time, the chair is making it's home in our garage and the couch is making it's home in our upstairs living room. Right in front of the TV and Toby seems to be enjoying it a lot. We did get a great deal on the carpet and installation at Home Depot, so we were pretty pumped about that. Better yet, Jimmy and I both cashed in our "health rewards" points at work for being healthy in 2011 for Home Depot cards. So using those, we were able to save $380!! Wahoo! Yeah for great companies and being healthy!

Even though they are tiring and cost money, I never get enough of house projects. AH!

New twist on a math problem

2012-02-02T12:26:00.000-06:00

It's so fun and exciting to sit down and FINALLY write this post. So here we go....

Searching for a way to tell the world news as exciting as this isn't easy. But thanks to pinterest, I found a way to break this news to you that fit me (us) perfectly, which involved math. So let's call it a new twist on a normal math problem....ready....go....

Milly + Willy + Brittany + Toby + Jimmy + ? = 6

And another one where it doesn't look like we are hanging Toby haha!

Are you catching on, because there are a few more that we took that I had to include...

No folks, I didn't ask him to pose like that - he's a natural born model!

Yep - he's pointing to the THIRD PERSON in this picture

So here you have it......the big news!!!!

Sorry you cannot see the numbers on the right side of this picture - but you get the idea right??? We are now going to be a family of SIX (including the pups) and we are excited to add a sweet little baby to our already chaotic household!!!! Jimmy and I cannot stop talking about all the fun, scary, exciting and amazing things to come with this little one. YEAH!!!

We had our third doctor's appointment yesterday and got to hear the heartbeat for the second time and it was strong - which is so great and always puts me at ease. It feels like a month between appointments wouldn't be that long, but sometimes it is and I'm just dying for it to get there!!!

One thing we did get to do is set up our appointment in just SIX short weeks to find out if it's a little Miss Carter or little Mr Carter. March 14 cannot be here soon enough!!!!

I will try to keep the regular scheduled/normal blog posts coming, but there are also some fun posts to come about lots of stuff from the last 14 weeks!!

New Hobbies...

2012-01-30T07:15:00.001-06:00

So while we are making a list of things we want to have done in our house in 2012, somehow Jimmy and I have found a few other new activities to entertain ourselves. They actually make me laugh.

First is playing this game on our Wii with the old school controller:

Source

The funny part about it is that I play and Jimmy watches. Now, as much as I complain to him about when he plays NCAA football and that war game on PS3 it might seem hypocritical to say that it's ok to play this. However, apparently he thinks it is super fun to watch me play. Because I have this weird memory where I can remember weird things from when I played like 15 years ago (like "oh yeah, here is a secret passage..."). We have now made it to Bowser's castle and he really wants to watch me beat it.

Next up is this game:

Source

We used to play this all the time at my friend Lauren's house when we were growing up. I loved it, but wasn't so good since I didn't have my own to practice with. At some point along the way, I bought it for myself. And now we have it downloaded on the Wii to play. So fun....but I get really stressed out when I play this one. I scream and Jimmy gets stressed out. I couldn't beat this barrel level and literally played it like 14 times and I thought Jimmy was going to lose it.

So that's what we do for fun. We're super cool, right?

Now for the TV obsession. We got Showtime for free somehow, which means we have the capability to watch the show Homeland on Showtime onDemand. We are like 4 episodes in and I literally want to watch it 24/7 it is so good. I got so mad at Claire Danes last night and then I had dreams about war. Creepy. But it's such a good show - I highly recommend it.

Source

Pretty much this post is to let you know that our productivity in January of 2012 is not very high. However, we are having fun.

Round and Round...

2012-01-26T08:40:00.002-06:00

Isn't it funny how once you have been in your house for awhile you start changing rooms that you already changed like 4 times before? We have one particular room like that in our house. It started as the original "man cave", complete with dark wood paneling. It looked like this:

Then we slowly started to make progress and made the fireplace a little more "homey" feeling by adding a mantle and taking down the 70s looking mirror in December of 2009.

Right around the corner in January of 2010, I convinced Jimmy to let me paint the fireplace and replace the gold fireplace cover. It did make quite the difference, don't you think??

Painted with old cover

Painted with the new "updated" cover

FINALLY in August of 2010, the inevitable happened. Jimmy caved in and let me paint the wood paneling. Oh my gosh. I was absolutely thrilled. And I'm pretty sure that our 1970s wood paneling man cave/family room was upgraded to the current decade.

The first paint stroke!!

And the finished product...

The other side

So then from August 2010 until around March...other rooms were in focus. Mainly making the "true" man cave in the basement, as this family room. But then some creativity sparked again in March of 2011 and this room had a little addition. We built a hallway....

...painted the new hallway teal...which was a bit out of my comfort zone.

Added a valance that I made and built a console table and a matching bench in the hallway.

And now we have more changes happening. Yep. It's never ending. We ordered new carpet for this room because the current carpet is gross, not comfortable to walk or sit on (there is no pad) and there are lots of spills on it (including some polyurethane...) and the new stuff should be in next week! YEAH! When I told Jimmy about the new carpet, I said we were going to have to move all of the furniture out (including the TV and all the wires). So that gave us the idea to just bite the bullet and hang the TV above the fireplace. The catch? We had to figure out a way to hide the wires. Enter my wonderful dad. He came over on Sunday and he and Jimmy worked to figure out how to hang it up and where to put he wires, which entailed taking down the mantle that we put up too. Oh the irony. Don't worry, it will go back up and hide the wires.

Not the best pic (from my phone)

As always, it's a work in progress. Mainly because we didn't have a cord to the Wii that was long enough and you know we need that Wii! Anyways...isn't it amazing how much this room has changed??!! I'm still loving it. Yep, and decorating the house is a circular process and goes round and round.

Anyone else working on house projects lately?? I'm working on our 2012 list of things we want to accomplish and will have it up next week!!!

"Our house is a jail": a Willy update

2012-01-24T07:07:00.001-06:00

Whew, these have been a few traumatic weeks in the Carter house. I apologize for my blog absence!! I posted something on facebook about Willy and needing some prayers for him and I'm so thankful for everyone's concerns and prayers!!! To the story..

We got back from LA on Friday night and our pups were getting some awesome babysitting treatment from my dad at our house all week. We were so excited to see the dogs again, so we did our normal, immediately throw everything down and just love all the dogs and they were jumping al over us. I was holding Milly and then looked down and there was blood everywhere. Totally freaked me out - like who the heck was bleeding?? So then I look at Milly and it's coming from her claw. Her dew claw (the one that's like a person's thumb) had pretty much ripped off. And it was just hanging there. So painful, for her, and then wouldn't stop bleeding...which was not good for us or our house (carpet, sheets, couches, etc.). So around midnight, after arriving home from a 5 day trip, there we are cutting up an old t-shirt and trying to duck tape it to her claw so it will stop bleeding and we can all go to sleep. It was unsuccessful...but it stopped bleeding eventually. So that's good.

The next day was New Year's Eve and we were planning on going over to Ben and Julia's house and they always say that Milly and Willy are invited and since Milly had a rough day before and we thought Willy was acting a little strange...so we took them over to help us ring in the new year. There was a HUGE pit bull over there that was such a sweetheart that Willy didn't take too well to, but he seemed to be doing ok. About 11:30PM, Milly was sleeping on the couch and Willy was next to him so I took a seat down right next to them. And then Jimmy came over and kind of just grabbed Willy to say "hi" and he lost it. An awful crying/whining sound that went on for like 2 minutes straight. There were 4 other dogs there and they all immediately came to the couch to see what was happening. So sad!! That was it for me...I took the dogs home and let everyone else ring in the new year. I was perfectly happy snuggling with my pups, hurt and all.

So of course all day Sunday, I wanted to take Willy to the emergency vet because he was just SO tense and having trouble walking. It was so sad. But since it was Sunday AND a holiday, and it wasn't an emergency, so we didn't go. And it was hard. Monday rolled around and even though it was a federal holiday, Hallmark still had to work (weird I know). So Jimmy and I went back to work and tried to call our vet and they weren't open. My mom suggested calling their vet and luckily they were open and I left work and took him in for an 11AM appointment. We were pretty worried it was a slipped disc in his back and that would lead to the "surgery decision". Which was one I literally couldn't think about because it was so much money and for a dog that just turned 10 years old....ahh. Don't want to talk about it. So at that appointment, the vet said she was guessing it was a pinched nerve in his neck and gave him 2 types of drugs and said if he wasn't feeling better in 48 hours to call her back and then we can do an x-ray. The days rolled by and Wednesday afternoon rolled around. I had come home early and was working from home. Jimmy walked in the door around 4:30PM and that's when Willy lost it again. We thought he was doing so much better and then he laid under the table completely motionless and every time he moved....he cried. It was terrible. I immediately called the vet we went to and said we needed to come in ASAP. Luckily they were open until 7PM that night so we headed over to a 5:30PM appointment.

This time we talked to a "wiener dog" expert vet and she was wonderful. She took at a look at him and asked a lot of questions and we were pretty concerned. At first they were both concerned about giving him any steroids because he is already kind of overweight. So she gave us another type of muscle relaxer and pain killer to help him and said let us know if he's feeling worse in a few days.

Few days come and go and Thursday night, he was still have "episodes". We finally got it on video. I won't post it because it's so sad. But just in case the vet wanted to hear it, we had it. And then we realized that we had to take him back in. Tried to make an appointment for Saturday, but the vet we had been seeing wasn't in, so my mom was very nice and said she would take him in on Friday afternoon. They did an x-ray and confirmed that he didn't have a slipped disc in his back (which was an amazing thing and meant no need for a "surgery decision"). Then theyfinally gave him some steroids and more pain pills and we started those onSaturday with strict orders to make sure Willy relaxed. No stairs, norunning around, little excitement and elevated food bowls. Now anyone whohas had a hurt dog (think cone) know that it's pretty hard to keep a dogsedentary, especially when you have 2 other ones running around!!! But wetried our best. And attempted to make our side by side split house justone level. Hence the comment "our house is a jail".

Gate so Willy cannot godown to the family room

Our attempt to block himfrom going up the stairs....

Willy on the dog bed with aspace heater. Our attempt to "relax" him

He's so cute!!! Poorguy

We did OK with that andsurprisingly, the combo of pills did start to make him feel better. Midweek, he was starting to be his normal self again, which was making me SOhappy. That is probably what I was most upset about in thinking if he wouldever go back to the "normal" funny and cute dog he was. He wasa little slower, but he was excited to see us when we got home and startedeating again (hello, when this dog doesn't eat, there is a problem). Weare now to the point that the medicine is all almost out and we called the vetover the weekend to see if we needed to get some refills and they said if he'sfeeling better and acting better, then no. So we are giving it a try andnow all that is left is the remaining steroids, which he gets every other day.

Poor guy!!! I know Iwas super dramatic about poor Willy, but literally it was breaking my heart tosee him like that and hear him cry non-stop with NO idea what was wrong withhim. What the heck are we going to do when we have kids?!?!? Jeez -what a mess I was!!

But thank you for yourconcerns and thoughts - it was so sweet to get emails and text messages abouthim! All you dog people completely understand!!!

Let's pray for some good health, dogs and people, in 2012!!

LA - famous people everywhere!

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

OK, this is part 2 of the vacation. We left Vegas after quit the debacle over my husband's one and only big win there....we were OFF and driving through the desert in our wonderful rental car.

Here is what I looked at for about 3.5 hours. While Jimmy was nice and drove the car the whole way. And really I slept several times.

Desert...

oh hey Jimmy....

While on the way, Jimmy was set on stopping at In and Out burger for lunch. Unfortunately, I didn't know that was his plan, so when he pulled off the road and we walked into a Jack and the Box, I thought he just wanted to stop and eat there. I have never eaten there, so I went with it. Well, when we passed an In and Out burger about 10 miles from the Jack and the Box, Jimmy was pretty upset. Oops.

One interesting thing on our drive was the California inspection. Very interesting and we were in line for actually a while. Still no clue what it was for and what they were looking for. But we went with it...

Eventually, we arrived in Manhattan Beach and boy was it worth the drive. Oh my goodness, look at this view from the street. Amazing!!

We checked into our hotel and then were off to the "beaches". Redondo Beach was the first stop. This was a big moment for us folks. It was Mr. Carter's first time to see the pacific ocean in the flesh! Wahoo! Now he has been to the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Gulf. Way to go Jim!!

We walked around the Redondo Beach Pier and it was nothing like I remember it. I still cannot remember where these shops that I kept thinking that were there are. Weird.

And then when the sun was going to set, we headed back to Manhattan Beach and took a stroll along the water. And what a walk it was. Oh my goodness. Check out these houses. INSANE. One was for rent for $6600/month. Wowsa.....

After seeing lots of houses and walking through a beach party, we decided that this one was our favorite and would be our beach house. Haha, yeah right. We can only dream, but really, how sweet is this!?

And here we are! Happy to be on the beach watching the sunset, wishing we got to do this together every night!! We also saw people biking with their dogs and we were even more obsessed.

Yeah, that's a view I think anyone could get used to!

We decided to stick close to Manhattan Beach that night and tried out this delicious restaurant that was just down the street called Fishbar. But before we left, I made Jimmy take some pictures. He was NOT cooperating.

But this folks, yep, this is the best one of the whole trip. Are you kidding me? JIMMY!!!

But really quick, I must brag on this Fishbar place we went. It was SO good! When we finally got a table we had bread waiting for us and got an appetizer of the King Crab legs for like $8 (so cheap!) and then we tried some clam chowder. Both completely delicious! Then we tried the special that was a smoked artichoke, which made me think of my friend Carly, that was just as good and then I got a side of broccoli. I ate like one bite of it, but it made me feel better about my horrible eating the past few days. If you are in that area, I highly recommend it. We were so stuffed with just the delicious things we tried we actually didn't even get entrees....but I'm sure they were delicious too!!!

