Defeated in the Kitchen

So I posted about how much I love this new cookbook my mom gave me from Hungry Girl, right? And I still do, however...I was not on my A game in the kitchen last night. As Jimmy and I continue to eat healthy, I attempted to cook Hungry Girl hot wings and some cauliflower dish last night for dinner. I had Jimmy stop at the grocery store on the way home from the gym to pick up the last few ingredients I didn't have. However, I was going to slightly modify the recipie and make it with drumsticks instead of little chunks of chicken breast.

MISTAKE #1

I somehow forgot the fact that drumsticks have more meat and a bone....therefore will take much much longer to cook than little "nuggets" of chicken....which is what Hungry Girl calls them. So I went about my merry way making the breading for the drumsticks and popping them in the oven for the 10 minutes, then flip and 10 more minutes, then eat. I pulled them out of the oven and not only were they still pretty much raw inside...but some of them were bloody. I thought I was going to barf. If Lauren had been at home, she probably would have because she can't handle that stuff.

I was gung-ho on this cauliflower casserole thingy because I had randomly decided to buy an entire head of cauliflower last week at the grocery store and I wanted to use it for something. I saw this recipe that called for an entire head of it and bam....instant side dish with the chicken, right? I think I underestimated my kitchen capabilities.

MISTAKE #2

Not properly reading the recipie all the way through. I apparently skimmed over the end (Hmm...that seems to be a common trend this week....that will be my goal next week to read through everything start to finish) and didn't notice that it said "And then bake in the oven for an hour. Let cool for 10 minutes". An HOUR? Seriously? It was already 7:30 at this point and I was starving. Not to mention Jimmy was like a little starving hermit waiting for his meal. Of course I freak out and Jimmy's calm and is like "that's ok, we'll just eat it before we go to bed". So I start to cook it. That's about when the chicken wings are "done" and I realize that we are never going to eat. Ever. Ever.

I then pull out my best 2nd grade move and lay on our kitchen floor, whining to Jimmy how I suck at cooking, suck at life, and we are never going to eat tonight. And then I pop up and say, "Can we please go to Johnny's right now?". His response is that stuff is in the oven and we can just wait. I say, no and I don't want this sucky food, I want bar food. As the good little husband to be that he is, he says "you put the dogs up and I'll start the car."

Lucky for us it was 2 for 1 burger night at Johnnys and we both splurged on our healthy eating and loved every minute of it. I made him toast with our beers on my first kitchen defeat and to many more in our marriage. Then I got home and tossed all the uncooked, half cooked, gross food in the trash.

Kitchen 1, Brittany 0

I'm not a good loser, so I will find a way to overcome this defeat.

His new trick

Willy is our chunky dog, which most everyone knows. Every time someone comes over to our house they always say "ahh, he's so big!" to Willy. I really think it's because it's a matter of perception sometimes though because they are comparing him to Milly and she's 7 lbs. So DUH he's going to look big.

Anyways, Willy LOVES to eat. Like more than anything in this world...even snuggling with his mom. We are on a strict eating schedule at our house and the dogs eat on the weekdays at 5:10AM (immediately after waking up and going to the bathroom) and then at 4:30PM, when I get home from work. Willy has an internal clock. It's freaky. So that means, he's up literally one minute before my alarm goes off. He immediately jumps out of bed. Then lately he sits there and whines and pants and whines and barks while I take my one minute to go to the bathroom myself (heaven forbid this dog has any sort of patience). So then I open the bedroom door and the SPRINTS downstairs. Milly kind of just makes her way slowly down the stairs. If Toby is there, he and Willy usually race to see who can make it to the door first.

So Willy's new thing is that I open the back door, he runs outside, jumps onto the patio, immediately does a 360 and comes back to the door to come back inside. Now, I usually don't stand there and watch them because they can do their business just fine alone so I go and get the dog food out and put it in his bowl. But the last couple of days, I have noticed that Willy is back at the door to come back in like seconds later. So the last couple of days, I've stood at the door and watched him. And I discovered his trick. And the most annoying thing about it is that after he's done eating, he wants to go outside again because he didn't do his business the first time.

Well, I decided "not in my house" will this happen and I'll be fooled by a dog. So I now stand there at the door, watch him turn and come back, I open the door, shove him back outside and say firmly while pointing at him, "Do your business Willy, or no food". He stares back, if he could roll his eyes, he probably would do that, and then runs to go pee for like 1 second and runs inside. Then he consumes a whole 1/2 cup of dog food in like literally 2 seconds. He is such a weirdo. However, unlike Emily's dog, Tyson, I did find out last night that he doesn't like califlower at all. So there are things that he won't eat. Thank goodness.

Anyways, that's all I had to say. Just wanted to share about my silly dog and his tricky games that I won't fall for. We are also in the process of purchasing the dog's attire for our wedding. I'm thinking that I am going to put a poll on which tux you think Willy will look best in because Jimmy and I cannot seem to agree....

Make it a red coat day

Would you say that you are an optimist or a pessimist if someone posed that question to you? Well, I'm going to go ahead and be difficult (of course) and say I would consider myself a "realist". The reason for that is I'm not overly optimistic or overly pessimistic....I feel like I kind of run a fine line between the 2 and look at every situation in a realistic sort of way.

For example.....
Situation: Toby runs in the house with mud all over his feet and destroys the carpet (true story)

Optimistic view: That's ok, that's why carpet cleaners exist! No need to get mad, we'll just shampoo the carpet and fix the situation. Toby didn't mean to! (Proceed to clean the carpet with a shampooer)

Pessimistic view: That freaking dog. He never behaves himself and always ruins our house. What the heck is his problem. (Then I angrily make Jimmy clean the carpet)

Realistic view: That sucks. However, we did just buy a carpet shampooer so we can probably use this. While I'm really mad right now, probably not worth blowing up about. I will yell and get mad, but just for a second or two. This is probably good that we have dogs that make messes in our house because this is like a prep course for kids....except dogs are way easier and you can lock up in a kennel when they are bad.........

Get it? Which one are you?

Well---now that we've determined that, I'm here to tell you that I haven't always been the "realist" I claim to be. Before I met Jimmy, I would say I was more on the pessimistic side and took the negative vantage point on most situations- good or bad. Lucky for me, opposites attract I guess. In the beginning of our relationship (and sometimes even now), I really hated how he always took the glass half full side of things. Like ALWAYS and about everything. Who does that? Well, after hanging around him for awhile, I started to realize that if you look at the situation in a more positive light, it actually makes your life much more enjoyable and really cuts down on time spent being mad/stressed/annoyed, etc. Which is how I shifted towards what I deemed the realist view and demonstrated in the example above.

So I guess now to the overall point of this post........how do you try keep up with a more optimistic POV (point of view) and not digress back to the pessimistic POV? It's hard because it's not something you walk around thinking about 24/7...I mean if you do, good for you....but I find I would have to seriously train myself in every situation to stop and think "wait, how do I want to react to this and how will that make me feel after?". To me, some situations...I just like to react instantly too, plus I feel like that would be a LOT of time spent thinking about that and I'm all about efficiency people, so I can't do that. But I have found myself trying to do it randomly and I find some of the little things really do work and it's all about attitude and perspective. I really think it starts at the beginning of the day too.

I feel like you can set the "tone" of your day from the very beginning. Yesterday, I was leaving for work and went into the coat closet to put on my normal gray peacoat and black scarf. For some reason, I thought to myself "why don't you change it up today? Wear your red coat....make it a red coat day". And I did. I haven't worn that coat all winter for some reason but I thought, why not....it might spice up the day a little. And what do you know, I reach into the pocket almost immediately after I put it on and found an old Northwest Airlines Boarding pass from March 2008 when I traveled 24/7 and worked for Deloitte (yes, I haven't worn that coat in THAT long). And what did that do? That made me remember how much I used to travel and be away from home and hate my job and working all the time....and how thankful I am now for our house, for Jimmy, for extra time with friends, family, dogs and volunteer stuff. I was in a great mood. Driving to work very happy and thankful for where I am. Now how strange is that? With one small decision- to wear the red coat and make it a "red coat day"---something so small happened that altered my perception on the day. And that was it, I was determined to have a good day and enjoy work and enjoy my life just a little bit more. And I did. It's amazing how that led to me finding that boarding pass and being so thankful for what I have.

What I'm saying is....however bad your day might be, you are the one that is in control to make it better. It's your attitude, you mindset, and your outlook that really control whether you have a good day or bad. While the events during the day obviously have an impact, you choose how to react to them and which vantage point to view them as. Think about it, make the small effort, do one thing different that might change your day....and you never know, it just might make you smile :)

Best lines from others

Best 3 things I heard last week:

"Oh, did I tell you I had to get the hymlec manuever on my flight home last week because I was choking on a peanut?" Lauren Miller, work friend, telling me about her cruise the week before and casually mentioning this. Then she proceeded to tell me that the guy that "saved her life" is a travel agent and she's totally going to take him up on the deals he offered her.

"Keep in mind, we are only enriching lives...not building rocket ships" Mark, co-worker, after I sent him an email telling him how I have been working all day on updating this spreadsheet and formulas to link correctly to produce numbers that we have never reported/seen before. Oh Hallmark.

"I'm going to go upstairs with the dogs and listen to Ja Rule, good night" Jimmy Carter. Enough said.

Best 3 things I have heard so far this week (keep in mind folks, it's only Monday):

Maren calling her dad a "street rat" and telling her mom she is going to "hunt her down and kill her". Then Lindsay having to explain to her that it's not ok to repeat the lines that the "mean people" say on Disney movies. Hysterical.

"Did you spit on me this morning?" Jimmy via text message this morning...and yes I did, on accident, during the "goodbye for the day" kiss. It was only a little bit.