Day 2 in LA, we were up early (well I was up early) and enjoyed some breakfast at our hotel before I made Jimmy wake up and get started on our day (apparently I'm a vacation slave driver). Note to self: next vacation go to the east coast....so you aren't 2 hours earlier than everything.

The morning was filled with touristy things. Like Rodeo Drive. Where we went to Starbucks. While we couldn't afford anything in the shops there...they were all closed. Yep, that is a trend as well because it was too early. Surprise, surprise. However, the coffee was good.

See, I liked my coffee!

While on our way to Chinatown (which was stupid and we just drove through)...we passed this sign. Hey Vanessa! Check it out!!

I talked to Ashley when we got to China town and she confirmed my thoughts that it was stupid, but that we have to go to Hollywood Boulevard. Off we went!

Jimmy wanted a picture of the Capitol Records building

And here he is. We made it to Hollywood Boulevard

And the famous sign.....

Famous Roosevelt hotel

There were SO many people everywhere walking down the street. Actually it wasn't as bad as Vegas, but still very touristy. But just something we had to do, right? When we got down in front of the Chinese theater, there were characters everywhere to take pictures with. I snapped a picture of the Star Wars trooper and Darth Vader for our nephew, Ben, but now he's pretty into Indiana Jones, so I'm not sure if he would think this was cool!!

We saw all the stars! They were everywhere!

There were lots of tours they were trying to sell on buses to take you to see famous people's houses and hot spots in LA. If we didn't have plans later in the day, I might possibly have dragged Jimmy to one of those. One guy almost had me sold on it. However, instead I just googled some places myself and made Jimmy drive by. He was thrilled. Haha. And now my sick obsession with Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is revealed. I knew that Lisa from the show had a restaurant nearby, so I made him drive by in hopes that maybe she would be outside with Ken and Jiggy. Or even Pandora. No such luck, but hey, we did drive by Sur. And here is the bad picture of it!

This picture sufficed for my RHOBH and my 90210 obsessions

And guess what we picked up on Hollywood Boulevard? Some super trendy Cali glasses. Jimmy's for KU and mine for K-State. Not going to lie, I did feel a little silly in them, but don't worry, I'll bust them out every once and a while.

That afternoon we headed to Ashley's place to see her and meet Milton (her dog) and her roommate Mandy. It was Ashley's birthday (and Courtney's and Emily!), so it was perfect timing. We picked up her boyfriend and he drove us to Malibu to a fun restaurant on the beach. Literally on the beach. And the weather was FABULOUS. 75-80 degrees on December 29. It was pretty amazing!!!!

I mean...this is late December. Why don't we all live here and enjoy this weather!?!?

After a fabulous lunch and no Matthew McConaughey sitings (apparently he frequents that beach), we headed back to the city and then we were all back to change and relax before we went out for Ashley's birthday dinner. We headed to Venice beach (one of the few beach towns we hadn't hit up the day before) for a wonderful tapas style dinner! It was delicious food, an extensive wine list and even better company!!

And we got some dessert and candle for the birthday girl!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Jimmy and I

Ashley and BJ

Group shot of the table!!! So fun!

And then we realized that we are old and were all tired and went home and to bed. Yep, we are that cool. Ashley and BJ were headed to Big Sur bright and early the next morning (check out her great blog post on that trip here) and we were beat. However, it was a great birthday celebration and thank you Ashley, BJ and Mandy for letting us crash some of your time in LA! It was so fun!!!

The next day we were headed to the airport, but our flight wasn't until 4, so we had some time to kill. In the morning we got packed up, checked out of the hotel and headed to the Santa Monica Pier for our final beach destination.

Check out the fog/ocean layer. It was crazy!!

On the pier

Since it was still kind of early (like I said...this is a trend of this vacation), there wasn't too many things open...but the arcade was. So being the competitive married couple we are, we cashed in $5 and began the competition in terms of basketball pop a shot and a skee ball game. I lost at both. But still, I think it was unfair because (1) Jimmy got to watch me before and (2) No practice shots....oh well.

Jimmy beating me in this game, bad.

Our final game was a Pirates of the Caribbean shooting game and we were a team. Let's just say you don't want me on your team if you life depends on me shooting people and shooting the correct people. I'll leave it at that.

The last obligatory picture on the pier I made Jimmy take. He was thrilled if you cannot tell.

So before we were off to the airport (which was CRAZY by the way), we had one more stop to make around lunch time. It was in-n-out burger. Since on our drive from Vegas this is what Jimmy thought he was eating and was disappointed he was at Jack in the Box...we googled it and headed there. And quite the experience it was. I will say, I was surprised at their limited menu, but I guess if you got a good thing going, why ruin it or dilute the menu? Because there were PLENTY of people there just loving it!!

We each got a burger, fries and a drink. I had heard about doing something to the fries (monster something?) where they put thousand island dressing on it, but I passed on that. So here we are trying these for the first time. PS The photos of me are incriminating, I realize that.

This was an action shot. I know I look gross. However, I was surprised that there was the thousand island dressing on the burger. And now you realize why my face looks like this.

However, I actually did really like it. So that was good!! Overall, it was pretty freaking good.

So there you have it. After that lunch, we headed to the airport, finally got our bags checked and made it through security (after they closed a lane down....) and sat in the busy airport at a bar watching college football games and I read my book. We didn't have a direct flight and had to connect in Denver, which the Denver to KC might have been the worst flight of my life (which is saying a lot since I traveled one planes two times a week for a year at least when I was a consultant), but with a constantly hacking lady next to me and a SUPER loud and drunk man talker right behind us and then poor screaming babies at the end due to a drop in pressure - yeah, we were ready to be on the ground in KC and pack up our suitcases for a while. We were pumped to see our dogs too, which turned into another story....of course!

So until the next vacation!!!

PS Sorry if I tricked you in the title of this post. We didn't actually see any famous people. Bummer. But hopefully you enjoyed it!

Vegas baby

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

Four AM on Monday, 12/26, we were up and off to the airport for our 6AM flight to Vegas. It was an easy flight and we were thankful for the chauffeur service of my dad too!

Check out this view when the sun started to rise. So pretty!!!

If you can do math quick in your head, we left at 6:05AM KC time, it was about a 2 hour flight and we landed in Vegas at what time Vegas time?? Yep - 7:15AM. If you have ever been to Vegas you know that pretty much no one is awake at that time. However, we were operating like it was 9:15AM, so we hit up the breakfast buffet at our hotel, Treasure Island, after we dropped our bags off. It was empty and delicious. Perfect way to start the day.

Our hotel was conveniently connected to the Fashion Show Mall on the Vegas strip, so since it was the day after Christmas, holding to Bruns girl style, I convinced Jimmy that we should head over there and check out some sales. I ended up buying a black coat at Macy's which was by far the best purchase of the whole trip because the weather in Vegas and night was COLD and I was not prepared for that. For $34 and a coat that I can wear in KC - I'll take it.

So what to do after that? Well - we couldn't get into our hotel room until around 11 or 12 Vegas time, so it was off to the strip we went to explore other hotels and give Jimmy a chance to see Vegas.

I think this is in the Mirage. Such cool flowers!

Mirage Christmas decor

The Venetian aka Vegas Paris

Jimmy's favorite TV show by far is Seinfeld and guess what? He was in town the same 2 nights we were doing stand up at Caesar's Palace. We didn't get each other Christmas presents for that reason because we knew we would be spending some $$ on our vacation - so that was Jimmy's big present. Tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld on Monday night! That also meant we got to take a tour around Caesar's Palace to pick up some tickets.

Me in front of the fountain at Caesar's (I promise I eventually showered)

We hit up a Thai place at Bally's (after searching all over the strip for Thai) for lunch - it was delicious!

After a quick nap, we got dressed for Jerry's show! It was at 7:30, so we ate some appetizers before the show and then headed there. It was hilarious - we both really enjoyed it. I have to say some of the people around us that were laughing so hard might have been the funniest part of the show. Then randomly these people got in a huge fight in front of us and stormed out - awkward. And with how expensive the tickets were, I am pretty sure you couldn't pay me to leave at that point. People are nuts.

Before the show in our hotel room!

Jimmy's dream come true!

The next morning, my body and sleep schedule were still operating 2 hours ahead of Vegas time, so of course I was up bright and early and ready to explore the strip more. Jimmy was not that excited, but when I told him we could hit up Denny's first - he was in. Ha ha. So after hitting up Denny's and using the 20% coupon I found in the visitor's guide (always looking for a deal...), we took a cab ALL the way down the other end of the strip from where we were staying and started at the Mandalay Bay hotel. I had done some early morning research and they highly recommended the shark reef. Even knowing that Jimmy is deathly afraid of ocean animals, I made him walk all the way there with me. And take this picture. Gosh he must really like me, looking back on this trip.

So then we got there and it was not open until 11AM. Guess that's how most people in Vegas roll. Nope, we were there around 9AM. And it was $18/each. Ok, pass. Oh well. We did walk by this pool. And were sad that we weren't there in the summer time and couldn't take advantage of all of these that Vegas had to offer!!

He was mad I was taking random pictures that he wasn't in them. Here is a picture of the Mandalay Bay. And Jimmy. And his peace sign.

Then we made our way to the Luxor. And were completely fascinated about the window washer at the very TOP of the pyramid. I'm glad that's not my job. Really glad.

Once we were in the Luxor, we were immediately stopped by someone in there and they tried to give us free stuff. So we took the bait and went over to this lady and started talking to her about all the awesome stuff they will give us by JUST going to a FREE lunch at one of their new hotels just off the strip. Yep, they were just trying to get people there to see it and they will bus us there for free. For doing that (free lunch and free ride), they will give us free dinner and show tickets. Here was the catch. Lunch wasn't until like 2PM. And we had to leave from the Luxor. I was totally in. We even gave her our IDs (not sure why??). But then I stopped myself. Because guess what? The whole point of this vacation was that we have NO plans. And we didn't know where we would be at 2PM. So I said no and walked away. And then walking into the Excaliber hotel, we were stopped again. I said no again. And then as we were crossing the bridge over to the New York, New York hotel....stopped again. And this time promised a bigger and better deal. We could even bring friends (yep, had no friends in Vegas). And I said no again...and Jimmy and I walked away. Really, Brittany saying "no" THREE times to someone that is not Jimmy. I would say we'll chalk that up as a great start to 2012, even though it took place in late 2011. Very proud. Now, not so happy that we ended up paying for tickets to a show...but I was glad we got to eat lunch where we wanted to and use our buy one get one free dinner buffet coupon. (I'm so cool)

Anyways - here I am after saying no three times and on our way to the New York, New York, which was Jimmy's favorite hotel on the strip AND where I hit it big with penny slots!!! YES!!

And in front of the statue of liberty!

Next we headed over the bridge to the MGM hotel. Because I read about this awesome lion habitat that you can look at.

And guess what??? It was closed - because we were there too early. That seems to be a trend, huh?

And onward we walked. I think this was in the Aria? Or the Cosmopolitan? I can't remember - I think the Aria. Check out all those jewels in the sky/air. Awesome!!!

Then we had to make the obligatory stop at the Bellagio hotel. And took a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower in the background. Ah - we were happy to be in some nice weather!!!

And with the beautiful Christmas decor that was still up - Jimmy got someone to snap a picture of us in front of the beautiful tree!

And a shot of the hotel later that night...while catching the fountain show!!

So what did we do in between the day and night? Jimmy placed a bet at the sports book at Caesar's Palace on a couple bowl games. Walked back to Treasure Island and I took a quick nap while he gambled some more. Then I went over and bought some tickets to the Vegas Variety Show at Planet Hollywood hotel. We hit up the buffet at Treasure Island before the line got too long (I mean, I bet some people waited in line for like 2 hours. Seriously?!?!?). Got ready to go and headed to the show. While we were waiting in line to get in, Jimmy realized that he lost his ticket that he had won from betting on the two bowl games and winning. Major fail. That meant that after the show we walked back over the Caesar's Palace to talk to them because he had the information from a picture he took of his ticket on his phone (thank goodness he randomly did that). Well the sports book closed at 11PM, so he waited in the cashier line. No such luck. Had to wait until 8AM the next day. And so we left and off to bed we went.

We were up early because we had originally planned to get up super early and drive straight to DisneyLand, but then changed our plans. We still picked up the rental car and checked out very early and had some breakfast at IHOP (can you tell we are breakfast people?) away from the strip. When 8AM hit I drove Jimmy back to to Caesar's Palace to talk to someone there. Well, he did but then the manager disappeared until like 9:30. With no where to park in Vegas when you are waiting, I just drove to a local outlet mall and sat in the parking lot. At this point, I was READY to get out of Vegas. But we waited and finally he text messaged me around 9:45 and said he was able to fill out a lost ticket form because he had all the information and they will just send him the winnings. Yeah. And let's get the heck out....our luck had run out.

OFF TO LA, THROUGH THE DESERT WE WENT.....

New year at the gym

2012-01-03T10:30:00.000-06:00

So I was heading to the gym last night to a 6:30 Zumba class that I attend on a semi-regular basis. Now you have to "sign up" at the front desk so the class doesn't get too full. Fabulous idea, right? Yes, if it's not the second day in January and there are like a bizillion more people there then there were 2 weeks ago!! AH! I pulled up at 6:22...strolled in, checked in and said I wanted to put my name down. I was 7-8 minutes early. I mean I wasn't 5 minutes late people!!! Nope it was full. The lady told me that 40 people had already signed up. And maybe next time I will remember to call an hour in advance - oh but they only put 10 people on that list. Otherwise I just need to get there earlier. So what? Like arrive at 6 for a 6:30 class? Come on - it's hard enough to get an hour out of the night to go to a class at the gym, let along just walk on the treadmill 30 minutes before so I can sign up. Crazy people. I tell you, crazy.