"Were you taking pictures of me last night sleeping? I remember seeing bright flashes, which I thought was a fire, but then you said you were taking pictures. I just assumed it was of me sleeping. Which scared me." Jimmy via text message this morning....I was taking pictures of the hallway carpet in which Toby destroyed with his mud stomping. Not Jimmy. That would be creepy.


And here's to a great week of funny people.

You are NEVER going to believe this

Yesterday, Jimmy sent me this text message out of the blue saying "Do you remember the date of the assembly in 2003 @ Aquinas when I first saw you?" (If you're confused about this, check out our Knot page, as it will give you more info on this story).

Obviously, I do not remember the exact date. That was 7 years ago. I remember the yo-yo guy at the assembly vaguely, but not the date, nor the time of year. I don't have a good memory about things like that. But Jimmy does and he swears it was in the spring time. He said he was going to look for his old planner from senior year so he could figure it out, but I said I would just email my mom and see if by the off chance she still had the school calendar from 2003 laying around her office somewhere because that would tell us the date. I emailed her yesterday and talked to her on the phone like 4 times, but we didn't talk about that.

I get a text from Jimmy this morning that says: "Did your mom tell you when the talent show was!!!! 4/11/03!!". I'm like WHAT? Are you serious? I text my mom to see if she is making this up. She confirms that she wasn't. Talk about a really big coincidence, or fate or God's plan....whichever you want to call it.

Let me remind you the significance of that date. We got engaged 4/11/09. We are getting married 4/10/10. So math wizards, here you go....exactly 6 years after Jimmy saw me for the first time at an Aquinas assembly we got engaged. 364 days and 6 years (pretty much 7 years) after Jimmy saw me for the first time at an Aquinas assembly we are getting married. I had been contemplating doing a timeline at our reception, something I found on the knot of course, and after this revelation.....I have to. How freaking weird/strange/awesome/crazy/sweet is that? I love it.

Staying busy

So I feel like I am kind of on over drive right now and I need to give up the house projects and really focus on the wedding....that is in 79 days....that I made my outstanding to-do DIY list.....it's really long.  Here's an idea....on the weeknights, instead of planning house projects Brittany, how about you do wedding stuff.  AH.  Easier said than done.  I have a sick obsession with house projects.  And wedding projects.  I think I just don't ever want to sit STILL.  What is wrong with me?

Anyways...here's the fun part.  And you're going to be impressed.  So when I was relaxing on Saturday afternoon and watching "John Tucker Must Die" on USA or TBS or something like that....I of course was on the computer pretending to catch up on "work" (like my full time job).  Well, we all know that wasn't happening :)  But I kept staring at our fireplace thinking "GOSH, I just love the mantle, love the white brick, if only the fireplace cover didn't look so 1970s".  I start to google how easy it would be to paint it.  It was easy to paint the brick, but apparently not so easy to paint that.  Special paint, etc.  Eh.  So online shopping starts.  After what I thought was a hard decision to go with silver or black (now I'm like DUH black was the best choice, more "many"), I found a steal on Home Depot.com.  Not only was this on sale, but shipping was free.  Hello...give me our house debit card.  **Pause** Yes we have a house debit card and a wedding debit card.  Don't even think that's weird because I am writing this blog, remember?  I'm a psycho $$ person like that **Unpause** And that's that.  Completed online purchase.  And I didn't even have to leave the couch.

It arrived today!  I was so excited as I obviously have been stalking the Home Depot website to see when it was going to get here.  I pulled it inside because it was heavy and then Jimmy came over and with our team skills (me reading the directions and directing him, him doing all the hard work), we completed the project in about 45 min flat.  NICE.  And without further babbling...I present you with a before and after :)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

How great is that $200 transformation?  I'm pretty stoked about the huge difference it makes.  Even though we have 1950s wood paneling, it's a large step in an attempt to transport to the 21st century!

And in other house news, I have been doing extremely well in not buying stuff that is on my registry even though I want it really bad.  But I happened to be strolling through the Target curtain aisle browsing the curtain color I had just registered for in the man cave (you know, to ensure I liked it a lot).  And I found the matching valance on sale.  Like super on sale.  So I bought it.  I caved.  But in good news, the color matches the pillows and rug perfect.  And I, of course, found the perfect spot for my bargain valance!  And hung it myself!!  I think it adds a good "pop" of color.  And is not super girly.  And it will look awesome with the curtains!!

And I cannot get the picture to flip.  Sorry!

Hi Willy face.  Look at how cute and chunky monkey he is.

Finally, I added some decor to our new bench and shelf.  This man cave is coming along quite nice.  Now if my DIY wedding stuff would be coming along just as well..... :)

Let's cook...I'm hungry!

Ok, so my mom got my sister and I this cookbook she likes called "Hungry Girl 200 under 200".  And now I'm obsessed.  Like this lady is a genius.  She give you new recipes for the fatty normal food that I love (um WINGS) and makes it delicious.  Last night I made this veggie pizza on a stick thing.  Haha.  It was interesting, but with only 255 calories in two of the pizza sticks and the fact that I got to use rest of the mushrooms that I bought earlier in the week for chicken mushroom in the crock pot (which was super easy and delicious as well),  I was sold.  And apparently so was Jimmy.

I'm really sorry that I posted that last picture Jimmy.  Haha.  It was just too funny to pass up.  I'm not going to point out the obvious joke that should go here.

ANYWAYS.  Tonight I made this delicious "fried" chicken that has a skin made of fiber one cereal and breadcrumbs.  And with a low calorie content per 5 small chicken pieces---and neither Jimmy or I could finish 5 ourselves---again, I'm in love.  So next maybe I'll try the pasta made out of tofu like Vanessa did :)  Jimmy won't notice.....right?!  Well now I get her emails everyday with recipes and I have got Jimmy hooked on her articles online that list the best foods to eat at fast food places.  He has decided to join me in the wedding health countdown.

PS Vanessa, you need to blog about e-mealz please!! :)

Best Wedding Idea EVER

So I am a frequent Knot visitor- mainly for their stellar checklist that reminds me of things as the big day approaches (yes only 80 days....we have officially reached double digits people) as well as the ideas that they post.  I really love their blog that posts creative ideas from other readers, some of which I've actually decided to use in our wedding.

But I came across this picture the other day and about DIED laughing.  They say that adding a creative ice sculpture adds a unique touch and personalized your reception.  And this was the picture they had.  Um---hi WILLY!  Well, this sculpture might be underestimating his actualy weight, but it is almost identical.  I love it.  However, I'm going to have to burst your bubble and tell you that we probably will not be having a wiener dog sculpture (or a German Shepard Chow mix sculpture) at our reception.  Our guests will get to see the real thing ;) 

(Photo courtesy of www.theknot.com)

Check out this LINK on theknot.com for the full article and other fun ideas!  For the record, my mom did say "Go for it".

Accepting Defeat

One of the first things I learned in my job that I currently have is when I make a mistake- everyone knows about it.  When I mean everyone, I don't mean the whole company....but pretty much everyone in the field, which is all over the country, all the executives that have something to do with retail, and everyone that I work with.  So in my world = everyone.

Now when you first start a job, mistakes are permissible.  Everyone understands that you are in the process of learning new things, so they excuse when you have to resend out a report 3 times in one day.  Heck, they probably even think it's funny or cute because they've worked there for so long that they can't see how I would miss something as simple as I did---but I'm new, so it's cute.  However, once you have worked there for a period of time, your mistakes become more annoying than "cute".  Especially after a year and a half.

Fast forward to today.  The second week of January (in retail world).  I have been doing the same job now for 1 year and four months.  With the start of a new year, I have worked hard to roll over all the reports from 2009 to 2010.  Now with a change in reports being done manually, there is always room for error.  Last week, I made an error and had to resend one of the five reports I send out the first day of the week.  This week, I made an even bigger error because the formula was one line off (ONE LINE/ONE STORE!  If you knew how big this excel document was...you'd realize that's not much....but it still makes a difference to that one store) which made a majority of the stores off.  Which made the entire network off.  That main reports feeds directly into 3 other reports...which means those 3 reports had to be rerun.  Yes, it was in fact a ripple effect.  That meant 1) I had to go tell my boss 2) I had to send an email out to "everyone" letting them know of the change....which most of them have already had meetings/conference calls/phone calls regarding the old/wrong results (which makes me feel horrible) 3) I feel like everyone thinks I'm a complete moron.

You would think since this is the 10,987 error that I've made in my career thus far and I have been working here long enough for me to know that people know my work ethic and that I just messed up....but still.  It gets me every time.  It's probably the major perfectionist in me or maybe because I just hate so much to feel like I failed....but no matter how many times I make a mistake, every time I have to send out an email to everyone about an error in my weekly reports, I get so upset.  Really disappointed in myself, really mad at myself, and embarrassed.  Not only did I make a mistake, but everyone has to know.  Are there things that make you that upset?  That you sit at your desk and just sigh because you're so frustrated with yourself??  AHH!!  It makes me so mad just thinking about it.

I started telling my co-worker about how frustrating it was....and then she said something that made me realize why I love working with her so much!!  She told me to think about ALL the things that I do right everyday.  All the reports that are correct, all the entries that are done right, all the emails that I send out and all the questions that I answer correctly.  Out of all those things, no one says every day what a great job I do at that...they only notice when I do it wrong, which is only every once and a while...but that I need to concentrate on the things I do good every day.  Not the bad things.

And you know what?   That's just the attitude I do need to take on.  I need to have that attitude not only in work, but in life too.  And with wedding planning.  Because you know what, as much as I try to plan everything on our wedding day down to the little last detail...something will go wrong.  But most likely, no one else will notice except me.  Why?  Because I'm such a crazy person.  But that's ok.  With my new attitude, I'll do just fine and make it through with a smile on my face! :)  And accept that I was defeated...but just for today.  Tomorrow is a different story.