So I just left. I'm horrible. But in my defense, I did go home and get on the elliptical for 35 and watched Entertainment Tonight and the start of the Bachelor (which I swore I wouldn't watch....what is my problem!?!) (P.S. anyone watch it - what the heck, lesbians and a fight already!?!?). So that was exercise, but just not as fun as zooming my hips around to Latin music would have been. I guess there is always tomorrow or Wednesday or Thursday - just need to remember that January 2 is not a good day to show up 7 minutes before a class starts apparently! But tell me....when does it go back to "normal"?? Because I'm ready for it now! I'm ready to party again people!

Source

P.S. not trying to say that working out is not a good new year's resolution - it is. I just need to remember that is party of lots of other people's resolutions when making my schedule, right?

Pinterest cooking

2012-01-02T20:34:00.000-06:00

All right...I haven't blogged about Pinterest yet. And yes, I'm with the crowds and I'm completely obsessed. I jumped right in and started making some boards and pinning away. However, the most frustrating thing I feel like is there are all these ideas that I post to all these boards and rarely actually use them.

Well - this post is dedicated to my cooking board and some reviews on things that I have pinned and actually made!

Green Bean Casserole
- This is a standard recipe, but I pinned it and it was delicious.

Recommendation: LOVED


From Betty Crocker

Pizza Balls

- Made these for a Christmas party

- They looked delicious and sounded really easy...mainly because it's canned biscuits

- I used pepperoni and sausage ones....but didn't really like either

Recommendation: eh..not so much

Pizza balls! Absolutely delicious! Fast and easy! Canned biscuits, mozzarella cheese, garlic, and diced pepperoni all rolled into a ball and put in a muffin pan! Bake for 15 minutes! Add whatever other ingredients you'd like! Dip in sauce!

Stovetop Mac and Cheese

- Tried this out...

- Didn't work like I thought it would

Recommendation: eh..not so much

Source

Crockpot Lasagna

- The noodles were actually cooked - which was good

- I left it in the crockpot for too long, so it burned

Recommendation: eh..not so much

Source

White Chicken Enchilladas

- These had raving recommendations on pinterest

- I kind of burned the cheese on the last step because you had to broil it...

Recommendation: Overall, I would say a huge success! They were so good. Jimmy and I both took them the next day for lunch too! YUM!

Source

Hot bean dip

- This was so easy with just a few ingredients!

- I took it to a Christmas party and it was a HUGE hit!

Recommendation: Overall, I would say a huge success! Very much enjoyed it - might be a new staple appetizer to take to parties!

Source

Zucchini Oven Chips

- I had some left over zucchini in the fridge and some parmesan cheese

- I think I made them wrong...but eh.

Recommendation: eh..not so much

Source

Mexican Crescent Wreath Appetizer

- I had planned to make this for the Carter Christmas (which was Mexican themed)

- I didn't make it - so I have no clue if it was good. But dang, it looks good.

Recommendation: no clue!!! I will try it someday!

Source

So there you have it....my pinterest cooking recommendations. That's all for now folks. Hopefully I can actually get onto making some of the DIY home stuff I have pinned in 2012.....

PS My mom got us iPhones for Christmas (but we don't get ours until we can upgrade in April...) but when I have mine and have that pinterest app...wow....bad news!

Christmas time is here!

2011-12-27T10:34:00.000-06:00

This year was filled with lots of celebrating the season with both of our families and some fun times and most importantly delicious food (like so much it makes me sick thinking about it!!).

We kicked off Christmas Eve with dinner at my parents house with my immediate family, my grandparents and my uncle. I volunteered Jimmy to smoke a turkey for the evening. Not sure how thrilled he was with that task, but I loved smoked turkey, so I wanted him to have a practice run before I selfishly make him make lots for us to eat. And here it went from early in the morning until around 4:00 when we went over to my parents.

All seasoned up and ready to cook!

We transported the hot turkey over to my parents house and then Jimmy wimped out and said he wasn't going to cut it...so my dad took over that one. Look at how cute they are. Haha.

Overall, it was completely delicious. BUT - I only got to eat a little bit because I was so freaking stuffed from all the appetizers - check them all out. Oh and there is my sister.

This is my angry that Jimmy is taking pictures of me....as usual.

After dinner, we took a nap and then headed off to the Christmas Eve candlelight service at Church of the Resurrection...which as usual was probably my favorite part of Christmas. When you have thousands of people in the dark and then one candle spreads the light - pretty freaking powerful and representative of the meaning of Christmas!

So then it was Christmas morning - we opened up our stockings at home and gave the treats to the pups. We didn't exchange big gifts, since we were heading on vacation early the next morning and we had some presents in mind for that trip. We just hung out and then went over to my parents house to open presents there and then over to Red and Sue's house to celebrate with all of Jimmy's family!

Here's Jimmy. Sweet picture.

There was DELICIOUS Mexican food served by the wonderful cook, my mother-in-law! Then we spread out the presents to the kids and watched them open them....so fun. Seeing their reactions is priceless! And then it was time for the annual cousins PJ picture! Look at how cute they are!

Haha - there wasn't a good one of everyone, but with 8 kids, I feel like that's pretty normal, right??

Overall, it was a wonderful Christmas season and then we whisked ourselves off to the west coast....

Holidays all over the house!

2011-12-25T09:09:00.000-06:00

Believe it or not (I know it's hard for me too), but some people actually do read this blog. It made me realize this the other day when I had a friend ask me if I had blogged about my Christmas decor this year. Nope, I sure hadn't! But I wanted to get these pictures up because it is oh so fun for me especially to have these pictures from years past and see some of the changes I have made with the holiday decorations in our house from year to year. And it's fun to see how furniture, walls, etc change colors too!!

Flashback: Here are the posts of the decor from 2010 and 2009 (WOW - check out how dated our family room/mantle were!!)

Onto this year. By the way, I had these pictures uploaded to my blog BEFORE Christmas, I swear, just didn't get around to posting them. You know how that goes.

Ok - first off is an addition thanks to Hallmark and my husbands obsession with the Peanuts band (see all 4 of the characters??). This was a big item he was selling to stores this year and he fell in love with it, so of course we had to have it. And we got a set for all our nieces and nephews. They are pretty cool because they wirelessly interact and place Christmas songs!

I decided it would be fun to hang some ornaments from our chandelier....it was fun. However, people over 6 ft who sit at the table might not of thought so!! Oh well!

And I FINALLY found a fun and easy way to display our Christmas cards (which might be one of my favorite things about this time of year!!). Hang them on your huge pantry doors. So fun! We got some super cute ones this year too!!! (I'm really hoping that in this same shot in 2012...the cabinets are white. PLEASE!!)

And the mantle, complete with our ghetto stockings. My grandma keeps asking me to pick out a pattern for her to use to make us stockings. Yep, I haven't done that yet!

A few colorful snowmen found a new place (were upstairs last year) on the new console table in the family room. I think that home fit them nicely.

And...the tree. In all it's glory, minus the star at the top. I wasn't motivated enough to add the star. Then halfway through December I decided that I didn't like the tree there and thought of a new inventive place to display it that was SO much better. And decided that would have to wait until next year. But still, had to post a picture of the tree! We stuck with the red/green/silver theme again this year!

And the Christmas lights...that my husband takes so much pride in and I love. He stuck with the white lights (to his dismay and even with the constant insisting that he wants colored lights....) and put the "candy cane" on the tree again this year. New additions? The small candy canes in from of the living room windows and some blinking white lights in front of the walkway. Well done Jam, well done!

That's Jimmy being creepy at the door.

And Milly and Willy sure didn't want to miss our on this post, so they immediately threw on their best Christmas attire and joined in the fun!

Now it's already time to take the decor down! So crazy that Christmas is over!!! Hope everyone had a very blessed holiday season!

2011 Christmas Cards!

2011-12-23T08:40:00.001-06:00

All right- as it's 2 days before Christmas (can you BELIEVE that it's so close!!?), I'm going to do a few Christmas themed posts! One on our cards and tomorrow on the decor - mainly so I can keep up with what I've done the past few years.

As in years past, we went with hallmark.com as our print-on-demand choice for holiday cards. They had some new and fun options to choose from this year and we went with a 2 picture front so we could use one of the professional family pictures that Jimmy's parents had taken this summer and then a quick self timer shot of our family in front of the Christmas tree!

Most all of the cards should have arrived at their respective homes yesterday - however, I do have 8 more that I am sending out today. And then done - another Christmas card for the record.

I have to say that getting the mail this time of year might be one of my favorite things! I love seeing all the fun cards and pictures that come. I even hung them up on our cabinets this year - will have to take a picture of that too.

Happy holidays to everyone! Hope everyone takes full advantage of this time of year to be thankful for all that they are blessed with!!

Check out our Christmas cards from 2010 and a preview shot from 2009 too!

Hair debacle

2011-12-22T07:23:00.000-06:00

Oh my goodness. I think I'm finally ready to talk about this. It was pretty traumatic...and I actually cannot fully correct it until this Friday....BUT I'll tell you the story.

So last November I put up a post about how I started dying my hair out of a box and how it was going to save me SO much money over my life because I loved it (read about that here). And I kept with it. About every 6-8 weeks, I would go to the store and buy the same hair dye (Clairol Nice & Easy), I would dye my hair and 25 or so minutes later, wahla!! Done. So simple and easy, right?

Well enter this year in November on Thanksgiving day, no less. I had bought a box of hair dye at CVS earlier that week and went about it. Twenty five minutes later, I was in for a quite a surprise. When I took the towel off my head, my roots were literally bright red. Like the color of Jimmy's hair when it was long.....

Um, major freak out. Like, call my mom and tell her I cannot go to my cousin's house because my hair. She pretty much said, suck it up and go. "You don't understand mom!!!!! AHH!!" I knew what had happened right away. I need the color with a "D" on the end, which means that it tones down red undertones in your hair. I picked up the wrong one, so totally my fault. Well, I knew it wouldn't be best (nor did I have time) to run out and buy a new box that was the correct kind, so I found a big headband, put it on my head and went to Thanksgiving. Of course no one noticed anything - except when Jimmy kept bringing it up (AH - I was so mad at him).

The next day, I went out and bought new hair dye (the correct kind) but then decided I should bite the bullet and call the 1-800 hotline on the box...hoping that they were working the day after Thanksgiving. Lucky for me, they were. The lady I talked to was SOOOO nice. She asked me lots of questions and she came to the conclusion I had in that I just needed to use the other color. And then she gave me a new mix (a little diluted with shampoo) to try this time. I thanked her very much and she said I could dye it again in 6 weeks. I'm going with 4 because my hair is still gross and kind of red (her mix toned down the red, but I had to change my part and still hate it because it is not brown...just kind of red). The worse is in pictures.

This was right after. See the picture below....

See the red tone with the big headband? I was NOT happy

Here is a close up that weekend - after the "fix". Not that bad....but it's gotten worse!!

Moral of this story? Make sure you pick up the RIGHT hair dye when you are doing the at home. If you are already a brunette....the lady from Clairol said that most will always need the ash tone to not pull out the red. LESSON LEARNED. Who knew that having your hair not the way you like it could be so miserable??

Great Christmas gift - offer valid until 12/24!

2011-12-20T14:41:00.001-06:00

Wow - this is too good to not post. Jimmy loves going out to eat and I don't mind it either - except for the price tag!! Restaurants.com has a great special going on today through 12/24 to get $25 restaurant gift cards (to certain places...) for only $1! It's insane!

I might just be getting someone a few for some stocking stuffers. But don't tell.

http://www.restaurant.com/consumer-promotion/lp_7.asp?prti=1647&aid=10665295&pid=3632370

Check out the above link and enjoy!!! Got to love great deals!

PS Make sure you check out the restrictions with the deals you are buying - most have minimum limits to purchase something and specify dine in, etc.

I'm alive - school is done!

2011-12-17T13:28:00.000-06:00

Oh my. These last few weeks since Thanksgiving have been busy, stressful and fun all at the same time!!

The Thursday after Thanksgiving, I had a huge 20 min presentation and 20 page paper due, so that pretty much sucked up my life that week. Fun, huh? Well then that weekend it was time for Jimmy's 8th annual Christmas party (and yes, it's just Jimmy's Christmas party according to the evite....) at the Knights of Columbus hall. As always, it was a great time with lots of great friends - old and new, so thanks again to all those that came out!!!

Saturday I didn't feel very well in the morning, so we decided for a movie day. All day. We got 3 movies from the red box...including Friends with Benefits (Jimmy opted not to watch....), Water for Elephants (I had read the book, but not seen the movie yet - pretty good) and some other boy moviethat I think we watched and I actually liked. But obviously it wasn't that goodbecause I cannot remember what it was. Overall, it was a great day.

Sunday we had Jimmy'sfamily over for the away chief's game at our house to enjoy some chili andfamily time. It was delicious food, good times with the Carter's and allthe kids!

Then the week flew by. With dance class on Monday night, dinner and bridesmaid dress shoppingwith Lauren on Tuesday night, the Kappa Kappa Gamma homes tour on Wednesdaynight, class on Thursday night and then....off to Houston, TX on Friday nightwith Heather!!

You read that right - wehad a good old fashioned girls weekend in Houston, TX to visit Vanessa and itwas so fun! Unfortunately...guess what? It was so fun and relaxing,I literally took ZERO pictures. I think overall there might have been 3pictures taken. One by Chris at their house because we went out to dinneron Saturday night and then two by Payson at dinner on Saturday. I'm goingto ahead and say that we just had way too much fun and got in way toomuch good conversation to take pictures - because we did!!

Quick run down of thetrip:

- Heather and I are pickedup in style by Vanessa and Liz (who made the drive from Austin, TX) at around10PM at the airport

- Hung out on theCalcara's super comfy couch and I fell asleep sitting up (awesome, I know)

- Liz and I slept in until9:30 - wow!!!!!

- We all headed out topick up Payson from the airport - she flew in from Dallas

- Went to a deliciouslunch

- Got to go see Katie andBarry's new house that they just moved into in Houston (it's so cute) and seeher, Barry and their three sweet little dogs!

- Went back to Katy, TXand got some pedicures and relaxed! (eh - might have been a small car accidentin here...)

- Met Katie back inmidtown area for dinner (ended up at a place named Beaver's, courtesy of Liz,and it was pretty darn good)

- Back to V's house, backon the couch and back to sleep - we are REALLY cool if you can't tell!

- Up again and thengrabbed some necessary Mexican food in Katy and then back to the airport todrop Payson off and bid adieu to Liz as she drove back to Austin

- Heather, Vanessa and Iwent to see the movie New Year's Eve before Heather and I's flight at 7PM

- Back to the airport,layover in Dallas, got on the flight from Dallas to KC - realized I left myKindle in the other plane, Southwest airlines rocks and actually found it(YEAH!), back in KC around 10PM and home, then sleep

- Such a FUN weekend and Iwish it could have lasted longer!! So good to see all these girls andespecially to get to spend some quality time with Hazel....I love their dog!

Heather and I returnedlate on Sunday night (to spare you details, luckily was able to get my lostkindle back thanks to the wonderful Southwest Airlines!) and I was beat!! We skipped dance class on Monday night - mainly so I could sleep - andthen it was another busy week.....

Tuesday was a meeting fora K-State scholarship committee that I am on and then Wednesday was a Bark forLife meeting! Jimmy and I both took the day off on Wednesday to finish upour Christmas shopping, so since we were both home we got to take Milly andWilly to the meeting which was - eh...interesting. They were welcome toattend (Bark for Life is an event that is being started in both Kansas andMissouri sponsored by the American Cancer Society that is a supplement to theRelay for Life race), but they will probably not be coming back. Haha.

Thursday I had my finalfor my class (wahoo - officially done with my THIRD semester of grad school!)

Friday we went to dinnerwith my mom and sister (yum, Don Chilitos....) and then to Westport to a bingothemed birthday party for one of Jimmy's friend from work. Saturday, wewere able to relax and start some laundry during the day and then headed toJulia and Ben's house for their first annual ugly sweater party and white elephantexchange. It was good friends and great food and hilarious presents! Some of the presents people walked out the door with: condoms, lube, abeta fish, flaming dr. pepper shot...haha. Jimmy walked out with DunkinDonuts coffee and powdered donuts (after a vicious trade with Julia's sister)and I walked out with an "as seen on TV" pop tops that make soda cansinto a bottle (hey, I thought they were cool!)

We ended the last 2 weeksyesterday with the chiefs game at Jimmy's parents house and with some of ournieces and nephews. Whew.

Needless to say - I havestarted writing this post (and many others) like 5 times and haven't had achance to finish them. So here I am done. Done with the boring 3weeks recap - and ready to start up again with some super fun posts. Thanks for sticking in there and hope everyone else has been hanging inthere during this super busy holiday season! Can you believe thatChristmas is only 6 days away!??? AHH!! So exciting! We are headedour final dance class tonight - so I'll try to catch up on that!

P.S. Have you evertried Bear Creek soups? They are my new favorite thing. 8 cups ofwater boiling and 15 minutes....and that's it, you have a delicious amount ofsoup! I love the potato kinds! That's what is for dinner at theCarter house tonight! Good for a rainy, cold night!

Thanksgiving #2 and #3

2011-12-06T07:30:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately I have no pictures from the official Thanksgiving #2, but it was at my cousin Tina's new house in Liberty and it was so fun to see everyone from my mom's side of the family!!! We were there on Thursday afternoon.

When we got back from that meal, we digested for a couple of hours and then around 7:30PM Jimmy, my sister and my dad headed to the Legends to see Tower Heist because it's strategically planned because when the movie gets out - it was BLACK FRIDAY time and the stores were open! Jimmy and I did the same thing last year and got some killer new clothes at great prices at the outlet stores last year...so we convinced my sister that she need to go too! We were there until around 11:45PM and then headed back home. We did a quick drive by of the Target and Kohl's by my parents house ---- WOW!! I was in shock at how many people were waiting in line. We went back to bed for a few hours and got up again at 5AM to head to Lowe's for a great deal on a table saw (yes, I'm weird...). Unfortunately, when we got there it was already gone because at Lowe's this year you could buy stuff online at midnight and they would save it for you in the store. WTF!!! We were so upset when we got there at 5:15AM and they were all gone. But we don't give up that easy - we headed back home and got online and bought our own at another Lowe's in town and drove out there immediately to get it. I haven't got to use it yet because I was super busy with school last week - but I will get it out soon!!! Black Friday was so worth it this year!!! On top of the great clothes, a table saw that was originally $149.99 by $69.99!!

Friday night I went to a new restaurant on the plaza called Gram and Dun with some high school girlfriends and it was SOO good to see everyone that was back in town and those that are just down the street!! And the food was pretty freaking good too!

Ok - then EARLY on Saturday morning, we headed to my parents house and then piled into my mom's SUV and were off to Storm Lake, Iowa to visit my dad's side of the family for our Thanksgiving and Christmas up there! It was a long drive, but we kept ourselves entertained and my sister and I slept most of the way. When we finally arrived, we dropped my sister off at the hotel to shower and then headed to the Sugar Bowl, which is the Hallmark store in Storm Lake. And after Jimmy talked to the owners a bit and we got an ornament and some beer bread, my dad got his hat - the one thing that he wanted. Check it out - a monkey hat!!

My dad and my beautiful cousin Tammy before dinner!

We all headed to dinner at Lakeshore cafe for the annual Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner. Then it was back to my grandparents apartment for the opening of some presents and dessert - my dad's favorite part.

Cousins (minus Todd and Emily who couldn't be there!)

Haha my grandma opened up a gift from my cousin that was a little snowmen and my other cousin's dog was entranced by it!

Grandpa Bruns in his chair!

Opening up presents!

My Aunt Sandy, Tammy, Lyndsay and me!

We left Iowa early on Sunday morning (short trip) because I had to be back in Kansas City for a meeting with my grad school group at the library at 3PM on Sunday and needed some time to do a quick cleaning of our house because we invited all our nieces and nephews over to watch Jingle, a movie that Hallmark made to supplement one of the interactive storybuddies that came out last Christmas. We bought one for each of Jimmy's older brothers families last year, so we thought it would be fun for everyone to come over and watch it together. Turned out that Norah got sick that day, so she, Maren and Will weren't able to make it - but all the other kids were. And they loved it!!

Eli and Ben - loving the movie!

Most of the group - watching the movie!

Katy LOVED it. She was so sad when Jingle couldn't find a home we thought she was going to start crying! Now Jingle is in competition with Hello Kitty as her favorite toy!

Ben was also having fun with Willy - the real dog- and Jingle - the plush dog

Kenlie, Shellie and Emma (Shellie's niece from Houston - but she fit right in with the Carter family with that sweet red hair!)

After the movie was over, they broke out the Wii game. Ben with the drums, Kenlie with the singing and Eli was the dancer. It was pretty funny! However, we cannot find the guitar...bummer!

But check out those SKILLS!!

It was quite the weekend with lots of fun, family and friends - pretty sure I was exhausted on Monday that I even convinced Jimmy to skip dance class to try to recover and get some sleep. However, it was a great weekend with a lot to be thankful for. A whole lot!!!!

Thanksgiving Part #1

2011-12-05T08:30:00.000-06:00

Every year, our Thanksgiving celebrations start off early on Wednesday evening at Jimmy's parents house. And every year, Sue makes the most delicious turkey, rolls, etc and everything is always so beautiful!!!! Check out her table settings this year (check out last years here)...so beautiful!!

Everyone was very excited to eat - especially Libbie and Kenlie!

We were all stuffed but of course the night wasn't even halfway over. There are always dance parties and ALWAYS hair salon. This time - Kenlie was the main hairdresser and boy did she have fun doing my hair. She cracks me up - freaking love that little girl. So when I suggested that we get a picture of just how beautiful she made my hair (which every time she does it she always insists that we show Uncle Jimmy immediately and get his reaction...haha!), it turned into this.....a little photo shoot.

This is me trying to pull up Kenlie's pants and get rid of her plumber's crack. Haha - if you have ever been around her, you know about this problem. It's pretty funny.

Oh - now you see my hair...lovely, isn't it!?

And then it was time for Kenlie's own photo shoot. Haha - oh my goodness. I hope my future children have half of the personality that she has. She's so cute!

And then she tried to add Katy in the fun - which kind of worked!!

Nope - that wasn't the end of the night (it was quite the day...). But it was my sister's 23rd birthday (if you remember) so we made sure to meet her and her friends out at 810 Zone on the plaza to watch the KU game and then to the GranFalloon. It was very fun and I will say that Jimmy had a GREAT time with lots of shot...haha.

Lyndsay and her friends with a group shot!

Cheers to 23!

We had to get one last group picture at the end of the night with Jimmy and the Bruns girls....I look gross, but they look cute!

Thanksgiving number 1 was a success and we had lots more fun the rest of the weekend too....

Quick makeover

2011-12-03T11:47:00.001-06:00

We did a progressive dinner a few weekends ago so while I was getting ready to prepare the delicious menu I also did a few quick makeovers - mostly from the stuff that we actually had already. Quick, easy and cheap - very exciting.

Here is the first one - which was just above the fridge.

Before: nothing

After: some bookends, cookbooks, long plate and candles!! Love it!

Before: cabinet (as you walk up the stairs)

After: just a quick addition of a "C"

So then I went to Walmart and got some fall items on sale - including these sunflowers in little pots. However, I had different plans for the pots - so made a place for the sunflowers on top of the china cabinet!

So the little pots? I moved those into our bathroom on our shelves. I bought some fake blue hydrangas to put in them and they turned out just great!

And there you have it - a few quick makeovers that happened with about $10 and lots of stuff sitting around. Any other fun ways to spruce up your house decor??

A big happy birthday...to my little sister!

2011-11-23T06:40:00.001-06:00

It's hard to believe that it's already time to write another happy birthday post for my sister! (the third year in a row...which is crazy because that means my blog has been around in 2009, 2010 and now 2011...) This year she is 23. Which yep, that makes me feel very old but also realize how fast time passes.

Over this past year, my sister and really grown up because she has graduated from college and got a REAL job. Yes, she is no longer allowed to talk bad about my friends and I and our crazy email chains that happen sometimes throughout the day at work - she now gets it. Right Lyndsay??

Anyways - look who we ran into just last week. The Bieb!!!

Ok, not really - that was just at Macy's but she so graciously played along with my excitement in seeing this cardboard cut out of him and posed with me. That's what sister are for, right?

We have had some distant interaction with other famous people this year, including our annual trip to see the Taylor Swift concert at Arrowhead stadium in September!! So fun!! That was my birthday present from her - and so far mine for her birthday is not that great. It's pretty fun, but I think I will tag onto the shopping we will be doing late Thursday evening into Friday morning - hmm k??!

Ok so my sister has been in KC permanently and living with my parents. Which is great. For everyone. I've heard she's a pretty good house guest at my parents and cooks dinner...but besides the fact that I like having her just a short drive away to do random stuff with me like go see movies that Jimmy doesn't want to see or just come over and sit and watch a movie with her at my parents house (and eat my parent's food...yes, I revert back to a 16 year old the minute I walk back into my parents house....), I like that HER CLOSET is just a short drive away. So serious. For pretty much every event or anything where I feel like my clothes are lacking I don't go to the store like a normal person, I just go to Lyndsay's closet and go "shopping". Which includes me trying on multiple dresses and then going upstairs to show my mom, sister and dad. The girls give their thoughts and then it's back downstairs to try more on. It's actually really fun. Oh and free. She has a great sense of style and is always finding really cute dresses, etc for cheap. So I'm very grateful for her willingness to let me borrow stuff all the time. We both know it didn't go down that way 10 years ago. Haha. Just ask my parents about that - it always ended in lots of yelling between us. Oh how things change?!

Just check out my Austin outfits for the wedding and rehearsal dinner we just attended down there.

Wedding outfit - cute black/white dress:

Oh and there is my sister on graduation...yep she wore it for her graduation. And that green dress that I LOVE??!?! That's hers too. I have actually worn that one a few times because I love it so much!! Thanks Lyndsay for having a great sense of style and letting me leech off you!

So I mentioned that she graduated from college, right?? Here is a picture complete with her cap and gown with the Bruns girls. After graduation she got an awesome job which is pretty much her dream job at the American Cancer Society at a community fund leader (not sure if that is her correct title...), but she coordinates and works with the volunteers to raise money for the Relay for Life events to help raise money for cancer research each year. Pretty awesome, huh? She loves it and loves how she helps people through her work!!! So proud of her!

Here's a full family picture at Katie and Barry's wedding in July!

And finally - while most people say we don't look alike, when we were up in Iowa this fall, my grandparents couldn't tell us apart!! But I guess when I look at this picture - I kind of understand why! We look so much alike with our hair and matching glasses!!!

Well Lyndsay - I remember when you came home from the hospital and I was just 3 years old and when you were crying and my parents were letting you "cry it out" and I took the liberty of getting you out of your crib and trying to carry you down to them. I wish the look on their faces when they saw me carrying you down the stairs. Wow. I'm very thankful that I didn't drop you!! But I look at that now as a great sisterly act!! Because guess what? Whenever and wherever in life now or down the road you need me to pick up your slack or carry you for a little while if you are upset or things are not going your way - I will be there. And I'll be there through all the fun times and celebrations too. I love you so much and couldn't be more thankful for such a wonderful sister!!! Hope you have a great day!!!! And cheers to many many more birthdays together!!!