100 years

Last week. Sunday, January 10 marked the 100 year anniversary of Hallmark.  100 years.  WOW.  The past few months as our PR department has been preparing for this big event and I was getting invoices that the store's budgets needed to be adjusted for all the centennial pins for all store associates...and I was more semi-annoyed than excited for this mark in history.  And after living this week, I'm so embarrassed to say that because WOW...what an amazing milestone for a company to make. 

The weeks events included a birthday party on Monday for all employees.  It was complete with an awesome band, great music, speeches from the chairman of the board, CEO and President, employees acting out the historical timeline of Hallmark and a 100 ft birthday cake!!  Check out this picture.  They had to hold 3 parties for all employees to attend...

(Photo from the Hallmark twitter page)

Aren't those lights awesome??  That's our cafeteria!!

On Tuesday, we got to go over to the Visitors Center and watch a new video that will now be showing there for all visitors to see that showcases not only the great history of the company, but the most crucial part of the company's success which is the Hall Family themselves.  

Thursday, I went to an awesome presentation at the American Heartland Theater (in Crown Center) about Hallmark Hall of Fame.  And what an a amazing presentation it was.  Did you know that Hallmark Hall of Fame has been around since 1961 and there have been 96 presentations so far...and by the end of 2010 there will have been 100.  If I have my facts straight, they have won 19 Emmy awards.  Hallmark Cards was presented an Emmy which was the first ever Emmy to be presented to a sponsor.  We not only got to hear from the President of Hallmark HOF himself in the hour long presentation, but watch clips from some of the older movies, learn about the people involved (from those in KC and those in LA), and best of all watch the best of commercials that have been seen in these presentations over the years.  I love the commercials!!  They have an awesome commercial on the next Hall of Fame for the centennial, so be sure to watch it!!

Friday, they had Hoops & YoYo downstairs to take pictures with employees- which I didn't get to go down and get one with them, which was sad, but fun for other people I'm sure!

Also, every single employee, current and retired, got a great commemorative book to mark this amazing event.  It's huge and a great coffee table book to browse with all of Hallmark's history as well as KC history!!  You will have to come to my house to check it out :)

Overall, just wanted to tell you about the exciting week that we had last week!  It's truly an honor to work for a company with such history that maintains it's family connections and commitements to their employees, consumers, and the community.  This last week was just affirmation about how happy I am to be working here and how lucky I feel! Very motivated now....

Here's some great places to visit to learn more about this momentous event.  They have places for consumers to comment about how they feel about our company and how it's been a part of their lives....

Hallmark 100 year site

Or follow them on Twitter

Or my FAVORITE person/followee (whatever it's called) to follow on Twitter is Edge of Motherhood.  They are HILARIOUS.  If you haven't seen that card line, you need to.

Ok that's all I have to say :)  Hope everyone had a great Monday and cheers to another week!!

Only one day

Last night I had my first wedding dress fitting.   And I. Fell. In. Love.  With the jewelry, the shoes, my hair up (just a pony tail)....I loved it!  Next time, hopefully I will get to try it on with the veil.  But that was the first time that I truly felt like a bride.  A bride :)  I get to be a bride and get married and have a wonderful wedding...and become a Carter!

So while I was standing there, vainly staring at myself, it hit me.....I ONLY GET TO WEAR THIS ONE TIME.  What??!?  I love the way it feels, looks, flows.....why oh why don't I get to wear it all the time?  How sad.  What a beautiful (not to mention expensive) outfit that you only get to wear once!?

That's when the research starts.  Is there truly no other time that you can wear your wedding dress?  I mean logically no....but hasn't someone been crazy enough to wear their dress out in public?  Or shopping?  To the mall?  I had to find out if there were any wedding blog posts titled "Where to wear your wedding dress after the big day..."

No luck at all.

But I did find this link!  It's not a crazy website that shows pictures of people that wear their dress in public (however, I won't stop looking for that), but it's this great site that preserves and stores your wedding dress for $129.  For as much as those dresses cost and if you are interested in getting it cleaned and preserved, it seems like a good deal to me!! So, if you are already married......what did you do with your dress after the wedding?  If you are not......have you ever thought about what you want to do??  Hmmmm.......big thought for the day.

But overall, love the dress---still can't believe you only wear it one time.  But can't wait to get married.  Ok enough mushy excitement for this post :)

90999

Have you seen is advertised all over to text 90999 with "HAITI" and that will donate $10 to the American Red Cross?  It was all over the social networking sites yesterday and I saw it on a tweet from Jimmy Kimmel...and it specifically said "this will be charged to your AT&T phone bill".  I think it's a great idea and I actually read an article about the millions of dollars that the American Red Cross made for those injured in Haiti, so what a great idea!!

But to the point of the quick story.  Jimmy and I went out to dinner last night at Salty Iguana because we had a coupon.  Yes, we now only go out to dinner if we have a coupon :)  It was a good coupon too!  We are sitting there and Jimmy blurts out that he texted 90999 like 20 times today and how glad he was because that meant the American Red Cross donated like $200 to the Haiti fund.  I started laughing because he obviously doesn't realize that charges his phone bill.  I then explain to him how the Red Cross doesn't donate the money, but in fact he is donating the money himself and the charges will come through with him phone bill.  He was shocked.  He couldn't believe it.  He said it was a scam and that no one told him that.  And that all he was trying to do was help those in Haiti.  But he seriously texted that like 50 times, not 20.