Fall week night date

2011-11-21T17:57:00.001-06:00

As it seems the weekend nights fill up fast, Jimmy and I have been trying our best to make time for week night dates if we can. Since I'm in class on Thursday nights - we have 3 nights to work with. A couple weeks ago on a Monday morning, I got an email from my VP saying that she had some tickets that she and her family weren't using to the KU men's basketball game that next night, first come, first serve. Knowing that there is never ever a time when Jimmy would not be up for attending a KU basketball game (or KU event for that matter), I jumped on it for a nice week night date!

So when Tuesday rolled around - we made a whole date out of it. My mom was nice enough to go let our dogs out and feed them so we could both leave right from work and we were off to Lawrence. Now...I went to K-State, love Manhattan a lot....but I have to admit that I do really like Lawrence. It's a pretty neat town. What do I like most about Lawrence...Jefferson's! I have blogged about it before (here, here, here and here - wow that's a lot of mentions for a restaurant...ehhh). Of course we made a dinner out of it before going to the game. Fried pickles + Wings = always a good time.

We got to Allen Fieldhouse right about the start of the game and were able to get right to our seats. Even for an exhibition game, it was pretty packed!

Jimmy made me take this one....

We did spot the mascot in the student section a few times. The little girl sitting next to us - LOVED the mascot, which was pretty cute!

The standard couple pic. Gotta have it. You know, so I can look back and this and say "Oh remember we were ACTUALLY there...."

Some game time action against Fort Hays State.

Overall, it was a very fun evening, even if it was a KU game. It was nice to see how happy Jimmy was!! But with the parking pass and great seats - I did say that if we had those luxuries every game, I would happily come along.

In the mean time though - I cannot only blog about KU, right? Especially with how AWESOME K-State football is doing this year!! 9-2...wow! So this weekend Jimmy picked me up this sweet ring from Nigro's for me to sport during the K-State games. I'm not going to lie, at first I thought he just found it because I walked in and it was sitting on the counter - but it was so nice that he thought of me AND bought we something from an opposing team. He's a keeper and so is the ring.

Also - I have found some pretty fun date night posts on pinterest that I might have to take advantage of!!!

In college...

2011-11-19T07:24:00.001-06:00

Does anyone else know that Pat Green song, "College"? Well for some reason - early this Saturday morning as I am up to kick off the weekend with a grad school group meeting at 9AM...that song is sounding in my head. I LOVE that song. Really I just love Pat Green a lot, but that song too!

Anyway - the events that went down this Thursday night are a continual reminder of getting older aka a little more responsible. So I got off work a little after 5, drove home, changed, ate dinner really fast and then around 6:15 headed down to UMKC, which is where I'm getting my MBA part time in the evening at (about 15/20 min away), for my 7PM class. I was talking on my phone to Vanessa on my way to class and when I got to campus, it was strangely dark. Like no street lights...really no lights anywhere. Which made me feel great as I pulled into the super dark parking lot (mind you that there are campus emails that go out on a regular basis about someone getting robbed and students need to take precaution). Luckily, Vanessa said she would not get off the phone with me in case I got robbed.

So when I finally get up to the law buiding, which is where my class is, all the lights are still off. There are a few emergency lights on in the building and I weigh my options:

1) Stand outside the building in the cold
2) Go inside the creepily lit building and find other people in my class
3) Go home

Well, number 3 would be nice, however, with a homework assignment due and needing to meet with my group - I opted for 2...like a responsible adult, right?

We sat there in the semi-dark (me and like 5 other people) until a little after 7PM when our professor came in and said he doesn't know what the deal is, but we obviously cannot have class, so everyone can go home and turn our homework in after Thanksgiving. SWEET! Class is canceled? 3 hours of my time freed up!! I'm thinking - what will I do with all this FUN!?

My group decided we would part our separate ways and go work on our individual items as part of the project. Then my sister in law Hillary calls on my way home and says that our husbands (Jimmy and Bobby) are going to the Blue Moose tonight and if I was going to go. I explain to her how exciting it is that class was canceled - you know, like a college kid that gets a night class canceled ON A THURSDAY and immediately wants to run to Aggieville to meet their friends. Who wouldn't?

Well - even with that temptation in place, I knew with how busy I was and the lack of time I have to work on the project anyway - I had to go home and work. What a freaking bummer. And I felt like a loser adult when I told Hillary I was going to be lame and sit at home and finish up my part of the project. Well I guess it's a loser adult that is kind of responsible. Still. Not cool at all. But that's life now, right? AHHH!!!!

I'm wondering what happened to the fun Brittany 6 years ago that would have jumped at the chance when class was canceled to go grab drinks at ~~Porter's~~ Blue Moose. Jeez. We are getting old and I think I'm in denial about it.

However - I will continue to live those days through the Pat Green song, College, forever and always. And I will always attempt to remember what it was like to make those fun decisions and make sure I actually act on them every once and a while, right? So enjoy this and "George's Bar" or whatever your favorite place to meet friends was/is....

Oh college.....happy weekend to all!!!!

Dating my boyfriend

2011-11-15T07:30:00.000-06:00

Are you confused by this title? Well, it's really dating my husband. My husband Jimmy. But here's a few things that I'm starting to realize as each day, week, month, year so quickly passes of being married. Not so much "advice" just thing that we have found we have to make sure we do:

1. You have to date keep dating each other - just like you did when you were boyfriend and girlfriend.

September 2005 - Brooks and Dunn concert

Hanging out in Manhattan in September 2005

Valentine's Dinner (met in Topeka) 2007

When you first start to date someone it is SO fun. Remember when you first meet someone or remember when you met your significant other (or spouse)? Think about some of your first dates. Oh.my.gosh. I mean for most of us we are talking head over heels. I remember Jimmy and I went to a movie called "Must love dogs" as our like second date. Then we drove ALL around Kansas City until like 1AM talking about things. Just because we liked each other so much we didn't want the night to end. I wanted to know everything about him. And he wanted to know everything about me. Never a dull moment. Smiling ALL the time. And when we kissed goodbye, all I could think about when I was walking to the door was about the next time I was going to get to see him again. It makes my stomach flutter and my heart happy just typing about it. Those dates set the foundation for what is now our marriage 6 years later. Those first dates for anyone - whether you married them or not - are just so dang exciting. And what made them so exciting was the anticipation, the unknown and the desire to either continue to get to know that person or to run away from that person as fast as you can (trust me....I had a few of those in my dating days). So guess what? I truly believe you have to work to recreate those dates and moment even X number of years later. And I mean dates. Like you dress up, go out to dinner and talk to each other. I try not to be cell phone couple (even though Jimmy will say that I'm addicted to facebook on my phone) when we are one dates because I try my best to revert back to that 19 or 20 year old girl when I first met Jimmy. We stole the surprise date night idea from a friend I work with and really - it was one of the best things that happened to us. Even though we have been majorly slacking in it lately (even this weekend I chose to go hang out with our nieces and nephews and forgo the surprise date night on Saturday...), I do think they are super fun and important. Even trying to incorporate it into Jimmy's Christmas present this year....but you get the picture. Go on dates. Have fun. Pretend you are not adults, you don't have the 17,000 responsibilities and worries and concerns that are going through your head each day. It's worth the effort. And the smiles.

2. You have to work hard at being married. And sometimes it's hard...

Yep, this face says it all.

This statement is so interesting to me. When you get engaged - you hear this statement from the brutally honest people, but also the people that love you most. They congratulate you and tell you how incredibly happy they are for you. And then they take a look at their spouse across the room and give them a little eye roll (a fun eye roll, but yet still an eye roll. Aren't sure what this looks like? Just ask my husband or really probably lots of people's husbands) because they know. They know it's different when you are married. I'm not sure exactly what it is that is different (lots of things are different when after you say the I do's), but it's like you enter this "married club" and all of a sudden after a few years, months, weeks, or even hours (haha), you seem to get it. You get it that sometimes you drive each other absolutely insane. Sometimes you feel like that person is doing (or not doing) everything they can just to make you want to scream. Sometimes you feel like you want to wring their neck because you are supposed to be living this life and maintaining your household together - but one too many times you feel like it's just you doing it or they feel like it's just them (yes, I admit that it does go both ways). And all of a sudden you realize what everyone was talking about. Like how about 3 weeks after we got married and Jimmy had finished moving in and we felt more settled, that was the moment that I got sad because I felt like I "saw" him less now even though we lived together. I mean literally it was the weirdest thing ever. What am I talking about that I see him less? We just got married, we freaking live in the same house now...we are together ALL.THE.TIME. But guess what? What was missing was that QUALITY time. That time that when you aren't together all the time you spend texting each other, talking on the phone about how each other's days were or going on dates and staring into each others eyes (you know you love that part). So there, I admitted it. Two weeks into marriage - we were already doing an abrupt change. I wasn't about to let us get "comfortable"...let alone just come home EVERY night and retreat to separate rooms to watch separate TVs (now if you for one second think that doesn't happen at least once or twice a week in our house, you're wrong....because it does and it feels so darn good to sit...what I was trying to say that it's not allowed EVERY night. Because I like to talk to my husband and watch TV or movies with him or spend time with him every now and then....). Long story short, it's important to recognize that it's not always easy and not beat yourself up for not being perfect. Life is that cool that you can realize what is going on and redirect in a blink of an eye.

3.....and sometimes it's so darn wonderful that you can't stand it.

There are moments. It's as if time stops and you never want that moment to end. In the beginning of a relationship it can be that first time that your significant other picks hanging out with you over going out with his/her friends (which I thought was a huge deal because who wants to just stay in when you're in college?!?!). Or when you get in a big fight and you are an hour apart and he drives that hour on a weeknight at 9PM even though you insist you won't see him because you have class at 8AM. But he still comes even if he gets to see you for 10 minutes to talk in person - because he wants you to know that he cares. And you still to this day swear that might have been the moment you looked back on and realized that he was "the one" because you were worth that 10 minutes to him then and you always will be. The moments that he introduces you to his family for the first time (and how nervous you were) and the moments now when you are with that family and feel like life wouldn't be complete without his family (now yours too) in your life. I could go on and on and on. I really could.

Here's a few "on and on": How nervous and handsome he looked when he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. When he tried to put my wedding ring on the wrong ring finger in our wedding ceremony and I couldn't stop laughing. Knocking our first wall our in our house together - having no idea what we were getting ourselves into. The date nights out. The date nights in. Hanging out with old friends, making new friends and laughing with all of them. When things get hard and you start to cry and you know that you look ugly crying - but all he's thinking about is how upset he is that you are crying. The look on his face when you say you love him more than anyone else ever. The weird language you have created with each other that other people need a dictionary to interpret. Watching him play with his nieces and nephews and imagining the day when he's a father to your children. Talking about the fact that your future children could quite possibly have bright red, curly hair with glasses and braces - and smiling thinking about how your personalities will come out in them. Going to church together and praying together. And kissing goodnight. Every night. With each other.

Yes, you have to keep dating all the time. Married or not married, keep making sure that every once and a while you go back to the way you felt on your first couple of dates. That feeling that you couldn't get enough of. Remember why you fell in love. No it's not going to be easy to be married. But guess what? In my opinion...it's worth every up and down, smile and tear that come along with the ride. So this month of thanksgiving and every month after - I am going to remember to be thankful for my husband that I really love - even the moments when I might not like him very much (dirty dishes and laundry will do that to anyone....) - and make sure to revert back to circa 2005 every once and a while. But also remember that we can have that same spark in 2011, 2012 and ON and ON and ON...

Baseball game in Oklahoma (summer 2006)!

Christmas Dinner 2005

Royal's game in 2006

Summer trip to OKC in 2006

Christmas dinner 2006

Jimmy's 22nd birthday (2006)

Senior year date party - 80s theme (2007)

My 21st birthday - wow.

Date party 2006

Condo kisses 2008

P.S. Where did my desire to post this come from? Check out this blog and read about her marriage story. I stumbled upon this and found it to be an interesting story about marriage and how they continue to work through their issues to make their marriage whole again. And reminded myself to be thankful for my husband and continue to work on our marriage each and everyday.

Carters head south - Ben and Julia's wedding!

2011-11-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, specifically the last weekend in October - we headed to Austin, TX for a wedding!! One of Jimmy's best friend's Ben was set to marry Julia and we couldn't have been more excited to go down there and help them celebrate their big day!!!

Ben and Jimmy have known each other for a long time, but what's really fun is that Brittany/Jimmy have known Ben/Julia for a long time too. I remember meeting Julia for the first time during the summer of 2006 when Jimmy and I went to Tulsa to celebrate Julia's 21st birthday at her parents house! It was a fun time 5 years ago....and we have had lots of good times in between...but this weekend and wedding, well it's going to go to the top of the list of fun times with them. We had a blast in Austin celebrating with them and hanging out with all the other wonderful people that came down to celebrate also!!!

Unfortunately, this was one of the few pictures that I shot of the beautiful outdoor rehearsal dinner at a delicious Mexican restaurant just down the street from the hotel we were all staying at. It was perfect weather outside and the food - oh yum. Anything you feed me with guacamole you should know I will love, but the chicken and steak with chips, beans, rice, etc. YUM. Oh and the beer was good. Very good.

Table at the rehearsal dinner. I should have taken more pictures.....

They did speeches for anyone that wanted to come up and talk about them. That was really fun because there were lot of people I didn't know from Julia's side, so it was so fun to get to hear from them about Julia's life pre-Ben!! There were some super hilarious stories, including one that ended with a toast to "Julia and Matt" - who happens to be Ben (the groom)'s brother. So that was hilarious and embarrassing all at the same time.

Jimmy & I at the rehearsal dinner. Jimmy got his jacket for $27 at Macy's on sale and told everyone about him. I love rubbing off on him :)

When that was over - we wasted NO time and headed straight to 6th Street. I was SOOO excited for Jimmy to get to go out on 6th Street. I had been 2 times before - and just knew he would be in love. Visiting this city was on my "travel bucket list" for Jimmy pre-babies. Because it's just one of those cities that I feel like everyone should visit - it's SO pretty and so fun and just great. So I was thrilled when Julia said they were getting married in Austin!! One city off of Jimmy's list that he needs to see!! haha!

OK - and the sixth street pictures start. wow.

We headed to apparently the "tourist" side of 6th Street - which was crazy and full of very interesting people. However, we continued to jump from bar to bar. One was called the library I think and then another one the Chuggin Monkey.

Me, Sara and Hillary!

And our husbands - Bobby, Jimmy and Jay

Jay & Sara - the newlyweds! Here's their wedding post

I find this picture hilarious. This was the last bar of the night.

HM - pretty sure this was on the long walk home AFTER the gross Cuban food. Dave & I

Ok - so the next morning was a little rough, but we had a good time until around 3:30. I was up bright and early and off to meet Liz and Rachel for breakfast which was delicious and so fun to catch up with them. I even got to meet Rachel's boyfriend and he was SO nice and sweet and cute. Rachel - he's a keeper!!!

The boys had to put on their suits and bow ties around 11AM, so at 1PM we were all finishing up getting ready to getting ready to head to the church. The church was gorgeous and once we got there, I got to practice some of my new photography skills that I learned in a free class I took at UMKC. I am so happy that I somewhat knew what I was doing this time around because I could adjust the white balance and shutter speed to get the lights just right in the church. See the difference??

Before settings

After settings

All right - onto the good stuff. The bride and groom, the ring bearer, the wedding party. Oh my goodness. She was a stunning bride and he played the great part of a handsome groom!!!

Look at this sweet little boy! He had matching orange converse to the bride!

The beautiful bride and her dad!

Ben & Julia- I love this picture!!!!

Ok - I might like this one more. Look behind them at her sister and his brother (matron of honor and best man). Pretty much they look like each other and check out their faces. So fun!

Kiss! You are married!!!!!!!!

Heble looks mortified and Kate looks stunning!

Darcy and Danny - he's confused

And Jimmy with his cheeser grin!

and Joe!

On the trolley and ready to party!!

Guys on the trolley

The trolley shenanigans....

The beautiful bride and her orange shoes!!

And - they are next for this group of friends to tie the knot!! June 30! Can't wait!

We got off the trolley and walked through an old house/museum to see this set up. It was so beautiful!!! The reception site was the Neill-Cochran House Museum in the heart of Austin. It was built in 1855 and has lots of history. Not sure how Julia found it - but it was so gorgeous!!

Tables outside the front of the house.

Check out the BEAUTIFUL and delicious cake set up on the front porch -loved the colors!

Underneath the tent and the dance area.

Kristen with the fried macaroni!!

I'm not kidding when I say that I am pretty sure we were stalking the waiters and waitresses walking around when we first got there. The appetizers? Were to die for. Above is a picture of the fried macaroni balls and then they had little shot glasses of tomato soup with mini grilled cheese sandwiches in them and to top it off - wait for it - FRIED PICKLES with ranch drizzled on top. Wow. No wonder we were stalking. Plus they had awesome koozies. You know the wedding will be great when they have some of those, right?!?!?

Of course we snagged a table to put our stuff down and went right to the bar while ~~stuffing our faces with~~ enjoying the delicious appetizers as everyone else arrived. And snapped some pictures. This was the only picture of Jimmy and I that we got all night. I liked it - so it will do! Love that orange bow tie!

Jimmy and Brittany

Then I snapped a few pictures of these cuties. Mac said that she didn't have enough pictures of her and Dan that were good. I got a few!! So cute!

Danny and MacKenzie

The night kicked off with the intro to the wedding party and the bride and groom and then it was time for dinner. And if it wasn't an indicator from the appetizers that the food was going to be good - well it was delicious. There were three stations (one of homemade chips and two kinds of sliders, one of shrimp and grits and another of fish tacos) that you got to choose from - they were all so good! So as we enjoyed the food and wonderful company - they kicked off the speeches. These were some GREAT speeches. First up was the matron of honor, Julia's sister Allie and her brother Will. He surprised her and came in from Germany unexpectedly where he is playing basketball! It was such a great surprise and so glad that she got to have her brother a part of the special day. I liked this shot of Ben and Julia listening to the speech!

Then was the best man speech. Ben's older brother, Matt did a phenomenal job. It was hilarious and exactly how a Cindrich man would do it. I kind of want to hear it again because it was that funny.

And then some dancing.....

Julia and her dad

And finally - the bride and groom kicked off the dance floor and thanked everyone for being there and have a GREAT time!! They are so cute!!

So when they announced it was time to dance. Jimmy wasn't shy at all and jumped right in. He grabbed the bride's hand and started dancing - and then swung her around (he thinks he's a great dancer) and yep......you guessed it. He knocked her over. And there was a little nip slip (aka the brides boob kind of popped out). Of course Jimmy was mortified. The funny thing was that Julia completely laughed it off and when we talked about it over this recent weekend she said it didn't phase her - except that she just needed Jimmy's help to get up and he was just standing there in shock that he dropped her. Oh Jimmy.

So with some dancing, talking and lots of fun, we capped the night off with some pictures of the girls that were all there!

Hillary, me, MacKenzie, Sara, Nancy and Kristen

Me, Mac and Kristen

When it was over - we were sad but very tired! It was the weekend and night of the Texas/KU football game so the reception was over around the same time as the game so the traffic was terrible and we couldn't get a ride back to the hotel. So Jimmy did what he does best and improvised - and hailed us a Domino's pizza delivery guy. Yep. He apparently thought it was a cab because of the light on the top and the kid stopped. Jimmy said sorry he thought he was a cab - and what did the kid say? He immediately asked if we were cops and we said no and he said "jump in". Um ok. Unfortunately there was no pizza still in the car, but Bobby, Jimmy, Hillary and I rode home with the 18 year old pizza delivery guy that was very nice. Apparently he does it often and makes some great extra cash. Pretty sweet gig.

We got back to the hotel and went upstairs to change and then met the rest of the party down in the hotel bar to cap off the night. There were TONS of people from Kansas City there, all Aquinas friends and parents, so we had plenty of great conversation.

The next morning, we all got up and went to this delicious burger place on sixth street and then walked around the campus because our flight wasn't until 3PM. So when we arrived back in KC, I pretty much wanted to go straight to bed. And I'm pretty sure I did.

Overall, what a fun weekend!! So glad we were able to be a part of Ben and Julia's day and so happy for them. Being at the wedding and seeing how in love and happy they were made me want to marry Jimmy again! Ok - not all the work that went into it, but it's SO fun and your wedding day is so amazing. Cheers!!

So thankful

2011-11-06T19:01:00.000-06:00

Now I know this is November and the month that the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving occurs which really starts people thinking about everything they are thankful for. I would attempt to post something I'm thankful for everyday but the reality is (a) I usually never have time to blog everyday - ever. If I post 2 or 3 days in a row that usually means that I wrote all those posts in one setting and just set them to post on different days to trick you... or (b) I would never even cover in 30 days all the things that I'm thankful for.

However, I will tell you that I'm blogging right now about all the things I'm thankful for as this wonderful, amazing, so-needed weekend is about to come to an end. I think I list will do on this one.

I'm thankful that ~

~ I got to spend time 3 HOURS with 2 of my best friends from when I was just a little kid on Friday night (Katie and Lauren). Drinking wine, eating food and most importantly, catching up and having oh-so-real conversations that you just need to have with your best friends that will always listen, never judge, tell you like it is and love you no matter what. So thankful for best friends ~

~ I got to SLEEP IN until 10AM - yep, you read that right - 10AM on Saturday morning (of course minus the 5AM dog wake up and feeding, but hey, that's life). I honestly do not remember the last time we got to sleep in with nothing to do, nothing planned or no where to be on a Saturday morning. It was heavenly to catch up on sleep and have some Saturday morning snuggle time with the husband and 3 pups. So thankful for rest and relaxation - even in small doses ~

~I got to have lunch with Emily and celebrate the news that she and her fiance Jeff are going to welcome a little baby BOY (Jackson Dale) into the world this March!! I loved picking out a onesie for him that says "My middle name is handsome" and looking at the adorable baby Gap clothes that they bought right after they found out it was a boy. Such a blessing for both of them and can't wait for his arrival. It also helped that there was again, those much needed friend conversations, lots of laughter and at the heart of it all - a throw back to the college days. BWW (aka Buffalo Wild Wings). Now a Saturday lunch couldn't get any better - wait yes it could!! If only Vanessa would have been there and hadn't gotten so sick last week and had to stay in Houston. I think we talked for 10 minutes about how sad we were that she couldn't make it back to KC that weekend. I know she was beyond sad, but we missed her still at lunch and pretty much everyday because I wish she lived 6 blocks from me again! So thankful for best friends and wonderful life events ~

~ I got to spend Saturday night with some great friends from work to celebrate a baby that will arrive for my co-worker and his wife in February! Great to hang out with some great work folks and meet some new people. While I was there, Jimmy was holding up our original commitment that evening at the St. Joe yearly auction to raise money for the school. His mom is the principal there and we usually go every year, but since this baby shower came up, we had to split time. I was so sad to miss out, but I know Jimmy had a great time with his family and Mike was a great stand in date...so thankful for new friends and new family ~

~ Sunday. Wow. I'm pretty sure it has been the most fabulous Sunday in a long time. Up at 7AM, breakfast with Jimmy at FirstWatch (the Bacado omelet and coffee....yep, could get used to that everyday), and topped it off with an amazing church service and sermon on the key to happiness - yep I took notes. Then Jimmy became my "personal trainer" and we lifted weights together. So hilarious but fun - especially when he commented that he has "nice shoulders" that he's never seen before. Then a day of picking up leaves (Jimmy) and cooking, laundry and homework (me). Topped off with delicious potato soup and watching Bridesmaids. So thankful for a peaceful day ~

Most of all in this post, I thankful for my husband. This weekend was exactly what I needed after a not-so-great week. What I most needed and am most thankful for? After I had my breakdown - literal breakdown - on Saturday afternoon, Jimmy listened to me, said nice things to make me feel better and guess what else? He signed us up for dance lessons - starting tomorrow night! Haha, well see how that goes.

Overall? So thankful. Very blessed. Excited for all the fun things to come! Hope you had a great weekend!!!

Marriage Woes

2011-11-01T21:33:00.000-05:00

New month, right? Yep. Well I was hoping with a new month my attitude would do a 180 and I would be in a good mood. I think Jimmy hoped for that too (ok, it's not THAT bad of an attitude, but could use some improvement). I had everything going for me this morning on November 1....everything really included reserved parking for the month. Yep, I was one of the lucky 15 in the mass customer division that got their name drawn - which means I get to park RIGHT underneath my desk all month. So amazing. Except when I got to work and tried to go in TWO of the gates and couldn't get in so I had to go right back to the old garage (which was SO last month). I emailed the admin to ask her if she knew why - turns out that they never updated my parking device with my new last name. You know that one that I got when I got married over a year and a half ago? Yeah, that one. Apparently it's now fixed - we'll see tomorrow morning. My attitude is banking on it.

So that was marriage woe one of the day - that dang name change that still lingers over me.

Number two? Haha. Well the unlucky start to the morning unfortunately set the mood for my day - so by the time I got home and had a conversation with Jimmy about how we got completely overcharged for Toby's dog boarding this last weekend and what he was doing to get that fixed I was done for the day. I was in one of THOSE moods and it couldn't be stopped. I was grumpy. I took Toby on a walk because the weather was nice. Nope, that didn't help. And when I got home from my walk and when the dinner that was on the menu and all the ingredients were readily available wasn't being cooked by my husband...eeek. Watch out. That was when I implemented the silent treatment. Even the "what's wrong with you?" question - I didn't even give on that. I simply answered with "nothing" and flashed that look silently saying "if you really think nothing is wrong with me and I'm telling you the truth - you are an idiot". Pretty sure Jimmy caught onto that, but didn't want to know more.

So when I left to get my haircut around 7:45 - I went downstairs where Jimmy was watching TV (weird...Jimmy sitting downstairs watching TV, that never happens...). Milly was sitting right next to him and I went down to give her a kiss and stated "I love the sh*t out of you Milly." And then I walked off. But don't worry, I got one final glare to Jimmy in before I left silently saying "I'm in such a bad mood I'm not even going to say bye to you" Not sure if he caught onto that one or not, but I'm guessing he did. The wife stare isn't rocket science.

Well when I get in my car and start driving what is the song that immediately pops on the radio?? Brad Paisley's song Then. Which was the song that we danced to at our wedding. Our first dance as a married couple. Married. Yep, remember that day that you spent way too much time and money planning but was undoubtedly one of the best days of your life. Remember when you said your wedding vows to Jimmy and vowed to him that you would love him and stand by him through thick and thin, etc? Yeah- you were just super mean to him. So what do I do??? I get to a stoplight and send him this text:

Brittany: "Sorry I didn't give you a kiss. I love the sh*t out of you too - not just Milly"

Jimmy: "Ha. Thanks babe. I love the sh*t out of you too"

End of story. Fight somewhat resolved. I was/am still in a bad mood - but guess what? Tomorrow is a new day. My parking pass will work. I will smile more. And I love my husband. A lot. Especially because we have our own way of loving each other - that I wouldn't trade for anything.

Does anyone else have a "wife stare" and is mean to your significant other for really no particular reason other than you maybe had a bad day (so not fair - but hey, they married us, right??)? Anyone? Bueller??