At this point I'm laughing so incredibly hard.  Jimmy just added $500 to his phone bill.  Not that I don't think donating to Haiti is a great cause, but seriously?  My fiance just did it 50 times and now his phone bill is astronomical........

I'm still hysterically laughing.

He gets mad because he wants to know why I'm not mad that he did that.  And why I'm not screaming at him because he just spent so much of soon-to-be our money.

Um because he can be such an idiot some times it makes me laugh.  This was one of them.

I can't even eat because I'm laughing so hard.  He said he doesn't believe me and that I'm lying and that donating money from your phone through texting isn't even possible.  I show him Jimmy Kimmel's tweet to prove it.

I continue laughing.

Then he laughs and tells me he's lying.  And he didn't really do that, but it would be funny.  He was trying to make me laugh.  And it worked.

Brutally Honest

So today I went to go see my YouthFriend, Te'onnya, over lunch.  With the holidays and her school being out all last week, I haven't seen her in probably 3 weeks or so....so I was excited to hear how her break went and catch up!

I went to get her from the lunchroom and we went into the YouthFriends room at the school where she could finish eating and I could watch her eat...this is because I always eat before I come.  The school lunches there--not so great. Today she had green beans (not bad), some jello mixture (looked gross, but she liked it), french fries (decent), and a weird looking hamburger with 2 pieces of white bread as the bun.  I'm confused...why would you serve hamburgers for lunch with no bun??  If I remember correctly, our school lunch menus always said "Hamburger on Bun" when it was hamburger day....this is weird because I can literally hear that in my head right now being announced during the announcements at Mill Creek Elementary School- good times.  Anyways, that made me curious if on their menu it said "Hamburger on Bread" because I really feel like if you are going to serve a hamburger between two pieces of bread you should specify that.  She tried it and said it was gross.  But still ate it.  So glad I'm not in elementary school anymore.  And makes me thankful that my dad made me lunch every day.  Frozen pineapple juice and all.

ANYWAYS, that last paragraph was a complete tangent and not in the "blog plan" for this post I had devised.  Back to the real point of it.

I sit down next to her and ask how her break was, tell her it's good to see her, nice things....and the first thing she literally says is:

YF: "You look like you are tired and got no make up on"

HA HA.

BB: "Yeah, I'm not wearing eyeliner today"

YF: "Why not?  You look so much better with it."

BB: "I ran out of eyeliner.  Haven't got to the store to buy new stuff"

YF: "How do you run out of eyeliner?  Isn't it like a pencil?"

BB: "I have the one that turns and you get more eyeliner.  It just stopped turning"

YF: "Well, you should go to the store tonight and get some.  You look tired and bad."

Now, why you might think that would make me mad (only for like 0.000002 seconds), but it really didn't.  It made me laugh because I haven't been wearing eye liner all week long.  This girl hasn't seen me in like 3 weeks, so how does she even remember that I usually wear eyeliner, and finally........she is the ONLY person out of all the adults I've come into contact with this week that has been brutally honest with me about my new "natural" look.  And all I can say is THANK YOU to her for her honesty.  It's so funny though because she didn't even think twice about telling me I looked bad.  She just shrugged it off and we carried on.  Oh how I long to be a kid again and have life be so simple.  But isn't it funny how as adults we are trained to rarely say things like that because A) It's impolite and B) It might hurt someone's feelings.  But I think everyone needs someone in their life to truly be honest with them about things.  Did I just find mine?  Haha.

Then we tried to play a game.  That was annoying and hard to understand.

Then we went to the computer and she made me listen to Justin Bieber sing for the 10,000 time because she's obsessed with him.  I got sick of listening to the same some so I made her start dancing.

Then I taught her to waltz...and she dipped me.

Just another day at an elementary school lunch :)  But it was a nice day to break away from the chaos of work and also nice to here some honest words.  FYI- I will be wearing eyeliner tomorrow.

Bowling fun!

Saturday night, we went out to dinner and bowling with Jeff and Emily.  Jeff said all there was to do in his small town growing up was to bowl, so he was really good.  I had to see this.  So off we went.  And here were the results of the night:

Emily got a picture without her eyes closed!! Cute hair :)

Hi, apparently I'm a midget

Gazing into his eyes

Oh hey.  Look at how long his hair is!

And yes folks, not to brag, but if you notice.....that 159 is my score!  Awesomeness...apparently I am the only person to date to beat Jeff in bowling.  This is monumental.

Hey Jim.  He asked me to take this.  So he could look cool.

And I introduce you to the small bill....Jimmy's winter wardrobe addition.  No comment.

Overall, it was a great night.  Dinner included couples therapy at it's best, as Jimmy and I had a "secret fight" all day Saturday (aka Brittany is secretly fighting/mad with/at Jimmy, but he doesn't know why.  He realizes she's mad.  He asks her why.  She says "I'm not mad", but he knows she is.  But they have been together too long now so he knows better than to ask why because that will just make her more mad.  True story folks).  So I talked through that....at dinner....after Jeff had earlier that day proclaimed to Emily that "Jimmy and Brittany never fight".  Ha ha.  Yes, we do old Jeff.  It's the joys of being in a relationship.  As long as you love that person enough to take the time to make up after a fight...and you can laugh about it later....then you know it's worth it.

Long story short...who wants to join a bowling league in KC?

Mancave compromise almost complete :)

All right, so this weekend was busy.  I really wasn't expecting or planning on doing this project, but it's been one of those house to-dos that I have been wanting to tackle for awhile.  I think there is one final thing..but for now, here are the pics.

Remember this post/picture?  Yes, this was what it looked like when we moved in.  With her furniture of course...

Well...here is the almost final product.  Like I said....I still want to paint the fireplace cover thing black.  I think it will look a lot better because we really don't have anything that bright gold.  But I can appreciate a work in progress.

Ta da :)  Yes, so among the other more contemporary decor that we have added, along with the mantle, the mirror....I painted the fireplace.  It was a little nervous because once you start, there is no going back. However, the brick really wasn't a true "red brick" color and it was really dirty.  So I found this post on the Young House Love website and it seemed easy enough.  And really, it was.  Here is it half done...

And then me.  Very happy.  Wearing a Pi Phi shirt from like 2005.  So don't feel like you ever have to stop wearing the Pi Phi formal 2006 sweatshirt!  I will never stop wearing old pi phi stuff.

In addition, these were on sale at Kohl's and I couldn't pass them up.  We really needed something in this small space right behind the chair.  So I went and picked the bench up and then Jimmy was oh so kind to go during his lunch break on Monday to get the storage unit on top.  Putting them together---well that was another story.  Jimmy NEVER yells or raises his voice at me.  But apparently my stupidity in assembling these two things really put him over the edge because he got super frustrated.  And so did I.  But the good news is, only Lauren got to experience it, and Molly for a short time, so that's history right. And now we can just enjoy this new addition to the man cave :)

So what is up next???  Painting the gold thing on the fireplace, getting a new fire resistant door from the garage into the man cave...and the BEST EVER........GRANITE COUNTERTOPS.  I'm surprised it took me this long to spill the beans, but I've been focusing on wedding stuff lately and random posts, but yes it's true.  I fell in love and it is a great deal, so I started writing the check for the deposit and forgot I should probably call Jimmy and tell him I was making it happen.  So after the first week of February, our kitchen will be just a bit more into the 21st century.

Sweetness.  I love home improvement.  It makes me smile. Also, see that really empty wall space.  It's hard for me to say, but Jimmy if someone really does buy those stupid KU canvas paintings you registered for at Bed, Bath, and Beyond...I just might let you hang those there.  Now talk about COMPROMISE.  I think that get's best wife-to-be-ever award.

Yes I did get stuck in my driveway

So if you don't live in KC, just start off this blog post by saying a quick prayer...because that means you haven't had to live through the last 14 days of snow covered roads, freezing cold temperatures, endless driveway scooping, and massive heat bills.  You can make it quick: "Dear God, Thank you for the fact that I live in ________.  The weather might not have been perfect where we live, but it's sure better than those people in Kansas City.  Amen."

Ok...so yesterday the big snow storm hit.  However, schools had been canceled like pretty much the whole week because it's been so cold.  But yesterday, the snow was going to hit.  In typical KC form, people were freaking out.  I had like 4 people come to my desk Wednesday prepping for stuff because they were going to be gone because of the snow Thursday.  Now, usually when people do that, nothing ever happens and we get like .05 inches.  Not yesterday.  We got LOTs of snow.  And then it blew everywhere.  Which meant, Brittany and her little Honda Civic were working from home.  So that's that.

This morning, I had to go into work. I have tons to do with month end and year end accruals and entries to make (sorry for the accounting lingo).  I get up like normal and get ready faster than usual so I have plenty of time to drive slower on the roads.  I started backing out of the garage my normal way so I can pull driving forward out of the driveway.  Then I decided "man, I will probably run into snow back there.  I should start over and back out like a normaal person."  Instead....I backed into the large mound of snow and couldn't get the old Honda out.  Now I depart for work at 6:30AM so no one else is up to help.  However, as I was getting the shovel out to scrape away the snow from my tires, like the knight in shining armour he is (well, sweat pants, boots, no shirt, snow coat...but whatever, we can all dream right?!) Jimmy comes out and saves the day. 

He gives me the "Really Brittany?  Can you be this dumb?" look...but no words.  Starts to push while I am hitting the accelorator.  I look in my rear view mirror and --- whoops.  There he goes.  Falling on his knees because of the ice.  (Yes Jim, I did see it.  I lied to you this morning when you asked me.  I just felt really bad.  Sorry.  And I feel bad because I laughed really, really hard when I saw you disappear)  After the fall and him asking 4 times why I keep turning my wheels (I don't know why- I just wanted to go left?), I gave up my "pride" and let him take the drivers seat.  And he got it out :)  Nothing like a freezing cold wake up call from your idiotic wife-to-be who cannot seem to back out of the driveway properly.