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T17:48:00.001-05:00

Oh my goodness - where the HECK did October go??? Pretty sure this might be the least amount of blog posts in a month since my wedding month in April of 2010. Wow - talk about busy. However, with Halloween being tonight and the Halloween cards out and doing some trick or treating with some of our nieces and nephews - I will tell you that in our house we are more than excited for November to arrive for hopefully less craziness!!!

Here are the pups costumes this year - went very low key - as you can tell from pretty much everything, this month is nuts! Hope everyone had a great October and cheers to November!!!

Here is our Halloween card photo session - haha - it was IMPOSSIBLE to get a good picture of all of them together. Obviously.

Jimmy trying to put Toby's "costume" on which was a ghost and really just a white pillow case that I cut eyes and ears out of. Toby was not so thrilled.

Haha - "Dad what did you do to me???"

And then the depression sets in as the little dogs wonder what he is supposed to be??

Ok here are the individual shots we ended up using for our Halloween card. The really cute striped pumpkin - now skinny enough to wear the stripes!!

Our little witch. But literally - she really is one. Maybe with a b instead of a w, but we love her.

And Toby - the ghost - who is still invisible to the other pups.

And a cute one of Willy tipping his head!!

Making laundry more efficient...

2011-10-26T07:36:00.001-05:00

I'm all about efficiency. It's just something that I like to be and strive to make lots of parts of my life. It's weird. But the truth. So after living in our house for two years - I got sick of the way I had to do laundry. I mean it obviously wasn't the end of the world, as we are very lucky to have a house with a nice washer and dryer, but carrying 2 adults dirty clothes down two flights of stairs, opening 2 doors, through the garage and FINALLY down to the basement - well, yes, that got old week after week. So what was the first step?? Build a hallway that makes that trek down to the basement all inside - obviously I still had to keep those steps due to our side-by-side split style house - but I think the hallway turned out AWESOME!!!!! Not sure what I'm talking about? Check out the step by step process of making our basement entrance inside here, here, here and here.

OK - so what was next? Well, had a few things in mind, mainly from my favorite furniture building website, Ana White. The first I decided to build was a laundry basket dress from this plan. It seemed pretty easy - well once we got the plywood in and out of Jimmy's car (oh jeez - that was sure a test of our marriage....) - and it really was very easy. What I have determined I am the worst at in the furniture building process? Finishing it off - aka painting and sealing. It's for sure my least favorite step!!

Now let me show you what I did!! So the first step was obviously cutting the plywood - which that is always done in our garage with 2 people and safety glasses and a circular saw. We are all about safety here!! But once I got those cut, it was time to get them together. Have I mentioned that I couldn't do ANY of this on my own without my right angle clamps? See them in the picture below - well they are life savers!!

The next step, I just measured the 1X1 wood that I cut to act as the top of the "drawer" and drilled those in. See how the 3 laundry baskets fit so nicely?? That's one for Brittany, one for Jimmy and one for.....oh no, no one else - just the towels.

And here is a picture of my last and least favorite step - painting. Haha, wondering what the heck that black sheet is doing hanging there? That was our "photo shoot" area for the dog's halloween costume shoot. We are weird.

But something I did learn the hard way. Don't be an idiot and paint inside on carpet. Obviously I did already know this, but figured I could make it work and not spill on the carpet. Well, I did spill a few drops, but then after I was "finished" and had put the polyurethane on it....well Willy decided to knock that over all over the carpet. Good news is? That carpet is SICK and we have hated it since we moved in, so maybe that will encourage us to finally replace it. Trying to see the good side of spilling it EVERYWHERE....

Oh, the other purple thing in the background? That project post is coming up....I was a little into multi-tasking that weekend, can you tell? 2 furniture projects going at once and then a photo shoot - ah!

So after it was painted, sealed and dried - it was time to put it to use! Check it out in our basement laundry room area. I love it and caught it mid-laundry time, as you can see some of our clothes folded in there. Makes it so much better because before I was leaving our hampers downstairs until laundry was finished and taking the clothes back up in them. It was OK, however, if laundry spilled over into a 2 or 3 day process (yes I will admit it sometimes we start it and forget about it....), the dirty hampers were still downstairs so we had no where to put our actual dirty clothes. Well - when you have a nasty dog that likes to destroy your underwear, do that too many times and you are really starting to lack in the number of undie options that you have. Hence, my frustration and this project....

So there you have it. What is the second project? It's a wood replacement for the laundry pedestals!! We contemplated buying the ones from Samsung when we bought our new washer and dryer, but at $400 a pop, I figured we could do without. So that is where this other solution comes in handy. I'm making one for myself and my mom......

I wish this was my job!!!

Sectional is complete (almost)

2011-10-19T20:08:00.001-05:00

Hi - I'm back. And since I should be studying and have a test tomorrow night - why not blog right??? Oh how we all love distractions...

So I first told you about the beginning of this outdoor sectional that I planned to build and then the SLOWWWW progress....but now I'm proud to show you the final version of the sectional. Check.it.out.

Oh, and it's not painted yet, but as you can see, I did find some cushions on end of the summer clearance at Wal-Mart. That's right. Wal-Mart. I almost used this cushion sewing post that I found from a brag post on ana-white.com and literally after I had ordered the foam from joanns online and was on my way to buy this awesome outdoor fabric I had found at Hancock fabric and when I thought to stop by Wal-Mart to give it one last try. And at $13 per cushion - I couldn't pass it up. With the time that I would have spent making them, yet these will do. And they are pretty freaking comfy too.

Here is the catch - I found 5 at one Wal-Mart and then all the back cushions. Well, I quickly found out I needed 5 more. I had Jimmy stop at one and he found one and then asked them to look up the inventory at other Wal-Mart's in KC. And then....get ready....I drove around for TWO AND A HALF hours looking at like 5 Wal-Mart's and ended up with nothing. I was pretty upset, but then my brilliant husband realized that I could probably get them online. He was right - just for a $7 up-charge ($20 each vs. $13)...but it was worth it to complete the set.

I would say it was a huge hit. All the dogs LOVE it a lot. They are pretty cute and comfy on it too.

I did have a plan and bought 2 of these - but then after the online find. Done.

And as a side project - I spray painted (yep, still in love with spray paint) the white patio furniture. Because guess what the next step is? Paint the wood sectional black and weather proof it. Jimmy was sick last weekend and on Friday night we started a fire in the fire pit and relaxed outside on the sectional. I fell asleep - so I was either (a) super exhausted or (b) the sectional is really comfortable. I'm going to go with both.

As an FYI - I'm now officially obsessed with building things. I'm like a crazy builder person and I love it. I can't stop thinking of projects - and guess what? I already finished 2 more?

That kind of week...

2011-10-10T14:26:00.000-05:00

With a crazy week and an even crazier weekend under my belt - I found this and had to share. No, I don't have a pintrest account yet...but this did a good job at convincing me why I should. This is my new motto for life....

found via pintrest

Happy Monday - lots of fun posts to come!! Hope everyone had a good weekend.

TSwift - 2011 at Arrowhead!

2011-10-03T07:17:00.000-05:00

So Taylor Swift decided she liked Kansas City so much that she came back in 2011- but this time it was to Arrowhead Stadium. Pretty cool and it turned out on September 24, it was perfect weather - not too hot and not too cold (well in the beginning). My sister bought me these tickets what seemed like forever ago as my birthday present - awesome present!! We went out to dinner before and then were off to Arrowhead.

Walking in was funny because the demographics are mainly girls that are with their mom's or teenagers. A few 20-somethings, but not that many. However, I think if you know the words to every song on her albums - it should be normal that you are there, right?!?!? Well, my sister and I do - so we were excited!!!

Check out Arrowhead when it was still light outside and people were still filing in. Love T-Swift on the big screen!!

And my niece, Libbie, was there with my sister in law Shellie and another mom/daughter pair. It was Libbie's first concert ever (how fun - don't you remember your first concert?!?!?), so she was really excited! Even better, when I asked Shellie where their seats were, they were just 2 sections over from us, so before the concert, I went over to say HI to her! They were SOOO excited!!!

After 2 opening bands (not the best....), it was TIME - for the SPEAK NOW tour!!!!!!!!

Oh boy - my sister and I were so so so so so excited!!! We couldn't wait for it to start. As a flashback - and a reminder that this was my fourth time seeing TSwift!!! But do you remember that we went to the concert together last year??!!? Well here is a picture flashback.

How funny because we pretty much look exactly the same (same pose, both have different hair), but really not much has changed. Except in the 2010 picture, I was a Bruns, in the 2011 picture, I was a Carter (hint: I got married a week after the 2010 picture).

But anyway, the concert was AMAZING. I'm not even kidding. What amazes me the most about Taylor's concerts are the fact that she is involved in all of it. Like she wrote the song, plays the song, sings the song and also coordinates the entire concert. The detail that she puts into each stage change with each song is just amazing. No one goes to school to learn how to put on a concert - and she has quite the talent. It's so fun to see what she will come up with for each song. And also the way she interacts with the crowd. It's pretty awesome. She's awesome. Haha - I really like her.

And on with the post so I don't sound creepy....

My favorite might be the bottom right picture above. See the bride???? She staged a wedding to go along with the Speak Now song where the girl in the song stands up in a wedding and tells the groom to not marry the bride, but marry her. She claims it was about a friend and not her, but who knows, right??!

And then the encore was Love Story - and she floated through the crowd - ummm...so awesome. I cannot imagine being in the front row and having her float over me!!!

And at the very end - lots and lots and lots of fireworks! Something that cannot happen in the Sprint Center and only at an outdoor arena. Pretty freaking cool!!

Overall it was a SWEET concert, but it was freezing cold. I totally should have listened to my sister when she told me to dress warmer because the dress with a sweater didn't cut it!!! The traffic was horrible getting out of the parking lot, but still it was so fun hanging out with my sister and getting to talk and most importantly, see T-Swift!!! Until next time....

FSF: Kids say the darndest things

2011-09-30T10:59:00.000-05:00

This post is dedicated to Vanessa and Chris. As this mainly involves them and something funny our niece Maren said regarding them - but they haven't heard yet. Just a back story if you are confused - Vanessa's sister is married to one of Jimmy's older brothers and they have 3 beautiful children. Which just so happens to make Vanessa, my best friend, and I aunts to the same kids. Fun, huh? We think so! And Vanessa and Chris also live in Houston, Texas. Maren loves them a lot and always misses them (and Hazel!). But she hasn't been to Texas to visit them yet - but from the sounds of this story, she is ready to go!!! So here we go.

Last Sunday we went over my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's house to watch the Chief's game. Since we were the first ones to arrive, Maren and Norah quickly escorted me into the play room to begin play time. As we were sitting there ordering some food from waitress Maren (plastic salami sandwich for me, one taco and some broccli for Norah), Maren started talking about Texas. As when I'm with them, we often talk about Aunt Vanessa and Uncle Chris - because she and I both feel the same way and really wish they lived in Kansas City and we got to see them more. She started telling me about dinosaurs. Our conversation went like this:

Maren (M): "Aunt Brittany, you know there are dinosaurs in Texas?"

Brittany (B): "I didn't know that- I thought all dinosaurs were extinct"

M: "Nope, they are there. They are the dads to horses in Texas. But they are ONLY in Texas"

B: "Interesting....where did you learn that?"

M: "The other day. The dinosaurs are big and scary. I need to call Vanessa and tell her to keep an eye on Hazel - just in case she gets out. Dinosaurs are ONLY in Texas"

B: "That's a great plan!!"

M: "But Uncle Chris, he is REALLY afraid of the dinosaurs. He runs away from them, so he needs to be careful. Especially since he likes horses"

Then Maren proceeds to call Aunt Vanessa on a play phone to tell her to keep an eye on Hazel. Norah picks up another play phone and calls to talk to Uncle Chris.

Hahaha. Lessons learned on this FSF:

- Kids are so funny because my mother in law said that Maren probably heard something about dinosaurs at school (as a science teacher she said that apparently dinosaurs might have evolved to horses??) and she then took that and interpreted them to exist today - but only in Texas. Because she loves her aunt and uncle there !!

- Chris is terrified of dinosaurs

- It's a good thing that Vanessa found Hazel, her sweet little bull dog, by some construction workers when she got ou the other day and she wasn't eaten by a Texas dinosaur....(she has a facebook post about how she got out the other day!!)

- I need to hang out with kids more; they make life a lot more interesting and pretty much hilarious....

To end this post, here are some funny pictures of Maren, Norah and Jimmy when we baby sat them a while ago that I had on my computer. It's crazy because this was pre-Will and it's amazing how much both of them have grown up in under a year! And how funny it is that they like to mess with Uncle Jimmy!

P.S. Vanessa and Chris - come back to KC soon! We continue to miss you!

Happy Friday!!!

Strutt with your MUTT!

2011-09-27T08:07:00.002-05:00

And with our mutts, we did just that on Saturday morning in Brookside.

Here are Jimmy and Toby ready to go on a 5K walk/run Strutt with your Mutt!

As you will notice, Milly was not able to attend. A 7.5lb wiener dog would not do so well on a 3.2 mile walk. We were even worried about Willy making it because he can only go so far!!! It was very sad to not have our whole family of 5 there, but we have and idea for next year - if someone will let us borrow their stroller!! Haha - we saw another wiener dog in one on the walk and it was SO cute!

Here they are - ready to go....KU shirt and all.

We got there a few minutes before the race started and there was TONS of vendors there getting their name out to dog owners - even a lady who wrote a book about her family's experiences with a little wiener dog. She gave Willy a treat and accidentally called him Billy. But since he got a treat, he didn't seem to care. They even had a traveling McDonald's van that Jimmy loved.

Before we knew it, it was time to GO. As we were crossing the start line, a man was signing along to karaoke that Jimmy very much enjoyed. It was pretty funny. We stayed towards the back while all the serious dogs and owners actually raced.

We were on the trolley trail half of the race and I was creepy and took pictures while we were walking. We also got to see the wiener dog friend that Willy had met earlier. They really liked each other. The minute we got off the trail though (in which the trail was equipped with poop bags and trash cans, more importantly), Toby took a huge dump in which Jimmy had to pick up and carry the rest of the race. The bottom photo showed just how thrilled he was that he got to carry the whole time....

But guess what!??! We eventually made it to the end and the FINISH line! Haha - so exciting!!! This was the first race that Jimmy ever ran, as well as Willy and Toby, so we had to document crossing the finish line. We were just thrilled that Willy made it all the way!!! (We cheated after 1.5 miles and crossed to the other side....shhhh...don't tell)

And then of course we had to get some water. How fun are the big baby pools that the dogs got to drink out of. However, Willy was not-so-thrilled to be sharing water with other dogs and that back wash. But eventually I got him to drink something.

So there you have it - the four of us took on the race to benefit Wayside Waifs and we loved it. Great way to kick off a weekend and a great way to spend time on Saturday morning!!! Just wish Miss Milly could have made it - maybe next year, right??

FSF: Dog Shampoo

2011-09-23T08:17:00.000-05:00

Ok, so our guest bathroom You know the one that hasn't been redone? The one that I get ready in every morning and the one that Milly and Willy get their baths in? Yep, here it is in case you forgot...

Well Lauren used to shower in it, but since she moved out in April 2010, I can count on my hand the number of humans that have showered in it. Yep.

1 and 2

And their names were Dave and Erica.

Dave showered one day there and came downstairs and commented on his silky, shiny hair. We both started laughing and giggling. I asked him what exactly he used. When he spilled the beans, he laughed too.

Then Erica came in town last Friday night and showered before she and Andrew were off to Lincoln. And she came down and commented on her silky, shiny hair. I asked her if she used the Herbal Essence shampoo that I left on the counter? Nope she said. She used the shampoo in the shower. And she thinks it was dog shampoo.

Yep, you read right. She thought it was dog shampoo.

And guess what? She was right! Oh my gosh, what a horrible host I am. The two people that have showered in our guest shower in the last year and a half have used DOG SHAMPOO to wash their hair!! I even tried to prevent it with Erica by putting the people shampoo out for her, but it was a little early and I'm guessing she didn't process anything correctly. But I'm hoping she had a really successful day entertaining her clients in Lincoln and her hair was sparkling and shiny! For the record, I feel bad. I do. But it's still funny, right?

GRR!!

So there you have it for the fun story Friday.

Moral of the story: If you come to our house and want to shower. Either (1) Bring your own shampoo or (2) Don't shower.

And that's how we roll at the Carter house.

Baby S baby's shower!

2011-09-21T08:24:00.001-05:00

So in March of this year, we all found out that our friend Lauren and her husband Cory are pregnant! And it's pretty unbelievable how fast time has flown by because guess what?? She is due with a sweet little baby boy in just three weeks!!! Oh my gosh! So excited for them. So we had a little shower for her and her baby boy to help welcome him into this world!

There were presents, decorations and LOTS of food!!!

And check out those cake balls - Carly's aunt made them. They are so so so cute and sooooooo YUMMY!!!

And there were lots of friends and lots of fun conversations. So good to catch up and see everyone - especially Rachel and Ashley who were in town from Austin and Los Angeles!!

And then there was SWEET baby Kinley. Lyssa's adorable baby girl, who is not so much a baby anymore!! She just turned 2 and it's so amazing how fast she is growing up and how cute she is! I feel like we just were showering baby-to-be Kinley with presents at her shower!! Time flies.

Kinley had lots of fun with all the toys (step stool and dog toys) and playing with Milly and Willy (really just Willy because Milly is kind of rude!). How cute is she????

And of course baby boy was showered with lots of toys, books and clothes. But these KSU Pi Phi's could not pass up an opportunity to make sure he had some CUTE Wildcat gear when he goes to the games with his parents or visits his grandparents. Love these little outfits!!

Miss Kinley also helped Lauren open her presents and wanted to play with all of them. But then she knew that they were for the baby that was in Lauren's tummy. She even waved bye to him when she left. Oh my gosh.

And then we all signed a frame that says "Pi Phi's love Baby Strathman" and are going to put this picture in it!! Not all the girls were able to make it, but they were there in spirit. It was a great time and such a blessing to have all these girls together to celebrate the first baby boy pi phi!!!

And then because we are awkward and weird, we had to take this picture. Haha.

Overall, it was such a fun afternoon and we are so lucky to have each other in our lives. Baby boy Strathman - we are ready for your arrival!!!!!! We can't wait to meet you!!!

China cabinet enters the 21st century

2011-09-20T07:12:00.000-05:00

Ok, so a long time ago.....we bought a china cabinet off of craigslist. This is a reminder of what it looks like (or looked like).

Last week...I got an itch. With a baby shower coming up at our house (pics of that soon!) and a new table purchased and set up AND a new rug, our little china cabinet that was stuck in 1970 needed a makeover. So I did just that.

Since all the china that previously inhabited it was already packed away from when we got our hardwood floor refinished, it just took Jimmy and I's muscles to get the top and bottom of the cabinet outside and some bottles of black spray paint (again the specific kind that sticks to wood, metal and plastic - same kind I used on our chairs).

And wa-la!! How easy was that? Well, I had to take the glass out too which is super sharp, but still, not too hard.

After I was done with the top, I had to empty out the bottom and take off all the doors and drawers. And figure out what I wanted to keep in the bottom. It was a good fall cleaning exercise :) Oh AND - the hideous 1970s hardware. Yeah - that had to go too.

Check out the doors before, during and after. Also - look in the first picture at the new rug and check ou the new table. Both fun. I like them a bit. Or a lot.

All right, in the midst of all this spray painting (see my FSF post about what I ended up looking like after spray painting all day), I had a little bit of hinge problems after the doors were all painted and dry. I obviously couldn't keep the old ones and had bought 2 different types at home depot, but none of them fit. Then I went to Locks and Pulls aka the mecca of hinges/knobs/pulls and found some. Excellent and I was so happy.

What I was even happier with was the end result. I cannot tell you how much I love the black china cabinet. I even accessorized it with some different things than our china. Something a little more fun and a little less formal. I love our china and will be happy to display it someday in our formal dining room probably in another bigger house :) For now - I found some pictures and accessories that were hanging around our house and made them look pretty.

Loving loving loving this view from the kitchen.

Spray paint = works magic and saves lots of $$!!!

Labor Day trip to Iowa!

2011-09-19T07:08:00.002-05:00

I have to start this post off with this picture. Just because it's funny and maybe it will get your attention. This is what Jimmy's dinner looked like when we ate in Iowa. He's a crazy fool. But I love him. Love him more than words. And I got a bite of it....but seriously, look at how big that is!

So the real point of this post is to tell you about how we drove to Iowa over labor day weekend to visit my grandparents!! We left early Saturday morning all driving up in Jimmy's car. I had to sit in the middle and it was very uncomfortable. But I was finishing the 3rd Hunger Games book so didn't care. I was just so intent on finishing the book to see what happened. After I finished it - I started noticing/complaining that my back hurt. So it was fun. Haha. Not but it actually was fun being in the car with the whole family. And eating at McDonald's in which I ate some of everyone's meal!

So when we got to Iowa, we did some of this:

Which equates to hanging out with the family and talking. And it was nice to catch up and see one another after a while!! My grandpa has been sick and they found cancer for the THIRD time, but he is sure the fighter and has been doing well in chemo so far. He is always in great spirits, which I'm sure helps a lot too!! So that made it even more nice to see him in person and talk to him and my grandma about what they have been up to lately.

My mom, sister and I were itching to get out and walk on main street, so we took a short walk from their assisted living home to main street and went into a few stores and found some fun things. Including some awesome cups for our smoothies :) Check out their cute little town!

It was funny because my grandma at one point called my sister my name. And she was like "well you girls look so much alike". And any other day we would have said, NO WAY. But then after examining ourselves in the mirror, we quickly realized why there would be a cause for confusion.

Purple shirts. Same hair. Same glasses. Same smile. Sisters - wow, you can tell!

Jimmy, Lyndsay and I made a trip to Wal-Mart as well and on our way back we stopped at Godfather's pizza and went through the drive thru to order 2 orders of Monkey bread for my dad. Because he loves it. And we had a lot of fun. We like each other and that's good, right?!!?

So when it was time to go out to dinner, I googled on my phone and suggested we try something new. We usually go to Lakeshore cafe every time we visit Storm Lake, but Boz Wellz was close and had such great reviews so I convinced my grandparents who don't like to stray from a routine to try it out.

And what a success it was!!! We had a great dinner and it was a great menu with lots of good food and different types of food too! Check out the picture we had a waitress take of the whole group. Love it!

It was great conversation and fun to hear the stories that my grandma and grandpa were telling. I was asking them about when they met, got married, etc. And then they started talking about their weekly trips to the Fairway (local grocery store) and how they always go in together but split up because my grandpa takes the motorized wheel chair around. And then manager (who of course he knows their name!) always sees my grandma and asks where her other half is. And they say that he's off roaming around the store - because she gives him a list to find things and roams the aisles until he finds them for her and then meets her at the front. I love it. I mean that is true love. They celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary that next week. I love them.

After dinner, we went back home and watched football games. Really they watched football and I blogged. Remember how I had a steady stream of blog posts the week after labor day? Yep, I wrote those that Saturday night. I had no blog posts last week. I had something to do the last Saturday night - haha see a trend? I write posts of the weekends and schedule them for later because I have no time to write during the week!! AH!

But then we went to bed and woke up to a delicious breakfast the my grandma cooked up and then were ready to head on the road back to KC. But not without the window wave. This is famous in the Bruns house. They used to stand at the window in their farm house when we were leaving and wave. And then walk out the door and stand in the gravel driveway and wave until we were gone.....and guess what? Even though they moved into an assisted living home? That tradition still stands and always will live on through my dad because he does it every time Jimmy or I ever pull out of the driveway at my parents house.

On the way home - I shot some pictures of the beautiful Iowa landscape. The crops, the farms and the windmills. Gorgeous day and gorgeous landscape.

You would think that was the end of the post right? Well - it's not. Because something REALLY exciting happened on the way back. What happened was the entire way to Iowa, I was searching for a Pizza Hut buffet. I LOVE Pizza Hut buffet. Like so much. The last time that I went to one was the summer between my junior and senior year of college. I know. That was like 5 years ago. Sad city.

We couldn't find one on the way down (my mom even tried to call and ask) and then on our way home we were discussing lunch possibilities and.......

BAM, there it was. Oh my gosh. I freaked out and made Jimmy pull into the parking lot immediately even though it was only like 11AM.

Look at all that pizza. Wow. It's like amazing. And it was so delicious!! We were all satisfied!

And THAT my friends, finally ends the trip. It was filled with fun, family, lots of good conversations and lots of good food!!!

FSF: Project mishap

2011-09-16T17:20:00.000-05:00

Ok - so in light of a baby shower that is at my house this weekend, I decided to take on a project that I have been putting off for too long. Painting my old craigslist china cabinet. Since I liked spray paint when I did my chairs, I thought I would give it a try.

Here is a preview:

Ok, so that's not the funny story. The funny story/thing was what I looked like after spray painting it with like 5 cans of spray paint outside and a mask on. Apparently it has blown back on me and landed just in the right spot on my face to pretty much look like I had got in a fight the night before and lost :) As I was literally getting ready to walk out the door to go to the hardware store (of course not even thinking to look in the mirror - I was working people!!), Jimmy stopped me and started laughing and then insisted that I take a picture.

So here you go:

It actually took me awhile to get the paint out of those "crevices" and actually it was in my nostrils - which is weird/disturbing and probably not good for me. But the things I will sacrifice for a home project :)

PS Thanks Emily for reminding me! I usually write these during the week and didn't have time this week. But your facebook post made sure I got it in :) If you are interested, check out Emily and her husband's fun home projects on their blog!

Happy Friday everyone!!

FSF: Anonymous "hate" messages

2011-09-09T10:33:00.000-05:00

I decided to give Jimmy a breather this week in terms of my FSF posts making fun of him or talking about the silly things he does. Don't worry, there are plenty more......

Have you ever had a wrong number call you or text you something not-so-nice??

A friend I was having lunch with this week had a funny thing happen to him. While we were sitting at lunch he pulled out his phone and showed me that he just got 8 text message in a row from an unknown number with some "hate" messages. So random.

He told me that previously this week he had gotten 8 text messages from a number that he didn't know saying "Andrew is here" or something of the sort. He was trying to be nice and called the number back to try and let them know that they had the wrong number and really that he didn't care or want to konw if Andrew was wherever he was. After that call, they sent a text message back saying "wrong number". Then my friend just sent one back saying something like "no problem, thanks for the 8 text messages!"

A day later (while sitting at lunch with me) he gets 8 more that all say:

"I hate you.

I hate you.

I hate you.
I hate you.

I hate you.

I hate you."

Random and hilarious if you ask me...but then I got a little disturbed wondering what "normal" person would make a mistake in sending hate messages to another person. Let along EIGHT of them in a row. Talk about hitting the send button a few too many times. As for me, I tend to lean on the "nice" side and would probably have apologized 8 times vs. profess any sort of hate/dislike towards my unsuspecting recipient! But to each his own, right!?

Have you ever been the recipient of anonymous "hate" messages? If so, I'm hoping that they were a little less aggressive than this person was!!! I feel like this is something that I would get upset about.

On that note - wishing you the HAPPIEST of all Fridays and a wonderful weekend!!!!!