Thanks Jim!  And hopefully all of you that have experienced the snow issues---either in KC or elsewhere---are safe.  Drive slow and be cautious of other drivers.  Like me.  Who drives R-E-A-L-L-Y slow in this stuff :)


PS New obsession = ichat/skype/whatever device or program you can install where you talk to or see your friends on your computer.  I feel like Vanessa and I have hung out every night this week....but she lives 4 hours away.  Hmmm...I could get used to this!

Lots of stupid pictures

While skyping tonight with Vanessa and Erica......this is what I did.......enjoy the show.

Gym Stalking

Monday and Wednesday nights at 5:30PM you can find my roommate (Lauren) and I at the gym.  We go to a Turbo Kick class there and have been for awhile now.  It's a great workout and I feel like the 60 minutes just flies by.  By the time we walk out, we are both sweating a disgusting amount.  Which is a good thing.

So now that you know that, I can continue on with the rest of the story.  Some Mondays and Wednesdays, Jimmy meets us up there after he gets off work to do his work out thang.  That might include lifting and cardio.  I'm not sure, because as I said- we are jumping around and Kick/Punch/Jamming in our class.  Regardless, he usually waits for us to get out of class and then I always go talk to him.  Sometimes he creepily stands outside waiting for us.  Now, I didn't think anything of this at all because you are probably thinking the same thing I did "Ahhh, that's nice of Jimmy.  Then he can say hi to his fiance before he goes back to his parents house".  However, if you have read some of my blog posts....you know that mind just doesn't work that simplistic.  Because I really started thinking about this "meeting" that Jimmy and I have at the gym and what an outsider might think.  Obviously this is because when I am at the gym on the machines, I people watch (who doesn't) and make up stories in my head about people.  I know it's weird.  But it keeps me occupied and entertained while I move my legs up and down on the elliptical.

Ok so, here it is.  What I think that an innocent bystander might be thinking week after week when they notice each Monday and Wednesday when Jimmy is waiting outside for me.  This conversation is going through the mind of a hypothetical person working out that also people watches.  And goes to the gym on Monday and Wednesday around 6:20PM.  This person is a girl.

Week 1:
"That guy looks kind of creepy standing outside the workout class room.  I wonder who he's waiting for"
Brittany exits.  Awkwardly smiles at Jimmy, then they talk and walk out.
"Wow, so he must have met that girl at the gym and now he was waiting for her to say bye after the class.  She looked at him awkwardly....so I wonder if she likes him."


Week 2:
"There he is AGAIN!!  I can't believe he's waiting for her again.  I mean, do you think he'll get a clue that this gym stalking is semi-creepy and that girl probably just wants to work out without a guy waiting for her.  Well, maybe she likes him.  We'll see her reaction this time."
Brittany exits.  Again awkwardly smiles.  ***At this point, this hypothetical story is demonstrating the fact that I think about the fact that people might in fact be watching us.  So I do my best to be super awkward when I greet Jimmy after exiting workout class :)***
"Wow- this guy needs to get a clue.  I don't feel like this girl is interested.  She looks so awkward talking to him.  And they don't touch hands or anything when they are walking out."


Week 3:
"Ok, maybe I should say something to him.  Or the gym management.  I feel like he needs to stop waiting for her.  But why does she keep talking to him?  SO weird."
Brittany exits.  Awkwardly smiles.  Mentions to Jimmy she wants to look awkward on purpose (girl does not hear this)
"I guess she can deal with him, but they have such odd interactions..."


Now that I just documented these thoughts of the hypothetical gym goer....I am kind of realizing it's a much funnier story in person.  Sorry :)  But honestly, it's kind of this game I've made where I try to be super awkward so just in case anyone is watching they think that Jimmy might be gym stalking me.  Why?  I have no idea.  Besides the fact that we are engaged.....but I think if I was the gym goer people watching I might appreciate the wonder and romance progression Jimmy and I show each week to our fellow gym goers.  However, if they did happen to notice I was wearing a ring---this whole story might be ruined.  Unless however....they thought I was married and not just engaged and saw that Jimmy doesn't have a ring on....that would be a whole other hypothetical story.


Random post for the week.

Director of Fun

Yesterday, I received this email from my mom:

Is there a Director of Fun at Halmark?  Job is taking people to the world series, etc?  Rumor floating around our office.
MOM

I literally laughed out loud really hard.  I'm assuming from this email that my mom and others in her office think every job at the wonderful world of the card making business is a joke.  However, unforunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it I guess), there is no "Director of Fun" here.  While it is an amazing place to work, people do have real jobs...including this girl right here who has the fun task of year end and month end financials at the current time. 

But really- do you think that job title and job description exists anywhere?  If so, can I apply? :)

A better question is....who started this rumor?!  And how did my mom ever think it was legit?